Fire scorched everything. We had indeed gotten stronger; but, we still weren't ready for A'grappa's immense strength and power. There was no time left to get stronger either. Gladness overtook me when I realized that Rammel and I both had the reflexes and forethought to deflect his flame breath with our force field.
"We can't keep fighting on the back foot." Rammel complained, eyeing A'grappa from across the flames. "We have to find a way to put pressure on him."
"Protecting everyone while fighting is going to be very difficult." I responded. It seemed like A'grappa was baiting us.
"Why don't I worry about protection while you are out there fighting? My ability is stronger than yours." Rammel suggested. "For now."
I glanced around at everyone. It felt like each one of us was in grave danger and A'grappa would make his move at any moment. We couldn't afford to talk much about what we were going to do, only trust and coordinate.
"Perhaps, you should only focus on protecting Silas and Hina. They are the only, how should I put this, non-Fractions." Abryi stated. "I am a lot stronger than I look and Campbell can definitely take a hit or two."
Suddenly, a red blur and a loud boom passed through all of us. A cloud of dust erupted before anyone could see anything. When the dust settled, there stood A'grappa. His muscular frame was more toned than I thought. His scales were more amber with golden underlay, causing the light to illuminate them in iridescence. His fangs were bared. His amber wings were unfolded, having sprouted from his back at some point between his first attack and now. His fist connected with Rammel's barrier; however, instead of putting Rammel to the ground, he managed to only be brought to one knee.
"You have definitely gotten much stronger, Rammel." A'grappa hissed.
"I am no longer the same as I was all that time ago." Rammel spat back.
"Two Ton Punch!" Two fists smashed into A'grappa's face, sending him backward almost into the building in the distance. Campbell and Baen were huffing air. We still hadn't had the time to rest between fights. "We got this." They spoke in unison. As much as Baen would rather not be compared to his brother, he was very much like him. They charged after A'grappa to keep him on his toes.
Abryi readied Malda and chased after them.
As I watched them struggling to land a blow against this elder god, I turned to my father and said, "Take good care of Silas and Hina. I will hold you responsible. I'm off to join them." And then, I ran after Abryi.
I tried everything I could think of. Every ability I had. I directed them at A'grappa, all at once. All the while, he was fighting Abryi, Campbell, and Baen up close. Nothing landed. He managed to dodge everything. I manifested Lillith's macuahuitl. Now if only could have her speed.
Heh. I could hear Lillith's voice. You know you could just ask?
I can rally the others. Kaddyr added.
Others? I was deathly curious about what he meant. I was very sure that Whisper and Yog would not lend their help to me willingly. I couldn't focus on Kaddyr however. I imbued the onyx blade with my father's power and teleported behind A'grappa to give him no chance of dodging my attack.
When my attack connected, something felt off. A'grappa had managed to defend himself by wrapping his wings around his body, blocking not only my attack; but those of Abryi's flaming blade, Campbell's fists, and Baen's claws. He quickly unfurled his wings, pushing us back. Laughing.
I took the chance to fire off shards of bones and spears of dust at him.
"You'll have to do more than that, to hurt me, poor little Fraction." A'grappa belittled. "You are no match for the likes of me. You should just bow down and submit already." He laughed harder. "Perhaps, I will even allow you to be my concubine."
Rage filled me. How dare he assume I would kowtow to his persona and allow myself to be used in that fashion. I could feel power well up in my body. My body changed to accommodate the power, growing in size faster than I had seen any Minor One do, or any other Fraction for that matter. Fur and scales began to cover my body. My skin began to turn gray and rough. The power swelled even more. Mechanical arms began sprouting from my back, each one bearing a different weapon. Large bone horns erupted from my head. I stood three times my original height.
"Finally, a challenge." A'grappa cackled. He wrung his hands in anticipation.
Abryi also took the chance to expand his size, becoming the same form he had used when he fought Lillith in my body. A giant flaming carrot of a man and an equally massive sword. All brawn.
Baen shifted into his wolflike form, making him look much like his late father. He even grew in size and ferocity. His muscles rippled, causing his gray fur to stand on end.
Campbell was the only one who didn't seem to change. But, with each step he took towards A'grappa, the ground began to shake. "Ten Ton Man." He punched his fist.
We each took a cardinal direction around A'grappa. Campbell wasted no time, punching the dragon man in his brother's direction. Baen clawed at him with such force that the attack sent A'grappa into Abryi. Abryi batted the dragon man towards me with his blade completely ablaze. Using all my arms, I smashed him into the ground, causing a giant cloud of grey dust to plume into the air.
"We're just getting started, A'grappa." I spat.
"Good." I could hear from the dust. As it began to settle, I could see A'grappa wiping some blood away from his lip using his tongue. "It wouldn't be much of a challenge otherwise."