Author's Note: Hello everyone! Your prayers have been answered because it's chapter 4! How will we see Kat and Raphtalia's relationship grow as they grow closer and Raphtalia gets older? Pay attention to the title of this chapter, it's quite important. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and do all the following and reviewing you'd like!
P.S. Any major questions will be answered up here in the next chapter.
Redburndragon - No she does not. In Reach it appears all members of Noble Team have every armor upgrade, but for simplicity sake of the story I won't incorporate any of them.
Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or ROTSH as they belong to their respective owners.
"Quotes."
"Reading and/or Thoughts"
Emphasis/Emphasis
Emerald Forest, Melromarc
August 25, 2552, 2352 Hours
Deep in the forest beneath the moonlit sky, a small campfire burned, its source crackling with a soft orange glow that illuminated the area. Beside it lay a small, sleeping form wrapped tightly in a sleeping bag strewn across the grassy earth with a hulking behemoth of a woman still awake and sat beside her. Feeding a series of plants to her shield, Kat scrolled through her menus and crafted a couple more of the universal pills. Due to their extreme potency, the number of ingredients required to make just one was equal to that of five improved pills. However, Kat reasoned that if they stayed relatively out of harm's way in a fight, she could slowly stock up on her strongest medicinal treatment. Looking back at Raphtalia's sleeping form, she had fallen asleep shortly after being given one thanks to being worn out after a whole day of training and fighting.
Kat had to hand it to the kid. While Raphtalia was nowhere close to being where she desired, it was proof that she, even if still young, was determined. Kat also had to thank Erhard for informing them of the party system which shared experience so that they wouldn't have to fight monsters individually, something that had netted the both of them level five at this point. Although progress was slow, at least for now, Kat vowed to continuously increase the difficulty of the monsters they fought to keep Raphtalia in the best possible shape.
Throughout Kat's short time spent in this world, she's experienced things that would have left this place blacklisted on any UNSC documents. Even with most of the common folk's friendliness, or at least those that didn't actually believe or care about the trial, Melromarc alone would have been placed under martial law, let alone the rest of the planet. But that was neither here nor there, as Kat's focus was in the here and now.
While lost in her thoughts, the sudden squirming of Raphtalia in her sleeping bag caught Kat's eye as she dropped what she was doing and scurried over to the girl… no, her girl. As soon as Kat laid a hand on Raphtalia, she sprung up with tears filling out eyes shouting to no one in particular. "Noooo! Mom, dad! They're gone!" She cried out as Kat brought her into a hug.
As tears streamed down her shoulder, Kat gently stroked Raphtalia's head doing her best to try and calm her down. "Hey, shhh shhh. It's ok, I'm here, you're safe. Everything's fine, don't worry, everything's fine." Kat calmly spoke to Raphtalia who was balling her eyes out.
She held on tightly until Raphtalia finally cried herself back to sleep, but she didn't let go, she couldn't let go. "Our duty is to protect humanity, no matter the cost." Those words rang through her head over and over. Kat never personally met the legendary Master Chief, but Mendez and Kurt drilled that one of many iconic lines into her skull, and by the strength of whatever God existed in the universe, she was going to protect Raphtalia until it killed her.
"Even the insurrectionists wouldn't touch this place… at least until they bombed a market." Kat thought, allowing her mind to wander as she focused on keeping the fire lit.
By the time the sun had begun to rise, Kat had cooked some fish she had caught for the both of them. As Raphtalia's eyes slowly opened to the sight of the sun's orange glow, the scent of the food shot her awake as her stomach growled in hunger. Kat smiled with a laugh before passing two of the three skewers over to Raphtalia.
"Morning sleepy head. Hope you like fish, because it's the only thing on the menu." Kat teased the young demi - human before her tone switched to one more serious. "Hope that nightmare didn't come back." Kat mentioned, causing Raphtalia to become a bit anxious.
