Hi. Well, that sucked. Phone broke, dug up my old PSP, played Freedom Unite, got absorbed. Sorry. But writing phone's semi-fixed now, so I'm back.
Unfortunately, school's been squeezing my time so updates are gonna be sporadic at best.
This won't be discontinued, though. I have way too much fun when writing this.
Leave a review! Tell me what you think!
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Little Wing It
Volume 2
Photon Art Online
Chapter 4
A Lumia Foil
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I
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The next day came by too quickly.
"So that's a subspace experiment? Pretty cool..."
Emilia absentmindedly commented as we watched the, in Kraz's words, "thingamajig", fly through the air and do some trippy stuff before vanishing into what I assume to be subspace.
I'm really no expert on these kinds of things. People are just gonna have to take my word for it that it's an impressive lightshow. It's probably a tad more complicated than that but whatever.
Of course, knowing that one of these subspaces contains the combined consciousness of a whole race of would-be bodysnatchers...
Nah, it's still pretty trippy. Emilia looked like she has the same idea, before suddenly calling out her Ancient tenant.
"Hey, Mika. Maha- Maga- Mahgr-"
"Maghara."
"Marg- Whatever. It's not suddenly gonna pop outta the sky, is it?"
"There are no signs of such an occurrence, currently. Maghara's presence is always heralded by a change in atmosphere. Also, while this test appears to have been successful, it is still not ready for practical application."
Then it looks like I don't have anything to worry about right now. Seeing as the Ancients were the ones who perfected subspace travel, I'm willing to take Mika's word for it.
And so with her concern resolved, Emilia gave a quick thanks to the golden Ancient lady as she returned back to her dormancy.
"Well, I guess this job might not be so tough after all... We just gotta sit around here all day."
"Sounds like your type of job, then."
"Shut it, you."
It's probably a good thing Red isn't here with us for this mission. My partner's mood is already like this and we haven't even done anything remotely similar to work yet.
Not that I'm complaining, really, but this type of job gets boring, fast. I'm not worried for myself but my two teammates, on the other hand...
"Keep your guard up, Emilia! We Kasch say 'turn your head and fall on your face'. It means keep sharp!"
"Eh? Sounds more like something you did once rather than a saying, if you ask me."
Well, aren't they hitting it off quite nicely. Yeah, I guess they can find a way to entertain themselves.
A few more minutes passed, though, and Emilia, unsurprisingly, just won the grand prize for being the first one to get bored.
Destined for great things, I tell you.
"Augh... can't believe I'm spending all day at work today. Just my luck."
Any further complaints were interrupted, however, by her comms watch beeping.
And when she pressed the answer button, Kraz immediately appeared on the interface. Emilia quickly scowled upon seeing his face.
"Hey, you readin' this?"
"Unfortunately. What is it?"
"... Just listen, okay?"
With a huff, Emilia shoved her wrist over to me. Doesn't seem like she's up for a conversation with Kraz.
He looked really irritated at her response but he just sighed, clearly not in the mood to deal with my childish partner. He turned towards me.
"Guess you'll be the one to listen. Some creatures broke into the testing facilities. They're causing quite a grand ruckus."
"Huh? How'd they get in that easy? What's the security over there doing?"
"Damned if I know, but our team's the closest to the scene so it's up to you to deal with 'em. Think you can check it out?"
Before I could answer again, my problematic partner harshly cut in.
"Well, that's a weird way of asking! Whatever happened to 'Bah, get on it!'?"
Damn it, Emilia, this is a job!
To my surprise, though, Kraz didn't get annoyed or lash back. Emilia seemed as surprised as me.
"Look, this isn't some mop job. You'll be in real danger. You still up for it?"
What does he mean by 'real danger'? I'm pretty sure our previous outings contained real danger too, especially the Moatoob amd Inhelt missions.
But still, there was something in his tone that sounded like... concern?
Well, it doesn't matter. We're mercenaries, we do what we're told.
"We're on it, boss."
"Yeah, we- Hey! Aren't you supposed to talk these things over with your partner before just agreeing to everything?"
"What do you mean, 'everything'? It's a direct order from the boss. And besides, I'm the leader."
"Grr... Fine. We're the only ones available, anyway. We don't have a choice, do we?"
She's right on that point. But still, to think that this all started off as a simple job of standing by on guard duty all day while Inhelt does their thing with the subspace generator.
Though Ursula did say it was more than a test. Turns out all of Inhelt's sponsors will be present. You know, big PR event, very sensitive.
