Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Training Field Septa
Frontline Position
Time: 1041
January 31, 2050
His gun trained on the target, Itsuki knew to pull the trigger. But he couldn’t, not in time. Sinder disappeared in a blur of fiery red, then reappeared meters to the right. Itsuki moved the pistol’s iron sight and got it level as Sinder howled a spiral of flame. She was quicker on the draw. Holstering the pistol, Itsuki got into an instant sprint. His bones ached from the recoiling thrum of pain that shot through him.
Pushing on as his core energy imbuement and body strengthening techniques worked its magic, he ducked under the flames and avoided being turned to cinder by the slightest of margins. If he were a centimeter off, he would’ve been stuck nursing 3rd degree burns for the next few hours. In the wake of his success, he closed the distance on Sinder and kicked out with his right foot, landing a blow to her gut. He then quickly pivoted on his left and jumped to get in a spinning kick.
He missed as Sinder jumped back. She was visibly shaken. She could’ve rushed at him, but he noticed how her eyes kept looking at the pistol in his waist holster. She likely guessed what it was and what it could do. Itsuki’s eyes glinted, understanding her hesitation, so he gave chase. His hand hovered over the gun. She flinched at the slightest touch he made to the handle.
Blocking a strike from his heel, Sinder scowled as she pushed against his kick with her forearm.
“Is that what I think it is?”
Itsuki nodded. “You’re sharp, Sinder. If I’d shown you this when you were younger, you’d think it was just some shiny gun.”
Sinder hissed at him. “Don’t patronize me!”
Breaking from their clash, she moved in to grapple him. Itsuki only had one hand, so she thought it’d be easy. To her surprise she found herself again on her backfoot. He dodged by another close margin, her claws only cutting the surface of his uniform. He then slid across the ground and slipped between her legs to get behind her. Wrapping his one good arm around her neck in a choke hold, he squeezed. Sinder could guess he was trying to knock her out.
Baring her fangs she made to bite down, yet chomped only air. Itsuki released his hold and pushed her away, then struck with a firm kick to her back that sent her tumbling. Sinder recovered, then found the silver barrel of Itsuki’s gun on her, only a couple meters away. As agile as a frightened cat she leapt to the side, but he was too close. She could sense and see the growing energy down the barrel of his gun. It hummed a soft and rapid crackling like shattering glass echoing in a tunnel. The light was dazzling, and dangerous.
Itsuki’s finger squeezed and she watched in stunned horror as the trigger slowly compressed. Sinder braced. She had to weather the attack, whatever it was. A crack sung in the air, but not from Itsuki’s gun. Instead it came from behind him, who had no time to react as he was blown forward by a streak of new light that crashed like thunder. He sailed past Sinder, falling face first into a pile of rubble.
“Gotcha!” Cheered a voice. “How do you like that you son of a bitch!”
Sinder turned her neck to see who it was. Standing at the edge of the scattered outcropping of debris, a familiar friend came into sight, and she looked pissed off, both at Itsuki and her. “Arielle?”
“Yeah, who else would it be?” Arielle frowned at Sinder, then eyed Itsuki as he was getting up. Her contact lenses shined for a second, a sign that her spyware was in effect. Result came in and she found what she saw on her HUD as ideal. “Looks like my hunch was right.” She said, “He’s out of ammo, and he’s running low on tricks.”
“Seems like it.” Haruka said, coming up to her side to join in. “Let’s see if he can block this!” Pointing her staff, the budded flowers on its tip bloomed and launched a burst of razor sharp leaves. Still recovering his wits, Itsuki was forced to bear the brunt of the attack.
Slashes stitched themselves across his uniform, red streaks colored his face in lines of seeping blood. Haruka was unrelenting and poured her onslaught on thick as dust kicked and whipped up around Itsuki. Satisfied by how he sank to his knees into the dirt, she let out a breath.
“Phew. I think we got him. So what now? Do we mop up the rest?”
