“It’s those damn nature freaks.”
Gundar’s voice sounded far away, even though he had just been standing feet from me.
As the Flashstun drones detonated, my Suresight ability, the one that kept me immune to Supernova’s effects, kicked in. While it kept my eyesight functional, it did nothing to dampen the effects on my hearing. Someone added Smokeshots to the fray, making it almost impossible to keep my bearings.
Yet, I knew Cash and I fared better than anyone else. Whatever was happening, it clearly worked to our advantage, so we both made a move on the cage. Despite the smoke, it wasn’t hard to locate as the Lycan hadn’t quit howling since the first Flashstun detonated.
I approached the cage with caution because of the low visibility. As anticipated, I barely dodged a wayward swipe that emerged from the cage. The Lycan’s senses appeared to have recovered quicker than I had hoped.
The sound of shouting and fighting quickly filled the arena all around me. The smoke was starting to fade slightly, giving me a view of shadowy figures engaged in combat. I could see several figures fighting the Collector members, while others went from cage to cage, placing locator beacons on each one. I recognized them to be the kind used to focus certain navigational technologies like transporter beams and teleporters.
“They’re tagging the cages,” I called to Cash.
“We can’t let them get one on Dick,” Cash called.
I looked at the Lycan’s crate next to me. He was thrashing wildly in the cage, clawing at the bars, and his efforts were starting to pay off.
“Tranquilizers?” I asked, wondering why Cash hadn’t already sedated the beast.
“I’ve given him two already,” Cash answered ominously.
“Fuck,” I said, knowing we were fighting a losing battle trying to get the Lycan out of the arena while still fully awake and very agitated. “I’m thinking his temper might have them avoid trying to take him?”
“Or make him a bigger target, depending on what they want them for,” Cash pointed out.
As if to punctuate his point, one of the taggers launched a beacon from a gun-looking contraption clearly built for long-range tagging. As it whizzed past us, Cash caught it in midair and crushed it in his hand.
“Guess that settles the debate,” I said, moving to intercept one of the attackers approaching from our flank.
One by one, the tagged cages were beginning to disappear in the customary yellow glow that indicated they were being teleported somewhere. My urgency increased. Tracking down the Lycan would be nearly impossible through teleportation.
“What the heck is happenin’ in there?” Ryuuk’s voice emerged over the communications device hidden under my hair behind my ear.
“Looks like someone is trying to rob the place,” I said. “Can’t talk right now.”
I immediately engaged an athletic looking Leopardian man. He attempted to tackle me to the ground using his superior agility, but I brought my hand up hard in his face. He rolled off me holding his nose and engaged me again. After trading blows several more times, I noticed he was trying to incapacitate me, rather than kill me, avoiding lethal attacks.
Under normal circumstances, I might honor his efforts and also aim to disarm. I wasn’t about to gamble losing our crewmate to some thief with a conscience, however. With this in mind, I left myself open and waited for him to pounce again. At the last moment, I brought my hand up and manifested my dagger, plunging it deep into his gut.
I wasn’t sure if it would be enough to kill the Leopardian man, but I knew it would be enough to put him out of the fight for good. Turning, I met another blow I could feel coming at me from behind. My light daggers crossed just in time to block a heavy energy baton coming to crack my skull.
I pushed back and squared off with a tall woman wielding the energy baton. She was not Leopardian like the last attacker, but she wasn’t fully human, either, being taller in stature and sturdier of frame than most humans.
She was dressed similarly to me, though her maroon jumpsuit was slightly looser around the thighs and appeared to be made of a lightweight material. A short beige cloak much like the one I wore draped her head and shoulders, obscuring her features slightly. The material wrapped like bandages around her biceps and forearms, covering them from the elements but leaving them free to maneuver the baton with ease.
The woman immediately demonstrated just how easily she could wield the weapon by lunging at me with a forceful swipe of the baton. I bent backwards, my head nearly touching the ground, to avoid the blow. Sparring with her would be tricky as I couldn’t use the baton itself as leverage the way I had with the Tritons on Kalo-Mahoi.
Knowing that she wouldn’t let me get close enough for my daggers to do their work, I decided to switch tactics. I backed up and pulled out my blaster from its holster. Channeling my energy into the weapon, I split my Gemini Blaster into two smaller, lightweight weapons.
I fired several shots at her. She blocked some with the baton and dodged others. I knew all I needed to land was one shot, and, apparently, she understood that concept, too. Repeatedly, the woman kept advancing on me, laser focused on closing the distance I kept trying to put between us.
“We don’t care what you’re doing here,” I said, incorporating some diversionary tactics. “We’re just here for that one.”
I nodded toward the snarling Lycan in the cage. By now, it had put a dent in the front door to the cage by pounding ceaselessly on it.
“Oh, just the most prized fighter in this cruel murder pit,” the woman said. “I don’t think so. Look how angry it is at being caged.”
“Well, it’s a person. A friend, actually, and the cage is all that’s keeping us alive right now.”
