Just will like to point something out… mushrooms don't grow in deserts. But they do grow in caves… so I'll just use that as an excuse.

XP


Co-Author: Skyla Xerious

Editor: Allix Stowe

Beta Reader: demonic1556


XSRA's Flame Chapter 54: Cactus Juice

Xera's POV

"Skyla, what are you doing?" I asked. My gaze transitioned from the messy purple knot of a sweater down to Skyla's bare arms.

"I'm… trying…" She grunted, tugging and pulling as she attempted to wrap her head in the article of clothing. "…to… DO THIS! Why you no work?!"

My partner stomped the ground and pouted, the wrap quickly unfolding from her hands and draping completely over her face. Her sleeve swayed outward as she let out an exasperated puff of air, clearly annoyed.

"It's not hard. I'm sure there's an easy way." I offered.

"Lies." Skyla muttered beneath her sweater, her face completely hidden now.

We walked at the back of the group, the rest of our team moving at our front. Allix and Rex walked alongside Caza, and far above us slowly flew Lanza.

"May I?" I asked, smiling confidently as I stepped over to my partner. There was a disgruntled and annoyed grumble from the girl as she crossed her arms indignantly. If I could see her face, she would most likely be pouting right now.

After a few more seconds of quietly walking side by side, she huffed in defeat and threw her sweater off her head. "Fine! I was gonna give up anyway…"

I caught the fluttering sweater out of the air and examined the piece of fashion. Piece of cake…

Skyla looked away as I wrapped her head. It took several minutes, and a lot of whining. The sun beat down around us as the group marched forward, sets of boots, heels, and shoes crunching the loose sands below as we walked.

Five minutes now passed, and I stepped back to examine my work. Skyla looked upward in excitement as well, both of us now gazing at the sweater atop her head.

…and then we both watched in horror as the article unraveled and draped over her head again.

"Well… I guess it really wasn't that easy then." I stated, placing a hand on my chin as I crossed one arm beneath the other.

Skyla let out a quiet whine and hung her head low, watching the ground pass by her converse sneakers below. "The movies make it look so easy." She said in a dejected tone.

I heard a sigh from up ahead, and I looked over to see Allix slump her shoulders. The girl then slowed her pace and turned to look at us.

"Give me the sweater." She said, holding out her hand. It was a friendly and quiet tone, but with a hint of command to it.

Skyla slid the light cloth off her head and dropped it into Allix's open hand.

Allix smiled her thanks and fanned it out using both hands. She gave it a quick once over before nodding her head and moving toward Skyla. The girl worked quickly. Every fold was precise, every time she wrapped a sleeve around Skyla's forehead it seemed to lock into place, a perfectly placed fold or overlap being right there for her to use

"Done."

I watched as the archer stepped back, admiring her work for a second or two before returning to the front.

Skyla simply looked up at her newly adorned feature.

Her eyes dancing back and forth as she seemed to slowly realize it was actually staying on her head. Small fists balled up as her excitement began to leak out of her. Those very fists shook back and forth rapidly as she stopped and bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Eeee, thank you!" She exclaimed, a huge smile quickly appearing on her face as she dashed over and latched her arms around Allix in a tight hug.

Allix let out a small squeak from the impact and leaned her head away from the overly excited girl. "T-too close… don't you realize how hot it is?"

"Thank you! This… is… so… awesome!" Skyla ignored her and tightened her hold.

Before Allix could consider berating my partner, Skyla let go and leapt into the air, skipping a few times after she landed.

"Don't let that thing come loose with all that movement!" I called out, watching as she slowed down and took slower skips, a large smile still on her face.

I could only smile as well. Somehow, she found a lot of enjoyment in that… and I did too.

"Your partner… is strangely cute." Caza commented, giving the girl a glance then looking back at me. Her deep blue hair swayed to the light breeze blowing across the sand dunes all around us. Her cowboy hat providing an excellent amount of shade for her, but her trench coat was nowhere in sight.