“I think so.” Arielle said. “Itsuki should be spent by now. Seeing as how Sinder took his arm off, he must be at his limits. By the way.” She turned her attention to Sinder. “Did you have to take his arm? He’s going to be pissed when he wakes up. You know we’re not supposed to use that level of force for these training exercises.”
Arielle waited for a second for a response and expected Sinder to nag her or fluster, but she didn’t get any of that.
“Hey! Do you hear me?” Arielle shouted. “Stop going off into your own little world. You do this every time you get worked up.”
“Sinder?” Noticing how off Sinder was, Haruka called out, worried that her friend might’ve been seriously injured before they got here in time. But like with Arielle, Sinder showed no response. Their friend was instead keeping her eyes trained on the cloud of dust where Itsuki had fallen into. Her eyes had a dangerous glint to them and her ears were still standing at attention.
Picking up that something was off, Arielle and Haruka readied themselves. Sinder was known to have the sharpest senses among the three of them. She was first to feel a growing presence, when it finally became noticeable, they heard Itsuki’s voice but couldn’t see him through all the dust. His voice was low, like a whisper in the wind.
“Targets Locked.. Type 1.. Set.. Breakshot.”
A bright flash made the girls momentarily blink. When they opened their eyes, a silver streak shot out from the dust. It was the size of a fist and came at Sinder head on. She pivoted as it rushed past her. The blinding silver light didn’t feel hot, yet an irritating sensation ran up her arm as it glanced across her aura.
Then something strange happened. The shot of silver light that should have crashed into a pile of rubble past her, instead bent and swerved to rear toward Arielle and Haruka. They had only a second before they were hit. Pulling up barriers was their instinctual counter, but even in the face of two focused efforts for defense the silver light blasted through.
An explosion of silver flame detonated in front of them, and they were pushed back, skidding away. Arielle clutched her arm as it flared with a numbing pain. Haruka gasped, her head thrumming as if she had been socked in the head. This was impossible. Damage like this couldn’t be inflicted with usual firearms or energy munitions, and they still had their aura’s up. This attack was special.
“It really was a core weapon.” Sinder said, aghast. “We need to be careful. You two alright?”
“Ugh.. I think so? But he has one of those?” Arielle asked. “That’s a first. He’s been holding out?”
“Who cares! And that isn’t the issue right now.” Haruka shouted. “We’re in trouble. Look!”
Arielle turned her head in time to see what could only be a lunatic emerging from the obscuring dust. Itsuki stood with his one good arm up, his pistol in hand and smoke fuming out of its barrel. He was a bloody mess. Every part of his exposed arms and legs were marked in bleeding cuts.
“I missed.” He mumbled as if not feeling any of his injuries. The girls recoiled at the sight of him. They shivered as he cocked the gun’s top slide with his teeth. A silver casing flew out, and when it hit the ground, he instantly raced toward Sinder like a man possessed. Plunging the barrel forward like a knife, he meant to drive it into her chest. This time he wouldn’t miss.
Sinder spun on one leg and tried to kick the gun from his hand. But she realized her mistake.
Itsuki, through blood smeared lips, smiled eerily. Already anticipating she would focus on his weapon, he ducked under her roundhouse kick and drove a kick of his own right under her chin. He had the flexibility of a gymnast and hit like a truck, it rattled Sinder’s brain in her skull, and she fell away as her consciousness escaped through the ring in her ears. Itsuki brought his pistol to bear once again but was stopped by Arielle and Haruka.
Haruka grew and extended a vine from her staff and grabbed Sinder, pulling her away to safety and out of Itsuki’s reach. As she did, Arielle fired a volley of sparking energy bolts and conjured plasmic fire from her hands. She was doing everything she could to keep him occupied. But the attacks flew past Itsuki, missing him within close calculated margins. The plasmic fire melted a pile of rubble, while the energy bolts flew past then turned back to home on him.
