Final push, people! Get to the bottom of this page and this opening action sequence will finally reach its end!
One last round of applause for The Defense of Argentum!
Patroka smacked her arm into some exposed pipes for the dozenth time. This lead to yet another colorful tirade that bounced wildly off the darkened halls. The light of their exposed cores only traveled so far and Jin was rather insistent on a brisk pace.
Well, considering how often the walls shook and the increasing sounds of combat, she supposed that made sense. But really, did they have to be scampering around in the dark like fucking rats?
Sure enough, it took no time at all for another obstacle to "suddenly" appear in Patroka's path, leaving her to walk face-first into it. Jin's back was a good deal more forgiving than a solid wall, but the impact still almost sent the brunette reeling, saved by another timely catch from Perdido.
"The fuck Jin!? What are you just stopping dead-"
Her rain of insults cut off immediately at the metallic ring of Jin drawing his sword. The blade actually sparked some light from the sheer speed of the maneuver. Perdido cautiously slid himself between his Driver and the pale swordsman.
"This," Jin breathed, "is as good a spot as any."
Again, the nodachi shimmered, a flash of motion drawing a brief fan over the white haired warrior. The ceiling split open a moment later, edges jutting upwards to the floor above.
A pair of the grey cloaks retreated from the side of the gap. Sever's familiar form swiftly lunged over the newly formed trench, tanking heat lances and laughing like an absolute maniac.
Jin didn't waste a second, bounding the relatively minor distance to grab the lip of the crevice. With ease he hauled his upper torso – one handedly – up onto the main thoroughfare of Feast Street.
In an instant he slackened his grip, dropping down to hang by his extended arm. He narrowly dodged the shape of the snake titan being rolled over the top of the hole. Patroka, crouched low in preparation for her own ascent, froze and gaped at the passing shadow.
"The fuck!?"
Her leader hurled himself up onto the main floor of the trade guild. The scene lain out before him, what he could gather from a brief scan, looked about as hectic as he figured.
"Jin."
Observations ended when the swordsman came face to face with the old dragon. Azurda looked primed for battle, a stance accentuated by the numerous wounds raking his stone flesh. Jin kept a tighter grip on the handle of his blade.
Azurda ducked left as a monstrous bolt flared past. Jin deftly rolled right as the lightning's source, the serpent, tore back towards its giant adversary. He had enough time to watch the old drake rear back, one clawed hand snatching the foe's throat as it shot forwards. He noted the sounds of Patroka and her Blade clambering up an instance before fresh hell was let loose.
He didn't see the boy get shot, hadn't even noticed he was nearby at first. The splash of blood almost elicited a reaction, the sight horrendous in the extreme. Jin didn't have more than a second before that rapid, rhythmic booming and stream of red tracers was rotated in his direction.
Jin did what he did best: Jin started slashing. Nearby, Perdido grabbed his partner and drew her behind his formidable tower shield. Jin's bladework was incredibly swift, controlled. Precise swings intercepted bullets, cleaving them to fragments or sending them off in ricochets. His arms practically blurred from sheer speed.
Then a volley from several beam rifles took him in the flank. Jin's ether shield manifested, diverting most of the damage. But it was an effective distraction. And it wore down Jin's already taxed reserves.
Lead Lady smiled at her maneuver's success, observing as a mistimed swing from the swordsman allowed a pair of heavy rounds to slam home in his right side and upper arm. Jin dropped to one knee just as a massive tremor struck the floor, knocking him flat.
Azurda held back the siege beast as its snapping jaws lunged up for his throat. At the same time its armored limb beat repeatedly against his chest. His raised form presented an irresistible target.
The trail of high caliber shots swiveled up onto Azurda. At least a dozen shrieking bullets pounded the dragon's breast before he began to buckle, howling out in agony. The piercing barrage died down as the pinned serpent finally latched its fangs into Azurda's blood strewn throat, throwing the larger titan backwards.
At this point Perdido had imposed himself between Jin and the source of the bullet storm. He was still hefting that black tower shield with his left hands, something that served them well when the rain of rounds swept over the two, snapping onto a figure dashing past them. All Jin could make out in the chaos was long dark hair and white garments, prompting him to reach towards the sprinter.
Before the masked man could cry out, the actual Patroka slid in beside him, shocking the hell out of Jin as she hauled one of his arms across her shoulders. With her free hand the brunette reached towards her collar, towards the unzipped top of her coat. The red/blue gem there glimmered as Patroka drew back, a long shaft of cyan ether held in her grasp.
Perdido received the long pole with one of his right hands, not even looking back. The halberd now fully manifested in his grasp was a vicious looking thing, its blade wide and curved.
"Come on Jin, we're moving!"
Patroka lugged her leader to his feet and got moving. Her four armed Blade mimicked her movements, polearm at the ready and shield poised between the group and the source of the still ongoing barrage.
Jin's gaze tracked the not-Patroka girl from before, noting the white mask on the back of her head and the remarkably dense bulwark of cerulean ether held out in front of her. He had to marvel at the barrier's strength as it weathered a literal flood of bullets from the heavy automatic.
Kassandra pressed forth as quickly as she could. Streaming lead pelted her shield hammer's defense with relentless force, slowing her advance to a crawl. And at the far end of that bullet hell stood the massive frame of the shooter.
The gunner was very much in the shape of the other grey cloaks, the familiar hood and cape present along with the rig of pipeworks molded across their form. Their color scheme was much darker, the padded armor a solid black and the metal of their system a dark, gunmetal hue. The lines themselves were much thicker as well, more than wide enough that Kassandra could put an entire fist inside.
There was also the contrast of this "person" being nearly three meters tall with shoulders broader than Kassandra's arm span. In addition to the standard – if bulkier – re-breather in the gunner's mouth, circular specs also concealed their eyes. Twin pools of blazing crimson fixed themselves on the advancing Blade, hammering her approach with an endless volley.
The big gun itself was an unwieldy thing, ironically a match in size for Kassandra's entire body. Unlike the sleek firearms used by their comrades, the auto cannon was a bulky work of coarse, black metal. Grooves carved across its length shined with brief glimpses of gold and a pair of cords did seem to link the gun to the figure's personal network.
Thick barrels spat round after round in turn, pulling back into the weapon before sliding out in a repeating pattern. A closed belt fed up into the cannon's center, looping down from an enormous, square grey pack perched against the gunner's upper back. The huge block was possibly even bigger than its bearer.
As Kassandra pressed against the onslaught, the machine gun's gold inlay began to glimmer throughout with flowing light. The twin barrels started pimping faster, the rhythm of shots doubling at least. Kassandra stalled at the volume of incoming fire.
And then Dromarch made his move. The impromptu pool "constructed" in the conflict had seen no disturbance since the big cat was flung into it. His presence had been largely forgotten when the surface began to swell. None took notice until the water's bloated mass bulged past the crater's rim.
That afforded the observant maybe a second of leeway.
Dromarch pounced free of the small reservoir in a vicious spray. His feet touched the ground once before lunging towards the most opportune target. Heavy Weapon was well within reach of the pool, his considerable mass no doubt taking a toll on his reaction time.
The machine gunner proved this notion very wrong. His rig abruptly flooding with crimson energy, the living turret swung his bulky weapon upwards. He was only just able to intercept the white tiger's glowing mass.
