On the South Eastern Plains - CDU Training Division 067 - Commanding Leader - Amanda M Lee

Time to Exercise Expiration: 24 minutes and 43 seconds remaining.

[Captain, can we make it?]

Amanda asked the captain who sat beside her on the tank. She kept an eye out on the nearby treeline, hoping that they wouldn’t run into any more swarms of constructs. It was taking all her effort to keep calm and assess the situation. Giving orders was becoming difficult as time passed.

She had many questions she wanted to ask. Was she doing alright? What were the opinions of everyone? As a social bee, these details seemed crucial to her. But, trying to get to know your fellow comrade on the battlefield was like trying to talk while on a tightrope. Not a really accommodating situation for chit chat.

Tensions were high as they moved to their target, and the thought of something going wrong loomed over everyone. Looking unphased, it took the captain a minute and then he nodded. According to his tactical HUD’s calculations, they’d need to book it for the next 20 minutes, going as fast as they could to reach the target.

[Ma’am, from what I can tell, we can make it.]

[I see, Good work.]

[Thank you ma’am, I keep running the numbers to make sure we’re on schedule. Do you.. Need a break?]

Amanda shook her head. [No, I’m fine. In fact, if I did take a break, I might pass out.]

She tried to make it sound like a joke, though the captain frowned. He could see the battle fatigue on her a mile away, the narrowed eyes, the tense hands, and most of all the listlessness in her voice.

She wanted it to be over already, but she knew she couldn’t stop now. Believe or not, this was still the beginning of the Practical Class. The thought made Amanda sigh and she laid her back to the armor plate of the tank’s gun. Staring off into the distant horizon, she was tense and ready to fire off a volley of ice arrows if anything came their way.

She was on guard. Too on guard, the Captain thought.

Giving her some space, the captain turned his attention to his Tactical HUD. He wasn’t going to tell Amanda what to do, he thought her wariness was enduring. A trait well liked among people he wanted on his side.

Hopeful in his calculation, the captain felt that victory was so close, they needed to only get to the destination on time. By now, they expected that the front lines had pushed to point Bravo. The comms chatter was a mess, but it was clear enough to tell that fighting at the front had shifted.

They could already see their allies pouring into the goal. They most likely were the upperclassmen from Andromeda and the more experienced CDU and CAU trainees. All of them seemed to have a commonality the Captain and Amanda both shared, which was getting out of this hellish war games exercise.

The river of madly rushing greens dots on the tactical map gave it away.

The captain sighed in relief, and took a few more seconds to double check their route on the map. He didn’t rush since planning an efficient course to point Bravo took time. The fastest path was their only choice.

It would be a bumpy ride over some rocky and rolling plains, but it was a fair price for their salvation out of here. The Captain blinked and nodded again.

[Ma’am, double checking and judging the situation, some of the frontline has already made it to point Bravo. With our speed of 40 miles per hour with the tank and jeep, we can make the distance. We’re cutting it close though, and, huh?]

Something caught the captain's attention, he pressed his earpiece and his face contorted into a frown. He paused, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Lines of information rushed across the vertical side of his HUD’s view.

Because it was invisible to Amanda, she had no clue as to what had made him stutter so suddenly. Her own HUS’s map seemed normal.

[Captain? What’s wrong?] Asked Amanda. [Has something happened? Are there more enemies?] She gathered her core energy to preempt an attack and so did Stella.

[I’m not sure.] Said the Captain. His eyes darted around and Amanda could tell that he was manipulating the HUD’s more complex tools. Comms or maybe the tactical forecaster.

[I’m getting a lot of chatter on long range comms. The other divisions I was in contact with just..] A hard gulp went down the Captain's throat, he continued, his voice hoarse and afraid. [They just went dark.]

[What? That’s impossible! How many more enemies are there?]

Amanda took stock of the map, toggling the long range radar. Her earpiece had many more features than just the tactical map. It had both long range and short radar built in, though it took Amanda some time to know how to use it.

Enlarging and looking for any abnormalities on the tactical map, she pulsed the radar and couldn't make out much. On the left side of her view there was a bunch of military jargon she had no clue of understanding. Coordinates? Some kind of latitude? Or maybe it was encrypted comms or key words?

