A/N: It's been a while since last update and I never really planned on taking such a long hiatus but here we are. Anyway I've got several more chapters written and plan on working on this story again hopefully until it's completion.
Killik breathed heavily as he trudged up a steep verdant hill. Machete in hand he laboriously cut through the dense thickets of bush, vine, and miscellaneous plants that stood in their way. The twin weapons, Thunder and Fire followed dutifully behind him. The tropical heat and humidity caused sweat to bead off his brow as he paused and panted with exertion. He glanced up across the uneven terrain to the tree line that was their goal. It was still several meters off from the trio, but they were steadily making progress. The beach where they had landed and began their ascent seemed so far below them yet they had only been trekking for half an hour.
Killik couldn't complain though as he knew at this very moment, on the other side of the globe, his comrades were desperately fighting against Pantheon for control of the Fear Medallion. He desperately wished he could be with them to aid in the battle, but he knew his mission here was equally as important. So, putting aside thoughts of what he could not change, Killik marched forward through the thick underbrush. In a few more minutes they reached the flat edge of the jungle where they could relax a moment in the shade of the trees.
As they rested under the cover of the palm trees Killik pulled out the map given to him for his mission. The geography of the crescent shaped island lay bare before him. He took note of their initial landing spot at the southern end of the island. From there he guesstimated their location in the interior of the jungle. His eyes traced the route around the foothills of the southern mountain to their goal at the Island's interior. A large red circle indicated their destination, flanked by two mountains at the north and south. Their route planned out, Killik folded the map and tucked it away. He gestured to his partners and the trio began heading out once more.
As the group made their way through the tropical jungle, Killik couldn't help himself from glancing back at his charges protectively. Fire and Thunder followed behind him dutifully and seemed no worse for wear than when they started. Killik smiled proudly at his partner's perseverance despite their small stature. He found it hard to believe how much the twins had grown mentally despite not growing physically. The young meister knew that being shamans, the 2 weapons aged remarkably slower than normal people but now that he had been their caretaker for several years it really hit him just how slowly they aged. Although 5 years had passed, the twins looked no older than 12. He could still remember their first meeting as clear as day. He had just disembarked from the plane for his first year at DWMA when he found the pair huddled together far away from the crowded terminal. Their terrified faces evoked immediate pity and concern from the young teen. It had taken quite a bit of candy to get the two to trust him as they could hardly speak a word of English. But once he had, the two weapons stuck with him like glue. At first Killik didn't relish the idea of becoming guardian to a pair of mystery children, but he began to realize that if he didn't look out for them then no one would. Eventually, the weapons opened up to him and shared their story. Coming from an isolated village in Latin America, the siblings were treated as pariahs both for being weapons and their shaman heritage. As he recalled the memory Killik frowned. If there was one thing that the young man knew well, it was the experience of being looked down on because of what you looked like and who you were.
To him though, the twins were no different than any other kids. They played games, loved candy, and didn't particularly enjoy going to school. They didn't talk much but the trio's soul resonance often made up for their communication. Honestly Killik often forgot that they were shamans until they would occasionally have strange reactions around polluted sites. He had tried to find out more about shamans to help the twins develop their abilities more but unfortunately there was not a lot of information on the secretive race. Killik shrugged, for the time being it wasn't of importance, he could always focus on it later.
Instead, he chose to focus on his current objective. As they reached the top of the hill Killik consulted his map again. From this vantage point he could spot the central mountain that was their goal. He began walking further into the jungle, mentally calculating how long the trek might take. He was stopped in his tracks though when he felt a pair of tiny hands pulling on the legs of his pants. He stopped and turned around to see both of the twins, one hand on each of his legs. Strangely however they were both staring off to their right into the thick vegetation. Killik quirked an eyebrow and followed their gaze, peering into the verdant foliage. He couldn't make out any movement however and his soul perception wasn't picking anything up. He was just about to dismiss the odd behavior when suddenly the twins shifted onto his hands.
"Hey what gives?" He asked surprised. Both Fire and Thunder were wrapped tightly around his fists and even more strangely were drawing his arms upward. Killik tried to resist the motion, wondering what had gotten into the pair. They had manipulated his arms so that they formed a cross guard in front of him. Before he could question the action further he heard a sudden rustling from in front of him.
Suddenly an enormous vine came slicing out from the dense jungle towards him. The thick plant smacked into him and pushed him back several feet. Killik finally caught on. The twins must have sensed the vine and instinctively forced him into a defensive stance. It was a good thing too as he could still feel the stinging on his arms even through the reinforcement of their resonance. Killik kept his guard up and watched the vine cautiously. But the ground underneath his feet began to rumble instead. He glanced down and managed to leap away just in time to avoid several thick tree roots from closing up on him.
