The day flew by as a steady stream of well-wishers and team members came through to visit her. Dr. Galloise and the entire research team practically took over the hospital floor as they went between Leta and Vigo’s rooms.
She could tell from the slight tightness around Dr. Kudela’s lips that she was nervous having so many Mundanes on a floor designated for the Arisen, but she, Afra, and the other nurse, Adjany, never let their secret slip.
Eventually, they had given the all-clear for Vigo to sit in her room with her so that their visitors didn’t have to keep ping-ponging from room to room.
Leta was grateful that they made the exception for her and let everyone in.
It was nice to have the chance to say goodbye to the team that had treated her like family during these summer weeks and taught her so much.
Everyone had a handshake or hug for her, happy that she was okay after the accident and looking forward to working with her again in the future.
As the sun dipped low on the horizon, Leta felt the itchy numbing in her hands begin to fade as the Nanites finished up remaking her arms.
[Modifications complete. 190 inert Nanites remain.]
Using the motion of crossing her arms, she felt her forearms for any changes but couldn’t determine if there was any difference between this and what it was before.
Hopefully, she wouldn’t have to find out any time soon.
Dr. Galloise bent over and gave her a hug, “I’m glad you’re okay, kiddo. Hope I see you at Berkeley next time I visit.”
“Thanks, Anika.”
A soft knock sounded and Dr. Kudela poked her head inside. “Sorry to interrupt, but visiting hours are about to end.”
“We’re out of here.” Dr. Galloise nodded, giving her shoulder one last squeeze before turning to hug her parents.
“You guys should get a hotel for the night if we need to be up early.” Leta tried to reason but her mother’s squinted eyes put a stop to that.
“You think I’m letting you out of my sight?”
Dr. Kudela’s shoulders squared, her voice firm, “I’m sorry, ma’am, but visiting hours-”
“Could we just get a few more minutes?” Leta interrupted the doctor, who seemed to really consider the request before sighing.
“Just a little bit longer. Then you go. She needs her rest.” Dr. Kudela looked pointedly at her mother who looked ready to protest when Leta butted in again.
“Thank you, Doctor.”
The older woman was shaking her head ruefully as she closed the door behind her.
Theodore put a hand on Naomi’s shoulder. “Love, we should try to get some sleep while we can.”
“I know. I just…” Her lips tightened, fine lines bracketing her mouth in protest.
A thought struck Leta and she nearly face palmed at being so forgetful. “I just realized that you guys are going to a hotel but you have no way to contact me in the morning or for me to get a hold of you with my phone gone.”
Theodore’s head rolled back as he saw the mistake, “And I’m sure the emergency contact information is still listed as Dr. Galloise… You, ladies, sit tight, I’ll go see if I can get a phone number for the nurses’ station and give them mine if you need to get in touch with us.”
“Thanks, babe.” Naomi smiled softly as he kissed the top of her head before exiting.
They sat quietly for a while sipping water the nurses had brought them as they gazed out at what they could see of the Acropolis illuminated in the dusk light.
“I would have liked to have at least stopped by the museum before we go,” Leta remarked.
“You saw it when you were twelve.”
“I saw it for, like, two minutes. Plus, we were visiting Dr. Marrow and we were at the university a lot longer than the museum.”
Naomi waved her hand as if to swat away a fly, “You didn’t miss much. Plus, half the stuff of any historical note was stolen by the British, anyway.”
Leta rolled her eyes. The museum in London was always a sore spot with her mother.
Leta took another of her water and nearly choked as the floor vibrated beneath them, the medical tower next to her rolling an inch as the building seemed to shake.
“Wah-Earthquake?” Naomi gasped as she put a hand on Leta’s bed to keep her balance. Outside the window, the city bustled as if it were a perfectly normal evening, cars traversing the narrow roads as the nightly entertainment began to open its doors.
A moment later the shrill of fire alarms echoed through the room as the shaking stopped.
“Are you guys okay?” Theodore asked as he burst into the room and nearly knocked the door off its hinges as Afra and the nurse Adjany trailed after him.
Leta nodded, “Yeah, small earthquake.”