Probably strapped to Lanza.

"I guess so." I responded with a shrug of my shoulders.

"Oh? Is that so?" The woman said as she matched my pace. "She's undoubtedly cute and if you are half the man I think you are, you'd probably at least have some sort of feelings for her by now. Why is that?"

Looking away, I watched the horizon in the distance in an attempt to avoid looking at her. "I-I'm already in a relationship."

"Hmm." Caza hummed, stepping around to situate herself in front of me again. "Shame. You're interesting. I wonder who the lucky girl is…"

"Blake Belladonna!"

"Rex!" I exclaimed, eyeing the tall guy up front who just yelled out my girlfriend's name. All he did was flash me a thumbs up and give me a crooked smirk. That idiot.

"Belladonna huh? Wow…" Caza raised her eyebrows as I looked back to her.

"Y-yeah, I'm pretty lucky."

"Luck doesn't even cut it honey." Caza sighed, running a hand across the rim of her hat as she looked me up and down. "She's pretty lucky too."

Embarrassment quickly washed over me as I looked away, not finding any sort of response to give.

"Ah, see! You're cute, I like that." The young professor smiled, placing a gentle finger on my chest. I instinctively stepped back, my feathers sensitive to the pressure.

Again, she quirked a delicate eyebrow as she looked at my chest. She's going to find out eventually… maybe even soon. I realized.

"May I ask you something?" I asked instead, changing the subject.

"Ask away." The brunette replied with a wink.

My eyes dashed around, looking for something to be the subject of my question. Her hat? No, that's too simple. Continuing my quick search, I caught a glint of steel out of the corner of my eye and a moment of relief flashed before my eyes.

"That trench knife. I saw you use it, but how does it work?" I asked, nodding to the combat knife handle sticking out of a holster at her waist.

Caza looked down at her hips and grazed her fingers across her weapon's intricate handle. "This reinforced nine inch blade was given to me by my father. It's been in our family for generations." She said, eyeing the sheathed knife fondly.

But there was something else in her eyes.

"It was named Corruption, because of what it's capable of." She dropped her usual playful or flirty gaze, and leveled into a serious disposition.

It was fear. I realized as I listened.

"One cut, and you're as good as dead. The decay process is only slowed by your will, but any living creature will inevitably die eventually. No one knows why, or how to counteract it, but that's the reason why I very rarely draw it." She sighed, dropping her hand off the handle.

"Do you know what it's made of?" I asked, wondering what could possibly be the cause of this blade's ability.

Professor Miralla just shook her head, "No. The only thing identifiable on it is the handle. It's carved from the mask of an extremely powerful grimm my grandfather killed years ago."

"Whoa, really?!" Skyla suddenly hopped up to my side, eyeing the trench knife excitedly. "Your grandfather must have been super strong."

The woman nodded with a smile, "You bet your cutie-booty he was. He was one of the best actually." Caza said fondly, placing a hand on her hip.

"How did he find a grimm that strong?" Allix asked, joining the conversation.

"It wasn't by chance, if that's what you're wondering." Professor Miralla responded. "Did you know grimm hold grudges?" She asked, looking to Allix now.

The archer shook her head, but her partner seemed to respond to the question.

"Yeah, they have a sickening sense for revenge. Especially to specific people that they've previously encountered and were injured by." Rex said, his hands behind his head. His dark blue short-sleeved t-shirt on show since his trench coat was wrapped around his waist.

"Precisely. My grandfather had a run-in with it once, and ever since then it hunted him across the world. One night, it wandered into a city and it was then that my grandfather had to risk his life to kill it." Caza recalled, looking up at the cloudless blue sky.

"He sounds like a great guy." I commented, "I would've loved to meet him."

Caza looked back down, a thoughtful expression on her face as she spared a glance at me, "Yeah, I would've loved to meet him too."


"Is anybody else thirsty? Or is it just me?" Skyla asked, looking around at the rest of us.

