“Julia and I are okay. We just…we need a second to get our bearings.” Angela feels a palpable sigh of relief when she hears Joey’s voice, even though she’s now sporting more than a few superficial wounds, and everyone is getting thoroughly beaten up and stretching their arcane barriers dangerously thin. Without Julia, they’d made a tactical mistake of trying to take on too many of the Talons’ soldiers.
That’s how she got claw wounds on her torso and cheek, and the scales are still parted where someone tried to claw her eyes out. She’d bitten a deep chunk out of that drake’s neck in response, who hadn’t expected such a savage counter. Splitting the team had been a dangerous risk, but luckily they’d met up with Levine and Nick, who had managed to sneak through the lines and reconvene with them. Levine’s bloodied up with a wound on his arm hastily rectified with a field compress and regen potion, but she knows it takes time for full effect.
These fiends fear their mistress more than they fear us. Samarina’s words are now in crystal clarity in the focus of battle, and Kyle welds shut another door with an alchemical canister, trying to seal the Talons off. It won’t hold though, not with a Valencian red trying to burn through doors with their fiery rays. The bulkhead doors are thinner in this area, and offer less protection. The golems had been a fortunate reprieve from James, who is frantically moving people around, spotting, and acting as the eyes in the sky with the golems he has sprinkled everywhere. And his tone has an ice-cold tone–calculating, methodical.
He is enjoying wiping out the Talons, she realizes grimly. For him, this is his moment to shine by playing against hundreds of soldiers armed to the teeth, Valosterla, and several other heavily armed and armored ‘knights’ as he calls them.
Drenar slouches against the wall, and reloads an autobow, panting. He’s been putting both sword and melee into good use, and she laments the fact that even now, he is not fighting to kill. Because she knows the moment is going to break him, either way. She wishes she could say the same for Julia, who had gone full John Rambo on the interlopers, based on what Joey had said.
No one is coming out of this with their innocence anymore. That’s the price they’re paying to defend the world against these monsters, and she looks at the blood still on her claws, and wipes them on the armor vest fitting across her silvered scales. It had protected against some of the damage, and the open wounds itch as they slowly stitch together, courtesy of her own regeneration. But it’s much slower than a regen potion, she notices.
“Kyle? Where are we right now?” Nick asks when he finally takes in the surroundings.
“Second-floor office space. Ya know for this place being so huge, I don’t know why only about two hundred staff are here at peak. You could fit a thousand here,” Kyle says, and rubs at the bruises on his face. His armored helmet from his set had saved him from getting his head caved in by a soldier with a warhammer that impacted like the fist of the north star–even on a dragon. Her fists made him fly further, and he did not like that.
Kyle regards Nick before setting a trap on the door and rigging it with a rune. “We need to cut through to the south side, meet Julia and Joey at the south end, and then scoot through the maintenance area past the plant to get to the armory. James, are those bulkheads still intact?”
“Volkir says yes, and also, someone owes me money if we live through this. A dragon wizard has been watching our movements,” James growls. “Val's on the prowl, that bitch managed to just get out of the blast radius of the teleportal array. By the way, I have a golem taking an assessment in there, and–yeah, there’s a giant gaping hole through the whole building now. It’s not pretty.”
“Just stick to facts, James,” Levine sighs before pulling back the action on his rifle.
“You need to hurry up. Kyle, there’s sufficient mana primer in the lab to make a teleportal big enough to get everyone out, right?”
“Lavernius had one canister of mana primer stashed away.” Julia's voice still sounds choked up, and if even she is struggling to keep it together, it’s bad on all fronts. “We’ll see you in a couple of minutes, stay alive, guys.”
“Let’s move.” Drenar doesn’t waste any preamble and takes point down the hallway, with Angela within reacting distance right next to him. The Talons soldiers hadn’t gotten very far down this way, but they’d run into stragglers holed up when their line was overrun, so he was checking every corner. “Julia, we’re closing by the central office area and secondary housing, We’re at the bulkhead door.”
“Okay, good. I’d hate to shoot anyone that doesn’t require shooting.” She’s still got her autobow raised when the door slides open with Kyle’s ID badge getting them access, and Angela gasps slightly.
Julia is in rough shape. Her skin is bloodied and she’s limping slightly. She doesn’t hesitate and grabs a vial of regen potion out of a vest pocket, and forces it into her hands. No one’s going to argue with a dragon at least, not even Julia. She forces it back and grimaces as the injuries start to heal, panting heavily.
“Julia, I–”
“I don't want to talk about it.” Her words are weary and that spark of brilliance in her eyes is faded right now. Lavernius had stayed behind to cover them when Val stormed into the room, and she could see his death etched in her face, and the tone in her voice. “I’ll talk about it after we get everyone out of here alive. I hope my mom brings the calvary once we get an outside line, because we’re going to have our work cut out for us if she doesn’t.”