“We should probably move you to a more secure location,” Adjany added, her dark eyes pleading but downcast as if trying not to look her in the eye. “Just in case there are aftershocks-”
“shhht… call…” The radio clipped to her hip crackled as the dark-skinned woman pulled it free to fiddle with the toggles.
“shhht…Blessed have… get… I repeat. Blessed have attacked the civilian entrance. Get the Queen to safety. Code Silver. Mundane floors, Code 5.”
Afra’s eyes went wide, “Oh, no…” She breathed, her voice trembling with fear as she immediately ran to unhook Leta’s IV.
“W-whats Code Silver?” Lea stuttered.
“The hospital is unsafe.” Adjany said over her shoulder as moved to the door, checking the hallway, “There is a dangerous situation occurring. We need to get you safe.”
“What!? A-”
The door burst open, revealing a stern-faced Dr. Kudela holding two massive daggers in her dainty hands.
“Ground floor is overrun, and the first floor is compromised.” She hissed.
“We need to get-”
“Shhh!” she admonished Naomi with a stern look. “Keep your voice down.”
“Halls are clear. I’m making a run for my bag.” Adjany said quietly from the threshold.
The elderly doctor nodded her consent, and the dark-skinned woman darted off, the squeak of her sneakers on the hospital floor nearly unheard from the shrill of the still echoing fire alarms.
Bewildered at what was happening around them, her parents stared at the sight of the two daggers in the woman’s hands, her mother instinctively taking a step to put herself between Leta and the elderly doctor before she took a closer look at the weapons.
“Is that… a seax?” She blinked.
Dr. Kudela gave her mother a tired smile, “Yes, dear. It’s the most familiar weapon to me.”
The sound of footsteps had the elderly woman twisting around quickly into a fighter’s stance, weapons held out at the ready. Around the corner came Koa still in his own hospital gown and wielding his familiar sword followed by Vigo.
“I’ve got the other one.”
“Rude much?” Vigo grumbled but didn’t put up much of a fight as they too made their way into the room quickly followed by Adjany.
A bulky canvas cross-body bag was slung across her chest, glass vials filled with different materials held in loops within easy access.
Leta raised a brow. “What class are you?”
“Alchemist,” Adjany replied, then turned to the elderly doctor. “We’re ready to move.”
Dr. Kudela nodded, “Head for the back stairwell and get to the roof.”
“Wait one damn minute.” Naomi growled between her teeth, “If there’s a fire from the earthquake shouldn’t we head for the road? What kind of hospital-”
“Silence.” Leta growled, her voice resonating off the walls as the weight of her power seemed to press down on those who heard her, their shoulders suddenly heavy and their knees weak as if instinctively wishing to kneel.
Taking a breath, she looked back at her parents. “Mom. Dad. There’s some really bad people that want to hurt us. If we can get to safety, everything will be fine. If not, then you’re going to see some really weird stuff before something unimaginable tries to eat you - literally eat you. We’re going to follow these nice people to safety and do what they tell us to and for once we’re not going to question why, okay?”
As if to punctuate her statement, the lights overhead suddenly flickered off, on again, then off just as red tinged emergency lights came to life.
Dr. Kudela gulped. “They hit the main power. They’re nearly to the floor below us. We need to go now.”
“This way.” Koa called, holding his sword at the ready. “Dr. Kudela and me in the front, Her Majesty and the Mundanes in the center, Adjany and Afra in the back. Stay close.”
The Hearth Maiden put a hand on Leta’s shoulder as the Warrior led them out of the room, arms loose and ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“Keep your voice down from here on out.” Adjany whispered, turning the volume down on her radio so it could still be heard but wouldn’t draw attention if they were ambushed.
Her parents were so bewildered and frightened by what was happening that they didn’t even bother responding.
The red lights illuminating the hallway coupled with the flashing lights and shrill of the fire sirens felt as if they’d stepped into some post-apocalyptic world.
“We need to get you up to the roof for extrication.” Afra whispered at her back, “We need to hurry, because with this much racket, every fireman, police officer, and news anchor with a helicopter will be crawling all over this place.”
“Won’t the Blessed kill themselves if they’re exposed to Mundanes?”
“We’ve both learned how to do a lot of damage when people aren’t looking.”
“Quiet!” Dr. Kudela hissed.
