A matter of minutes would have passed since the first strike that Jacob landed on Hochi. They pranced and exercised every avenue to attempt escape then rush in to combat the apocalyptic collision of these two high class Villains. A slew of their blood flung all around as the scenery took on a dark fable.
What had remained of the playground was no more due to Sam's reforming of the earth which had drowned the swings and slide of the playset into a crumbling disaster of broken metal shards that stuck out at sharp angles. These angles in turn had been used to slash the underside of Pochi, but elicited little damage. Coupled with the advantage Sam held when faced by Hochi, now without an arm, the group was able to sustain the damage dealt unto them while dishing some out.
Jacob handled the attacks from Pochi while increasing the distance between them to his own optimal area. Meanwhile, Sam created gaps to stick Pochi as well as his partner Hochi in-between. Lastly, Daniel fought the mass of words that flooded into his mind from the animals he commanded to their deaths. The creatures cried in harsh swears cursing the human boy that controlled their minds. He was the Devil that rid them of free will as they torturously gave their lives for one they had no thought nor feel toward.
Yet, an unavoidable series of events would take place setting in stone the inevitability of their circumstances. The sheer luck the three had possessed was to run out as just about three minutes passed since the initial blow which began the battle. The cracks in their experience reared their ugly heads.
Jacob suffered a backlash from overuse of his communion to the dark energy he channeled from his surroundings. Such consequences sought him to produce a disturbing black sludge to come vomiting up from his stomach. His dizzied state brought him to his knees allowing for Pochi's next kick to come, shattering his left arm and rib cage.
A fit of worry distracted Sam from her duty as she too felt a side effect from her cracking which rebounded onto her fingertips, soiling the ground. This flinch gave Hochi his next move as he went for her head with a plunge from his sharpened fingernails. However, by a stroke of unwavering concentration, Daniel flung himself as well as the last five animals in his collection in an attempt to soften the blow. That blow was indeed softened, but barely, which instead of lobbing the head off of Sam it opened a huge gash to Daniel's chest as a solitary knuckle found its way past the barrier of pests carving a hole into his front. He fell to the ground, head jostling around as his skull met rock.
Stunned, Sam soon realized that if she were to continue using her ability, all it would accomplish was her very death as the cracking would take her heart. The cracking would spread, eviscerating her skin then insides until Pochi would be able to dine on her without even needing to prepare the dish. Her spot laid crouched in a frog's leaping position to stare at the looming figures that have come for little else than her life.
Figures which were soon blotted out by a broader back that she barely recognized.
"Jacob…" she said in sharp disbelief.
Snarling, Jacob puffed out his chest and sharpened his stance, something he had seen Kage and Gan commit to a multitude of times. The reasoning was lost on him as the next movement was always unpredictable. "Don't sound so surprised. What bastard would be a coward in this spot? Just focus on giving me support like you've been doing. I don't think Daniel's getting back up from that - he did good enough distracting these walking piles of crap…
It's up to us… understand?"
Sam looked at Daniel observing his bent body and slacking breaths. He could die, they all could die. Her inability and self-harm because of lackluster training was her own fault not that of these two. Most of all, she couldn't let Jacob, who had arrived to save them from their own problem, die before her.
'Jacob, you dumbfuck… Maybe you're not just a rotten idiot.'
She nodded this track away, shambling to a tall posture cracking the bones to her back. Trembling with pressure, she reached out with her fingers ready to go further.
"Since I can't tell if ya nodded or not, dumbass, I'm just going to assume you're ready. We just gotta hold out until another Hero co-
"OH, SHUT THE FUCK UP! YOU BRATS!" Screamed Hochi. The two of them were stuck close together after the humiliation of losing an arm from the surprise attack. "You all don't even get what the hell is happening in these parts, do you?" The Villain phased between a second-dimensional plane into a three-dimensional one over and again drawing each child's attention. Its ability was experiencing some issues just as theirs were.
Pochi laid a hand on Hochi's shoulder then spoke with bubbles of saliva permeating each word, "No help will arrive in this city tonight. We have free reign for four hours; in that time, we will tear every last morsel of life from the caverns to the rooftops." The large tongue whipped around its lips making them glisten in the moonlight.
"This night will follow in the wake of a glory prophesied by the man of Mir and witnessed by the gracious Black Queen. Today we do her bidding and the next we will be bathed in gifts galore." The muscles to its thighs were prepared to pounce while Hochi kept advancing.
"You all believe that load of shit! Some dumbass prophecy if all it takes is the murder of hundreds!" Jacob attested.
Hochi stopped, making Pochi fall into line. "I think that's enough from your lips, kid."
Jacob could not move as Hochi lunged its remaining arm for his neck. Whether it was his lack of stamina, expended strength, or even the mindset to flee, Jacob was placed in a position where he would lose his life.
These fearsome monsters before him gave clarity to his time in Little Rockridge, Oklahoma. Monsters awaited every turn, every choice, and every word someone could make in their time on Earth. They could be born from the actions he or another committed. In this planet so massive and brimming with life it is a spectacle to encounter said monster not once but twice in a person's life. Therefore, his thoughts went to places between reality just as the nail of his murderer graced Jacob's throat.