AN: Like all my works, this is cross-posted from AO3.
Double-Edged Spinning
"Double spinning edge! Double spinning edge! Double spinning e…"
A and Glimmer shared a familiar, mutual look of fear at that sound of impending doom, before whipping their heads in Rex's direction.
"Rex!" Glimmer yelled, "Sparking dumbass, it's almost dead! We can handle this, back down!"
It was happening again. How many times had it been now?
The buffoon, Rex, spinning away at the colossal Darbus, his motion fittingly resembled A's patience spiralling into a singular point.
"The enemy's broken away from me!" Shulk called out, piercing one of the reptile's legs with his Monado REX. "Rex, listen to her! We can handle the res—"
"Double spinning edge! Double spinning edge!…"
Why must A be burdened so? First it was Matthew's antics, charging into battle against Moebius against A's strict—but utterly sound—advice, and putting himself between Keves–Agnus conflicts he ought to stay out of. Now Rex also tested A with his unrelenting, recklessly aggressive tactics. Certainly, his technique was efficient, bringing destruction far beyond that of anyone else in their party…
But such an art was a double-edged blade; the destruction fell on more than just their enemies.
"Aghh!" Rex wheezed, stuck by a power tail-swat from the enraged beast; regrettably, Shulk's blade had not cut deep enough to draw its ire. "Jus…gotta lie down fer a sec…"
If only A had the time for an exasperated sigh, instead of settling for gritted teeth. Phenomenal.
"Damn it, old man!" Matthew groaned, channelling his Ouroboros power to leap up and break the Darbus' stance with an air-rippling punch. "There he goes again. How many times is that now, A?"
Seven. For the seventh time during this very battle, Rex had been incapacitated. They had all explained to Rex time and time again that his rampant attacks attracted more attention than he could handle, but he persisted onward. He insisted it was his job to ensure nobody was hurt, and that he could 'tank any hit like a champ'.
To A's great inconvenience, Rex never seemed to display that infamous durability while they fought beside one another. Instead he would simply keel over again, and again, and again… An endless cycle.
They really should resuscitate him. However…
"Leave him!" A instructed Glimmer, who had begrudgingly started making her way towards Rex, "Focus on strengthening Matthew and Shulk. Our opponent is on its last legs."
Yes, that was the reason. Simple strategy. A certainly wasn't just trying to put off the task of hauling him back on his feet again.
"Ughhm… f'mph more minutes… 'm dizzy…" Rex grumbled, as A, Glimmer, Matthew and Shulk in pair took an arm, and heaved with all their might, trying to get him back up. As much as his mass enabled him to slice through most enemies in seconds, it also made him a challenge to lift.
"No! Get up now!" Glimmer grunted, "So…h-heavy…"
Rex chuckled, but notably made no effort to stand. "Tha's… I've 'eard that one before…"
A's stare could bore holes into a homs' skull. "If you are well enough to laugh, perhaps you can make an effort to stand by yourself."
Glimmer cast her own fiery glare of intimation at Nikol. "Or maybe the guy with the giant sparking robot arms could help out?"
"Y-you know they were damaged during the battle," Nikol stammered, looking up from his equipment and pile of disassembled parts. "They can't move precisely enough to handle a person safely—they could just as easily injure him more."
Wincing, Rex closed his eye. "Can't I just 'ave a wee lay-in? Fight's over, ain't it?"
Shulk sighed, and gathered his strength to pull harder. "Yes, but this isn't the time to rest, we've still got a way to go before we reach a safe campsite. Fogbeasts could show up at any time, or scavengers could come for the body we just left."
"Sooner than five minutes?"
Glimmer redirected her scowling at Rex once again. "Lazy mudder… Just get the snuff up! A and I put up healing fields already! What happened to 'Oh ho ho, I can shatter an incomin' tree with my bare hands, so I can take anything'?" she asked, putting on her best impression of Rex's gruff voice.
"A and 'I', ey?" Matthew grinned.
Oh no, a vision foretold was about to make that joke again…
"When did a Moebius join us? And does she really think she—"
"Not. Another. Word. Matthew," A commanded, cutting him off from a jest about who precisely the Moebius named 'I' could take. After they'd killed the last one, they didn't even know if there was another Consul I yet, much less whether they were female. But Matthew never let that stop him telling the oft-repeated joke.
More sounds of grunting exertion filled their ears. It defied all understanding how one man was too heavy for four people to lift.
"Alright alright, quit yer struggling," Rex sighed, opening his eye and rolling his head around, stretching his neck. "I'm gettin' up now."
With a deep groan, he suddenly felt far lighter; with the strength of his legs backing them up, they were at last able to heft him up.
And there he stood, stretching his shoulders and bouncing in place…without a hint of tiredness apparent in his actions. There was however, a tension in several places—winces and flinches when he moved a muscle that had been dashed against the rocks.
A sighed. "Phenomenal…" The restorative ether fields did help, and if it had only been once or twice, perhaps he would have been fully healed…but this would take further treatment, again. How aggravating—almost as much so as Matthew. Why was it that A was always saddled with reckless companions?
"'Kay, let's get cracking!" He clapped. "I can't speak for you lot, but I'm dyin' for a good kip."