The words like “BLDE” or “RED”, along with many other keywords played across the fully expanded map. So many features, and so little time to get a clue on how to figure them out. She tried as best she could to keep an eye on the green blips, but they darted in and out of her earpiece’s sensor detection.

Strange? This didn’t happen before. Was it a faulty signal or are we being jammed by the opposing team?

[Will this be an issue to our goal?] Amanda asked, the pit of her stomach began to cramp, but she continued to keep the goal in view. She wasn’t going to lose now.

[Perhaps.] The captain answered. [Those teams we were in contact with were supposed to report their situation and met us along the way. Something might be interfering with our equipment? Maybe? This is a first for me..]

He tapped a finger on the side of his head. [.. No, wait.] Shaking his head, the captain denied such a possibility.

His tone went more serious and lower than his young appearance seemed to have. It was uncanny for Amanda. The captain’s face suddenly dropped, like he had seen or come upon information that he would’ve been better off not knowing.

[The battle in the air should still be raging.] He said. [There haven’t been any issues, so that means.. Oh no.] His voice dropped deeper in his throat, he could feel his heart tumbling in anxiety.

[What is it?]

Instead of answering Amanda, the captain radioed everyone over comms.

[Drivers! Push the pedal to the metal! Now!]

[What?! Why? Captain, if we do, we might overload the engines. They’ve taken some damage, so if we-]

[I don’t want to hear it! We’re going to be trapped if we don’t.. Shit! It’s Too late!]

Confused by his cursing, everyone tensed when the air grew hot and a howl went up. The low sounding echo ran across the gray sky. The group felt as if something was hunting them now.

What was it? It sounded like a wolf, but the tone was deep, fiery, even monstrous. What was coming for them?

[Wolves?] Spotting it with his rifle’s scope, a grunt stood up from atop the tank. He zoomed to get a better visual. It had four legs and a coat of fur that seemed smeared with red, like.. Blood?

As a grisly thought ran the trainee by, a scream suddenly erupted beside him, spooking him. He was about to smack the guy for scaring him, but stayed his hand, noticing something was up. Next to him was the communications seat of the tank.

The trainee seated there had his eyes rapidly filled with red as his pupil reflected the long range radar. Red meant only one thing.

[Enemy spotted! We’ve got..] He paused, a shakiness in his breath, both from confusion and terror. [T-ten thousand?! They’re c-coming in at our 6. And 2 thousand more at our 9 o’clock. At this speed, captain! They’ll surround us!]

A shock ran up everyone’s spine, and the Captain was the most shaken.

[I know damnit!] His mounting frustrations showed as the captain slammed his fist to the tank’s armor, impressively denting it. [We’re so close! If we had more ammo, or just better luck then.. Maybe. No, maybe we should’ve done something else.. but what!]

Had they really done enough, had they truly thought that their actions were the right choice. No one was here to tell them otherwise. They were on their own, separated and soon to be cut off.

[Captain! Can’t we call for support?] Amanda asked. [Maybe the frontline can pull back, pick us up and get us outta here.]

[I don’t think they can. Even if they did and even if anyone was still fighting, they're probably out of ammo as well. They’d be coming back for dead men.]

Amanda knew he didn’t mean it literally, only mimicking the serious tone of this war game exercise. But a weight still settled in her gut when he mentioned dead men, they were the dead men. She could say everyone felt the same, especially for Stella, Ikki, Richard, and Shisuki.

They all fought like hell to get here, and now? They were told they would be failing this part of the class. For all of them, not passing was the biggest disappointment. For Ikki and Stella, they thought about their chances in obtaining a shot in the Star Royale, and hopefully win it to obtain their explorer license early.

They might not entirely know how they’d get a spot in the tournament, but understood that this Practical’s class was to weed out the weak. Intense fighting, war game’s participation, and on their first day?

Whoever the organizer was for the event’s of today’s class, they had truly wanted to challenge all the students, separate those who could cut it and those who couldn’t. It was frustrating. The possible conclusion was easy to draw.

Only those who passed every part of this class were given some recognition, which meant recommendations, a possible shoot into the tournament.

[What? What do you mean.. ] Amanda couldn’t believe the Captain. She screamed. [After all that! WE are going to be left behind! Just like that! Because of some dumb bad luck!]