Maybe that's why it's not just us on security detail today. Turns out even the Guardians and the Armed Military Forces are here, along with some other civilian outfits.
Inhelt really isn't kidding around with this thing, it seems. And here I thought Little Wing was exclusively requested because of our exemplary work back at the labs.
Which brings me to another concern. How in the flying Emilia did those creatures break in? I don't think the Guardians or the AMF will mess up like that so easily. Must have been one of the other outfits.
Well, I guess it's up to us to clean up. Before we could go ahead and do our job though, Emilia just HAD to have one last petty jab at Kraz.
"But don't get the wrong idea, boss-hog! We're going 'cause we hafta! Not 'cause we owe you or anything, got it?!"
Petty Tsundere problem child strikes again.
Surprisingly though, Kraz didn't have any sarcastic remark to that. Instead, he looked more serious than I've ever seen him.
"Whatever gets the job done. Just let me say one thing."
"If it's a complaint, then don't bother!"
"... Don't get hurt in there, got it?"
Say what?
I took a second look at the Boss to clarify what I just heard, but he really did say it.
And it looks like my partner's just as stumped as I am.
"Huh?"
"I said don't get hurt! Are we clear?"
"Uh, yeah. We're clear."
"Good. Then get to it."
And with that, the transmission was over. Emilia was still staring at the comm device, though.
"Was that...? He wasn't just showing concern for us, was he? Nah, couldn't be..."
"He was! I could feel it radiating off him!"
And Yut startled the both of us out of our befuddlement.
I had honestly forgotten that he was here, as amazing as that sounds.
Emilia, though, seemed like she was just now absorbing the oddball Kraz threw at us, trying to cover up a faintly growing smile with an annoyed scowl.
She was desperately failing, though. Heh. You aren't fooling anybody, Ms. Percival.
"W-what are you looking at me like that for?! There's no time to waste! Come on!"
"Yeah! Let's go!"
Yut quickly ran off after her without a care in the world, looking quite eager to fight some monsters.
I wonder how long it takes before those two gets lost...?
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II
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"Ugh, darn it all! Why'd it hafta be so hard to find?! Where the heck is the Communion facility?!"
Emilia started complaining out loud, unsurprising really, after a solid ten minutes of running, looking, and dispatching the occasional monster.
Yut, on the other hand...
"Take this, monster!"
And the anguished cries of an exterminated monster echoed throughout the valley, yet again.
Gotta admit, it's kinda nice to have this kid along. He pretty much took care of every monster that dared attack us.
He's still probably gonna cause some problems in the future but at least he's pulling his own weight. Unlike some people...
"What? Why're you looking at me like that? It's not my fault Yut's a little too eager to do our work for us!"
"Then just concentrate on finding the way! We don't exactly have all day, you know."
"What do you think I've been doing for the past hour?!"
"It's only been ten minutes. Stop exaggerating."
"Whatever!"
Of all the times to be difficult, why now? She'd been in such a good mood at the cafe yesterday... Damn it, Boss.
Oh well, back to the problem at hand.
"Stupid monsters attacking that stupid facility..."
"Emilia? Will there be a lot of people at this facility?"
Yut suddenly asked, seemingly inspecting the ground in front of us.
"Hm? I guess so? It is called the Communion so yeah, probably."
"Then I think I know which way it is! Look at all the footprints!"
Emilia and I followed where Yut was pointing at, and what entered our vision was...
The ground.
Huh. For a second there, I thought he was just messing around, but the way he was excitedly pointing at the dirt says he must have seen something.
But I obviously couldn't. And when I gave a questioning glance at Emilia, she looked just as confused.
"Footprints? Where? I don't see anything, Yut."
"Huh?! What're you talking about?! Look, look, they're everywhere! And they're all going the same way!"
I took a second look at where he was pointing but there really was nothing there.
But Yut looked like he was dead serious. Although... now that I took a second glance, I'm pretty sure we haven't been to where he was pointing to yet.
Well, can't hurt to try, I guess.
"I-is this one of those Kasch Mind Tricks?"
"Nevermind that, Emilia, we've wasted a lot of time already. Lead the way, Yut!"
"Follow the prints? Got it!"
And he was off.
It didn't take long for us to reach an unfamiliar area after that. This kid's turning out to be really useful, after all!
After a few more minutes of running, what greeted us was a fork in the road. One path leads to a cliffside trail, and the other one, a metallic gate on the mountain face.
