Mask of Humanity

Zixiao and the others peered down at the valley below. Lush greenery packed between thick orange walls, and on either end a slow-pushing wall of blood-red mist squeezing ever tighter.

'Still down there, right below,' muttered Maodan, the oldster standing beside him and leaning over so far that it'd just take a quick shove to send him plummeting.

Zixiao had had Luo make some larger holes in the fort so they could look through and down, when the mist had pushed all the other competitors into the valley below. He smiled at the memory. They'd looked like tiny bugs, and all fighting one another while he sat safely up here, surrounded by allies. His plan couldn't have gone any better.

They'd spied a few particularly able combatants, two of whom he'd recognised. Xuejing, who'd thought herself so smart by bailing out the fort. He knew she'd suspected he'd intended to convince the others to turn on her, and he'd been right. But the memory of her leaving made him grin. Because he'd known that it wasn't guaranteed he could turn them on her. But now that she was out there, and they in here… if she came anywhere near, he wouldn't even have to do any convincing. The others would attack her as they would anyone approaching the fort.

He'd hoped she would get herself eliminated in any case, but she'd stopped fighting and engaged in conversation with two others. One of whom he recognised as the barbarian, Nicolai. A dangerous fellow, supposedly, and one of those Zixiao's master plan had been devised to see eliminated with minimal risk.

His smile had turned into a frown when they'd all disappeared into what must be a hole in the cliff, right below him and the others.

One eager, robed man gripped a barbarian weapon and aimed it down below. The thing shook in his grip as it let out a painfully loud roar.

'Give it a rest,' Zixiao snapped at him. These weapons had turned out to be all but useless in this situation, since no one had even come to attack them. They wouldn't work against Xuejing, anyway. He'd come to realise it would be a better use of time to just coordinate dropping large rocks on those below. A Silver Net couldn't defend against a giant rock falling on you.

He was just turning to instruct the others to do precisely that when a series of sharp bangs and cracks erupted from below, and a moment later ripples knocked against his Soul Sense.

Leaning over the edge again, he saw nothing. The sounds seemed to be coming from right down there where he'd seen Xuejing and those two others disappear.

They ended, leaving a beat of breathless silence, then he saw a figure emerge. Black-robed, holding two Blades that flickered in the sunlight. Xuejing. She moved off, disappearing below some trees.

'Would you look at that,' said Xiren on his left, and Zixiao glanced over to see the man grinning down. 'She took those two out.'

Zixiao nodded, smiling. 'And now set off to remove the rest of them.' With the elimination of Nicolai, he was one big step closer to winning this Tournament. He stood back and let out a happy sigh. This was his favourite kind of battle. One where he didn't have to lift a finger.

###

Xuejing popped back up in the hole shortly after stepping out. He'd lent her the shimmer poncho, activated, and she'd slung it around herself before returning. She held it out to him and he deactivated it, tucked it away, then spread his arms.

The others two, after a moment of hesitation, came forward. He enfolded them in his arms, activating the Wriggler, Lurker, and two Pegasi rings. Xuejing had her own ripple hiding Symbiotes, and she lent him their effects. Without ripple or sound, they rose into the cold embrace of the earth. It opened like a mouth and consumed them.

Gradually, they speared through the pressing dark, rising ever upwards. Jex had a breather mask on; Xuejing had used some Symbiote to form a small bubble-like shield around her head which kept the earth out and air in. The journey involved the odd sideways slide or backwards drift as he navigated around rockier portions, but by and large it was smooth.

The motion, at least. He could feel the unease of his two companions. Pressed so tight, body and Soul, it was obvious to him through the tension he felt in them. There was an interesting difference in the signs they gave off. Jex's body gave almost no signs, easily done as she was mostly artificial, but her Soul was practically an open book to him. Xuejing, on the other hand, had a Soul nearly as tight and well-guarded as his own, but her body constantly shifted and tensed.

He knew that they were both waiting for him to try something, and that both had some kind of plan in mind if he did.

