The creature pounced...
Acala tensed as the scavenging creature attacked, its spindly form moving with an eerie speed unnatural for its size. She reacted instinctively, throwing her hands forward and releasing a surge of ki in a tight beam. The blast streaked across the fumes, illuminating the toxic smoke for a brief moment.
The creature twisted its grotesque body mid-stride, bending at an unnatural angle. The ki blast roared past it, gouging a straight line across the middle of the toxic bog some miles behind it.
Acala hissed, not expecting it to dodge her attack while it was closing in on her. She stepped back, forced into a defensive position with the pod and Spina to lug around.
The creature halted a step or two before her, its six spidery legs slaying low to the ground. Its face full of white, glossy eyes remained locked on her with an almost predatorial hunger. Without pause, it lunged again, one razor-sharp claw swiping dangerously toward her head.
Acala jumped back, just narrowly avoiding getting beheaded by the strike. The air was split by the sound of tearing, rendering metal as the creature's claws sheared cleanly through one of the thick cables she was using to drag the pod. Acala felt irritation bubbling in her chest, doubly so after she glanced at the severed cable, its frayed edges still smoldering from the friction of the cut.
'This thing can slice clean through solid metal...'
She thought to herself, her breathing becoming uneven as she jumped back to dodge another blow. The realization struck her harder than she'd ever care to admit: injured, exhausted, and hungry, she was far from her best. The creature, though it was only a single opponent, was turning out to be surprisingly more dangerous to her in this vulnerable state.
The creature hissed and spluttered, the sound was sickening, guttural, one that made her hair stand on edge. It circled her, hissing and snapping its claw as though jeering at her, taunting her into acting rashly.
Acala didn't like how this was going, nor what it might discover if it saw Spina on her back.
"Alright..."
She growled, her arm bulging as she forcefully pulled more ki from within,
"Let's see if you're tough enough to digest a Saiyan!"
She dashed forward, ki flaring around her limbs in a bright orange glow as she launched into the fight. 'Ember Strike...' A technique from the TBS system, used for the very first time in combat. Her ki ignited into flames and the fiery light engulfed her fists, heating the air around her as she drove her fist directly into the scavenger's face.
The creature shrieked, too late for it to dodge, its claws slashed wildly as it tried to shred her to pieces. Acala stepped inside its attack, driving her fist through the creature's ugly carapace, the force of the blow punctured through the thick armor with a loud 'crunch.' Its head drove downward to the ground, and a large crater with molten edges was all that was left of its glossy eyes.
The beast's claws halted mere inches from her waist, it was about to rip her guts out mere moments before she busted through its skull.
Acala staggered backward, panting heavily, her chest heaving. Her vision blurred from the poisonous fumes. Her knees nearly gave out but she stood, trembling, beside the creature's carcass. She had opened the wound on her sides and it was starting to bleed again, her stomach screamed for attention, but she forced herself to focus on catching her breath.
"Damn thing."
She muttered, spitting onto the scorched forehead of the beast. For a moment, she allowed herself the luxury of relief.
Then, the beast's corpse twitched, rearing up its half-molten head, it let out a strange, guttural cry. The sound was low, like a moaning groan, but it echoed across the marshes. Her head snapped up, eyes widening in alarm.
"Shit...!"
Acalafroze, her heart sinking as the cry was answered a moment later, dozens of guttural calls rising from the toxic pits around them. The bubbling marshes churned by a chorus of cries. Her gaze darted across the bubbling pits of acidic sludge.
Slowly, one by one, more of those creatures began to crawl out of their hiding places in scores!
No, in hundreds!
The scavenger crawled from the pits, shrugging off the acidic muck to reveal their black carapace glistening under the harsh sun. Their claws clicked rhythmically as they climbed onto solid stones, their numbers grew with every second.
Acala staggered on her feet, her body was battered and her mind exhausted. There was no way she could take them all in her current condition. Her ears were buzzing from the rising cries of the creature. She gripped the remaining cable of the pod tightly, her muscles tensing as the first wave of the creatures surged forward like a living tide.
"You want a fight...?"
She roared, baring her teeth,
"Come and get it!"
With a savage cry, she yanked the pod with all her might, swinging it in a wide arc. The heavy metallic structure tore through the air like an extra large wrecking ball, slamming into the leading creatures. The impact was devastating... especially on living beings, their bodies were crushed under the force, splinters of carapace, and acidic ichor spraying in all directions.
Several of them were merely grazed by the wrecking ball, they were flung backward into their companions, gouging out seep gullies in the mud. Acala didn't stop, she was having too much fun to stop, spinning on her heel and swinging the pod in another arc. More of the scavenging beasts were caught in its path, splattered into bits from the savage force.
"Not so tough now, are ya'! Ha-Hahaha!"
She laughed wildly, her voice growling louder by the minute.
It was a charade, her strength was waning. She could feel her arms trembling from the effort, her breathing was becoming more labored. Still, it was fun to see the beasts squashed like bugs or fleeing in all directions. But it wasn't enough.
For everyone she crushed into a paste, ten more seemed to take its place. The horde surged forward relentlessly, clicking and crying out in anger. One of them, only half smashed and plastered to the pod, bit through the cable, severing the last remaining strange with a metallic snap.
The pod shot skidding into the distance, bouncing and smashing more in its path. Acala swore under her breath, turning around to see it bounce out of the mashes.
She couldn't fight them, she knew that. Her legs tensed as she prepared to launch herself into the air, Spina tied securely to her back. But before she could take off, a deafening explosion rocked the ground beneath her feet.
A series of rapid-fire ki blasts rained down from above. Gigantic explosions tore through the horde, sending the scavengers screeching and scrambling back into the marshes. The shockwave sent waves of acidic sludge splashing into the air, the heat of the blast burned the ground crisp and solid.
"What the...?"
Acala began, but her words were cut off as another explosion followed, and then another. She shielded her eyes from the blinding lights, scanning the skies for whoever sent those ki bombs.
Then, she saw them. Three figures descending from the above. They landed on the charcoaled remains of the creatures, their boots crunching the scorched carapace. Their battered Saiyan armor, wild hair, and cocky smug looks were unmistakable.
The first to touch down was a girl. She approached Acala, at the very forefront of the trio, her disheveled black hair dancing wildly in the wind. As she drew nearer, both of their scouters beeped, analyzing each other's Power Level.
The girl's cocky looks faltered as the device read '550' and Acala was impressed by her '390.' The readings were a bit on the lower side because of their injuries, but it was clear that Acala was more so than the newcomer.
"Hmph. Your Power Level might be higher than mine, but you look half-dead already."
Said the girl as a smug, cocky grin returned to her face.
The other two beside her, both boys looking somewhat identical despite their battered appearances. One had a power level of '309,' and the other '305.' Not especially high, but given her situation, they might as well have been elites.
One of the two boys, the slightly more battered looking, his wild hair sticking up in uneven spikes,
"She's dragging her pod through this hellhole. Guess that explains why she's so beat up. What's she doing with that thing anyway?"
The other body with a scouter cracked across the lens, groaned.
"Yer thinking out loud again Tato."
Tato's cocky poker face broke into a silly, apologetic grin,
"My bad, Mato... Nion."
The girl, Nion, rolled her eyes, crossing her arms and tilting her head.
"Idiot..."
Acala glared at them, her tail whipping the ground in anger.
"What I do is none of your business."
Nion's lips twitched in an angry grin,
"Yeah, well, you looked like you were about to be lunch for those things. Don't get cocky because your Power Level is higher than ours. We just saved your tail."
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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