To Lyger 0: Hmm… I'm sure the Guardians are working on something. Max was experimenting with it last year; he and King Monkey figured out that Uproar can negate the effect of chi-putty.
"Help Rugindo Leoa!" ordered Sent-Bee, dropping down to glide no more than three meters off the ground before releasing her grip on Aisha's shoulders. Aisha gave her a salute as she dropped, landing in a crouch two meters from Rugindo Leoa and springing at the Dark Acolyte standing next to her. The woman's eyes shot wide open in shock at Aisha's sudden appearance, and Aisha slipped her staff between the woman's legs, pulling one off the ground. The woman fell stumbled backward, barely catching herself with one hand and pushing off into a twist. While the Dark Acolyte was still in midair, Aisha grabbed her staff with both hands and swung for the woman's midsection, catching her in the gut. The woman landed in a heap, and Aisha jabbed her staff into her throat, pinning her in place. The Dark Acolyte thrashed, but Aisha smacked her hard in the chin with her quarterstaff. With a groan, the woman collapsed, and Aisha gave Sent-Bee a thumb's-up.
Even before Aisha had landed, Sent-Bee had already twisted to propel herself back up, just above the tops of the tents, careful to keep a low profile. Putting on a burst of speed, she caught up with Iron Maiden as she crossed over the second row of tents. A quick backward glance showed Aisha triumphantly pulling the chi-putty off of Rugindo Leoa. She let out a relieved breath, just as Iron Maiden's shadow crossed above a cluster of militia gunmen, several of whom turned to point at her. The cracks of gunshots rang out, interspersed with the tinkle of bullets ricocheting off of Iron Maiden's armor.
"You okay up there?" Sent-Bee called, drawing both her synth-Venom pistols and taking a quick glance at the reservoir indicators on the sides. She winced: down to half capacity in her left pistol; almost empty on the right. With a sigh, she switched her hands. She had a ton of the stuff back in Paris, both in her penthouse and in the lab at Headquarters. But here in Angola, how could she possibly find more? If Max were here, he could create something… but Max was… Her gut churned; her jaw clenched. However much she was hurting right now, Sabrina was hurting so much worse.
The synth-Venom was a problem for future-Chloe to worry about. For now, the only thing that mattered was to fight her way through to wherever her best friend was.
As gunfire rang out below them, Iron Maiden flew slightly ahead of Sent-Bee. Bandruí perched on her back, gripping a handle on the back of the suit with a vine wrapped around the hand in which she held onto her sapling while shielding her eyes with the other. Behind them, Hoda raced out of the tree cover, narrowly avoiding the pockets of heroes and Dark Acolytes and militia fighting in and out among the trees. A militiaman shouted something from the ground, just before a volley of bullets pinged off of Iron Maiden's armor. Several of the gunmen turned their attention to Sent-Bee, and she dove lower, spun around in a roll to throw off their aim, and sent a spray of synth-Venom into the crowd before swinging forward and driving her feet into the closest gunman's shoulders. Riding him to the ground, she shot synth-Venom at the man to his left, kicked the man to his right.
Bandruí jumped off of Iron Maiden's back, swinging around on a vine until she reached the ground and released the vine from Iron Maiden's suit. Two of the men turned their guns on her, but Sent-Bee hurled her empty pistol at one of them, knocking his gun to one side into his companion's wrist. Bandruí slammed the end of the vine into the ground, and moments later vines erupted from the earth around the gunmen, twisting around the legs of four and pinning them in place while other vines grabbed their arms and pulled them down to the ground on their backs. One man pulled his arm free of the twisting vines with an enraged cry, drawing a knife from his belt and swiping at the vines. Bandruí clenched her fist, and swung in an underhand jab. The vines coalesced into a ball which smacked the man in the back of the arm. Two more raced around the corner, pointing their guns in Bandruí's direction, just before Hoda vaulted over Bandruí's head, threw her arms out, and caught both of them under the chin, pulling them off their feet and launching them backward into the tent directly behind them. Aisha, holding Hoda's shoulder with one hand, dropped to the ground and swung her staff at the closest Dark Acolyte, who leaned back, barely avoiding the blow. As the man dodged, Sent-Bee shot the Dark Acolyte in the face with synth-Venom, drawing out a yo-yo with her free hand. A whip cracked behind her.