Itsuki twisted himself around, flipping and leaping around as he used the surrounding rubble as footholds and temporary cover to evade. Ducking behind a slab of rock, he noticed from the corner of his eye a few onlookers. He made sure not to draw attention to them.
They’ll know what to do. He thought. For now, I need to buy time. S1, you better hurry.
Haruka C’aribu
Description: An alumni of Andromeda Academy. Well known as the Forest Defender from her role as an explorer hired by the European Bloc. Idolized by beast humans, she is currently one of the youngest, up and coming explorers. Designated as a Mystic Type Explorer, her abilities step into the realm of magical or possibly otherworldly. (Character Sheet Pending)
image [https://i.postimg.cc/59LQQcjv/gpvhji9k.png]
Location: Terra Colony Andromeda
North Sector - Training Field Septa
Frontline Position
Time: 1053
January 31, 2050
War.
War really wasn’t like the books or stories she read as a kid, or how she’d imagined it. How could you? Could you imagine freshly spilt blood in its vivid and surreal red? Could you compare the recordings of pain cries to the real thing? Could you dream to move in the face of explosions booming all around, all while not knowing if the next explosion would take you next? The simple conclusion was no.
And then yes, this wasn’t how she had thought it would be.
You wouldn’t be able to handle it, no one could, but now I know.
All of it was so raw, so nauseating, that it was a miracle Amanda had kept it together for this long. Her lips puckered and flexed in aching slothfulness as she rasped a breath.
She was on her back, again. Irritation flared in her. She had been flung by that asshole Itsuki. He was always so rough, taciturn, blunt, a doddering unemotional dolting jerk. Why did she bother involving herself with him?
Why? She asked herself, this time on a different question to get her emotions in check. Why am I putting myself through this?
As much as she tried, it didn’t work. The grim and dower question pulled at her, she wanted to cry from the welling frustration of doubt. The answer to her question was comparatively easy though. To be an explorer, that was the answer. And to do that, she had to graduate from an academy. There were many in the world. These institutions made people into the defenders of humanity. A blown up title, she knew, but it was her ticket into getting the answers she wanted.
But was all this necessary? Amanda’s eyes rolled around, still trying to stop the nauseating spinning in her head. She recalled and reflected on everything from today. She had done this numerous times already, it felt like a lifetime had passed. All the noises were becoming familiar, too horrifyingly familiar. All the screaming? All the stress? The live fire? The intensity in the air?
All of it in this hyper realistic war game.
This was too much. If she felt it was time to give up, she could choose to go to another academy, to try again somewhere else. She had heard that each one was different, easier even. It would beat going through all this. She couldn’t believe that it had only been a month. Time had gone by so fast, but time seemed to slow at this moment, this entire day in fact. More sounds echoed around her.
She thought she had seen it all when she traveled the world in her adolescent years. It was perilous, to say the least. Seeing the sights and making ends meet was a struggle for a young teenager like herself in those days, especially as an orphan. But her powers and wit got her through those times.
It got her out of cons, out of fights, and even out of conflicts. She was a well put together girl who also knew how to get along, and if not, knew a few alternatives in handling unsavory sorts. Now she needed to get out of this, this war game. But how?
I need to win. She thought. Her expression tightened, as if on the verge of crying yet again. There was a nagging frustration in the back of her head that had been there ever since this morning.
Do I even have the strength? Like.. Him?
Doubt crept into her like water slipping through a crack. The sight of Itsuki fighting Sinder had burned itself into her eyes. They moved like freakish humans, beasts, demons, or even ghosts from mythical stories. There was nothing normal about them. They were two blurs of silver and red fiery streaks that colored the canvas that was the air. And blood was spilt, all too lucid and real.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Itsuki’s blood.
Amanda licked her lips, tasting dirt and astringent iron.
His hand. She thought and recalled the visceral scene of an arm being sliced at the elbow. It got on her, his blood.