Hesitantly taking a bite of her fish, Raphtalia sat in anticipation for it to taste poorly overcooked. When the fish filled her mouth and covered her taste buds, her eyes widened in shock at just how amazing it tasted, as if the divine themselves had blessed it. Taking a few more bites to calm her nerves, Raphtalia sat down beside Kat who meticulously ate each piece of her fish with a reason before opening with a question that sent a needle straight through Kat's heart.
"Mistress Kat, what would you do if you saw your parents die?" Such a question was something Kat never anticipated to hear, let alone from a child. Just what had this little girl gone through in the time before she arrived?
Kat hesitated to answer as she stumbled over her words to find the right one. "Well, you see…" She sighed. "I'm a war orphan, Raphtalia. I watched my parents get slaughtered during the invasion of my planet." Kat vaguely explained, saving the girl from the horrific details.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Was Raphtalia's only response who stared at the ground dejectedly.
With a sigh, Kat gently rubbed her eyes as the repressed memories of her parents flashed through her mind, or whatever little was left. "It's fine. They've been gone for so long thatI barely remember their faces. What happened to your parents?" Kat asked even though she could probably guess the answer.
"They died in the first wave." Raphtalia stated as another tear formed in her eyes.
Kat pulled Raphtalia in close. "I'm sorry you experienced that." She said with a soft and sorrowful tone. "Here, let's get to training to take your mind off things." Kat suggested, finishing off her fish and getting to her feet before offering Raphtalia a hand.
As the two practiced slashing and stabbing techniques in the early hours of the morning, Raphtalia was slowly becoming more and more comfortable with her blade. Kat remarked on how much of a natural she seemed before they turned to footwork and methods of attack. In the middle of these lessons, Kat got multiple pings on her motion tracker which caught her attention. Drawing her magnum, she aimed in the direction of the red blips and waited until she could see her targets.
Out from a collection of bushes jumped a number of higher level balloon monsters. Seeing as they were simple monsters, she clipped her magnum back to her thigh before winding up her fist and slamming it into the first one, exploding it midair with a mighty POP! A slash from Raphtalia's blade sliced the second and third clean in half before a roundhouse kick from Kat sent the fourth and final ugly balloon monster sailing into a tree where it promptly exploded.
+84 XP
Level Up!
[Catherine - B320: Level 8]
+56 XP
Level Up!
[Raphtalia: Level 6]
"Good job Raphtalia. Although next time, try to be faster so you don't open yourself to an attack. That fourth balloon almost got a hit on you." Kat explained, providing Raphtalia the necessary criticism from the engagement. Collecting the scraps left behind from the now deceased monsters, she began to feed them to her shield before another blip showed up in the distance of her motion tracker, and it was closing fast. Springing into action, Kat positioned herself in front of Raphtalia ready with a hand - to - hand combat stance. As what she thought would be a vicious predator burst from the brush, it turned out to only be a small, oddly shaped level four rabbit.
"Oh, perfect. I can test her right now." Kat thought as she relaxed and calmly walked over to the rabbit. Once she got close, it leaned back and sprung at her with an incredible speed… if it was attacking a normal human. Easily catching the creature midair, Kat held it firmly in place as she pointed it at Raphtalia. "Stab this thing." She bluntly ordered the girl.
Raphtalia paused for a moment, an expression of fear spread across her face as she took a step back. "B- but Mistress Kat, it'll bleed. A- and I hate blood!" Raphtalia tried protesting which only led Kat to take a step closer.
"You need to be able to handle that, Raphtalia. Otherwise when you're in a fight, you'll hesitate, and when you hesitate, you die." Kat explained to her in the simplest of ways, her loving attitude replaced by that of an experienced soldier. "As the Shield Hero, I need to get as strong as possible in order to combat the waves. Realistically I could take them on alone, but I chose not to. You're in a special situation where you're no longer a slave, so that means you need to be able to fight and even kill to protect yourself. I wanted a companion while in this world and you're all I got, so don't make me regret saving you." Kat told her with a hint of implication in her final statement.
