To Lyger 0: Speaking of the cavalry…
Rugindo Leoa crouched low on the edge of the tree line, looking out into the small clearing, no larger than a single city block. They had discovered the camp overnight, no more than two kilometers from the refugee camp, swiftly and silently overpowering a scout who had been waiting just off the path half a kilometer from here before moving in closer. An orderly line of canvas tents stretched across the clearing, beyond which she could see a second row, followed by a third. The sounds of people moving about, hurried snatches of conversation, and the occasional grunt and thud coming from somewhere further into the camp, drifted out to Rugindo Leoa. Her eyes narrowed intently, scanning the camp's perimeter for signs of movement. Three of the militiamen stood idly near the closest tent, their rifles slung casually over one shoulder. One of the men held a steaming mug, laughing at something his companion had said. Rugindo Leoa's eyes darted from one guard to the next, watching and waiting. A guard turned his back casually, leaning to one side to look further into the camp, and Rugindo Leoa seized the opportunity.
One of the three guards looked up in surprise as Rugindo Leoa sprinted out of the tree line and made a beeline directly toward him and his companions. The guard's surprise turned to alarm as he recognized her miraculous suit, his eyes widening. He opened his mouth to cry out a warning, but she whipped her short sword off of her belt and, in one swift motion, hurled it straight at him, cutting straight through his throat, the tip emerging from the back of his neck with a spray of blood that spattered across his two companions. Rugindo Leoa crossed the remaining distance before before he fell to the ground with a gurgle and the other two guards turned. On catching sight of her, one of the surviving guards raised his rifle. Without losing momentum, however, Rugindo Leoa dropped to the ground just in front of them, slid forward, planted her hand on the ground, and swept one man's legs out from under him. The man fell to the ground, his barrel turning upward to spray the sky with bullets. The other swung his rifle around to point at her just as Rugindo Leoa brought her feet under her, threw her momentum forward, and pounced on his chest, grabbing him and knocking him backward off his feet. His head slammed into the ground with a dull thud, and he grunted, collapsing limply as Rugindo Leoa pushed herself back up. The sound of trampling boots from deeper into the camp drew her attention, and she threw out her hand to recall her sword. The dying guard's head twisted slightly as the sword came dislodge, and it trailed drops of blood on its return to her hand. Something moved deeper into the camp, just behind the third row of tents.
"Move in!" Rugindo Leoa shouted, waving to the tree line without taking her eyes off the rapidly growing crowd of militia soldiers.
Side by side, Buq Hayij and Roqonsa Saada raced past her and leapt over the three fallen guards without slowing down, moving to confront the group of gunmen beginning to gather within the camp. Leaping over the bodies of the three guards, Buq Hayij pulled a pace ahead of Roqonsa Saada and slammed her fists down into the dirt, barreling into the camp on all fours. Her horn shimmered as she slammed into one of the gunmen, pitching him into the air to fall onto the nearest tent before continuing forward to crash into the man just behind him. She tumbled over, landing on top of the man and driving his body down into the dirt.
A dozen rifles all cocked at once.
Roqonsa Saada sprang over Buq Hayij, her eyes flashing wildly as all the militia soldiers fired simultaneously, spinning her fly whisk to deflect a hail of bullets back into the camp. More and more guns fired at her, bullets from the sides glancing off of her arms. "Iron Forge!" she bellowed, and her entire body flashed a grayish blue. Dropping her fly whisk to her side, Roqonsa Saada glared at the gunmen, who continued to shoot. Gunshots rang out around them, pinging off of Roqonsa Saada's head and chest, some deflecting down into the ground while others ricocheted into the crowd. Buq Hayij sprang to her feet, standing back to back with Roqonsa Saada, her fists raised and horn lowered as the gunmen moved around to flank them. "Come and get some!" taunted Roqonsa Saada. Two gunmen faltered, their aim dropping.
