Sensations crept through his body, and his back seethed in pain.

The sound of trickling water faded in, and with it, Cassius felt subtle waves of water splash against his posterior. Then a sudden burst of pain left his throat as he shot up from his back, throwing up water from his throat. His eyes scanned the surroundings. Dark, wet cavern walls wrapped around him, a hole in the ceiling casted a pillar of light down on a pool of water in the middle. Another surge of pain in his back caused him to lay back down on the rocks, giving him sight of Nelia who stood behind him.

“Good, you’re awake…” Nelia walked around his sprawled body, her armor clearly had some dents, but she didn’t take the brunt of the impact. She sighed and looked up at the wide pillar of light, “How’re we getting up there?”

Cassius rubbed his face and sat back up again, slowly. “What happened…?”

Nelia turned back to him and extended her hand down to him, “I think I saw it, the thing you were scared of. It was only for a split second, but…it must’ve hit us far.”

So, I’m not crazy…that’s confirmation at least. Wait—scared? I wasn’t…Anyway, that’s not important right now.

“Oh!” She suddenly exclaims, running to the pool of water in the center of the cave. Cassius watched with curiosity as she dipped her upper body in before pulling out her spear and tossing it onto the rocks. “This is how we’ll get out of here. I’m not sure how, but it’s our only option.” She wrings out her soaked hair and turned back to the pool with a sudden look of fascination in her eyes, “Wait, Cassius! It’s a pool! A real, genuine pool!”

Cassius raised his brow and murmured, “Yeah, so?”

“I haven’t swam in so long…” She ran her hand in the water, when she suddenly snapped up with a stern face.

“Ugh! Not the time! Time and place…” she preached to herself. “Okay, let’s get out of here.” She sighed and squatted down to pick up her spear, and tested its drilling phial. It clicked and its whir echoed through the cavern.

Cassius slowly got up, avoiding straining his back, and asked, “What’s your plan?”

Nelia pressed her drill against the cavern wall and clicked the phial, causing it to dig into the rock until she turned it off again.

“Digging straight up might not be a good idea, since it could cause a collapse. So then…” she trailed off as she placed her foot into the hole from the drill, “…we climb up using footholds.”

Without a word, Cassius watched as she continued to drill footholds into the wall until, perhaps half an hour later, she had hit the top. As much as the frown on Cassius’ face wanted to stay, he sighed and let it go.

She waved down, the pillar of light beaming directly on her as she shouted, “Come up!” So he did, and he crawled to his feet as he reached the surface. Nelia was already standing further away, dead silent, looking somewhere. Cassius walked closer to her; her eyes were wide and still.

In the distance was a tall range of strange mountains curved into crescents which defied the laws of nature. Between them was an endless, bright meadow abundant in flora and…Aberrō. Both of their radars blinked red wildly. Wolves, rabbits, bipedal fish, some abhorrent amalgams of both—all walking aimlessly with their eyes and bodies twitching. Small, freshly laid craters in the shape of an amphibian foot caught Cassius’ attention first. The footprints were pointing behind them. The giant must have come from here—or whatever’s beyond here.

“How far are we from the barracks?” Nelia broke the silence as she looked back, scanning the forest they had come out of. Cassius kept looking forward, squinting his eyes to look at something moving in the distance among the Aberrō. It appeared to be wearing some sort of robe with instruments coming out of each sleeve. It danced wildly with its bobbing head and flailing robe, “What is—what is that? Do you see—”

“It’s going towards the barracks!” Nelia interrupted, grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him back. Above the treeline was that monster again, and beyond it—Aeternum. “Hurry up!” She sheathed her spear and ran back through the dark woods. Cassius stood there wide-eyed, looking back at the nigh-infinite meadow. Then back at that vile forest. The boiling heat inside him told him to go forward. It’s right there. Everything else lies just beyond here.

He bit his lip as he battled his instincts, looking out at the meadow’s herds of Aberrō. Images of his mauled body resting in the short blades of crimson grass flashed in his mind with his quickened breathe. He had no choice.

———

Valerio marched back and forth on the dusty land as her looked over the line of young Fenders in front of him.

“Alright guys and gals, it’s time for your daily lecture!” He commanded smugly, ignoring their yawns and sleepy forms. Grace watched from the barracks door with wandering eyes and furrowed brows.