Time to consult Mr. Footprint.
"Looks like the way splits here. Where to, Yut?"
"Hmm... The footprints don't lead to the door..."
"Alright, let's go."
"Wait!"
Emilia called out just as Yut and I started heading out to the cliffside path, looking like she's pondering the metal door.
"What's the holdup? Yut said the footprints don't go there."
I glanced at Yut to make sure, and he nodded in confirmation.
In response, Emilia just pointed at the door eagerly.
"We're looking for a man-made facility, right? It's gotta be through here!"
"Stop trying to look for shortcuts. C'mon, Yut knows what he's doing."
"B-but...! Ugh, fine..."
Stop it with the dejected look, please.
I know she has a point but... I'm gonna go with my gut this time. If the door turns out to lead to a dead end, we wouldn't have time to backtrack and the facility would be trashed by monsters.
And besides, Yut did say the footprints lead to the cliff path. He hasn't exactly been wrong before.
Granted, he was one for one but that's still 100%.
After several more minutes of follow-the-Yut, we could finally spot what seemed to be a big building that was a good facility candidate.
"Look! See that big house over there?"
"Big house? You mean that building over there?"
"The only buildings around here are the Communion's facilities, so there's a high chance that's what we're looking for. Let's check it out."
And with that, we started walking again. It's been a tiring trek so far, but we don't have much time to catch our breath.
"Whew... it's such a relief we're finally here. I've gotten quite used to a little fighting... but I don't think I'll ever be ready for ambushes. It's been nothing but those lately..."
"Well, that's why they're called ambushes. You aren't supposed to be ready for them."
"I know, but... what a pain. Wish I had Yut's second sight or whatever it is."
Since Yut started tracking the footprints, it's like he suddenly developed tunnel vision. He just went straight through so me and Emilia had to deal with the attacking monsters.
I don't have a problem with it but, Emilia had a different opinion entirely, what with every attack managing to startle her.
Nonetheless, she still managed to handle herself quite well so I guess all that training is paying off after all.
"Hm? What was that, Emilia?"
"Oh, I said I wish I had your second sight. Must be neat seeing where all the enemies are!"
"It's not a sight, really... More like, the land tells me things. Winds and sounds points to places, sand reveals tracks..."
"You lost me at "the land me tells me things" part."
It's not different from standard tracking fare, really. As a beast, I have better senses than average humans, so the techniques Yut mentioned are quite familiar.
Though of course, if all that footprint business from earlier is any indication, Kasch tracking is far more advanced that it's bordering on mystical.
"Well, whatever it is, I can't do it."
"I wish I had your experience, though. I feel like I know nothing. I don't even understand the things my brother tried to teach me!"
"You have a brother?"
"I had a brother. He went to join the Land-Mother."
"To join the... Oh. Sorry, Yut, I had no idea..."
I half-expected Yut to remain silent or something. With all that talk about experience, it's pretty evident that he's still just a kid, despite his tall stature and considerable skill.
But instead, he smiled proudly.
"Don't worry about it! My brother was the bravest of us Kasch! That's something I am very proud of!"
Emilia couldn't help smiling at Yut's bright response, and even I had to fight off a small one tugging at the corner of my lips.
This kid is a strong one, it seems.
"Sounds like a really great person, huh?"
"He is! He's taught me a lot. He said we grew stronger by "touching death". I still don't know what he meant by that, though."
"Touching death? Hey, doesn't that sound like what happened to you at the relic site, Kara?"
And before I knew it, Yut hand his hands on my collar, his face inches away from mine.
"What?! You've touched death?!"
"Woah! Why the sudden freakout, Yut?!"
Speak for yourself, you troublesome girl! What's with sudden transition from being depressed about it to casually throwing it out?
And speaking of trouble, I just knew Yut couldn't be a full positive.
"That's why you're so strong! You've touched death! You must tell me what it's like! What is death?! What is beyond death?!"
If you keep shaking me, I really will be touching death! And even if you ask me that...!
"I have no idea! It was just pitch black! Now gerroff!"
"Pitch black? Like closing your eyes? I don't understand! There must be something! There must be!"
"Emilia, I could use a hand...!"
"H-huh?! Oh, um! Yut! Hey, Yut, calm down!"
To my surprise, the shaking stopped! It actually worked!
"You two can talk later! Let's just finish the mission first, okay?"
"But I...! Hmmm, alright... Then, let's do this, Emilia! Kara!"
