The Least Common Denominator

V.II Hidden Variable

*SHIIIIIINNGGGG!!*

"AArgh!!"

Surprise colored my face as the blade went through the armor like a hot knife through butter. The resistance was almost non-existent as the blade seemed to keep its momentum; going further and further down the tin can's back as it exposed the now bleeding flesh beneath the metal.

"AAAARGGGGH!!"

The man shouted in agony as his spine was horrifically exposed in one fell swoop. All the while, I stared dumbfounded at the damage that I had inflicted.

*SQUEEEELCH!!*

This wasn't right. It should've been as simple one-and-done thing; stab and move on. Even now, I should be trying to get this dude to shut up, preferably by killing him. This is borderline torture.

*Thud*

I stared as the guard fell on the floor, bleeding profusely as his life slowly seeped out of him. Red stained the floor in a forming puddle as his last throes eventually ended in a gurgled whimper. It was cathartic, in a weird, sadistic sort of way I guess.

Shaking myself out of my stupor, I quickly signaled for Olivia to come to my location and help me hide the body. Giving her back her shortsword, I then started pulling the metal-laden corpse away from the doorway. The blood might be a dead giveaway when someone catches a glimpse of it, but it's still a whole lot better than a cooling body littered across the floor.

"Anyone behind us?" I asked Olivia as I finished propping the body up behind a corner.

"Nothing so far, sis." She whispered back to me. "What now?"

My mind stalled as the question lingered in my head for far too long than I cared to admit. Was there any way for us to even escape a garrisoned barracks? Oh god, my pessimism was showing again.

I put a hand to my chin as I tried to think up a decent plan out of this mess. The shortsword was proven effective in killing quickly should its user know how to do it properly, which I did not. But it's a whole lot better than lugging around an unsheathed katana everywhere. And I think I'm thinking in circles now. Damn, this wasn't how I wanted my life to go about!

*Is that blood?*

"Uhm.. sis?"

I didn't want this, I'm a fucking murderer now. Wasn't I supposed to be saving lives? I was a doctor for crying out loud! I don't know what I'm doing anymore...

*ASSASSINS!*

"Sis!"

I felt a hand tug me forward as Olivia seemed to pull me out of the building and into the courtyard. Heavy footfalls followed us as I slowly started to regain my bearings once more.

*Stop right there!*

I found myself running now as I pulled out my arm from my sister's grip. A cold feeling washed over me as I pulled out my katana in preparation for what's about to come. In front of me, Olivia seems to have already gotten the memo as she held her sword in her right hand as we ran.

*INTRUDERS! BY DECREE OF EMPEROR BABBAGE, YOU ARE TO STOP THIS INSTANT OR FACE EXECUTION!*

The voice seemed to come from all around us as we turned towards a tunnel that connects this one courtyard onto the next. There were already a few handfuls of tin cans rushing at us at full speed, their halberds raised as if trying to skewer us before even giving us a chance to surrender.

*WE KNOW YOU'RE BEHIND THAT PILLAR, ASSASSIN! SURRENDER NOW, AND THE EMPEROR MIGHT EVEN REWARD YOU FOR YOUR AUDACIOUS ATTEMPT!*

"Sis?!" Olivia panted as we managed to duck behind a pillar. "What're we gonna do?!"

So they think we're assassins, somehow. Technically correct since I did kill one of their finest warriors. but they still think that we haven't done anything yet beyond killing that one guard they spotted. How the fuck are they this incompetent?!

"We run." No way in hell were we gonna get something like a reward from the Emperor that normalized legal slavery. "We need to find an exit somewhere."

*ASSASSINS, THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! SURRENDER, OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES!*

The voice echoed around us as we crouched down behind the pillar. How was it even happening anyway? Did they find a way to mimic P.A. systems with primitive equipment or something? I glanced back down to my katana, its runes shimmering in the shadows as they did their job in making the already deadly blade even deadlier. Let's see what in this thing then...

A cursory look already told me that it's of my own make; my runic signature being a blatant rip-off of the Caduceus symbol resting at the base of the pommel. So I did make the damn thing. What else... Long wavelengths signifying intermediate flexibility, with the usual right angles at the base of the blade for hardness. And....

Nothing else.

*TIME'S UP, ASSASSIN! FACE THE WRATH OF THE EMPEROR'S DECIMAL GUARD!*

I was shaken out of my disbelief as the flamboyant speaker all but announced that they were going to attack. Decimal guards? So that's what they call the tin cans here?

My eyes scanned our current surroundings, the courtyard that we now found ourselves in being rather sparse in terms of decent cover or resources. Not even a fountain in sight. I was about to call it quits when I spotted something in my panic; a large familiar doorway, its massive wooden doors open for all of the world to see.

"Let's go!" I pulled Olivia with me as I elected to make a beeline for that massive tunnel. "Follow me and keep your guard up!"

I didn't have the time to look for her nod in understanding as just as I was about to round the pillar, a Decimal was already blocking the way.

"For the Emperor!"

*CLANG!*

Instincts suddenly took over as I quickly raised my katana up in order to block; intercepting the halberd and redirecting it down towards the ground. The tin can looked somewhat mortified by my act, judging from the fact that he stood still long enough for us to make a run for it.

"C'mon 'Livia!"

We made a mad dash across the empty courtyard, narrowly dodging the surprisingly slow Decimals and their halberd swings. Reaching the open door, we instantly followed it down towards whatever it may have led. if my memories were correct it should lead us back down to the place where we first languished in for over a month. There's no other option now. Already, more Decimals trailed behind us, shouting at us to stop before they were forced to take more dire actions or whatever. Beside me, Olivia pushed forward, a hint of recognition already present in her eyes as we headed deeper towards the familiar orange glow.

These were the cards we were dealt with. My decisions might've colored it, but I just have to make it work somehow.

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