"I'm scared," Maria admits.
"Me too," Tai admits.
"And me," Hanna admits. "But that's not gonna stop me. Find somewhere to hide."
"Um… There isn't anywhere," Maria reveals.
"Then stand back and leave them to me," Hanna commands, drawing her borrowed sai and charging the Annelids.
Shadow emerges from the Conduit Gel to the relief of both Rouge and Omega, but when Hanna and the felines don't follow, concern takes over.
"Where's Hanna and her friends?" Rouge asks.
"The other side of this wall," Shadow answers. "Omega, you know what to do."
++With pleasure,++ Omega agrees, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
Shadow and Rouge step back to allow Omega the room he needs. Once in position, the robot reconfigures his hands into missile launchers, then takes aim at the wall.
"What are you waiting for?" Rouge asks.
++I won't hurt the kittens by blasting this wall, will I?++ Omega asks in reply.
"They're a safe distance away," Shadow assures.
++Excellent.++
Omega unleashes four missiles at the wall, blowing a huge hole clean through it. The shrapnel flies into the room beyond, showering Hanna and the three annelids.
"Are you trying to kill me?" Hanna barks as she resumes her battle with the alien worms.
++I will help you Hanna Skarlett,++ Omega volunteers, switching to machine guns and charging into the fray, Shadow and Rouge right behind him.
Team Dark's distraction proves useful: with two of the annelids' attention diverted to them, Hanna can focus on slaying the one still attacking her. The vixen dodges a volley of explosive bullets that follow her every move, but she can't escape completely, the explosions singeing her fur and melting the solidified Conduit Gel still in her tail. Growling ferociously, Hanna weaves closer to the annelid, and attempts to sink her sai deep into its flesh.
The sai buckle uselessly against the annelid's impenetrable skin.
Shit. Hanna backs away to reassess and work out a new plan. "Weapons are useless against these things!"
"Go for the head!" Rouge instructs, her Screw Kick flying wide and striking the flank of the annelid she targeted.
"Are you crazy‽" Hanna snaps back, diving out the way of her annelid's attempt to eat her.
"It's the only weak spot!" Shadow asserts, unleashing a rapid series of Spin Attacks on the third annelid to try and batter it into submission.
I'm going to die in an alien worm's stomach. Dignified. Hanna continues to dodge attacks, and slowly works her way behind the annelid attacking her. Taking advantage of the moment of opportunity, Hanna scales the back of the beast, her claws barely able to get purchase on the thick hide. But after a few near‑falls, Hanna reaches the head.
Just as she's about to sink her claws into what little soft flesh she can find, the worm fights back. Initially, the worm attempts to throw her off, but Hanna clings on hard to some of the thorns that cover the worm's head. Unable to shake the vixen, the annelid changes tactic, and slams itself into the floor backwards, crushing Hanna between it and the floor.
"Hanna!" Maria cries, sprinting into battle even though she's not fully recovered. Tai tries to stop her, but reacts too slowly, and is left with no choice but to charge after her girlfriend. Ninjato drawn, both felines assault the annelid that crushed Hanna, but their blades bounce harmlessly off the worm's thick hide. The annelid strikes back, swatting the felines aside with ease, before turning its attention back to the dazed and prone Hanna.
That is the worm's final mistake.
Maria and Tai scramble up the worm again, ninjato discarded and tanto in hand, and sink the shorter blades into the exposed soft flesh around the worm's gaping maw. The annelid bucks in pain, but the felines cling on, repeatedly stabbing the soft flesh with their tanto, weakening the worm with each blow. A final desperate bucking from the worm throws the felines clear again, but the damage they've dealt is too great, and the worm collapses, dying from blood loss.
Soon after, Rouge gets a Screw Kick on target, and tears through the head of the second annelid, killing it instantly. An instant later, Shadow and Omega eliminate the third annelid with a Chaos‑focussed volley of machine gun fire.