"Yeah, we all are. But we need to conserve water until we know we have a pickup available." I responded to my dazed partner.

She suddenly stopped and grabbed at a pouch on her waist, "We were conserving water?!"

The rest of us nodded numbly, to her utter dismay.

"Sometimes we never know how long we'll be on a mission Skyla. So it's good to be prepared." Allix informed the distraught girl, who is now pouting.

"Allix is right, it's one of the important guidelines to survival. That… and actually surviving that is." Professor Miralla added. "It's actually quite basic."

Skyla stared in disbelief at her professor, and then to everyone else. To her relief though, Rex seemed to be fidgeting a bit and keeping himself distracted.

"Ahah! Your face has betrayed you! You too have run out of water!" She exclaimed accusingly, sprinting over and nabbing Rex's empty water canister.

"W-what?! N-no! That's a lie!"

That's right big guy. Protect your dignity. Although, that's one of the things Skyla excels at obliterating.

"Liar, liar, pants on fire!~" My purple bundle of hype sing-songed before tossing the hollow container back to Rex and hopping over to a nearby cactus.

Oh, please don't tell me she's- "Skyla, I wouldn't…" It was too late.

Skyla looked up, sword in hand and half of a cactus-arm in the other. It was almost bowl shaped, perfect for drinking its juices like a cup. She hummed in questionable acknowledgement with the 'bowl' already tilted and some cactus juice dripping down her chin.

She satisfied her thirst and discarded the now useless cactus piece. "Wow, that was thirst quenching. So, Xera? What were you saying?"

I could only sigh, "We don't know what that stuff can do to you. Our aura can give us a slight advantage against alcohol and drugs, but still… we can't counter hallucinations too easily."

My partner quirked an eyebrow at that, "Pfft, you're looking at someone who eats sweets every day!" She extended her arms wide in a proud manor. "I'm practically immune to this kind of s-s-stuuuuuuuuuuuuuffff…"

Her eyes suddenly dilated to a ridiculous size, and her lips quivered into a dumb smile.

"Oh no…" Allix rested her face in her palm. Caza merely watched on in amusement while Rex took off running. Perhaps he was still having nightmares about Skyla high on candy?

"Oh my god! This stuff is amazing. You guys have to try it!" She suddenly kicked the sand and nearly tipped over, slicing a new piece off in doing so and offering it to me. "It's super quenchie! This stuff's the quenchiest!"

Looking past the cactus bowl and into Skyla's dilated eyes, I simply moved her hand out of the way a bit with my own hand. "Yeah, I don't think any of us should be drinking this stuf-"

*Woosh*

Out of nowhere, Lanza swoops in and snatches the juice from Skyla's open hand with his beak. Immediately afterward, he ate the whole thing in a single bite.

"L-lanza?! What'd I tell you about these cacti?!" Caza exclaimed, rushing over to her nevermore and opening his beak. It was too late though.

Lanza bowed his head in shame and gave her a 'puppy dog' gaze.

"Bad Lanza."

To which it had no effect.

"Yeah! Bad Lanza! Lanza Bad!" Skyla cheered, strolling over to the juvenile bird and flicking him on the beak.

Before the creature could bite her finger off, Lanza suddenly went limp and fell onto his back. His talon comically twitched a few times as his red eyes seemingly got hazier.

As if to spite this inopportune time, the world seemed to notice our temporary lack of teammates and challenged our desert raid party.

"U-uhh, not to alarm any of you… but that sand dune is shifting!" Allix called out, pointing toward a mountain of sand in the near distance.

Flowing hills and streams of sand tumbled down a slowly rising dune, the tip slowly becoming black with each passing second.

Skyla raised her arms into the air and charged at the unearthing creature, "Waterfall!"

"I got her!" A blur of silver blew past all of us and I watched as Rex scooped the girl up in his arms, immediately turning high tail and getting her out of there.

