Tilly flies up and over what was left of a house as Paladin swings his sword at her. The huge wave of energy tore the area apart, anything living that was caught in the strike vaporized in the brilliant green energy. He resets his stance to swing again, the energy was hard for him to control, like wielding a massive hunk of steel.

She zips around, weaving through the buildings, trying to find an opening as he spins the blade around in a circle, the buildings crumble as the energy blade carves through them.

Her face twists in anger as Paladin's attacks destroy her and Kimiko's favorite bakery. They would spend hours at the place after missions, laughing.. talking…. Now it's gone, now she is gone, these fucking zealots take and take… just like everyone else in the Harshlands. The only thing that separated them from your run of the mill warlord or bandit was an alien god. One day… she promised herself… One day she would watch everything It created purified in her righteous flames.

"I'll reduce this town to rubble if you don't come out and face me! Then there will be nowhere left for you to hide! You can't beat me! I serve a higher purpose! This is my moment, Sern will see my glory and I will earn my place by his side! I will become beloved!"

Paladin shouts, he swings his blade wildly, leveling the surrounding area.

Tilly zooms around the cloud of dust and smoke created by his relentless swings, all he sees is an orange wisp as he tries to attack in her direction. He breathes heavily, the labor of wielding so much energy was taking its toll on him.

"FIGHT ME YOU DEMON!" He screams, spinning in circles looking for Tilly.

"Ok." Tilly whispers in his ear. She grabs his sword arm and delivers a fast, well placed blow to the back of his elbow. The arms bends in a sickeningly wrong way.

CRACK!

He lets out a scream and tries to hit her but she vanishes into the dust cloud. He bursts energy from his body, the repulse clears the smoke and dust momentarily before it rapidly refills the empty space robbing him of his sight.

She appears again, this time hitting his knee with a vicious front kick. His knee buckles back as tendons and ligaments snap and pop.

Like a wounded animal he lashes out, bursts of energy rip through the battlefield as he snarls in pain and frustration. Tilly is lifted into the air, the wall of hostile energy slices at her skin like sandpaper. She fights through it, pushing through the attack, luckily he had expended so much energy his attacks weren't deadly anymore.

She lands in front of him, her clothes shredded, her skin burning with hundreds of cuts.

"You thought I was that one dimensional?" She says, dodging a pitiful wave of energy thrown at her. He swings his shield hand at her. She grabs it, sliding her hands down to his shoulder and violently pushes down. The pop echos in the silence before he lets out a moan.

"I'm more than my flames." Tilly grabs his helmet, ripping it from his head. She steps back motioning for him to get up.

"How about you? Do your powers define you? Are you truly worthy of Serns love?" She snickers, entering a fighting stance chase taught her long ago.

Paladin looks stunned, he looks around at the nothing that surrounded them. His people were gone, her people were gone, it was just the two of them. She was serious, the fact that she would even give him this chance was insanity. He tries to stand….. his leg screams in pain as he puts pressure on it. He tries to move his damaged arms, gritting his teeth as his shoulder clicks and snaps as it moves out of socket.

Tilly walks towards him methodically, he lets out a pathetic pulse of energy from his body and it doesn't even faze her. His singed lip quivers in fear as her fist smashes into his teeth. The blow was followed by a combination of punches, the last one an uppercut that sends him flying onto his ass. He begins to whimper and sob. Crying out to his god, screaming Sern's name through a mangled mouth.

"I learned that little combo from the best. He showed me I was more than a raging fire… But you? You're nothing more than a leech, you needed my own strength to beat me. Now look at you… crying like a baby." She steps closer to him as he tries to crawl away. She sits on his armored back as he squirms trying to knock her off.

She sighs in disappointment.

"You really didn't put up much of a fight there. I know I messed you up but geez…" She pulls his head up from the ground, leaning over she looks into his crazed eyes.

"Oh… duh… you think you're coming back." She smirks as his face twists with even more panic.

"Nope, unfortunately there won't be anything left of you to become one of the Sern's freaks and I don't really feel like fighting you again." She stands up and stomps on his neck, boosting her foot with white hot flames. The blow nearly severs his head.

She stands on top of the body and creates a column of flames. The heat swirls around Paladin's corpse.

