"Watch ou-!"
The gruesome blade swiftly teased Akuma's neck. In the nick of time, the possessed soldier ducked under the fleshy dagger, earning an unwanted haircut. The Hollow flew by as he missed his target, but did not reduce his aggression. The monster immediately blitzed the crouching young man. The sharp tips of his curved ribs slid across the floor before slicing up towards Akuma.
The soldier successfully rolled out of the way. All four of the bony blades were rapidly closing in as he rapidly looked back up at his assailant. Very well aware that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time, his body closed itself, hoping to block the brunt of the assault and avoid lethal consequences. The sharp sickles never connected.
"Back off!"
Spike's sturdy figure managed to absorb the combined force of this quadruple slash, the earth caving under her. The loud crackling birthing from their clash travelled around the cave. In the brief instant the Hollow's weapons were stopped pushing against Spike's ivory frame, the blind assassin saw an opening.
Like an azure lighting bolt, Mute darted through the area, ferociously closing the distance between him and his prey. Daggers in hand, the warrior perfectly echolocated the beast and envisioned the perfect finishing blow, aiming his blades at its thick neck.
Not so surprisingly, the monster quickly moved one of its arms and blocked the incoming threat. Mute's heavy body continued its trajectory after the daggers collided and landed its boots grounded on a stone pillar. His quads almost ripped the cloth of his pants as they doubled in size; Mute immediately redirected all of his kinetic energy and bounced right back under a roaring thunder.
The both large and nimble assassin almost completely disappeared from the sheer velocity. Even the monster could not react in time, screeching from the cold iron tearing through its abdomen. Still unused to his new speed, his usually unwavering accuracy suffered, missing the Hollow's vital spot. The young man continued his course, sliding across the rocky floor.
The Hollow howled in frustration, raising its army of blades. An extreme pressure was released from within the demon, forcing back the nearby soldiers. As its abdomen began to rapidly inflate, a heavy and somber aura began to poison the atmosphere. Mute's attack did more harm than good. Now it was mad. Without any warning, it vanished.
The crew only noticed the aftermath of his movement: a trail of dust aiming directly at Mute. Sure enough, the young man felt the putrid blades skewer his stomach. The beast took down the biggest threat first. Or it was holding a grudge. Nonetheless, the soldier took some severe damage. The Hollow swung its arms, throwing the bandaged soldier across the cave, gashing his core open.
"MUTE!!!"
Rouge immediately felt a heat rush come over her. She did not think twice before rushing over to her badly injured comrade, empowered by a wave of adrenaline. The beast was immediately triggered by her sudden movement and promptly leaped at her.
"Rouge wai-!"
Savvy did not have time to get her trooper under her command. As one of the sickles' oozing blades graced her ribs, the sound of broken glass was faintly heard, quickly followed by a deafening boom. To everyone's sheer shock, the monster was sent flying, ramming directly through several pillars.
Jab seemed to be vibrating and emanating vapors as if boiling from the inside. An empty and broken glass vial was left on the ground where they last saw him standing.
"You're mine now."
As Jab stood his ground, Savvy's lungs finally relaxed, forcing a shaky sigh out of her. She needs to stay focused.
"Akuma, protect Rouge while she treats Mute!"
"..."
"Akuma? Akuma!? Fuck! Spike-"
"On it!"
The ivory-armored soldier had to cover for her unresponsive partner. Low on his center of gravity and arms reaching up-front, Akuma's body was fully into survival mode. It was refusing to look away from the menace. Rubbles rolling off of its large frame, the stunned demon finally began to rise again.
"Jab, this thing is too fast. We need to slow it down somehow."
"Say less."
The one-armed warrior spontaneously ignited in emerald flames. As he slowly brought his metal bat in front of him, he could feel his grip sink into the iron frame of the handle. That immediately suffocated any doubt about his plan failing.
The drunk soldier cranked his bat all the way behind him, the tip of it barely grazing the ground. He then ferociously swung it back, brutally pummeling the floor. The utter force of the blow completely shattered the earth. Fractured, sinking and uneven, the secure footing was no more. That has to hinder his movement, no matter how negligible that might be. It has to make a difference.
"Fucking hell."