He also knew that such a plan, by nature of the situation, would be limited. Neither of them had a Symbiote like the Wriggler; Threat Analysis was sure of that. A little misdirection, perhaps a delusion if he could manage one on Xuejing, and quick action would see them left entombed in the earth while he slithered away.

Nicolai had no intention of betraying them in such a manner, but he still held a dislike of tight presses and crowds, an urge to kill anything that touched him. The Dark, free and mobile within him, only added to this, and he was wary of pulling on the Blade's Angelic energies with a skilled Cultivator so close.

At one point, while he was doing his best to ignore the desire to murder her, a tendril of the Dark had crept through the arm that wrapped Xuejing, and she'd flinched slightly. Almost as if she felt it. He'd been quick to double down on his control of it, the Mask lending an extra weight.

Apart from that singular instance, he and the Modules were roughly 98% sure his own body and Soul gave away no signs of these thoughts. His physical form was loose and relaxed, his Soul still and reflective as a pool of water trapped beneath the earth, untouched for millennia.

He had considered that perhaps using this opportunity to eliminate these two was the best move. But fighting those up above would not be easy as it was, even less so with no aid. Plus, the other factor. As he'd been considering betrayal, the Mask had spoken up.

It had reminded him how he'd won about Jian, and it had brought up that it knew, it could see, it could feel that there was a faint niggle within him. A part left unsatisfied.

He wished he could know, that was all.

Could he have won without cheating, that second time? Threat Analysis considered this one of the most idiotic thoughts he'd ever had. It told him that the "fight" he'd apparently agreed to—before the wording loophole was revealed—no laser against a Silver Net, was obviously the worst possible and stacked entirely against him. That was why Jian had agreed to it. The Module was right, he knew that.

And yet. When he thought of taking such a fight the Dark and the Thrill began a slow stir, filling him up with a hungry desire. Even as the cold, calculating centre of himself believed in stacking the odds and limiting risks wherever possible, another part hungered to take on the hardest fight possible, to go against the odds, and win.

This desire had lain, cold and quiet, ever since that fight. But the moment he'd seen Xuejing it had flared back to life and began to grow. And the Mask was working hard to encourage him in that direction. He knew it did so because it seemed to believe in that idiotic concept called honour, but that didn't matter to him. Regardless of the reason, the Mask, throwing in with the Dark and the Thrill, had convinced him.

Thus, at this moment Xuejing, nestled against him, could not have been safer.

As for Jex, he didn't particularly care whether he fought her or not. She was capable, but he understood how to fight someone like her. He was curious to see this trump she'd planned to use on Xuejing, but that was about it.

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But Xuejing… he wasn't quite sure how he would do against her. A laser wouldn't work. No gun he held could penetrate the Silver Net, not from a reasonable distance. The only option was to get up close, to fight her in that dangerous space where he was as much at risk as she.

He wanted that fight.

###

They emerged from the pressing confines of the earth some distance away from the Cultivators, on the higher, more rugged and sheer top of the cliff. He'd considered trying to get them right below the Cultivators, but further scans with the GPR had revealed their fort to be in a portion wholly made from rock; no way of getting beneath.

The other two were quick to get away from him the moment they all came free, Xuejing brushing all the dirt off with the kind of expression one might wear if covered in bugs. Jex kept low once she was away from him, and let some drones free.

'Keep the drones down,' he hissed at her.

'I'm not stupid,' she hissed back. 'I just want them close by me and ready.'

After a lingering moment he drew back, regarded both of them. Xuejing looked all expectant, like a student before a teacher. It wouldn't do, the Mask murmured, to disappoint.

His finger traced a circle on the dusty ground. 'We'll blow holes in the top of their fortification with Jex's satchel charges,' he explained, drawing smaller circles within the larger, glancing at the charges on Jex's hip. She frowned at that, but nodded irritably.

