Tristan's form dropped to the ground, no longer held up by the saurian creature. Pools of purple acid leaked out, seeping into the ground.
The ball wiggled on the ground. The center button kept flashing red and white. I could see the small lightning bolt above the center button, wiggling around as the ball struggled to contain the abomination.
I saw the ball begin to erupt into white light. I quickly ran up and kicked it, sending it off into the darkness.
The ball exploded, splintering out. Flecks of shrapnel pelted down on me, even though I'd kicked it far away. I looked down and checked for injuries.
I sighed in relief.
There was no shrapnel that had cut Tristan, like I'd feared. Kicking the pokeball away had been a good call. If it had exploded that close to him, it probably would have ripped through him. Not to mention Gallade.
I spared a glance at the psychic type. The dark lightning continued to make the pokemon spasm. I quickly grabbed his pokeball from Tristan's belt and returned him.
I turned back to Tristan. Getting a closer look didn't make me feel any better about his chances. His face was contorted in pain. His legs were withered, covered in murky purple poison and dark black rot. I could see the veins starting to get blacker farther up his legs as the poison spread.
Shit.
I had to do something about this. I had to do something about this now.
I released Azula. Her tail flame quickly lit up the area.
We would now be easy targets.
But I couldn't leave Tristan to die.
I whistled. A yellow blur quickly raced up to me. His claws were covered in dark green blood. It looked like chlorophyll. His eyes rapidly flicked from side to side, searching for enemies.
I looked Zuko in the eye. He met my gaze. "Target the green ones with vines. Aim to kill. No holding back. Protect Azula."
The yellow Charmander snarled with glee and disappeared in a blur.
The Ivysaur had found us again. It's vines were still too short on one side to reach to the treetops above, so it had been forced to walk. It looked pissed. It did not enjoy being forced to walk. And it certainly didn't enjoy being trapped in a pokeball, no matter how brief.
I turned to Azula. "Charge up iron claw. Coat in it flamethrower to heat them. Stay next to Tristan."
I looked around, stopping as I found what I was looking for. The two dao blades had fallen when Ivysuar had been knocked from its perch.
Ivysaur was still slowly making its way over. It didn't seem like it was used to walking. With its vines, it probably never needed to move other than swinging.
The dao blades fit perfectly in my grip. The blades thrummed with power.
I turned back to where Azula's silvery metal claws had turned to a cherry red after bathing them with flame.
I steeled myself as I tried not to flinch away from what I needed to do.
The dao blades sliced through the air, cutting through flesh with ease. I grimaced as blood squirted out.
"Azula quick. Bring the blade along the wounds. We need to cauterize it."
The innocent red lizard looked at me with terror, but moved forward to follow through. The stench of rot almost made me immediately vomit, but I forced myself to watch. Azula, even though her arms were trembling, quickly cauterized both stumps of Tristan's legs.
His body stopped seizing up, and the dark purple veins seemed to lighten up a bit.
I quickly returned Azula. Her red form disappeared into red light, and the area was quickly enveloped in darkness as her tail flame disappeared.
I turned back to the Ivysaur, standing in front of Tristan protectively.
Oblivion had normally felt like an empty husk before. Like an empty hospital. Or a playground at night. An eerie sense of wrongness. Of emptiness.
But now I could feel something. Something that resonated with the fury within me. A vengeance. A shrill wail, ready to shred the world into pieces. And I would be its tool. I would be the brush as it painted the world with blood.
I stared down the Ivysaur, swords in hand. It was moving in slow motion. I could feel the entirety of my body, down to every last nerve ending. Every infinitesimal movement was measured. I stepped forward, knowing exactly how and where I would step. The night should have been pitch black. My night vision should have been ruined. I had been right next to Azula's bright tail flame not even a minute ago.
But the pitch black was crystal clear. I could make out the details of each individual leaf on the flower of Ivysaur's back. I could see that there were purple flecks of powder near the mouth of the flower. I could see sharper razor leaves tucked into the base, where dark black void energy was being collected.
I could also see other creatures watching from above. There were two more Starfallen Bulbasaur, waiting to pounce from above. One flower leaked a bit of yellow powder, the other purple. Another Ivysaur was near them, hiding behind a branch. It narrowed its eyes as it realized I was watching it.