Rouge could barely process what she was witnessing. The man's body was flooded with blood. It barely held itself together; it was practically fully severed in multiple places. This horrific sight was making her vision blurry, her mind foggy. She did not know what to do. Even less did her hands. They were aimlessly sinking into the gory mess, quivering even through the sickening warmth of this carnage.
Rouge quickly reached for her bag, ravaging the inside, smearing blood everywhere. Panic refrained her from finding the right vial that could have maybe helped in some trivial and unlikely way.
"Fuck this shit! O- Ok, ok. Stay with me. I need you to stay with me here, o-ok?"
The inexperienced nurse instinctively grabbed a vial without looking at it and smashed it on the floor. She then rapidly grabbed a piece of broken glass and sharply cut open her left palm, faintly whimpering from the sharp pain. She closed her eyes, trying her best to concentrate as fast as possible. All she was thinking about was saving her friend's life. There was no world in which he could possibly die.
Her blood was promptly seeping out of her, dripping over the numerous lacerations. All she could do was hope for the best. She had no way of knowing if that was effective in any way. Until it did. Mute's wounds appeared to be moving. It was effective. Too effective. Her blood began to heal the wound she had self-inflicted on her hand, cutting dry the healing blood flow.
"No, no, no. What the fuck is this."
Her new powers were still unreliable for she could not fully understand them. Her personal practice and study of them were still not enough. But she had to figure out something. Now. The man's heart had just stopped beating. She reached to grab a handful of vials and proceeded to crack them open. She forcefully shoved them all in his chest one after the other. She didn't care what they were for anymore. One was bound to be filled with adrenaline.
Her idea quickly paid off when Mute's body unconsciously twitched, his chest erratically moving. He was definitively having some terrible organic failures, but his heart was beating. That's all that mattered for now. Rouge immediately got her hands on the shattered glass around her and shoved some pieces into her freshly healed wound, painfully reopening it.
Fuck me! O-Ok, ok. Calm down. He lost way too much blood. I need to stop his bleeding. Just not mine.
Without any afterthoughts, she shoved her fingers into her wound, grimacing, trying to forcefully keep it open. She poured her blood all over the already blood-soaked victim. It took a few seconds, interminable seconds, before she noticed his flesh moving.
"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes-!"
A first very needed victory. But she knew this wasn't over; he lost a substantial amount of blood.
"Will he be ok?"
"I-I don't know. I need more time."
"No worries, I got you."
Spike was standing guard, ready as ever. Whether she would be able to stop the threat or not was beyond her. But she would die trying. Lucky for her, the beast had another worry.
"I can't do this. I can't just watch."
Ace felt sick in her stomach. She was at her limit. She immediately took off to offer her aid to Jab, the only viable asset right now, for Rouge, Spike and Mute were out of the fight and Akuma was unresponsive. She did not look back or ask her co-leader for instruction.
The Shogun did not stop her. While he disagreed with her judgment, he fully understood her and did not intervene with her decision. She's a Commander as much as he is. If she decided this was the best course of option, she must know what's best.
The Hollow finally stood straight, snarling in contemplation, assessing the situation. The Illusionist rapidly joined with the heightened soldier.
"Thought you were supposed to stay back."
"I can always head back."
"No. I'll need your help with thi-"
"Watch out!"
Jab hardly had time to step forward and intercept the barrage of blades coming at them. The beast attacked with all its arsenal, all four of its sickles now clashing against the soldier's bat. Ace rapidly repositioned herself and fired a slave of golden coins.
The rigid projectile violently ripped through one of the demon's arms, completely tearing it apart. Her assault was too fast for the Hollow to react before its arm shattered and split in half. Without turning its head, its eyes menacingly shifted on her. The large monster then swiftly answered back, ferociously hurling one of its sharpened ribs toward her.
The young woman instinctively arched her back, ducking under the lethal missile before following with an assisted somersault to regain balance. Jab wasted no time. He used all his might to force the Hollow back. His arm's strength was enough to overpower the enormous beast, forcing it to withdraw and leap back. The bat finished its course into the ground, furthering the damage already scarring the battleground.
"Jab!"
Ace had already pulled out handfuls of iron beads and began shooting them before Jab could answer her call. But he pulled through. The one-armed warrior effectively and accurately swung his bat and hit every one of her projectiles toward the Hollow. Swirling, spinning around and heavily stepping forward between each throw, he was turning these marbles into deadly bullets.