Dromarch, his front balanced on the cannon's frame, snarled into Heavy Weapon's face. Liquid ether dripped down a pair of long, crystalline fangs jutting down from either side of his upper maw. From the neck down Dromarch's pelt was encased in a similar radiance, the ether construct like a cloak of jagged scales.
Heavy Weapon's scarlet gaze pressed against Dromarch's shimmering form. With a mighty growl of strain, the gunner heaved the savage Blade backwards.
Nia's mouth fell open, then abruptly clenched shut. She wanted to cry out to her Blade, her oldest living companion… but the smell of blood was overwhelming. Even now her body was on autopilot, a tide of healing concentrated on Rex's shoulder, the boy seething in pain throughout.
His severed arm lay well within reach, Nia having snatched it before throwing herself over her Driver.
"Nia," Kassandra gasped as she took in the scene. She'd finally gotten space to reach them.
Dromarch slid back, swiftly leaping aside as his opponent swung his gun back into firing position. But to his surprise, the goliath turned his back fully on the big cat, lining himself up with the three in the open.
Kassandra deployed her shield. "Nia, go!"
The Gormotti girl lifted Rex with as much care as she could, focusing her efforts on slowing blood loss and numbing his pain. Her left hand held the boy's detached limb. Nia's gaze turned to Kassandra's back.
"Go," she repeated, "Get Rex out of here, I'll cover you!"
Dromarch rushed back in to engage the gunner's rear. But his attack was thwarted by a dash of topaz and the harsh crack of a lashing whip. Behind Heavy Weapon's immense frame, it was easy to overlook Beast Handler's presence. It was not so easy to ignore the now retracting length of a thermal powered whipsword sliding back into its compact state.
Even more so when the zealot reached into a port near the base of Heavy Weapon's pack, drawing forth a second whipsword. The compact blade of the weapon was interrupted by several chevron shaped grooves, the gaps glowing orange upon being gripped by Beast Handler.
The tiger twitched, an abrupt slip as he tried discretely to sink into a more offensive stance. Beast Handler's arm shot out, his newly claimed sword striking forth in a vicious slash.
Kassandra gritted her teeth, almost moving to help. Such thoughts were dashed when he auto cannon roared to life once more, the brunette Blade having to plant herself between the hail of lead and her fleeing crewmates.
Nia sucked up the tears threatening to fall, focusing on getting Rex and herself to cover. She put Kassandra's enraged howl out of her mind. She managed, if only just, to not falter when a pained yelp tore free of Dromarch.
She had to keep forward.
An upturned shop, definitely one of the bigger establishments, sat in the road right in front of them. The entire left side had been smooshed into cracked planks and shattered bits, no doubt crushed in passing by Gramps' ongoing tussle with the siege beast. The unflattened half would make for decent cover.
"Whoa, whoa," Saturn shouted, rushing in from behind, "can't just step off the dance floor when the beat's just starting to pick up!"
The lunatic had both hands on the shaft of his hammer, sweeping the weapon low to smash her legs out from under. He would have landed the blow if not for the black blur crashing into him.
Malos got a hold of the bastard's neck as he blitzed him across the thoroughfare, "Hey now, they're not the only ones at this party."
The black clad brute got out his entire comeback before Saturn's prosthetic palm slammed into his ribs. Malos actually recoiled, prompting him to scoot back as the long coated fanatic fired off a blast. The ray of force only grazed him, but at this range it was enough to throw Malos off.
Saturn slid to a stop, cracking his neck with a wide roll of the head. He regarded Malos and the approaching Sever with frank annoyance, "Fucking interlopers. Haven't I already said how much I hate that shit!?"
The only reply he got from a recovering Malos was a fierce grin. The one that Sever adopted in turn was downright feral.
Nia shot across the field of debris in powerful bounds. She barely noticed the woman in the white coat and the four armed Blade that rushed around the ruined shop, yelling "Malos!" as she charged past. The Gormotti girl spun around the shattered corner of the capsized stand, crouching down as she deposited Rex.
Barely a meter away, seated up against the wall of the ruined shop, Jin watched on in silence. His eyes widened when he spied the rose tinted crystal on her chest.
As soon as Nia broke physical contact, Rex gave a sharp gasp of agony. The cat girl quickly took hold of his bloodied arm, lining up the severed stump above his elbow with his detached limb.
"N-Nia-"
"Shssssh, don't talk." The robed Blade pushed every ounce of power she had into mending muscle and bone, reattaching his parted arm. She snarled at the very notion of fatigue, feeling whatever vitality she had steadily draining out of her. She was still recovering from the tidal wave.
"Th-The others," Rex rasped, "how are Dromarch and Ka-Kassandra?"
Grumbling at the prospect of splitting her attention, Nia nonetheless leaned out around the crushed section of debris.
Dromarch leaped back into view, quickly ducking sideways as a length of burning amber whipped past him. A second lash struck the tiger across his back, sheering away some of his liquid scales before the predator lunged towards his attacker.
She couldn't see Kassandra, but she could sure as hell hear her. Even over the endless rumble of Heavy Weapon's machine gun, Kassandra's howls were booming.
Nia blinked, a bead of sweat dripping over her right eye. When Rex attempted to peek around the corner himself, she immediately pushed him back against the shop's wall. "They're fine, don't move."
"What," Rex paused a moment, having to collect his breath, "what are they-"
"Stop worrying about them right now. I'm trying to reattach your fucking arm, focus on yourself for once." She wanted to yell, but she just couldn't spare the energy. To her credit though, the neutral tone seemed to have cowed Rex sufficiently enough.
Patroka came tumbling through the scattered wood, slamming the black shaft of her halberd into the floorboards to stop her roll. Perdido glided in next to her, wielding four katanas at once, one with a notably pitch blade. They were rather close to Rex and Nia.
Saturn, thankfully, hopped into frame a good distance away, fending off a flurry of strikes from the monstrous Sever. Then the zealot clamped his prosthetic digits around the insectoid's wrist. The way he just rotated, hauling the black plated Blade off his feet and into a spin, was just uncanny.
Malos ducked under his partner's flailing form as he charged the fanatic leader. Saturn let Sever fly without ceremony, twirling the head of his bludgeon into the brute's tonfa blade. The wide hatted maniac spun through the blow, sending Malos whirling back in the opposite direction.
Rex was rather impressed with how quickly Patroka moved. Almost the instant that space opened between the two men, she had her halberd cleaving through. Saturn took a glancing shot to the upper arm, his coat sleeve shimmering as the glyphs warded off the steel.
The hammer's head was speared towards her ribs. Patroka spun her polearm into a swift guard that blocked the blunt metal. And then Saturn shot in, curving his artificial fist around her halberd and into her left side.
Patroka fell back one step. Then she pitched her forehead into Saturn's face.
Rex gave a brief laugh before Nia slapped the top of his head to make him sit still.
A ripple tore free of Saturn's weapon, bouncing the warrior woman away from him. He slunk back a little. He was still well in reach of Perdido, the four armed Blade falling upon him with a sword raised in each hand. The staggered man drew up his bludgeon.
Beast Handler's searing whip snaked around Perdido's upper left arm. The sudden jerk yanked him out of the air, knocking the katana out of his grasp. The burning red tether rapidly drew back, dragging Perdido out of view as Dromarch rolled into frame, dodging the second lash.