And again, he was off running into the distance.
"Whew... That's better. What? Is there something on my face."
"Look at you, taking charge. Maybe you really are destined for great things."
"I can't tell if you're making fun of me, but someone needs to take charge in here!"
Well, I can't tell if she's just messing around or if she's really delirious enough to believe her own nonsense.
But nevermind that. As long as there's someone who can keep that overzealous tribesboy in line. Even if she herself needs to be kept in line too.
"Right, right. Someone really ought to. Well, assume command then, big sister Emilia."
"Big sister, huh? Heehee, maybe this is just what I needed! A super-energetic little brother!"
"... who just ran off on his own."
"... oh."
Hoo boy.
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III
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"Yut! Hey, Yut!"
Emilia called out to the wandering tribesboy, after we finally caught up with him inside the Communion facility.
This kid's got too much energy in him.
"Emilia? Kara? What took you so long?"
"What took- Don't go running off on your own!"
Yut just looked confused at Emilia's reprimand. To be fair, he can probably sniff us out if he ever gets lost.
Not that it's likely. Kid's pretty much memorized the layout of the place by now.
A beeping sound caught our attention, and Emilia's expression instantly darkened.
No guesses as to who's calling. Nonetheless, she still pressed the answer button.
"Hey, you guys got in? What's the situation over there?"
"Can't you tell? I'm not seeing any of your unwanted visitors around-"
Emilia didn't get to finish her reply however, when the ground suddenly started shaking, accompanied by the alarms blaring to life.
It's always the alarms, it seems. First, the labs and now here. I get that it can't be helped but I really wish I'd brought some earplugs.
"You there? Did this line go dead?"
"No, we're still here! The ground just suddenly-!"
"Look out!"
We quickly snapped our heads to where Yut was pointing, and we collectively paled.
Charging straight towards us was a stampede of monsters. Specifically, Ubakuradas, bulky bipedal creatures that like ramming things as hard and brutal as possible.
Unfortunately, that means us right now.
"Run!"
"Ahh! Not again!"
This is bad, really bad! We're currently on a straight corridor and I don't have anything strong enough to stop a stampede.
Emilia's got more firepower but I doubt she can obliterate all of them. That leaves Yut, but... Right!
"Yut, how fast can you cast your mirage blast?!"
"A few seconds! If I can stand still for a few seconds, I can do it!"
"Hey, are you sure that's a good idea?! If he doesn't pull it off in time, we're in trouble!"
"That's where you come in! On my signal, cast Rabarta and aim for their legs! That should delay them long enough!"
"Ehh?!"
I tuned out Emilia's further complaints, watching the stampeding monsters behind us carefully.
If our timing is wrong, then Emilia might not get them all, or worse, miss completely!
"Ready your weapons!"
"Right!"
"W-wait...!"
"And...! Now! Yut, start casting! Emilia, Rabarta, now!"
"Err, R-r-r...!"
"Emilia!"
"Ahhh, [Rabarta]!"
A thick blanket of frost blasted out from Emilia's staff towards us the stampede, deliberately aimed low.
Mist pushed back the Ubakuradas, covering them from our vision temporarily as the shaking finally stopped.
Which means Emilia actually did it!
Sure enough, when the mist cleared up, the creatures were completely pinned to the ground, their legs covered in a thick sheet of ice.
"Alright! Yut, do your thing!"
"[Flaming Roar]!"
A grand fiery aura started bursting out of Yut as he spread his arms, the familiar circles of photon energy appearing one by one behind his back.
After a few moments, the fire beast Nui emerged from the flames, its hammer arm coated in a golden blaze.
Basically, there was a lot of fire.
Nui drew back its arm, and after a moment of charging, punched forward, a stream of flames erupting from its fist.
The firestorm covered the trapped Ubakuradas entirely, before igniting a massive explosion that shook the corridor once more.
"*cough*cough*! Everyone, all right?"
"Y-yeah... Did we do it?"
"Looks like. Good job, Emilia."
"Yeah! We got them all! Your Tech was really powerful, Emilia!"
"Oh, um, hehe. Well, your blast wasn't so bad either... Wait, why is the ground shaking again?"
Emilia's right, it was shaking again! What gives?
We turned our attention to the smoke, and even though the dead Ubakuradas littered the wet floor, we could see silhouettes that sent our guts tumbling.
Yut was the one to break the silence.
"Something's still coming!"
"It's the second wave! Let's move!"