The Hollow used all of its potential to stop the high-speed bullets coming at it. Its three remaining arms were working overtime, its curved daggers frenetically spiralling and blocking everything in sight. Barely.
The barrage of attacks began to overwhelm the beast, driving it back. Moreover, the power behind the destructive pellets was rapidly eating through the gory make-shift weapons, chipping away at their ivory foundation.
Pressed into a corner, its survival instinct took over. While they judged Hollows to be unmindful, most of them are actually quite sentient. This one was no exception. Well aware it was forced into defending, that had to change. As they say, offense is often the best defense. While not consciously aware of this concept, it was well versed in the ways of war.
Without warning, the Hollow dropped on all five and pounced right past his assailants. Spike did not even blink, but the monster was already bolting towards her, red glowing trails lingering in its path. She fully turned rock-solid, bracing for impact. Only, she was not its target and she only caught up on that at the last second.
"Spike!"
Fulfilling her role as a shield for the wounded, she took the brunt of the hit, stunningly stopping the massive monster in its tracks. The enemy broke free from the girl's grasp and reversed the scenario.
With only one arm, it successfully locked both of hers within its claws. Leaving its remaining pair of limbs free, it made the best of them. Standing tall before her, pinning her down, it violently grappled her sides. Not quite able to dig its claws through her natural armor, both its hands were strongly clasping her sides.
Spike soon felt something she had never felt before, even so that she was sure she was imagining it. But the concerning noises coming from her body confirmed it. The demon was trying to tear her in half. The force in which it was pulling her from both sides was straining her entire core and organs. Only when she felt a pull burning along her spine did she realize how dire her situation was.
"Enough of this-!"
Instantly transmuted behind the wide monster, Jab was already cranking his bat. As he ferociously swung his blunt weapon, the Hollow yet again showed its combat intuition. In a swift movement, it spun around, shoving the young woman between itself and the incoming blow.
Jab's eye was struck with horror, watching the tip of his crushing bat drastically approaching his friend's back. It took every ounce of power within him to stop his attack at the last instant, immediately creating a powerful shockwave.
The Hollow did not hesitate and threw away the doll it envisioned to be more fragile and immediately hurled itself onto the young man who had been on its case for a minute. Surprised by the whole thing, Jab could not stop a dozen claws from effortlessly digging right through his protective suit and shoving themselves deep within his flesh.
"JAB-!"
Ace's cry triggered before she could even notice the gaping jaw now dangerously closing around the now bleeding young man. The Commander felt a shivering urge whispering in her heart, instantly engulfing her in a mint aura. The tormented flames were dancing around her as she precisely unsheathed a throwing dagger and tossed it.
Her throw, powered by her run's momentum, made the blade pierce right through the Hollow's mouth, loosening it. Not confident the blade could efficiently cut through the monster's neck and terminate it, this was the next fastest thought to come to her mind. Lucky for her, it did put a halt to it. Unlucky for her, it was now directly looking at her.
However, even through fear, chaos and pain, Jab clocked it. And he was not about to let that slide. His hand had been, until now, instinctively glued to one of the monster's arms, claw-deep in his side. In a blink, his hand violently snatched onto the Hollow's neck, strongly squeezing, veins throbbing across his forearm.
His body tensed from the sharp pain coursing through his body, Jab could only stare at the demon, blood seeping through his mouth. Spike used this moment of distraction to hit their opponent from its blind spot. Surely enough, the Hollow did not see the acute bone spear coming, now deeply shoved through its throat.
"Take that you freak!"
"Good job, Spike! Jab are you o-?"
The Hollow snapped. It fiercely pulled out its arms from the soldier's body and ferociously grabbed the throat of the girl stabbing it with its sharp arm and the other young woman running towards it to finish the job. With its last available arm, the monster pummeled down on the hand trying to tear its neck apart. The heavy hit definitively did an unmeasurable amount of damage as a crack could be heard within the cave.
The Hollow then immediately kicked the wounded soldier in his sternum, sending him flying across the cavern. It then proceeded to grab the white spear puncturing it, and slowly, but easily, pulled it out.
"Oh, shit."
