Tha A-Team

"Dean... where's your falchion?" Luca asked.

"Um... I threw it away," This was an oversimplification of the actions I took that led to me losing the sword, and I knew I needed to explain further to avoid Luca's criticism, but all I could think to say was, "But I did it to save Aura..."

Luca gazed at me sideways in a how-could-you-throw-your-weapon-away look that promised me I would get lectured later. Honestly, I was the big brother and yet my little brother did all the lecturing.

"So... what were you planning to do when you proposed a team-up... punch him to death?" Luca asked with heavily dripping sarcasm.

"Well," this time, I was appropriately sheepish when I said, "I was hoping you'd distract him while I get my falchion back."

Luca shook his head and then sighed. It was a double dose of disapproval.

"No need to worry, Luca," while my brother and I were arguing Aura had walked over to my other side. "Here, Dean..."

She handed me back my falchion. When I tried to take it, she held her grip on it to say, "Thanks for saving me."

Her voice was a soft whisper only I could hear.

"You saved me first..." I blushed. "But... you saw?"

She released her hold on the sword hilt. "It was a neat swing, but it curved down a little too much."

"It did the job okay though, right?" I was grinning now. At least someone appreciated my heroics. Besides, Aura healed me enough that even the blurriness in my vision lessened.

"Lucky shot, if you ask me," Edo stood on Aura's other side. He gave me a disapproving glance. "Don't miss next time."

I breathed a sigh of relief. For Edo, that snide remark was his version of high praise.

"Um... I'm happy to see you're okay Aura, but, can we focus?" Luca suggested. He drew his shadowblade from the sword hilt of his broadsword. "That guy looks like he's getting restless."

I glanced over at Azuma who was continuing to survey our quartet with an amused smile, which in hindsight probably meant a terrible thing as the Azuma I fought earlier didn't have a hint of enthusiasm showing on his face.

"I get it now... you're just a battle freak, aren't you?" I guessed.

Azuma's gaze fell on me. He cracked his neck sideways. Then he stretched his shoulders up and down like he was about to exercise.

"I think of myself as a competitor," he reasoned.

"And you think you can take all four of us on?" I nodded toward my companions. "Even the big guy over there?"

"I told you... I'm a competitor," Azuma crouched forward and raised his spear forward with both hands grasping tight on each end of the spear's pole. "I'll take on all comers..."

It was a credit to my companions that I didn't need to order them around. They knew exactly what to do next because we'd drilled it many times before during that hellish week of training Aura forced me into.

Aura pulled back to a safe distance and readied her staff for firing more Firebolts while Edo moved to the front of us with his own stance mirroring Azuma's. Meanwhile, Luca and I moved to the sides so we could flank him or defend as necessary. This cross formation was something I cooked up back when I first considered our team composition and our strengths.

At the same time as we moved into our places, I yelled, "Qwipps, are you there?"

He responded with, "Varda's alive!"

I guessed as much because I remembered the impact that sent Varda flying came from the flat of Azuma's spear, not from the shadowblade's sharp edge. And since Varda liked to wear dwarven made chain mail underneath her robe, I expected this high-quality product would save her from the worst of Azuma's attack.

"Is she conscious?" I asked.

"Barely!" he yelled back from somewhere on my right.

The fog was still around and the visibility was low past a few yards away.

"Get her out of here and back to the southern hillside. I need her to cause another mudslide!" I yelled. "Take your whole squad with you!"

"Mud, Dean! What about you?" he asked. "There are still a dozen Magesong bastards on this side!"

"We'll handle it... go!" I ordered.

I heard a "Muddamit!" before the buzzing of five gossamer wings began. Then Qwipps and the rest of his squad along with a half-conscious Varda in tow hightailed it back to the southern hillside.

"Was that wise?" Concern creased Aura's brow.

I wasn't sure. It all depended on Azuma and how he felt about his soldiers fighting on the other side of the hill. If he knew what Varda's mudslide did the last time, then...

"Leeroy!" Azuma yelled. "Don't let that dwarf cast another spell..."

"Yes, sir!" someone answered, and immediately afterward, the group of Magesong soldiers on this side ran past our position without sparing us a second glance. Azuma had obviously trained them well.

Luca looked sideways at me. "Did you know that would happen?"

"A good commander wouldn't sacrifice his men when he can do something about it," I answered, confidently.

"High-praise you have of me," Azuma responded.