"I can't believe this is happeningggg!"
I summoned my handgun and started blasting behind me while running. It didn't even slow them down but there's not much else I can do!
The Ubakuradas were too close for us to pull off any big attacks, and I don't think Yut can cast two mirage blasts in quick succession!
"This is not my idea of a good day!"
"Can it, Emilia! At least try thinking of something!"
"I'll try thinking of happy thoughts while we get trampled to death!"
Ignoring my partner's optimistic outlook in this situation, I unleashed a barrage of charged shots at our pursuers.
It made them flinch, that at least brought miniscule satisfaction, but they just kept trucking right on.
Well, mama did say there'd be days like this.
"Hey, where're you...?!"
I was about to fire another round but immediately held my trigger finger back when I heard my partner's voice, then, a figure dashed from the opposite direction straight towards the stampeding Ubakuradas.
Before I could see who it was, the figure summoned a staff and began gathering a staggering amount of photon energy.
"[Rafoie]!"
The figure, who I have now identified as female, brought her staff down, and an enormous explosion hammered the monsters.
When the dust settled, all the remaining Ubakuradas were dead.
What the heck?
The mysterious girl dismissed her staff after surveying the damage, and started walking towards us, her expression not changing in the slightest.
Blue vest, white arm and leg guards and skirt, she was wearing the official Guardians uniform.
Figured they'd turn up sooner or later.
In the time I spent examining her, she managed to cross the distance between her and my team, stopping a few feet in front of me while maintaining her stoic face.
"Hear that sound? That's the evac alarm. You need to leave immediately."
"That's a no. We're part of the security detail here."
"Oh, mercenaries then. Then that was you three behind that explosion?"
"That's right."
"Hmm. Commendable. But I think you're way in over your head if you were having trouble with those monsters. I'll take it from here."
"Hold on a moment there, Guardian lowlife! Just who do you think you are?!"
Emilia unexpectedly interrupted before I could respond.
While I understand why she'd lash out like that, the Guardian wasn't exactly being respectful of us, isn't calling her a lowlife taking things a little too far?
The insult didn't seem to faze her, though, answering in the same rigid tone.
"Lumia Waber, Guardians Intelligence Division. I'm here to help people trapped in the shelter, further in."
Waber? As in Ethan Waber? She's related to the Hero?
Well, no wonder she had such incredible firepower. It's not helpful for my pride but I guess it's safe to say we can leave this to her now, as she said.
It's not like I'm being cold-hearted about the trapped people but if the Guardians are here then we'll most likely just get in the way.
As I was about to give the order to clear out, though, Emilia activated her comms device.
"Hey, Boss, you there?"
"... Emilia! What happened back there, why'd the comm drop like that?"
"We're changing missions. There are people trapped inside a shelter. We're getting them out!"
"You what? Hey, you can't change missions on the fly! What about protecting the test devices?!"
"We'll do that while we help people! Emilia, out!"
"What? Hey, you can't do that! Hey-!"
And then the line was dead. I don't know where she's getting the guts to pull that kind of stunt but we're surely getting in trouble unless we do exceptionally well.
And speaking of trouble, I'd like to smack that smug grin off her face.
"Who died and made you leader, huh?"
"O-ow! Why is it always the cheek? Stop, hey, that hurts!"
"... what are you talking about?"
Lumia interrupted our little banter, looking a little bit annoyed and thoroughly confounded.
In response, Emilia crossed her arms and stared her down.
"We can't leave rescuing people to the Guardians. Are you kidding?"
"You're coming with me, then? You better not get in the way."
"I never said we'd be going with you! Leaving them to the Guardians will be like signing their Death Warrants!"
"... do all mercenaries insist on babbling like you do?"
No, I'm pretty sure that's all Emilia.
I don't know why she's being this hostile to Lumia, or why she has such a low opinion of the Guardians but...
Is it really wise to antagonize a Waber?
"Let me explain this in words you're sure to understand. We have no use for weaklings on this operation. None."
"There's the Guardians attitude we all know and hate! Why are you always like that? Always so superior!"
"Emilia, please."
I tried calming her down. If she keeps this up, we'll be here all day and the monsters will have had their way with the prisoners AND the test equipment. Repeatedly.
Of course, she ignored me. She didn't even so much as glance at me.
"That reminds me! I thought your name sounded familiar! You're related to the Hero, Ethan Waber, aren't you? Heh! That's probably how you got into the Guardians in the first place! And you call me weak! Hah!"
