Volume Two Finale
Part Four – Strange Bedfellows
/-\ Neopolitan /-\
Roman stumbled and fell once again, bringing me down with him. I winced, scraping my aura on a sharp rock, but immediately began to pull him back upright again.
He didn't budge.
My eyes widened as I shook him frantically, his hat falling onto the ground. After seemingly hours, he groaned, muttering incomprehensible words. My hands shook as I quickly picked up his hat, placing it on my own head for safekeeping. Once again, I put myself under his injured side, trying to hoist him upright.
He didn't help at all.
I grunted, instead opting to drag him the rest of the way. We were so close, I could almost reach out and touch the wall. I glanced around as we approached, looking for a way in the city. My heart sank when the only entrance I saw was a gigantic hole in the wall; no gatehouses in sight.
"Hello down there!" A voice shouted, startling me. I looked up to see a ginger-haired girl peering down at me from the breach in the wall, standing right below a big statue of a Deathstalker. "Do you need assistance?"
I nodded my head frantically.
She jumped down and was about to place a hand on his shoulder before she paused. "Isn't he Roman Torchwick? The number three man on the VBI's most wanted list?"
With a trembling hand, I fished out my scroll and began typing. {Dont care if u arrst us jsut help!} I thrust the scroll to her face, not even bothering to spellcheck it.
She pulled back slightly, blinking. "Oh." She let out, hesitating. She glanced between us. "I… cannot stay my hand when someone needs help. Even if they're a wanted criminal." She said, gently placing her hand on Roman's shoulder.
I gave her a very thankful smile, though I doubt she saw it. Her eyes defocused for a moment and I felt a faint buzz coming off him. I waited for seemingly hours as the girl did her work, mechanical hums occasionally emanating from her form.
Suddenly, her eyes shot wide open. "This man needs to get treatment immediately!" She shouted. "Something crushed his ribs; his left lung is punctured in several places and with one wrong move, so will his heart!"
I paled, quickly typing another message. {Can u do anytthimg?}
She shook her head. "No, only assess his injuries." She said. "Let me carry him over the wall; I can calculate the exact moves that will jostle him the least. I assume you can get yourself over as well?"
I paused eyeing her carefully before letting out a silent sigh, handing him over as carefully as possible. She took him, nodded, and jumped over the wall. My heart skipped a beat as I followed her. {Wtf be careful!} I typed.
"I was." She said. "I cannot abandon my post here, but there are medical facilities set up in Regalia Square; he should be able to get help there. Do you know the way?" I frantically nodded, carefully taking him back. "Good luck!" She called as I ran down the street.
My legs pumped as fast as they could while trying to keep an even stride. Occasionally, I passed a burn in the road, but there were surprisingly few bodies lying about; the only ones I could see either had weapons or were aliens themselves.
My muscles burned as I rushed towards the square. I didn't usually have to run with a person on my back, and it showed. Suddenly, I heard an engine roar into earshot, a gun blazing away moments later. I turned towards it just as the sound rounded the corner.
Out from the sidestreet slid a big, drab-green pickup truck; one with a large machinegun in the bed. Two UNSC soldiers manned the vehicle, one on the gun and one at the wheel, as it zoomed towards me. A pair of purple hovercraft zoomed out from where the truck came, plasmaguns blasting away at the Human vehicle.
It honked its horn several times and I quickly jumped out of the way. The vehicle then spun out, tailwhipping one of the passing hovercraft and sending it into a nearby building. Its partner avoided the truck, spinning around and continuing to blast away.
Realizing that an actual form of transportation was only a few feet away, I set Roman down behind a parked car and drew Hush. The gunner seemed to be doing a good enough job on the hovercraft that was actually fighting, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw the other one begin to extract itself from the rubble.
I leaped over to it, landing on the hood of the craft. The split-jawed alien looked up at me, eyes narrowed, and drew a claw-shaped weapon. I batted it aside with Hush, spinning about with a smirk and driving my stiletto-like heel into its eyesocket.