“Amanda!” A voice, a familiar one, called out and Amanda saw the color of crimson hair. “Amanda! Are you alright? Can you stand? Oh no, you're bleeding. MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC OVER HERE!”
Stella called out as she helped Amanda sit up. Amanda grasped her aching head and groaned. Blood. Blood stained her hand, slippery and warm, but it wasn’t her’s. Again she tasted it, her lips curling from a mix of dehydration and aches. A sudden disgust ran through her like a spear. She rolled out of Stella’s arms and braced herself against the ground. Heaving, her throat lurched with a watery and thick sensation. Whatever was in her stomach, which wasn’t much, spilled out of her in a sickening deluge. She coughed as Stella patted her back.
“It’s okay.” Stella said. “We’ll have a medic take a look at you and then.”
“No.” Amanda snapped, almost unintelligible. “Not.. Not my blood. I’m.. I’m fine.” Now alert, she asked. “What happened! What’s happening!”
Stella shook her head. “I don’t know. We picked up your signal after Itsuki fell from the sky and the artillery barrage hit. For now we’re regrouping. I ran ahead to come get you.”
“I.. I uh..” Amanda for a second didn’t know what to say. “Thanks.” She finally said and lowered her head. “This day.. This day just keeps getting harder, isn’t it.”
“I know what you mean.” Stella gave a languid smile as she pulled Amanda’s arm over her shoulder, helping her up and along to where they needed to go.
A jeep was parked nearby with a group of 3 trainees who were waiting. They were on guard, scanning the horizon and local area for enemies. They radiated such a soldiering attitude for such youthful teenagers. Next thing Amanda knew, they were on their way. On the short drive to regroup with everyone, Stella explained that Ikki and the rest of their battlegroup was able to commandeer a vehicle to escape their previous encounter with the enemy explorer, Haruka.
As she went on, she had to talk over the sounds of distant explosions. The war game was still on and was as chaotic as ever. Experiencing this was becoming distressingly familiar for Amanda. She wasn’t sure to be proud of herself or afraid of overcoming her fear of sudden shock and awe.
As they came up to an outcropping of rubble, they departed from the jeep. Dahlia came jogging out from behind one of the larger boulders, as did a pair of trainees who were carrying med kits. Help had arrived. Amanda was glad to see everyone as they one by one came out to greet her. It seemed they had taken cover in time, unlike herself. Pulled over by a young girl in military fatigues, she was laid down and looked at by Dahlia. As she was getting patched up she noticed that the upperclassmen of their group were missing.
Reading her eyes, Ikki said. “Good to have you back. If you’re wondering, the upperclassmen have moved ahead to support the frontline. I don’t know when they’ll be back, or if they ever will, it's hard to say.”
“Ah.. so that’s where they are.” Amanda sighed. “Those guys sure have a bottomless pit of energy.”
“No doubt.” Ikki smiled. “But they didn’t leave us out to dry. They left their packs with us for safe keeping. They said we could help ourselves to their rations.”
“Anything good?” Amanda’s stomach grumbled and she visibly exuded a ravenous hunger.
Ikki rifled through the packs, a group of stuffed duffle bags tied up and secured by numerous durable straps. It was amazing that Chisuke and the rest had carried these throughout the day, and through battle no less. The straps, while tattered, held strong. In a surprising turn, the contents inside were in acceptable condition.
Ikki’s finger caught onto a plastic edge as he felt around, it was somewhat hard but its surface gave at the slightest touch. He pulled whatever he found out, looking amazed.
“Ha, it’s still cold. Here, try this.” Ikki passed over what looked like a gray hand sized packet to Amanda and grabbed a few more to hand to everyone else.
“Ugh.” Amanda groaned as she read the label on it. “More energy gel? Didn’t any of the upperclassmen bring anything solid to eat?”