They were halfway down the hallway when a low baritone noise froze them in their tracks like a deer caught in the gaze of a tiger.
It was a deep grating low in the throat like the noise a dog makes right before it growls, followed by one long drawn out sniff and an animal-like snort.
“Slowly and quietly now,” Dr. Kudela flicked one outstretched arm back to signal them to back up. “back into the nurse station.”
Leta’s heart was racing as she felt the floor tremble with a rhythmic ‘thump, thump’ that steadily became louder and louder as she took cover behind the nurse’s desk. It wasn’t meaty like when flesh or paw slapped against linoleum but instead sounded hard, like someone was dropping a heavy stone on the floor again and again.
Dr. Kudela and Koa sat close to the hall, backs to the desk and weapons in easy reach as they readied themselves for what was to come.
Everyone seemed to hold their breath as Dr. Kuela gingerly peeked around the side, waiting…waiting….
She rolled back and looked at Adjany. “Onikuma.”
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The Alchemist nodded, taking out a bundle of something Leta couldn’t identify from her bag and strapped it to her wrist before pulling a vial of white powder and a vial of almost neon blue liquid from the loops on her bag.
Placing them in one palm, she covered them in a tight grip and focused before relaxing her fingers. Where once there were two cylinder vials was now a glass ball filled with swirling gray smoke.
As she used her talent, the sniffling snorts grew closer, stopping only a few meters away as it sounded like it was investigating one of the rooms and nearly made her parents jump as a medical tower came crashing down.
Placing the sphere in a leather sling that she realized was a wrist-mounted slingshot, she put the soon-to-be projectile in a relaxed grip, rolling into a squat to act at a moment’s notice.
Dr. Kudela turned to once again peek around the desk, her left hand raising to shoulder level like a general about to signal the attack. She paused, her tiny hand never wavering as she held her weapon.
Hold…
Hold…
Leta watched a pen cap near her foot rattle on the ground as whatever it was approached, it’s heavy breathing and almost-growls seeming to feel like it was right next to her ear.
She didn’t even see Dr. Kudela lower her arm in signal to the Alchemist nurse, but she did see Adjany suddenly pop up from her position and, in one swift move, pulled back on her weapon.
Dr. Kudela and Koa were already on their feet and sprinting into the attack by the time Adjany fired.
Leta rolled forward to see what was happening and nearly gasped at what she saw.
It was a bear, at least in general shape and size. Massive front paws and slightly smaller hind legs gave it a sloping back on a body packed with muscle. Its form was covered in light gray fur that was thick and shaggy, but its front paws were… stone?
Stone claws and paws larger than her face were made of a dark gray stone with black strands webbing through it. The granite-like material ran from the tip of its claws halfway up its arm but moved like flesh.
The creature had been ambling out of an observation room, its block-like head turning to see two figures coming quickly towards it.
Stuck between the door’s frame the creature had little room for movement but still managed to let loose an absolutely terrifying roar that sent the pen cap by Leta’s toe flying as it raised one stone paw to attack.
Just as its 20 centimeter claws started to reach for them, Adjany’s glass missile found its mark, landing directly above the monster’s left eye and shattering into pieces as the gray smoke that was inside spread over it like a low hanging fog. The beast roared in pain as the smoke seeped into its fur and eye, black blood sprayed from its eye as the smoke melted skin, fur, and bone.
One stone paw rubbed at the smoke to try and dislodge it, only for the acidic gas to eat away at its granite claws.
It caught movement out of its one good eye and turned back to snarl at the tiny woman and young male coming at it.
It swung its slowly dissolving paw with a speed that didn’t seem to match its bulky mass at Dr. Kudela, who slid to one side narrowly missing being pulverized.
Koa split to the other side of the hall, forcing the beast to fight from two different angles as he swung his sword upwards, his blade digging deep into the beast’s shoulder.
Adjany wasted no time in crafting another missile and setting it in the sling, arms at the ready and waiting for a moment of opportunity as Dr. Kudela spun like a dancer, her white coat flapping behind her as she swung her massive daggers.
She moved like an Olympic gymnast, kicking off the wall and using her momentum to slice deep into the monster’s forearm just above where stone turned to flesh.