The captain grimaced, her words were scathing. He too knew how hard his group fought. The looks of defeat on their young faces was heartbreaking. He never wanted to feel this way. Defeated, dread, impending inevitability. Bitterness. He wanted to spit in disgust, but he stopped himself.

[No. Not like this.] Amanda hissed. [We can’t give up here.]

The captain raised his chin to her, this girl, a very young girl who continued to adamantly chose to not fall to her fate. Her hands were so tense that he thought she might crush the tank’s armor if she squeezed it.

The captain stepped back, then froze when she glared at him, icy blue eyes burning with determination.

[Ma’am, we.. we can make it.] The captain said wearily. [We might have no ammo and we’re about to be overrun, but a few of us on our team can make it. I suggest you and your friends try to run. Grunt classes like us can’t keep up, but we can buy you time.]

That seemed to get Richard’s attention, though, he kept silent like everyone else. Their two leaders were speaking.

[No, Captain, we won’t be doing that. Can you put out a message? Call for any support that we can get. If we’re going to be surrounded, then let’s give them a fight.]

[How?!] The captain asked in disbelief. Where did Amanda get this confidence from and where was she going with this? It didn’t take a genius to know that they, were, going, to, lose!

[We’re going to be surrounded! There is nowhere to run for cover and I don’t see how our small group can deal with over 10,000 enemies without ammo. At best we have pistols and a few grenades, but that’s not enough. Go already!] He forcefully waved his arm, trying to shoo her away for her own good. [Students like you shouldn’t fail because you're late.]

[I’m not leaving you behind. I won’t make that decision.] She said.

[This is an exercise!] Argued the Captain. [We’re not really going to die ma’am.]

[I know.] Amanda said softly, but the image of the simulated videos from Cyno’s class flashed in her mind. The dead bodies of young men and women, who gave their lives for mystics and corebinders. It gripped her heavily to think that this was happening to her.

While not literal in this case, people were dying for the sake of her success. Left behind, sacrificed.

It’s not right. All of us should be able to make it, not only us!

[Captain, my decision is final. You gave me command, so I order you to send the message.]

[But! We can’t defeat them all! This is pointless!]

[We don’t need to defeat them.] Amanda shot him a small smile. [We just need to wait for support.]

[You’re joking! Even if support came, we won’t make it in time!]

[I don’t want to hear it!] Amanda yelled, she was so loud that the Captain took a step back, intimidated by her sudden ferocious demeanor. Where did the once sociable girl go? He wondered.

[Even if we fail, we’re going to fail while fighting!] Declared Amanda. [Not cowering and surrendering as we let others die for victory! We’ll hold onto hope and we’ll hold it for as long as we can!]

Amanda wasn’t going to give up that easily. Bad luck was always around, so she’d take it in stride.

She felt a hand fall on her shoulder and turned to find that it was Stella’s. She gave her the best, we can do this smile, and Ikki followed up by shooting her a thumbs up.

Shisuki shrugged, clinging to Ikki, showing that she’d go where her brother went. They felt the same. Not after going through so much stress and effort, her friends weren’t ready to give up. An idea sparked and Amanda pulled up the map on her HUD.

[Captain, send the message, i won’t say it again.]

Giving up, the captain grinned.

[You’re an odd girl, but I like the cut of your jib.] He saluted and began mouthing off. [Hey! All of you, start sending out support requests on the friendly comms channel. Doesn’t matter if they’re silent, keep sending the message. Make’em so annoyed that they’ll wanna come and give us a smack in the head, or maybe fire off some artillery, doesn’t matter, just get them to hear us.]

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

Moving over to the front, Amanda pulled open a small eye slide to the driver.

[Driver! Move due south west to the somewhat raised ridge, do you see it?]

[Y-yes ma’am! I do. But what’s the plan?]

[We’ll dig in and wait for support. I’m not giving up because the numbers and the math says we can’t do it. Explorer’s face adversity. We might be students, and you all might be trainees, but we’re all the same here. Explorers don’t lie down and wait for failure to come for them. We run toward the challenge, not away.]

[But, Amanda!] Richard stood up and started at her as he argued. [We can still make it. If we go now we can pass.] He was referring to the 5 of them, the corebinders and mystics.

[If we enhance our speed, then we can win. If the Captain is offering to hold them off, I think we should go with that instead.]