"You really intend to fight the Waves of Catastrophe?" Raphtalia asked in disbelief.
Sighing, Kat couldn't believe she was pressuring a child just as hard as she was, but it was necessary. "It's my job, I don't have a choice. No matter how bad it gets, I've gotta be there. So believe me when I say that I'll replace the one who won't watch my back." Kat said with a bit of emphasis in her voice, silently hoping Raphtalia wouldn't let her down.
Upon hearing those words, Raphtalia's demeanor switched from fearful to determined and she raised her sword and planted her feet into the ground. "I understand. You can count on me!" She boldly claimed as she took off into a sprint and pierced her blade into the rabbit creature with all her might as blood exploded all over herself and Kat.
+24 XP
Level Up!
[Raphtalia: Level 7]
Pulling her knife out of its bloody carcass, Raphtalia stood there panting. "I'll fight alongside you, no matter what! Just please, don't throw me away." Raphtalia pleaded with a desperate look in her eye to satisfy Kat.
Kat simply nodded at Raphtalia's display. Although the demi - human couldn't see it, Kat had the widest grin plastered on her face. "You've got yourself a deal, Raphtalia. Now, I think you've earned yourself an upgrade."
Arriving back in Castletown, the bustling streets parted ways for the rapist and her slave. At least, that was their perception of Kat and Raphtalia, but neither of them cared as it made traversing the crowd rather convenient. Finally arriving at Erhard's, the two of them entered and saw the blacksmith taking someone's measurements before writing a few things down on his notepad. The man being measured paid Erhard for his service and began making his way out, sneering at the Shield Hero and her companion the entire time which caught a sigh from Erhard.
"Hey, back already you two?" Erhard asked, his previous disappointment replaced with a glowing smile.
"Yeah. Just here to get Raphtalia a better sword. She's quite the natural if you ask me." Kat complimented her smaller companion's abilities, getting an embarrassed look from Raphtalia.
"Is that so? Well in that case, lemme see what I got." Erhard said, crouching down beside a box of loose weapons. He pulled out a short sword that almost reminded Kat of the Roman Gladius and examined it. "How about this? An iron short sword. Perfect for the little lady's size." He commented before passing it off to Kat who turned it over one - to - many - times to check it.
"This'll do, thanks Erhard." Kat replied with a nod, handing the sword to its now rightful owner. "You know, I've been thinking. With our current equipment, is there anywhere else better suited for our levels?" Kat asked Erhard.
Rubbing his beard in thought, it took him a moment to finally come to a conclusion. "There is a small village to the west on the outskirts of the region called 'Lute Village'. I heard it's a good location for lower level adventurers so it might be a good place for you two to check out." Erhard informed them.
"Thanks. You're as helpful as ever." Kat complimented the man who laughed in response.
"So long as you keep paying, I'll keep helping. Speaking of which, the sword's gonna cost you sixty silver." Erhard told them, extending out a hand waiting to receive his payment.
Rolling her eyes at the dramatic display, Kat summoned the coins into existence, still unsure how, and handed them over to her bald counterpart. "Alright, it's best we get going. C'mon, Raphtalia." She said to the demi - human, snapping her out of her training stances with her new sword. Exiting the armorer's shop, Kat looked at Raphtalia with amusement. "Someday, I'm gonna get Erhard to build you your own gun." Kat said to her, causing Raphtalia's eyes to light up with excitement. "But you'll have to wait until you're old enough." She followed it up with a chuckle, making Raphtalia pout.
"Mistress—"
"Just Kat, Raphtalia. I told you I hate being addressed like I'm your master." Kat firmly scolded Raphtalia, making her shrink a little from fear. Seeing how Raphtalia reacted Kat mentally kicked herself, not wanting to be harsh to her girl. Quickly changing the subject, she began making her way down to the apothecary's. "You know, I'm sure we could make some money selling a few pills. I only have so many but they're all 'great quality', whatever that means."