Han spoke up from the group with a raised hand, “Can I do something else, V? I don’t thi—“

Valerio’s guttural roar pierced the air and his words dragged from his mouth, “Shut—Shut up! Don’t call me that!”

“Sheesh…”

Valerio clapped his hands and cleared his throat dramatically, “Before I was so rudely interrupted, I was gonna tell you that today is—before you get mad at me, this was not my idea—cardio training!”

Before the group could begin pouting, Valerio exclaimed, “Boo…yeah, whatever! No complainin’.” He looked at them and murmured under his breath.

Shit, I just noticed I don’t know half this group’s names. Improv time…

Valerio pointed at Han, “You! Han! You lead the running, yeah? Hour-long jog, everyone! Can’t have the suits outperform us!”

Han narrowed his eyes and grumbled, “Aye, captain…” before he started to jog around the barracks followed by the rest of the group. Valerio looked at Grace with a smug grin on his face. She glanced at him, scoffed, and continued looking around—which prompted Valerio to approach.

“Somethin’ up? What’re ya actin’ so weird for?” He asks, leaning on the door beside her.

“I’m not acting weird—I’m simply the only one that’s noticed we’re missing three of us.”

“Oh, uh…” Valerio looked around aimlessly while scratching the back of his neck, trying not to look at her and look as if he’s searching as well. “…Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.”

“One of the missing people happens to be Cassius,” she started casually, then took a deeper voice as she looked up at Valerio, “And you happened to be the one in charge of making sure he slept inside, isn’t that right?”

Valerio’s heart stopped and his face scrunched. I’m so screwed.

“…Well, maybe they went out to, like, eat some wild berries? I saw ‘em a couple days back in the forest and they uh—they looked…pretty good.” His ramble ended in a high-pitched squeak with his back slouched, wincing as if he’d already been smacked.

Grace started walking back inside and tugged Valerio’s shirt to follow her. “For all we know, Cassius could have died hours ago and the other two died trying to find him. Armory, now.”

Just as Valerio opened his mouth to speak, both of their watches rang out. One red dot in the forest pulsed on the built-in map.

“One? Only one? How did it get this close without detection?” Grace sighed as she speed-walked back to the door and opened it, “You go ahead and get ready, I’ll go see what it is.”

As she stepped outside, she looked at the edge of the forest. There was nothing there but a great shadow over the trees. She looked up and saw it. The giant Aberrō’s foot rose from the forest floor and landed on the dusty expanse between the forest and Aeternum. Grace’s lips trembled, her head whipped around to the running Fenders to yell, “It’s an—It’s an Aberrō! Get to the armory, now!” The Fenders looked at her with bewilderment, but Han looked up. His eyes and mouth wide with awe, he witnessed the giant crash to the floor on all fours with an eruption of dust and dirt.

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“Did you see that?! That thing’s insane!” Han exclaimed to the others. One of the young Fenders groaned, “No! What’s there to see? That cloud o’ dirt?!! Then the rest of them followed, unaware of the looming threat.

Valerio runs outside wearing his armor, sword and shield in hand. He yelled back as he ran to the front of the barracks, “What’re you doin’?! Get to the armory! Hurry!” The massive cloud of dust in the distance blew away as the giant’s long, reptilian appendages crawled closer, steadily increasing pace.

What in the world is that?! No way that’s an Aberrō! He clutched his shield tighter and his knuckles whitened as he watched the giant’s glossy, bulging eyes meet his own. My sword won’t do shit to all that. This is all I got.

The Aberrō’s stride in and of itself was forceful, like an immovable wall closing in to reduce them to paste. Valerio exhaled the hesitance in his lungs in a low whistle and got down on one knee, bracing himself. “Grace!” He yelled out to her, though his voice was barely heard past the quakes of the giant’s feet, “Get me a Boost! I think I’m gonna need one!”

“I’m on it!” Grace ran inside and came back suited in the armor, along with the other fenders. Valerio’s fingers twitched on the phial as Grace and Han ran to his side. The head of Han’s axe crashed to the ground behind Han as he held the handle up. The quakes got louder with each passing second and the Aberrō grew ever-closer.

