You could hear the war cries behind you and a part of you worried for Butterfli3 but you also knew he could well and truly handle himself so you refocused on where you were running and chased Praetorian down the hall.
Onto the bottom level you both landed and started off down the hall again.
By now, there was unease among the guards, as they had heard the commotion upstairs with people yelling about intruders and were now on high alert.
You heard two guards shout at you and Praetorian from ahead, but before you could yell anything back, Praetorian had pulled his sword out and had lifted it, then, with a two hand grip on the hilt, slashed it down on an angle and obliterated the two guards in one go.
“Run!” he shouted at you, charging forwards again.
“Delilah!” you screamed out at the top of your lungs, “are you here?!”
In the distance ahead, you heard her reply and Praetorian sprinted even faster, focused on getting to her as quickly as possible.
“I don’t think I’m gonna be much help!” you called to him as he pulled ahead of you a little, “I have nothing to fight with!”
“I’ll fight, you get her out!” he called back, swinging his sword again as another guard ran up to him to fight.
You hung back a little as he clashed swords over and over with the guard then finally won and you jumped forward towards the door that you could hear her banging on.
Grabbing for the knob, you rattled it violently, desperate to get in, but the door was locked good and tight.
“Step back!” Praetorian called, swinging his sword down and whacking the door knob off.
As everything fell to the floor, Delilah came stumbling out.
“Please get me out of here!” she cried, throwing herself at you first, then upon seeing Praetorian, falling into his arms.
“Don’t you worry I’m gonna get you out of here,” he said in a deep calming voice, embracing her for a bit to calm her down before taking her hand and giving you a firm look, “let’s get out of here!”
…………………………………….
Upstairs, Butterfli3 was battling away, taking out far more guards than they were able to deal damage to him, as well as keeping an ear out for sounds from you or Praetorian.
“They got the prisoner!” a guard shouted as he entered the room.
“Have they left the building?” another called.
“No, not yet,” the first replied.
“Time for me to make my exit then,” Butterfli3 thought, backing up a little before using his lightening slash to create a glare that would blind them all momentarily so he could make his escape.
After successfully getting out the door, he ran for the stairs and down onto the bottom level. As he reached it he saw Praetorian, Delilah, and yourself, running so took off after you all to catch up.
You were the first to sense him and looked back, grinning when you saw he was alive and well, and gaining on you all.
“Come on! We got her!” you shouted to him.
Getting out of the building was relatively easy as most of the guards were still up on the top level, a little confused as to what had just happened.
A few minutes later you all materialized onto level 44 and headed for the house, panting but still full of energy from that adrenaline fueled adventure.
“Thank you,” Delilah said over and over as you took her up to the house.
“Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you?” you asked her as you helped her up one of the rope ladders.
“No. They didn’t do anything this time,” she said softly.
“This time?” you asked, stepping back as Praetorian lifted her up onto the next floating rock.
“Yeah,” she said softly, “they’re not very nice people. I’m so relieved to be free of them. They uncontracted me so they could harm me but they never got the chance because you all turned up at the right time to save me.”
“I’m glad I was about to be of help,” Praetorian said with a small smile, which she returned with a bashful look.
You looked at Butterfli3 with a small smirk of recognition on your face but he didn’t catch your look and you just shook your head to yourself.
“I need to get these two together, she very obviously likes him and I’m pretty sure that he likes her too…”
Once up inside the house, you all sat down for a little bit to catch your breath and formulate the next part of the plan.
While you talked, Delilah kept looking at Praetorian and you decided to drop some hints to him so that he could take the next steps.
“Hey, uh, Praetorian?” you asked him, cutting into the conversation that was well and truly in full swing.
“Yes?” he asked.
“Can… I have a word?” you asked, standing up and tilting your head towards the door so you could get him away from the other two.
He stood up and glanced at Delilah then turned and followed you out.
“Sorry to pull you away,” you said to him once outside.
“It’s fine. What’s the problem?”
“I know this may be out of line but I’m pretty darn certain Delilah like you… so… you know… if you like her back then…” You did a little gesturing to indicate what he should do and he sighed a little and hung his head.
“Listen… I know we’re not supposed to reveal who we are in game and stuff but… I’m actually… a chick…”
“You— what??”
“I’m a girl. I play as a male character but…”
“Oh… oh?!” you said, blinking with surprise.
“Yeh. I use a voice altering thing so my voice sounds lower too. I dunno it just feels so much freer being a dude.”
“Yeah… I get it. I was… uh…,” you interjected with a chuckle, “I was kinda hoping you and her would get together. You would be a cute couple but I dunno if she swings that way.”
“Well if it helps I’m a lesbian… but yeah…”
“It kinda helps, but that depends on her,” you chuckled.
Just then the door opened and Delilah poked her head out and looked at you both.
“Hey, Praetorian…” she said shyly, “I need to talk to you…”
You smiled at him then her and backed back.
“I’ll be going now,” you said with a wink at her as you passed her to go back into the house, leaving them standing together outside.