Their walk to the apothecary was silent as Raphtalia's gaze shied away from Kat. The Spartan was silently cursing herself for scolding her. She knew deep down that it was just instinct after one - too - many troopers saluted her rank, but she kept berating herself for enforcing that mentality onto her girl.
Finally arriving at the apothecary's a short time later, Kat stopped Rapthalia from entering the building. "Raphtalia, go ahead and wait out here. I know your nose is sensitive to this place." This caused the girl to glance around nervously. "Don't worry, I'll make it quick." She told Raphtalia who nodded and sat on a barrel outside before entering alone with the rings of a chime.
"Welcome! I'll be with you in a moment." Gunther's voice came from a room behind his counter. Brushing off his hands, he stepped out from the back room only to be taken aback by the hulking Shield Hero standing before him. "Oh, Shield Hero, pleasant surprise! I take it you found some of those plants yesterday?" He inquired, immediately shaking himself out of his stupor and jumping right to business.
"Some. Only had enough to make a few of my strongest pills." Kat informed him as she conjured up three of the seven 'great quality' universal pills she had managed to make and set them down in front of Gunter.
An intrigued and curious look spread across Gunther's face. Bringing out a small eyepiece, he picked up one of the pills and examined it thoroughly. "What exactly are these 'pills'? I've never even heard of such devices before."
"They're a form of medicine where I come from. Simply swallow it and it takes effect. These in particular are a universal treatment meaning everything from magical effects to healing your wounds." She explained to him in the simplest of forms.
"Well, I must say this is amazing craftsmanship. That shield of yours is truly legendary in its capabilities." He complimented her. "And considering their near - perfect quality, these will certainly fetch a high price. For all three, I'll offer a hundred and fifty silver." Gunther said with a giddy smile on his face as he reached below the counter and somehow instantly grabbed a bag containing the coins.
"Wow, they must really be desperate for good medicine around here. This place would seriously benefit from UNSC intervention." Kat thought as she fed the shield the large sum of money.
[Treasury Shield:]
Account: 663 Silver, 95 Copper
Kat nodded to herself, happy with the circumstances. Heading back outside, she saw Raphtalia staring at a couple of children playing with a ball across the street, and understandably so. After all, she was still just a kid at the end of the day, ex-slave or not. "Do you want one too?" Kat slyly asked, scaring the living daylights out of Raphtalia who jumped to her feet.
"Wah! Uh no, I don't want a ball!" She vehemently declared, although her wagging tail expressly betrayed her.
"And now you're lying to a superior? Ten days in the brig." Kat joked with a hearty laugh, something Raphtalia found confusing due to not knowing what a 'brig' was. Looking around, Kat saw the vendor that had sold the ball to the kids across the street. Heading over to him, she handed the man his three wanted copper in exchange for a ball that she promptly handed to Raphtalia whose face glowed with the brightest smile she'd ever seen. "You can play with it after work. But, I wanna see improvement every time. Deal?" Kat told Raphtalia, setting her restrictions.
Raphtalia nodded her head in excitement as she hugged her very own toy. Taking off her helmet, Kat smiled at seeing her girl enjoying herself for once. She recalled how she wasn't really able to enjoy the little things when in her 'old universe' as she dubbed it due to always being thrown into high intensity missions. Although a good part of her still missed it, she was free from the hell of war and able to slow down a little, not that it was really in her character to do. Now, while in this world she may not be able to give Raphtalia the life she deserves, she can definitely do what she can to make the life she has as good as possible.
Bending down on one knee, Kat placed a hand on Raphtalia's shoulder and looked into her eyes with her own regret filled ones. "Hey, Raphtalia? I'm sorry for jumping on your case earlier, it was very uncalled for. You're adapting to your new life and I struck out at you for it. Things are going to be hard, so I'm going to be hard on you, but not harsh to you, ok?" Kat sincerely expressed, gently patting Raphtalia's head.