Before I could even notice that I had moved, a metal clang sounded and a dark green mass whizzed through the air past my head. I didn't even get the chance to think about it before I parried two more dark green razor leafs.
My body was moving on its own. I looked down to see the wreaths at the end of the dao blades gripped around my forearms.
It was odd. I obviously hadn't parried those razor leaves myself. I could barely react to that sort of thing in time even if I was paying attention. But it wasn't like it wasn't me either. I could feel which muscle fibers contracted in order for me to whip out my elbow, making the blade flick the razor leaf off into the trees, deflecting it from hitting my head.
Another razor leaf flew towards my head, and I flicked it off towards the side with ease. It was moving far slower than the earlier one I had barely dodged.
More razor leaves followed. This time I actually tried to pay attention to where they came from. One was from beneath a pile of wood in front of me. The other was from behind the tent.
I watched the Ivysaur, and saw it throw another razor leaf straight into the ground. I felt my hair rise on end as my instincts screamed at me to duck.
The razor leaf harmlessly sailed over my head.
My eyes widened. That razor leaf had come from behind. It wasn't just that the razor leaves were coated in void energy. The fucking Ivysaur could throw them through the goddamn shadows.
I whistled.
Zuko raced over to me from my left. His shoulder was bleeding, he was covered in scratches all over, and there was even a leech seed embedded in his thigh. I'd never seen him look happier. Despite the terrible circumstances, he lived for this. He was an adrenaline junkie with a penchant for violence. It was in his blood. He was a dragon. He was made to fight. To conquer. To obliterate.
For once, I'd try not to hold back his true nature.
I finally understood what aura meant to Tristan. The whole connection thing had felt like complete bullshit. But right now, I could feel Zuko's glee.
It sent jolts down my spine. Every nerve felt like it was on fire. But it felt good. It felt really good.
I felt like I could take on the world. But that wasn't all. I could feel Oblivion's fury. I could feel Azula's comforting warmth, as well as her fear.
It was like a wild concoction of emotion. And I was the blender. I was the amalgamation of the best of them. Of the worst.
They lived through me just as much as I lived through them.
I grinned.
It was a manic grin. One that I never imagined I would do in a moment like this. Tristan, one of the few people I'd actually connected with after coming into this world, lay unconscious, poisoned, catatonic, right behind me.
That smile would have felt alien at any other moment. But somehow, high on my own emotions and the emotions I felt through aura, I felt invincible. I felt adrenaline like I'd never felt before. My senses were sharper than they'd ever been before.
I cackled and gripped the dao swords with renewed vigor.
Zuko didn't even need to look at me to know to prepare for the fight. The red fins on his forearms lit up and greedily sucked in ambient static electricity.
The Ivysuar had decided to give up on throwing razor leaves. It might have ran out. Those blades probably weren't very easy to grow. And likely took significant time. They were incredibly dense. I still don't know how a purely biological leaf could be honed to such high density and sharpness. Maybe they used some sort of calcium composite to crystalize the exterior of the leaf, making some kind of proto shell?
"Alright Zuko. This is it. Life or death. Survive. Keep Tristan alive. Everything you need to do to make those two things happen is on the table."
However, before we could move a step, the Ivysaur dropped to the floor, sliced in half. Dark pools of green blood puddled out. Puffs of unused poison powder drifted to the ground around the body. Behind it stood a 5 foot tall dark brown form, its arms long scythes, standing like a reaper of death. The Kabutops made no sound as it moved.
Two Bulbasaur fell from above, landing next to the Ivysaur.
A Sceptile and Weavile joined the Kabutops. They all eyed me and Zuko, then turned to something behind me.
"Shit kid. Did you do this?" A voice came from behind me.
I turned to see Ranger Layton inspecting Tristan's unconscious form. He poked the leg stump, checking to see if it would bleed. A sound of something snarling to our right prompted Layton to flick his head off in that direction. Sceptile and Weavile immediately set off towards it, leaving just Kabutops and himself.