Tilly made sure there was nothing left of him before she fell to the ground. The fatigue and multiple wounds had finally caught up with her.

She stares up at the sky as the first hints of sun rise hit the horizon, the lack of action made her injuries come front and center. She wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for days, but she didn't have that luxury. She rolls to her side and slowly gets up looking deep into New Eidolon as it burns from multiple points. She could hear the yells and screams of fights off

in the distance but they were dwindling, Sern's army had taken control.

"Gotta find Vandresh and Chase, god knows they probably need my help." She says brushing dust and dirt from her torn clothes before flying off toward the center of town.

Organi-steel swirls around his body as Vandresh fends off another attack from the ravenous Victor. The Creature seemed to be toying with him, taking pot shots and looking for an opening. He tried attacking as it got close but it was too fast, each time he swung his blade Victor would be gone.

"I always wanted to fight a Hardwynn Elite… Figures I would get stuck with this vile version of one." He says, trying to taunt the creature but it just stares mindlessly at him as black drool falls from its mouth.

He looks past the creature to the glowing dust cloud in the center of town, at the void where his home once stood, now it was more than likely a pile of rubble. His mind skips to an image of his beautiful town, the lush vegetation, the clean streets and shops and homes filled with its happy denizens. His face curls into a look of disgust, these people, this… This thing took that from him…. From them. They were making it, in this piece of shit world they had carved a slice of paradise and these degenerate cultists stole that from them.

Victor blurred out of existence.

Vandresh readies himself, this time invisible razor thin strands of metal spin around him.

Victor appears, its upper body flies past him. Its legs are separated from its body by the metal wire. He swings his blade and it slices through the speedy creature's arm as it slams into the ground tumbling through the bloody mud.

He forms a crude spear and drives it down onto the wounded victor. The tip drives into muck as the Chosen bursts away scurrying with its arms towards the web of metal,sinking its teeth into the first body it could find. Flesh and bone begin to fill its wounds as it feasts.

Vandresh doesn't hesitate, he runs… faster than he has ever ran before. He finally makes it back into the town and he was getting close to the center. He hoped the others would be there and hoped that their escape was still an option. As long as they made it out, New Eidolon could live again.

SCHHHLIN!

The pain barely registered as the flesh on his back began to separate. He can feel the warm rush of blood drench his shirt. He stumbled forward into a roll and Victor attacked again, this time slicing his calf in half.

He shouts in pain.

Vandresh shoots out tendrils of sharp wire, they pierce the monster's flesh but it vanishes again. He seals his wounds quickly, he can hold off the bleeding but the pain goes unchecked.

No running, he would have to stop this freak now or die trying, more than likely it would be both.

"Come on then! Let's finish this!" He shouts into the dawn air taunting Victor to attack.

The Chosen abides.

Vandresh creates another web of steel, Victor maneuvers through it.

Vandresh closes the web in on itself, the steel descends upon Victor as it blurs through the obstacle. It bursts through an opening, the metal shearing off its arms.

It smashes into Vandresh as his blade tears through Victor's midsection. Victor clamps its jaw down into his shoulder as they fall to the ground. The pair tumble and separate.

Vandresh coughs and his body shudders with pain. The jagged bite aches as green lines start to spread across his body.

"Fuck." He thought as he could feel Rahms curse flow into his veins. Thinking quickly he creates tiny metal wires sending them into his body hoping to slow the spread. The pain was unbearable, he may just die before the curse has a chance to take over. Better to die with his own will than a slave he thought.

Victor spasms as strange growths pour out where his arms were as new appendages begin to form. They looked more akin to a quadruped's arms, furthering its transition into something more alien than human. It scrambles onto all fours making its way towards the wounded Vandresh. Its drooling maw is ready to devour his core as it lunges towards him.

FWOOOSH!

Victor is blown back by a blast of fire, it howls in anger as Tilly lands in front of Vandresh. She throws more blasts in its direction as it zips backwards. Off in the distance the sounds of advancing Sourcers echoes off the buildings. She helps Vandresh up and drapes him over her back.

"Hang on… we are getting Chase and getting the hell out of here!" She says as she lifts off. Vandresh tries to protest, he tries to warn her of the curse trying to take over his body. But she just tells him to shut up.