The white tiger glared back to the whipswords' wielder, his aquatic armor sheared off in places and one of his pronounced fangs snapped in half. Saturn, his nose very broken and streaming blood, drove his hammer down on Dromarch's back.
"Dromar-!"
Nia didn't even allow Rex to shift, her right hand pressing him hard against the wall as her left continued pouring healing energy over his cleaved limb. "Sit still, let me finish. I'm almost done." She kept her eyes clenched shut, ignoring he shocked yawp of her oldest partner and the sickening, wet plop that immediately followed. Just a few more seconds…
The destroyed shop trembled, bucking Rex face first into his healing Blade. The Gormotti girl barely caught him, rolling onto her back in time to see the sudden flash of a detonation overtop the capsized stand. Heat slapped against her face just as a second explosion rocked the street.
Jin, staggered to his feet by the first blast, dropped to a kneel by the second, flinched as a smoking form crashed through the upper portion of the dilapidated storefront. Nia, clutching Rex, spun the two of them out of the way as the black maned, soot covered Kassandra smacked into the floor beside them.
The boy broke free of the cat girl's hold easily enough, crawling over to the smoking Blade lain out across the avenue. His right arm felt numb, but having use of it again was the proof of Nia's efforts.
Nia who, it seemed, was having difficulty just sitting up.
Shooting to a stand, Jin had his nodachi drawn as three searing beams slammed into his ether barrier. A fourth breached the defense, scorching his thigh. A wide swing of his sword sent a battery of ice crystals shooting towards Jin's assailants, an assault neatly voided by raising their glyph laden cloaks.
Lead Lady chopped down with her iridescent blade, ordering another salvo against the swordsman. At the same time she turned around, nodding to a figure behind the firing line.
The trooper that charged past was not a remarkable specimen. Rather lanky in fact, and armed with a trio of polished javelins instead of a proper weapon. But where the other invaders allowed their pipeline rigs to flow a steady hue of orange, the charging zealot's flared a turbulent, angry scarlet.
Jin's barrier shimmered as it intercepted the barrage of fire. Even so, a distracting shot or two screeched through. And then he had to bat aside one of the rusher's javelins, the spike only just deflected in time.
Nia gulped as the burning red warrior continued full tilt towards the man in the mask, hurling another projectile on approach. Their speed was inhuman, the mad sprint devouring distance in mere seconds. Jin was only just a little faster, slashing through the second javelin all while intercepting errant beams.
The flaming red assaulter was entirely unconcerned with the length of steel ready to impale them. They leapt on their silver clad target, their last spike plunging down as their frenzied roars overpowered the mounting drone of incoming rays. The howls kept going even after Jin's nodachi punched through them, skewering the soldier right through the middle.
Nia recognized that crimson glow. She knew what followed after. It had all happened too fast for her to shout a warning. The pierced trooper radiated a surging scarlet, the line of riflemen lifting their capes as the overloaded network of cords exploded.
She turned away, the blast blowing through Nia's loose garments. Rex pitched himself over Kassandra, the girl launching into a coughing fit.
Dromarch nearly bowled into the two of them as he tumbled to a stop nearby. The tiger's aquatic coat had a notable gap gouged over his upper back and right shoulder. His battered, broken frame could be seen even through his fur, blood staining Dromarch's pelt.
Saturn hadn't followed up on the big cat beyond that, waylaid by a short exchange with Patroka. The halberd wielder froze mid-spin as her masked leader was engulfed by the explosion. Any chance Saturn had to capitalize was instantly denied by Sever's sudden entrance, allowing the woman in white to make a break for Jin, screaming out his name in rage.
As Patroka leapt over the downed trio, Nia watched as a pair of zealots rushed in to aid their crazed commander. Malos jumped in a moment after, another pair of soldiers following him into the melee. The black garbed Driver dispatched his pursuers with a single slash, the nearest enemy neatly split across the waist with both halves dropping to the floor.
Malos turned to engage a standing Saturn, the blue coated man fixing him with a manic grin and hollowed eyes. Sever was desperately pushing through the pair of insurgents to reach his partner. An eager expression showing, Malos moved for Saturn.
The still living of Malos' pursuers, his gut sliced open, snatched the brunette's foot. His rig radiated a scorching crimson, the fallen man's grip like a steel clamp halting his foe in place. Saturn's grin widened as a tear dashed down his left cheek.
Sever's clawed limb cleaved through the downed zealot's arm. His other hand thrust into the now freed Malos, hurling him away. The glowing red invader and monstrous Blade vanished in an explosive blast.
"Gorg! Bo!"
Nia turned back, looking past Patroka trading blows with Lead Lady and her squad.
"Bo-bobo," the offensive nopon replied from beneath the form of his Blade. Gorg's axe, broad and shining with ether, sat top down in the floor, acting as a barrier for Bobobo. The water Blade himself was crouched deeply, holding up the weapon's shaft and trying to put as much of himself behind it as possible.
Heavy Weapon's rumbling gun was centered on them, pouring hot lead upon the two in an endless stream. Gorg took a pair of rounds in his right side, one to the upper arm and another to the pectoral. Bobobo's twisty stache wrapped around the axe's handle, holding the makeshift shield against the onslaught as Gorg dropped to one knee.
Beneath Rex, Kassandra drew out a pained moan.
Nia took in a deep breath, "Rex." Her Driver placed a comforting palm on Kassandra's brow, his gaze flickering to Malos fending off Saturn and half a dozen fanatics with a mad gleam in his eyes. The boy's sight caught Saturn's, the man's supreme satisfaction matching Rex's mounting panic.
"Rex," Nia tried again. This time the salvager turned at a startled roar from Gramps, Heavy Weapon's gun trained on the old titan, piercing shot ripping up one of his wings. Patroka had to skip away as the siege beast bowled over the dragon, carrying Jin even as Lead Lady's fireteam pelted her ether shield with rays. The blonde boss herself was advancing on Gorg and Bobobo, the pair still reeling from suppression fire, with saber raised and purpose in her steps.
The boy's face was snapped into a vice-grip, his sight wrenched to meet Nia's smoldering gold orbs. "Rex," she breathed, her tone far calmer than it had any right to be, "… we've got to use it."
Her conviction perplexed him as the young man processed her words. When he fully understood what she was saying, his earlier dismay turned to concern.
"Aren't you still weak from the wave?"
Nia waved off his worries, "That's besides the point now-"
Her Driver snatched up her dismissive hand at the wrist, "The hell it is! You have any idea how dangerous that is!? Even at a hundred percent you could-"
The Gormotti girl touched his cheek with her free hand. Nia looked tired, there was no masking it. But the absolution in her eyes shined much brighter.
"You're right," she whispered, soft tone somehow carrying over the chorus of battle. Rex let loose a shaky breath as Nia's thumb brushed a circle over his cheek. "You're right… but there's no other way."
And with that, his resistance fell. Rex's tense expression slackened, the tightness in his body fading as he drew in a deep breath. Nia mirrored her Driver, the pair holding their lungs at max capacity
The two leaned forward, eyes closed as their brows pressed together. The streams of ether flowing back and forth between them flickered and ran faster, currents of blue dancing with motes of gold.
At a distance, Saturn mindlessly batted the smoking, chitin-cracked Sever aside, spinning out of Malos' path with eyes fixed on his primary targets. The man's manic air only grew more giddy with every passing second. "Hoo-boy, now we're getting serious!"