'Radar shows it's just a thin shell,' he continued, 'not solid protection like the front wall. But first, Xuejing will flank them from the far side.' Now the finger looped out in a big circle. 'I'll move to position myself directly behind.' Another looping line. 'The explosion of the bombs will be the signal. When they go off, Jex starts firing from here—' He drew a series of rapid lines, depicting gunfire, '—and me and Xuejing go in.' All the lines converged and his finger slashed madly at that central point as he imagined the coming carnage. He could almost feel the gunfire, hear the screaming.

He felt his lips drawing back in a grin, blinked, reasserted control, sat back and stared at the mess he'd slashed in the dust. Like organs spilling free from a slashed open stomach, like brains sprayed over a wall.

He cleared his throat awkwardly and chanced a look at the other two. Jex fussing with her smartgun, not even seeming to be paying attention. Xuejing frowning, thumb pressed hard to her lip, unfocused eyes staring at the mess of lines he'd drawn.

'It's a good plan,' he said reassuringly. It really was, the Modules were sure of it. There was only one issue with it—which he would solve momentarily.

Xuejing eyes refocused and she breathed out a single, slow exhale, all the way until her lungs were empty. Sucked in another one and he could see her settling a calm about herself. She looked his way and gave a stiff nod. 'I understand. Loop around, come from the far side. I'll do my part.' She rose while keeping low, hands tight on the hilts of her sheathed Blades. Shot a look back, looking like she was thinking of saying something. Then just nodded awkwardly and scuttled off.

Nicolai and Jex watched her go. The Mask was wishing he'd said something and had a human moment, but it hadn't thought up anything to say so it only had itself to blame. All signs of her Soul and Soul Sense swiftly faded, though physically she remained visible. That'd be plenty good, the Cultivators had blinded their eyes with their roof in any case, they'd be peering out with Soul Sense. Viewing her with his own Soul Sense, she was very difficult to spot, even knowing she was there. Threat Analysis took note of the faint signs, adding them to its list of things to watch for. Soon enough, Xuejing had crept around some rocks and was gone.

Jex handed him the satchel charges. He took control of them and spent a minute attaching them to drones. These he gave pre-programmed flight paths generated by the Modules. When activated they would move out, keeping low and loitering, then swoop in to deliver the payloads at the given time. Then he waited.

'You going or what?' she asked after a moment.

He didn't look at her. His body language was dismissive, as though she barely registered to him. 'In a moment. I'm not sure how her stealth works. It might interfere with mine. I need to give her room before I make my move.'

A minute later, he stiffened. 'Alright, I'll get moving now.'

Jex had been emanating a faint unease, not liking being stuck so close to him. She nodded in relief. 'Good, you can—'

Whatever she was about to say was cut off as he suddenly lunged, grabbing her and holding her tight before she could react, controlling her hands and body.

'What?' she squawked. 'The fuck are you doing?'

'Shh. Don't worry. I'm not going to remove you from this. I need you.' From the snarl on her face and the tension in her bionic arms, she was far from convinced. 'There's a serious problem, Jex. I have no guarantee you won't fire on me with this.' He nodded at the smartgun. 'I know you and Pal were planning to remove me and the Nara. It strikes me that while you can't do anything against her, this is the perfect situation for you to eliminate me while I'm busy fighting those Cultivators.'

'I won't,' she hissed desperately. 'You can trust me!'

He chuckled. 'What a thing to say.'

She went silent, artificial features drawing tight, eyes narrowing as her square pupils became dots.

'Then do it,' she hissed. 'And good luck taking all of those fuckers down without me giving covering fire.'

'No, no, Jex. Don't worry. I have a perfect solution.'

The Big Mouth activated, splitting open on his chest and grinning at her.

She yelped with revolt, struggling in his grip. 'The hell are you planning? Get that thing away from me!'

He gave her a rough shake, bionic fingers gripping tighter, then reached inside the storage. 'Settle down. With a little effort, I can ensure I can trust you. Then I'll have no reason to eliminate you here and now.'

Shortly after, he had her covered in a combination of chains and sticky bombs. Not his chain-whip Imbued, just mundane chains. Always handy to keep a few.

'I'm going to set all of these on a two-minute timer,' he explained. 'Once I destroy the jammer inside their fortification, I'll be able to deactivate them.'