It’s head snapped around as fangs the size of her palm opened wide to bite down on the woman who had dared get so close. Dr. Kudela managed to get her other dagger up, the beast’s jaw closing around the blade instead of her face. Its black eyes glared down at her for a second before Adjany’s second missile landed on the top of its snout, gray smoke quickly dissolving its other eye and most of the skin around its face.
It roared, shaking its massive head from side to side and sending Dr. Kudela flying into the wall where she landed with a hard thump before sliding to the ground.
Blind, the beast’s head thrashed this way and that, knocking into the walls with enough force to break the drywall.
“Adjany! Grease!” Afra hissed before popping her head over the desk, “Koa! Get in the room!”
Koa didn’t ask what she planned to do as he rolled into the room next to them, pulling the dazed Dr. Kudela in after him as the monster continued to go back and forth running full force into the walls. He could see its melted face that was nearly completely skeletal at this point through the holes in the drywall as its parade of destruction continued.
Adjany had produced another glass sphere, this time filled with a viscous black liquid that moved like molasses in its container.
She loaded it in the sling and looked to the Hearth Maiden, who’d crawled forward to have an open running lane.
“Go!” Afra growled, sprinting forward as Adjany let loose her sphere. It sailed through the air before it smashed into the floor just in front of the monster’s feet. The thick liquid inside spread out on the floor in a slick but sticky mess, the beast slipping on the liquid and coating its underbelly.
“Fire in the hole!” Afra shouted as she leaped into the hallway, throwing up her glowing white hands as she let loose a torrent of white hot flame from her palms.
The fire caught on Adjany’s liquid, instantly setting it ablaze in a burst of green tinged flame.
Koa and Dr. Kudela watched through the holes in the drywall as its body thrashed once more, sparks from its fiery form floating into the room.
It roared in pain and terror as the super hot flames turned its fur to ash. Its stone paws glowed red as they heated, turning into magma and dripping onto the linoleum with a hiss. Rough skin was burned away until all that was left was mostly granite bone barely held together by charred muscle.
Whatever Adjany had thrown burned hot but did not burn long. The flames quickly eating up the combustible liquid until it was spent. As the flames subsided, all that remained was a massive form of blackened muscle, its blood sizzling and popping against its bones and still glowing paws.
It whined low in its throat, still expressing its agonizing pain through vocal cords that were barely there.
“Koa!” Afra shouted as the flames coating her hands died away.
The Warrior burst through the door, taking a running leap to cut his sword into the monsters neck. Its still smoldering bones now exposed and weakened by the heat, the sword easily cut through bone and muscle, cleaving the beast’s head off as its body finally went limp in death.
“Clear!” He confirmed, standing up straight.
“Holy crap, it’s dead.” Afra breathed, falling back on her bum in relief before her brows furrowed. “Holy crap, I should be dead. I just exposed myself to Mundanes.” She looked back to Vigo and Leta’s parents who’d been frozen in terror at what they’d witnessed.
The Hearth Maiden looked back at Dr. Kudela who was slowly limping back into the hallway as if the elderly woman could give her answers. “Why am I not dead?”
“Questions for another time, I think.” She groaned, leaning against the door’s frame.
“Let’s go.” Koa nodded, going over to Afra to help her to her feet.
Naomi slowly rose up from where they’d been crouched down behind the nurses station and gave a muffled scream at the corpse of the monster still smoldering in the hallway.
“What is…?”
“It’s a monster, mom.” Leta said matter of fact, putting her hands on her mother’s shoulders to guide her forward towards the stairwell.
“Is that a bear?”
“It sure looks like it.”
“Its paws are… stone?”
“I think so.”
She heard her father dry heave behind her as the smell of burned flesh and hair wafted over them.
“Two floors up is the roof.” Dr. Kudela muttered, standing up straighter as if she was just going to walk off getting thrown into a wall by a monster. “No time for quiet now. We need to get there fast. Hurry.”
Screeeeeech…
The sound of metal bending unnaturally behind them saw the elevators at the other end of the hallway rattling in the red emergency light. The doors groaned as something behind it tried to force them open.
“Go. Go. Go!” Adjany shouted as she prepared another grease sphere for whatever was coming from that direction.
“Run!” Afra pushed her father forward around the monster corpse towards the stairwell as one green skinned arm stuck its way between the doors.