A sai flashed in the sunlight as it sailed past Roqonsa Saada's ear and stuck down the barrel of a rifle just as the gunmen fired. The barrel burst in the gunman's face, launching the sai back in the direction it had come, and a flash of yellow shot past Rugindo Leoa, caught the sai in midair, and sent both sai into the barrels of three other guns moments before their holders shot. As Tenedaw turned to race around the crowd, a tiny speck sprang off of her shoulder. Ngarayap caught her grappling hook around another man's wrist, swung around him, and returned to her normal size, riding the man to the ground just as Cackle hurled her assegai at the man next to Ngarayap, who stumbled, his aim going wide. Cackle ran across the open field from left to right before holding out her hand to summon back the assegai. It returned to her hand, knocking another gunman backward as it did so. Ngarayap had already hogtied the first gunman and fired her second grappling hook at the man next to him, even as the gunmen adjusted their aim.
A yo-yo looped around two men, who yelped in surprise as the string pulled them together, their heads connecting with a wet thud. The two militiamen guards fell like puppets with their strings cut, just as Ladybug yanked both of them toward her, through the crowd, swung them up into the air over her head, and slammed them into the ground.
Stepping out of the cover of a tent, Rugindo Leoa raised an eyebrow at Ladybug, blocking a hail of bullets from further into the camp as she approached Ladybug. "Glad you could join us," she observed.
"This has gone on long enough," Ladybug declared, her eyes narrowed in a glare. "We're ending this thing – right now."
"No arguments there," Rugindo Leoa agreed.
"And Impératrice Pourpre is mine when we find her," Ladybug added darkly.
"We can figure that out when the time comes," Rugindo Leoa replied with a shrug. Something grayish and vaguely familiar landed next to her knee. She spun her head quickly to find the source, and saw a dozen men and women in dark robes rushing toward them from the far side of the camp. Buq Hayij had already been hit by chi-putty and immobilized near a collapsed tent in the third row. One of the Dark Acolytes knocked her to the ground onto her face, and Roqonsa Saada and Ngarayap retreated out from among the tents. A black beam of energy struck Ngarayap from behind, and she vanished into thin air.
Rugindo Leoa's eyes shot wide open. Solo Act hovered just above the tops of the trees, between the hero and the refugee camp. Black beams of energy shot off in all directions. "Ambush!" Rugindo Leoa sprang backward, narrowly avoiding a bolas that skirted past her foot and wrapped around a tree. The two balls clicked together, and a small explosion rippled out from the balls and through the cord. The tree, severed near the ground, tipped over and fell, narrowly missing Maroodiga Cawlan and Angel as it landed with a crash.
"Ladybug!" Cat Noir appeared behind Ladybug, just as a black beam lanced out at her from Solo Act. The beam struck Cat Noir, who disappeared, only to reappear moments later, his claws still wreathed in dark energy from his Cataclysm.
"She's gone way too far now," Ladybug seethed, her eyes flashing with rage.
"We need to get to Buq Hayij!" shouted Rugindo Leoa, sprinting forward.
"No!" Jueran Eazim's voice rang out through their communicators. "No, you would only get yourself captured," he warned her. "We–we have to stay back."
Rugindo Leoa's jaws clenched, but she slipped back, away from the camp, and hid behind one of the tents along the perimeter.
"Bronto-Slam!" The earth shattered between the tree line and the camp, a crooked line of broken earth separating the Dark Acolytes from Buq Hayij. Almost as if that had been a signal, a shapeless black shade drifted out of the camp, sending a geyser of water shooting straight at Rapeto's location. Rapeto jumped out of the trees, rolled to one side away from the water, and came back to his knees, swinging his arm around to redirect the water back at the Shadow, which dissipated and reformed around the water. Shooting past the Shadow, the water splashed into the side of the tent behind it, knocking it over to one side and collapsing it. Closer the Shadow drifted further out from the camp.
Rugindo Leoa grabbed a handful of stones, holding them in one hand and eyeing the Shadow, waiting for the right moment to strike.
A shriek rang out from the camp, and a Shunjar charged out of a larger tent beyond that third row, its long claws extended. Rugindo Leoa's eyes widened, the stones slipping from her grasp. She had seen Hoda around the camp – she had met Hoda's father once while visiting New Atlantis – but she hadn't considered what it would be like to face one of the massive reptilian aliens in combat as an enemy. Nearly three meters in height, the Shunjar's eyes flashed, it bared its sharp teeth, and it grabbed the immobilized Buq Hayij, digging its teeth into her shoulder. Rugindo Leoa could see pain and fear in Buq Hayij's eyes, her mouth moving the slightest bit as she let out a whimper, almost drowned out by the sounds of tumult all around them.