As he regained his footing once more he noticed a bundle of thick and barbed vines hovering above him ready to strike. Deciding it was time to go on the offensive, Killik drew back his left fist and sent a devastating jab at the plants. A wave of flame launched off from his punch incinerating the vines or at least incapacitating them. But he had no time to think as he felt more branches and roots creeping over him to restrain him. He stumbled away, tripping over the roots which continued to crawl towards him. He struck the ground with Thunder, sending a pulse of electric energy around him momentarily stopping the advancing flora.
He sprinted away from the trees as fast as he could. He managed to make it to a small clearing where he adopted a defensive pose yet again. He reached out with his soul perception, desperate to find whoever was controlling the plants, although he had a pretty good idea of who was behind it. His suspicions were confirmed when he sensed the powerful soul to his left. The soil split apart and a large hand made of wood and stone reached up, pulling it's body up into the open. G stared at Killik impassively through its wooden mask. Vines and tree roots hovered around the golem threateningly. It was then Killik noticed the slight presence given off by the animate plants. They matched the soul wavelength of the creature before him. That must be how it was controlling the plants he reasoned.
But before he could ponder on it further, G reached out with an outstretched hand. Killik felt the earth below him rumble once more. He narrowly avoided the grasp of a large hand bursting from the earth below, made of stone and dirt. Killik leaped forward and shattered the fist with a devastating right cross. But he suddenly found himself held aloft in the air by G's wooden arm. Tendrils began to creep off the arm and around Killik's neck. But before they could get too far he wrapped both his hands around the outstretched timber. With a surge of energy the arm was lit up with sparks of flame and electricity. G dropped the meister as its arm caught aflame. Killik watched with morbid curiosity as G grasped the burning arm above the elbow and tore it off in one fell swoop. Then a set of tendrils reached down from the arm into the earth. In another moment the arm was replaced by stone and earth held in place by branching green vines.
G shoved his newly replaced arm out at Killik. The young meister was thrown backwards as a wave of soil and roots erupted from the ground between them. He rolled backwards out of the way and regained his footing just in time to avoid another thick vine slam down into the ground. The golem continued to press the attack and force Killik back into the jungle. Vines and rocks barraged him from all sides. More than once he had to rip his arm from the grasp of a snaking root.
Killik finally found an opening and slammed both his fists together in front of him. A wave of flame and sparks exploded out from him with a bright flash. G was driven backwards by the intense wave of energy. Its arm held in front of its makeshift face as if to block the searing light. When the light had died down, G was annoyed to find that the meister had disappeared from sight.
As Killik ran headlong through the jungle he weighed his options. On the one hand he did seem to have an advantage, mainly that his weapons could set fire to the Golem's body. However on the other hand the creature seemed to realize this as well and was determined to keep their battle at a distance. There was also the matter of the home field advantage as it were, which currently belonged to G. The jungle around them seemed to move to its every whim. Killik briefly considered using Fire to burn down the growth and take away that advantage. The problem with that idea was that with this much foliage he was sure to get caught up in the ensuing fire storm himself. He doubted that G would let him get close to his objective. That left tactical retreat as his only option.
Killik paused to catch his breath on a thick tree branch. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out his communication device. He flicked the homing switch on the side and watched as its red light blinked on and off. That should alert his pick up team that he was ready to exfiltrate. Now all that was left was to make it to the north side of the island.
But just as he had that thought he felt the tree branch beneath him shake and quiver. With a muffled curse Killik jumped to the ground just as the branches and vines whipped out at him. This wasn't going to be easy if the golem kept pursuing them. Killik ran through the jungle, ducking under vines and bushes, avoiding the occasional swipes from the animated plant life. His weapon partners were instrumental in helping him spot the faint soul wavelength that surrounded the moving vegetation. As he moved further and further away from the golem and his supposed objective, he noticed the plant life tried less and less to grab him. By the time he reached the north shore of the island the attempts to capture him had nearly ceased.
He emerged panting from the tree line onto the sandy beach. Ahead of him was the dinghy and exfil team, anchored in the shallow water just feet from the beach. The shibusen members aboard waved towards him. Killik tiredly made his way aboard, slogging through the teal seawater. Once aboard his weapon partners slipped off his hands and regarded him worriedly.
"What happened?" Inquired one of the sailors. "We got your signal almost an hour early." He explained with a inquisitive tone. Killik looked up at him from the bench he sat on.
"I've got good news and bad news." He explained.
"Bad news is I wasn't able to reach the objective." He commented sadly.
"But the good news is it's definitely here." He finished.