A hollow howl sounded behind them just as a lengthy jackal-like creature jumped from the stairwell ahead, a triangle-shaped head locking on their group with a snarl.
“Loupgaru!” Koa cried out as he swung at the monster.
It jumped out of the way just as one of its paws swiped at him, pushing him backwards.
Another Loupgaru came charging up the stairwell behind it just as the elevator doors were pushed open, revealing three stout creatures that looked like miniature amphibian humans.
“Goblins!” Adjany shouted as she let loose her grease sphere, coating the hallway in the slippery liquid.
The Loupgaru jumped at Koa, who dodged to the side and got his sword up to bring it down on the creature’s neck, successfully killing the beast as Afra used her flames to burn the other.
It howled in pain, writing on the floor as Dr. Kudela pushed Leta and her parents toward the stairwell. “Hurry! Don’t look, just go!”
The dark stairs were only lit by LED lights set into the sides of the steps, casting the space in near darkness. The floor below them thumped, and Leta looked over the rails to see another Loupgaru two floors below them and gaining.
Adjany saw it too and threw a grease sphere down just as the goblins still slick with the liquid slipped into it behind them, clawed hands reaching for them as they muttered something unintelligible, eyes the size of baseballs glowing yellow in the darkness.
Leta leaned over the rail and focused, sparks dancing over her fingers to let loose in a stream of lightning that hit the goblins and set the grease on fire. They shrieked as their leathery skin turned to ash in the green flame.
“Oh my!” Naomi shrieked in horror as she watched her daughter use magic, a look of bewilderment on her face as she didn’t recognize the person in front of her.
“Run, mom! Run.” Leta grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled her up the stairs.
They’d made it to the floor above when the Loupgaru jumped over the ash covered bodies of the goblins, its sleek muscles easily clearing halfway to the landing in one go as it was joined by another Loupgaru from the floor they had just exited.
Adjany quickly made an acid ball and turned to throw it, her shot missing as the sphere hit the concrete stairs and melted it.
Afra pulled the Alchemist forward as Adjany stumbled onto the landing and threw her hand forward. The first Loupgaruwasn’t as quick this time and was awash in flame before realizing its error.
The other Loupgaru pulled up short before it, too, would have been set on fire and growled, its triangle-shaped head turning to Leta with too intelligent eyes.
Quick as lightning it pulled itself up onto the inner railing and leaped, massive claws catching the railing just in front of Leta as its wide jaw shot forward to take a bite out of her.
Instinctively, Leta raised her arms to protect her face as its teeth bit into her skin and muscle until it hit bone.
Leta screamed as she felt its needle sharp teeth pierce her skin as the monster tried to bite down but couldn’t break her bones.
[Host has taken piercing damage from Corrupted-Loupgaru. Atlanite skeletal structure has prevented complete loss of arm function. Remove piercing items for repairs.]
She pushed at it with her other hand, fingers digging into fine black fur as a prompt appeared.
[Corrupted-Loupgaru. Inert Nanites: 1,001,452. Absorb inert Nanites? Yes/No?]
“Yes, quickly!”
The feel of strength and vitality entering her had her lungs feeling with relief as the Loupgaru shrieked twice, one from Dr. Kudela’s daggers digging into its shoulder and again as its body began to shrivel up.
Its eyes went white as its vision went black and its teeth dislodged from her skin before falling from its mouth.
It only took a few seconds from the creature to become a mummified husk, breathing its last without any understanding of how it was dying.
Theodore watched in shock as the bite marks on his daughter’s hand puckered like pursing lips before fading away as if she’d never been injured.
Leta quickly rolled to her feet and picked her mom up off the ground, “Let’s go!” She didn’t see the shocked and frightened looks of the nurses behind her or Dr. Kudela’s slack jaw. She was only focused on the door above them that led to the roof and onward to freedom.
Below they heard the skittering of webbed feet and the growl of a predator as another Loupgaru from the floor below spotted them, goblins following closely behind.
Dr. Kudela pushed open the door and stumbled onto the gravel covered roof as Koa ushered her parents forward and out of the stairwell.
Adjany had crafted another glass sphere, this one containing a glowing red stone that she tossed to Afra, who shut the door behind her and smashed the orb between the door and its metal frame.