Her complaint got a compassionate grimace out of everyone. They were all in agreement, Stella specifically since her stomach made a loud rumbling that was even louder than Amanda’s. She flushed pink, quickly turning her head away, she thought it was shameful for a noble like her to make such a sound. Ikki chuckled and offered a second packet of gel to her.
“Here, you should keep your strength up.”
“T-thanks.” The small squealing of a reply Stella gave served to lighten the mood a touch.
Shisuki, on the other hand, sneered at her. “My, aren’t you a hungry girl.” She said, plainly confrontational. “Sure that will be enough? I know how much you can really fit into that stomach of yours.”
“Oh shut it.” Stella narrowed her eyes, to which Shisuki fixed her own menacing green pair of pearls against. Stella in turn looked her up and down, noting Shisuki’s superior height but the lack of curves in the chest area. “Don’t you need to eat some more.” She said, “I think you might be stunted.”
“Oh I’m perfectly fine the way I am.” Shisuki replied coldly. “And I have to mind my weight, unlike some people who eat like a pig.”
“I see.. So you really are stunted.”
Stella’s cutting reply had the nearby trainees scoot away from the two. Their sense of danger assessment honed through their curriculum as young soldiers hadn’t failed them. Richard made way as well, sliding himself over to be next to Amanda, while Ikki was left caught in the middle of the two stewing girls. Ikki helplessly sighed, trying to mediate.
“So.” Richard said, ignoring Ikki’s plight while sipping his pack of gel. “What do we do now?”
“What do you mean?” Amanda asked. “Not like there’s much we can do. Not against full blown explorers. We’re just students. Maybe we can take on the constructs, but those explorers have us whipped. We’re not going to win this.”
“So do we.. do we give up? That’s it? We fail just like that?”
Amanda shrugged. She wasn’t sure how to reply. There weren’t any words she could say to rally everyone. Not after how things had turned out when she had last led the group.
“W-well I think we should help.” Dahlia said suddenly. Her hands were over Amanda’s bruised arm, healing it with a glow of green energy. Everyone gave her a look, which was too much for her fragile heart to take. Her brown deer-like ears stiffened like pointed poles.
“W-We don’t have to?” She muttered. “I-if we.. you know.. Choose.. Not to?” A small laugh slipped her lips as her words trailed off.
In her opinion, the mood grew awkward very fast. The few seconds of silence tugged uncomfortably at her chest, Dahlia didn’t have the bravery to look up at them. Interacting with people, especially with non beast humans, was difficult ever since that one fateful day. She thought it would’ve been better to keep her mouth shut and her eyes away. She knew what people thought of her when she looked at them or they looked at her. While unspoken, the hidden surprise and off put attitudes from their smallest of expressions were evident that she didn’t belong. Dahlia’s antlers and the deer-like traits of her limbs put her as the odd man out.
When she at last cooked up the little courage it took to look up and finally see what their reactions were, she was woefully surprised to find them all in deep contemplation. The awkward moment had passed without her realizing it. Richard was mumbling to himself, as if running numbers in his head and formulating a plan. Stella and Ikki gazed into the distance as if sensing the fights around them and keeping watch, while Shisuki and the trainees pulled out a map from one of the rucksacks. Lively discussions began filling the air.
All because of me?
“Heh.” A small chuckle escaped next to Dahlia. She found Amanda gazing up, giving her a look as if saying Nice job.
“Lighten up.” Amanda said. “It was a good suggestion. There's nothing wrong with saying that we should help. And stop looking so surprised.”
Dahlia blushed, beginning to fumble. “R-Really? I was talking more for the sake of filling the time.”
“Well it helped.”
Amanda felt her joints lighten somewhat. Dahlia’s healing was doing the trick. It was slow, but nevertheless effective. Pushing herself up, she reached out for a handshake as thanks, but then pulled back when she remembered the girl had a preference for not being touched, unless it was someone special, like her friend Mana.