Raphtalia slowly leaned into Kat's hand, absolutely adoring the gentleness of hers compared to her previous owner. After a moment, she stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Kat… well, as best as she could. Kat reeled in response, taken aback by actually being hugged by Raphtalia for the first time since the two of them had met. "It's ok. I forgive you." Raphtalia softly voiced her acceptance of Kat's apology.
Upon hearing those words, Kat felt the weight of a warthog be lifted off her chest as she returned the hug in kind. After a few moments enjoying the serene scene, the two of them eventually let go and stared at each other with smiling faces.
"Well then, wanna go to Lute Village? We gotta get stronger before the upcoming wave." Kat asked Raphtalia, standing up from her bent knee.
"Let's do it!" Raphtalia replied with a never before seen sense of enthusiasm.
"After we're done with this wave, I'll make you the next best thing to a Spartan. Trust me, it'll be hell but you'll appreciate it." Kat told Raphtalia, already planning all of the torturous exercises she could have her run through again and again.
Raphtalia nodded, reinvigorating that earlier determination she had shown. She wasn't sure how hard she was going to be pushed, but she didn't care. She wanted to fight alongside Kat so she would do her very best no matter what. What she had no idea was how far she'd truly be pushed by her Spartan caretaker.
Lute Village could be best described as a quaint little town, cozy in all the right places, but also a very vulnerable location in times of crisis. Kat surmised that if the next wave hit somewhere around here, Lute would be wiped off the map before anyone could arrive to help. However she would see in a month's time if that were the case. As for now, she stood in front of one of the many street vendors lining the village road.
"If you're looking for a place to hunt monsters, the nearby mines recently got infested with them after the first wave. It was our main source of income, so we're a bit desperate to get rid of them. Nobody's been willing to go near them and we haven't had any luck from the capital. I don't know what those Cardinal Heroes are doing, but to me, it doesn't seem like much." The merchant complained, providing Kat with useful information.
"We'll get it done." Kat asserted, making the merchant take a deep sigh of relief. "Where's the mines?"
"If you head east on that road, you should arrive in about a half hour or so. Lady, I don't know who you are, but we'll be in your debt." The man exclaimed, bowing his head to Kat.
"That… won't be necessary." Kat responded, waving her hands in denial of the offer. "Let's go, Raphtalia. We've got a job to do."
As they left the village to head east, Kat stopped when she noticed a rather large group heading their way; in particular, two individuals who were leading it. Giving Ren and Itsuki a mock salute when they got close, Kat smiled when they were finally in earshot.
"Well would you look at that. We've got great timing, eh Ren?" Itsuki poked at his fellow hero. "Good to see you Kat. How have you been holding up since the trial?" The teenager asked with a tone full of curiosity.
"Doing good. Leveled up a little, gained a few skills… got a companion." Kat surmised for the duo. Hearing that she had gotten a companion, the two of them took a step to the side to look past her and saw that, standing behind her massive frame, stood a small demi - human girl.
"Who's she?" The man of few words, Ren, asked.
"I'm Raphtalia, sir." Raphtalia responded to the sword hero with a little bow.
"Well Raphtalia, aren't you cute?" Itsuki said with a massive smile with a laugh as he patted Raphtalia's head.
"They're also being nice to me? Who are they? Kat spoke like she knows them. And what trial?" Raphtalia though, the flurry of questions spinning through her head.
"So how'd you two meet? I doubt she just wandered up to you and asked to follow." Itsuki joked, giving Kat a warm smile as he nudged Ren for a laugh.
Even with her helmet on, Kat let out a noticeably gloomier sigh, something both teenagers picked up. "I got her from a man named Beloukas. When I found her she was… in a much rougher state." She replied, tiptoeing around the main topic. "We should be going. This place has a problem and we're heading out to solve it. I'll see you guys later." Kat abruptly said as she stepped away from her fellow heroes. As she and Raphtalia passed by each hero's group, she noticed for a split second a look of disgust on a knightly looking individual in Itsuki's party. Throwing caution to the wind, she glared daggers at the man who began to sweat bullets staring nervously back at Kat's faceless visor.