Spike rapidly caught on to the fact that their newly gained progress immediately turned for the worst. The demon grappled her with both its arms and vigorously swung her around and hurled her to the closest wall. The sheer power of the throw, amplified by her heavy and sturdy body, forcefully shoved her deep through the thick layers of the earth, now stuck ways away within the rocky interior.
Ace could not break away from the terrifying overpowering grip around her neck. Powerless, she could only bear witness as her assailant braced itself. Its two empty hands clenched into massive fists, its arms fully extended. She knew what was coming, and she knew it was gonna hurt.
The monster ferociously punched the young woman with its dual limbs, dropping its prey right before the moment of impact. The utter brute force of the doubled blow caved her sternum in and briefly created a shockwave behind her back before sending her flying at a tremendous speed.
Everybody watched her seemingly lifeless body break the sound barrier and violently crash into the back of the cave before crumbling to the ground under rocks and rubles. Without rest, the Hollow howled loudly, striking fear into every soldier present. But one.
Slash has been extremely alert and cautious of the situation. He is now also at his limit. For if this is to pursue the way it has been, he will have to step in. Even if he dislikes the idea, he will put a stop to this. He thought he was stronger, but he now realizes he might not be able to withstand such events.
Nevertheless, the beast had already followed up on its unrivalled carnage. After jumping further away, its sharp limbs forcefully dug through the earth, buried deep into the ground. With sheer force, the Hollow ripped a gigantic rock out of the earthy floor.
Hovering the massive boulder it had just carved out above its head, the monster widened its stance to gain balance and slowly began to turn toward the medic and her patient. Savvy quickly caught up on it.
"Rouge watch out!"
"Shit! Let's get the fuck out of here-"
At best as her ability could allow her, she was arduously dragging away Mute's heavy and limp body. However, it was not cutting it. Jab could barely stand from the last hit he suffered and knew something bad was coming.
"Hey you asshole! Akuma, do something! Snap the fuck out of it!"
As soon as he finished yelling, the beast hurled the massive projectile. In that same instant, time seemed to have stopped.
Come one, body. Do something. I need to save them someho-
Everybody felt the gravity shut down as they watched the boulder coming towards Rouge and the wounded, while Akuma leaped at the same time. Terror simultaneously rose from the abyss as they saw Akuma dashing in the completely opposite direction. Yet again, he was running on survival instinct. He was getting as far away as he could from that rock.
What!? This can't be happening. Why won't my body ever listen to me?
It was too late. The young soldier was way too far to intervene now. While still ways before reaching them, the giant boulder was still approaching, and nothing was going to stop it from completely shattering its two targets. Or so it seemed.
Out of nowhere, Jab appeared right before the stone. He used every last drop of will he had to push his body past its viable limits. As he let out a bone-piercing growl, the amputated warrior brutally punched the heavy rock coming at him. Too weakened to shatter the stone, the pure weight and momentum propelling it were pushing him across the floor.
With only one arm, the soldier was forcefully trying to slow down the lethal projectile, his boots dragging through the earth. However, it was not enough. He could not stop it.
"Damn it!!!-"
As he let out a desperate war cry, he felt a massive weight crushing his back. As he could barely look over his shoulder, he almost did not distinguish Mute's defeated figure. His back against Jab's, the injured assassin had his large legs fully extended, his heels digging through the ground, also trying to help slow down this enormous projectile.
To help apply as much friction as he could, he violently shoved both his daggers into the ground at his sides. The blades were ripping through the rocks and the mud, heavily tearing up his biceps.
As he was pressing his back as hard as he could against his comrade's, by pushing his legs into the ground, many of his fresh wounds immediately reopened.
Jab quickly realized they wouldn't be able to stop the boulder as they were dangerously getting closer to Rouge and Savvy. Without any actual planning, the drunk soldier switched his force upward.
Jab could feel his shoulder dislocating as he was pouring every ounce of strength he had to redirect the rock toward the ceiling. In time, as his arm broke, the young man was able to shoot the stone crashing up into the ceiling.
The abrupt stop in momentum sent the two broken soldiers bouncing across the floor. Seemingly all incapacitated, only Savvy and Rouge stood before the threat. Slash closed his eyes slowly as the Hollow quickly began to spring toward the troop to finish what it started.