It roared in pain, firing wildly as it tried once more to bring the weapon to bear. I smirked, jiggling my heel around and causing it to squirm. Finally, it reached up and grabbed my ankle, squeezing…
…only to be rewarded with shattering glass.
I reappeared midair, backflipping onto the hood once more with legs crossed. It growled, a blue and forked blade shooting out from its wrist as it plunged towards my midsection. My leg kicked upwards, sending the strike into the ceiling, before I brought Hush around, blade extending through the parasol's tip.
Metal met flesh, specifically, the flesh on its muscular neck.
It sliced as easily as a Human's skin, the only difference being the blue blood that spilled forth instead of red. I admired the new coating on Hush for a moment, only snapping out of it when I remembered Roman's condition.
I shot upwards, quickly wiping the blade off with a handkerchief before tossing it behind my shoulder. I quickly cleared the debris, poking back out into the daylight just in time to see the other hovercraft explode in flames. I ran up to the truck's driver, typing out a message on my scroll. {Friend needs help can u take us to rwgalia?}
He nodded. "I saw you earlier, get him in!"
I quickly ran over to Roman, hoisting him up as he muttered incoherently. Moments later, I buckled him in and hopped in the be-
"Banshee!" The driver shouted.
"I see it!" The gunner said, swiveling his gun towards it as the vehicle rocketed forward.
We swerved, missing a trail of blue plasma as the airships rocketed past us, the machinegun firing wildly. They started banking around for another pass, aiming directly towards us…
…only for a zooming Human jet to destroy one with a burst of cannonfire.
The other spun wildly to avoid the debris. I smiled for only a moment before noticing that it was heading towards us as well. The driver swerved, missing it by only a few feet. The second we cleared the obstacle, my eyes zeroed in on a barricade only a few blocks away. A smile crossed my face; we were going to make it! And then my eyes fell upon something else.
On a big glob of green plasma launched from the other airship.
And it was heading straight for us.
The driver noticed it at the last second, swerving wildly to avoid the projectile. The explosion sent us flipping end over end, ejecting both Roman and I from our seats. I tumbled end over end, only getting my bearings just soon enough to land on my feet.
As soon as I slid to a stop, my eyes darted around the now-cratered street, searching for Roman. My heart skipped a beat when I saw his motionless boot sticking out from the other side of the upside-down pickup, the tires spinning aimlessly.
I rushed over, sliding the last few feet. I gasped, hand flying to my mouth as I saw he was half-buried under the vehicle. I only sat there for a moment before getting back to my feet, grabbing the chassis and flippin-
It barely even budged an inch.
One of the soldiers groaned, crawling out from under the truck's bed. I ran to him, practically dragging him over to Roman, pointing at him, and then braced against the truck.
He glanced at me. "Girly, that thing weighs three tons. Unless you've got a super strength semblance, there's no way in hell we can lift that by ourselves." He pressed his hand to his helmeted ear. "Charlie-one-one to Regalia-actual, our 'Hog is flipped and we've got a civvie in critical condition under it! Requesting immediate assistance!"
He stood still for a moment before nodding. "Copy that, actual. We'll hang tight."
I glanced at Roman's body, the only thing sticking out was his leg. My eyes widened as I saw a pool of blood slowly leak out from under the vehicle. I threw myself forward, grabbing what little I could of him before shattering like glass, the both of us reappearing a few dozen feet closer to the compound.
I gasped, seeing one of his ribs poke through his coat. With a shaking hand, I took his pulse…
…
Ba… dum.
…
Ba… dum.
…
Ba… dum.
I grit my teeth, half in relief that he had a pulse in the first place, and half in worry at what I felt. I heard the soldier run to me, his friend scanning the rooftops beside him. He took one look at Roman, and the blood dribbling out of his mouth, before grabbing one arm and hoisting him up into a fireman's carry.
"Actual, the girl has magic bullshit and got her friend free, we're coming to you!"
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement up on the roofs. Turning my full attention to it, I saw a bird-like alien raise its rifle to us. I jumped in front of the soldier, my parasol expanding just in time to absorb the needle-like rounds that sprung forth.
