Kerra watched uncomfortably as Rheba’s eyes glazed over; she was unconscious, at least the warrior hoped as much; otherwise, she would have wound up in far more trouble than she could have expected. The situation already seemed dire enough; both combatants she knew—but would never admit—that were stronger than her were easily taken out. They were hardly fighting a Netzian any longer; whatever he was, it made Kerra’s dark fur stand on end.
She looked at their green Aqueenian companion. He didn’t look like much, but he was the only one there that could be spoken with. The mad Nonpareil began to stammer off, possibly disinterested in the other two if they wouldn’t try and do anything to him.
“What do we do?” Kerra asked. She eyed her companions closely; their clothes were completely removed, and the only covering left was the Needaimus bonded to their limbs. It was rare that Needaimus' abilities could affect one another; she wasn’t surprised by that, but at the same time, she was relieved. It seemed as if there was some sense left in the whole situation.
Colton, after taking a moment to reply, finally responded. “Oh, uh, we need to restrain him somehow. I just don’t know how.”
“I don’t see any chance of that happening. As long as his ability is running on full like that, he can melt through any barrier. Unless you have someone who can grow trees in an instant.” It looked like his powers didn’t affect living things, though that was Kerra’s best guess. It wouldn’t help unless they had something that could contain him while he was still alive. Dead trees probably would be subject to the same effect with their luck.
Gwyn stumbled through a building and out onto the next street. He growled at a child who ran away naked, and the other citizens slowly backed up. The civil disruption was just as bad as the destruction he was causing. Aqueenian news would be going on about it for days after.
Kerra and Colton slowly approached, ensuring they stayed as far away as possible to avoid appearing as a threat. Some vehakuls sped up and stopped in front of Gwyn, and a squad of Quenth’s finest jumped out, aiming rifles at the beastly Nonpareil. He grunted, apparently unfazed by the approach and unable to recognize what was aimed at him, and continued to stumble across the street.
A rather angry-looking Aqueenian man shuffled out of one of the transports and drew his sword, aiming the point at Gwyn.
“Wait. Wait!” Colton shouted.
“Fire!” The angry-looking man belted.
What must have been six laser shots rippled into the Nonpareil’s side. He spat in pain. Kerra’s eyes’ grew wide. It made sense; the rifles used energy, and he couldn’t turn that into a liquid, at least not fast enough, but weapons of that nature also needed time to cool. As the tips grew red hot, the red-eyed Nonpareil’s head snapped in their direction. Despite taking several shots to the side, he was still going. The holes burned into his side might as well have been mistaken for harmless scratches as he leaped across the street. The first officer screamed as he was pummeled to the ground with one blow-laying in a puddle of liquified clothes, gear, and his own blood. The others pulled out their swords. They joined their friend in a flash, leaving only the angry-looking leader standing. He grunted in contempt.
Perhaps due to no show of aggression, Gwyn snarled and turned away. Only then did Kerra realize his movements had been slowly growing more and more fluid. As he aimed his back at the angry officer, he didn’t stumble or shamble. The turn was clean, like he was moving naturally. His arm was also almost completely encased in stone. Kerra gulped. Their foe was getting more dangerous by the moment.
Gwyn bent low and flew up into the air from a strong push of his legs. He was close enough to a building that a streak of deformed glass and metal appeared next to him like he was a pen over a piece of paper. He kept going up until he flew onto a roof. Kerra could only imagine he would soon be back on the ground if the floors were thin enough, but it didn’t change the fact that he would be much harder to track down now.
***
Fiona nervously stepped into the doors of the Quenth’s police headquarters. It had been an hour since they last saw Gwyn, and he was starting to move so fast that any sightings of him were out of date by the time anyone got there. She had done her best to rally the guards before things got too out of hand, but it proved to no avail. From what she had been told, Gwyn used his power to liquefy everything in a sphere around him. Under normal circumstances, he should have been exhausted from just a couple of seconds of using his power—what he was doing was equal to running at full speed, and he had never done any training to prepare for it. The blue princess was starting to worry his heart would give out at any minute.
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As she made her way up to the greeting desk of the headquarters, three familiar faces were waiting and locked in such a deep conversation that they didn’t notice her approach or freezing just out of their group. The tallest, Kerra, stood with her back facing Fiona while Colton and Captain Bite stood on either side of her and looked up to speak.