“Now!” Valerio clicked the phial in his shield twice and a huge, blue projection encompassed the front of the barracks. “Get ready to hit him, brat!” He braced for impact, putting all his weight down onto the shield. The Aberrō’s maw opened wide, its slobbering jaw dragging across the earth as it collided with the shield with a echoed clang. Valerio’s shins scraped against the ground; The Aberrō was pushing him back.

Valerio’s breath hastened and sweat dripped down his cheek as he thought, Shit…it’s gonna break at any moment now…! And even if I manage to hold it off… All sound muffled around him. His eyes locked on to the Aberrō’s. A dark storm brewed inside, like the unyielding, remorseless forces of nature.

Crack!

A rush of blood reached his arms, Valerio’s veins popping in resistance. Grace took hold of the shield with Valerio and stuffed the glowing Boost phial next to the Shield phial, then clicked it in. The shield projection radiated blue and swelled, pushing the giant back. Valerio’s grunts and groans were drowned out by the Aberrō’s repeated crashes against the shield. Slowly but surely, he dragged his legs forward.

“Hit him now!”

And with practiced ease, Han clicked the phial on his axe, making it as light as a wooden stick. Propelled by the armor's boots, Han jumps high above the Aberrō’s head and clicks the phial again, sending him plummeting down to the back of the giant's head with a wide swing. The axe penetrated the skin and slammed the Aberrō to the ground. Dust blew all over, and as Han was about to strike it again, he pulled at the axe to no avail, It was still lodged inside.

“It’s—it’s stuck!” Han yelled as the Aberrō reared its head and stood up on all fours again. Han dangled in the air by the handle of his axe and black blood flowed from the wound.

“I can’t see him! You see him?!” Valerio held the shield steady as the other Fenders brought out their rifles and began shooting at its chest. “Hey! Watch where you’re shooting, we don’t know where he is!”

“Pay attention, Valerio!” Grace shouted past the gunfire, pointing up at the Aberrō. Its maw opened wide and a deep, guttural sound came from its bulging throat. Without a word, Grace clicked the phial in her gloves and pressed them against the shield projection, hardening it and sealing its cracks. She’s sweating hard, Valerio thought, then looked at his own reflection in the shine of the shield, Shit, me too…Wait a minute!

———

As the balloon in the Aberrō’s throat grew, Han felt the heat the most. The tip of the axe began loosening from the skin, but the heat was starting to seep into his arm’s armor. Han’s eyes widened in panic. With one last pull, the axe came out. The wind blew past his helmet as he slid down the Aberrō’s back; his armor scratched against its rough scales. Looking down for somewhere to land, he noticed the Aberrō’s tail coiled around something. With a squinted eye, Han noticed Carto, writhing in the grasp of its tail.

“Carto?!” Han yelled out to him. Carto’s eyes snapped up to meet him as he approached, skidding himself to a stop in front of him with his axe.

“Hurry,” Carto nodded to his back, where his rifle dangled out of the tail’s grasp, “Grab it and shoot the tail!”

Han snatched the rifle and steadied himself on the giant’s shifting tail and pulled the trigger, burrowing the bullet deep into its skin. The Aberrō let out a guttural roar from its throat and shook both of them off, sending them tumbling to the dirt behind it. Han tried to clutch his chest through his armor as he laid on the ground in a wheezing fit. Carto ran to his side and kneeled down to press the red button on his collar. The red hot armor opened like an exoskeleton, revealing Han’s sweltering form. “Go…” He gasped through heavy breaths and held up a shaky thumbs up. “I’ll be right behind ya…”

Carto chewed his lip and glanced back at his tossed rifle, then back to Han. He muttered, “Stay safe,” and ran off with his boots kicking off the ground. With the rifle now in hand, he looked up at the giant Aberrō’s throat, then to the projected shield, cracking under pressure.

Suddenly, a piercing, drawn-out sound rang out from the forest. The Aberro’s eyes twitched and dilated. A sharp pain bursted blood in the Fenders’ ears, but Valerio held strong. The oppressive eyes of the Aberro veered away from him. Valerio looked back to find its new target: Aeternum. A deep, knowing dread filled his stomach.

There’s no way. It’s going right past us. Valerio looked at Grace who had a similar look in her eyes. His hand trembled in grasping the shield and he squeezed his eyes shut. There’s no way…

The Aberro’s focused eyes bugged wildly before its spasming throat released a maelstrom of baleful blue fire right above them. The heat itself felt loud, drowning everything in its intensity. Weakness drove itself through Valerio’s limbs as he looked back at Aeternum.