Rouge lands and does her best to shake off the alien gore. "Everyone OK?" she asks.
++Weapons systems are 91% functional, and I have expended 57% of my ammunition,++ Omega answers.
"I'm fine," Shadow assures.
"Good," Rouge acknowledges with relief. "Hanna? Maria? Tai? Are you OK?"
There are no answers.
Team Dark immediately spring into action, quickly finding all three Avalicians unconscious and scattered around the room. A quick check confirms that Maria and Tai are suffering no worse than a few cuts and bruises, but Hanna appears to be in a worse state.
Rouge finds Tai slumped upside‑down against the wall. "Tai, say something!"
Tai stirs at the sound of her name. "Ow," she groans. "Where's Maria?"
"Over here," Shadow answers, Maria sprawled out face‑down beside him.
"Is she OK?" Tai asks.
"Tired and sore," Maria answers. "Where's Hanna?"
++She's over here,++ Omega answers. ++She's not responding to my prodding her.++
Maria tries to get to her feet, but her shaking limbs can't hold her weight, and she collapses. "Carry me?" she asks Shadow.
Shadow scoops Maria up in his arms and takes her over to where Hanna lies unconscious, with Rouge carrying Tai over a moment later. Both felines are placed gently beside the prone vixen.
"Hanna?" Maria nudges her best friend, desperate for a response, but none comes forth. "No…"
"Maria, I‑" Tai begins.
"Wake up!" Maria yells, slamming both her fists into Hanna's sternum.
That gets a response: Hanna yelps in surprise, lifting herself off the floor a few inches before flopping back down. "What are you doing‽" she snaps.
"Waking you up!" Maria snaps back.
"By breaking my ribs‽"
"It worked, didn't it?"
Hanna makes to snap back, but she cannot deny it worked. "Yeah," she admits, calming down. "And I'll tell you this: having a worm crush you hurts. A lot. I don't recommend it."
"We can't stay here," Shadow informs the group. "We need to move to a safer location."
Ten minutes later, the group has moved to a secluded corner of a nearby chamber that mercifully they found empty. Maria and Tai have almost completely recovered from the paralysing neurotoxin the bio‑clay infected them with, and Hanna has also recovered from the battering she sustained thanks to the annelid. With everyone back to fighting fitness, they group to discuss their next move.
"We have to stop pissing about," Hanna decides. "We need to find the Crystals and eliminate Black Defiler: the longer we mince around down here, the closer he gets to destroying our home."
"Agreed," Shadow agrees. "I was hoping we could have been cleverer about this, and avoided the issues we ran into against Black Doom and Black Death, but that hasn't happened. So, we may as well go all‑out and launch a full assault on the heart of the ship."
"That's more like it!" Hanna grins in wicked anticipation.
"Before we do, I need to know one thing," Shadow replies. "Can I trust you to remain in control when we find the Crystals?"
Hanna's grin fades. "Well… Let's put it this way: don't give me the Fire Crystal unless there's no other choice."
"Noted," Shadow acknowledges. "Anyone else?"
"I can use the Wood Crystal, and I won't go crazy," Maria informs.
"I… have no idea if I can use one or not," Tai admits.
"Do you have an elemental affiliation?" Maria asks.
"I… might?" Tai answers, confused. "I've never really thought about it. How will I know?"
"When we get close to the Crystals, if you can feel one of them, then you have elemental affinity," Maria explains.
"What will I feel?" Tai asks.
"I… can't really explain it," Maria answers. "But trust me: you'll know as soon as you feel it."
"O… K," Tai replies, still somewhat confused.
"These Crystals‑" Rouge begins.
"You're not stealing them," Shadow interrupts.
"Obviously," Rouge retorts. "What I was going to ask is, can we use them?"
"Do you have an elemental affiliation?" Maria asks.
"I don't think that exists on our planet," Rouge answers.
"Then no, you can't use the Crystals," Maria explains.
"Enough talk: let's get moving," Hanna decides.