After successfully intimidating a rival party member, Kat and Raphtalia trudged their way on the dirt road that led to the mines. As they neared the entrance, Kat could tell it had been abandoned for quite a while with an old, raggedy, and decrepit shack sitting near the mouth of the cave.
"Raphtalia, wait. Let's check out that shack, it might have something useful." Kat said, keeping Raphtalia back as she slowly crept to the door. Drawing her magnum, she placed a hand on the rusted doorknob. Checking her motion tracker, she saw no blips indicating anyone inside, but she didn't want to leave anything to chance.
Throwing the door open, she scanned the darkened interior from left to right in such a way that only a cold, calculating professional could achieve. Stepping foot in the building, she checked every nook and cranny for any signs of life. Satisfied after finding none, Kat scrounged around for anything that might be useful in their upcoming situation. Finding only a few mining tools and a broken section of rope, she fed the short strand of fibers into her shield just to see what would happen.
[Rope Shield (Unlocked):]
+15 DEF, +20 MDEF
Equipped Bonus: Air Strike Shield
"Hmm, how's this work?" Kat pondered as she switched her standard shield for its entwined rope counterpart. "Air strike shield." She called out, summoning a large, spectral blue floating shield emblazoned with the crest of the UNSC. Taken aback by the intrinsic futuristic design on such a magical medieval fantasy entity, Kat was left speechless.
"Kat, what happened?!" The half - racoon ran up beside her, short sword in hand and ready to protect her caretaker. Seeing that the room was empty, her eyes were drawn to the gentle blue glow that hovered a few feet above the ground; a spectral blue shield with a symbol of a large bird clutching a planet with a banner that read 'UNSC'. "Uhhh… what's that?"
Kat stood silent, staring at the emblazoned logo of the UNSC. Taking her helmet off, Raphtalia watched as a tear or two fell down Kat's face as the woman stood straight as an arrow and saluted this weird symbol. For her part, Kat was lost in her thoughts. She knew she missed it, but never in a million years did she think she would miss the UNSC like this. Then again, she never planned on dying and being revived either. Flashes of memories of all the good, and subsequently bad, times she had in the UNSC pushed their way to the forefront of her mind. Raphtalia just stood there confused at what was going on having never seen this before.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kat eventually relaxed and grabbed a seat on one of the few remaining tables. "Want to know what that is, Raphtalia?" She asked to which the girl nodded. "That is the icon of the UNSC."
"What's the UNSC?" Raphtalia innocently asked, taking a seat beside Kat and staring at her with an inquisitive look.
"The UNSC is the military of humanity in my universe… and the group I belonged to. By my time, humanity had been traveling the stars for over five hundred years, colonizing and exploring all over the galaxy. That's when they arrived. A coalition of aliens called the Covenant who declared a war of extinction on us. We've been fighting for almost three decades now and we've been losing badly. My last mission was defending our fortress world of Reach, and…" Her chest tightened with anxiety before she found the courage to continue. "While trying to run for safety, I was shot in the head." Kat explained to a shocked Raphtalia as she ran a finger over the newly formed scar around her right eye from the wound. "My entire life was devoted to fighting the Covenant. And now? I'll never be able to see how it even ends." Kat said as her breathing shallowed in between gasps of air, tears beginning to stream down her face.
All Kat internally felt was a rushing river of sadness, anger, and failure. She was upset that she couldn't save everyone, that she let herself die, that she left Noble Team without yet another member, that she didn't even get to say goodbye. Her deeper thoughts, memories of the human pain and suffering, those that she had buried to go over later, began surfacing. Kat understood full well what was going on; she was having a PTSD induced panic attack.
A pair of small hands wrapped themselves around her waist and pulled her into a familiar sensation. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she saw Raphtalia pulling her into a hug, a gesture she slowly reciprocated. Holding on tightly, this time it was Raphtalia's turn to help calm down her super soldier caretaker. Resting her head on Kat's chest, she simply stayed quiet while tears continued flowing down Kat's war torn face.
