I'd never heard a hurricane scream, but when the sky quakes in response to the mood of an Anemoi I was sure it was the next best thing. Eurus gathered itself from the air whence it had been dispersed by Sharon's attack. Where before it had been a blinding iris within a hurricane-sized eye, now it had none of that support. While the Q8 Sky Monarch was still terrifying, they only had themselves and their Blessing of Magic Influence aura to command. Already there were hundreds of elementals fleeing eastward, no longer attempting to harry the people in Ocala or even the defenders of the weather tower.

Once the Anemoi's roar drifted off, a frightening silence followed as we all watched the departure of a storm. Already beams of light were starting to pierce through the cloud cover, even if it was meager illumination when compared to the spotlight that was Eurus.

"What do we do about the Shaman!?" someone behind shouted, despair so clear in their voice I didn't need my Trait's new features to tell.

I didn't know what to say to calm them, but action beat reaction. A glance over my shoulder and I spotted the healer duo that had helped me get back on my feet. With as much commanding of a tone as I could, I pointed at them. "You two! Take my slime and get her!"

As if reading my mind, Blobby immediately transformed from his combat form into the elliptical shape he'd used to close the distance from the Outpost to the city. The Slime Saddle was front and center, brown smoke curling off its form like never before. Without the interference of a hurricane, the speed the gelatinous creature would be able to achieve would be frightening. That was exactly what we needed, because when I turned to the East there was a streak of light coming right for me. Blobby didn't wait for further comment as the slime zipped over and wrapped the pair in its bulk before it rolled over the edge, its passengers screaming all the while.

"Fievil, just a little more bud," I whispered, more for me than for the Totem. In response, grew into place around me... mostly. It was a chestplate and helm with some fingernail thin plates covering my arms; Fievil was gassed. It wasn't the level of protection I wished, but beggars couldn't be choosers. Time for lightning strike number two...

I rushed forward, squinting my eyes against the light, before bracing against one of the remaining barricades I'd formed. The texture of stone under my bare feet brought some level of reassurance. It was short lived. While the attack of the Discharge Elemental had been a mana-formed physical phenomena, being tackled by Eurus was a physical form sheathed in mana. Surprisingly, my improved Perception and augmented Refinement gave me enough mental juice to notice that the blinding streak had been the elongation of Eurus' Blessing of Magic rather than the elemental itself. Within their Influence, I could see they were a steel grey humanoid. I would have almost mistaken them for a human, if not for the lack of fingers and toes as well as the gaping hole that replaced their face.

They are a sewing needle with arms... That was the dumb thought that crossed my mind before I got slapped by a hurricane.

The stone under my feet pulverized as every single one of my Traits kicked into effect, saving my life along with Fievil. The rounded appendage of the Anemoi struck the head of my hammer-- which I was almost certain I hadn't moved quick enough to intercept blind as I was-- dumping so much force into it that both the heating chitin blade and the spiked tortoise shell activated even without having actually hit a target. Somewhere in the depths of my mind, I was glad the Anemoi had chosen a physical blow rather than a magical one because at the very least I could survive the former.

My body did the rendition of the wave I'd seen in those pre-Fall soccer games. Every cell on my skin triggered Striated Dermis as hard as it could to keep my body in one piece while the rest transferred as much of the force down into the tower as best as they could. What couldn't be transferred, Tremor Frame and Diffracting Tissue locked up within me. Slurry Ichor was not happy about that, since the force from Tremor Frame no longer released itself unbidden thanks to my Corporeal Tribulation. In most other times I would have been thrilled, but when I felt my many wounds vibrate open and my vibrosense start to unwind the precarious balance I'd been managing with my senses I knew the force had to go.

Despite the drop of near 10% of my Health from the attack, it was worth it to see the surprise on Eurus' face. How I could tell that the needle headed freak was surprised came as a surprise to me, but I chalked it up to my new Trait again. As a thank you for the moment of confusion I roared a fragment of the Primal Elemental's power back into its face. They did not like that.

Its whole body quivered harder than a tuning fork, a discordant tone coming off its metallic body for a solid second before sparks released from its body and the energy dissipated completely.

"Oh, that's not fair. I'm the one that's supposed to have the energy conversion--" The floating elemental punched me in the chest, taking the both of us clear off the weather tower and into the Anemoi's domain. Only having one eyeball in working order and without the grounding effect of vibrosense, the world became much more frightening than before. Not least of which because I knew Fievil was tapped and my mana was at a meager 9% thanks to the constant drain of the Hummingbird Charm.