Calm down, Sun said in her mind, Take a deep breath and step forward. Don’t be deterred by any tempers.
Fiona wanted to whisper back, ‘I know, I know,’ but she was sure Kerra would hear. She followed her yellow companion’s instructions—exhaling and tiptoing into the conversation. She jumped in at the end of Bite’s sentence.
“…and he’ll be good and dead once we do that.”
Given the reaction on Colton’s face, Fiona suspected she wouldn’t like the beginning of the police captain’s sentence any more than the end.
The trio looked at Fiona. Kerra and Bite only gave a glance, and Colton’s expression seemed like he was relieved. Fiona wasn’t sure she liked that reaction but did her best to remain composed. She didn’t hide it well as she shifted her weight back and forth between her right and left.
“What is the situation?” the blue princess asked.
Colton blurted out before the others could reply. “They want to shoot Gwyn!”
Bite’s frown fell lower, and his face seemed sourer—Fiona wasn’t sure that was possible—but he cleared his throat and added in a calm voice, “He is a risk to the city; you must realize this princess. We have found that only laser fire can hurt him. I have ordered all weapons around the city to be gathered. After which we will surround him…”
Fiona didn’t try to hide the alarm in her voice, “And you’ll slaughter him?”
Bite cleared his throat, standing straight and stiff.
“Princess, as royalty, you must do what is best for the city. A threat is a threat, no matter what connection you may have to it.”
“Having seen him in person, I agree,” Kerra added. “No need for the glance, princess; I know I’m an outsider.”
Fiona didn’t realize she flashed Kerra such an obvious look and forced her face to be as blank and neutral as possible. Her mother was the one who was good at being calm in situations; it would have been better to rely on her, but Fiona was sure that the Queen would be willing to shoot Gwyn just as well. She wasn’t completely convinced Bite made a bad argument, but it didn’t sit right in her stomach.
“No,” Fiona said. She wasn’t sure how stern her voice sounded, so she paused a minute to bring out a more friendly voice. “We can call that the final plan, but I don’t want to go through with it until we are sure there are no more options. Please fill me in on everything we know.”
Good call, Sun chimed in; leaving his plan on the table doesn’t dismiss it outright; no, he just thinks he has to convince you and will be more open to giving information.
Fiona wasn’t sure she was smart enough to navigate such a plan her Needaimus was suggesting; it was like a five-dimension version of Czaric when she couldn’t even play the basic version, but she was happy to see her partner approving her actions.
Bite sighed and groaned, taking a minute to make both actions distinct while shaking his head.
“Very well, Princess. I think your—whatever this guy is—has been working on that front.” Bite lazily waved his arm in Colton’s direction.
The green castle guard looked back and forth at everyone for a moment before his shoulders seemed to jump, and he spoke.
“Oh, yes,” he took a minute to clear his throat, “We have seen Gwyn show up at several locations around town. At first, he was stumbling, but now he seems to move more freely. His left side appears to be more encased in stone at every sighting, but no one knows why…. Everything in a sphere around him is being liquified. It doesn’t touch him, and his clothes remain intact, but he has been reported to be covered in sweat. The only things he has not been liquefying are containers of drinks, which he has stopped consuming before moving. It is hard to believe, but we think he has drunk over a hundred gallons of water since entering the city.”
“And what of that is useful?” Bite grunted. “If he is using his power like that, of course, he’d be sweaty, and if he’s sweaty, of course, he’d need to keep drinking. Unless… we could corral him in a spot without liquid, let him dehydrate himself like a fruit…. Yes, that would save us hours of moving expensive weapons and make cleanup easier.”
Fiona was sure her purple eyes grew wider, but she made sure to keep a calm voice.
“That might be a little excessive.”
“Melting half our city is what is excessive, Princess. Some of us have to live in those buildings.” Bite crossed his arms and glared at her. Fiona resisted the urge to take a step back. She really wanted to.
She wished Donn was still in the city, or Hermina, both her older siblings would be able to take care of the situation in no time and keep with her wishes to not kill Gwyn. Given the situation, she was useless. Spending so many years on pranks gave her nothing to go off of.
The thoughts were not called for, but many of her past exploits annoying her father instantly came to mind, and then a flash of memory where she really pissed him off. Her eyes lit up. There might be a way.