Since the last cliffhanger was rather cruel, y'all get an early chapter :D
Crosshair is... displeased.
It's shorter than usual, only about 2600 words, but that's alright! I need a break anyway for real lol.
Speaking of break, I will be taking a break next week. This chapter does end on a cliffhanger of sorts, but it's a better stopping point than last week. The next chapter will be out the week after next!
Thanks again for all the comments!
Warnings: None aside from language and combat scenes!
Hunter wasn't sure who screamed the loudest.
He wasn't sure who rushed to her side the fastest.
He wasn't sure whose fear was the strongest.
All he knew was he would never forget the sight of Shadow collapsing to the ground as the red bolt ripped through her.
"No!" Crosshair screamed, snapping his rifle into place and gunning down the commando as he stood over Shadow. "Karkin' shabuir!"
"You'll pay for this!" Wrecker roared, charging the approaching hoard.
"She's not breathing!" Tech screamed, voice breaking as he frantically tried to assess the damage done.
A dark hole in her shirt just below her collar continued to smoke, filling the sergeant with horror as he realized he couldn't hear her heartbeat.
She was right.
She was right!
Had she not stepped in and taken the bullet herself, it would have torn straight through Crosshair.
But as she laid unmoving on the ground, Hunter worried that her sacrifice cost her a life of her own.
If that plot armor didn't kick in…
They had to retreat. Shadow was down and, if she was still alive they couldn't risk any more injuries.
Hunter barked an order for Tech and Wrecker to take up defensive positions while he and Crosshair got Shadow out of there.
She wasn't dead, was she?
No!
No she couldn't be dead!
"Get her behind that rock!" he yelled to Crosshair, taking down another commando.
"You take her! I'll cover you!"
"Not the time-!"
A bolt clipped his shoulder, leaving a nasty streak dent in his armor and sending him spinning before crashing to the ground. Pain raced through his shoulder and head as he slammed into rocks.
"Damn it!" Crosshair snarled. "We need to move! Get her out of here now!"
Shaking his head, ears ringing, Hunter stumbled to Shadow and tried to drag her away.
They had to get off the field. They had to find cover.
They could take the hoard, but he was not risking Shadow.
Another red bolt whizzed by, so close Hunter swore he felt the heat from it even through his armor and blacks.
Hauling the unconscious woman behind a rock as Wrecker helped Crosshair in laying down cover fire, Hunter yanked his helmet off and frantically looked over Shadow.
"Ice. Ice, please." Hunter felt panic well up in his throat when he realized he still couldn't hear her heart. Her chest remained still as well. "Open your eyes, please." He pulled her close and rested his forehead against hers. "I don't want to lose you…"
A groan from beneath him. "Ain't gettin' rid of me that easily."
Hunter jerked back with a gasp, staring into half open blue eyes as tears threatened to spill from his own. "I… I thought… when you went down… I thought I lost you!" he gasped.
But her heart! It wasn't beating!
How was she still awake with no heartbeat?!
A bolt narrowly missed his helmet and Shadow yanked him down.
"I'm gonna lose you if you don't get your head down!" Shadow hissed before grimacing and curling around herself. "Hellfire!"
"But your heart isn't-"
"We can discuss this when we don't have bolts whizzin' over our heads!" Shadow retorted, snatching his helmet off the ground and shoving it into his chest.
She's right.
He yanked on his helmet.
Reunion and tears could wait.
They needed to get in the tunnels fast.
"Fall back!" Hunter yelled, lifting Shadow into his arms and running with her to the cave entrance.
"Shadow!" Tech gasped.
"Squeaky! You're alive!" Wrecker cheered, smashing two droids together.
"Celebrate later! Get movin'!" Hunter barked, setting Shadow down. "Crosshair! Now!"
"Copy that," Tech replied, dashing for them.
Shooting down a commando, Crosshair jumped up and ran their way too.
But a droid got in a lucky shot, missing Crosshair's back but clipping his leg and sending him crashing to the ground. Landing hard on his arm, violent curses erupted from the sniper's mouth as blood hit Hunter's nose.
"Crosshair!" A ferocious and downright savage snarl ripped its way from Shadow's throat as bright hazel markings flickered to life as she raced back onto the field.
She's powering up!
Again Hunter looked forward to seeing the awe-inspiring might of her elemental powers in combat. See what she could really do when the fight was life or death and she was not constrained by Trevor. See what she could do when defending a friend.
But perhaps another time, for she seemed intent on using the blades at her belt.
There was just one problem.
Her blades had turned red, the plasma warbling with unstable energy that Hunter could sense even from where he stood.
What in the Force?!
"Get the fuck away from him!" she roared, leaping high into the air and crashing down on a pair of commando droids as they attempted to reach the downed sniper. "Not a chance in hell are you takin' him from me!"
The bastards never stood a chance, crimson blades slicing through metal and sensitive circuits with barely a pause.
"Since when do sabers do that?!" Wrecker exclaimed, gunning down some B2s before lunging forward and smashing one with his fist.
"They don't!" Tech yelled back, diving into a roll to avoid some shots.