The streets fill with Serns forces as she clears the skyline. Victor bounces off the faces of buildings with lightning speed, it leaps into the air taking a swipe at Tillys leg, its claw nearly ripping her flesh. It lets out a roar as it plummets to the street smacking into the ground with a bone shattering splat.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The beam cannon Hu created cuts deep into the waiting forces, they scramble forward trying to attack and avoid the weapon simultaneously. Hu calls for more fighters as he orders the citizens to fall back, firing the weapon again. The volatile energy slams into a Chosen, blowing a hole through its torso, its flesh falling off its body in lava like blobs. He lowers the smoking cannon and raises his Tri-gun, flipping a switch the tube in the back turns red as the prongs begin to spin. A small orb spits out the front floating into the attackers. He pulls the trigger and a red bolt hits the bubble igniting the gas inside. The explosion massacres the enemies in its radius, others are knocked down by the violent explosion, gasping for air with collapsed lungs.

Hu's powers weren't combat oriented like the others but his ability to create vicious weapons was unmatched. It's why he was tasked with protecting the convoy, just because he wasn't a fighter didn't mean he was less deadly than the rest. His mind wasn't normal, the way he described it to his friends seemed like a nightmare. Formulas and equations, scrolled out of every object. Schematics popping up everywhere, as parts for them glow all around him. He said the only time it was quiet was when he closed his eyes or the moments after creating something.

Most people would go crazy and well he was pretty crazy but in a quirky harmless way. He owned the madness, harnessing it into a force of good. When Chase met him he was making weapons for a warlord against his will. He booby trapped those weapons, made it look like accidents that never leading back to his craftsmanship. He was drawn to Chase's wild dream of saving the Harshlands, it took no convincing, the gravity of Chase pulled him in. The two became friends..brothers.. and together they built something amazing.

A winged Chosen flies past him bellowing out horrendous screeches as it plants itself onto one of the support beams holding the weight of the earth back. Its body shakes as its torso starts expanding and quickly deflates, it bounds off of the thick metal leaving behind a yellow stringy slime. Hu watches in fascination as the slime begins to crackle and spark. His fascination turns to horror as the slime explodes, tearing the support into pieces.

"Very bad.." Hu mumbles to himself. Why would they collapse the tunnels? Didn't they want to convert them to creatures like this one?

He passes his cannon to an unsuspecting defender without a word. She fumbles the gun momentarily, a shocked look on her face.

"Timed shots, give it a few seconds before each blast if you don't it could go critical and deconstruct everyone in this tunnel at a molecular level" He says rapidly with a blank look on his face.

The fighter gulps and slowly nods as more defenders join the front line clashing violently with the charging Sourcers.

"Push forward… protect the civilians!" He says enthusiastically as he turns around and begins running, pulling random items from his brown jacket.

She nods, with a bewildered look on her face. Enemy attacks zing past her as he dashes down the rocky tunnel. She aims the beam cannon at a slithering Chosen that was spewing acid at valiant defenders, the yellow fluid eating through them in seconds. She pulls the trigger and the cannon melts through flesh, the creature bursts. Acid showers its allies as they scream in pain, mass sloshing in chunks from their bones. She smiles … waiting to fire again.

Hu's weapon floats in front of him as random materials converge around him. The Tri-gun splits apart and all the pieces swirl around with the new items. They come together seamlessly, fasteners click into place and the powercores's signature high pitched whir serenades his ears.

He snatches it out of the air, in its original form the Tri-gun was the size of a large pistol now it was more akin to a rifle. He aims down the sights as the creature lands on the next beam. He pulls the trigger, and a small green dart imbeds itself into the Chosens translucent white flesh. It howls as it launches itself off the support. Hu flips a switch and pulls the trigger again as its prongs spin at blinding speeds. Green beams arc from the barrel as they track towards the flying monster hitting it as it sets off another explosion. The evac tunnel rumbles and shakes as dirt begins to pour from newly formed cracks, spreading along the ceiling.

The Tri-gun's green beams fill the creature's body, it thrashes in the air trying to escape their grasp. Its flesh begins to bulge and bubble as the volatile green energy destabilizes its atoms until it bursts into neon green slime.