The rain cut out suddenly although the clouds continued to glow as lightning streaked across the sky.

We all glanced up. It was time for round two.

"Yeah-yeah... let's get started already," I said, understanding that the sooner this fight was over the sooner I could head back and command my troops. Besides, Azuma was our only obstacle to victory. "Edo!"

Both Edo and Azuma charged through the wet, uneven ground, but while Edo swung for Azuma's head, Azuma, who was smaller and lower to the ground, hacked at the inner side of Edo's right leg just above his steel boots.

Clang!

Edo was no amateur. Once he saw where Azuma was aiming he immediately lifted his foot and blocked the shadowblade spear tip with his steel boot. The blade's magical property seared through the steel but didn't penetrate it. But while Edo's foot was raised, Azuma used a leg sweep maneuver with his foot to tag Edo's other leg and unbalance him.

Edo went down on one knee, but this wasn't much of a disadvantage for such a big guy. He sent his glaive in a sweeping arc around him to protect himself from a follow-up attack that never came.

Azuma had bypassed Edo and charged toward Aura who was directly in front of him, and this is where the cross formation I created showed its true worth.

On Azuma's left flank was Luca with his broadsword raised to strike. On Azuma's right was me with my falchion arcing up from the ground. Luca and I called this the Heaven-and-Hell combo which saw us pincer an enemy from the sides and cut him into mincemeat with horizontal slashes from both a downward and rising angle.

Azuma reacted instantly. He stopped mid-charge and repelled both mine and Luca's swings by twirling his spear around to block each strike as it came at him.

Geez, was this guy superb at battle, I thought inwardly while he knocked my shadowblade back. Still, I wasn't too worried. I said the cross formation would show it's worth, right?

Our distraction kept Azuma still long enough for a Firebolt to hit him in the face.

Boom!

A tiny explosion engulfed Azuma's face, probably searing his skin.

"Argh!" he yelled.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Aura didn't stop with one successful shot. She fired Firebolt after Firebolt at Azuma's body with each swing of her Hearthwood Staff like a fire dancer from another world.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After that sixth explosion smacked him in the gut, Azuma hurled his spear at Aura.

The force of it was like a rocket as it zoomed across the air. But it never reached her.

In our formation, it was my responsibility to watch out for any counters from our enemy's side, so I was prepared for something like a projectile attack. And even without triggering Fool's Insight, my years' worth of Kendo training was enough for me to swat that spear away with my falchion. To Azuma's credit, that spear was so heavy I couldn't smack it down to the ground and could only push its trajectory away from Aura.

Then I heard the guttural, primal roar that escapes out of Luca's mouth whenever he activated his Foolish Strength.

While the hairs on the back of my hand rose and an involuntary shiver escaped my lips, I turned my head toward the next clash.

Luca's broadsword swung down and met Azuma's steel plate armor just above the shoulder, and with his berserker strength, cut through the plate and into flesh. While Edo's glaive hacked at Azuma's back and sent a spray of blood streaking upward along with his rising glaive.

Azuma, his face bloodied and burned, didn't even scream. He simply gritted his teeth.

"Luca, Edo, back away now!" I yelled worriedly. It was my complete blunder for forgetting to tell them in advance about Azuma's fairy gift. "He's immortal! You can't kill him!"

If it was anyone else besides my A-team, Azuma's counter would have taken them unaware, but Edo was a true warrior and Luca always followed my commands despite whining about it. So, they backed away in time before Azuma could grapple either of them.

We all pulled back.

"Are you kidding me!" Luca's disbelieving face with its furrowed brows was hilarious in a different setting. "He's a zombie?!"

"He's something," I grinned.

He really was something, and despite the fear that made the hand grasping my falchion shake, there was a stirring in my chest that had nothing to do with being afraid. I was excited. Here was an opponent that could help my name soar among the clan members. If we beat Azuma using my tactics, if we won the hilltop despite the odds, Luca and I would be one step closer to getting our wish.

"We'll attack him together," As I said this, I felt a slight discomfort in the spot where I'd been pierced earlier. It reminded me that I wasn't a hundred percent and that I shouldn't attempt anything foolhardy. "Ready player one..."

I closed my eyes. With my body the way it was, I could use Fool's Insight one last time before I would become an invalid who'd be no help to the others. Some would call leaving yourself without an escape route reckless. But this was just how important this battle was. And so I activated Fool's Insight.

When I opened my eyes again, I gripped my sword hilt tight and ran forward.