…It’s going so far, so fast…Shit…Somethin’s eating me up inside. I'm still missing somethin’! Valerio shut his eyes again, feeling the heat waves brush his eyelids.

“Valerio!” Grace gasped through bundles of air. Valerio opened his eyes. From the shell of Aeternum shot a blazing, red inferno of Fire that engulfed the blue flame in seconds. It spread through the air like veins until it reached the Aberrō. It closed its mouth and raised its hands to block the surge of Fire. Like the jaws of a beast, the Aberrō was engulfed too and erupted into flames. An ear-piercing screech echoed in the air as it flailed its arms and legs against the shield, pushing Valerio back against the ground.

Still gasping for air and scrambling on her knees, Grace touched the projection with her gloves and clicked the phial. A faint blue energy ran through the projection to attempt to mend the cracks, but it was easily outdone.

The shield shattered.

———

One minute earlier

“No, no, no!” Nelia sprinted through the forest ahead of Cassius, stumbling over loose branches and fallen logs. Past the treetops was the flaming giant, screeching and wailing in pain. Cassius followed behind her, clutching his club tightly in his hand with a conflicted look on his face. He bit his lip and thought, God damn it…This is…

Cassius shook his head free of doubts and ran past Nelia and onto the field. There they were: the Fenders huddled in fear, Valerio and Grace holding the shield with all their might. Carto was off to the side with his hands trembling on the rifle, A dozen years of battle flashed in Cassius’ head. There was only one way this would work.

Carto, shoot!

A guttural roar erupted from the engulfed beast as it struck the shield’s projection again, shattering it to shards. Carto still hasn’t shot. Cassius clicked the phial in his club, making it rattle in his hands. He swung it repeatedly to the ground, absorbing the kinetic energy from the impacts. The wind blew in his ear and the rattling grew wildly with each hit.

The giant’s tail slammed on the ground and swung across the field, narrowly missing Cassius, but flinging straight to the barracks. An echoing blast rang out as a bullet went straight through the tail, knocking it back just in time.

Now I have time! Cassius ran to the Fenders, still gathering more energy in his club. “Hey! Get up! I need to use that shield!”

Valerio looked up at him with half-lidded eyes and groaned, “But it’s…it won’t do anything…”

Behind him, the Aberrō’s palm was preparing to squash them and casted a shadow over Cassius.

The sharp whirring of Nelia’s drill pierced through the hot air and dug into its arm, holding it to the ground. Nelia whipped her head around to Cassius and yelled, “Hurry up! I—“ She grunted, holding it down with all her strength, “—I can’t hold it for long!”

Cassius turned back to Valerio and, without words, swung his club at his shield, knocking him back considerably. A bright energy whirred inside the club’s metal frame as its phial locked in place.

“It’s ready.” Cassius clutched the club in his hand firmly and ran back, racing up the Aberro’s hand and past Nelia. The Aberrō’s burnt face glared at him with its deep, scrambled eyes. Its mangled maw opened and its long tongue snaked out to shoot at Cassius. A bullet pierced it just as soon as it would strike, eliciting a roar from the Aberrō.

That kid’s good…

Cassius ran up the Aberrō’s shoulder, nearly stumbling on the seared scales and drew back his arms to swing at its jaw. Nelia yelped from below, and the arm began to move again. Only a few seconds left…

Spit flew in his face as the dark void of its mouth drew closer. Right at the jaw… he thought with a deep breath, …Grit your teeth and strike!

Crack!

The energy in the club sparked and released in a burst of red bolts. The hot wind blasted away from the shockwave and the Aberrō’s neck snapped around to its back. A resounding hiss left its mangled throat. Its eyes relaxed into the back of its head as gravity began to take its course. Cassius scanned over the Fenders and the barracks. Damn it, not on the barracks! A problem, even after death…

“Get away! Get them away from the barracks!” Cassius yelled out, clinging to a loose scale as the Aberrō’s descent began.

Nelia bit her lip and looked up at the falling giant, then back at the barracks. She shook her head and jumped to action, grabbing Valerio and Grace and dashing away from the barracks. The rest of the Fenders had already retreated far away themselves. Finally, the Aberrō crashed onto the barracks, erupting in a deluge of smoke and debris.