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CH 59: Picking a Fight
🕑 Added 2024-12-19 15:00:00 +0000 UTC+ Reid +
Reid tamped down the flinch of fear he felt for the approaching beasts. The Titan was just another, bigger salamander. He'd already killed one guardian, even if he'd had to sacrifice an arm to end it.
The guardian that had stayed with the bulk of their forces on the wall seemed to be quelling the little ones' drive to chase after their leader. Reid was thankful for that. What they were trying to do was going to be tough enough without more of the damn lizards to kill. And - less of them also meant their attacking group could all focus on the Titan and its lone guardian.
He tapped the roof of the truck, and the driver turned them to face away from the closing monsters. The engine's throaty roar was only outdone by the Titan itself, as it vocalized towards the fleeing humans.
Phase one of the plan was to get the Titan as far as possible from its main force. They flew over hills and between trees as they used Toby's skill to kite the thing and its guardian to a spot that didn't have direct line of sight to the rest of the beasts. Even if the Titan went down, none of the other salamanders would be aware. Well, unless it had some sort of death screech waiting.
As they neared their first checkpoint, Reid ran his thumb over Requiem's names. He'd added a music note symbol next to Warren's. Reid wasn't what he would call fully rested. His body still ached from overexertion, but his muscles worked, and he knew he could use his strengthening skill long enough to make the difference in the coming fight.
The vehicles moved into a bell-curve formation, and all but Toby slowed. This was the true test. If the Titan stayed moving straight ahead, they knew Toby's skill was working - and then they could encircle it from behind to wound it and slow it down. If it instead went after one of the other vehicles, they would need to revise things, and would be in for a messy fight.
Brave volunteers readied their weapons as the Titan's thundering footsteps drew it closer to them all. It kept pace for a moment, then stomped forward out in front of them.
The guardian didn't follow it. Instead, it shot out sideways at the truck on the far side of the curve from Reid and Sara. Its claws glowed blue and it ripped through the side of the truck. A tire split and flung its pieces in all directions. The broken wheel dug into the dirt and flung some of the passengers out of the back, and through the air. The sudden change in momentum caught the guardian in surprise, and it had to skid itself to a stop before it returned to the vehicle. Non-enhanced claws raked through the cab and mangled the doors shut. The driver didn't get out.
Reid and the others had to slow and turn around to reach their team members now standing on the ground. It wasn't quick enough. They peppered the beast with arrows and spears. They sunk weapons into flesh near joints and even got one hit in on its neck - but for all their fighting, the beast was more. More violent. More speed. More reach. They fought, and they died. The guardian stood above their corpses and healed itself with pulsing blue light. The three remaining trucks barreled towards it.
Reid was the first one to put feet on the ground. He leapt out of the truck bed and sprinted towards the beast. The last thing he wanted was for it to focus on the vehicles instead of the attackers. If they lost their mobility, they could fail to kill the Crimson Titan - or worse, they could end up stuck on the wrong side of the second wall. The guardian followed him with its eyes and let out a low growl as it surveyed the rest of the humans that were now moving towards it on foot.
Ranged fighters struck first, with arrows and a pair of spears. The tips of the projectiles did little to sink into the guardian's flesh. But they still didn't let up. Any distraction or moment of opportunity that damage could buy was worth every bit of effort it took to deal it.
Reid lunged forward, and took a claw to his pauldron that spun him sideways. He managed to jump out of the way of the next one, and stabbed forward towards the creature's torso. It put its claws in the way, and Reid skidded to a stop so he wouldn't chip his weapon on the tough crystal. He swung out again and managed to get a glancing blow off its forearm that slightly limited its movement. The natural healing speed of the guardian wasn't any faster than the normal salamanders, but it still healed.
Around him, attackers joined in the melee with targeted, opportunistic strikes. They rushed in or rushed by the creature, past raging claws and a deadly set of teeth. Some weren't fast enough. Others misjudged their timing. Blood and broken bits of armor littered more and more of the ground. They were fighting a minor war of attrition between the wounds they could inflict and what the salamander could naturally heal. It didn't try to use its healing skill - or at least it hadn't yet.
The guardian moved itself as the fight progressed, ever keeping its focus towards Reid, and it did everything it could to keep its chin tucked close to its neck. The salamanders weren't dumb. They'd seen how Reid had killed many of their compatriots, and they were doing what they could to prevent themselves from joining the dead.
Requiem smashed into flesh. It tore and cratered the creature's limbs, but its speed and agility kept him from landing any decisive blows. Then, Sara joined the fray.
