I couldn’t help but sag, just a little bit. Facing the stairs, with the perfect angle to see Dimm come down them, and the perfect angle for her to see this crummy situation I was in.

“No sudden movements. Stay right where you are,” the creep said to Danny, from behind me. I didn’t know exactly where he was, but I could still feel the weapon pressed to my back.

Ugh. If I lost it would be one thing, but being held hostage was the worst.

There was another explosion outside. A smaller one from Leo, rather than one of Dimm’s big explosive spells.

“Sorry…”

Dimm gave me a look at that. She did not like me apologising right now, it turns out.

“We have ourselves in a tricky situation,” said the man with the gun to my back. “Y’all’ve killed off my team, and I’d like to get some revenge for that.”

I jumped a little as the barrel pressed more strongly into my back.

“But it’s not a winning move to give up my hostage when that crazy ass Lion is out front.” He paused. “What do you think Miss Mage?”

Another explosion outside.

“I think,” Dimm carefully began. “That you’ll not make it out of here if you hurt my teammate.”

“Now that’s the rub, isn’t it!” I was jostled again. Jeez this creep was annoying. The T-pose he had me standing in was bad enough. My arms were getting sore damnit! “If the Lion doesn’t get me, then another team will, all alone as I am. In here though? Well, I’ve got a whole other team making sure that I place better, just so long as your friend here stays quiet and pretty.”

I could smell the sleeze coming off this bastard. I was almost tempted to make a move and have him shoot me but, umm, part of me said that that would not be the best for my mental health right now. I think Danny would be pretty upset with me if I did that, too.

No, she definitely would. She had that look in her eye where she wouldn’t forgive me if I did something self-sacrificing.

Another explosion.

How many flashbangs had I given to Leo again?

There was a scraping sound by the nearest hole in the wall. I couldn’t actually see what it was, but it apparently spooked king creep because next thing I knew I had his stinking arm around my throat. I instinctively reached a hand to grab it. Throat is a no touch zone! Be he had me in a solid lock now, all still with that stupid gun boring a hole into my side.

“Fuck! I guess the whole family’s here now!”

I still couldn’t see what the heck he was talking about, but Dimm looked tense and the creeper felt it.

“Come the fuck out if you still want a teammate!”

From behind a wall, closer than I expected but still out of reach, out stepped Leo. What the heck! I’m the one who’s supposed to have Stealth Skills! 

Leo sent a pretty scaring looking glare my direction, presumably at the fucker who took me hostage and not myself. Even so it gave me some chills to see. Fucker tightened his grip on my neck, so it must have gotten to him too. I struggled to pull his arm enough that I could still breath regularly, but he was way stronger then…

Wait a second.

“Looks like the whole team is here now.”

“Yep,” Leo replied.

I reached one arm down blindly.

“Still think taking my friend as a hostage was a good idea?” Dimm snapped.

“I think she’s the only thing keeping me in the game.”

This would be a lot easier if I could see. Flashbangs were gone…

“Think I’ll take my chances waiting here until someone else comes along. Maybe they get me. Maybe you do. But who knows? Might make it to the next round before either happens.”

There! Found the lump in my pants. Just reach into the pocket.

Leo and Dimm gave an uneasy look to one another. They obviously didn’t agree, but they didn’t know how to push the situation without getting me shot. At least, they didn’t look like they did.

Welp. I hope I remembered to charge this thing.

PEW!

I, a rogue, managed to get my hand into my pocket, where my original windup pistol was waiting.

I, a brilliant genius, managed to pull it out without creeper supreme noticing and even aim it at him in an awkward-ass grip.

I, a buffoon, used an electric weapon against someone who had me in a neck lock.

My body convulsed, even as I was pushed violently to the ground. The convulsions lasted only a second, but they hurt, damnit. It was a small consolation that whatever I felt, it was certainly worse for the primary target.

I shook sense into my head and rolled over, deciding it was faster than standing, to point my pistol at the man.

The creepazoid wore a black longcoat and matching wide-brimmed hat on top of leather. He had one revolver on the ground and another in a holster on his hip. And of course, he had a greasy looking mustache. Maybe he just really liked cosplaying cheesy villains?

Anyway, he was on one knee right now, one hand stabilizing him on the ground and the other reaching out for his dropped gun.

Creep-Stache froze for a moment while I stared him down, gun pointed at his stupid face...well, slightly below his stupid face. Center of mass and all that.

I squeezed and he rolled. My shot went wide, accuracy a foreign concept to my weapon, and he picked up his pistol. That might have been that, had I been alone.

Fortunately, a moment later an explosion of steam went off around us, uncomfortably hot but not scalding, and I did some rolling of my own while my stealth skill took over and got me out of dodge.

Meanwhile Leo charged in. Mace in one hand and shield in the other. The villain opened fire on her, but she deflected the bullets with her shield and closed in. The shield bashed his gun arm aside, just long enough for the mace to come down. 

He dodged, quick enough to avoid a fatal blow, but not so fast that he didn’t have a bloody off-hand. Still, his gun arm was coming back around, Leo’s shield out of position to defend.

She dropped the mace instead. And in an instant was holding something new. She pressed it against his chest.

It lit up like the sun.

The Flash Pistol took the fucker right in the chest. Only a twitching, smoking husk was left. My mods to the weapon gave it only a single shot before needing to replace the battery, but blowing the whole-ass load in the flash pistol was enough to do serious damage to someone dumb enough to take a direct hit from it.

I breathed out a sigh of relief, then ran over to my friends. I needed a fucking hug!