Hmph.

Frustrated after only a few attempts, Bathilda gave up her pursuit of speech. Instead, she flew down the pit in annoyance towards the base. The only safe location she knew.

Attempting to join his partner, but failing miserably, Bathilda watched from her perch as Hiro flailed his way down passed the entrance. Without having the same physical practice that Bathilda had, Hiro barely managed to slow his descent before he crashed hard into the bottom of the pit below.

Haha. You should have practiced before jumping down here, Hiro.

With her bad mood lessened thanks to Karma's assisstance, Bathilda giggled down to the unmoving bat. When she didn't receive a reply, however, Bathilda dropped from her perch and glid gracefully down to her partner. Worried that it might be more than his pride that was hurt.

Hey. Are you OK?

"... I'm fine," he grumbled, holding his wing close.

You don't look fine. Are you sure you're not hurt?

She asked again, trying to get a better look at his wing.

"What's that?" Hiro brushed her off with a question of his own. He was staring in the direction of the two tunnels at the bottom of the pit.

Don't try and change the subject, Hiro...

Bathilda began, still trying to ascertain whether or not her leech was as well as he claimed to be. She'd made the fall herself and knows how bad it was. Before she could continue though, it turned out Hiro wasn't trying to skirt the subject.

"Barts!" As he called out, two Barts dashed out from the tunnel Hiro was watching with scary speed.

Come on.

Bathilda urged her companion while taking to the air. She launched a (Wing Slash+) in the process, decapitating the closest monster, but Hiro had yet to make any attempt at flying.

After watching its kin being split into two, the second Bart cried out with a hideous noise. Much worse than the Brats shrieks, its call alerted the rest of the brood to the two intruders presence.

In the darkness, red eyes flash out as echoes of a responding cry ring out through the pit. Aware that a meal has entered their lair, the docile monsters spring to life and charge hungrily out of the tunnel in droves.

Bathilda knew this. She could see it happening real time thanks to (Echolocation+), but what she didn't now was that the monsters knew her. They remembered her. The creature that has crushed and ended the life of their kin had returned, the Barts call announced and every one of them wanting the killing blow for themselves.

Revenge.

They were willing to go so far that they were even snapping at each other as the stampede close the distance rapidly.

As the ground began to shake due to the sheer volume of monsters gathering on their position, the sound of thunder and clawed feet became all Bathilda and Hiro could hear.

Wasting no time, Bathilda decapitated the Brat that was still wailing. It didn't make a dent in the noise that was still echoing out, but instead made it even louder as the incoming monsters roared.

Fly now, Hiro!

From the air above, Bathilda was aghast at the numbers the Barts had come armed with. She couldn't even count them they were that numerous.

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"I'm trying! It's not easy," Hiro tried to call out over the noise, fear lacing each word as he flapped his wings the best he could. Unfortunately, the untrue statements he had cast earlier were coming back to haunt him.

"I lied. My wing hurts like hell and it's hard to even move it. Just go without me. I should return to you if this body disappears, or... Dies, right?"

I don't know! How the hell would I know that? I didn't even know you would be able to hijack my clone in the first place! Nevermind that. If you can't fly, at least use your good wing to try and climb out or something. Go, I'll try and buy you some time!

Bathilda sped towards the incoming horde, leaving Hiro alone to scale the wall of the pit. With little time to act and everything to strive for, Bathilda came to a stop in above the rabid monsters.

Riskyly lowering herself down to the ground, Bathilda took aim at the tunnel the majority of monsters were streaming out from. With Barts as far as the eye could see, there was little chance the Blood Sucking Bat would miss her targets. Just hitting her enemies wasn't what she was aiming for, however. Bathilda was going for maximum efficiency.

Seconds turned to minutes as Bathilda managed to hold the tide. Her attacks felling more and more of the creatures before they could reach her. She released blade after blade of mana-compressed air, cutting down more Barts than she could count with each attack. Her already halved MP was began to run lower and lower, but the stampede of monsters showed no sign of stopping.

More and more Barts charged over the decimated corpses of their fallen kin as her wings began to ache. A hateful rage carrying them towards their prize. Towards Bathilda, the murderous bat still decimating their numbers even now.

Stood infront of a river of blood that was full of severed pieces of Bart and that low on MP that a headache was wafing its own war in her, Bathilda turned to Hiro. Hoping to see that he was a better climber than a flyer, her hopes were dashed when she saw he had barely made any progress towards the base.

With no other options and no time left, Bathilda took to the air as the Barts dived at her. Evading nimbly now that she was becoming a pro at flying, Bathilda flew towards Hiro and did the only thing she could think of. She grabbed the half-sized version of herself with her clawed feet as soon as she for near and ascended as fast as she could.

"Ow! What the hell, Bathilda?" Hiro couldn't help but cry out in pain. Bathilda's claws had dug into him unintentionally. He didn't mean to, but his body flinched in agony. He jerked his head and saw the approaching tide before the roaring sound behind them shut him up.

The Barts were froffing at the mouth, ready to devour the murderer in front of them. Not only once had she harmed their kin, but twice. The notion of her death was a shared ideal spread throughout the pack.

"Fly. Fly. Fly. Fly. Fly." No longer concerned about the grip being used to pull him through the air like a ragdoll, Hiro screamed in panic as Bathilda pushed up with all her might.

Fortunately, little Hiro wasn't too big and Bathilda manages to fly them safely back up to the entrance of their base. Releasing Hiro on the ledge due to his constant complaints, Bathilda landed next to him. She had to turn sideways to fit through the entrance. The decision to not increase the size of the cave before leaving to level up now weighed on her.

Would Hiro even fit?

Even though it wasn't, the entrance seemed much smaller than when she left. Maybe her size had increased along with her levels? Batnhilda wasn't sure. What she was sure of was healing Hiro. Acquiring the skill and mending her companion would come right after she managed to squeeze herself through the undersized entrance.

Why. Can't. I. Get. In.

Wiggling around and sucking it in, Bathilda extended her wings out to get her gut in some more. Unfortunately, she didn't see Hiro at her side and her wing pushed him straight over the edge. Leaving him to plummet to the Bart pack below.

"Bathilda!" Hiro tried to right himself as he fell, but it was too late. Even with the injury from his prior fall, Hiro tried his best to glide with only one wing. Which worked momentarily as he finally managed to figure out how to work the awkward appendages.

His joyous experience was short lived, however. Seconds later Hiro was snatched out of the air by the disgusting teeth of one of the vermin below. Unable to offer aid of any sort as she was stuck inside her entrance, Bathilda could only watch in horror as her life partner the leech was brutally ripped to death a few 100 feet below her.

Closing her eyes, Bathilda forced herself through the entrance of her base where she immediately collapsed to the floor. Her heart broken at her own stupid mistake

Oh, Hiro. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to knock you off. It was an accident. Hiro? Hiro!?

With no response, Bathilda's heart sank at the loss of her companion.

Did he really die with my clone? Shit! I don't want to be alone here. I'm sick of this shitty cave and these shitty rats. It was a novelty before, but... I don't want to be here now... Not now that... T-That Hiro has...

Breaking down, inside and out, Bathilda let it all out. "Heee... Roooo...." she cried.

"Argh! No. Stop! Get the fuck off me."

Still trembling from being ripped apart, the familiar voice of the person inside her head made his presence known.

Hiro! You're alive!