"No!" Harba sprinted out of the trees, over the shouts of Jueran Eazim, and threw himself into the Shunjar's midsection, knocking him away from Buq Hayij. The Shunjar grabbed for Harba, but Amdeɣimal threw his javelin at the Shunjar, which ducked out of the way, giving Harba the opening he needed to back away. The Shunjar pursued, and Amdeɣimal reached out his hand, summoning the spear back to him. The spear knocked the Shunjar side-on in the back of the head, and the Shunjar snarled. Harba jumped, twisting around and aiming a kick at the Shunjar's head, but it leaned backward so the kick only caught it a glancing blow to the jaw. Harba drove his other foot into the alien's shoulder and kicked off, flipping to the ground. Amdeɣimal grabbed one of the alien's arms, pulling him back as Harba grabbed for the other arm. Before Harba could get a good grip, however, the Shunjar broke his grasp, spun around, caught Amdeɣimal's other arm, and dug his claws into his arms. Amdeɣimal gritted his teeth and pushed, trying to break the Shunjar's hold. Harba drew out his cloak, twisted it around, and snapped it at the Shunjar, drawing his attention. The cloak snapped with the sound of a thunderclap.
A bolt of lightning seared Rugindo Leoa's eyes, and Ryoku formed out of the lightning directly in front of the Shadow. "Wind Dragon!" she screamed, drawing her sword and pointing it at the Shadow. The Shadow slid to one side, deforming around the wind, but Ryoku adjusted her aim, continuously pointing her sword at the Shadow with a slight twist. Tents blew back, falling over under the wind pressure. Gunmen and Dark Acolytes alike fell to the ground. At last the Shadow vanished. Ryoku released her Wind Dragon, and the Shadow did not reappear.
Two Guardian Initiates crept forward, sliding unseen between the tents and into the encampment, until they were only a dozen meters from where the Shunjar had dropped Buq Hayij. One Initiate, Aline, bent low as she sprinted along the fronts of the tents, vaulting the chasm between her and Buq Hayij. The other Initiate jumped one of the Dark Acolytes, smacking her over the head with his quarterstaff and riding her to the ground. As the Dark Acolyte fell, the Initiate turned his attention to the next. Aline grabbed the piece of chi-putty off of Buq Hayij's stomach, and she stirred with a shudder while Aline tripped up the closest Dark Acolyte.
Rugindo Leoa let out a relieved breath and scanned the battlefield around her. Cadaabta Ey and Angel were fighting a group of the militants. One of the space-planes hovered above the encampment, trading energy blasts with Solo Act, acrid black smoke trailing from one of its wings. Cat Noir and Ladybug had moved away from Rugindo Leoa, working around to flank Solo Act. Maroodiga Cawlan had drawn the attention of several Dark Acolytes, who were trying to corner him between two tents. As Rugindo Leoa watched, Maroodiga Cawlan stepped wrong on a tree branch and winced. It was a small thing, but it was enough for one of the Dark Acolytes to skip a bolas around his ankles. The bolas balls collided with a pop and Maroodiga Cawlan let out a howl of pain. Another jumped forward and threw a punch at Maroodiga Cawlan's chest, knocking him back into the side of a tent.
A twig snapped. Rugindo Leoa turned toward the noise, but too late. A piece of chi-putty stuck to her hip, and she couldn't move. Growling helplessly, she glared at her attacker in rage. The Dark Acolyte stalked closer, grinning at her maliciously. Rugindo Leoa's eyes darted around the area, but none of the Initiates were close by – all those she saw were busy fighting the other gunmen and Acolytes. Suddenly, Rugindo Leoa heard the sound of jetpacks from behind her and looked up as well as she could to see Iron Maiden and Sent-Bee flying in tight formation, just above the treetops. "Hey! Down here!" Rugindo Leoa hissed without moving her lips, but the two heroes flew straight past her.