"Yeah. There were dark murky purple and black pulses creeping farther up. I figure I couldn't actually make his chances any worse, and I didn't have the time to think of anything else." I hastily let out. I forced myself to relax a bit.
Ranger Layton was somebody who knew what they were doing.
I was safe, for now.
He turned back to me. "No no. Don't worry. It was the right call. He'd have been dead within minutes. Suarian void poison kills within three hours. And that's just if it was a small dose."
Layton eyed the rotting appendages off to the side. Tristan's legs had been burned almost down to the bone. That poison had some kind of acidic properties, and it clearly was nothing to scoff at. I wasn't surprised getting it in your system was usually a death sentence.
"And Tristan clearly didn't get a small dose. I've never heard of anybody surviving after having been snagged in the flower of a Starfallen Saur. But if anybody can do it, it's Tristan. But we still have to make it through the night first."
I smiled internally. There was still hope.
Layton eyed me skeptically. "I'm surprised you had the guts to make and execute that. Even veteran Ranger's would flinch away from doing something like that, even if it would save their comrade."
I met his eyes without flinching. "I know that I can't afford to hesitate in moments like these. My gut had a hunch, and I followed through. Anything less than that is weakness."
On the outside my face was set straight. My confidence was oozing. My eyes were hard and unflinching.
Internally, I was confused. What was I saying? I normally wouldn't talk like this. Weakness? Since when did I define who I was in terms of strength and weakness?
Was this aura?
Ranger Layton backed down. "You've got a hardness to you kid. One I haven't seen in anything besides child soldiers or victims of abuse. I'm not going to dig into your past. You're clearly not completely full of shit, but be careful."
He looked me in the eye again, but this time they weren't calculating eyes. Assessing me for danger. No, this time his eyes were filled with compassion. With memories, painful memories. His eyebrows furrowed together.
"I know where that road can lead you. Don't forget yourself." Layton slowly stood back up.
He nodded to Kabutops, who readied his scythes.
"Find Siba. He'll want to see this." Kabutops disappeared in a blur, heading towards the direction where the sounds of battle were the loudest.
"The Captain's alive?" I asked.
Ranger Layton turned to me. He eyed our surroundings, bringing out two blades from his waist. They looked like Kabutops scythes, but coated with some kind of metal. The grips were wrapped in some kind of blue fabric.
Sceptile and Weavile returned, dipping their heads toward Layton. He nodded back, and then continued.
"Siba wouldn't go down this easily. He might be the reason any of us make it out of here alive. He's been quelling the frenzies for now, but he's the best suited to taking down the Saurs. I've been taking as many as I can, but I've never seen a pack this big. Or this organized."
The frenzies?
Ranger Layton saw my confused expression and decided to explain. "The Saurs usually can specialize in one or two kinds of powder. Or at least they can only so many at once. Some have sleep powder. Some have poison powder. And some have rage powder. They've woken up all the wilds around us and set them up with rage powder to attack the camp. Siba and the others have been the only thing keeping them at bay. But he'll want to see this. I'll have to take his spot on the front lines. I don't have the time to explain any more than that. My friends are dying out there."
Kabutops reappeared nearby.
The ground began to rumble. Something was coming. Something big.
A massive form leapt over a tent and crashed into the ground. Following it were two smaller forms, flitting between tents with the practiced quickness and precision.
Finally a roar came from above, slamming into the ground next to me. I turned away as a plume of dust shot out from the impact. I looked, waiting for the dust to clear.
Apparently dust still impaired my newfound night vision.
I blinked in shock as I realized the final arrival had not been a pokemon, like I'd expected. Instead I encountered Captain Siba's shit eating grin.
It immediately dropped as he saw Tristan.
"FUCK! Damnit!"
Siba's eyes were filled with rage. "I'll kill them all. I've already lost Jeffords and Barlan. I can't afford to lose the fucking Lieutenant."
Hariyama cracked its knuckles together, ready to pulverize the enemy. Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan likewise had eyes that screamed bloody murder.
Siba turned towards me. "Kid, I know this is a lot, but I'm going to need you to do something for me. It isn't safe here. I need Tristan out of here. I know he looks like shit, but he's been through worse. If anyone can pull through it, it's him. The nasties have got us surrounded, but Layton and I will make an opening."