[And leave everyone behind!] Shouted Amanda, and that seemed to make Richard go pale. He tacitly knew what he implied. How he’d leave his allies so that he could survive. Would his grandfather approve? He asked himself and the answer came easy.

Of course not! BUT! Richard didn’t want to fail the class. He believed that passing all the classes was the minimum of what he needed to do to become a good explorer.

The contradiction of what he wanted to do and not do pulled at him. He could jump ship now and leave Amanda. It was the logical choice for his own success, but the selfishness ate at him.

No, no I can’t do that!.. But.. I don’t want to…AHHH!

Richard dwelled on his thoughts, all the while, Amanda moved forward with her plans.

[Are you all in? I can see you’re all adamant, so I’m asking this more out of posterity. You can leave if you want, just know you’ll be a coward.] Amanda made to emphasize the latter of her words to Richard. She got a distressed glance from him.

[I wouldn’t even dare to leave now.] Stella said. [As a noble, I stick by the people.]

[Yeah, we can’t give up yet.] Ikki said.

[If my brother is staying then so will I.] Shisuki said.

Internally, too torn to answer, Richard sighed. Hearing his friends show their support and solidarity with the trainees stung. If he left now, he’d be that guy you’d never want to have as an ally, the guy who left when it was the most convenient time.

The option to jump ship still hung in the air. The horizon that led to point Bravo was just over there, in his sights as if beckoning him to run to it.

No, NO, NO, NO! He wouldn’t, he shouldn’t!

Surrendering, Richard tore his eyes from the horizon and looked to Amanda, his leader, his friend, the comrade and fellow explorer he’d stick with.

[Fine! But tell us the plan.]

[I thought you’d never ask.] Said Amanda. She held a hand out to him and Richard took it. She pulled him up to his feet and pointed in the distance.

[It's simple.] She drew everyone’s attention as the tank stopped. Ahead, a gravel path up a ridge was in sight. It wasn’t steep and led off a cliff. Hopping off from the tank, she moved up the ridge as she coelesed icy power into her hands.

Everyone followed and Amanda immediately got to work. They had 15 minutes left to get to Point Bravo, but they’d be surrounded in a couple minutes. As short as a couple minutes sounded, the seconds seemed to be passing slower to them.

The adrenaline and stress made them so self aware.

They could hear the distance stampede of wooden puppets and rock golems, hobbling about at speeds unlike their large frames told of. They hurried and so did Amanda.

[Here we go, let’s do this.]

Pressing her sword into the earth, Amanda envisioned what she wanted to create. Seconds were stretched, they went by slowly and the air filled with a chill. Nearby grass began to frost and the wind twirled up into a snowy gale.

During her solo trip around the world, to see what was out past the confines of her orphanage and to find a purpose in her life, Amanda had needed to survive on her own. Her ability to create ice was useful and so was her partial ability to strengthen her body.

Clean water from melting ice was handy, and her powers were versatile when she needed to defend herself. But the most useful gimmick she got out of her powers was how imaginative she could be with her ice.

Just as the trainees became skeptical of what she was doing, the ground shook and the cold gailing winds collected around Amanda. Her blue hair glowed a deep and viridescent color, it flowed and fluttered as if dancing with the small snowflakes that began to form and float up from the ground around her.

A mock vision of winter surrounded Amanda’s feet, a pooling of snow gathered around with her at its center. An image settling in her mind, Amanda decided right then and there, and withdrew her blade from the earth.

She swung it, a commanding sweep of her arm across the ridge’s horizon.

Heeding her, the gailing snow dashed forward and pillars of ice formed. Taking a masonry-like shape. Transparent and glistening pillars jutted from the rocky and partially spotted greenery up the gravel path.

[Is that? A castle?] The captain guessed at what she was making. It didn’t look like any of the regal castles from Europe, more like an abode or fort that a kid would make. It wasn’t made of stone or wood, instead, the structure consisted of high and icy blues walls that gave him hints on what she was doing.

[No, their fortifications? Obstacle?]

[Both correct! Captain, Now!] Amanda called for him. [Get everyone inside and do what you can to set up. We have maybe a couple minutes left, but we’re holding our ground. Are you with me?]