Even Drenar–as unshakeable as he is at times, sees that Julia is hurting, but he can’t do anything to heal this one at the moment. “We stopped their reinforcements. It’s an even game now–”
There’s a thud nearby, and panicked whispers. "Hey don't shoot, we're coming out!" someone shouts in a muffled manner from the supply closet. Angela has her claws tensed, but relaxes when she sees a few mages come out. The light blond man they'd seen earlier is there, along with two other female staff members. "How bad is it out there? We came here and hid, we didn't have weapons, and our spell expertise is a little lacking."
"Holy hell, Reeves, you guys hid there?" Kyle groans. "Great plan there genius, they've been shooting everything that moves, and they're not taking prisoners."
“Guys, I’m sorry, we hid here until we could figure out a plan–we’re not you guys,” he says softly. “Did Saul make it?”
"Saul and Betty are dead, Reeves. They're gone." Joey is the first to break the bitter news, and this looks like it hits Kyle hard, but Reeves looks devastated.
"Who else?" Kyle talks in a hushed voice as if he's at a funeral.
"Winslow. And the new guy who started last month, who works in rune research. I think I only spoke to him once or twice." It's like the light goes out of Joey's eyes for a second as well, she's ashamed she can't remember his name.
"That’s Felix. I just played cards last weekend with him, along with Bitters and Snags. This was supposed to be his first big job after graduation." Even though she doesn't know these people, Angela can feel the overwhelming grief in the room, and Kyle slams an armored gauntlet into the wall. His fist leaves a dent in the drywall, and his face is contorted in barely contained fury. "Fates, those two picked the luckiest week in the universe to go on vacation, and I’m happy they’re not here being shot at."
"Kyle, if we don't keep moving, they'll take more people from us. And I am not about to let that happen," Drenar vows and places a gloved hand firmly on his shoulder. "We have a shot at getting everyone who can't fight out of here, and get a signal for help. I need your help to do that." his words hit home, and Kyle looks at him, and gives him a slow nod after a few seconds.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"You got it." He ejects the magazine from his autobow and slams in one with blue electrical tape marking the side. "Reeves, Cassidy, Gloria, stay behind us. Angela, keep barriers up on them.”
"Kyle, how's the wound?" Joey asks. He grunts and rubs his side gently.
"Stable enough that I'm gonna kill every last one of these black-clad mercs. Let's go."
Angela focuses her telekinetics on all three of the mages, but she finds it difficult to focus on three independent barriers, and her own. Kyle slams the ID reader but it flashes red. "Shit. The building fail-safes are locking out all the biometric IDs. This hallway connects us to the area adjacent to the armory and secure labs. I can bypass it, I need a minute." James pings on the radio, and he’s freaking out, and not unduly so.
“Guys, we have a problem. Talon soldiers are throwing out metal panels that look like pieces of teleportal components in the storage area, and–oh shit. They're bringing in more guys! How the hell do these monsters get unlimited reinforcements, and where do they get all these guys?”
“Killers for hire never run out,” Nick quips grimly. “There’s always someone willing to take a fat paycheck for industrial-scale murder.”
“Man, I liked it when you were less grim, Nick,” James grumbles. “Expect more guys, soon. Val is stalking through the wreckage of the center area, going down to the first floor, along with her entourage. Don’t even try to take her on, keep moving. We need a game plan for her, because she ate the business end of a .50 caliber heavy weapon and her barriers didn’t even pop.”
“Lavernius tried.” It’s all Julia manages to say, then perks up. Angela feels it too, a sense of danger, and so does Drenar. “The hell is that–”
“Optic camo!” Drenar is a blur of motion and blinks three meters to his right just as a deafening blast goes off–like someone had tried to level a shotgun at him point blank. Drenar slices horizontally through instinct, and there’s an instant scream. A shimmer of bending light materializes and a soldier drops the shotgun that had been aimed at Drenar’s head a second ago. He slashes again and puts the man down with a thrust that goes into the ribcage, and he shears viciously and blood sprays from the brutal injury. Angela can feel the danger and swipes her tail–she can feel the motions with her enhanced telekinetics, and Nick and Levine sight down their weapons and switch to mana sights. Her tail’s strength bowls the man over and breaks his legs from the impact, and he screams, out of the fight.
“Four hostiles, at the far end!” Nick barks out and opens fire, same as Levine. Julia follows suit and Kyle does as well. Joey flings an alchemical cartridge and there’s a blinding blast of light in the distance. Several staggering shapes of scintillating colors are trying to get their bearings from the flashbang, but they’re out of cover and have been closing with shotguns and smaller carbines.
The overwhelming firepower puts them down, and Angela looks grimly at the man whom she flung into the ceiling, and he’s on the floor and crying. It’s a strange reaction, seeing hardened killers feel pain. She grabs his weapon, flings it away, and leers at him with murderous intent.
“How many of you are left?” she snarls in his face. He’s bloodied and his right arm’s a limp mess, and she is done with restraint. It's time they feared a dragon and what they’d do to protect their friends. “How many?!”
“T-Three hundred in reserve! You’re never getting out of here alive!” he stammers. She tosses him to the side, and Nick zip-ties him in record time before conking him out with the butt of his rifle.