Siba grabbed a pokeball from Tristan's belt and released Hurricane the Arcanine. Hurricane immediately whined and went to sniff Tristan, but stopped as it saw Siba's serious gaze. Hurricane would recognize a commanding officer, just as well as any Ranger.
"Hurricane. Tristan's in bad shape. I'm going to need you to get him out of here. You'll be taking Red with you. It's not safe here. And it won't be for a while."
Layton and Siba shared a look.
"I thought Norton spotted them in the upper west district. How the hell are they here, not even two days later?" Layton's words were laced with venom.
Siba grimaced. "I know. Norton reported a pack of at least a dozen heading North. It's why this expedition was greenlit in the first place. This one seems far bigger. And way more organized than anything we've ever seen. Hell, they somehow ambushed Tristan during his fucking watch. Something's going on here. I'm going to find out what it is. But this sure as hell isn't an environment for rookies."
Siba grimaced again. Like he was just now remembering why they were here in the first place.
He turned to Layton, eyes filled with terror. "How many?" The words were soft. Like Siba really didn't want to know the answer.
Layton returned his gaze with a knowing look. A painful look, eyes that spoke of years of experience. Of having witnessed the worst, and lived through it. And knowing that even when things went perfect, shit could hit the fan at any moment. There was no blame. There was no fear. Merely resignation. His shoulders gave a weak shrug, and nodded towards me.
"GOddamn IT!" Siba roared.
He punched the ground, shattering into the hard packed dirt. I stumbled as the aftershocks made my bones vibrate.
Siba turned back towards us. He reached for his belt, grabbing a lone Ultra Ball.
Layton flinched, knowing what was inside.
Siba growled and turned towards Hurricane. "North. Head North. Survive. After we've cleaned up here, we'll find you."
Siba turned towards Layton. "I've got Lucario and Bruno helping Norton fight off a pack of Primeape down South. Pangoro is helping Oslo with some Luxray to the East. Morrison and Terrence are West, fighting what's probably the main group of Saurs. There's at least a dozen are also some Crobat and Golbat that are fighting there. I have no idea how the goddamn Saurs did it, but it seems like they laced their rage powder to make the wilds treat them as friendlies."
Layton scrunched his eyes together in thought at Siba's words.
I remembered that Bruno was the name of Siba's hulking Machamp.
"I don't like this Siba. They're too organized. I've never seen them act like this before." Layton spoke up.
Siba grimaced again. "I know. Fuck. So many unknowns."
He set his feet, and glared forward at an imaginary enemy. "North should be clear. But it also could be a trap. Either way, I'll have Teddy draw all their attention. Send some support over to Oslo. We move out, now."
Siba reached over and grabbed Tristan's unconscious form, tying him to Hurricane's back. He then motioned for me to get on too.
Layton pointed off towards East. Sceptile and Weavile disappeared into the night, heading off to another battle.
Siba took a step back as I got close. "Hell kid, did you notice your eyes are glowing?"
"What?" My eyes were glowing? What did that mean?
"I saw it earlier. Probably some sort of link with Oblivion. I don't know why, but my best guess is some kind of temporary bond formed with a shared anger and target." Layton added.
A temporary bond? Is that why my night vision was perfect? Why my motions were so perfectly fluid?
Siba sighed. "Alright. We're wasting too much time. Red, on Hurricane now."
Siba leaned in towards the massive red and white dog, scratching under Hurricane's chin. "Keep them safe." He whispered, patting the canine on the head, looking at Tristan one last time with a pained expression.
Siba then leaned back, loosening his shoulders.
I saw Layton take a step back as Siba threw forward the Ultra Ball. The white light grew and grew until a form the size of a wrecking ball appeared.
The blue fur rippled with sheer power. The figure was fifteen feet tall. Its paws were battering rams, each bigger than the boulder on a Rhyperior's tail.
I thought Hariyama was big.
This massive creature made Hariyama look like a child's toy.
Siba's massive frame didn't even reach the titanic form's waist. He patted the bear on its foot. "Alright Teddy. Clear a path. You're allowed to eat as much as you want, but don't waste unnecessary time."
