Chapter Ten:

Ambushed

Over the next two days, Lance and I grew close. We would laugh and joke with each other, and he would know when I was pissed and either back-off, catch my punches or get hit. I learned that, even though he's a music sensation, he wanted to live peacefully, without the bother of fangirls around. I guess having me around lifted a weight off of his shoulders, since he finally had someone to talk to that didn't constantly fawn over him.

Cole would check in regularly, asking how I was holding up. I would always say I was fine, and that he didn't need to worry. But, being Cole, he would continue to worry.

I was still shaken about that dream I'd had. Dana had once told me that Kessler used to call me his favourite "Vessel", but I didn't know why that word kept popping up into my head. Plus, it freaked me right the hell out to see another "me", but she looked just plain demented.

One night, I was leaning on the railing of Lance's house's deck's balcony (everything has ownership over something, huh?), looking at the stars. It was nice to see that the recent cloudy weather had passed.

"Hey, what're you doin' up?" Lance asked, yawning and coming to join me at the balcony. He was wearing his PJ's, which consisted of an old T-shirt and good shorts.

I was in my casual wear, but minus the nodachi. "Just chillin'."

"I noticed." Lance leaned against the balcony. "Are you almost feelin' better?"

"Yep." I cleared my throat. "Um… Thanks. For everything."

He waved it off. "Hey, no prob. I help violent half-dead girls all the time."

I frowned. "Me, violent? Geez, you got the wrong person."

"Naw, I think I got it right."

I playfully punched him in the shoulder. He laughed and hit back, so I laughed and hit him. This continued on for at least two minutes, and then it got a teeny bit competitive.

By the time we were done, I was fuming and Lance was holding me back by putting his hand on my forehead while I tried to hit his shoulder. Lance yawned, and whether-or-not it was real, I didn't really know.

"I give up!" I eventually said, throwing my hands into the air. "You're Goddamn annoying!"

"That's what I'm here for!" Lance replied. "And anyway, you helped me with that game, and it'd been giving me grief ever since I bought it. I think you've paid me back, so you shouldn't feel indebted or anything."

"Okay." I sighed. "Well, it'd be best if I went back to my apartment now. I'm sure Cole called into work and said that I'd been tortured by the Militia or something half-believable to explain how long I've been away."

"Why only half-believable?" Lance asked.

"If it was totally believable, my co-workers or my boss'd wanna come visit me, right?" I grinned. "Anyway, thank-you. I'll see you around, okay?"

He nodded, and then put a hand on my shoulder. "Remember, if you need anyone to talk to, you should come to me."

I froze my, my body going totally stiff under his touch.

"And there's another thing I figured out about you," he said, grinning. "You don't mind touching people, but as soon as somebody touches you, you freeze up like this. It's almost like you're afraid you're gonna blow up if someone touches you!"

Lance, I don't think you've ever been more right… I grabbed his hand and thrust it back to his side. "Lance, I would like to talk to you about something…"

"Really?" he exclaimed. "Oh man! I have to mark this on my calendar! 'The day Joan came out of her shell'!"

"You know what? I'm not gonna talk about it now!" I fumed, turning away from him and heading for the door.

"No! Hey, c'mon! I was just kidding around!"

I took a breath and looked at him, but didn't see what I expected. Sure, I saw Lance, grinning like an idiot, but behind him was—.

"Lance! Get down!" I lunged at him, pinning him to the ground as a gigantic tongue whipped out of a Devourer's mouth. We scrambled to our feet. "Get inside!" I ordered. "Now!"

He grabbed my hand and pulled me inside as its tongue whipped out again. We managed to get out of the way, but the Devourer's tongue snagged Lance's T.V.

"Hey! That was a lot of money, you overgrown—!"

"Now's not the time for that!" I cut in. "Get your mom and get out of the house now!"

"But—!"

"I said now!"

Lance took-off, heading for his mother's room. I grabbed my nodachi from off of the kitchen table and ran outside with them, only to meet an army of Corrupted. I drew my nodachi slowly, Lance casting a wary glance at me.

"You're not actually gonna use that thing, are you?" he exclaimed.

"Unless you want me to let us die, then shut it!" I replied, flicking my wrist for the flames to come on. "Stay close!"

The Devourer roared and clambered around the house, causing massive destruction in its wake. The Corrupted screeched, and Hive Lords appeared on the rooftops, glaring down at us.

There're too many! I thought frantically. Cole should be here soon, but I'm not sure if I can protect us for long! I glanced at Lance, who was getting into the stance I'd recognized him using when fighting those thugs. Why am I so afraid to use my flames around him? Am I afraid I'm gonna blow up again?

A Corrupted caught my attention. I lunged at me, its mouth separating so many different ways I didn't bother to count. It sliced its blades at me, but I blocked and twisted, stabbing it in the stomach. Lance had found a pipe and was beating off any Corrupted that got too close. I saw a Corrupted sneaking up on him and lunged at it, stabbing it through the head. Blood mostly got on me, but it also splattered over Lance and Helen. The poor woman screeched in disgust.