For Rex, the Inner Plane was often a calming place. Open skies, lush meadows, and the sound of waves crashing on the shore. The image was never concrete, but the fuzziness of it simply added to its charm. This would always be one of Nia's favorite places, even if it was all in their heads.
She felt his hands clasped in hers, fingers intertwined as his warm back pressed against her own. The feel of sun on her skin was invigorating, as real as it would be on Alrest itself.
As one, Driver and Blade exhaled. And both came to know the sensation of two hearts beating, the rhythm deep and resonant.
A familiar feeling.
"There's a point in this – a marker which upon passing… that notions of 'We' become ones of 'I'."
Time appeared to stretch as the band of zealots stampeded towards the embracing Rex and Nia. Saturn moved to overtake them, a rapturous howl on his lips. Sever and Malos carved into the rear of their charge with sufficient violence but were summarily ignored. The cat eared Blade and blue suited Driver were their one and only concern.
Dromarch's upper body quaked as he rose to his feet. Saturn drew up his hammer, the head burning like a star.
And then Rex and Nia opened their eyes.
The rushing soldiers were halted in place – some seized in mid air – as a cerulean pulse washed over the area. The assaulting troopers were granted half a moment of reflection before a secondary surge of ether crashed into them, launching their pipe laden forms away from the epicenter.
Lead Lady's group were stunned and then quickly buffeted by the cyan shine and ongoing rush of force. Patroka, still hauling Jin, could do little more than steady her stance and turn her head away. But the white swordsman had recouped enough to offer some resistance, slashing his long blade upwards in a maneuver that parted the oncoming blast.
At least, it delayed impact for a moment, the continuous nature of the phenomenon allowing it to wash over them shortly thereafter. But as Jin squinted against the promised blow… it never came. Not in the way he expected.
Patroka took a second more to realize their unhindered situation, turning back with a curious hum. Indeed, a glance at Malos and Sever revealed them largely untouched by the flow of energy charging through the air. A stark contrast to the invaders whose ranks they had torn into, soldiers lying in undignified heaps several meters behind the duo.
Only Saturn stood strong amongst the zealots, his wide gaze fixed on the boy and girl standing at the radiant core of this azure flow. The madman's coat was itself alight with defensive/enhancing runes, shoring up his stance against the tsunami of force that seemed only to affect him and his.
No, that wasn't entirely true. Jin could feel that the ether pouring over them was having some effect, particularly upon Sever and himself. The swordsman could feel his vigor returning, his already healing wounds washed from his flesh like dust before a cleansing spray. His insectoid companion's broken carapace appeared to knit and mend itself quite rapidly. It was a remarkable display of healing, made all the more so by the obvious fact that they were merely experiencing some tertiary runoff.
The continuous waves abated. Saturn's immediate retaliation saw him upon the dimming Driver and Blade in nearly an instant. Silver sigils were blazing white as he swung his bludgeon in from the side, looking to strike through both their skulls in one blow.
Nia and Rex only stared back, unmoving, her left hand clutching his right. The far thicker head of a bandage bound hammer plowed into Saturn's gut, breaching his defenses and driving a poof of air from his lungs.
Then Dromarch threw himself at the man. The tiger became a shooting spout of water, blasting off the ground with explosive speed. The man in the wide hat only just turned aside the living geyser, collapsing to the floor and rolling back with the momentum.
Malos and Sever dropped low as the swirling line of surf arced overhead. The gathering of grey cloaks recovering some meters behind them didn't have that chance. Dromarch speared into them.
Saturn spun up onto one knee, his hammer lain flat beneath his palm. Kassandra cracked her knuckles across his brow in passing, wrenching his head sideways before running in pursuit of Dromarch. His impressive hat remained rooted to his head.
The fanatical commander threw up his weapon in a high guard, his grip spread wide as the cascading scimitar clashed against its solid shaft. But rather than Rex, Nia was the one wielding this blade.
The boy approached from the side, ducking around his partner's right and striking at Saturn with a powerful straight. He was holding one of Nia's – one of Dromarch's – chakrams, the rounded edge glowing blue as it flew forward.
"Fucking bullshit," Saturn roared before launching his knee towards the sharpened ring. The circular edge gouged into his lower leg, sparking through the warded weave of his pants. Saturn skipped backwards, hissing in pain as blood ran down his limb.
And then Nia leapt up his front, slashing through the zealot's chest with a diagonal swing. Saturn's myriad of silver wards cracked under the cutting flow of the water blade, parting his coat and sending a splash of crimson gushing from his shoulder.
This finally dislodged the madman's hat. Saturn's eyes went wide in a moment of shock.
And then his mouth was wrenched open, berserk cackles tearing free. The slender maniac slunk away from a flurry of swipes courtesy of Rex, the boy holding both the tiger's chakrams. His booming laughter persisted throughout, his motions jerky and boneless.
His hammer parried a blow from the Gormotti Blade, her strength driving him into a spin. Saturn stepped further back, away from the upturned shop. A chakram swished through the short, dark lockes covering his scalp, Rex charging after the retreating foe.
"Open fire!" With that command, Saturn cast his right arm out in a wide sweep. And instantly Heavy Weapon opened up with his cannon, rounds ripping through the floorboards in a curtain of rapid fire.
But Rex was already pulling back. More accurately, Nia was dragging him back, holding the boy by the back of his suit's collar. The young salvager hardly looked fazed as the line of lead tore up the ground in front of him. Rex's sight turned on the black clad gunner, the flow of ether between Driver and Blade glaring a brilliant gold. His free hand thrust towards the human turret.
The shining, aquatic sphere swirling in his hand burst forth in a violent jetstream. The liquid lance speared instantly across Heavy Weapon's brow, pinging sharply off a metallic surface as it pierced through his dark hood. This sent the machine gunner reeling, wild shots snapping into the walls and ceiling of the guild.
Jin stood and stared, watching as the salvager shook the ether from his hand. Though he somehow felt even more vibrant than this morning, he found himself rooted to the spot.
That boy… that human…
He had just manipulated ether with his bare hands.
"Jin!" Patroka spun around her leader's back, sweeping her polearm into a swift twirl. She batted aside two incoming rays before Lead Lady slammed her saber into the middle of the halberd.
Perdido crashed into the floor beside them, one of his swords clattering off into a spray of blue particles. This startled Lead Lady more than his Driver, the brunette lancer rolling backwards and then launching the zealot away with both legs. As Patroka tipped forward, turning in preparation to dash to her Blade, an amber tether lashed across her upper back. Perdido shouted in fury as his Driver's pale coat was split open, blood whipped from the wound.
Beast Handler stood at the top of the ruined storefront, swinging up his other whip for a second strike. "Sevantes," he cried, "here!" At once his weapon streaked out, Perdido scrambling for his partner and forcing her out of the way.
The glowing, serrated whip struck the ground with a powerful crack! The snake titan, Sevantes, immediately perked, its mouth gaping open. Azurda had no time to divert his opponent mid-grapple and took the lightning blast straight to the face.
Sevantes raked his shocking breath down the older titan's front, pulling free of the dragon's grasp. Then he swiftly turned where he was ordered. As the trail of lightning trenched the floorboards, Jin flashed into motion. The white haired swordsman blurred over to his comrades, the three phasing out of existence as the electric wave surged past.