"Way to go Rex! And I thought you were scared of a hallucinating Sky!" I said, just as he past us.

"I am! See! Look what she's doing!"

I turned around to see Skyla's mouth clamped down on one of Rex's ears.

"She's nibbling on my ear!" Rex exclaimed, hands out to his sides as if to prove something. Skyla's form lifted as well, seemingly attached to his arm with her legs and arms wrapped around it.

"Nmmhmm." Skyla hummed, now drooling.

"I still don't see your point." I replied with a laugh. Damn, my partner's awesome.

"Lanza? You're in no condition to fight, what are you doing?" I heard from behind me. Caza was trying to pull Lanza back by the tail as the nevermore moved forward to combat the rising menace…

…it would've been admiral…

…if he were going the right way.

Lanza squawked and took off, causing Caza to fall onto her rump and look up after her nevermore.

"He'll be fine, right?" I asked, a bit worried since my professor had a bit of a worried look on her face.

She kept her eyes on him as he took to the sky, "He should be."

"Good. Now, how about we deal with this grimm?" Rex stepped up next to Allix and I. A random Skyla dangling from his ear.

"Good question, anyone know what that is?" Allix asked, trying to get a read on the grimm with her scroll.

In front of us, at about 21 feet tall and 19 feet wide at its head, was a… mushroom? What?

It towered over my team and I, pitch black in color and two large red eyes on its stump. The sand beneath it sunk to its movements as it shifted and rotated to fix its glaring gaze upon us.

"You have got to be kidding me. It's called a Sporax. It's known to create sand vortexes and use crushing power blows by utilizing its heavy top portion as a hammer." Allix read off.

"H-hey!"

Rex stumbled as Skyla kicked off of him and gasped, eyes going wide at the site before her. "Giant mushroom!" Her hands shot into the air as she waved her arms frantically, "MAYBE IT'S FRIENDLY?!"

"I'll keep an eye on her, you guys go on in." Allix sighed, taking out a string of sorts and tying it to Skyla's swaying arm, then to her own arm.

"Friendly mushroom! Giant mushy wushy fluffy frieeeeend!" Skyla drew out in a light voice, leaning back and forth on her leash.

"Do you three need assistance?" Professor Miralla came up on my left, eyeing the large grimm with us.

"Maybe. But we'll see if we can take it for now." I answered, getting a confident nod from Rex and Allix.

Caza smiled and shifted her weight, placing one hand on her hip, "Alright then, impress me."

"Gladly- OOF!" Rex tumbled forward, a Skyla on a string now straddling his back as she pointed furiously at the giant mushroom and screamed, "YIP YIP MY T-REX! CHAAAAARGE!"

Rex could only groan with a face full of hot sand.

"Giddy-up!" Skyla squealed cutely, "Come on!" She looked down at her mounted teammate with a confusing gleam in her eyes. "Why you no move?"

Lifting a lazy hand into the air, Rex pointed to the grimm and mumbled into the ground, "Just… go… I'll be there… in a bit…"

I cracked an amused smirk and turned to see what Allix was doing. She appeared to just be helplessly tugging lightly on her 'Skyla' leash, an apologetic look on her face as she gazed down at her partner.

"Is this why people seem to think your team is dysfunctional?"

People think that?! My eyes snapped to our professor and she just shrugged her shoulders.

She held up her hand to further explain herself, "Dysfunctional yes… but effective nonetheless."

"Okay, yeah… that sounds about right." I sighed, finally drawing my Annivia's Talons in Excalibur mode – yes, okay. I admit, Ruby's name for it had a nice ring to it – and leveled it out at my side, pointing away from me with a straight arm.

"Let's see if we can keep up to those expectations then." I commented offhandedly before running forward, sand kicking up behind my initial push before I lightly stormed across the desert surface in a silent charge.

Giant ruby eyes leveled at me and squinted, the towering menace groaning with every shift as it rumbled the sands beneath my feet.