She glared at him. 'And I'm just supposed to trust that you will?'

'It's assured. You'll notice when I deactivate them. The local transmission will be obvious, as will their state changing from active to inactive. They're standard grenades. You can see if they're live or not. If I don't deactivate them, I assume you'll spend your last seconds shooting me instead of anyone else. Therefore, it's in my own interest to deactivate them.'

His H-gram gave a beaming smile, expressing his pleasure at solving the problem. It was a similar method as he'd used before and not exactly creative, but it served well enough. 'So, through this clever solution, we can trust one another.'

'Fuck you,' she spat. 'I fucking hate you. You're such a cunt.'

He snorted. 'So emotional. We've barely known one another an hour.'

'You leave a strong impression,' she snarled. 'You know, I honestly had no intention of shooting you, wasn't even thinking of it. But now…' She trailed off ominously, eyes narrowing to slits.

He couldn't help the laugh that burst out, and struggled for a moment to wrench back control as it rose in pitch, cutting it down to a raspy chuckle before it got loud enough to risk being heard. 'Come on now,' he managed through the chuckles. 'Wasn't even thinking of it?' The phrase almost made him start again, but with a few deep breaths he regained control.

'I get it now,' she muttered, staring at him with a look somehow horrified. 'You're one of those.'

'One of those?' He tilted his head.

'I met a guy who laughed like that. He'd been fighting and killing a long time, he said. I asked, "Ain't you got enough saved up now to call it quits?" He looks at me and he says he don't do it for the money. That he was in it for the love of the game.' She sounded disgusted. 'Like it was a hobby!'

Nicolai wasn't sure what to say. And what's wrong with that? 'Sounds like an interesting individual.'

'He was a psychotic piece of shit. You'd have gotten along.'

'Unlikely. In any case, I should warn you that in a situation like this you really shouldn't be making it so clear you wish to kill me. You ought to at least act calm and willing to go through with it. I thought you were a professional,' he added in a murmur, not bothering to hide his disappointment. 'I suppose you've not been at this long.'

'What, compared to you and your bottomless wells of wisdom?' She sneered. 'Nice work, you've been shooting people a couple years longer than I have.'

'A little longer than that, actually.' He paused, regarding her carefully. Could he rely on her to do as instructed, rather than trying something foolish? Based on this display, he was no longer sure. 'This overly emotional, needlessly personal reaction over something so basic fails to reassure me that you'll cooperate, Jex. I will remind you that I have been far calmer regarding your plan to eliminate me.'

'You killed Pal!'

'Eliminated. He's still alive, you imbecile.' Nicolai disliked insulting people, excepting when done for manipulative purposes. He considered it the behaviour of those lacking in self-control. But in this case it was more a statement of fact than an insult, so it didn't really count. 'Will you cooperate?'

She growled. 'I'll cooperate. Not like you've given me any choice, you smug heap of shit. Me and Pal were meant to win this,' she added bitterly. From the pure frustration he saw in her, he knew that she didn't see a way to deal with what he'd done, and that even as she hated it, she was going to follow the plan. That was all he needed to know. The Mask and Psychology prompted him to dispense a little helpful advice. They suggested it might calm her and make her more amiable.

'When you allow yourself to believe the future is certain—that victory is assured—it's inevitable you'll become upset when expectations aren't met,' he cautioned. 'It is wise to anticipate the worst.'

Rather than taking the lesson to heart, she stared, mouth falling slightly open, stunned. 'Are you seriously dropping life advice on me right now? What, you're a therapist as well as a murderer?'

The Mask sulked, and Psychology threw up virtual hands in frustration. Lost cause. Nicolai felt the words perhaps hadn't been best suited to the moment. Maybe one day he'd get the knack of it. 'I'm going.'

He reached out, ignoring her flinch as he tapped each grenade. By doing so with his bionic arm—its fingers doubled as Local emitters—he could command them even through the jamming. They gave an ominous click as the two-minute timers began.

As he moved away he could feel her eyes burning into his back.