Rynoske heaves a heavy breath as he places Alex down on the ground. His eyes slowly averted to the line of prisoners resting against the walls of this tunnel. It was a miracle, honestly. Rynoske huffs a breath as his mouth curls into a smile. Then, he felt a hand grab his arm. Looking down, Alex struggles to meet his gaze. To help them out, Rynoske kneels down to their level.
" What's up?"
Looking at their masked face, Rynoske couldn't figure out their status. He instinctively reached out to remove their mask. However, he was stopped as Alex grabbed his wrist and pulled him toward their face.
"A-alex?"
"Listen,' they take a raspy breath, ' go back. help them."
Alex coughed a few more times before they drew several more daggers into their hand weakly.
" I don't think so, leaving you and these people-"
"They'll die if you don't go...I should be strong enough to tend to these half-corpses."
" Are you sure? Lock will probably give us both an earful if we live afterward."
Rynoske's joke causes Alex to give a light laugh before painfully coughing.
"I think listening to the boss's voice is better than dealing with any of our team's final breaths."
Rynoske nods silently before a distant explosion shakes some rocks within this tunnel. He stands up and turns towards the quarry, where more shrapnel, debris, and dust fly into the air.
" Fair enough, don't go pulling any shenanigans then. I am not taking responsibility just because you told me to leave you on your deathbed."
Alex laughs lightly before sluggishly raising their gut knife in hand.
" I've been through worse. Worry about yourself, muscle brain."
Rynoske narrows his eyes at Alex. Though he couldn't help but smile at their words. His wings flap open, and his hands morph into dragon claws.
" Time to join the shit show!"
A gust of wind swooshes as he takes off like a bullet. He swoops down the slope of the quarry, gaining momentum. As his eyes can see far distances, Rynoske notices the team ahead is trying to hold out as best as possible. He made it just in time to see Lock dashing toward those who looked like they were fighting a massive headache. The android slices the necks of those who are flesh while firing at the heads of the beings who seem like they are more durable than what his knife can do.
Typical from the guy who soloed the simulation in record time.
Rynoske's gaze shifts over towards the breach in the defenses as he narrows his eyes, seeing the soldiers that are flowing in.
" Time to send some druggies back to high town."
He swoops, folding his wings in just as one of the Cryptid soldiers enters the quarry.
"Incoming!"
His voice rang out, confusing the soldiers. Just as one of them looks up, their gas mask implodes from the force of Rynoske's fist. Their body flies off as he darts off and twirls his body, catching several Ningens off guard as his tail swipes them off their feet. They cry out in surprise, but with precise brutality, their bodies are torn apart before they hit the ground. With bloody claws, Rynoske exhales a heavy breath when a shot hits him in the arm.
"Gah! Why you!" He felt a subconscious rage emerging inside himself as he turned towards the culprit.
The Ningen who shot him lowered their rifle as they took a step back. It was as if the cryptid soldier had lost all the nerve to attack further, much less realize they had just lost the opening earlier to kill their target. Without hesitation, Rynoske lunges towards them. His vision slightly blurs as he swings his arms with ferocity at his attacker. Screams filled the air, along with the sensation of body matter and cloth material splattering against Ryn's body. He felt nothing, only rage, anger, and the need to kill without prejudice. He tore and ripped continuously when a voice rang out beside him.
"Rynoske! Get yourself together!"
A burst of gunshots snaps him back to reality. Rynoske blinks a few times before he looks up to see Lock beside him, firing meticulously toward the enemy before turning his attention to Ryn. Though his vision was a bit hazy, he could feel his head filled with anger.
"R-right,"
"Listen, we need to pull back. I just received news that we're about to get some heavy support coming."
Hearing the news, Rynoske snaps his head to Lock when a bullet whizzes by, causing him to get to his feet.
"What's the eta?" He asks before whipping two daggers out and chucking them.
The two blades flew by Lock and impaled two cryptids right in their gas masks' visors. Blood splatters the lens as they fall before they can even fire any shots toward the android and semifer.
"Better for us to get moving now than to ask that."
Rynoske felt Lock grab his arm and throw him back. If he didn't have his wings, Ryn probably would've fallen on his face. He opens his wings out and, using his one grounded leg, jumps forward as he soars through the air. Looking back, he noticed that Lock was still firing away before the man threw a grenade in front of him. Smoke fills the air in front of the android as he turns and begins to run after Rynoske. A sense of uncertainty fills Ryn as he slows his pace of flight. He activates the comms device in his ear as his eyebrows furrow.
" Are you sure you can run fast enough?"