Nia turned aside, covering Rex, as the beam of static ripped through the space in front of them. Beast Handler leapt clear as the lightning ray struck the base of the capsized stall, sending it up in an explosion of debris.
But Saturn's laughter – and his voice – rang out louder, "Everything! Focus everything on them! Grind them down, rip em' apart, kill them!"
The Gormotti Blade perked as one of Saturn's squad charged them, his network flaring red hot. Nia swung her sword upwards, a wall of surf shooting out over the ground and driving into the suicide bomber. Their overcharged rig exploded seconds later.
A whip crack sounded, Beast Handler sending another searing lash at the pair. Nia's left ear flickered but she didn't react further. Rex shot to full height though, punching upwards with the one ring he had left. Dromarch's circular blade rippled outwards, meeting the glowing line in a burst of steam.
Nia swung around, her scimitar arcing overhead. The sword shined blue as she brought it down, a crescent slash flying speedily from the curved edge. Beast Handler intercepted the attack with his second whipsword, then turned to the side.
"Sevantes!"
Rex pushed past his partner, his open palm extended and fingers splayed. Nia's own hand pressed into the back of her Driver's, a saffron aura veiling their forms. The titan snake belted out a torrent of thunder and wrath upon them.
The semi-sphere of hexagons between the two and the flood of static death gleamed like crystal. For a Blade barrier, it was especially thick. Even so, a few stray sparks pierced the defense, crackling around the duo. Rex took a streak right across the face, parting his cheek in a deep cut.
He didn't flinch, even as blood cascaded down his jaw, staring intently at the barrier. Barely a second after opening, the wound pulled closed, even drawing some of the blood back in. Still spewing lightning, the serpent crept forward.
Gorg gave a strong shout as he slammed down his greataxe, carving slightly into the giant's flank. The scorched flesh dotting his torso steamed as healing ether evaporated the burns. And floating above him was a flowing construct, a pair of colossal arms hefting an axe as tall as the guild's bay doors.
Sevantes shrieked in pain, rolling away from his attacker. His left limb snapped upward, crashing into the duplicate axe mid-fall. The construct splashed apart, drenching the entire area. Then the serpent's raised arm swung for Gorg.
Azurda stomped down with his front left leg, pinning the siege beast's limb less than a meter from its target. Sevantes was on him in a heartbeat, his already parted maw erupting with electricity. But the old drake responded in kind, a surge of flame blasting from his mouth.
Fire and lightning collided, the contesting forces blowing the warring titans apart. Gorg sailed back as the chaotic energies continued spilling forth, interlocking in a violent storm. Neither giant was gaining any ground.
Not until Azurda started to glow. At once his element overpowered Sevantes, pushing his own static back into his face.
The blue aura radiating from the dragon's hide drizzled off, flowing in a certain direction. Following the particle stream revealed… Rex and Nia. Their own golden bond veiled their forms, the two holding out one hand each as they walked towards Azurda. The ether connecting them to Gramps ran faster, denser as they approached.
Beast Handler lashed his serrated cord across Azurda's brow. This cut off his flames, the old drake drilling the smaller titan's head down with one claw. The slash above his eyes was deep enough to bleed… for a short time, the teal glow closing the gash in seconds.
"Run up that gun," Saturn screeched, "carve those two to pieces! Everything! Hit them with everything!"
Heavy Weapon had lumbered through the scattered and singed bits of the already wrecked storefront. The top left segment of his hood was torn away, revealing the dented steel helm beneath. His crimson optics glared like hot coals, his weapon's twin barrels undulating in preparation.
Azurda snarled in challenge before a sustained volley of heat lances drilled into his face and neck. Beast Handler's whipsword added further, shredding a line up the titan's throat. The pinned Sevantes landed a blind strike with one of his armored plates, almost dislodging the dragon.
Gorg jumped in to help but was intercepted by a rising slash from Lead Lady that opened up his left thigh. The insurgent leader backpedaled, swerving under a lashing band of nosehair then leaping aside as an enormous, liquid fist flew past her. A brief shout drew one of Azurda's shooters to squeeze off a few beams at Gorg and Bobobo.
The nopon took one center mass, the shot whizzing in before the Blade shield could manifest.
Nia and Rex were in motion, practically flying towards the blonde zealot and her cohort. Heavy Weapon, faithful to Saturn's orders, trained his auto-cannon on their path. The dark gunner paid no mind to one of his allies who was pitched onto the ground beside him. He cared nothing for the frightening trail of claw marks raked down his face and torso, easily carving through the nearly molten rig and cushioned armor beneath.
When the very dead insurgent exploded, the machine gunner did offer a brief twitch. What Heavy Weapon could not ignore was a savage Dromarch leaping through the explosion, his feline form again encased in glowing azure scales.
Heavy Weapon turned his gun just as the first rounds broke free of the dual muzzles, Rex and Nia sparing a quick skip as an errant shot pelted the floor beneath them. The goliath invader was partway to his new target when the tiger's rider swung out her hammer.
Kassandra's power flooded her weapon, its wrappings dark with hieroglyphs and a maroon orb swirling over the hammer's divot. Balancing her knees atop Dromarch's shoulder blades, the brunette lurched up before pitching forth her bludgeon in a wide swing. The chaotic ball of ether traveled a short distance then broke apart, becoming a rushing plume of dark miasma.
The malevolent mist snaked around and through the thrumming auto-cannon, the energy channels along its surface running darker and then crackling with volatile bursts of static. The gun's shifting barrels froze with a sharp crack, a tiny spurt of heat tumbling out of the extended muzzle. Within seconds, Kassandra's invasive darkness began crawling up the belt feeding bullets from the goliath gunner's pack.
Heavy Weapon's rig pulsed. With a loud snap the rigid belt uncoupled from the gun and the massive pack, flopping uselessly to the ground. Never once looking away from his enemies, the living non-turret hefted his lamed firearm as an impromptu shield.
Dromarch carved through the dense metal. A set of crystalline claws flashed free of his paws, each about as long as a human hand. The disabled cannon was now little more than a barely held together chunk of slag.
The former gunner tossed his trashed armament aside, his left fist careening down on the two Blades. Dromarch changed course, ducking past the crushing blow and driving his side into the fanatic's gut. Kassandra vaulted over Heavy Weapon, her hammer wound back and intended for the top of his head. The tiger's strike hit the man like a battering ram, collapsing part of his network and driving the air from his lungs.
This meant Kassandra missed her mark. She hit Heavy Weapon's ammo pack instead.
The bandaged Blade flipped over, landing in a crouch and deploying her shield hammer. A streak of her malevolent ether had plunged into the back bound cache and almost instantly the bulky storage issued a low hiss. When the popping sounds started, Heavy Weapon swiftly cast off the plate metal pack.
Hot slugs snapped out of the abandoned cache in rapid order, bursting through the thick steel box on every side. Dromarch caught about a dozen rounds as he dashed behind Kassandra's shield, his aquatic scales quickly replenishing. Heavy Weapon hid behind his cloak, his legs and feet being pelted as the fabric didn't quite reach below his knees.
A blazing tracer pierced his shin, driving the insurgent to a kneel. Dromarch snarled at the felled hulk, his sabertooth fangs glistening in the light of passing rounds. Kassandra gazed hard through the translucent teal of her weapon's barrier. Her mask's eyes were burning red, still perched on the back of her skull.