"Shit!" His friend shouted, shouldering his rifle and firing a long, continuous burst into the roof. I heard a meaty thunk behind me and peered out from behind my makeshift shield. I smirked, seeing the alien dead on the floor.
"Let's keep moving!" The soldier carrying Roman said. "I don't wanna find out if that fucker had any of his buddies around to miss him!"
We rushed forward, ducking into the barricade of cars that surrounded the square. More soldiers greeted us at the gates, pointing towards the medical tents as we passed.
Another soldier burst out of a tent with a red cross emblazoned on it. "In here!" He shouted, holding the flap open with her bloodied hands. Around the tent laid many, many wounded… mostly civilians, but the occasional soldier or huntsman occupied a space or two. She helped us set him down on one of the few unoccupied beds. "Ah, shit, another huntsman?" She muttered, examining the wound.
Her eyes widened after taking even the slightest look at Roman's body, immediately wheeling over several monitors and hooking him up to them. "Shit, bradycardia, fractured ribs, broken ribs, punctured lung… there's no way in hell I can treat this here." She ran over to some machines in the corner of the tent. "Spirit actual, we've got another serious case, where the hell are those Nightingales?!"
"ETA twenty seconds, Doctor Monroe."
"Roger!" She shouted, sprinting back to his bed. "You, meathead! Help me with this! Girl, clear us a path! Just shout 'Medical' at the top of your lungs and they'll move for you!"
I blinked, tapping my throat and making a cutting motion.
"Ah shit, of course you're mute…" She muttered. "Well, get over here and help me and the meathead!" She shouted. Together, we lifted the bed while she deployed its wheels. We burst out of the tent, heading for an open area as a pair of strange airships with rotors hovered above, beginning to land.
Suddenly, they burst into smoke, covering themselves as a pair of Covenant airships zoomed by and fired into the clouds. They didn't get a second pass, as more Human airships came by and obliterated them with their cannons.
We rushed through the smoke, reaching the friendly airships in only a few seconds. The pilots stood at the door, just finishing up with helping other wounded get loaded. I practically shoved Roman's bed inside before climbing in myse-
"Ah ah ah!" The pilot said, holding me back. "Wounded only; there's no room for anyone else." I gasped, trying to push back against him. "Girl, you can see him when this shit is all over, 'kay? But right now there just ain't room."
He slammed the bay door closed, getting back into the cockpit. A moment later, the airship – and Roman – disappeared into the clouds. I stood there for a moment, not knowing what to do. Then his words finally sank in. If I had to wait for this to be over…
I'd make it be over.
In the distance, I heard the booming of a blossoming firefight. My eyes narrowed, running towards it with Hush drawn. Without a second thought, I leaped over the car barricade, joining a group of huntsmen that were busy repelling the invaders.
My gaze flicked to the white-cloaked one… and the big, split-jawed lizard raising its sword behind her. I activated my semblance, shattering into glass and reappearing just in time to deflect the otherwise killing blow.
She whipped around, skewering the alien in the throat. "Thanks." She said.
I shrugged, turning towards the rest of the alien forces, a grim expression on my face as a big purple hovercraft burst through their lines. It took aim, the surrounding infantry jeering as they-
A mass of grey metal crushed through one of the buildings as its beastly engine roared to life, cannonfire erupting from its ports a moment later. The alien hovercraft's gun burst into flames, wreckage flying everywhere.
Behind the massive metal vehicle, a smaller one zoomed out, taking the corner so hard that it reared up on one track. It slammed back down onto the asphalt, making a visible dent before all four of its Atlesian laser rifles opened fire on the alien troops in front of it.
Within moments, the wall of enemy troops was decimated, those few left alive running for their lives. The big… landship chased after them, the treads leaving marks in the road as it crawled along. The smaller one hung back, a Beaver Faunus popping out of the hatch and tending to the guns on his vehicle's prow.
The white-cloaked huntress hummed. "You seem like you can handle yourself." She said, making me roll my eyes. She frowned. "We're taking the fight to the Covenant; care to join us?"
