From somewhere far up above, there was a barely discernible click. Then, the ceiling blew up.
An avalanche of stone pummeled its way to the ground. As a dense cloud of smoke billowed from the gaping hole where the rocks had been, figures quickly became visible in the smog.
"Hey, Fred!" Emm's familiar drawl rang out, as the Battlefront looked down into the cavern. "Thought we'd drop by and see how you were doing."
Fred's face was a mirror of shock. "What! You, I told you to-"
"We're all here," Asher called out in his baritone. "How do you think we were able to blast our way down here? Lots of C4, is the reason. I had to dip into my personal collection. It was hard enough finding you guys, even with Hannah leading the way."
"C4 rules!" a voice called out from the back, and there was an assortment of cheering. "You look like you could use some help, Fred," Riche boomed down cheerfully.
"You're all morons," Fred declared. "I have always wondered why every one of my friends is completely, without a doubt, a moron. You're silly, you're gullible, and no matter how dangerous the situation, you find a way to laugh." She scowled with relief. "And thank-bloody goodness for that. Now, get down here!"
Harry cried out in warning. Behind him, the mass of anomalies rippled, then surged forward. Their number crashing out of the tunnel into the youths.
A shower of bright-multicolored objects suddenly pummeled down into the tide of shadows, resulting in a chain of pops and splashed. The shadows' advance lurched to a halt, the anomalies suddenly stuck in place.
Rope-ends flopped down next to Fred, and in moments her fellow Battlefront members were descending to meet their leader.
"What'd you guys do?" Harry whistled, staring at the struggling line of anomalies. Some unknown substance from the colorful objects had mingled into their amorphous bodies, sticking them to their neighbors. The beasts thrashed unsuccessfully.
Luke plopped down next to Harry. "We filled water balloons with super glue!"
Fred's heels came together, her back straightening as her soldiers gathered around her. "All right, I want a perimeter before they free themselves, tech and diversion members at the back, combat division, we can not let these creeps advance out of the tunnel-
A wall of sound flattened the Battlefront to the ground. Ammit's roar was the screech of glass against metal; it pierced through them like a blade. Claws flexed, leaving foot-deep gauges in the rock as the monster leaped forward. The Battlefront tumbled out of the way, hopeless as the beast hurtled to-
The Battlefront was buffeted into the center of the cavern as an impact shook the earth. Emily and the Beast fell away from each other. With a beat of her wings, Emily soared up high, and came plummeting back down. Ammit was pushed away from the Battlefront with a grunt as the second impact hit. Emily flew up once more, and descended for the final blow. A claw flashed.
Mike heard Emily cry out as she slammed into the wall of the cavern. Deep gashes tore through her front. She momentarily lay still, embedded in the rock. With an ear-wrenching roar of satisfaction, the Beast loomed over her.
While Angel had moved as a brilliant flash of white, Hannah favored more subdued tactics. Namely, she waited until her enemy's back was turned to make her attack. She pounced, dark hair blown back as she landed, her blades sinking into the meat of Ammit's torso.
Ammit howled, rearing up onto his misshapen hind legs. Hannah was send flying with the motion, and spun head over heels across open space to land crouched on her heels in the middle of the fight.
The cavern floor was chaos. As the tunnel entrance had become freed, the anomalies had taken the opportunity to flood through, where they broke against the Battlefront's scattered ranks. Bullets, water balloons, Emmanuel's loud curses, and TK's loud singing voice flew across the rocky floor.
"Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty" TK continued, spinning gracefully as his twin pistols took out line after line of shadows.
"You're telling me you guys just marched down here without any kind of plan?" Fred cried in disbelief. She ducked as Emily hurtled overhead, freed from the rock. "What were you thinking?"
Leonard toed a rock, shamefaced. "I know. If given time, or if Elliot were with me, I'm sure I could have thought up a master plan. As it is-"
"But we have a plan," Bridget interrupted calmly. She elbowed Fred. "We brought a group of the most moronic, crazy, unique people I've ever known. Smart girl like you, can't you use us to do something amazing?"
Harry wasn't feeling very unique. Moronic, maybe. He'd dropped his gun when Emily and Ammit's collision had sent him flying, and he had a nasty bruise on his forehead. Not to mention a group of 5 shadows was currently closing in on him.
"Not-good-not-good-not-good!" he gasped, scampering along. If only Julie were here with him. They'd both be scared out of their minds, but at least she'd have a good joke to go along with it.
He turned on his heel, the shadows slid up to him. Nothing for it but to try and-
The shadows were blown apart by the sudden appearance of a ball of fire, sending Harry reeling. He gazed upwards.
Emily had picked up Richie the fifth. They soared overhead, the big man hanging below the Student Body President as he took potshots with his bazooka. He flipped Harry a thumbs up as they flew by. Harry waved feebly.
People heard Jake long before he reached them. His Valkyrie scream echoed throughout the cavern, belting forth from endless lungs as he ran. His halberd cut swathes through the shadows as he pummeled forward, an enraged juggernaut.
Luke followed in the wreckage behind, patiently picking off any anomaly that drew near Jake's totally unprotected back side.