"No. My accomplishments have nothing to do with my brother. I'm Lumia. Lumia!"
Having some identity issues there, Ms. Waber?
But in any case, this has gone on long enough.
"Give it a rest, Emilia! You've said enough!"
"B-but...! Grrr, fine! Take her side all you want! It still doesn't change my opinion on the Guardians!"
"I'm not taking sides. We have a job to do and we can't do it unless we all calm down!"
That, at least, got her to stand down.
While I was rubbing my temples in exasperation, I was approached by a completely baffled Yut.
"I'm a little confused. What's so bad about the Guardians? Why doesn't Emilia like them?"
"Don't ask me."
"Excuse me."
I turned around to face Lumia, looking like she's managed to calm herself down too.
"I would like to offer my apologies. I, too, spoke without proper consideration."
"It's alright. I'd like to apologize for my partner's behaviour."
She answered with a nod. Well, it's good that she managed to recognize the leader of our little group here.
I'm sure it's not a hard choice, really. I'd be quite offended if she didn't.
"In any case, it does no good for us to stand here arguing. If your partner insists on coming, I will join you. The rescue will be a joint mission."
Emilia let off a small "tsk", but was ignored for the most part.
"Furthermore, if your partner is keen on not trusting me, you are welcome to keep me under observation for the duration of the mission."
"Oh, we will!"
"Shut up, Emilia. We agree to your terms, Lumia."
"Then it's settled. We've wasted enough time. Let's get to rescuing."
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IV
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"They're going after the equipment! Don't let them reach it!"
Lumia ordered out before immediately charging at the hordes of monsters, summoning her staff and casting techs in quick succession.
"Like I'm gonna let a Guardian show us up!"
Emilia called out her own staff, blasting away an approaching Ageeta, a small quadruped creature, with Foie.
I'm glad she's motivated to do some actual work but her priorities may be a little mixed up there.
"Hrrrraahhh!"
Yut let out a battle cry, brandishing his spear before barreling into a group of monsters.
He stabbed an Ageeta before throwing it away, raising his spear up to block another one's attack.
"Well, aren't they motivated..."
I brought my shield up just in time to block a light blast from a nearby Olgohmon, bipeds that like fighting from a distance.
Switching to my handgun, I replied with a charged shot, bringing it off balance in a pained daze.
Before it could recover its senses, I was already upon it. A quick slash from my saber and it was down.
"[Razonde]!"
A bolt of lighting hit another Olgohmon, bringing it down instantly.
"Heh! How's that? Let's see Lumia top that one!"
"[Gifoie]!"
A wall of fire blazed up around said girl, blasting away multiple monsters that surrounded her.
"[Diga]!"
Lumia then spun around a full circle, earthen projectiles shooting off her staff and blasting each and every monster around her to oblivion.
No moment to rest, she jumped up to avoid an ice blast from a Komazli, floating, rod-wielding creatures that can disappear and reappear at a different location.
Lumia twisted around in the air to blast out a ball of fire at her attacker before it can escape, the ensuing explosion ensuring a quick demise.
"Well, that's her topping that."
"Ugh, fine! I'm gonna have to kick it up a notch!"
I blasted away a sneaky Ageeta approaching from the side, and raised an eyebrow at Emilia.
That would have gotten her if I didn't spot it. She huffed in response.
We waited a few moments after that but no more monsters came. Lumia raised her voice to call everyone's attention.
"Looks like we're clear here. Onto the next sector!"
"Ugh, who died and made her boss?"
"Don't steal my lines. Come on."
The next room splits off into two paths, with the equipment sitting in the middle of the fork. If the monsters decide to pincer us in, this might be a little harder than the previous area.
The monsters waited for no one, immediately doing just that.
I immediately leapt into action, landing between two Olgohmons and slashing away at them before they could attack.
"[Zonde]!"
Blasts of lightning shot out from Emilia's staff in quick succession, frying a group of Ageetas running towards us.
We were doing pretty well, actually. Better than I expected.
Emilia was doing her best to try and one-up Lumia. She wasn't succeeding, far from it, but that extra effort from her is nice to see.
Yut was using his greatest strength. His brawn. His strikes send monsters flying, unconscious or dead, and his skill with his spear was remarkable, the added range of such a weapon meant that he took minimal damage despite his up-close and personal approach.
Lumia takes the cake for overwhelming firepower, though. Her techs are quick, precise, and continuous, eliminating leagues of monsters with startling efficiency.