This time when she lunged, the baton caught me on the shoulder before I could dodge. I grunted in pain as the electric shock zapped through me with a jolt.
“That’s what all of you think, that these beasts are better off in cages for your own protection,” she said. “You never consider they are this way because you’ve hunted them, trapped them, and turned them into slaves.”
“Look,” I said, trying reason. “Normally, I’d agree with you. But that’s not what this is.”
I glanced at Cash, who was occupied with several other attackers both from this woman’s group and from the Collectors. Neither side was going to let us walk out of here with the Lycan. Cash wasn’t going to be any help. It was time to do something drastic.
“That beast is a member of my crew,” I said, keeping her engaged in conversation while I stowed my blaster and readied myself.
I needed to use several abilities in fast succession to accomplish my next aim, and I wasn’t at all sure I could pull it off.
“He’s got some issue that’s made him this thing,” I continued, absently, focusing on channeling my energy first into the Salvere tattoo.
“I don’t believe you,” she said, sardonically and lunged at me again, full force.
This time, I didn’t dodge. Instead, I reached out and grabbed the energy baton with my hands.
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“Salvere,” I whispered through gritted teeth, channeling as much energy as I dared into my healing tattoo to numb the pain. It was still very unpleasant.
Knowing it would only last a split second, I yanked the baton from her surprised grasp and tossed it as far as I could.
“Supernova!” I shouted next, jamming my open palm up against her sternum.
I channeled a large sum of my remaining energy into the blast. It wasn’t a damaging spell, but at such close range with this much power, it would have a stunning, concussive effect.
The woman flew back off her feet and landed on the ground nearby. I leapt up into the air, manifesting my daggers in my hand as I prepared to come down on her. Just as I was about to land what could have been a lethal blow, something hit me like a hovercar from the side.
I heard a growl and felt fur, and for a moment, I feared it was the Lycan. Instead, I landed in a low crouch facing off with a large lion-like creature unlike any I had ever encountered. Not only was it about twice the size of a normal lion, but the creature also boasted a pair of beautiful, angelic wings stretching out of its back.
The look of feral anger it gave me, however, was neither beautiful nor angelic. It lunged at me, and I dodged, conserving my energy since expending most of it on the last two incantations I had cast. Luckily, the creature seemed content to put itself between me and the woman, whom I assumed it was protecting.
“Seems a little cheaty,” I quipped, hoping my bravado masked my uncertainty as my mind raced for a way out of this situation.
I had poured a lot of my energy into a risky attack I knew would work. Her unexpected ally threw a wrench into things and put me on the backfoot. I put my arms up into a fighting stance, readying myself as the woman stood and put a hand on the beast’s back.
“If you want to even the odds, perhaps let your friend out of his cage to help you,” she goaded sarcastically. “This is what it looks like when you treat all creatures with the respect they deserve.”
I groaned in frustration, genuinely getting irritated by her high and mighty speeches at this point.
“For the love of the stars!” I spat out angrily.
“I’ve been trying to tell you that thing,” I gestured over my shoulder toward the cage behind me, “is not a creature. It’s a person under the influence of something that apparently wants to kill everything it sees.”
But the woman was no longer looking at me. Her attention was focused over my shoulder, eyes wide with some mixture of uncertainty and worry. The lion creature pulled its wings in tight to its body in a defensive gesture and growled low, head down as it stepped in front of the woman again.
I didn’t need to turn around to know what was happening. I could feel the tingle on the back of my neck, the adrenaline rush of knowing my back was exposed to something lethal that meant me harm. Without another moments hesitation, I took off in a sprint. The feeling of being hunted oozed dread down my spine.
I heard the woman shout something and move as if to intervene, but it was too late. I leapt and turned, manifesting my daggers in my hands defensively. Out of the lingering haze, I saw the Lycan emerge in pursuit. Its long clawed hand reached out toward me as I tossed first one, then another dagger, straight at its body.
I didn’t have time to calculate the perfect spot to incapacitate without killing. My body was acting on instinct, determined to survive. One clawed hand scraped down my calf as the daggers hit the beast square in the chest and it howled, withdrawing.
It was enough to stave off its immediate attack, but it recovered quickly. Now it looked even more pissed, if that were possible, and it staggered for a moment before continuing toward me. My eyes were so focused on the creature that Cash’s arrival caught me by surprise. He wrapped his strong bionic arm around the creatures neck and started to squeeze.
The Lycan was a good foot taller than Cash. He picked the bionic man off his feet and shook him like a rag-doll. For his part, Cash hung on for a good while before being flung to the side. During the tussle, I caught a glimpse of the spot I’d last seen Cash fighting the Collectors and the others.
Several mangled, dead bodies littered the ground, casualties from all sides. That explained why Gundar was the next to attack the Lycan. Apparently, it had wreaked havoc through their men before coming after me.
I took the opportunity to assess the damage I’d sustained from its attack. Deep puncture wounds penetrated straight through my calf muscle. Just moving it hurt like hell. I didn’t have time to be an easy target, however, so I quickly chanted Salvere.