"Enough."
A violet flash illuminated the entire area in the blink of an eye. The Shogun was now on the opposite side of the area, kneeling over Ace's petite and fragile figure. The Hollow steadily slowed down and stood still for an instant. Slash gently picked up his unconscious partner and carried her back in his arms, passing right next to the immobilized demon.
As he did, the beast slowly extended its arms trying to reach for him, only for its arms to drop clean off of its body. Followed by its head. Just like that, the fight had ended. It was not a win. It was a termination, yes. But not a victory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This was terrible. Everything I thought could go wrong went even worse. And most of it was my fault. Everybody is silent. Nobody wants to break the silence. We should probably head out.
"We should probably go. We have a lot of injured."
"The fuck did you just say?"
Jab barely spoke up but I heard him. I think we all did.
"I said we shoul-"
"You did not just say that. Who's fault do you think this is you fucking asshole."
He was already right onto me. His arm is definitively broken. I can tell just by the way it moved as he walked up to me. But he is right. It is my fault.
"I couldn't control my body. It moved on its ow-"
"Fuck you-!"
Fuck. I was not expecting him to just headbutt me. His forehead is bleeding but I can't feel any blood coming out of my nose. He probably hurt himself trying to hit me. He must be furious right now.
"..."
He's not saying anything. He's just staring me down. I get it. I know it's my fault.
"I told you. I couldn't do anythin-"
"We know. You don't have to repeat it. Leave the excuses. Let's just go."
Savvy cut me off. She's also mad. But it's not my fault. I couldn't do anything. Well anyways. Ace is still unconscious. Rouge is still trying to assist Mute as Spike is struggling to carry him around. Savvy is helping Jab out. Other than his broken arm, it looks like all the hit he took are finally taking their toll. He's been badly stabbed.
That leaves Savvy, Slash, Rouge, Spike, and me. I guess if we get attacked on our way back, we could still probably handle it. I mean, just having Slash would be enough. Not that it matters. All I can think about right now is how badly I messed up. I mean technically speaking, I did good. I survived.
But realistically, I was terrible. I don't know how I could be able to fix that. How do I even get my own body to listen to me? How could I figure that out if I don't even know why it won't listen to me? I'm scared I'd have to ask Doc about it. I hate that he's the last person I want to ask but also the best person to ask. I guess I'll just figure it out.
~~~~~~~~~
"How is she?"
"She's fine. She'll make it."
"Thank you, Venom."
"I didn't do anything. It's all thanks to her. She's a tough."
"Yeah. I'm just glad she's ok."
"Yeah. She's a good gal. I'm just surprised it would get to that point. When you were around, Slash."
"It's my fault. I pushed my luck too far."
"Right. Well, don't beat yourself down too much. All is well. She'll be awake and ready to go soon enough. I'm out now. See you around."
"Yeah. Thank you again."
The Mad Scientist left the bright medical room while wiping her eyes from under her glasses. She had to work overtime for this. But it was honest work. Slash appreciated that.
The image of Ace's unconscious figure really printed onto his mind. He was lucky, he knew it. This could have ended terribly wrong. As he was now also about to leave the room, a silhouette appeared at the door. The Commander sighed in relief, smirking.
"Hahaha! Look who's here!"
"How is she?"
Jab completely ignored the Shogun's bait. Not that the lieutenant was going to press on it. Not in these circumstances.
"Hahaha! No need to worry, lad! She'll pull through. How's your arm? Your wounds?"
"I'm fine. But that's good then. Not that I'm too surprised. She's strong."
"Hahaha, she sure is. She's got a strong spirit and a good heart. You picked the right girl."
"... I guess I really did. Just don't tell her I said that."
"Hahaha, no worries young fella. Your secret of love is never leaving this mouth of mine."
"Weird way to say that but we got there. I'll take your word for it."
"Hahaha! My word is true, as is my blade!"
"Right…"
As he said so, Slash put his large hand over the young man's bandaged shoulder and walked out of the room, leaving the youngsters alone.
That's new. Me being lucky. But I am lucky, aren't I? Too lucky. I really have to step up my game if I want to protect you. But right now, I need to fuck this guy's teeth in. He'll understand what's at stake here. I'll make sure he will.