Before I could even approach its base, the whole head toppled forward and attempted to crush me. With barely enough speed, I was able to change direction and roll out of the way, quickly becoming engulfed in the resulting dust cloud from the impact.

You need to watch where you're slamming your face bud! I dashed beneath the rising spore and slashed across its base, dragging my sword deep through its stump. The Sporax gave off a guttural shriek before suddenly swirling on the spot.

"Oh boy." I stumbled, the ground suddenly becoming loose beneath my feet. "Sand vortex… sand vortex!" I scrambled out of there as fast as I could, leaping and sliding over and under tumbling stones, climbing my way out of the sinking pit.

"Allix!" I called out, as soon as I reached the top.

A glint of steel flashed through the air as I looked to see where my archer was. Thankfully, I spotted her just in time to snatch the arrow out of the air and pull its trailing string into my grasp.

"See if you can grapple that into its mouth!" Allix yelled, letting loose a few more dust arrows at the creature's spinning eyes.

I nodded my thanks and gripped the end of the thin rope tightly. It was sleek black and was more durable than an ordinary rope. Above all though, it was an excellent conductor for electricity.

The vortex slowed to a stop before the Sporax prepared for another thundering smash, forcing me to circle the grim and begin spinning the grappling arrow in my hand. "Come on… open wide…"

Another arrow flew in and embedded itself in the grimm's molten red eye, causing it to jerk back and open its jagged mouth on its stump.

Thank you Allix. I mentally added as I used the circular motion I forced into the arrow head and sent it soaring through the air.

I watched as the projectile lodged itself between a few razor-like teeth, then pulled the rope taught in my hands to secure it.

"Hey Rex! I need you!" I called out, looking back.

Luckily, Rex was already on his feet and charging over. Skyla was standing idly behind him, rather disappointed but enjoying watching us battle the large mushroom grimm.

"What's with the rope?"

Rex asked his question and skidded to a stop beside me, the two of us eyeing down the angry Sporax.

Seeing as the grimm was beginning to get irritated, I reached out and offered the rope to Rex.

"Here, hold this…"

Rex took a tight hold on the end of the rope and looked at me curiously, "Why?"

Just then, the large Sporax tugged hard on the arrow stuck between its teeth and yanked Rex suddenly off his feet.

"XEEEERRAAA!"

"Just hang on tight! All you have to do is start charging that lightning dust of yours and send it straight through that rope!" I yelled after him.

"How…" Rex was swung violently, causing him to pause, "…am I…" Again, but this time he was flung upward and got some airtime, "…even going to do that…" He plummeted downward, the rope being his only lifeline right now, "…dangling from a MONSTER?!"

"I'll think of something!" I flashed him a toothy grin and a thumbs up. I missed his response this time to leap back into the sandy pit and split my longsword in two.

The twin halves of my blade quickly shifted into my lever-action shotguns and I took aim at the creature's remaining eye. Pop! I squeezed both triggers and sent dual impact slugs up and into its massive beady red eye.

My shots reaching their mark, the Sporax howled painfully in a broken and high pitched squeal. As soon as it opened its mouth though, an arrow whizzed inside its wide maw and pierced its throat. The sound immediately getting cut short as the monster screeched and gurgled.

The ground suddenly shook beneath me again, and I assumed another sand vortex was coming.

Looking back up though, I saw smoke rising out from this thing's mouth.

Explosive arrow? Nice touch Allix. I gave my archer an approving mock salute and kicked up off the sand, my shoes finding temporary footing on the mushroom's stalk. The impact caused it to lean back far enough for me to scale it.

"Now, time to make you hold still…" I leaped over the thing's smoking mouth and kicked off where its upper lip should have been, putting a little distance between me and my target. As I flew back, I took aim at both its now injured eyes and fired, blasting apart whatever red that was still lingering inside.