“Sorry.” Amanda said. “Forget I did that, but thanks again for patching me up. You’re getting better at this. I’m feeling better already.”
“T-thanks, It’s no problem.. Umm? Miss.. Amanda?”
“Just Amanda is fine. No need for the Miss. Why are you calling me that anyway? You’re older than me.”
“Well you’re next in command.” Dahlia said. “I thought I should show you respect.”
“I am?”
“Y-Yeah.” Dahlia nodded hastily. “When Chisuke and the rest left, Ikki and the others said to wait for you. And when the trainees found your signal, Stella went out to find you. They all seemed to look up to you.”
That was surprising. Amanda hadn’t thought she was the leader type seeing that she had led the group hours ago into a last ditch effort of a desperate final defense. They got out of that due to luck, not her skill. It was a sour retelling in her own head. She wished she could’ve done better.
“I think they look up to you.” Dahlia said again, this time showing off a confident smile, so sure of herself.
“Really?” Amanda asked. “All I did was follow along and made rash decisions. Not sure if that’s anything to write home about. I’m pretty mediocre.”
“Oh..” Dahlia began to pale. “Well.. I see.. I didn’t mean to.. Um uh.” She began sounding panicked, as if she had offended Amanda somehow.
“Calm down Calm Down.” Amanda placated her. “You didn’t say anything wrong, so stop with that. I just don’t think the others should look up to me. Shisuki’s the better leader since she the oldest and I think Ikki’s the better fighter.”
“True.” Agreed Dahlia. “But you.. You’re.. Kinda special.”
“Ah come on, you're making me blush.”
“I mean it.” Dahlia insisted. “People know about the things you do in the dorms and they tend to say a lot of good things. Your reputation is pretty.. Um.. Well known.”
Amanda had no reply for that. She had long since known about her rising popularity. Her role as Itsuki’s dorm assistant supervisor meant she got to know almost everyone in the academy. It was tiresome work, though it had its perks. Her increasing reputation was a benefit she hadn’t realized. It was embarrassing to think that people would begin to idolize her. She coughed to clear her head, and her blush.
“Ahem. In any case, let’s go over what we can do.”
“Y-Yeah.” Dahlia gave a little cheer, nothing too flamboyant and more cutesy, even charming in Amanda's opinion. Amanda grinned and shared the sweet moment, giving a teasing smile that had Dahlia blushing.
Finishing the last of their gel packs, everyone moved over and sat around the large map that was laid out in their little hide away. Trainees kept watch but were keeping tabs on the conversation. Tapping their earpieces, a holographic display of the topographical surroundings rose from the flat map. Instantly they had an accurate visualization of where they were.
Currently their position had them settled at the frontlines at the rear of the ongoing conflict, which explained the lack of enemy constructs in the area. Ahead due south was their destination, point Bravo, the finish line. It was so close but the obstacles in their path were daunting to say nonetheless. They had taken 5 hours to get here and the last few miles to get this far had been hell. Saying the last mile was going to be difficult was an understatement. Peering through a spy scope she grabbed from the rucksacks, Amanda got the lay of the land.
In the last few minutes, no orders had been directed to them from S1, likely due to Chisuke's action of cutting them from the chain of command. Besides the trainees, everyone else felt left out. Did Chisuke leave them because he thought of them as burdens? Or did he understand that not everyone in the battlegroup had what it took to suck it up and tough out the last leg of this fight?
Amanda wasn’t sure as she gazed ahead. She could see and sense 3 explorers who were holding the center as swarms constructs took inception action at the west and east. After trading information on the comms, they found that divisions 1 through 7 were making headway into the enemy flanks. Those divisions were occupied and could give little time for supporting anyone else. So division 8, their division, was on their own, and they were scattered.
The suggestion of actions to take going forward boiled down to giving up, staying put, or moving out to help the upperclassmen. The first option was stomped out by Ikki and Stella, who fervently wanted to get into the fight. Their attitudes were a reminder of how these two found immense satisfaction in training and challenging themselves. They were aspiring explorers, full of gusto.