It was cruel and gross but it was Hu's favorite mode of the weapon, Chase hated it when he used it on people but these weren't people. Not anymore at least….

His thoughts return to the moment as the tunnel begins to rumble and cracks spread along the walls and ceiling. Dirt and small rocks slip through the newly formed cracks showering the evacuees, he looks back and forth at the two fronts of conflict. The rear seemed to have calmed down; the noble defenders protected the lights. They even fashioned or brought their own light sources washing the back of the tunnel in glorious light, keeping the inky black portals at bay. The only foe remaining was an odd Chosen, a mess of spindly tentacles lashing out at the defenders.

The front line was a different story, a chaotic scene of death and destruction with the New Eidolon fighters trying to hold back the waves of attackers. He could hear the beam cannon firing in proper intervals, usually followed by shouts of terror as it carved a path through the swarming Sourcers.

A large explosion from the battle sends vibrations throughout the weakened tunnel. The cracks widen and spread, large chunks of cement fall from the ceiling crushing a cruiser.

Hu thinks fast as the vehicles around him begin to separate and the pieces fly through the air.

"Move forward! Push past the gate!" Hu shouts into his coms.

"But the enemies.."

"Won't matter if we are buried alive… MOVE NOW!" Hu interrupts as he desperately tries to brace the tunnel.

The convoy roars to life and pushes ahead, the fighters scream a battle cry as they rush the dwindling Sourcers, able bodied civilians join the scrum in the desperate battle. The beam cannon cuts a path for the vehicles as they pass over the bodies littering the floor trying to distance themselves from the crumbling ceiling.

The remaining people and vehicles speed past Hu as blood drips from his nose. The strain on his mind and body was tremendous, his quickly constructed supports couldn't bear the weight of the tons of earth above them. More slabs or rock and cement fall as the rear defenders reach his position, the Chosen not far behind them.

"Hu we can't kill that thing, everytime we finally damage it more of those tentacles pop out !"

The struggling Hu gives the fighter an irritated look, as veins bulge from his strained forehead. He glances at his trigun hanging across his chest.

"T..two pu..pulls…" He sputters out, the flow of blood from his nose spilling into his mouth.

The man grabs the Trigun and fires at the Chosen, it takes a second but the creature bursts just like its winged companion.

"Got em!" The fighter shouts enthusiastically, momentarily breaking Hu's concentration. His haphazard construct buckles and snaps.

"Run!" Hu shouts as the tunnel gives way.

They run for their lives as the earth tries to swallow them, boulders crash around them as the tunnel fills with dust. Hu can hear the sounds of bodies being crushed as the tunnel is washed in darkness, he attempts to yell, to tell them to keep moving but the dust robs his lungs of air. After what felt like an eternity of running he trips over a body and stumbles out of the dark dust and right into the skirmish.

Hu and the remaining fighters join the fight fending off Sern's attackers, they fought all the way to the next gate slowly chipping away at the Sourcers until there was none. They braced themselves as the next gate slowly opened, waiting for another assault. They all let out a collective sigh of relief when the only thing they saw was an empty road.

Exhausted, they continued their journey, the survivors of the attack stayed vigilant keeping the area illuminated, licking their wounds and mourning the hundreds of friends and family they just lost. Hu lifts the tarp on his cruiser checking the screen again and sighs.

"This certainly would have come in handy.."

He says as he fastens the tarp back down and makes his way into the driver's seat. Only a few more gates until they were clear of the tunnels, they had made it, barely…. He hoped his friends weren't as unfortunate as him…but he had faith in them… he had no other choice.

"Chase….Chase!!!!"

He tries to open his million ton eyelids as a familiar voice echoes in his head. He grunts as blurry figures come together, all leaning over his face with worried looks. His body screams as he slowly works his way into a sitting position.

He's almost knocked back as the small girl wraps her arms around him, she tries to make out words but her sobs keep them from forming.

Chase returns the hug and whispers.

"Thank you….. you brought me back from the brink." He says as he squeezes her tight, nuzzling his sore chin into her matted hair.She lets out a wail as her tears pour out, carving canyons into her soot and dirt filled face.