But what had Jin's attention, watching from a distance, were the bonding lines of ether flowing between the two Blades. "Flabbergasted" was the only way to describe the stilled swordsman as he tried to process what he was seeing.
Patroka cried out his name but Jin continued to be unresponsive. It took Perdido dragging him to the ground to rouse the befuddled man. The rough bulk of Sevantes flew overhead, within arms reach of crushing the pale pair. An automated swing of his sword arm brought the nodachi into the end of the serpent's tail, not quite breaching the rough skin but keeping the lashing limb from barreling into them.
Sevantes hit the floor and immediately uprighted himself. The titan's muzzle was notably marked with jagged gashes and burns, further adding to his enraged visage. Perdido scrambled to his feet, pulling Jin up with one hand.
A lightning blast was readied. It shot wild when Dromarch clamped his jaws onto the siege beast's neck. And then Kassandra leapt from the tiger's back, nailing Sevantes' flailing skull with the force of a meteor.
Azurda belted out a few fire blasts down on the charging invaders. One zealot, her left arm severed, vanished in a fiery burst, her three accomplices juking speedily around the dragon's barrage. They rushed towards the old titan, pipeworks flaring molten red as their wearers were pumped with abominable strength.
The three lunged several meters into the air. One was yanked back by Bobobo's twisting nosehair, the man detonating upon impact with the floor. Azurda gave a mighty flap of his wings, lifting away from the leaping fanatics. Both blew themselves up in a chain reaction, bathing Azurda in a wave of heat.
Bobobo reeled back his length of stache, stomping down on the flaming ember sitting at the tip. Then his nubby foot started smoking.
Lead Lady hardly had time to be frustrated at her comrades' failure. Nia's sword whizzed past her brow as the blonde held her saber against a ringed straight from the boy. Rex brushed the blocking blade aside, driving forward to spear his elbow into her belly.
The Gormotti Blade turned right, an upward slash batting aside Beast Handler's extended sword. He paid this little mind as his second blade whipped towards the tiger clamped onto Sevantes. Kassandra dropped down, her weapon in shield form, flattening the serrated cord beneath it. The snake's head crashed into the floorboards a second later, Dromarch jumping from the felled titan.
Beast Handler drew back his first sword, twirling its length around to low sweep the sprinting big cat. A crescent surge – courtesy of Nia – washed over him, hurling the tamer to the floor. Azurda sent a fireball in his direction before the man had even hit the ground.
Saturn, hat-less and haggard looking, stepped in front of his prone subordinate. His organic arm, wielding his pickhammer, hung somewhat limp. Blood trailed out from the cuff of his navy sleeve, covering his hand. Saturn's prosthetic drew up in front of the man.
His pale limb ignited in time with his longcoat, the runes and lines running a vibrant yellow. He backhanded the ball of flame, collapsing it into itself and sending the blast erupting back from whence it came.
A half dozen of his fellow grey cloaks rushed past the downed Beast Handler, into the spray of ash and heat without an ounce of hesitation. Saturn spun, crouching mid turn to snatch up the fallen man's arm. His charged prosthetic all but flung Beast Handler up into a run.
The whipsword user fell in quickly with his fellows, charging through smoke and blitzing past another fire blast from above. They still had Saturn's orders, after all.
The man himself turned about, driving his weapon's blunt head into the edge of Malos' tonfa. The black clad bruiser was tossed back as the radiant weapon pulsed forcefully.
"Are you still here," Saturn rasped. Almost casually he swung his hammer out wide, slamming down a leaping Sever that attempted to pursue his comrades. "I already said we'd get to you later, you have to wait your turn!"
Malos was back in his face in an instant. The fact that Saturn matched his speed had the brute openly grinning. "Nah," Malos droned, whirling through a brief combo that his opponent smoothly evaded, "you people make for some prime entertainment, why delay the fun?"
Saturn backed away as Sever rejoined the fray. He spun around the alien Blade, loosing a palm blast at the brunette Driver. Malos quite literally caught the shot in his own hand, a purple void devouring the kinetic ray. Saturn relayed a short, "Baseless heathen," before a very holey, sparking metal crate came tumbling into the brute.
Sever paused, shocked at the sight. Saturn railed his fist across the Blade's split jaw. The insectoid being stumbled some, right into the path of Heavy Weapon. Saturn couldn't even smile, the monster's Driver already back on his feet.
He got a bit of his humor back when his own brute of an ally threw Sever into Malos.
Kassandra was standing up when her mask began to jangle. A grey cloak, his form enshrouded in bright scarlet, tackled her onto her back. Mouth open in a piercing wail, his insides seemed to ignite as blinding light blazed from within. A pair of blades swiftly beheaded the zealot. Perdido marched up, lifting the deceased man off of Kassandra.
She rolled to her feet, imposing her shield between the two Blades and the corpse bomb. A flash consumed the area.
Her broken saber clattering to the floor, Lead Lady grabbed Rex by the wrist before slugging him twice across the brow. The boy did little more than grunt, a haze of blue beneath his golden aura dragging the fresh gash closed. Then Rex reached up, grabbed her restraining arm, and turned around.
The motion dragged the blonde commander into his back, rolling her over the salvager's shoulders before tossing Lead Lady onto the floor. She blinked once on impact, Rex suddenly vanishing from view. A second blink ended with a heavy stomp to her torso as Nia appeared over her, palm aimed at the woman's face and an orb of water spiraling within. She was instantly doused in a crushing cascade.
As Nia drenched the trapped insurgent, Rex flung a chakram at the band of zealots charging through the dissipating smoke. Beast Handler slashed the disc away with his remaining whipsword. The boy in blue stared the group down, holding out his right arm to the side. He didn't have to look to catch Nia's scimitar, the sword spinning into his grasp like it was second nature. Rex settled into a high guard, eyes drifting over the advancing enemy line.
Only Beast Handler noticed the flecks of teal ether jumping from the boy's frame. Notably how they ran in the opposite direction of the Flesh Eater.
Dromarch cleaved through the three warriors on the tamer's right, taking them completely by surprise. He was a blur of shimmering azure, long claws raking trough steel tubes and padded armor. The tiger held one of his chakrams with his tail, slicing through the neck of a downed foe with ruthless efficiency.
And then Azurda soared in from the left, clawing up two men at once as a third dove low. The pair being swatted in the dragon's claws overloaded their rigs at once, the combined detonation shredding the flesh from Azurda's limb.
But like Rex before, the winged titan hardly even flinched. The mangled meat in the shape of a hand rapidly bloomed into proper form, the glowing ether that surrounded him burning brighter all throughout.
Nia had one palm still pointed down at Lead Lady, giving her the occasional hosing. The other, sans sword, was extended towards Azurda, healing ether illuminating her limb.
Beast Handler paused, glancing about the scene before him. The cut up corpses to his right erupted impotently, their systems burned out whilst their killer stood well out of reach, resting beside the young salvager. Kassandra moved in next to Dromarch, joined shortly by the four armed Blade and his near complete collection of katanas.
Nia had crouched over Lead Lady, summoning one of her Blade's rings and holding the edge to her neck. Patroka, standing nearby with Jin in tow, chuckled in approval. Jin's eyes panned over the four crewmates before tilting upwards. Azurda loomed above them, wingspan fully extended as he glared death at the lone Beast Handler.