But with all that grace and power, her movements seem a little too... rigid. It's like watching a machine fight, it's uncanny.
Unlike, say, Emilia, who lets her emotions carry her through movements, sometimes a little too much, Lumia's actions feel a little too practiced, too rehearsed, too monotonous.
"...ey! Hey! Universe to Kara!"
"Huh? What? What is it?"
"Dont you what me, mister! You've been staring at Lumia this entire time! Hmph!"
Huh, I guess I was examining her for a smidge too long. Nevermind that, it seems like we've already cleared the area of hostiles.
Now comes the next problem.
"What now? There's two seperate rooms, and I doubt those monsters will wait for us to finish clearing one before attacking the other."
"Then let's split up."
"S-split up? But..."
If you have a better solution then I'd like to hear it, Emilia. As it is, we're running out of time.
Though, Lumia solved that conundrum quite handily be herself.
"I don't see the problem. You three can take one sector. I'll take the other one."
Well, isn't someone feeling confident? But I have a feeling she can back it up, so I have no complaints.
Emilia, though...
"And there it is again! You think you're so better than us, don't you?"
"While it was not my intention to convey such truth, it is a fact that I can clear out an area by my own. Whether you take that as a slight or not is up to you."
"Grr, fine, we'll show you! Kara, Yut, let's go! We'll clear our sector faster than her!"
"Yeah, let's go!"
Wait, what happened to keeping her under observation?!
I only had time to shoot Lumia an apologetic glance before Emilia dragged Yut and I to the next sector.
Which was the simplest in design yet. It was a plain rectangular room, with the equipment sitting beside the far wall. And in front of it was...
A mounted machine gun.
"... why is there a minigun in here?"
"I don't understand. Shouldn't there be a form of defense in every important area?"
Yut curiously asked.
While it is important to have a defense system, I just don't get why there'd be a frickin' minigun in a subspace facility. In front of the test equipment.
Do they just plan to have monsters infiltrate the premises?
Well, whatever, as long as we can use it.
"Alright, I'll take the gun. You two stick to ranged and stay near me to avoid friendly fire."
"Got it!"
They replied in unison and summoned their respective long-range weapons. Emilia went with her staff, as usual while Yut summoned the bow I haven't seen him use since Moatoob. Good, they're following orders.
I stepped behind the gun, and I instantly felt a surge of power fill my entire being!
...or not. Just my imagination, I guess.
"There!"
Yut took the first shot, releasing a photon arrow that blazed through the air and hit an Olgohmon dead center.
"[Foie]! [Zonde]!"
Emilia, meanwhile, cast weaker but quick spells, for rapid-fire purposes.
Seems like we got perfect position, then. Yut continued picking off the monsters coming from across the sector with deadly accuracy, while Emilia took out a few on her own with blasts of fire, electricity, or whatever she preferred.
My turn.
"Eat minigun!"
The melodic "ratatata!" filled the room as lightning-fast photon bullets fired out from the minigun.
The approaching monsters were showered with a rain of lasers before they can even pass halfway through the room, falling one after the other in quick succession. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.
What... What is this feeling?
"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Err, Kara? You're kinda scaring me a bit, haha..."
The monsters didn't stand even the tiniest of chances.
ooo000ooo
V
ooo000ooo
"Whew! That looks like the last of 'em!"
Emilia cheered out in relief as soon as the last invader feel down, swiping a bead of sweat from her forehead.
I turned the minigun's power off as I stepped away from the handles, still feeling the adrenaline rush I got from using the heavy artillery.
I feel like I lost control a little there.
"Well, that went well."
"Speak for yourself! What the heck came over you?!"
I honestly don't know. Maybe it's better if we just forget about all this. And besides, what are the chances we can get to use something like this again?
"Anyway, we should probably see how Lumia's doing."
"Hah, yeah! She's probably whimpering in a corner right now! Serves her right for being high and mighty with us!"
"... what's your deal? Sure, she was arrogant but I didn't think she was that bad..."
"The Guardians are the lowest of the low! You can't trust them! Don't even think about it!"
What is with the hate?
Come to think of it, Emilia did get a little on edge when Tonnio mentioned he and Liina were former Guardians.
I'm really at a loss here. Something's probably happened to give this troublesome girl such disdain for the Guardians.
But what?
Well, that's not important right now. We've still got some people to rescue.