I needed to rely on something other than my abilities now, all of my remaining energy was funneling through my body, keeping the pain in check and slowly working to mend the deep wound.
A quick assessment of the scene told me that the woman’s group, whoever they were, had started to pull back. Cages were disappearing as the teleporter extracted them from the site one-by-one. Only a few seemed intent on helping deal with the Lycan. The woman I had been fighting was one of them.
The Collectors, those who hadn’t fled, were focused on stopping the rampaging murder machine in their midst and could not afford to spare any thought for the activists robbing them blind. The Lycan continued to chew through people like threads on a rope, each one seeming to keep it from its ultimate goal. Me.
Why is it so focused on me? I wondered. Maybe it’s feeding off Dick’s associations? Drawn to me because of our...closeness? But all it knows is killing?
The woman I’d been fighting retrieved her staff from a member of her team.
“Emery!” the man who brought her the staff said. “We need to go!”
“Not until we help deal with this,” she said, reactivating the staff.
“This is their problem,” the man said. “And probably what they deserve for what they’ve done to that animal.”
“That’s not an animal,” she said, glancing at me.
I rolled my eyes and stood shakily to my feet. I had to get moving. If he was really drawn to me, that might be our only chance of getting him out of here alive. I relayed that plan to Cash and Ryuuk through my coms.
I caught a piece of rock from the earthen floor and tossed it at the Lycan who was mid-execute on Gundar. It turned to look at me, but I was already running.
Great idea, Skye. Try to outrun the wolf-man with a lame leg. Brilliant.
To my surprise, I made it all the way out of the backstage and into the arena cage proper before it caught up with me. Adrenaline proved a powerful ally in my flight, but it could only last so long. Cash, Emery, and her giant cat were close behind us. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ryuuk flitter into the arena from above.
“Close it!” I called to Cash, as I ran across the large open area of the arena.
“Hell no!” Cash called. “You’ll die.”
“I’ve got her,” Emery said and dived into the arena, the cat by her side. “Just close it!”
I’d run out of space to flee through, as I heard the clank of the cage doors behind me. For the second time that day, I realized I’d entered into a situation without a clear plan of how to get out of it. My brain knew this was the only way to contain the Lycan without killing it, assuming we could even kill it. My brain also knew that I was going to have to get lucky to survive being trapped in a cage with this monster.
Emery’s giant cat creature barreled into the Lycan from the side, throwing it off balance and flinging it several feet away. It gave me a moment to assess my surroundings.
“We need to get away from it!” Emery called.
“No, shit!” I replied. “You shouldn’t have come in here.”
“I’m not the idiot who came in here without a plan,” she shot back, pulling something from her robes.
It was one of the locator beacons for the teleporter. I had no idea where it led, but it couldn’t mean more certain death than staying in the cage.
“But I’m not leaving without Kiara,” she said, nodding in the direction of where the cat and Lycan were fighting.
Looking over at the beautiful beast fighting off the Lycan that was trying to kill me, I had to agree that leaving it behind seemed wrong. I nodded.
“Just be ready,” I said.
I channeled a tiny spark of light from Supernova toward the Lycan, catching its attention from across the arena. It turned and paused for one intense moment to look at me before taking off in a full sprint in my direction. Timing would be everything. I needed to hold my ground and dodge as it lunged. Then take off as fast as my injured leg could carry me in Emery’s direction.
Curbing the instinct to flee as the Lycan barreled down at me was a struggle. As expected, the monster lunged. I dodged perfectly, as planned, but had underestimated the beast’s sentience. It anticipated my move, pulling back just in time to bounce off the side wall straight at me from behind.
“Skye!!!” Cash yelled.
The creature’s claws dug into my shoulders as it pounced on top of me and howled triumphantly. The wound activated my constant healing incantation, diverting its warm healing light from my injured leg briefly to my shoulder and up my arm as I reached up to grab the Lycan’s forearm where it held me down.
It reacted as if I had burned it. Screaming in pain and jumping off me as quickly as it had pounced. The creature stumbled backward, seeming to lose its footing in a clumsy shuffle. It thrashed on the ground for a few minutes as the hair and claws receded and bone and skin reshaped itself.
A howl of pain ended with a very human sounding scream as Dick’s face and eyes stared back at me, glazed in pain and confusion.
“Skye?” he said weakly.
I didn’t have time to reply as his eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell unconscious to the ground. I made my way carefully toward him, checking to make sure he was alive. I felt Emery approach with her cat, Kiara. Tossing her a glance, I saw her gaze fixed on where Dick lay in the dirt.
“I admit, I was wrong,” she said, stoically.
“Gee, that’s big of you,” I replied sarcastically.
“You’re not going to like this part,” she said, ignoring my jab.
“What?”
But she was already reaching for us both. I saw my skin start to shimmer and dissolve into warm yellow light as she transported us out of the arena.