Then explain the red blades! Hunter thought, gunning down some clankers as they tried to flank Shadow.
Whether they turned colors for other Force users or not, Hunter did not know. Perhaps it was an offshoot of Shadow's Realm Walker status?
It didn't matter.
What mattered was how terrifyingly efficient Shadow was with them.
Seeing her with amethyst blades had been amazing.
But crimson blades combined with a primarily black attire?
It was a damn good look for her.
Just imagine her in the team armor with those blades.
She'd be unstoppable.
Focus! Keep those droids off her tail!
"Get to the tunnel!" she yelled at Crosshair, locked in a deadly dance with a commando, spinning and twisting and ducking to land a hit but avoid getting nicked by the vibroblade.
She really could move like a damn Nexu!
"Not leavin' you, furball!" Crosshair yelled, staggering to his feet holding his arm, rifle dragging the ground. A jagged rock stuck out of the gap in his armor as he weakly tried to lift his rifle.
How was this all going so wrong?
"Didn't ask, Charlie! Move your butt!" Shadow snapped, dropping to one knee and spinning around with her opposite leg locked. Her ankle slammed into the droid's calf, sending it to the ground and allowing the woman to follow up with a reverse slash to the chest.
Jumping back to her feet, Shadow turned to face Crosshair. "I said go!" A telekinetic shove sent the sniper flying back into Hunter. Both men tumbled and skid into the cave entrance, leaving a large gap between them and Shadow.
But, as her back was turned, a commando came over the rise and threw a detonator in her direction.
"Shadow!" Hunter screamed. "Look out!"
"Shit!" Shadow yelled, diving away. The blast caught her nevertheless, separating her from her sabers which landed, deactivated, by Hunter.
Snatching them off the ground, Hunter stumbled towards the tunnel entrance. Forcing the wounded sniper back as he tried to run to Shadow, Hunter screamed at him, "You'll get both of yourselves killed if you run out there!"
"She can't do this alone! Look!"
More droids were emerging from the trees. B1s, B2s, commandos… they wouldn't last much longer in this confined space! They needed to get in the tunnels and collapse the entrance!
"More of you tinnies?!" Shadow spat, wiping blood from her nose and leaving a streak of red across her arm. "Guess it's to bring the heat!"
Heat?
Hunter expected an earthquake. Expected vines. Even expected another elemental Familiar.
What he did not expect, however, was the stone beneath her to buckle and crack, revealing the faint yet unmistakable glow of molten rock. A violent hiss split the air, soon followed by an almost overpowering roar as lava erupted from the fissure and flowed around the Alphian woman. A glowing wall rose up behind Shadow, heat rippling off in waves as it towered above her.
She controls lava?!
That decided it. He was getting this woman on their team.
What kind of droid could compete against that?
Clearly not B1s. A faint "oh no" and "I hate this job" caught Hunter's ears before the mass of molten rock slammed into the first wave and decimated them in an instant.
Another snarl and Shadow threw a large chunk of semi-cooled lava at some of the B2s, sending them to the ground with a loud crunch of metal.
"Get in the cave! Now!" Shadow yelled at him, using a telekinetic shove to force a B1 away, the droid yelling "Why" as he sailed over a rock and out of sight. "This light show has a limit!"
"Hurry, Ice!" he yelled as Tech joined him and helped drag a furiously kicking Crosshair inside.
"Tryin' my best!" Shadow retorted, sending another wave to destroy some droids converging on Wrecker.
"Thanks, Squeaky!" Wrecker called, shooting down some more.
"Happy to help!" she yelled in reply, dragging B2s down with some vines before burying them under a mound of molten earth.
She's got this perfectly under-
Commandos!
Her back was turned!
She couldn't see them!
The scream left Crosshair's mouth before his. "Shadow, behind you!"
Jerking her head to stare at the droids, Shadow yelled and twisted around, bringing her fists up and over her head before slamming them hard against the ground. A wall of jagged obsidian erupted from the ground, skewering at least five unlucky commandos.
The tremor threw Hunter off his feet as he tried to race to her aid and a chunk of rock hit his helmet.
The cave entrance! It was about to collapse!
They could use that!
"Tech! Shoot the entrance!"
"It will trap us-"
"Now!" Hunter then screamed to Wrecker, "Wrecker! Grab her and get in!"
"You got it! Wrecker to the rescue, Squeak!" The demolition expert dropped the droids he'd been shredding and ran towards Shadow, quickly scooping her up and dashing towards the tunnel entrance.
Hauling Crosshair deeper, Hunter yelled, "Get clear, it's comin' down!"
Charging through the rockfall, punching away larger debris, Wrecker stumbled then dove to their side just as the entrance collapsed with a deafening roar.
Dust rose around them, the heavy silence broken only by ragged gasps.
A quick scan with his senses confirmed four others in there with Hunter, Shadow giving off a reading despite her heart remaining silent.
But she was awake. Still breathing, still moving. Still fighting.
They were all there.
They made it.
They survived…
But now it was time for the worst part of battle…
The aftermath.
nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn
Fuckin. Hell.