Time flew by. How long had it been? Seconds? Minutes? Hours? Raphtalia had no idea, but that wasn't important at the moment. Looking up at Kat who had shed every tear she had been saving up over the course of twenty years, she felt a cold, metallic hand stroking the back of her head.
"Thank you." Kat said barely over a whisper.
Raphtalia didn't respond. Even at her young age, she understood the emotional turmoil that ravaged Kat in the moment. Instead she just nestled closer to her caretaker, silently giving her all the support she needed.
After a few moments, Kat took a sharp, deep breath as she recomposed herself. Clearing her throat, Kat stood up and brushed herself off before putting her helmet back on with that all too comforting hiss. "We should get a move on. We've been here for too long, but… I really needed that. Thanks Raphtalia." Kat smiled and nodded to her girl with an intense appreciation.
"You're welcome, Kat. I'll be by your side, no matter what. You can count on me." Raphtalia declared triumphantly for the second time that day.
Kat felt nothing but pride for Raphtalia. Barely two days prior, she was a sick and starving slave girl, but now, she was taking up a mantle that few would be able to fill. "Let's kill some damn monsters." Kat, now more confident, stated.
Switching on her helmet mounted lights, Kat entered the mine with her magnum drawn and Raphtalia glued to her hip. She moved slowly, almost at a snail's pace as the darkness of the tunnel enveloped them, her eyes darting around every inch the darkened space. Raphtalia held her short sword up and at the ready, although her hands were shaking no doubt from fear.
"We'll have to work on her stoicism, but that can be done later." Kat thought, acknowledging that Raphtalia wasn't a trained operator like her just yet. As they moved through the lit darkness, a flapping echo rang throughout the mine as nearly a dozen blips lit up on Kat's motion trackers. "We've got incoming, get ready Raphtalia!" She warned her companion.
Suddenly, a horde of bat creatures came flying at them from the edges of the darkness. "Contacts!" Kat shouted as she flipped her magnum to hold it by the slide. Once the first of the bats got close enough, Kat swung her magnum with such force that, upon making contact, ripped the upper half of its body clean off splitting it in two.
Raphtalia darted forward, raising her short sword and piercing it straight through the second bat before swinging out and bringing it back up with a mighty slash bisecting the third.
"Air strike shield!" Kat yelled out, the UNSC emblazoned magical shield suddenly appeared beside Raphtalia blocking another two that tried to blindside her. Arriving beside them faster than one could blink, Kat punched the two hard enough to turn the first into mush and send the second flying into the wall, flattening it like a pancake. "I got your six." Kat nodded to her girl which Raphtalia smiled at.
Eliminating the remaining bats barely broke a sweat for the duo who were now collecting the remnants of the creatures. Picking up whatever large chunks of the bat that was simply turned to mush, Raphtalia stuck her tongue out in disgust as she handed it over to Kat who fed it to her shield. Breathing a sigh of relief, they had finished their very first real 'combined arms' fight and Raphtalia didn't even get a scratch.
+117 XP
Level Up!
[Catherine - B320: Level 11]
+91 XP
Level Up!
[Raphtalia: Level 8]
After taking a moment to rest and reorganize, the duo pressed on. After a couple of minutes, they stumbled into a room that appeared to open to a wide cavern. Having found the actual heart of the mine itself, the pair looked around for any signs of monsters, but saw none.
"Let's take a look around, there might still be something here." Kat cautiously told Raphtalia who took a step closer to her. It wasn't long before they came across large, muddy footprints. Raising her magnum, Kat eerily crept in the direction the prints led. Soon her motion tracker picked up a blip that wasn't moving. Hugging the corner of a large clump of crystals, she looked to Raphtalia and nodded. When her gesture was reciprocated, she quickly rounded the corner and came face to face with a large, dual - headed dog monster which tried surprising her… but she was faster.
Bang!
