After killing the four Elite aliens, Ace and Cherry rested for a little while as they watched the front of Grim's ship slowly lowering. As it did, the sounds of hisses, clicks, crackles, and groans resonated as more Granian fleets emerged. Unlike the first round, these ones came equipped with mini-pods that resembled eggs. The black pods had two barrels at either end and a cut upper half, allowing the Granians to sit inside and control them with a mini control panel.
[Objective: Use this as an opportunity to gather as much EXP as possible. You can also practice your blood skills and maybe learn to control your blood mutant form.]
"That's a whole lot of them," Cherry spoke with her large, teeth-filled mouth, muffling her deep, monstrous voice. "Can you transform? It'll be a lot easier if you can, Ace."
"I told you already, Cherry," Ace replied. "It comes on its own. I don't know how you're able to control yours so easily."
"Like I said, Grim did something to me and the others on their ship. Just…just make sure not to get hurt. I can't protect you and myself."
"I'm perfectly capable of handling myself, Cherry." Ace smiled as he melted the blood armor off his body, turning it into spike-tipped tendrils.
"This is getting bad," Chris said to Ace as he transformed back to normal. "I'm starting to doubt whether we'll make it or not." Observing Ace's partially transformed body and Cherry's mutant form, Chris started to see why the Granians were after these two. Their ability to draw out blood and use it as a weapon made them extremely powerful and dangerous. Sky, who was standing with Ace, added, "You can transform into other beasts, right?"
Cherry, her eyes fixated on the Granians ahead of them, asked, "Do us a favor and turn into something with a thick hide. That should help us."
"I can help too," Sky said as she jumped out from a nearby building. "It may not be much, but these arms might cause some damage."
"Then you'll need this," Ace replied as he formed a tough armor vest made of green Granian blood. "This should give you some sort of protection."
"What about me?" A slightly familiar voice, recognized by Ace, Sky, and Chris, sounded through their ears. When the three looked back, they saw their school's general, Jack, walking towards them. The man, now slightly bigger than before, joined Ace and gave him a little bow.
"Now I know why you were so special, Ace," he said, wanting to shake Ace's hand. "I've been keeping my eye on you ever since you did that assessment test. Who knew you were a prize for the aliens?"
"General Jack, sir!" Chris and Sky saluted. "How did you get here?"
"It's a long story, but I need to tell you something. Ace, these aliens aren't the only ones after you. There's a third person with the same power. He's out for revenge, claiming that you turned him into it."
'Turned him?' Ace wondered. 'If I turned someone, the system would have told me.'
"Who is he or she, and where are they?" Ace asked, determined to find and dispose of the person Jack spoke of.
"We'll handle that later. Right now, we have to deal with this." The now five humans looked forward and watched the Granians as they settled themselves. Behind them were exhausted and dead Hunters, with the number of dead ones outnumbering those too tired to fight.
"We have to take care of this quickly. There's no way those Hunters will be able to fight," Chris announced, looking at General Jack. "I understand you don't have Gifted abilities. Could you please evacuate the people, sir?"
"No," Jack abruptly responded. "You and the girl with the arms do that. I'll handle this with Ace and the other one."
"But sir, you don't have—"
"Trust me, Chris." Jack held Chris by his shoulders with a cheeky smile. "Just do as I asked. Once you're done, come and join us. Move now, we don't have much time."
"Yes, sir." Confused but still obedient to orders, Chris and Sky rushed to the exhausted Hunters' aid and started to evacuate them. Chris partially transformed his hands into gorilla hands and used them to gently lift as many Hunters as possible, while Sky carried two at best.
Meanwhile, back in Grim's ship, the cameras switched back to Ace and his team. As soon as the Granians, especially Grim, saw Ace, they sighed in relief, happy that the target they were looking for was before them. Grim, however, was infuriated when he saw someone in particular. That someone was the reason Grim was turned into a space pilot. Looking at Sky, with her body transformed, angered Grim to the point where he dug his own claws into his fists.
The Granians weren't the only ones pleased when they looked at the screens. General Luke smiled, feeling a small sense of hope that General Jack had come with the military to save him and the students he was with.
"Look... it's General Jack," he said to the students next to him with joy in his tone. "We're going to be saved, guys. Hold on a little longer. We're going to make it out alive."
"Don't count yourselves too lucky," Grim replied, having heard their conversation through the translator. "There may be forces coming, but I'll make sure none of you leave here alive. If you're lucky, you might walk away with a missing limb. Sit tight, humans. You'll witness the last moments of your lives and those of your friends."
"Did you hear that?" Zain said to the others with wide eyes. "This alien said that there are others coming for us. A war's going to break out."
"The question is," Hurt continued, "will we win this time, or will we be beaten again?"