The Snorlax eyed us all greedily, licking its lips. Its pitch black eyes held no warmth, only hunger.
Siba cleared his throat. "Teddy. This way. This is the biggest feast you're gonna see for a while, so make it count. If we make it through the night, you can nap for the next two months if you want to."
The Snorlax smiled, showing off its terrifyingly big and powerful molars. Each tooth was bigger than my head. Snorlax were rumored to even break through a Nidoking's rock hard carapace with ease.
Their rampages left hundreds dead.
They were labeled as flee on sight in the pokedex. A label I'd only seen on mons like Aerodactyl. Even Salamence didn't have a flee on sight label.
Siba trained one of these monsters?
Siba patted the Snorlax from behind, and sprinted forward. "Forward! Let's make a hole for the kid!"
I whistled, making Zuko blitz over. Hurricane started moving, following Siba. Before we could even make it a step, the Snorlax moved.
It was way faster than something that size should be. I would have thought it would blunder forward.
No.
It got down on all fours, slamming its paws down with a ferocity one would see from a caged Mightyena left for days without food.
And that murderous hunger was a Snorlax's natural state. It was encoded in their DNA.
Each footstep sent dust flying. Each thundering crash of its paws shook the ground. It sprinted forward, alternating steps, its bear crawl akin to the charge of a Rapidash, only with sharp incisors and the weight class of a freight train.
I saw Zuko whip around the corner, but even the egotistical lizard stopped in its tracks at the sight of the living wrecking ball.
The scabbard of Oblivion, which I had left on the ground, lifted into the air and attached itself to my back.
I'd forgotten I'd been holding the blades. I looked down to see my knuckles white, gripping the blue hilts as if my life depended on it. Which until a few minutes ago, it had.
I slipped one of the blades back into a scabbard, gripping onto Hurricane with my now free hand while leaving one sword to the side, ready to cut down anything that tried to attack us.
"Zuko! Follow Hurricane! Stay out of the way of all the Rangers and their pokemon. We're getting out of here to make sure Tristan doesn't die!"
Zuko gave a curt nod and slowed his sprint, getting into a stride behind Hurricane.
I saw that he was limping slightly, favoring his right side. He clearly had battled a lot. And he was still standing, stronger than ever.
I felt a pang of guilt at not really being able to battle together, but the night wasn't over. I felt the empty spot on my belt where Zuko's pokeball normally would be.
With returning him no longer an option, we'd have plenty more chances to fight together anyway.
Layton sprinted forward, outpacing even Teddy the Snorlax. He made it look easy. His feet were a blur, tracking and moving through the underbrush with the grace of an antelope, yet had the speed and dangerous presence of a feline predator. He was like a Leopard, stalking its prey, but with the speed of a Cheetah and the cunning of a Tiger.
His Kabutops followed behind him, ever the silent reaper. Neither it nor Layton made any sound as they flitted through the night, blades at the ready to shred any opposition into ribbons.
All of a sudden Layton halted in his tracks, and immediately leapt back. Kabutops followed suit, kicking up dirt as it reversed its momentum.
From the trees rained down thick plumes of dust. It crackled with static electricity.
"Teddy, gust!" Siba bellowed.
What? That Snorlax couldn't learn…
The Snorlax stood up and expanded its stomach, sucking in as much air as it could. It then opened its mouth and contracted its lungs, blowing out as hard as possible.
The thick blanket of stun spore was blown away by the powerful wind. But that was just the beginning.
Razor leaves coated in dark energy began flying towards us from all sides. The Starfallen Saurs could apparently throw them through the shadows, which were everywhere during the dark of night.
I saw some razor leaves shoot up into Snorlax's underbelly from below. This proved to be a mistake.
I had seen Siba bellow enough to know the telltale signs of one starting.
I quickly covered my ears as Teddy let out an ear splitting roar that could rival Kommo-o's. It then erupted into motion.
Trees were splintered as it realized its opponents were up above. Snorlax crashed through bark centuries old like it was plywood. Hurricane had to dodge to the side as entire trees began to crash to the ground, their branches falling stalactites that we now had to dodge.