“Damn. Cloaks are getting better. They must have been shadowing through here,” Levine grumbles before reloading his rifle. He gingerly steps away from a bloodstain that is growing on the floor from one of the fallen foes. It’s a small but grotesque moment she tries to bury down to the bottom of her psyche.
“C’mon, keep moving!” Joey encourages them before giving a gentle tap on Kyle’s shoulder. “Are you alright?”
“I’ll be better when we pull a Houdini on these creeps. I can build the portal in the secure lab and enhance the field of effect. Got the navigation circuit?” he asks before getting a firm nod from her. “Lavernius gave me the idea. I just hope it’s not a wasted effort.”
“He believed in you. So yes, you absolutely can do it, Kyle,” Julia says in a firmer voice. Her strength in her words has returned in the heat of battle, and she pushes forward. “Keep moving, check your corners, Angela, sniff out any more of those creeps in the camo armor."
Angela keeps to the middle of the formation and looks at Drenar, who has his gaze lowered at the floor, and his fist is tightened. He stares blankly at the man who’d almost blown his head off with a shotgun. That man is now dead from his hand, and Drenar shakes his head--and trying to hide how his right hand shakes ever so slightly. He bites his lip while trying to look away from the carnage, but hesitates. He kneels, grabs the weapon, and chambers the next round, and nods to her.
"I tried. Training took over." His is voice soft, but controlled--the voice of a person still coming to terms with the first grim deed by his own hand. “I guess there really wasn’t a choice, was there?” Angela shakes her head solemnly. If he hadn't struck first, she'd have turned that man into slashed ribbons to protect the team.
“Don’t regret the ones you can't spare, Drenar. Focus on yourself, and those you protect. Focus on the survival of your team.” Nick’s forced words carry and a firm hand on his shoulder carry a whole new meaning for her now, and Drenar is quick to pick up the pace before placing another casual canister by the doorway, and rigging it with a string. At least they’ll have some warning if they get tailed, though the pounding at the previous bulkhead door is an indicator that it’s about to get close quarters again.
Sam...why do these terrible things keep happening to him? He tried. He tried so hard to not bring this darkness into his soul.
Being a champion means great personal sacrifices, Angela.
Sam...who were you? It's the first time that Angela might feel the slightest bit at a loss when she feels that tingle of regret from Samarina.
Someone who failed her task. I couldn't protect them. And here I am, brought back to this world...maybe to make amends? I can only hope I--we do. Sorry...I forget that all I can grace you with, is the knowledge to avoid the tragedies of the past.
Sam, when everyone is safe, we'll talk about it. I promise.
The next area is an office space with rows of desks, computers, and several arcane machines running samples. The dim glow of the wisp lights adds to the calm of the room during a night that is anything but calm. Kyle’s at the bulkhead door and taps his radio anxiously. “Zameren, we’re at the bulkhead, west side. But the security is locked out again.” There’s a distant detonation behind them past the bulkhead they’d just sealed, and the barrier door to the north is a lighter security lock.
“Guys, keep moving! Val is coming in from the north, they just blasted through a barricade and she’s fixing to murder you guys!” James calls out. “They’re closing on the bulkhead on the east side with breaching charges and…damn it, King is here, too!? I just spotted him with an observer golem by the botany wing. He must have come in by the temporary pads, and he’s right pissed. Probably because the evil wannabe goddess jumped the dragon.”
“You know if our foes weren’t such backbiters, they might succeed here,” Levine acknowledges grimly while Kyle taps at the console, autobow still pointed at the closest door. “Barricade the north door, Angela, can you get to that?!”
“Done, just give me a–”
“They’re breaching the east side, take cover!”
Once again, her danger sense takes over, and she shields her teammates from the shape charge that blows the whole door into the lab, incendiary particles bouncing off her immense barrier, and the door banging into her outstretched arms, and the barrier cracks from the impact. That had some serious force to it!
Angela is focused on the interlopers coming through the door as Levine and Nick rain down heavy fire while she pushes forward, bulldozing a path past the lab decorum and smashing soldiers down. Their autobow rounds and even the heavy rifles are puny, but her arcane barriers are about done and she feels the tingling numbness coming–mana burn. These troops are fresh, while they’ve been fighting for a good chunk of the night.
They make short work of them, as if they didn’t pay attention to the pile of bodies they’d just left behind. She grimly acknowledges this is going to be the stuff of nightmares when she thinks about how many killers she’s brutally injured today.
“Reeves, no! Don’t open that door!”
She turns to focus on a brewing problem. Reeves has broken off in a panic, and darts to the north side door. She’s already in motion to try to stop him even as he slams down his ID badge on the reader, despite warnings from the others, and Drenar is in motion.
The door opens, and Val is waiting for them, grinning from ear to ear as she draws a greatsword made of crimson metal, and there’s nothing but death in her eyes. Reeves is dead where he stands when the blade slices horizontally.
“Candygram!”