"Head's up!" I called out as the Sporax toppled backward, pulling Rex with it. As he swung past me, he extended an open hand and I grasped it to save myself from a rough fall.

"Now what?!" Rex asked after we collided with the beast's underbelly… or whatever this was.

I pointed to the rope and stood up, "Trail that rope off of his body. We don't want to be standing on this thing when you light it up."

"Alright." Rex stood up and gripped his axe in his other hand, "Off we go!"

He jumped off and I followed suit, the both of us grounding ourselves moments later and rapping the rope around Rex's axe.

"You're the one with shock dust, so it's all up to you." I said, stepping back after noticing the sparks and my friend's hair going rigid.

Dual-Elektro split down the center of the shaft, the two blades folding outward to reveal the ballista mode of his weapon. "Lights out… giant….. mushroom….. thing!"

Energy coursed out in a flash of light, causing a lightshow of smoke and dust to tear through the downed Sporax. Cracks sizzled deep into the grimm's exterior as his insides were fried, ending with the last remnants of life and movement twitching to a stop.

All that was left was a smoldering hunk of black, burnt and dead.

"W-w-well t-t-that w-w-was e-easy…" Rex shook the jitters from his voice as he ran a hand through his spiked hair, "Piece of cake!" The guy turned and flashed me a toothy grin.

"Sweet, good kill Rex." I reached out with my fist and he promptly fist bumped it, the two of us soon making it back to the others.

Allix had put her bow onto her back and was currently watching my partner. Skyla seemed to be eyeing something in front of her, but I couldn't see it. She had her legs crossed and was sitting in the sand.

"Cactus juice wore off?" I asked curiously.

To which Allix shook her head no, "She's trying to be creative."

Quirking an eyebrow, I shared a look with Rex before moving around to my partner's front.

"Woo! Sand castle!"

In front of her sat an intricately designed, well-fortified, castle of sand. "Whoa, you made this while intoxicated?!" I asked out of disbelief.

"Pfft… intoxicated. Hah, I laugh in the face of – hic!" Skyla covered her mouth with a blush, her eyes still dilated from the juice she had. "Hehe… arf." She then proceeded to scratch her ear and stick her tongue out of the corner of her mouth.

"And… you're a dog now…" I sighed, crouching down to her eye-level. She gave me a stupid grin and wiggled her rump into the sand, giving me a crooked stare.

I placed my hand on her head and gave it a few pats, "How long do you think this'll last?"

Looking up past a blissfully grinning 'puppy', I found our professor standing nearby. "Shouldn't last more than a day at least." She informed me.

Great… she'll be like this for a while… I hope it at least wears off enough for her to act on her own. I gave her head a few more pats before standing back up, leaving my partner to her own devices.

"Where's Lanza?" Rex asked out of curiosity.

Above us, I heard a screech and saw a shadow pass us by. The blur of black sped across the sands and told me to look up… just in time to see Lanza spiraling down to the ground and landing in a crumpled heap a few dozen feet away.

"He's been flying in circles for the entire fight…" Caza deadpanned, sighing as she watched her nevermore stumble to his feet and fall over.

At least he tried…


Sokka! I couldn't help it okay?! I had to! This was a desert… it was the perfect opportunity to pull an 'Avatar the Last Airbender' reference…

I hope it was funny… 'cause there will be more.

REVIEW! Just say something, maybe scream 'Fallout 4' – can't wait for Elder Scrolls VI by the way – or of course, you know, say something about the story. There's a huge climactic plot point coming up… heh, spoiler… or is it?

Favorite and Follow the story, I'll see you in the next one.

Cya XD

oOo

Just thought I'd add something too. My good friend (S. Wordsmith), we know each other in real life and attend the same school, is writing his own OC story! And it's really good! We talk pretty much every day, and he's excellent with creating characters. His story is called 'Souls: The Tale of Team B1NC'. We collaborate and come up with some insane concepts between us, so please check out his fanfic if you enjoy this one or just enjoy good reads.