Reid was a bruiser. For all his bluster at James's good natured taunting about being a barbarian, he lacked any sort of finesse in his fighting style. His dodges, blows, and every other movement were large and powerful - and that was about it. The style made him good at dealing damage to slow things in wide open spaces, but held him back in any sort of restricted space or against a skilled enemy. The wall fight against the elite and the fact that he'd only killed the guardian by tanking a blow had proven that. It was a major weakness he needed to resolve.
Sara lacked that weakness. She was a tempest of violence that danced with the beast. When it swung, she moved herself slightly out of its range, then surged forward to land her strikes before again slipping away. Every movement and action was full of grace, and power. Queen's Edge dug deep into the Guardian's flesh, and smacked against bone. She was locked in a close battle with the guardian, and left little room for anyone to join. Only a handful of their fellow attackers dared to dart in and land opportunistic strikes. Reid wasn't certain he could land a blow without potentially putting her in danger of getting hit by the attack. And - she didn't exactly look like she needed help. Sara may have had less raw power than Reid, but she was massively more effective in how she applied it. Every swing was balanced and intentional in a way Reid could barely begin to grasp.
He started to realize something.
If Sara had been with him on the outer wall, they might've gotten all the elites. They may have even been able to hold the line. His daughter was just as effective on the field as he was - or maybe even more effective than him. Despite her infighting with the guardian, it had yet to land a blow on her, and she was amassing a good amount of damage on the creature. Reid saw its claws brighten, and started to shout out a warning - but Sara had been even faster to respond. She had already tucked herself and rolled out of the claw's reach. Two of their supporters weren't as lucky. One had the tips of the claws split through the middle of his face. The other was killed when his torso split into pieces.
Sara was closer to the guardian than she'd been during the entire fight. One arm was debuffed and moving slowly, but the other was still free - and that presented an opportunity. Reid rushed forward and slammed Requiem's tip into the guardian's shoulder to incapacitate the mobile arm. The salamander lifted its head to try and bite at the man hanging off the weapon buried in its shoulder, and Sara went for the kill.
Queen's edge punctured up into the salamander's jaw, and traveled straight through to the top of its head. The familiar sound of bone impacting crystal told everyone that Sara's sword had carved through to the top of the thing's head. She spun her hand at the wrist in a swirling motion, and pulled her hand and sword free of the now-dead creature. Its body hit the ground with a thud like a fallen tree, and relieved cheers went up in the attacking group.
A chorus of screeching wails sounded out from the outer wall - but Reid didn't hear any approaching footsteps. The ones at the outer wall were angry - and knew somehow that one of theirs was dead, but they were still staying put. The one salamander they could see was the Crimson Titan. Reid imagined that it gave him and the others a deathly stare before going back to its chase.
Wounded - and the dead - were loaded into a single vehicle, and sent back towards the second wall. The remaining healthy attackers crammed themselves into the final two pickups. They drank water and recentered themselves while on the move towards the next fight. The big fight.
In the back of their beautifully loud lifted Chevy, men and women shouted over the engine to congratulate Sara on bringing the guardian down. She nodded, and smiled in grim satisfaction. It didn't reach her eyes.
+> Sara <+
For the past few hours - or days? She wasn't sure at this point - Sara's nerves were a bundle of frayed and burnt twine. Pathfinder had overwhelmed her with a mass of possibilities that fell down on her head like lead raindrops. Every thought or concept or desire brought her a different direction and different possibility and different understanding. Her mind still felt like mush, and it was only when Marlene had started helping her to write things down that she'd been able to avoid the what-if questions that led her down another line of questioning, and back into the lead rain.
So she'd gotten used to it. The overwhelming feeling. She'd gotten better at working through dozens and hundreds of decision points and outcomes and feelings and desires, and had been able to focus - to really focus - on the ones that mattered. On the outcomes that were really in her heart's desire.
When they'd attacked the guardian, the overwhelming force and knowledge and understanding came back and threatened her again. She could save her father from getting clawed in the stomach, or the eye, or the arm. She could help Terry and Belinda - or they could die. Every instant and action was a tree of potential that stretched out for miles and miles. People had gotten hurt and worse while she worked to get herself back under control. Once she did, she worked hard to make up for it, and pushed in close to the danger.
But danger was okay. Everything was okay. It would be. It had to be.
Sara couldn't run. If she did, everyone would die. It was a plain, cold truth.
Every path lead to devastation and death. Every single outcome, save one. An option that had only opened itself recently. If Sara didn't run from the Titan - if she stayed and fought - she felt... nothing.
The absence of her skill's familiar pulls and tugs and pushes and direction made her feel like she was experiencing the world through a woolen wall. But it was, at least, different. If everyone else ran, things might be fine. If she ran now, everyone would die. But she could endure, and stay, and fight - and maybe die.
If every known path ended in death, Sara would walk in the dark.