Near the edge of the forest, Harba and Tenedaw battled back and forth with a group of Dark Acolytes; out of the corner of her eye, Sent-Bee caught the glint of a bolas, which wrapped around Tenedaw's ankles just as she dropped into a sprint. Sent-Bee let out a shout, pointing in that direction, and Bandruí's eyes flashed. A large tree near the entrance of the camp swayed, swinging its limbs and crashing them into the Dark Acolytes, just as Harba tackled Tenedaw to the ground below the swaying limbs. Most of the Dark Acolytes dove out of the way with only moments to spare, though two of them were flung across the battlefield to land at Jueran Eazim's feet. The whip cracked again, closer to Sent-Bee and Bandruí. Sent-Bee froze, starting to turn in that direction. Before she could do anything more, however, Iron Maiden landed just in front of Sent-Bee and Bandruí, caught the whip around her arm, and launched forward, straight at the man who had been cracking the whip.
A piercing shriek echoed off of the trees as a Shunjar jumped on top of Iron Maiden, slamming her into the ground. She cried out in surprise, her jetpack cut out, and the Shunjar dug its claws into her back before she could roll over.
"Raqassshan!" bellowed Hoda, her eyes flashing with rage, snarling something in an unfamiliar language. The Shunjar looked up, surprised, just as Hoda tackled him around the waist, knocking him off of Iron Maiden and into the closest tent, which collapsed on top of them. The canvas shook and rustled. Rips and tears appeared all along it, sharp claws poking through the thin fabric, the only sound audible that of snarling and growling.
Iron Maiden pushed herself back up to her feet and gave the writhing mass a look before shaking her head and turning back to the gunmen gathering into a semicircle in front of her. "You really want to do this?" she demanded, folding her arms. A couple hesitated, but the rest clenched their guns tighter. Iron Maiden shrugged as a pair of trees suddenly thrust their way out of the earth, grew to the size of a man, and sent out limbs straight into the closest gunmen, swinging back and forth through the crowd. Iron Maiden raised one hand, and a sonic pulse shot out at the remaining gunmen, all of whom dropped their rifles and covered their ears, their pained howls drowned out by the din. After sending a pulse of energy at the final gunman, Iron Maiden turned back toward the collapsed tent where Hoda had disappeared.
As the sound died away, Sent-Bee sprinted past them deeper into the camp, sidestepping around one of the Dark Acolytes and ducking the butt of a rifle. She could see a man in a dark cloak ahead of her – Hunda-Beekaa! She would recognize the withered old man anywhere! Sabrina had been working with him!? Behind him stood Cavalière Lavande a look of fear and grief on her face. Hunda-Beekaa raised his staff, pointing it at Sent-Bee. Fear spread around Sent-Bee, tearing at the edges of her consciousness. All her nerve endings lit up with pain. Darkness closed in on her.
"No!" As if from nowhere, Aisha rushed forward, pushing past Sent-Bee and rousing her from the stupor. A malicious grin on his face, Hunda-Beekaa refocused his attention on her. Sent-Bee coughed, her heart pulsing quickly as the pain vanished and she tried to regain her composure. Hunda-Beekaa grinned maliciously at Aisha.
"Well, child, I see that you have made some new friends," he leered. "But do not forget: the more things change, the more they stay the same. You will always be that same scared little girl, begging for death every night."