At the periphery of the battle, TK and Alfred were engaged in earnest conversation.
"Imagine all the people, living in harmony," TK said urgently.
"But I only know pottery!" Alfred protested. "How could I build one of those?"
TK clapped the younger boy on the back. "Smoke on the water, man"
Albert straightened up. "Well, if you're sure. I used to ride as a kid, and we're surrounded by raw material. But what good would it do?"
In response, TK withdrew a curious metal object from his bag. It looked like a thermos filled with steel coffee filters. He grinned dangerously, and winked.
While the struggle raged on the ground, the monstrous Ammit loomed at large, charging and slashing. The Combat Division was agile enough to dodge its attacks, and so the only thing left in the beast's path of destruction were puddles of smushed ooze. But all too soon, the Beast locked onto those who couldn't run from it.
The miniscule figures beneath its feet ducked for cover as Ammit lurched forward. His gawping jaws swept down into the clumped group of non-combat Battlefront members.
Hannah's blood ran cold as she saw the Beast's trajectory. Cursing, she leapt up against a rock wall, and then rebounded into the air, slashing her blades into the flesh of Ammit's neck. The Beast roared in fury, coming to an abrupt stop. Hannah had time to see the tech and diversion divisions diving for cover before Ammit's fiery mane expanded outward, igniting his entire torso in a white-hot inferno.
Hannah crashed onto the stone with a thump, the smell of her own singed skin filling her nostrils. She heard her knives skitter away from her. Looking up, she saw a sky of darkness; she'd landed in a pod of the anomalies. They jostled around, confused by her sudden arrival. The light dimmed further as a shadow fell over them.
Ammit's gaze narrowed as it looked down. That was twice the creature with the dark hair had harmed it, and it wasn't familiar with pain. What it was very familiar with, however, was hunger.
Hannah blinked in dazed horror as she saw the ring of fangs descending for her. Her bones felt crushed, but she to move, had to survive, she, she couldn't… Her vision blurred momentarily as she felt the blood rush through her. In the half light, she thought she saw a figure appear, before the creature's mouth filled her vision.
Ammit roared in agony. Startled, Hannah's vision cleared.
Luke grunted in exertion, her knife in his clenched fist. As she watched, he twisted it further into the meat of Ammit's mouth.
The beast reared back. Hannah witnessed as Luke was thrown back, a yellow fang ripping through his shoulder as the youth landed on the stone beside her. Ammit blinked down at them, and had begun to descend once more, when a sudden explosion covered him in smoke.
Hannah didn't even bother looking to see what had caused the explosion. Wincing, she rolled over onto her side to look at Luke. Her friend smiled back at her as he lay, clutching his shoulder. Blood seeped from the wound. "You… you all right, Hannah? I was really worried, you see. For a moment, I…" he trailed of, groaning softly. "…I thought you were 'toast.' …Get it? The end of a piece of your hair is on fire, by the way."
She didn't reply at once. She gazed at him, unblinking. Finally, she swallowed. "Luke. Your actions do not make rational sense. There is no way you could possibly defeat that creature. You were safe, but yet, you put your survival in danger, even when you knew you wouldn't win."
Luke pulled himself into a sitting position. "I wouldn't know about not winning. You're still here, aren't you?" He frowned at her. His eyes, a startling shade of green, Hannah suddenly realized, were lined. "Hannah, you told me that after Bishop and Knight took you, you and the… others were called Teddy Bears. You said you spent your life trying to protect them, throughout the life you were forced to lead.
"But, once you arrived here… You stopped trying to protect anyone but yourself. You tell us that you only train, to deal more damage, that you only fight with us, in order to punish God. What changed?"
The Daddy's girl lay next to Luke. Hannah trembled. Tears stained the cold floor. . "It's because I failed, Luke. I failed.
"In that business, the Teddys don't last. We are used, and then thrown away like the toys we are. I couldn't protect my friends, and every time I lost someone, it hurt."
Ignoring the screaming pain of her skin, she craned her neck to look at him. "Do you understand? I have to punish God; I have to punish my Father, for abandoning us. And… I don't want to hurt anymore."
She stiffened in surprise as Luke scooted over to her. Reaching out, he carefully extinguished the burning lock of hair.
"I, I c-can't say I understand all that y-you've gone through," Luke stuttered. "But, well… I do understand what it feels like to be abandoned. I know it really sucks, like you're just garbage.
"You got one thing going for you, though. You ended up here, with the rest of us. We all have our issues, but we really like you. Think about everyone here, who cares about you. When you trust people, you might get hurt.
"But wouldn't you take the chance that someone will stand up for you? I want you to decide whether it's worth it to trust us, trust us to take care of you and to not hurt you. Promise me you'll think about it?"
Exhaustion filled Hannah. She knew right then she was vulnerable, lying weakened and dependent on the person beside her. But oddly, the thought didn't frighten her.
"Mmm. I'll think about it," she murmured. Her head throbbing, she leaned against Luke. Her vision settled on Luke's shoulder.
Horror filled her.
A/N WooHoo! Punches fist. Arg why is writing so much fun.