Beneath his mask, Jin allowed a wry grin as the last of the suicide troopers lay pressed under the old drake's foot, utterly demoralized.
But his face became flat once more as he traced the varying ether currents connecting the motley crew. What… were these people?
As though in response to his thoughts, the hammer wielding Blade perked up, eyes blinking rapidly as she glanced around. Kassandra's gaze flickered between the shooting threads of ether in the air and then settled more firmly on the now bronze glow between her Driver and Nia.
"Guys," Kassandra wondered, shifting between the stony faces of her crew, "what… have we been doing?"
Rex, Nia, and Dromarch turned towards her in perfect sync. The sight alone was… pretty creepy. The overbearing sensation of "flat what" being directed at her was palpable, no words needed.
Actually, when was the last time any of them had even spoken?
High above, Azurda broke his air of rage to roll his eyes at the brunette's confusion. She'd get it, sooner or later.
The tension returned as two more figures joined the rather cowed Beast Handler. Synthetic palm resting on his comrade's shoulder, Saturn presented himself to the defenders. Though looking rather worse for wear, face and jacket marred from battle, he bore a winning smile.
Heavy Weapon halted on the far side of Beast Handler, actually standing with his back facing the Argentum group. The giant appeared to be brushing something off. Saturn, his dark, combed back hair shooting off in various splits, swept his sight evenly over the battlefield.
Rex jabbed towards the trio with his sword, "Getting a good look? You lost a lot of people comin' after us-"
The azure clad leader cut him off with a chuckle, "Feel not sorrow or pity for the fallen, their lives were spent in service of the cause."
"Hail," shouted the trooper under Gramps' foot, earning him a little jostle from his dragon captor. Saturn snapped his fingers and pointed at the man, clearly showing his favor.
"Fuck off with that," Rex cursed, swiping the air with his blade, "Are you people really that deluded!?"
The madman tsked, looking down as though in disappointment. "How sad must your existence be, unable to comprehend the notion of a higher cause. Were you any other soul, I might feel sympathy."
Heavy Weapon reached out, his massive arm stretching over Beast Handler's head. When his dark palm rested over Saturn, the colossus firmly placed his cyan, wide brimmed hat upon the man's scalp.
Saturn glanced forward, "But, because its filth like you, I can't say I'm surprised. Faith is wasted on those who dwell in shit."
"Hey!" The three fanatics and Jin's people turned towards the shout, Rex's crew not even flinching. Nia had a fistful of blonde lockes as she held up Lead Lady, her chakram poised at the woman's throat. "That's enough already, you're done here!"
The tall man's smile once more took on that air of lunacy. "A hostage, really? After what I just said – I know an aberrant stain like you probably isn't the brightest-"
"Shut up. I think you're the one not grasping the situation. Are you such a fucking nutter you haven't realized you're outnumbered?"
Saturn sputtered at her words. Heavy Weapon issued an undulating growl as Malos fucking sauntered around the trio, looking little worse for wear, offering a smooth grin as he passed them by. Sever, by contrast, strafed around them, keeping the insurgents in sight, his shining tonfa drawn across his chest.
Nia, upon their approach, gestured to Malos and his Blade as further evidence of her statements. She largely shrugged off the boys' trepidation as well as Gramps' controlled loathing.
Sobering from his humor, Saturn held up his right hand, three fingers raised. He counted down as each descended, "Three, two… one-"
A sound like the boom of artillery erupted from the defenders' right. The high ceiling rumbled as a white hot bolt struck the dense wood. The fissure that opened from the impact drew a jagged line through the underside of the third floor, snapping through the couplings of a chandelier.
Kassandra stared skyward, the world moving in slow motion as she watched the massive fixture come tumbling down. An almost overwhelming impulse to run rocked her body, overpowered only by feelings of shock. But she couldn't ignore the tight grip seizing her arm or the solid strength pulling her into a dash.
Azurda pitched a shot of flame into the falling chandelier, blasting it apart like a firework. Dromarch bounded on ahead of them, slowing enough for Nia to hop onto his back. The liquid scales covering his body gleamed like diamonds as they began to shift.
Rex let go of Kassandra's arm and focused on going forward. She didn't even have to think to stay in step with him, the two connected by channels of dark blue ether. Azurda's thundering footfalls followed swiftly behind, a staggered wind picking up as his wings began to beat.
Saturn's cackles carried over everything else, "Run, run, run – fast as you can!" Kassandra glanced his way, seeing the three still in place, their ranks joined by a disheveled Lead Lady and the trooper Gramps was holding. The trench coated leader held his pickhammer high, waving the shining head in wide arcs towards the bay opening on the far side of the guild.
The brunette's blood froze at the sight of over a dozen more foes lumbering in from the port entrance. Each black clad fgiure was a match for Heavy Weapon, bulky forms wielding towering lances whose conical tops sparked with static.
But the goliath in front was the highlight, hefting a weapon similar in scale to the auto-cannon. No, definitely bigger, a single thick barrel as long as the man was tall floating over the ground in the gunman's grasp. A dense trail of neon red ran the gun's length, growing in intensity with every passing second.
A follow up blast shook the air, glaring red turning to pure white as the concussive beam flared through the air. Kassandra watched every instance of its travel, eyes widening as she traced its path. Aside from the noise – a high pitched buzz rushing in from behind – Azurda should have had no warning of the powerful blast aimed at his back. He kept his gaze forward, focused on the far exit.
The titan dipped low, just as the pale ray punched past his right, the beam shrieking by his head. The flow of ether that had branched from Kassandra to Gramps slowed from its quickened rate, the old drake flapping his wings to further propel himself.
Re-orienting, the heavy laser's user allowed his system to run bright amber. The gun charged in half the time, seconds before another shot was ready.
The black clad reinforcements were summarily dumbfounded by the sudden white out of leaflets that filled the air. The charging laser was almost entirely covered and then wrenched downward. The giant behind the trigger had enough sense to power the weapon down before his vision was stamped over.
Saturn turned around in time for Heavy Weapon to impose his bulk between his fanatic leader and a short volley of gunshots. A far more sustained barrage was leveled towards the advancing black troopers, forcing them into a defensive hold.
Faye held one hand towards the enemy reinforcements. Her other was busy chugging down elixirs one by one as a small boy with glasses handed them off from an attache case. A little girl in pigtails held Faye's tome up with both hands, the pages cycling quickly as the libromancer maintained the most intricate tempest she had ever attempted.
Between drinks, the Indoline mage addressed her charges, "You'll be grounded for two weeks… and afterwards… sweet gellato until you puke!"
The children looked rather conflicted by all this.
Directly beside them, taking up positions around and inside a certain, relatively untouched bakery, was a full Ardainian squadron. The rank and file absolutely hammered whatever they could see of the invaders with a torrent of bullets, the paper storm allowing the piercing rounds through. Their sergeant with his imposing helmet stood slightly ahead of his men, leveling a bastard sword with one hand and firing smoothly from a long barreled magnum.
His proper service rifle had been loaned to Hirkham, the dockmaster belting out shots at a slightly diminished rate to the recruits.
Heavy Weapon imposed himself between the Ardainian fireteam and his assembled comrades. Beast Handler threw Lead Lady over his shoulders, halting his efforts to vent the excess energy from the surviving recruit's rig. Saturn had said footsoldier by the back of his uniform, dragging the young man as he sent a few palm blasts towards the squad of defenders.