I glanced around at the field of Covenant corpses, a decent share of which were caused by the huntress and her group. I turned back to her, whipping out my scroll and typing up an answer…
/-\ Weiss Schnee /-\
Our Pelican swayed slightly as it flew us to our destination. I glanced around the troop bay, finding the others in various states of nervousness. Yang had her arms crossed and her head bowed, her chest slowly rising and falling.
Tai, next to her, was on his scroll playing some card game. The shhhhk of Neo's hidden sword being worked against a whetstone told me what she was doing. Valkea, sat next to me, her hands pressed together in the sign of the Brothers Grimm as she muttered under her breath. Next to her sat the pilot of the skid-steer tankette, having agreed to come with us when asked.
I stood up, taking an SRS99 from the ceiling and handed it to Valkea. "I know you've already got your multigun, but I'd advise taking this in case it stops working during the mission."
She hummed, nodding. "I suppose they can go into orbit at any time, can't they?"
"Indeed." I said, grabbing an XBR55 for myself. "Do you need anything, Neo?" She shook her head. "Tai?"
"Nope! Mister Right and Mister Left'll be enough for me!" He shouted, flashing a grin as he flexed.
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever you say…"
Suddenly, the intercom blared, a woman's voice echoing out. "Strike team, you are ten minutes out. I recommend making any final preparations now."
Tai put his scroll away, jostling Yang awake. "Wake up, Firecracker." He said.
She groaned, depolarizing her visor and shaking her head. "We there yet?"
"Nearly." The intercom said. "It seems you were successful in finding allies in the city, though I must ask where Summer is; I doubt she would want to miss this."
She rubbed the back of her head. "She's uhh… unconscious. Back down in the city."
The voice paused. "Well, it appears that I now owe Professor Anders five credits..." She said. "But that is neither here nor there. For those that do not know me, I am Serina; UNSC AI serial number SNA 1292-4. Seeing as none of you have neural interfaces, I shall be forwarding tactical information through Yang. I am, however, unable to provide any direct assistance due to not actually being present with you."
"We'll have to make do." I said. "What's the situation at our LZ?"
"The Covenant are preparing a base in the northeastern reaches of the Forever Fall forest; roughly half-way between the city of Vale and the township of Winshire. Your target is acting as a supply depot and thus, has its gravity lift deployed onto the surface." She said. "They started within the hour, so it is likely their defenses aren't quite up to specification yet."
"That's good news." Valkea said. "Anything else?"
"The Spirit's sensors are not attuned to finding Grimm and thus, I cannot confirm nor deny their presence. I would recommend you all keep your eyes peeled."
"Will do." I said. "What's our ETA?"
"Approximately seven minutes."
I nodded, sitting back down. "Good. Keep us posted."
Valkea looked up from her new sniper. "So… you two've done this before, right?"
"Indeed we have, why?" I asked.
"Any umm… tips you can share?"
I glanced at Yang, who just shrugged. "I uhh… I guess just keep your eyes open."
"Agreed." I said. "Some of them know how to attack from above; that… put us on the backfoot last time." I winced, remembering what actually happened that day.
"Yeah, if uhh… you see one up on the ceiling or something just uhh… just call us and we'll give you a… hand." I gave Yang a deadpan stare before walking over and smacking her upside the head.
Tai looked between us as I sat down. "Inside joke?"
I shrugged. "Something like that."
"Eh, fair enough." He said. "So, Yang! Where've ya been for these past few months?"
She stared back at him. "It's uhh… It's a very long story."
"Oh come on! We all thought you were dead for a few days, you could at least gimmie the sparknotes!"
"Ugh, fine!" She groaned. "Raven teleported me to a ship's cryobay where mom's been on ice for the last twenty years and then we-"
"Wait, what? Twenty years? How is that-"
"Dad!" She interrupted. "I'll uhh… I'll explain later." She said, taking a breath. "We found a giant ring floating in space and uhh… it had a machine on it that took us home."
He crossed his arms. "That just makes me more curious. Don't tell the rest of the story without me, ya hear?"
"I uhh… I wasn't planning on it."
