The hydra snuck into the chamber with death in its thoughts. Finally, there was a foe that seemed like it would be able to defeat in combat. All the heads were sick of being surrounded, brutalized, or caught by surprise by something that they couldn't have predicted.

With extreme care, the hydra approached. Restrict movement nullified the sound of its movement, and status control enabled perfect navigation of the pitch-black space. Their final skill wriggled on each head's bleeding lips as they aimed the perfect kill blow against the monstrous mother.

The fourth head, sleeping and still all this time, shifted and let loose a protracted grumble.

Stillness fell over the chamber as every living creature froze at the sound. Then things happened very fast.

The hydra heads lashed out with their bloody jaws as they briefly turned blind as their two control powers struggled to contain the shocked monster. It jerked away from them, lashing out with its tail, but the combination of surprise and unfamiliar powers stemied it long enough for the hydra teeth to sink in.

Vampiric blood instantly wriggled its way through the thick hide and began poisoning the massive creature. This further opened up the wounds, allowing the heads to open the flesh even further. The creature retaliated with its teeth and tail, but their multiple heads and some clever use of their powers meant that they avoided or shrugged off each hit.

Lost in bloodlust, Google lashed out blindly at everything moving in their surroundings. At first, the only target was the flank of the struggling snake monster, but after the snake monster bucked violently for the third time, the hydra's third head turned its attention onto one of the great creature's brood.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

The small thing barely whimpered as vampiric blood and sharp teeth sent it to the afterlife. Google barely seemed to notice, turning back to digging and chewing. The reaction from the mother, however, was massively different.

A terrible roar shook the walls of the underground cavern. In a move of unprecedented speed, the monster spun around and struck the hydra with blinding power.

/r 1d4

-> 3

The reinforced scaly tail smashed into Google's head with the power of a wrecking ball—but unlike a wrecking ball, the end of the tail was edged. Even with all the slowing of Aevum's Brand, the tail slammed into Google's lower jaw and just kept going. Wriggling blood erupted into the air, but halfway into the air, Google's eyes dulled, and the blood lost all animation.

The fourth—as of yet unnamed head—looked blearily at the decapitated neck waving beside it as Max and Aevum sprang into action. A series of instant communications between the two separate intelligences ensured their actions were unified. Slow fields sprang up around them, targeting the younglings, and focused effort on their own status ensured that they were fast enough to snatch up the terrified creatures.

Their foe responded in kind, managing to gather up slightly more than half of the soft brood. After the mad scramble, the two sides paused to stare at each other as if unsure how to continue. The hydra doubted it could kill the large mother without Google's damaging Brand, and the mother appeared unwilling to attack when its brood stood between it and its foe.

Slowly, as if hesitant, the burrowing snake creature let loose a gentle but pleading growl. It raised a large finned forelimb and scooped out a piece of the nearby wall as if it were sand, revealing a small storage cubby. The gentle vibrations permeating everything by this point allowed the hydra to sense inside with tremor sense.

It was an array of three glass vials. A quick check with status control revealed their purpose.

1) a quick-acting potion of firebreathing

2) an enhanced duration potion of water breathing

3) a restorative draught of greater healing

The snake creature gestured with its snout once at the three potions, then carefully at its brood, shivering under the hydra's claws. The trade seemed obvious. The potions for the brood.

What do you do?

[[A hard decision]]