Sevantes, laying in the path of Rex's group, inclined his head. Humming static collected in his throat as the snake made one final attempt to intercept them.
Both Saturn's crew and Sevantes were assailed by familiar smoke explosions, the enemy titan taking three blasts to the skull. A chorus of speedy whistles followed a half dozen small shapes screeching through the air above. Limalima's enthused laughter and Kilolo's panicked wails marked them easily from the cloak-clad flock.
Faye kept mental track of an even smaller fuzzball in a sunshine yellow cape soaring in winding trails above the bazaar. Her troublesome blue littlepon… she'd make sure to discipline him for three weeks before his reward.
Th siege beast rolled into a coughing fit, quadruple eyes burning as his body tossed wildly. Azurda closed his eyes and held his breath as he powered through the cloud. With every ounce of strength still flowing through the bond, the dragon's front right limb speared forward.
Rex and company swiftly swerved to the side, crouching low beneath the irritating dust, as Gramps' claw bombed into the point Sevantes' jaw met his throat. Electricity crackled from his gnashed teeth as Azurda lifted his opponent entirely off the ground.
With a deep growl, the winged titan dove down, crushing the serpent under foot. A nearby vendor crumpled from the tremors alone, the moment of impact coupled with the resonant crack of bones.
Beast Handler reached out for the broken Sevantes, crying out the titan's name as the beast fell limp. His arm was extended a touch beyond the shielding frame of Heavy Weapon, earning the concerned tamer a paralyzing slug to the wrist. Only the high quality of his suit's armor kept the round from drilling the man's hand off.
The black clad colossus reached backwards, shoving the injured soldier fully behind him. Saturn caught his underling before he – and Lead Lady by extension – could topple to the ground. As Heavy Weapon continued to usher his charges away from the remaining defenders, Saturn fixed his gaze on their fleeing objectives.
Dromarch had lagged enough that Rex could also hop onto his back. Kassandra flubbed her mounting, Rex and Nia snatching her back into position with instantaneous speed. Their tiger conveyance bounded back into the center of the avenue, the gaping bay door looming just ahead. Azurda was close behind, loping forth in long strides, readying to leap skywards.
As they passed the threshold onto the docks, Dromarch's coat of shimmering scales streamed down his body. His assorted riders clung tight to the tiger's bronzed cuirass and each other. Dromarch slunk low before lunging upwards with his back legs. His aquatic mail rushed off the big cat's frame with the strength of a geyser, launching Dromarch and passengers high into the air.
Gramps unfurled his wings as soon as he cleared the entrance, dipping underneath the airborne band and giving his wings a powerful flap. A bit of his violet membrane whapped into a nearby crane, twisting the metal slightly. Within two beats, the old dragon had them well into the air, the crew erupting off into the night sky.
But even with them gaining distance, the orders hollered from Saturn carried just over the whoosh of rushing wind.
"Fall back! Back to the fleet! You know what's next, we got a marathon to run!"
The statements were… disconcerting. But dwelling on them would have to come later as the dense flow of ether wrapping around the crew dimmed out of existence. At last, Nia allowed herself to collapse into her Driver, consciousness fading to black.
Well… fuck!
You know originally, this end part was going to be even longer? That whole bit with the rest of Argentum coming in to save the day at the last second was actually meant to be a much longer section, probably would have added another three-five thousand words. Ended up mostly scraping it just to preserve sanity, yours and mine. But I felt figures like Hirkham and Madame Faye needed a little closure, so this abridged version was made.
Kudos go to reviewer Dragonmaster150 on for the term "libromancy." You are now immortalized in my commentary.
Let's go over Dromarch's particular brand of hydromancy, as I said I would. Best way I can sum it up is "Bestial Manifestation." He can mold his element into shapes associated with animals/beasts, hence things like the coat of scales, pronounced fangs, elongated claws, and even the porcupine quills from last entry. Was originally gonna have him sprout aqua wings during the final escape sequence but… decided I'd save it for something "grander" down the line.
Wanna just draw a highlight on Dromarch's jetstream move. We've only really seen it twice, once this chapter and before when he blasted out of Bana's office, but it's a favorite of mine. Basically Aqua Jet, the Pokemon move. Nintendo, so appropriate. Will always remember the hype of watching Ash's buizel turn into a liquid missile in the anime.
So what makes Rex and Nia "special?" In game, the deepest bond you can get with your Blades is the golden thread, uniting in body and mind. It goes… a little further here. The mechanics of it are details I'm saving for the next arc where our cast will be in a setting to deal with it more directly. For now, just know that what Nia and Rex are doing outshines the max efforts of your average Driver/Blade pair.
I wanted to play more with the idea of Nia being both Rex's Blade as well as a Flesh Eater, specifically the fact that she can be a Driver with her own Blades. We don't really explore this in game since it's made moot pretty swiftly when Rex becomes the Master Driver, but how would that really work for "normal" teams? Would the Driver be able to connect to the Flesh Eater's Blade(s) and use their weapons? What about the reverse? We know at least that during the Resonance State (shout out to Soul Eater) Rex is capable of using Dromarch's rings.
Oh and him being able to mold ether with his bare hands. Yeah, I'm sure that rattled the hell out of Jin. One can only imagine how he'll feel when he learns this kid bonded to The Legendary Aegis…
I wasn't altogether sure if I wanted Azurda to be in on the mass ether flow… but then the thought of how awesome it would be forced my hand. Fuck off Amalthus, Rex did it first here!
Some clean up topics…
I loved having Patroka headbutt Saturn. She's just the kind of girl who'd vibe with a good headbutt. And I love Malos just taking the piss with the entire scenario. This is just playtime for him.
Heavy Weapon's overall aesthetic is a mesh of Killzone's Helghast and… 40K. Just… 40K. Just wait until future bits when we'll have entire squads of these bastards for me to play with.
Originally wasn't going to give the enemy titan a name, but I got onto the idea of showing Beast Handler's bond with him when I realized I wasn't going to kill the man off just yet. And I couldn't have the tamer not refer to his beast by name and expect anyone to believe they shared any sort of bond. The name "Sevantes" is based on, of all things, a kind of joke character from the original Monster Girl Quest. It's a brief gag near the start of the game, one of the "silhouette villagers" taking umbridge when Alice refers to him as a nameless townsperson, correcting her with his "fabulous name." Yeah, it is pretty fabulous.
Also sounds close enough to both "servant" and "serpent" so…
And yeah, originally both Beast Handler and Lead Lady were going to bite the dust during this skirmish. But I got attached to them and decided to at least stay their execution for a while longer. Might just have them go beyond this arc, maybe do something like the "cover story plots" we got for defeated villains in the One Piece manga. I'll have to name them properly now…
Was anyone happy to see Faye's kids come back at the end? Did you remember them? They're another thing that would have been a lot more prevalent in the extended ending I mentioned before. A slingshot would have been involved, likely prompting a far harsher round of punishment from their magical guardian.
Bana would have had a pretty sweet moment too. You'll get a touch of what could have been next chapter when you see what he's sitting in… All in all it would have been a pretty big "Hurrah!" for the people of Argentum, a big send off since we won't be back for a while.
A good… Long… While…
In the next installment: … We're gonna take a ride with the bad guys! And Pyra makes an appearance! Somewhat.