Determination blossomed and a chill fell down everyone’s spines. It wasn’t that they were afraid or cold from all the ice she had made. They! Were! EXCITED! Grinning as they doubled timed it inside, they took position up on the walls, using them for cover and a vantage point to later shoot down at the enemy.

In the final minute they had, they also moved chunks of ice into better positioning, barricades, and as many of them as they could up.

By the time they finished what they could, all of them stood upon the 5 meter walls of solid ice. Spotted in front of it, a random and smattering of ice chunks dotted the fortification’s approach. The position was to their advantage.

Their back’s to the ridge’s cliff side, the group only needed to worry about attacks from 3 directions. The front, the right, and the left. The walls and obstacles would slow them down. They were so thick that you’d need more than a warm summer to melt through it.

These were an assuring sight to see for everyone. Minutes ago they were so downtrodden with the thought of imminent defeat, but now, thanks to Amanda, they had hope to cling to.

[Amanda, this is amazing!] Stella said, tapping the icy walls in interest at how solid the structure was. [Are these like your ice shields? Have you always been able to do this?]

[Yes, I don’t want to brag, but if we had more time, I could make a mansion out of ice, with a bath and bedroom. The works as well. It would be cold, and would melt eventually, but with this, we can last longer.]

[We sure will, and yeah.] Said Stella, twiddling her thumbs in anticipation. There was a somber look in her eyes. [I hope.. I hope.. I hope we can pass.]

[Stella, I know you don’t like to lose, but we’ll keep trying, right! You came to this academy to get stronger, for your people. I know a few failures here and there are hard to take. Your first defeat to Ikki was tough for you to get through.]

[Yeah, it was.] Stella's heart clenched, the memory of her defeat playing out in slow motion. Such carelessness, naivety, and arrogance. All found within herself. She didn’t like it, she didn’t like how she treated Ikki most of all.

[Let me ask you then, do you regret losing?]

[Of course not! I’ve learned so much and I’ve.. met.. Someone.. Someone who I can grow stronger with.]

[Then you don’t have fear about losing. If you lose today, who cares. We’ll try again.]

[Right, I’ll keep that in mind. But hey, maybe our luck will turn for the better.]

[Ha, I hope so.] Amanda laughed and Stella laughed along.

As meaningful as their discussion was, the next minute was agonizing. The seconds seemed to pass even slower than before. Drops of sweat slid down their wrinkled and scrunched up faces. Defeat still seemed certain, and gripped with a strength that felt as if the walls under them would be uprooted.

[Incoming! We got incoming!] Ikki spotted them first, and the remaining trainees, who were in the process of getting ready, took their positions.

The HUD’s filled with the radar and map. The timer in the corner was gone, by now, everyone had discarded it from their HUD’s view.

A countdown to failure was something they didn’t want in their courageous last stand. Sliding in a fresh magazine into their pistols, the trainees took a quick count. Maybe 5 to 7 mags each, 20 rounds per mag, so about 100 to 140 rounds for every trainee.

With 40 trainees remaining, that meant 4000 rounds. Great! 4000 rounds to kill over 10000 enemies, They surely have this in the bag, and absolutely no issue. In response, many of them flare their nostrils in sarcastic spite.

“We can do this, we can do this.” They whispered, teeth almost chattering.

[Hey. At least we got a few of these for good measure.] One of the trainees, a kid, patted the line of grenades on his waist. It got a chuckle out of all the trainees, but To Amanda, it was odd to hear and see such a militaristic outlook from a kid.

Was that all he knew? The military life?

Perhaps he was an orphan like herself, and that thought made her want to win more. So that these trainees, these kids, could feel the rush of happiness that came with victory.

[Enemy within range! All squads fire at will!] At the captain’s orders, the trainees raised their pistols. Over half of them were holding the front gate, the others were locking down the flanks.

Luckily, thanks to the shape of the ridge and Amanda’s positioning of the fortifications, not only did the enemy only have 3 routes of attack, many of them would be funneled to the center.

Additionally, the high ground would give the enemy some difficulties, not that the constructs were living things, but having a good sight on their heads was better than them coming at them head on.

Popping off when they had a good shot, the trainees fired. Trying to get as much worth out of their limited ammo. It looked like it was fun, like shooting fish in a barrel, except that the fish never stopped coming.