We lapsed into silence for a few moments until I realized something. We didn't actually have a plan. I cleared my throat. "Yang, you've got VISR up and running, right?" She nodded. "Did orbital recon finish yet?"
"Yeah, uhh… just a sec." She fiddled with her wrist for a moment before a light blue hologram shot onto the floor, displaying the topography of the area.
I hummed. "A lot of valleys and narrow chokepoints…" My eyes glanced to the red outline of our target battlecruiser, tracing a way back to our LZ. I pointed to one of the ridges. "If their commanders have even a single brain cell to share between them, they will have put snipers all along here. We need to take them out."
"Uhh… how?" Yang asked. "The only path up it is on their side."
I paused for a moment, thinking. Suddenly, I smirked, holding up my palm and conjuring a miniature glyph. "Well, it's a good thing I brought climbing equipment."
"You're gonna go up there alone?!" She shouted
I huffed. "Of course not." I said. "Ruby might be able to pull off something like that, but I certainly can't. That's why I'm bringing Valkea with me."
"Wait, what?" The Faunus said. "Don't I get a say in this?"
I shrugged. "It only makes sense. You'll probably have a better vantage point up there anyway."
"I think you're forgetting that we're landing in the middle of Forever Fall." Tai said. "I used to live out here; canopy's pretty dense in most places."
"Yes, but most doesn't mean all." I said. "There could still be places where snipers can be useful and I don't want any of us getting surprise brain surgery."
All of them stared at me for a moment. Suddenly, the intercom blared to life. "Sorry to interrupt this awkward silence, but you are approximately thirty seconds from your LZ."
"Thanks, Serina." Yang said, rolling her eyes.
I stood up, marching towards the ramp. "You all heard her, we've got a job to do."
Yang shot up from her seat, joining me. "Ready to blow up another starship?"
"If this were any other time, I'd call you insane." I said, drawing Myrtenaster and glancing behind me. "Form a three-sixty around the Pelican so Redbear can get in his tank. After that, Yang will lead you to the target." The craft shook slightly. "We'll meet you there."
The ramp dropped and Yang and I rushed forward, the others not far behind us. We ran to the front, each ducking by the skid-steer tankette dangling from the Pelican's tail and taking opposite sides of the craft. The red and black trees were all that surrounded us; their leaves fluttering in the dropship's exhaust.
After a minute of standing guard, I felt – rather than heard – the ship leave; the whistling of its engines slowly receding until the noise was no more. I turned around just as the vehicle started up. "Alright, you all know the plan! That thing will make our lives a lot easier in the near future, so I suggest you prioritize targets with anti-tank weaponry. Valkea, with me!"
She moved to follow me, Yang giving me a nod. "Good hunting." She said.
I nodded back. "You too."
We set off just as Yang and her group did, reaching the cliff face within only a few minutes. I drew back my sword, casting speed glyphs all the way up the stony surface. I leaped onto them, scaling the cliff in only a few moments. After Valkea did the same, we took off into the forest ahead.
Down below, I heard the distant hum of the tankette pierce through the crimson canopy, accentuated by the thunder of Yang's Ember Celica. "Do you see them?" I asked, skidding to a halt.
She squinted her eyes in the direction of the noise. "Nope; forest is too thick."
"No sense in staying here, then." I said, taking off once more. Valkea jogged on behind me, her multigun cradled on her hands. In front, I saw a flash of movement through the trees; it almost reminded me of a car's headlight, just purp-
I threw up a glyph just in time to catch the Jackal's sniper round. Instantly, Valkea brought her weapon to bear, loosing a round right into its skull. I sheathed my sword, bringing out my XBR55 as my eyes scanned the forest.
I saw another flash of movement, but no headlight accompanying it. Suddenly, a muscular and shieldless pair of Jackals landed directly in front of me, plasma pistols aimed square at my face. I ducked into a roll, dodging their first salvo and bringing my rifle to bear as I popped up. Valkea took out the one on the right just as I squeezed the trigger, its partner directly in my sights.