Luca and Edo followed my lead but before any of us got to the crouching, bleeding figure that was Azuma, another Firebolt from Aura came hurtling from behind me. The advantage was certainly ours.

Or so I thought.

There was a swish from behind me as a passing object cut the air, and insight gave me just enough warning to duck as Azuma's spear came flying past me. It passed through the Firebolt, destroying it, and flew into Azuma's outstretched hand like a Jedi reaching out for his light-saber.

Both Edo and Luca pulled back immediately as neither of them had expected our opponent would reclaim his weapon. However, I rushed forward.

I banked on Fool's Insight giving me an advantage against Azuma because there was no way we could allow him to recover.

My blade sang. His spear came forward. Our weapons clashed.

One, two, three, four, five—we sent a chain of attacks against each other. Each would-be deathblow repelled by the other's weapon. Each strike met by a counter that was parried or blocked again and again.

The mud beneath our feet flew back under the intensity of our death dance. The surrounding air swished violently as our arms moved against each other at near-superhuman speeds.

Azuma was definitely better than me in every way. He was stronger. More skilled. Hardier. And he was unkillable. But my one advantage was that I could see his attacks before they came just by taking into account the minuscule movements of his body. A simple twitch of a muscle or angling of his foot was enough to give me insight on his next attack.

I couldn't tell you how long we fought. Only that it felt like hours even though only minutes must have passed. In that time, sweat streaked down my face and soaked my inner clothes like the rain hadn't stopped. Blood dripped out of the many cuts made by Azuma's spear as I wasn't able to dodge all of his attacks.

The others could only watch desperately. They knew better than to interfere in a deathmatch where one wrong move, one callous mistake meant death.

Through the haze and pressure being exerted, I looked into Azuma's face and saw that he was smiling. The battle freak was enjoying the fight, and to be honest, I think I did too. I didn't have a wide grin on my face but each attack I blocked sent a jolt of confidence into me. After all, I was going toe-to-toe with one of the Magesong clan's best and it wasn't too one-sided.

The ground rumbling interrupted us. We heard the roar of the earth somewhere to the south of us, and I guess Varda was able to pull off one last mudslide.

Both Azuma and I clashed one final time with my falchion's shadowblade resting on his spear's black steel handle.

"Looks like I win," I said.

Azuma's eyes narrowed. "I could still kill you."

"Sure... you probably will if we kept this up," I answered honestly because as we held our positions, I could already feel my body losing strength. My vision was blurring more and more. "But then you'd lose your entire force. For a commander like you... that would be a bigger blow than dying now..."

Azuma's brow creased and I could tell he was weighing his options.

A loud, booming horn broke the silence of the night. It was the sound of reinforcements arriving by the western hillside, in the same direction as Fort Darah.

"It's my win," I proclaimed more certainly now.

Azuma pushed down harder on my falchion and I barely had enough strength to push back.

It was at this moment that both Edo and Luca intervened.

The weapons came down on Azuma's flanks and would have cut him in two too if he hadn't pulled back in that instant.

My strength failed me then, and I would have fallen to my knees if Aura hadn't caught me by the shoulders and held me up.

Edo and Luca took positions in front of us to guard us.

Even as Azuma stood before us, we could see the wounds I'd inflicted slowly stitching themselves together, although it was much slower than before when the wounds Luca and Edo dealt him healed. Perhaps there was a limit to his regeneration.

His armor was a mess. The grey cloak behind him was ripped. Still, there was a wide grin plastered on his face.

"I haven't lost yet, boy..." He held his spear aloft in one hand. "Not until one of us is dead..."

After saying this most ominous of phrases, Azuma pulled out a horn he'd been hiding behind him and blew on it.

The sound was loud and clear. It was a signal to retreat.

Azuma saluted me with his free hand. "Let's meet again soon."

Then he turned his back on us and climbed down the hill. None of us followed him. We all knew better than to poke the tiger.

"I think you just made a rival, Dean..." Luca commented.

"Yep," I answered depressingly. Of all the people to antagonize.

"I guess I should start planning your funeral," Luca sheathed his broadsword's shadowblade. "Maybe sell tickets."

"I doubt anyone would turn up," Aura noted.

They both laughed but Edo kept silent. His own smile hinted at repressed laughter.

"Hilarious," I said.

And then all four of us laughed. It was the hysterical kind that told you how thrilled we were to have survived the night. It really was a very long night after all.