Siba laughed at his pokemon's blunt solution. He quickly got to work, punching through anything that got within his reach. His fists were coated in dark brown fighting energy, each punch shredding through void energy like a bad chemical reaction, sending dark green blood splattering.
Layton likewise began shredding through the downed opponents. Kabutops, having realized the enemies were up above, ran up to the trees Snorlax hadn't ripped out of the ground and flitted from branch to branch, ending lives before the Saurs even realized Kabutops was there.
But the small victory was short lived.
The opening had seemed like we were in the clear. Hurricane had continued forward, blitzing through the opening created by the Rangers. But there was something waiting in front of us.
A primate.
A lazy primate. One that led packs, and typically didn't have to do anything with its titanic strength. Something that's aggression typically took a backseat after its final evolution. After all, at its final stage nothing ever really survived more than a lazy swat of its hand.
But this was not a typical lazy Slaking.
This Slaking's eyes were filled with rage. The rage powder had brought its testosterone to the heights of its years as a Vigoroth. It had sat here for the last hour, stewing in anger. The forest was devoid of occupants. The Slaking hadn't bothered to think on it. Even if something had somehow orchestrated the surrounding area to be empty, the Slaking would never think on it. It's brain had evolved to pulverize. Not to think.
Its instincts were dulled from years of slacking off. It had wandered a bit, but after not finding anything, it had planted itself on the ground. Its stomach was not empty, so even with rage powder burning through its veins, it had no need to trample the area. That would be wasting unnecessary calories. Valuable calories. So Slaking had been here. Sitting. Waiting.
For something. Anything.
And then commotion had come. A primal bellow echoing through the trees made Slaking's blood stir. The sounds of trees splintering had incited an excitement Slaking hadn't felt in years.
A challenger.
A worthy foe.
Slaking hadn't thought such a thing was possible.
Yet there one was.
A rampaging Snorlax, trampling through everything in its path. Slaking finally had a reason to move. The rage powder had brought its adrenaline to an unprecedented level.
And the only thing between Slaking and a worthy fight was a puny dog with two riders. One of the riders had a small metal stick off to the side.
Slaking got up to its feet. It flexed all of its muscles. The blood began to roar in its ears. The drumbeat of adrenaline began to get faster as its natural power was enhanced by nature's strongest amphetamine, rage powder.
Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.
Slaking barreled its fists against its chest in challenge. The quick successive slams would each be able to pulverize me on the spot.
It then slammed its arms into the ground, a terrifying excitement painted across its face.
"Zuko spam nuzzle! Slow it down! DON'T GET HIT!" I yelled, panicking. Hurricane quickly turned and began running off to the side.
I felt the ground tremble as Snorlax got its sight on the new target. There were dozens of razor leaves embedded in its fur, but it didn't even seem to notice them. Snorlax's eyes became beacons in the dark night as the titanic bear poured orange energy into small balls in front of its eyes and mouth.
Zuko flitted around the gargantuan primate. It wildly stomped about, trying to kill the small yellow blur that kept causing electricity to fizzle into its body. The nuzzles didn't even seem to slow it down in the slightest.
The small orange balls in front of Snorlax grew in size and combined into one large incandescent orb in front of its face.
"Zuko get out of there. NOW!" I yelled. I remembered my first day in the wild, when dozens of Rangers had fought off an Aerodactyl using the same move.
Hurricane raced off to the right, hoping to cut around the Slaking, trying to put as much distance between us and the two behemoths.
Night turned into day as Snorlax released the Hyper Beam, the orange energy shredding through everything in its path. The beam blasted into Slaking, sending the primate crashing down. The beam splintered off behind the Slaking, shredding through the trees behind it. Stray beams of moonlight began to shine through the dark canopy.
Slaking pounded its arms against the ground, pummeling the dirt into oblivion in its anger. The fur on its torso and arms had been burnt to a crisp. Its skin was steaming with a red glow, mottled crimson flesh below.
Snorlax relaxed as the beam petered out, dropping to all fours. As it saw Slaking beginning to push itself to its feet, Snorlax charged forward, unwilling to let its opponent regain its bearings.
