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

passage through time, preventing physical movement or skill activation while observed.

Gus locked his eyes on the tiger, and it looked back.

They waited to see who would be first to break free.

-Blink-

Yuki reappeared under the massive brain as it began to descend again. Falling to her knees, she crossed her arms and slid on the slippery slime that was smeared about. As she approached the brain-stem and right before hitting it, she brought her arms apart, severing it at the root. The edges sheared effortlessly through the soft tissue, and with a heave, Yuki used her last reserves of strength to slingshot herself from underneath the large brain as it toppled and crashed into the floor a final time.

The floor rippled and shook as a yellowish-brown fluid sprayed up from the cut brainstem like a geyser. Deprived of its connection, the brain twitched like a fish out of water, all mobility lost besides its death rattle.

Yuki wiped her face, flicking away a handful of slime and spitting in disgust. Sitting back with a loud sigh, she saw that her knees and shins were studded with tiny bits of shield embedded in the leather. She winced as she pulled out some of the larger pieces which had pierced her outfit, tiredly throwing them to the side. With a prolonged exhale, she tried to slow her breathing, looking at the spectacle before her. She groaned and hung her head.

At long last a message appeared:

Congratulations, you have defeated the M.I.N.D.

AI added to Summon bestiary.

42,000 XP awarded.

You have reached level 41.

You have reached level 42.

Root access allowed. Do you wish to exit? (Y/N)

Yuki shuddered as the ecstasy of leveling caused her to momentarily forget the weariness she felt.

Whooo! Yuki sighed as she exhaled deeply. When she opened her eyes again, the awful smell and carnage were beginning to fade, and the remains digitized and fell upwards like rain in reverse, disappearing after hitting the roof above.

Yuki accessed the root and began searching. Alarms were going off all over the system as she opened the interface. She was worried she had set something off until she noticed the alarm codes.

What the hell are you guys doing out there?

Chapter Fifty

Only Human

Gus watched in horror as the tiger began to become unstuck in time and finish its arc to the ground. It took only seconds but the tiger touched down on the ground with a light splash and slowly turned towards him. It seemed to know that he was helpless and walked around him, batting him with a paw as it circled.

Thirty-seven seconds… what are you going to do when you finally can move? If it’s not too late…

He tried to open his abilities again, and his brain exploded with pain. He crushed his eyelids shut as the mother of all brain-freezes stopped his panicked mental scrambling.

The tiger roared right next to Gus’ ear, so close and so loud that it began ringing. He couldn’t even flinch away. He could feel a wet nose sniff the back of his neck, giving him goosebumps. The tiger moved on, but the effect spread to his whole body. Even the hair on his head felt like it was reacting. Though he was not moving, a feeling of dizziness overwhelmed him, and he started sweating.

It’s going to end soon.

He kept his eyes shut, waiting for the inevitable mauling to start. Bracing himself for the attack. His tongue felt dry in his mouth, and he could taste something metallic. He felt pins and needles in his arms and legs. It was going to come too little, too late. His body was waking up—but even when it did, his powers would not be available.

A stillness set over him as he stopped struggling. There was nothing he could do now. He could hear Aurora’s groans now. The thunder rumbling above. The soft *pat* *pat* as the tiger walked around him. The smell of chlorine that tickled his nose.

The counter was at twenty-two when it happened. It was different than he had expected; deafening noise and burning heat. He felt his body flip and then nothing. His body was still numb, yet the countdown timer was still counting down. Odd. He tried to assess his situation but everything was dark. Much different than he expected. Why do I still have this headache?

A gentle hand gripped his shoulder and flipped him over. He saw his father kneeling over him, brushing wet hair out of his face. The last seconds of the countdown timer elapsed and Gus could speak again.

“Are we dead?” Gus gasped.

“Far from it. You were close to the blast but I don’t see that you were hit. Blasted lightning takes such a long time to charge, and even longer to target. It helped that these two were covered in metal.”

Gus lifted his head and saw Kenway lying on his back down the promenade. Looking the other direction, the tiger had been flung the other way, only then noticing the pock marks in the paved sidewalk and smell of burned hair and ozone.

“A-a-aurora…” Gus struggled to sit up, but had to lie back down as he felt lightheaded.

“She’s fine. Just relax, Gus. I gave her some gels and she’s got some wound clot on the area. Her bleeding has already stopped, and her Nth are stitching her back together.

“Yuki just sent me a message; she’s turned off the alarms so we can use our powers freely now. But we have to hurry and meet her. She’s already inside. Let’s go get your mother.”

Gus nodded and let his father help him to his feet, which were still a little shaky.

Aurora was already standing up, wiping blood off of her outfit, but he could see the swath of skin underneath was smooth and intact.

“You about ready, Aurora?” Tempest asked.

In response, her mouth fell open and she just pointed. The circular glass roof that covered the promenade had three figures standing on it, staring down at them.

“What now?” Gus sighed. The ceiling exploded, and glass