"You look like shit…" Tilly says as Chase labors to get to his feet. He could see her jaw quiver as she fought back the wave of emotions, he could tell something was wrong. She looked like she went through hell, but Chase could tell by the look on her face it wasn't because of what happened to her.

"Vandresh he's…" Her head hangs as she steps out of the way. A group of fighters stand in a circle, they pled and frantically rush around a figure slumped against a piece of turned up street.

Chase limps over to the crowd pushing his way through, Vandresh slowly turns his head and beams a bloody smile at his friend.

Chase walks up to him and drops to his knees in front of him, from looking at him he was shocked Vandresh was still alive. The damage he sustained, the green lines etching their way across his graying skin.

Chase attempts to speak but is cut off.

"No.. there is no time.. we must hurry." He says periodically coughing up globs of black and red.

"I Had Hu build some secret safety measures…just in case something like this happened. Under the fountain there is a passage. It will take you to the mountain foothills." He puts his hand out, motioning for Chase to help him up.

Not too far off they hear a commotion, shouts from the invaders closing in on them. Chase helps him to his feet as another man comes to his side, the pair hold him up as he starts moving towards the remnants of the fountain.

"You two need to get these people out of here, time is up." He says as they wade through the ankle deep water. Remarkably the fountain remained unscathed, like some sick gift from the gods for surviving the hellish night.

The fountain consisted of five large pillars, one for each founder. Vandresh points to a small switch on his pillar and Tilly pulls it down, a section of the floor raises up then back revealing a staircase large enough for one person.

"Go, they are almost here!" He proclaims as they start filling down the steps.

"Set me down next to my pillar, I have.. I have a parting gift for our visitors." He struggles to push the words out as his life continues to fade away. With a heavy heart they place him down, the fighter nods to them both and heads down the stairs.

Tilly and the child join Chase as they all kneel around Vandresh. He smiles again, letting out a painful chuckle as Tilly leans in close, kissing his forehead.

"Take care of him…" he says slowly turning his head towards Chase.

"He's the heart… as long as he lives New Eidolon lives.."

Tilly's eyes well up but Vandresh shakes his head and smirks.

"If he is the heart then you are the fist! Protect the people, the life blood.. protect Hu… he's the brains, his wild beautiful mind made this place possible. Make this dream a reality again." His head suddenly drops but he picks it up quickly.

"I'm afraid I'm out of time. You must leave for what comes next. Give Hu my regards…"

Chase holds out his hand and Vandresh grasps it. The pair look at their clasped hands as tears fall from their eyes.

"Taking your hand that day was the best choice I ever made…"

Chase nods in agreement, he clenches his jaw trying to hold the wave of tears back.

"I… I don't know what to say. What are we going to do without you?"

Vandresh lets go of his hand and rubs Chases matted hair.

"Go, survive, find help and stop these monsters." He says pulling Chase in, staring into his eyes with conviction.

Chase nods, he gets up and takes the little girl's hand.

"Tilly, can you still fly?" He asks his friend as she wipes tears from her face. She nods yes.

"Fly to the rendezvous, I'll lead the others through the mountain." Chase says as he enters the staircase. He could see Sourcers closing in on their position.

Tilly gives Vandresh one last kiss on the cheek and flies off into the dawn sky. Chase looks back at his dying friend one last time.

"I won't let you down…" He says as he runs down the steps sealing the door behind him.

Vandresh basks in the sunrise as Serns hord descends upon him. He thinks back to when he asked Hu to help him install the miles of wire that run underneath the town, connecting to almost every structure all leading to this point. To transmute that much metal would certainly kill him, luckily he was already dead. He smiles as a group of Chosen close in on him, lunging for the final blow.

"Enjoy your tomb." He says through bloody clenched teeth. The green sheen of Rahm's curse fills his eyes as he lets go, he uses the surge of power to connect to the wire system.

The massive construct reached into the sky. A beautiful structure of perfect cubes encompassing the entire town. It would be impossible for anything inside to survive. A beautiful monument to a beautiful place, Tears fell from Tilly's face as she watched the morning sun gleem off of Vandresh's parting gift, robbing Sern's army of thousands of soldiers new and old.