The ground shook as Snorlax closed the distance. Slaking, however, kept its body as close to the ground as possible. The Snorlax barreled into the Slaking, sending impact aftershocks throughout the entire forest. I was almost knocked off of Hurricane.
Slaking had stayed low to the ground for a reason. Slaking didn't care if there was a King of the Forest. Slaking had always been the king of the Jungle. He had simply been too lazy to go about challenging anything. But it had a chance to prove itself, right here and right now.
Slaking took the impact, skidding backwards as the Snorlax was stopped by Slaking's incredible strength. Deep gouges were raked into the ground as Slaking dug its feet in to stop. Slaking then used the momentum, grabbing and gripping around Snorlax's torso, lifting it into the air.
It felt like an Asteroid crashed into Earth as Slaking slammed Snorlax into the ground. The Snorlax landed on its back, cratering the ground.
I almost fell off of Hurricane again, but held onto the saddle with a vice grip. I turned, choosing to ignore the battle of titans behind me. One thing at a time.
I realized we weren't in the clear yet as I saw an expanse of vines in front of us.
None of them had leaves.
How many of these fuckers were there?
I whipped out the other blade from the scabbard on my back. Razor leaves began raining down on us from all sides, and I tried to deflect as many as I could.
My eyes were lasers. I tracked each leaf as though it was in slow motion. I could feel my body wanting to move, twisting with perfect efficiency to hit the leaves. My reflexes were supercharged by electricity. My eyes could see everything with perfect clarity.
I didn't even have the time to think about how crazy it was to be able to do any of this.
I scrambled to try and chart a path, finding the most efficient way to move about in order to deflect as many razor leaves as I could.
Oblivion whipped through the air, the spectral metal singing as I deflected dozens of leaves in seconds.
For some reason my brain began seeing the razor leaves as blue and red squares. I swear I could hear music too.
Each slice was calculated. Each independent muscle served a purpose. I could feel my core tightening to turn as fast as possible. The muscles on my back pulled to whip my arms back. My chest contracted as I sliced. My shoulders whirled about. My eyes zipped back and forth, trying to track as many projectiles as possible.
The swords whirled around me like a tornado, shooting dark green razor leaves flying off into the dark.
But there were too many razor leaves.
And I had too much to protect.
One razor leaf thunked into my side as I had to extend my arm to keep a razor leaf from puncturing Tristan's neck. Another leaf slammed into Hurricane, embedding right above his brow.
"Zuko! They're in the trees! AAAHHH!" I yelled out. A razor leaf had come from straight behind me, thunking into my back.
It had been blocked by my ribs, protecting my organs, but it still hurt like a bitch. I could feel my strength waning. My vision began to get blurry, and I had to fight to keep my eyes open.
When it seemed like all was lost, a gust of wind whipped past me and green blood began raining from above.
Layton and Kabutops had come to help.
Hurricane used the opening to run forward. Its wound above its eye had swollen its left eye shut, and each step was even harder.
The ground was littered with obstacles, and Arcanine was already unsuited for running through the forest even at peak capacity.
Hurricane stumbled nearly every other step, only its sheer reaction speed allowing it to reorient to its environment with ridiculous speed and adaptiveness.
For one moment I met Layton's eyes. His were filled with pure focus and determination. Mine were a mixture of fear and grit.
"SURVIVE!" Layton yelled as Hurricane and I slowly got farther away. He continued fighting, deflecting razor leaves with ease. He dodged vine whips, slicing the vines in half as he danced to the side. Him and Kabutops looked invincible. They were too fast to be hit. They couldn't possibly lose, right?
I turned back to the dark forest ahead. My head was pulsing. The adrenaline helped me forget my injuries, but as I got farther from the battle I felt my wounds more and more.
I returned one of the blades and clung on. My knuckles were devoid of blood, gripped tight against the dao blade.
Zuko followed from behind, the small yellow form trying to avoid using lightning to not bring even more attention to the bumbling figures.
I struggled to remain conscious, my head throbbing with every single one of my frantic heartbeats. I could see better than Hurricane, so I guided him with taps of my feet on the Arcanine's sides to help steer us in the general direction of North.
The sounds of commotion slowly got quieter as we got farther away, but I still eyed every single shadow with caution and fear.
…
Fuck.