The second option sounded the easiest of the three. Holding their position would have reasonable connotation in supporting the rear for their upperclassmen, but for Richard and Shisuki, it didn’t sit well. Mainly because, from a strategic point of view, holding here added next to no real tangible value. It was too passive.
Ultimately, the third option was the group’s chosen choice. By overwhelming vote they got moving. Mounting up in the passenger jeeps they had handy, they sped off. They honed in on the friendly identification markers in their HUDs’ map, so catching up to Chisuke and the rest of their battlegroup would take only minutes of time. Bumping along the cratered and pot-holed landscape, the air started to grow hotter.
Amanda was growing tense. She questioned what they'd do next. Were they in over their heads? The answer was yes. The upperclassmen were in a realm of their own. She and her friends had barely kept up, in fact Chisuke had been carrying the group.
Noticing the ever growing heat, Ikki, taking a breath, hoisted himself up from his seat. Grabbing the overhead handle he peered ahead across the devastated landscape. It had probably been a lush green plain of rolling foliage, now it was a blasted site of war.
“What’s the matter?” Amanda called from the front passenger seat.
Ikki remained silent in the seat behind her. Amanda tried to ask again but she got her answer in the form of a familiar pressure bearing down on them. Giving the trainee a look, he got the message and signaled the rest to come to a stop.
As they did the distant booms became louder and everyone had time to recall that familiar pressure. There was core energy in the air, emitted by explorers who were either in combat or utilizing their abilities. Parking the jeeps they dismounted and traveled ahead using nearby rubble and craters for cover. Artillery fire and the remains of towering golem constructs had littered the area like a craggy landfill.
Amanda took the lead with Dahlia behind her. Pressing herself up against a jut of debris, Amanda peered around cover, moving in a methodical pace as everyone spread out in groups of 2 or 3. She could hear voices growing louder, unintelligible, but they were a sign that she was going in the right direction. As it got loud enough that she was sure they were within eyesight, she took a chance of being revealed and peeked slowly out of cover. It wasn’t concretely known if these voices came from an ally or an enemy.
It became clear which it was when a burst of fire almost took her eyebrows off. Amanda reeled back in time and squatted, clasping one side of her face.
“Are you okay?” Dahlia whispered in concern.
“I’m good.” Amanda whispered back. “But we need to move. I think we’re too close.” She pulled up comms and asked. [Anyone else see the upperclassmen?]
[Nothing here.] Said Richard. [Their tags are listed nearby but I’m getting interference. Can’t get a clear read.]
[That would be the core energy.] Shisuki said. [With enough of that energy in the air, our earpieces might be affected. There may also be an interference type explorer here, perhaps someone with manipulation over EM waves.]
[Then we’ll need to reposition, let’s not chance a head on fight.] Amanda said.
Dahlia, with her curiosity getting the better of her, craned her neck and looked around the corner where Amanda had had a close close. Her breath caught as a pressure exerted on her like an anvil pressing on her back. In the second she had, she got a glimpse of a person, his arm severed and his face bloodied. A small gasp escaped her. It was Itsuki. He was on the rope in this 3v1 fight. The energy they exuded painted the air in wavers of shimmering lines.
But where is Chisuke?
Dahlia pulled her HUD up, and just like Richard had said, she found the upper class mens’ tags nearby. Yet they weren’t fighting, and were moving around, though blinking in and out as if they were teleporting, it was sporadic and random. Amanda, seeing the same, thought to jump in to pull Itsuki’s ass out of the fire. He was their best bet in countering the explorers, but stopped herself. That would’ve been rash.
[What do we now?] She muttered, purposefully pinging everyone in the group comm. They couldn’t outrun the enemy explorers, and revealing themselves would mean a quick defeat. This was where she was stuck, and hesitation nagged at her.