Aisha's breathing hitched, her eyes shooting wide as Hunda-Beekaa's power washed over her. Her lower lip trembled, but she gripped her quarterstaff tightly, glaring back into his face. "No more," she hissed, her eyes narrowed to thin slits. She planted her staff on the ground, holding herself upright. "You have all the same tricks, but you do not scare me anymore. Your fear doesn't work on me: I've lived those horrors and come out the other side! I'm stronger now than that weak, helpless little girl. You and your master made sure of that!" Aisha pulled a small ball out of a pouch on her belt and threw it into Hunda-Beekaa's face. The smoke bomb burst, and he cried out in surprise and pain, rubbing at his eyes as the smoke powder worked its way into them. With a shriek, Aisha threw herself a Hunda-Beeka, swinging her staff wildly at his head. The old man stumbled backward, raising his hands in front of his head to block the vicious assault.
Sent-Bee pushed past them to find Cavalière Lavande, standing by herself in the middle of the camp as heroes and villains fought all around her. Her face was a mask of pain and grief and anger and confusion, looking in all directions for some indication of where to go or what to do. Finally she caught sight of Sent-Bee, and her eyes narrowed.
"Why did you come?" demanded Cavalière Lavande, her mouth a thin line.
Sent-Bee sprinted toward her, stopping a couple meters in front of her. "Sabrina," she whispered quietly, holding her hands out in a placating manner. "Of course I came for you. You're my friend. I couldn't just leave you with these monsters."
Cavalière Lavande wound up and aimed a punch at Sent-Bee's chest. "If you were really my friend, you would let me bring back Max!" she screamed.
Sent-Bee gasped, tears springing to her eyes at the unexpected punch. "What? No–"
"If you were my friend, then why didn't you let me go back for him?!" Cavalière Lavande punched Sent-Bee again, and this time Sent-Bee clenched her stomach muscles in a vain attempt to absorb the blow. She wheezed for breath, blinking away the tears that sprang unbidden to her eyes at the pain. Cavalière Lavande pulled the horseshoe off her back and swung wildly at Sent-Bee's head.
"That's not what happened!" Sent-Bee grabbed Cavalière Lavande's hand, directing her next strike to the side.
Cavalière Lavande scoffed, jerking her wrist out of Sent-Bee's grasp. "You let him die!"
"He made his choice!"
"What about my choice!?" Cavalière Lavande shot back, pounding her chest. "I choose him!"
"Why?" Sent-Bee demanded, throwing her arms out wide. "Why do all of this, when Max gave his own life for you!?"
"Because I don't want to be alone!"
Sent-Bee froze, staring at Cavalière Lavande. "Is that what you think?" she whispered. "That you're alone?" She stepped closer, avoiding a halfhearted punch from Cavalière Lavande, who stumbled to one side, over-balancing from the jab. "Sabrina, you were never alone. You were never facing this by yourself. I'm here for you."
Cavalière Lavande's lower lip trembled. "You're the only one. If the others were my friends – if they really cared – they would help."
Sent-Bee shook her head. "Don't do that, Sabrina," she told her. "They are doing what's right. Wishing the Tarasque away, or wishing Max back, or whatever you were going to do… it's not going to solve our problem – not without consequences."
Cavalière Lavande's eyes narrowed. "So that's it, then? I just have to give up? Max stays dead? I–I can't–I can't accept that!"
"It's the truth!" Sent-Bee insisted, throwing her arms around Cavalière Lavande, who gasped as her legs collapsed under her, tears pouring from her eyes.
"It's just–I miss him," she whimpered into Sent-Bee's shoulder as Sent-Bee guided her down to her knees, kneeling beside her and holding her tightly around her shoulders. "So much. I–I want him back!"
"I know," Sent-Bee whispered, rubbing her back. She sniffled. "I know. I want him back, too. I wish we could bring him back… but we can't. I'm here for you. I'm sorry I wasn't here for you as much as I should have been. But I'm here–we're here," she corrected herself. "We're going to be with you to figure this out. You're my best friend and you've always been there when I needed you. So now it's my turn."