I coughed, sore all over and completely drained of energy. It was like I was an equestrian again, having been bucked off at the end of a long lesson in the height of summer. Just… pain pain pain with a lovely helping of "youch". Wrecker's heavy arm over me didn't help.
No, not just his arm.
Half the man was on top of me.
Fine. That was fine.
I could hear the other Batchers groaning around me, so at least we all made it in. And no one was dead.
I did it.
I saved Crosshair.
He was injured, yes, as was Hunter…
But they'd live to tell the tale.
And, thanks to plot armor, I would too.
At least… I hoped plot armor covered this…
If not… well that may explain why my heart apparently was declining to do the thump thump thing it usually did.
"Shadow?" Hunter asked cautiously, voice echoing around the lava tube.
"I got 'er!" Wrecker announced, opening his arms to reveal me.
Hunter crouched down beside us. "Ice, you alright?"
I groaned in response. I just got shot, nearly blown up, and more or less got dogpiled by Wrecker, what do you think, pretty boy?
"Here, I got you," Hunter assured me, gently tugging me from Wrecker's grip and letting me lay on the floor. "That was... some show."
Just doing my job, Sergeant. "Yeah well." I wheezed. "I'm definitely feelin' it."
"Why did you do something stupid like that?!" Crosshair yelled, chest heaving as he knelt beside us and yanked his helmet off, hair in absolute disarray.
Man, he looked like he'd been in a wind tunnel.
But… were those tear stains?
Surely not.
Crosshair didn't cry.
"You could have died!" he screamed at me.
Or… maybe he did.
Humor time. "You kiddin? I'm having a blast." A grin revealed my teeth. "Get it, blast? Blaster? Cause I got shot?"
"Shadow!" Crosshair shouted.
"Oop, sniper man no approve." I shifted and looked towards Wrecker. "Heh, you're like my knight in shinin' black armor." I patted his arm. "Thanks for not leavin' me behind."
"Course not, Squeak!" Wrecker said, pulling off his helmet. "That was badass what ya did! Controllin' lava?!"
"It's rock, just really really hot rock," I wheezed with a weak smile before closing my eyes and letting my head rest back against the floor. "Hot rock soup. Hot potato hot potato..."
Maybe I knocked my brain stem loose...
"Shadow!" Tech yelped, tugging at my shirt. "Let me check your blaster wound! The damage could be severe and you may need intense medical attention and bacta and-"
"Tis but a scratch," I retorted, smacking his hand away.
"A scratch!? You got shot through the chest!"
"No I didn't."
"What's that?!" he demanded, pointing at the charred hole in my shirt.
Great, now I had two holes in my chest from guns.
"I've had worse."
"Shadow! Look!"
"Tis a flesh wound."
Hunter grumbled, nudging the engineer away. "Tech, let her rest."
"Thanks, Hunt," I mumbled, closing my eyes again. "Hey can I use one of you for a pillow?"
"You can use me!" Wrecker said, quickly pulling me into his lap.
"Yayyyyyyy," I giggled, snuggling up to him. I sniffed the air. "Yo, someone got bloody and it ain't me."
"Me," Crosshair groaned, yanking a rock from his upper arm and sending Tech into a panic about keeping obtrusions in to lessen blood flow.
"Glad I saved the heal goop," I replied, closing my eyes again.
"Not… that's not all you saved," Crosshair grunted, sounding like he just forced down really bad medicine. His initial anger at my sacrifice seemed to have wavered, or at least enough for him to not be worked into a frenzy.
I patted his leg with my tail. "You're welcome, sniper man."
Hunter hovered over me, worry furrowing his brow as Tech continued to pester Crosshair about his arm with the sniper constantly swatting him away.
"Hey, you sure do got some soft hair, sarge," I giggled, reaching up and batting at the dark locks.
He caught my hand. "Shadow, you're not thinking straight."
"Never do, I'm gray!"
He grimaced.
"C'mon, Tatts. Just lemme play with your hair."
"Tatts?"
I poked his face. "Tattoo."
He held my gaze for a moment before sighing. "Alright."
A large grin spread across my face. "Yay!" I chirped, sitting up and messing with his hair.
He suddenly jerked back, eyes wide. "Your heart! It's beating again!"
"Noted! Not sure why it stopped…" I trailed off at the new look Hunter's face. "Sarge?"
"Ice…" Hunter breathed, staring at something above my head with a mixture of shock and… horror? He raised a shaky hand and pointed.
Glancing at Tech and Crosshair, they too had stopped arguing and were staring about my head with the same expressions.
I looked up just in time to see a glowing number '13' tick down to '12'.
A rock settled in the pit of my stomach, the sight sobering me immediately.
No…
No no no no!
It wasn't supposed to affect me! It didn't in the last jump! I was supposed to be immune! I had plot armor!
I wasn't supposed to be able to die!
"What… was that?" Tech asked hesitantly.
"It's... "
"Shadow, what was that?" Crosshair demanded, voice strained.
I swallowed and looked back down, eyes unfocused as horror rippled through me. "Alphians… have thirteen lives." Taking a deep breath, I met Crosshair's horrified gaze. "And I just lost one…"
Guess Shad's not completely immortal after all. Actions do have consequences :)