The piercing screech of the .50 AE rang throughout the mine. Raphtalia dropped her sword in surprise and covered her ears, feeling like they would blow up from the intense sound. Although she watched the round pierce straight through one of the creature's two heads which reeled back in immense pain, seeing how her magnum affected Raphtalia in such an understanding way, she cursed herself out before holstering it, not wanting to cause her any more pain. "Looks like we're using fisticuffs." Kat thought as she snarled at this monster beneath her faceless visor.
Sending its wounded head down to bite her, she easily rolled to the right and out of harm's way before sending a metallic punch right into the head, shattering the eye socket and momentarily stunning it. "Raphtalia, go for the neck!" Kat ordered her companion.
Raphtalia just sat there clutching her ears in pain, seemingly unaware of her environment around her. Noticing this, the untouched head shot at her with a blazing speed, trying to make her its next meal. In that moment, Kat's adrenaline spiked as she rushed to intercept, making it just in the nick of time. Raising her shield over her head, the monster snatched her arm with its jaws with enough force to break her armor's shields.
"Agh!" Kat yelped as its teeth sunk into the gaps of her Mjolnir. Thankfully it wasn't enough to actually pierce her armor, but applying just enough pressure to her arm for her nerves to notice. Winding up her prosthetic, she sent an unrestrained punch straight in its mouth, causing its teeth to shatter and blood to splatter out of its now mangle jaw covering Kat and Raphtalia.
The latter, feeling the red liquid coat her face, snapped back to her senses as the ringing in her ears subsided. "Kat!" She yelled out in shock before her eyes adjusted to seeing the large dog monster her caretaker was currently fighting. She felt herself hyperventilating, the creature reminding her of the monster that had killed her parents. However, she refused to freeze up. Taking a few deep breaths to steady herself just as Kat had taught her, Raphtalia lifted herself to her feet and picked up her short sword. Her face switched from that of fear to anger as she took a step back and sprung forward, emanating a scream of rage.
Kat, noticing Raphtalia back in action, took the opportunity to duck beneath its retaliatory strike and sent a blow to one of its knees, shattering the bone and causing it to fall forwards. Using one of the crystal chunks, Raphtalia launched herself forward and came down, striking the monster's remaining head with her short sword and piercing its skull, sending it to a dramatic death as it let out one final defiant roar.
+530 XP
Level Up!
[Catherine - B320: Level 15]
+380 XP
Level Up!
[Raphtalia: Level 13]
Breathing heavily, Raphtalia fell to her knees as she reclaimed her short sword. In a fury, she raised it above her head and brought it down on the now dead monster's head; once, twice, three, four, she just kept going. "Raphtalia. Raphtalia!" Kat's muted voice rang through her ears which she ignored. Grabbing hold of her arm, Kat held it firmly in place and took the sword from Raphtali's hands, making the demi - human focus her murderous, rage - filled eyes on her caretaker.
Quickly throwing both the sword and her helmet aside, Kat cupped Raphtali's face with her oversized hands as she stared into her tea red eyes with her bright blue own. "Hey, hey! Raphtalia, listen to me!" She yelled, trying to get through to Raphtalia, knowing this feeling all too well.
It took a few moments before Raphtalia's heavy breathing slowly returned to normal as she blinked and regained a sense of her surroundings. In a sharp turn of emotions, tears began to stream down her face as Kat pulled her close. "It's ok, it's ok. I've got you." Kat softly said as she rubbed Raphtalia's head, providing her words of encouragement. "You did good, I'm proud of you. I couldn't have asked for more."
As Raphtalia quietly wept in her arms, Kat could see that their suffering, while caused by different sources, were one in the same. She took a deep breath as closed her eyes and leaned over Raphtalia's small form with her own in a protective manner. "No matter the cost… no matter the fucking cost."
Author's Note: Well? It seems our favorite Spartan and Demi - Human aren't too different after all. Hope you guys enjoyed this trauma filled chapter, it had to be done. The past can only be bottled up for so long before it shatters its way forth.