[Worry about yourself. I can just be rebuilt if necessary; just hurry!]
Rynoske clicks his tongue as he swoops around. Like hell he was going to. He flies over to Lock, barely dodging the bullets flying his way until he manages to reach the team lead. Grabbing Lock under his armpits, the android looks back up at Ryn with a stunning look.
"What the hell are you doing?!"
"Getting us both to safety!"
"Can you even lift me?!"
" Just let me do the heavy lifting, and you just shoot!"
Not letting Lock say another word, Rynoske begins to flap his wings aggressively as their enemies continue to fire in their direction.
"Ryn, maybe don't-"
A bullet slams into Lock's arm, causing him to quickly return fire.
"I know! It is a bit hard when you have a guy who weighs as much as a small car!"
Ryn grits his teeth as he feels something hit him in the leg. Yet, he kept on flying as he could hear Lock firing a few more shots before a click could be heard.
"I tried to warn you that this is a-"
"And now I see the consequences of my own selflessness!"
Rynoske shuts Lock up as he tries to focus. They are only a few yards out. He just needs to push himself a little further to get themselves to safety.
[1772-GF, Volt-1772, do you copy?]
The sudden voice over the comms stuns Ryn for a bit. He looks around before noticing some decent cover behind several buildings and quickly darts over to it. Landing both him and Lock down, Rynoske collapses with a heavy exhalation of breath.
"Thank god! Tell him to light 'em up!"
Rynoske yells before ducking as a bullet ricochets over their cover. He turns to see Lock pulling out a holographic device showing a gridded map.
"Volt-1772, 1772-GF, copy, situation critical, area is hot, requesting immediate support, over,"
[Copy, requesting coords and directions]
" Hit grids around Hotel-25, Hotel-26, Golf-25, Golf-26, multiple targets, and very close to the current position, over."
[Copy, hit grids around Hotel-25-26, Golf-25-26, hot zone, strafe run,]
"Good read back, give them hell,"
Lock turns off the holographic map and nods to Rynoske before bracing himself. Seeing Lock's action, Ryn lowers himself a bit closer to the ground before tucking himself in.
[Copy that, clearing hot zone, standby for the light show!]
As the comms cuts out, the sound of roaring engines echoes through the air. Lock peeks out once more to fire a few more shots before being forced to duck back down before any shots take his head off. Ryn could only grit his teeth and silently pray for that air support to arrive sooner. The Cryptid soldiers, who were pushing slowly towards the two's position, came to a halt as they also noticed the sound getting closer.
"Did we call in air support?" One of them asks as they quickly reach for nearby cover.
" I don't recall anyone doing so." Another one says as they proceed to reload their rifle.
One Cryptid soldier was holding onto a radio when they suddenly started frantically swiping their arm towards the others.
"That's not friendly! DISPERSE! DISPERSE!"
Unfortunately, the realization was too late.
A loud and aggressive spray of rounds could be heard riddling the ground, followed by the sounds of organic and inorganic materials being shredded apart. Rynoske instinctively cowers down as Lock also knelt a little closer to the floor, as the entire quarry is lit up by the onslaught of air support. Several explosions cause Ryn to grit his teeth, muscles tensing as the closeness of the bullets and bombs making contact with the ground shakes the very earth they are standing on. Before the bullets even finish their assault on the ground, a large shadow swoops by overhead. Its presence lingers with the sounds of its powerful jet engines echoing off the walls of the battlefield.
Peeking out, Rynoske's eyes widen, witnessing the absolute carnage lying in front of him. Cautiously standing up as well, Rynoske glances over to see Lock staring with indifference. As the scarred field smolders with the remnants of their attackers, it is all that is left. In the distance, close to the outskirts of the quarry, two more fighters could also be seen strafing the ground with several more eruptions, as well as a singular rocket flying upwards, only to be averted by the fighter it was attempting to take down. Their comms devices soon come back online with Volt speaking with a triumphant tone.
[This is Volt-1772, please report the status of our valiant arrival]
Lock raises an eyebrow and turns his head a bit towards Rynoske. For himself, Ryn couldn't help but give a nervous smile. He is not too familiar with the technological side. Still, he is honestly glad that Volt and whoever just saved them from a potentially fatal defense being on their side. Seeing how Lock is not going to respond, Rynoske decides to answer in his stead.
"Volt, area is cleared, you just saved our sorry asses,"
A laugh could be heard on the other end as Rynoske brought his hand down to his side slowly.
[Good to hear! Rtbing. Good luck from here on out, ground team. Out.]
As quick as they arrived, the two watched for a moment as the small squadron of fighters disappeared up into the stratosphere.