[Golem incoming! Toss the grenades!]

Sounding with their thumping steps, the golems were going to be their hardest adversary. Their arms likely had enough punch to take down the walls and were the least affected by the terrain.

They trampled over the boulder and scattered ice. 3 got in range and the captain ordered a volley. The trainees foisted their explosives, getting as many of the puppets as well, that struck fruitlessly at the walls.

Shrapnel did little to dent the golems, so multiple direct hits were the best option. Pitching up, the trainees threw them like professional baseballers, getting the golems in the head, delivering a freshly prepared and hot serving of scathing ordinance.

As a couple golems fell, their head blown to bits or legs too shattered and cracked to support themselves, the trainees wanted to cheer but hurriedly refocused.

This time, the fight was becoming more complex. The incoming enemies consisted of more than puppets and golems. A shadow loomed and Amanda’s eyes widened.

[Take cover! Aerial barrage incoming!]

Ducking for cover, the captain yelled while pulling a kid who was too in his head down with him. A few others weren’t lucky. Some fell from the walls, wrapped up in nets that electrocuted them, or were pelted with a light show of red light that seared the walls black.

The trainee’s defensive aura took the hit, but their minds were rocked by the recoil.

Overwhelmed by concentrated laser fire, another trainee bit the dust as his defensive aura broke from the relentless flashes of red hot light. By the looks of it, the creatures of the deep had been reborn into mechanical form. They took to the sky as if it were their new home.

[Ma’am, we got incoming from above. I think they're robots.] Over the sporadic firing, the captain reported to Amanda. [We won’t last long if this keeps up, we’re getting pinned down.]

[Roger, myself and Stella will handle it, get to cover and keep the golems off us.]

[Yes ma’am. You heard her, stay low and keep the pressure up. Move move move!]

Making all effort to prevent the fight and to keep their locational advantage afloat, Stella and Amanda moved to set up their attacks on the new aerial constructs.

[Didn’t expect to fight these things!] Amanda said, admiring one of the robots that flew with such swimming and fluid grace. Still, she wouldn’t get distracted. [Richard! Take over with the situation at the gate. Do what you can to hold the line!]

[Will do!] Richard said. [Ikki! Shisuki! Come with me!]

[Squad 3! NOW!] The captain ordered another volley of grenades that crashed into the enemy. Just as the puppets and golems were about to recover from their stagger a few meters from the walls, a round of gunfire beat them down before they could get close.

[Come on! This is what the CDU is good for! Keep Firing! Don’t give them an inch! WE ARE THE SHIELD OF ANDROMEDA! MEN! WHAT IS OUR ROLE!]

[TO PROTECT! TO DEFEND! TO SAFEGUARD ALL THAT THE PEOPLE HOLD DEAR! WE ARE DEFENDERS OF HUMANITY! WE ARE THE SHIELD!]

Morale soared amongst the trainees, a sense of patriotism welling and spiriting their drive to fight.

Clicking her comms, Amanda switched a private channel with her team.

[We can’t fall behind. Let’s get to work on those in the sky Stella!]

[I’ll go first, we should conserve our core energy since we’ll need to last.]

[Got it! Richard! Come in. How does the gate look!]

[Not bad, the enemy is stuck in] Said Richard. He took point as they moved closer to the gate. With him, Ikki and Shisuki covered him on each side. He sighted that Amanda’s ice barricades were doing the job.

Tangled up and slowed down as they tried to navigate the crowded path in, the puppets trickled in by the pair. This was easy enough for him to deal with, and Richard had enough leeway to glance up, seeing the streaking lines of fire and ice as Amanda and Stella colored the sky.

The aerial units fell, either in flames, or impaled or burdened with stalks of ice in them.

[Heads up Richard, it’s going to get rough from here.] Ikki said, and directed his attention to the crumbling barricades.

[I really wished we had more luck or time to set up. Beggars can’t be choosers I guess.]

[Indeed.] Said Shisuki. [Indeed so Richard, but explorer’s make their own luck. I think your grandfather would say the same, wouldn’t you say?]

[Yeah, with how gung ho he seemed, I bet he’d thrive in a pinch like this! Let’s see how well I can do!]

