As Charles looked on in surprise, the short girl broke into a leap off her abandoned armour, using her momentum to careen her tool into the skull of a Muggmite on the front lines, slaying it instantly. Grabbing the corpse by its shabby clothes, she blocked a trio of thrown javelins, chucking it to the side when she was done.
“Hey, are you just gonna sit there, or are you gonna help me, eh?” she yelled back at Charles, catching a jagged blade between the ends of her wrench.
“On it!” he called back, stubbornly ignoring his wounds and breaking into a ragged charge at their foes. Throwing his shield from his arm, he caught a pair of Muggmites that were attempting to circle Nor, ending EYE ANCHOR’s effect. Driving an armoured gauntlet into a monster that got too close, he quickly drew his sword with his now free hand.
Meanwhile, another squadron of monsters had been drawn to the noise, including a battle-scarred Mugg wielding a crossbow.
Sighting the impending danger, Nor dropped to the ground, breaking a monster’s kneecaps before rolling to the side and picking up Charles’ discarded shield. She barely raised it in time before a crossbow bolt ricocheted off it, forming a large dent.
“FYI, we’re a bit out-classed here,” Nor warned Charles, who currently had his arm locked around the necks of a pair of Muggmites, choking them as he tried to evade a third foe armed with a halberd.
“Thanks for stating the obvious, but unless you’ve got an ace up your sleeve, I don’t need to hear it!” Charles called back, squeezing a little harder as the monsters foamed at the mouth.
“I may have just the thing,” Nor muttered, pulling a cat-shaped flip phone from her overalls. “I’ve never used it before though, so don’t expect too much.” Mashing buttons on it, she was rewarded with a loud mechanical grating sound from her suit behind them. Convulsing violently, the machine finally spat out a man-sized metal object, which thudded to the ground a couple feet from Nor.
Blocking a second shot with Charles’ shield, Nor broke into a roll, coming up next to the mysterious object. On closer inspection, it appeared to consist of four outer parts, all connect to a central spine-like core by a number of tubes and wires. Slipping her gloves and boots into waiting slots in the four outer apparatuses, she buckled the core to her back, standing up tentatively as she tested her balance.
Looking over from his current fight, Charles couldn’t help but be impressed. Nor was now armoured with mechanical gauntlets covering the entirety of her hands, with a plated section stretching down the outer part of her forearms, dominated by a large piledriver spike on each. Her legs were completely swathed in metal, with a large tire on each leg suspended by a pair of thin pipe-like pistons roughly behind her knee. Meanwhile, her back now sported a pulsing pink reactor core, framed by two large exhaust pipes which fed into her leg attachments. All in all, she looked like a stripped-down version of her armoured suit.
Flexing her arms, Nor stomped on Charles’ shield, flipping it into the air. As it spun circles in front of her, she suddenly snapped her arm out, squeezing her fist as the spike on her right arm shot forward, both of them plowing into the shield and sending it careening off towards the unfortunate Mugg. Unable to dodge in time, the monster’s crossbow and right arm shattered to pieces with a wet crunch, the momentum sending the creature flying backwards.
Not wasting the opportunity, Nor jogged off as fast as her armoured legs could carry her, snagging her goggles off her abandoned helmet as she went. Snapping them into position over her forehead, she flicked a pair of switches on her mechanical gauntlets, hopping into the air as the wheels on her legs extended into position.
Meanwhile, Charles was starting to run out of strength. Bleeding from numerous cuts all over his body and bruised black and blue from colliding with Muggmites, he leaned on his blade for support, driving it deep into the earth.
Sensing weakness, a straggler Muggmite edged forward, spear at the ready.
His arm flashing like lightning, Charles launched off his spare dagger, taking the offending monster down with a bulls-eye to the chest. Dropping to the ground, Charles opened his menu and summoned a shotgun from his inventory, loading it as fast as his bruised fingers would move.
“Oh, there’s no WAY things are ending like this,” he muttered. Flicking the armament over his shoulder, he blasted a second Muggmite that was trying to sneak up on him. Looking forward, Charles saw a trio of Trallugs approaching him, their faces twisted into grins of anticipation. Groaning, he leveled his weapon at them, and was about to pull the trigger when something flashed in his peripheral. Before he even turned to look, Nor sped by him, smoke trailing behind her as she balanced on her powersuit’s twin wheels like an ice-skater.