The moment they dropped to the ground, I felt a burn in my side. Whipping around, I saw green plasma shoot past me from more of those things. "Skirmishers!" I shouted, suddenly remembering their name. The quintet growled at me, the one in the back raising a needle rifle.
Valkea and I fired simultaneously, unfortunately striking the same one. The others scattered as their comrade fell, unleashing a torrent of plasma upon us. I hissed in pain as one of them whizzed past my leg, scoring the aura protecting it. Valkea's rifle shot once more, just grazing a Skirmisher on the corner of my vision. I immediately whipped around, putting a trio of rounds into the alien.
Just then, I was tackled to the floor, an alien's jaws snapping at my face like some rabid animal. I wrestled with it, barely able to hold my own. Its razor-sharp claws scratched and scraped at my aura, spittle splashing down on my face.
I let out a bloodcurdling scream, shoving the creature back just enough to free up my right hand for a moment. Its jaws inched closer and closer as I reached for my waist. Just as they snapped a millimeter in front of my eyes, I shoved my knife into its neck.
It reeled back, giving me enough space to stab again. And again. And again.
More and more of the alien's purple blood splattered me with every thrust; its body spasming wildly by the fifth strike. I kicked it off me, quickly mounting it and jabbing the knife into its eyesocket. The Skirmisher let out a quiet squawk, whimpering slightly before going silent and still.
I sighed in relief…
…moments before a searing pain erupted on my back.
I yelped, shooting to my feet as several more bolts of green plasma sailed past me. I quickly drew my sword – my rifle having been knocked from my grasp – and charged the alien. It growled, leaping into the trees. I saw where it was going and quickly cast a repulsion glyph mid-air. Its eyes widened as it sailed towards it, completely unable to alter its trajectory.
I smirked when it flew back to me, bisecting it as it reentered my range. Just as I spotted the last alien, a fourteen-millimeter round blew a fist-sized hole in its chest. It let out a breath, surprised, before falling over.
I glanced over to Valkea, who was cycling her bolt. "Thanks." I said, earning a nod. "Are you alright?"
She shrugged. "I should be asking you that."
"I'll take that as a yes." I said. I glanced around the clearing, trying to figure out which way we were going. After a moment, I found it. "C'mon, let's keep moving." I jogged off into the forest, picking up my XBR on the way.
She followed me. "What's your aura at? I'd've helped you with the fucker, but its friend was being a pain."
I whipped out my scroll… only to find that it'd broken in half some time ago. I mentally gauged it to be- "…Somewhere around fifty percent."
She bolted ahead of me. "Let me take the lead, then." She said. "I'm still at ninety-three."
I flicked my sword off, sheathing it in exchange for my rifle. "Be my guest."
I followed her deeper into the forest, both our gazes flicking to any noise not made by ourselves. Down below, we heard the thunder of Yang's gauntlets firing, both plasmafire and laserfire barely audible as well. Above the treetops, a pair of Seraphs zoomed, seemingly oblivious to the battle raging below.
Ahead of us, I could barely strands of purple poking through the red and black foliage. I shouldered my weapon as we charged into a clearing, seeing a Jackal dangle a large rat just out of arm's reach of a Grunt, who was struggling to get it. The larger alien made eye contact with me, freezing for a moment before I put a trio of rounds into its skull.
The Grunt jumped into the air, screaming at the top of its lungs before Valkea's rifle gave it a new hole in its head. Beyond where the two were bickering, more Covenant infantry emerged from a small compound; little more than some airdropped walls with some-
"Shades!" I shouted, seeing the pair of spherical turrets turning towards us. Their dual plasma cannons roared as we dove to cover, still roaring over our heads as the rock we hid behind began to heat up. I glanced at Valkea. "Go invisible and flank them; turrets are priority one."
She nodded, disappearing before my eyes. Slowly, I saw her boottracks form right before my eyes. Behind the rock, I heard an Elite roar as heavy footfalls neared my position. I quickly drew my sword, spinning its cylinder over to ice dust.