The red stone glowed like a miniature sun before fading as it fused the door to the frame. Afra jumped back as the door glass shattered, green skinned arms reaching for her as the Goblins screeched in annoyance.
“That’s not going to hold them forever.” Afra muttered, scurrying away from the door.
“Hayato should be here.” Koa looked around, his head turning back and forth as if searching for something.
Dr. Kudela turned as something heavy battered the door from the other side. “We need to find someplace to take shelter. We cannot be exposed like this.”
“Head for the air conditioning units!” Adjany shouted, pointing to the other side of the room where large fans were encased in metal containers, cooling tubs running out of them as they pumped air into the building below. “It will give us some cover to stage an-”
Without warning something dark as night swooped down and grabbed the Alchemist in massive eagle like claws around her body and dragged her into the sky. Leta watched in terror as Adjany’s screams faded into the night before she saw the outline of the creature release her body, letting her shrieking form plummet to the city below.
“Oh my god!” Naomi screamed, hands to her mouth in shock.
“Gargoyle!” Koa shouted, “Run! Get under something.”
They ran, Leta keeping one eye on the sky as the barely visible outline of the monster circled around then tucked it’s arms in a dive like a bird of prey, massive talons for feet outstretched as it targeted Dr. Kudela.
“This is a dumb idea.” Leta admonished herself as she stopped in her tracks, putting herself between the doctor and creature coming at them. As it got closer she could see a somewhat humanoid body, its feet eagle-like in shape made of rough stone like the rest of its body. Its bat-like wings stretched out to correct its trajectory, the pointed ears on its bald head twitching as glowing red eyes glared down at her. A mouth full of razor sharp teeth like a shark drew back in a snarl as clawed hands gripped the air, ready to rend and tear its prey apart.
‘Not bloody likely.’ she growled to herself, gathering the anger inside her as she threw her lightning at the creature.
It wasn’t expecting the attack, red eyes widening in surprise just before a bolt of electricity struck its chest, causing its muscles to lock in place, tendrils of lightning webbing out from her target to hit the roof.
Without the use of its wings the Gargoyle smacked into the ground before rolling like an uncoordinated boulder.
Its cone shaped head shook before turning to growl at Leta who was already gathering her strength, sparks of electricity snapping around her arms and making her hair dance.
“Leta, don’t!” Koa shouted.
She looked over and saw Koa, her parents, and the rest of the team taking cover amid the cooling units and cursed. With all the metal surrounding them, she could seriously hurt them with her lightning by accident.
“Okay, we’re gonna do this the un-fun way.” Leta groaned, jumping on the balls of her feet as the Gargoyle launched itself at her, flying low like a glider with claws outstretched.
She raised her arms in a boxer stance and waited for it to strike.
The blow just behind the monster’s screech of fury, sharp claws made of rough stone digging into her forearms as she screamed into the monster’s snarling face.
“Freeze!”
[The Host has used persuasion. Persuasion successful.]
Her knees buckled as the full weight of the monster fell on top of her as it became a living statue. Gritting her teeth, her hands latched onto the monster’s face as it twitched in her grasp, trying to fight the compulsion.
It didn’t know that it was already too late.
[Corrupted-Gargoyle. Inert Nanites: 1,203,014. Absorb inert Nanites? Yes/No?]
With a thought she confirmed her choice.
The Gargoyle had regained enough of itself to howl in pain as what made it so powerful was leached away. Granite hard skin weakened and broke apart, its deadly claws turning to dust as its wings broke off and shattered on the ground, the creature’s muscles now little more than calcium unable to hold up the weight of it’s own body.
Leta breathed deep as she let go, it’s body now sand in the wind as the night air from the far off ocean blew what remained away.
“Leta!” Koa shouted, “I just got cell service. Atreus says that Hayato needs a big shadow to get us all out of here, but with the power out there’s no light to make a shadow that big! We need to get that spotlight on!” He pointed to a corner of the building were a large light was set up to illuminate the helicopter landing zone in the middle of the room.
The only problem? Between the light and her was a stairwell door holding back a horde of monsters ready to eat her alive.
“Of course it’s way over there.” Leta muttered to herself just as the welding on the door failed.