We headed onwards to the next area, which was a large, dome-shaped room. There weren't any other notable features besides a very large tunnel that leads out of the room.
And Lumia was there, standing with her back turned towards us, not moving an inch.
So she got here first. And I was so sure we cleared out our area in record time.
"Wha? How'd you-?!"
"Something's wrong."
She cut off Emilia's complaint without even looking back at us.
"I detect no creatures left in the area, yet no one tries to escape. Why?"
"You're right. That is unusual."
"They're probably still in shock from how sudden it all was. Or they're frightened by being trapped! It's really scary, you know?"
Emilia has a point but... I feel like there's something amiss here. It's nothing more than a gut feeling but Lumia's right. There is something wrong.
Lumia started walking towards the tunnel carefully, seeing as it's the only place left we haven't checked yet.
I started following her but my senses started shouting at me to get the hell away.
I ignored it. We're not gonna find some answers just standing here.
"Hey, where are you two going?"
"Hold on!"
We were interrupted out of our approach by Yut's frantic warning.
He looked really distraught, sweat trailing down the side of his face.
"I... I don't like how the wind's blowing. Something... Something's coming!"
We didn't have time to ask what he meant by that, though, as something big, really big, came flying through the tunnel straight towards us.
All I could see was a flash of silver before instinct kicked in, grabbing Emilia and dashing away, trusting Lumia and Yut to do the same.
The ground shook harshly as whatever came landed on the room's center, the ensuing wind threatening to blow us all away.
And after that, a deafening guttural roar assailed our hearing, almost sounding like it came from two giant monsters.
Now, I really wish I brought some earplugs. High Grade Earplugs.
"W-w-what is that?!"
I was broken out of my stupor by the shaking voice of my partner, eyes completely wide.
And when I turned around, I felt mine do the same.
It was a giant, two-headed, two-tailed, silver quadruped dragon, and it looked decidedly not friendly.
What a day.
"Alterazgoug...! This is bad... What would a Communion test creature be doing rampaging here for? This makes no sense!"
Lumia spat out through gritted teeth, losing her cool confidence completely for the first time since we met her.
Though she did manage to say something interesting. Why would the Communion have something like this hanging around?
And why the flipping hell did they not ensure it wouldn't ever escape? Why are scientists always so damned incompetent?!
"So, that big dragon is why no one has been able to escape?"
"That's right, Yut. To be honest, I kinda wanna escape myself... Hey, Kara, you think we can handle that?"
"... not sure, really."
Against something I've never had a chance to fight before, which was also a massive behemoth, I have no idea about our chances of victory.
Emilia's definitely improved, that's for sure, and Yut's got his mirage blasts and pure strength, but...
Lumia must have seen the apprehension on our faces though, if what she said next is any indication.
"I see no reason for you fight. Withdraw, and I will handle this. Your mission is complete, in any case."
All yours, then!
Is what I wanted to say. She's right, our mission was only to protect the test equipment.
But the thought of leaving a girl, a girl powerful enough to blast us all away but still a girl, to fight that thing on its own leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
And besides, it's not like I have anything planned later.
"Are you an idiot? You can't fight that thing alone!"
"I am a Guardian. I cannot leave when people are in need of help."
All hope of us escaping together was crushed when Lumia summoned her staff, taking on a battle stance.
Well, I get determination but this stubbornness is just getting annoying!
I was about to tell her off but Emilia stomped past me, looking quite irritated.
"Well, you dying isn't gonna help them, either!"
"Even if it means death, I must try! To do any less would be to dishonor my brother!"
"Gah! Are all Guardians this annoyingly righteous?!"
And then Emilia surprised me by summoning her staff and taking position beside Lumia, obviously scared, but that determined look in her eyes...
It was just like back in our ship, when she asked me to train her. Kettei no Me.
"Emilia is right! We'll run from nothing! We'll show them how strong we are!"
Yut went next, tightening his grip on his spear and standing on Lumia's other side, further bewildering her.
They're crazy, all of them.
"What are you doing? This is no joke! You must leave at once!"
"Hey, I don't wanna fight this thing either but if I leave this to you, you might run for the hills. So we're staying, got that?!"
"What?!"
Ah, screw it.
"Sorry Little Miss Waber, but we either run together, or fight together."
"You too? And I thought you were the sensible one. You really need to-!"
The dragon let out a titanic roar, seemingly growing tired of our banter.
Well, no time like the present.
"Never mind, here it comes...!"
Alterazgoug attacked...!