The plasmafire suddenly stopped, giving me pause. A loud thump echoed out from the rock behind me and as my gaze whipped around, I saw an Elite Ultra standing atop it, energy sword raised.
I plunged Myrtenaster into the ground, forming an ice spike that intercepted the alien as it leaped towards me. It gurgled, slicing away the spike that plunged into its chest. It landed on its stomach, part of the spike still extending out of its back as its shields flared. Its head raised, giving a weak roar before slumping to the ground.
Moments later, the plasmafire started up again. I crouched back down, approaching the beast and stabbing it in the eyesocket just to be sure, prying the sword from its still warm hand and clipping it to my belt.
Valkea's rifle rang out. The plasmafire halved instantly, the other half redirecting away from my position. I brought my rifle to bear, springing up from the rock and getting in a few rounds on an Elite Minor that stood out in the open. Its shields popped, but was able to reach cover.
Another sniper round traced its way into the other turret's operator. One of the Grunts threw its weapon up in the air and started running in circles, arms flailing. One of its cousins, however, began firing at me. It fell to the ground moments later, three more holes in its head.
A plasma beam whizzed past me, barely missing. I dodged away from the scorching heat, firing almost blindly at its source. The beam winked out a moment later, revealing the Jackal still very much alive as it stood atop a floating platform in the center of the compound. Before I could do anything about it, Valkea did, the alien falling to the ground.
I then refocused on the few infantry still in front of us, tossing my last remaining gravity bomb into a group of Jackals. I put a burst into each as they flailed about, only one being smart enough to bring its shield in front of it. Unfortunately, it did not account for its weapon's recoil, sending it spiraling and sealing its fate.
Valkea finished off the Elite I'd shot at earlier, apparently having an angle on the cowering alien. I expended my last few rounds on the last few enemies in the vicinity, mostly Grunts. Slotting a new mag into my rifle, I entered the compound…
…only to see it occupied by a single enemy.
I trained my sights on the Engineer, but my trigger finger stiffened. The alien was cowering, tentacles curled in on itself as it pressed its body into a wall, completely unarmed. I frowned. "Valkea." I called. "If it tries anything, you know what to do." I said, slowly walking towards the floating and spiked squid.
It slowly started drifting away from the wall, struggling against the black metal that adorned it; specifically, its helmet. No matter how hard it tugged, the metal just wouldn't budge. It slumped in defeat as I reached it, looking at me with its single glowing eye.
I reached up to its helmet, fumbling around for a moment until I found a release mechanism. It clicked off, dropping to the ground and revealing the alien's face. It looked at me with its many black eyes, head tilted slightly to the side. Suddenly, a tongue flicked out and licked my cheek.
I flinched, rubbing the trail of slime away as the Engineer purred. "Umm… you're welcome?" I let out. It wiggled a little bit, its entire body floating down to my level and presenting its spiked side. I stared at it for a moment before it began to pull at the metal again, completely failing at freeing itself.
"Oh…" I said, reaching up and beginning to take the spikes off. One by one, they clattered to the ground and only a minute later, the last spike left its pink body. Its head nestled into the crook of my neck for a moment and as I pulled away, it did too.
The alien flew away, my eyes following as it landed next to the dead Elite Minor. It then proceeded to rip open the back of its armor, not touching the corpse itself, but still fiddling around with a few components. After only a few moments, the Engineer held a device about the size of a small purse; one with two belt loops on the back.
It slowly approached me, holding it outward. I gingerly took it, the alien pressing a button as soon as I did. Blue light flooded my vision, but not so bad that I couldn't see. Honestly, it reminded me of the Elite's- My eyes widened. "Did… did you make me an energy shield? Just now?"
It nodded, licking my cheek once again.
"I… I don't know what to say."
It whined, wheeling away and disappearing into the trees, leaving me standing there alone. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "You alright?" Valkea asked.
I jumped slightly. "Umm… yeah, fine. Just a little… perplexed."
She huffed. "That's one way to put it." She said. "C'mon, we shouldn't keep the others waiting."
I took a deep breath, clipping the shield generator onto the small of my back. "Indeed. We have a fight to finish."