Sending a Mugg flying with the back of her wrench as she sped by, Nor charged the first Trallug, shattering its kneecap with her left gauntlet spike, and blasting the right fist’s spike through its chin as it fell. As the creature crumpled to the ground, she changed her trajectory, using its back as a springboard to launch herself at the second Trallug. The monster threw up its arm in protection, but Nor anticipated this. Launching a grappling line into the third Trallug’s unsuspecting back, she swung in a wide arc around it as it roared in pain, coming up on the second beast’s back. Waiting until she was at peak momentum, she detached the grapple, driving her right fist’s spike into the back of the second Trallugs skull, cracking it open like a walnut.
Executing a flip and landing nimbly on the ground, Nor turned to face the final monster.
Ignoring the flailing grapple in its back, the creature drew a pair of short swords from its chest bandolier, which seemed like nothing more than daggers in its massive hands. Launching the pair at Nor, the monster dropped down and picked up the humongous two-headed battleaxe its compatriot had wielded. Nor had barely dodged the first two throws and was racing full-tilt towards her opponent when the giant axe soared directly at her!
Unable to possibly change direction in time, Nor slammed her right fist into the ground, activating her piledriver and anchoring her arm to the earth, painfully wrenching her arm as her momentum flung her to the side like a top, the fearsome weapon sailing past her, inches from her head.
Riding the rotation all the way around, Nor retracted her piledriver when she was facing her opponent again, revving her motor and sending up a cloud of smoke as she charged at it, undaunted.
Before the Trallug could draw another weapon, Nor swung out with a right hook, aiming for its knee.
Or at least, she tried to. However, when she attempted to move her arm, she found it wouldn’t respond, hanging limp and dislocated at her side from her previous maneuver.
Unable to stop her charge, Nor crashed head-first into the beast’s legs, sending them both rolling backwards across the turf.
Shaking the dizziness from her head, Nor tried to sit up, but found herself pinioned by the Trallug’s furry arms. Gasping for breath, she felt the monster’s grip tighten, squeezing the air out of her lungs. Lights dancing in her vision, Nor squeezed the controls on her piledrivers, sending them both shooting off into the monster’s belly. The Trallug groaned with pain in response, but did not slacken its choke-hold.
Darkness eating away the edges of her sight, Nor suddenly felt the great beast relax its grip, letting out a deep sigh as its arms slipped limply to the ground. Shaking her head to try and rid her of the dizziness, Nor saw Charles gasping for breath above her, his longsword deeply impaled in the monster’s throat.
“You okay there, Nor?” Charles wheezed, prying his blade loose.
“I’ll... live,” she croaked, throwing her weight against the Trallug’s stiffening body, relocating her shoulder. “Thanks.”
Leaning on each other, the two adventurers limped back to Nor’s mech suit, Charles using his sword as a crutch, and Nor using her wrench. Reaching their destination, Nor immediately began removing the net from around her armour, ignoring Charles.
Undaunted, Charles strolled up as casually as his limp would allow.
“Hey Nor, so you’re a girl after all, huh?” he asked, flashing a grin.
“So it would seem,” she affirmed, still focusing on the net.
“Well, and, like, I technically saved your life back there, right?” Charles gestured exaggeratingly with his good arm, leaning nonchalantly against her suit in front of her. “Oh, er, actually — first, how old are you?” He gave her a wary look.
Nor’s eyes narrowed.
“Not legal, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Oh, okay, nice talking to you.” Charles shrugged. “Bye.” He limped away leaving Nor flabbergasted.
"Well, for a one-track guy at least he's got standards," she broke into a chuckle. With a final tug, she removed the last bit of netting from her machine, crawling back into the neck awning.
*******
Left to his own devices, Charles continued his limping shuffle across the battlefield towards the remainder of the fight.
"Damn this hurts," he muttered through clenched teeth. "Well, it looks like the fight's more or less in our favour now, guess I can take ten." Throwing himself against a pile of corpses he pulled up his menu, summoning a pair of healing potions which he promptly quaffed.
"Ahhh, that does me a power of good," Charles sighed, pulling off his battered helmet. "Bloody hell, I still have to fix that dent Marie put in this." The pain starting to seep from his wounds, Charles stumbled to his feet, stabilizing himself against the corpse pile.
*THWACK!*
A black iron helmet careened into the back of his head with the force of a fastball, knocking him face-first into the soft loam.
"Haha, got 'im!" Marie called from across the battlefield, sprinting towards her target. "That Mugg though I wouldn't see him if he hid behind his dead buds. Too bad for him, I've got the eyes of a hawk!"