"Lance! Get your mother outta here!" I told him, slicing up another few Corrupted.

"What about you?" he asked over the screeching of the monsters.

I gave him a shove. "Don't worry about that! I'm telling you to get her out of here before she faints, dammit!"

Lance definitely didn't like leaving me alone, I could tell that much, but he complied. He grabbed Helen's hand and led her away from the Corrupted. They let them get away; they were too focused on me. Several Corrupted jumped on me at once, and I really had to push to get 'em off of me, but I won that round. The Devourer's tongue came out a few times, but I'd side-step just in time and it would eat one of the Corrupted instead. The Hive Lords were busy making little bugs that were so friggin' annoying.

Lance was throwing rocks at them, screaming at me to get away from them, but I tuned him out—until one of his rocks hit my head.

"Aim for them, you idiot!" I snapped, my attention shifting to him.

"Joan! Look out!"

I felt something grab me around the waist. I didn't have to look to know it was the Devourer's tongue. It knocked me form my feet and pulled me to its mouth, and as I entered I stabbed my nodachi inside of it so the Devourer couldn't bite down. So, instead, I was swallowed whole.

Oh, goody.

So, while I was trying to hold my breath and get past its guts, I could hear it screaming, which was enough to piss me right the hell off and give me a headache.

"That's it!" I yelled, and activated my fire.

I burned the Devourer from the inside out, its screaming increasing drastically. I put my hands on the roof of its stomach and felt my fire leave my hands in short bursts, ripping through it. Finally, the Devourer exploded from the inside, its guts and blood spraying everywhere, while its armour shot several different ways at once and at an incredible distance. While I regained my breath (by breathing in cool, non-toxic air), I put my hand up and caught my falling nodachi.

"I'm gonna kill every last one of you!" I yelled, and charged at them.

The Corrupted lunged at me, and if I didn't slice 'em up they were burnt to a crisp. I dodged a few attacks, but got cut on the face in the process. They managed to tick my arms a bit, but I'd always make them regret it.

I swept my nodachi upwards, catching two Corrupted and sending them into the air. I jumped up and met them in the air, and as I flew by them I grabbed their heads and flipped in the air, changing my momentum around and smashing their skulls into the ground.

The Hive Lords (I counted five) jumped off of the roofs and surrounded me. "You wanna die too?" I asked. They roared in response. "Fine! Bring it!"

One Hive Lord was skidding towards me, while two were coming at me from the sides, one was above me, while the last was making more little bugs. I upped my flames until they were maxed-out, and waited for them to come a little bit closer before I released my fire. Just like when I'd been facing Sasha the last time, a pillar of fire came from the sky and surrounded me, engulfing the four Hive Lords coming at me and turning them to ash.

I managed to stay standing by leaning on my nodachi, but my strength had left me. I saw the last Hive Lord and angrily tossed my nodachi at it, but it fell short and missed. The Hive Lord screeched at me as I struggled to keep steady and stand.

"Hey! Bug-eye!"

The Hive Lord looked up, and was crushed by Cole's drop attack. Cole quickly leaped off of the Hive Lord and came to me, allowing me to use him to steady myself.

"Geezus… Joan, what the hell happened?" he asked as he checked my handiwork.

"It was an ambush," I replied. "I don't even know how they managed to sneak up on me…"

Cole stooped and picked up my nodachi. "You're covered in blood! I don't even know what's yours! And…" He made a face. "You stink!"

"Yeah? Well, getting digested by that Devourer didn't exactly make me smell like roses, if ya didn't notice."

"Hey, where's Lance? And Helen?"

I shrugged. "Dunno. I told Lance to get outta here, and he was bringing his mom along, but then he came back and was throwing rocks, and now I don't know where he is."

I heard the shifting of debris and looked to where the sound was coming from. Lance moved a piece of the Devourer's metal plate off of himself and his mother, helping her up to her feet.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked, managing to come to their side (with Cole's help).

Lance nodded. "I-I think so."

Helen pointed to where the bottom-half of the Devourer was lying. "We saw that monster grab you, Joan! And then it exploded, and that metal piece flew at us!"

Lance flexed his hand. "I punched it to slow it down, but it landed on top of us and hurt my hand!"

"You… punched it…?" I felt like facepalming myself. It figures you would punch it, you idiot…

Cole grinned. "I can see the indent. Nice hit!"

"I think I may have broken a few bones…" Lance muttered. "That really hurt!"

"If you broke your hand, you wouldn't be able to move it." Cole put my nodachi back in its sheath as I spoke to Lance. "Now, we need to get outta here. Lance, Helen, you can stay at my apartment. Lance knows where it is. I'll stay with Cole."

The two nodded in agreement.