While the hit from Eurus had been eaten up by my Traits and the last hurrah of Fievil's gift, I was still tumbling. Time lost meaning as everything became vague impressions of the Anemoi flying around me and grey blurs with a hint of green and brown when the weather tower was in frame of my eye. I screamed in frustration, not so much giving up but furious at the turn things had taken. Thanks to Diffracting Tissue and the last bits of mana I had, configuring something to soften my fall was plausible, which would in turn let me live. However, I would have to release the Augmentation from my Hummingbird Charm and I would likely be nothing more than a pile of Ronan-esque kindling for Eurus to mop up. It was maddening!

A quiet ping rippled through my limp left arm. It was... familiar. In the relative silence of my fall, even as the Anemoi came in and struck me hard enough to break one of my legs for another 13% of my Health, the ping sounded again. My mind finally clicked. It's the Mana Shard in the bracelet! That was apparently the only bit of acknowledgement the Totem within needed as it flew off my arm and struck me hard enough on the forehead to throw me out of the path of another of Eurus' attacks that was liable to snap another major bone group.

The Totem was no larger than my fist and only vaguely bird-like, but seemed nearly as real as Fievil had been. Somehow, in my vulnerable state, the manifested creature had grabbed hold of my necklace and was trying to course correct. It was futile for many reasons, but the fact that it immediately started to choke me to death was the one that jumped to the fore of my mind. You made this cord too damn good, Sam!

Clearly, the creature misunderstood my attempts to swat it away for something else entirely. What it did was something I didn't expect in the least, or even knew Totems could do, but it possessed my Hummingbird Charm. If information hadn't blipped across my vision from the Implant, I almost wouldn't have believed it. Once again, the fact that magic was magical slapped me right in the face in the best way possible.

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<(Shard) Trait: Translocation>

Fievil! I need another chestplate! I'll even take the most unflattering keyhole top you can manage, please! I yelled in my mind, flailing with my arm until I was holding on to the Hummingbird Charm with the crook of my elbow while juggling the axe-hammer to prevent it from garroting me. "Stay still!"

Of course, even with how dire the situation was, Fievil had enough time to send me a visual of the mole pouting about sharing me with a lesser creature. I yelled incomprehensive nonsense in my mind in response, the effort of hanging by a literal thread wearing my patience thinner than said thread. Thankfully the Totem got the message, and the avian Totem made an appearance in his visual. Beak fist-bumped mole claws and reality approved. Which was to say Fievil sputtered one final spell chain to form an inch thin band of stone across my upper chest, under my armpits and around my back. The Totem possessed Charm stopped hovering and instead took center place on my chest, locking in with the band as the Skill solidified. Silver light glowed through the armor as the Totem expended mana to keep me afloat.

"Holy shit," I groaned, shaking from the adrenaline whiplash the last few seconds had been. It felt like I was being hoisted by a rope. The Air Totem flared and I got yanked landward at a frightening speed. "Holy shiiiiiii--"

Eurus buzzed by me fast enough that they weren't able to stop, striking the ground like a graceless meteor. That didn't slow them down much, because they immediately turned into a blur in the opposite direction and it took all the flight maneuverability the little Totem could muster to shift us out of the way. Once again, Eurus zipped by us, shooting into the sky before returning on a parabolic arch. Their speed was much slower than before, but I could tell it was in the hopes of correcting course rather than incapability.

Shave me on my injured arm! I yelled in my mind, hopeful that the Air Totem would get the memo. It had. Eurus clipped my left arm and I consciously prevented Striated Dermis from triggering as the nubbed fist of the elemental opened up a gash on my bicep and took five further percent from my Health as my Ichor was swept away with the wind. In the brief moments of the exchange, I used the momentum to bring my good arm to bear with a half spin. I released the energy the various hits to my body had been storing out of my forearm, shredding the skin and armor plating there to ribbons but more than doubling the speed of my swing. At the last moment, Fievil transferred the weight of the hammer back with Ballast.

Eurus rang like a bell. They pitched into the earth with a crack a professional baseball player would have called home run worthy. It was the best hit I could muster. It was all I had.

My Health crossed 32% and I could feel the beat of my heart struggling to pump and the edges of my vision were swimming. The Air Totem was still holding, but the minute it had been keeping me aloft had already diminished most of its silver glow. With a resigned sigh, I asked the little bird to set us down on the ground. I didn't even try to land on my feet, going straight to my back and slumping. A loud groan reverberated through the earth as I tried to take stock of my body. Broken leg, fried and diced arm, dozens of Lichtenberg scars, at least a few cracked ribs and the looming shadow of a migraine to end all migraines.