Skidding to a stop next to the pile, the grin slid off her face as she saw the true identity of her victim.
"Oh God, I killed Charles." Marie threw up her hands. "Câlisse de tabarnak, everyone'll think I did it on purpose too. Not that I can really blame them..." she looked around.
"No worries, me. I'll just slip him under that pile of corpses, and say I never saw him. Good? Good!" Grabbing his leg with one hand, she began pulling him under the heap.
Then Charles groaned.
"Oh nice, he's actually alive!" Marie breathed a sigh of relief. "I knew I didn't hit him that hard. Barely a love tap. 's not my fault he's got a soft skull." Looking around, Marie could see the last remnants of the Muggish horde were being driven into a retreat by the steadily increasing number of adventurers attacking from the town's battlements.
"Welp, guess I should probably bring him with me," Marie sighed again as she made her way back towards Wyndvale, Charles' unconscious body in tow.
*******
Isaac sighed and let the revolver fall from his hands. The battle was over! Flopping to the soft turf, Isaac scanned the scarred battlefield. Marie was occupied with dragging the unconscious Charles towards him, while Nor was dashing across the plain looting the bodies, and Tenshi was carefully scanning the horizon for any surviving foes. On the city’s battlements, the guards and adventurers were exchanging high-fives and back-pats all around, some filing back to the ground level, other spending skill points in their menus. Without any foes to fight, the NPCs funneled back through the gate, their pathfinding AI glitching as some steadfastly marched directly into the town’s walls.
Indeed, the battle was over.
Stretching and rising to his feet, Isaac turned as Marie addressed him. “I found this trash lying on the battlefield,” she called out, unceremoniously dumping Charles on the ground in front of them. “Should I put it back?”
“Is he okay?” Isaac asked worriedly, looking at the thick blood oozing from his friend's matted hair.
“He’s too blockheaded for something like this to keep him down,” Marie sighed, uncorking a canteen of water, which she proceeded to empty on his face.
Spluttering and choking, Charles sat up, gingerly touching his head as it twinged with pain.
“Man, you shouldn’t’ve -ow!- woken me,” Charles sighed. “I was having a great dream. I had just finished getting thanked by a bunch of babe adventurers and we were just about to head to a bar and…”
“I can put you back to sleep if you’d like,” Marie offered, clenching her fist threateningly.
Meanwhile, Tenshi had finished her scan of the field and was on her way back to the team. Leaping lightly over Muggish corpses, her feet suddenly got tangled in a jumble of spears and she crashed to the turf head-first, a short squeak of surprise cut off by a faceful of sod.
In response, Charles burst out in uproarious laugher. “Hahahahaha! Who’d ‘a though you to be the clumsy sort, Tenshi? Hey, Isaac said your name means “angel”, right? I guess you could say you’re now a “Fallen Angel!” Pffft!”
Tenshi hastened to her feet, brushing off her clothes and wiping the mud from her face, her face furrowed in a pout. “It is the height of churlishness to make sport of the names of others like that,” she shot.
“Now you know how I feel, girl.” Marie sighed.
“Hey, what’s wrong with Alex?” Charles asked, grinning. “It means “defender of men”, as I recall. It’s a good manly name!”
“Okay, that does it!” Marie stood up, planting her fist into an open palm. “We’re gonna settle this for real, mano a mano!”
“Mano a mano?” Charles winked.
“Ostie de bâtard, I am going to beat you so good…” Marie strode towards him.
“Woah now, hold up!” Charles threw up his hands defensively. “I’m injured here, Alex!”
“You’re gonna be a whole lot more injured when I’m done with you!” Marie snapped, leading with a right hook to Charles’ face. In response, Charles defensively threw up an armoured gauntlet, intercepting her punch.
*CLANG!*
The two unfortunates leapt back, swinging their wounded hands in pain, Marie’s hand red and swelling, and Charles’s mailed gauntlet now severely dented, the metal plating digging into his gloved hand beneath.
“Could you two, like, give it a rest already?” Isaac sighed, turning back to Tenshi. “Hey, should we maybe intervene?”
“I am wholly satisfied with this outcome,” Tenshi nodded sagely, smirking at Charles trying in vain to remove his dented gauntlet from his hand. “Maybe next time he will learn to choose his words more careful…”
Tenshi paused, looking down in disbelief.
Surrounded by a growing pool of red, a katana seemed to be growing out of her chest!
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