I loosened my grip on my Leviathan Blade. If I held it too tightly, I would tire before I got to attack the legion of gremlins and constructs just outside. I could hear the cries of injured knights and gremlins alike outside, and feel the ground shaking slightly under my feet as the Mortafires pummelled our encampment.
I was nervous. Why? I wasn't sure. I'd done things like this before. I'd single-handedly turned the tide of a battle in a Deconstruction Zone when Thwackers and Demos were knocking my team out. I'd kept up a continuous Pulsar fire when Menders were supporting Thwackers and Scorchers, and reviving each other when they we managed to take them out. It looked hopeless. Half the team was down, and the other two of us were each barely holding onto life ourselves. I spent twenty minutes pulling the trigger, barely able to hold myself up on two feet.
So why was I nervous now? Those Mortafires were invulnerable from frontal attacks, yes, but they were easy enough to take down when they actually fired on you. Thwackers were no problem. Scorchers neither. Menders were a joke. Demos were pests.
The constructs? I had a Gigawatt Pulsar. I had a Super Blaster for general use, and a Super Blast Bomb for my explosive needs.
Before I could think any further, I heard Feron.
"Squad Three! Time to go. Move out!"
That was me and my team. "Let's go," Xen said, twirling his Gran Faust in his hands. "Time to kill some gremlins."
I stood, along with Lich, a gunslinger, and Kep, a bomber. The rest of my team were superior to me. I was somewhat low-geared compared to them. Lich had both an Argent Peacemaker and a Sentenza, each in a holster on his belt. He kept a Magma Driver and a Storm Driver on his back.
Kep had a Dark Retribution, a prize from her victory over Warmaster Seerus. She also carried with her an Ash of Agni and a Stagger Storm. She keeps an Acheron in a sheath at her side for melee combat.
Marching to the door, Xen said, "I'll go out first and take out the Gun Puppies. Kep comes in second, and takes out the Menders. Lich and Ion, you come out at the same time. Lich, focus on the Mortafires. Ion, take care of anything else that needs to die."
We nodded and paused at the door. Xen signalled, then the gate shield dropped. Immediately, Mortafires bombarded the entrance, but Xen had already left. He rushed out, sword held high, and brought it down upon an unfortunate Thwacker, sending it sprawling into a wall. He charged at the Gun Puppies, slicing them up with a Combuster.
Kep then ran out, picked an Ash of Agni from her belt, and threw it at a group of Menders hiding behind the ruined Gun Puppies. Xen ignored them and ran over to the next group of Gun Puppies.
Lich walked out with me, and opened fire on the Mortafires with his Sentenza while they were looking at Xen.
I jumped at a Demo with my Leviathan, who dodged. I swept my blade at it, knocking it over. I took my Super Blaster and opened fire on another Demo while I finished it off.
[Fanfic] Crimson Hammer
We walked down the hallway cautiously, Xen in front with Lich, and Kep and I watching behind us in case of ambush.
"How many bombs do you have left?" I asked her.
"Plenty." She spun an Ash of Agni around her hand.
"Careful with that," I said nervously.
She laughed. "I'd never drop one of these. Too much practice spinning them!" I noted her armor had a large number of blast marks on it.
"Yeah, well," I said, "wouldn't want to blow us all up."
"Indeed," she agreed. "What do you plan to do after you finish up here?"
"Keep fighting the gremlins," I said solidly. "This weapons facility with cripple them, but the fight is far from over when we get through."
"When we get through?" Kep inquired. "You sure we'll make it?"
"I'm sure. I have faith in you three."
"We're not a bad team, eh?" Xen laughed.
We reached another platform, loaded with missiles, active and inactive.
"Stand back," Lich said, firing off a bullet. The missiles exploded, sending ash and fire into the sky.
"I trust we'll have some company in a second," Xen said. "Be ready!"
A drew my Leviathan, and Kep readied a Stagger Storm.
We waited for about thirty seconds, eyes fixed on the path Lich had created. Finally Lich lowered his weapon. "Maybe we didn't attract as many as we thought."
As he said it, there was a noise. Something clattered to the ground nearby, an inactive missile. Lich took a reflexive shot at it, but the projectile was simply absorbed into the missile.
Then he gasped, and a saw blade appeared in his chest.
He slid off the blade, weapon falling from his hand, and collapsed. Immediately the gremlin appeared behind him, saw in hand. Kep leaped into action, drawing her Acheron, and cleaved the creature's head right off its shoulders.
"Watch out!" Xen yelled. "There's likely more of them. Ion, take care of Lich. Kep, help me search the area for more of them."
I sheathed my weapon and ran to Lich, who lay on the ground, a huge wound through his stomach.
"What did they do to you..." I muttered, examining him. He was barely breathing, and when he spoke, his voice was a whisper. "Ghost...mane Stalkers..."
Then I realized. That was my fear. What I had been afraid off the whole time. Ghostmane Stalkers, ninja-like assassins that could turn invisible and sneak around at will. They were armed with deadly saws, able to cut through knights with even the strongest armor. There was no way of telling when they were there, and when they were not.
"We killed it," I reassured him. "Kep killed it. She and Xen are watching out for any more of them."
His condition wasn't good. He was losing a lot of blood. The saw had torn through his armor and flesh.
"We'll get you through this. You're going to make it."
"No..." It was clear he was already on the brink of death. "I'm... I'm not..."
"We can send a scout back, get help from Feron," I suggested. "A medic will be here within a few minutes."
"I'm not... making it..." His voice was barely audible now. "You... know it."
I smiled sadly. "Here," I said, sliding his Peacemaker into its holster.
"Thanks..."
There was a grinding noise as Xen and Kep pulled some inactive missiles into the gap Lich had mode, sealing them in.
"We're safe..." Xen said, turning. He saw my expression and immediately trailed off, dashing over to Lich. He saw the wound and shook his head.
Lich grasped his hand. "We... had a good run..."
"We did," Xen said. "Indeed, we did."
The Demo dodged, but Lich had already drawn a Magma Driver and fired it at the gremlin, not even bothering to look where he was firing. It took the shot to its chest, and fell to the ground, but it wasn't dead yet. I slashed its head a few times, then ran over to help Lich.
"How many left?" I asked.
"Nine Mortafires," he replied, his voice was distorted because of his bulky helmet. "If you distract them I'll pick them off while their backs are turned."
I nodded and scrambled toward the wall, moving out of the path of falling shells. I grasped the wall and pulled myself up, rolled across the flooring and knocked one gremlin over. He dropped his Mortar kit, and before he could retrieve it Lich had already pierced his head with a bullet.
I threw the fallen Mortar kit at one gremlin, startling him and two nearby. They turned to me, and were killed in quick succession. The remaining five were making sure not to turn their backs to Lich, but they did keep their backs to me. I was about to charge when a Dark Retribution landed behind them, and I knew they were as good as dead.
I turned and saw Kep at the edge of the platform, saluting sarcastically to the gremlins as they died. Xen trudged up to us, sheathing his Combuster.
"Good work, team," he said. He activated his radio and contacted Feron. "The area is clear, Lieutenant."
He pointed toward a walkway. "The weapons facility is that way. This is gremlin territory. We have no cover fire from the turrets, nor do we have any way of getting fast reinforcements is things turn for the worse."
Lich drew his Peacemaker. "Let's go."
We ran toward the path, and my nerves increased even more. My question was still unanswered: Why was I so worried?