With no hesitation, Richard charged as soon as the barricade broke. He raised his left arm guard, holding it like a shield. All the while, he got in there, digging his sword into enemy after enemy.

Their blades and bolts found their mark on him. Even though they were good hits, Richard toughed it out, looking no worse for wear.

[Just try it you hunks of junk, I’ll take you on!]

Showing its colors, Richard manifest abilities came in the form of enhanced toughness. While his power’s traits had similarities to a corebinder, it was found that the core energy he expended had a pathway in his body that allowed for external use.

He didn’t know how he was doing it, but whenever he was amped up, his abilities made him feel invincible. It was exhilarating, as if something new had possessed him.

No longer did he keep his calm expression, instead, he smiled widely, enjoying the rapid and repetitive thrill of swinging and clashing his sword with his foe.

He pushed a puppet’s blade to the side and thrusted to skewer it. At best, taking on one at a time was all he could do, pathetic in his opinion for how overly pumped he was, but he’d at least get the enemies attention.

“Over here! Come and get me!”

If he couldn't defeat them fast enough, then he’d get them grouped up. Bunched together, easy to down. Moving in, Ikki and Shisuki darted around, their blades and daggers finding nice homes in the puppets.

It was going well, the walls held and the trainees still had ammo to spare. But the intensity of the enemy's attacks were growing. The number of them was getting to a point that two mystics, 3 corebinders, and a handful of trainees, were too much to handle. 3 minutes in, and the front gate was half breech, the small basketball size court yard getting half filled with stalking puppets.

Richard’s group were holding them in a stalemate for now, but exhaustion and being outnumbered would show to be their undoing.

Then, more enemies poured in across the ridge’s downward slope. Amanda could tell that cracks were going to form. The golems began to come in large groups and their supply of grenades was dwindling.

She and Stella would have to change their attention from the air to the ground units. They already had their handful, so these would be the most intense next minutes of her life. She wanted to win, they all wanted to win.

[We can do this! Hold the line! If we hold! We can win! I know it!]

No sooner did the cracks finally show themselves.

“Awwwoooooooooooo!” Those howls from before caught her attention and seconds after she spun on her heels, Amanda witnessed red figures closing in from the bottom of the ridge’s path.

[Stella! You see that! Whatever it is, it's bad news! Focus fire!]

These red figures were fast, faster than any of the puppets or golems. They bolted like red lighting, zigzaging and crossing the field in a manner that was more bestial and ran on instinct.

They knew how to hunt, how to fight, how to kill humans. Their intelligence scared her and it scared her even more as they jumped up, vaulting clear over the 5 meter wall.

One tackled a trainee as it dove deeper into the heart of her fortifications.

[Oh no!] Amanda swept her sword, but the expected ice arrows didn’t form. [NO! Not now!]

She had been pushing her abilities too much, she was running low on core energy. At the rate she was going, she’d fatigue herself into unconsciousness rather than at the hands of the enemy.

As all powerful Amanda thought her powers were, she didn’t have as large of a reserve of core energy like Stella.

She needed time to gather herself, and time was short. She needed to move, to do something to counter them.

[Stella, focus on the aerial units, I’ll handle these wolves.]

[I’m on it, good luck Amanda.] Stella wished her well and turned her eyes skyward, fiery emotions welling in her eyes as fireball after fireball burnt attacker after attacker.

Jumping down from the wall, Amanda landed inside the confines with Richard and the rest. With her, a group of trainees joined her, not letting one from their group go alone. She counted 20 wolves facing off her and the 6 people on her side. Good odds!

She hoped and took keen interest in these new constructs, or whatever they were.

“What the heck are you?” She whispered.

“Grrrrr!”

To her, these were wolves alright, they had the jaws, 4 legs, and coat of fur. Except, all of it was on fire which was surprising.

They stood there, eyeing Amanda and her group up as if deciding how they’d take her down. Fire flared in their eyes, and their teeth grinded an awful sound. A young trainee yelped. He seemed to go pale.

[T-Those are, those are!]

[What is it!] If he knew something, Amanda wanted to know. She raised her sword, making sure to keep the wolves' attention on her. [What are they?]

[Hell.. hounds.. They’re hellhounds. We’re dead, we are so, so dead.]

Great! This day gets better and better. She wished her thoughts were sweeter, and most of all, less sarcastic.