Vibrosense practically yelled in my ears as the Anemoi extricated itself from the earth. Ripples painted the very clear picture of the crater I'd formed with them had reversed and grown as they exited the earth. Bits of soil and grass rained down around me, no better than mud thanks to the concentrated deluge of Eurus' hurricane. I swiped some of the mud off my face, opening my eyes to see the Anemoi hovering in the air less than twenty feet away. It was perfectly still, which sent a shiver down my spine. Nothing should hover so perfectly like that.

The opening of its head vibrated, a wail filling the air with treble notes as its Blessing of Magic bore down on me. I wasn't flash fried, like one would assume comes from being dried quickly, but it was as if every iota of moisture was no longer attached to me and the earth around me turned to sand. It took dry to a whole new level and I found I much preferred some humidity in my life. With what I could only assume wasn't a coincidence, thoughts and impressions flashed through my mind. They were muddled and unrefined, a storm of them. If Harmonic Sinews and Diffracting Tissue didn't step forward to add some emotional markers to the wail I would have been entirely unable to understand anything.

Old. Human. Young. Human. Hurt. Self.

"Oh, great," I huffed, water vapor drifting from my breath. "Another unknowable entity trying to talk to me. It's becoming a habit now."

The wail twisted, the words and meanings changing. Death. No. Trade.

"You were the one that came here!" I complained, glaring at the elemental.

Freedom. Self. Human. Obstacle.

"I'm done talking to you. If you are going to kill me, just do it. I can't stand to look at your hypocritical non-face."

Small sparks crackled through the air, a shadow of the bolts Eurus had been lobbing, as a single clear note reverberated through their wail. Anger.

Looks like someone doesn't like to be dismissed, I thought, meeting eye to empty void. It was futile, but I clasped Fievil tightly ready to swing at the monster. Or, more than likely, funnel lightning right into my arm, but there wasn't much more I could do. With a burst of stone, the Hummingbird Charm ripped itself from my chest before flying and propping up Fievil's hammerhead. A clear picture of the little avian Totem nudging my mole Totem into action flashed through my mind. "Can't let you two do the heavy lifting, eh?"

With the meager bit of mana I had left, I used to prop myself up, facing the elemental more directly. My strained muscles complained and I felt the world quiver as I overdrew my mana. In for a penny... My Slurry Ichor locked my fingers around my axe-hammer and the avian Totem kept it mostly steady as my body shook. formed around the head of my weapon, ready to blow up in Eurus' face.

The lightning started to fork, striking the ground closer and closer as the wail grew louder. Before it got anywhere near me, a green streak flew over my head using my back prop to gain some height and glomp the Anemoi right in the face. The bolts got redirected into the gelatinous mass, lighting it up and the Metier Crystals within for a second. Then Blobby's surface boiled, and superheated slime sprayed into the air as it took the attack in my place. Despite the sudden loss of mass Blobby grew a slimy appendage, coated it in stone, and punched itself. Its body pulled away at the perfect moment, socking Eurus on the head and once again sending it to ground.

"Blobby!" I growled, struggling to keep my thoughts straight. "Birdy! Take Fievil and hit the bad guy!"

Peeling my fingers off Fievil was painful, since that wasn't the original plan, but adaptability was the mother of survival. My connection to Fievil disappeared, and I saw the axe-hammer dip as the possessed Charm sagged under the weight before correcting its flight. Then unceremoniously, it slipped out from under it and the tortoise shell covered in explosive minerals landed on Eurus' chest, driving it further into the ground. Sparks flew into the air as detonated and added shrapnel to the blow. It was mildly effective.

Eurus lobbed Fievil, the Shard Weapon swerving oddly in the air so as not to fly far, likely as a result of its control of its Ballast Trait, before rising. Its flawless metal surface was pitted, and dark grooves were carved along its body. The perfectly circular opening of its head was now more oblong than before and the wail they released was much more discordant.

The possessed Charm flew over to Fievil's side and Blobby's best rendition of a melted candle coalesced beside me. We weren't about to go down without a fight, but the problem was neither was the Sky Monarch. Unfortunately, I didn't think we had a pyrrhic victory left in us.

Which was of course when a cackling old lady fell upon the scene with the vengeance of a storm.