Unity by Carl Stubblefield (epub read online books TXT) 📕

its own accord. The dead weight made the ribbon much slower as well, and another shield crashed into the ground like a dart, its point driving through the end of the sash and firmly fastening it to the ground.

More shields shot like arrows, pulling down more of the ribbon despite Yuki’s efforts to wobble it or flip it sideways. When it was securely fastened and Yuki’s movement was restricted, the shields attacked. One swept her feet from behind, and she was airborne for a second before four more fused shields hit her midair and pushed her to the ground.

Once on the ground, the other sash was secured in a similar manner, sharp shield tips piercing the delicate gold writing and destroying Silk Stalkings’ effectiveness.

With her held down, the brain settled to the ground with a heavy crash. Puddles of sludge and goop were thrown upward and she had to turn her head so none would splash in her mouth. She shook her head to flick away some of the ooze that began to slide down her hair onto her forehead.

Another heavy *thump* and Yuki looked up. Over the edge of the shield on her chest she could see the brain, lurching forward ponderously like a slug. It stretched forward then let its bulk fall with a crash. The seam between the lobes opened more, and rows of teeth were visible, sharp and pointed like a lamprey, curling inward, waiting to gather her up and pull her inside.

The shutters whirred as the servos inside dilated and closed in anticipation. The shields atop her pressed down harder as well. She tried to wiggle out but she was pinned in place like a prize butterfly. The teeth made a clicking noise as they occasionally hit each other in their excitement. They extended further out of the maw, as if each one yearned to gain the first taste of her, competing with the others.

Well, this sucks! How are you going to get your ass out of this fine mess, Yuki?

Chapter Forty-Eight

Problems

Yuki groaned as the shields pressed down harder on her. She felt herself getting smushed into the soft floor, and her flailing intensified as the reality of being totally smothered became all too real. Kicking her feet, she could only manage tiny, impotent little hits against the shield wall. She felt her foot getting caught, but could not see what had grabbed her. With a quick shake she managed to free herself, hearing a ratcheting click.

Yuki’s back began to get damp as the pressure caused a dingy brown liquid to be expressed from the floor as the shields kept pressing down on her. It became hard to focus on anything as the inability to move became more and more claustrophobic. What could she do? None of Gia’s abilities would work. Should she revert back and shed her avatar?

The shields would still have her trapped. There would not likely be time to roll out of the way; even though her natural form was smaller than her avatar, it wasn’t that much smaller. She would have access to her other abilities though. Summon would be on cooldown, so she would lose that advantage. By keeping the avatar she effectively had double the HP, since when Gia’s HP ran out it would be the avatar that dissipated, leaving her natural form intact. Think, Yuki!

Her left foot caught something again, frustrating her. What the hell! Is the floor trying to grab me and eat me too?

Another click sounded from the other foot, but this one seemed to echo in her mind and time seemed to slow down, just as if she had activated Overclock.

One aspect of this avatar came into razor-sharp focus. Her heels happened to be stylized high-heel guns. She had never used them, and had forgotten that they even existed, but directing her focus there, she found that her kicking had cocked the hammer back on both revolvers. With a guttural yell, she pointed her toes upward and aimed at the M.I.N.D.

*Blam*Blam*Blam*Blam*…

The shots boomed much louder than she ever expected, shattering teeth and ripping large burrows into the brain. Soft tissue was shredded as she emptied both chambers into the fragile, fleshy enemy. With the sound of shattering glass, the shields fell apart and clanged on the ground. Yuki rolled quickly and activated Silhouette while the brain was shuddering in the center of the room. Its HP bar was taken down about 30%, and it looked stunned.

Yuki looked at herself and saw that most of her ribbons had been ruined, and she could only use a few meters of the ribbon before they fell limp. Her own form shimmered and was visible in her display, emphasizing her stealthy nature.

She began to see some of the shields trembling as the M.I.N.D. began to recover from its stunned status, and Yuki realized she wasn’t going to have a lot of time before it was back at full capacity. She ran towards the large boss, and noticed that the prismatic outer surface of the shield was not present on the reverse side of the fallen shields.

If you’re going to dress like a dominatrix, might as well act like one.

Yuki targeted the back of a shield and, using the Silk Stalkings like a flail, she whipped a fallen shield on its dull matte back. To her delight, it shattered, throwing bits of shrapnel all around. Taking care not to damage the ribbons, she began taking out as many as she could. *Crack*! *Crack*! *Cra-cra-cra-CK*! She sped up as some of the shields began to slowly rise from the ground. The random nature of her hits allowed her to stay undetected as she whirled and spun.

The shields that had managed to get airborne were still not under full control, and a well-placed whip shattered more of them, their shards embedding in the soft surface of the boss with meaty *thunks*.

But when Yuki grabbed an entire shield and flung it at the creature, its sharp point managed to penetrate more