Plum's POV
Silver wings draped over the moon like ribbons strung together, blotting a dark shadow upon the grass. This was it, the traps we're always led into in D'Mantis' path. He turned his head up, and almost tried to hide the smirk that grew on his scales.
"Plum, what is..." Echo looked down at D'Man, who just stared up at the form flying in the air. "Is it Ozone?" Echo mumbled, moments before its cupped wings folded inward and plummeted toward the ground infront of us, through the tall, rough trees.
Echo ran infront of us, pike in hand, staring down the metallic... thing. "I- I still can't tell what it is!" Which left to a curdling cackle from D'Mantis, kicking at my stomach weakly, trying to free himself. "I think I redacted more to your laughing than I am your struggling." I told him, staring him dead in the eyes.
Seeing the glinting metal streams up close, each joint bladed like a knife. Before any more observing, it flung itself forward, Echo swiftly swerved out of its way, but barreling into my side. The impact was like having a stone about the size of my arm tossed at me, taking me a good few feet backward, D'Mantis taking the hit too.
Trying to get back on my feet, I finally got a good look at the thing, it was nearly twice the size of me, and its face matched nothing I knew, other than it being normally shaped, snout and horns. Its arms were long enough to be pointed out, claws that looked as if they could rake the roots of this place out of the ground.
It shook its head and looked around, at the others, we surrounded it with three corners. The small spots on the neck and chest radiated sky blue light, presumably, the only other thing that did that was Ozone, but this couldn't possibly be him, right? My first instinct would be negotiation, but with this... it doesn't seem like a very logistical view.
The sky blue glows suddenly shifted into a blazing yellow, as it let a piercing bellow shake the forest at its very roots. D'Mantis backed up near my direction, Echo went into a defence stance, and I put up my spear like he did. It raised its wings up, the front joins shifted in shape, and out spewed embers from vents as it slammed them back down into the ground.
It turned toward Echo, and reeled back one of its wings, "Echo!" I cried, as it swiped, sending a line of fire his way, He ducked, and the blazing wave hitting the tree behind him, cutting through it a little and engulfing it in flames. I had to restrain everything to not panic, a forest fire would soon turn this place into a certain grave. We have to get out of here. It let out a ravenous mechanical cackle, and sent another heatwave not at me or D'Mantis, but at another tree, as if the damn thing read my mind.
Echo and I booked it away from the flaming trees, D'Mantis already being at the side we were going for. He pulled a worn, terribly forged dagger from his belt and held it infront of him, looking around assumedly for some way to run. The chain of flaming trees just kept going, each going up in black smoke and blistering flames.
"Plum, we need to get out of here!" Echo shouted across the clearing, the clouds of dark ash floating up in the sky, seemingly hiding a glow from above. A purple streak of light flew down through the smoke and behind D'Man, and it was clear we were having backup. It was Vulx. "What... is that thing?" He called out, backing up and seeing it up close, "We don't know!" I called back.
"Okay, well stay in defence till you can run, and backup is on the way, we heard the roar and saw the smoke, they're running here now!" Vulx reared back and drew out a sword, glaring at D'Mantis, but focusing on the hunk of embers and edges in the middle. It laughed once more, launching itself forward right at Vulx, who easily maneuvered out of the way, boosting his wings to force him to the right, instead nearly hitting D'Mantis as he shifted backward. Losing his dagger in the process, it swiped its claws forward, completely losing his grip on it as it flung behind him.
Out came a hurling axe-wielding Spear and close behind a ridged sword in the hands of Orion. Spear didn't stop to stare, instead immediately rushing to the frontline, and Orion stood shocked at the fire and the mechanical creature. Then came Tachi, with a curved blade in both his hands. It was even harder holding back the panic, they didn't all need to be out here, what if it rips them all apart?
Me and Echo excused glances as Spear dragged his axe on the floor taking a few steps forward, but the beast leaned back, and sprung forth, claws reached for his axe, but he swung back, knocking a whole claw off the hand. Another shriek emerged from the hollow beast of fire, as all hell broke loose. All of them but me, Echo, and D'Mantis went forth in offence, Vulx flying to its right, Orion stances behind it, nearby Tachi, Spear right in the face of the thing.
"Dare step fourth?" I heard D'Man speak nearby, as he strutted towards me, like he was some king of the world. "Only if I need to. Right now, im here out here for your end." He slowed down a little, maybe he felt as if it was a challenge like he always did. "Go ahead, you saw my last weapon fly further than us combined." His daring words gave no use as he broke into a sprint and tried to kick me down, but I swerved to the left before contact, and hit him in the jaw with the butt end of my spear.
He fell back, weak from being thrown around and battered. I stabbed the point into the soil right by his neck as he laid in the grass slowly having ash fall upon the green tendrils. "Tell me one last thing before I end your life. Anything." I crouched infront of him, and he had his laugh, "Think back at what makes this familiar. Remember back at the old land, where the war took place. Tooth and claw, blade and bite, wings or not, we were all weapons."
He paused for a short moment as another bellow erupted from the beast as it reeled backwards toward the fire. "Implanted or not, too. Every group of change wanted to make their usage of the implant useful, but it all comes down to one thing. Show me Plum. What does your implant make you?" He sat and stared. "Go ahead." Still processing what he meant, it took me a moment. "Do you need me to say it for you?"
I said nothing. D'Mantis breathed in, "You're a weapon. We're all under the strings of our own insanity. You're built to kill." I sharply inhaled, staring him in the eyes, that couldn't possibly be true... I healed myself last time I needed to let loose.
...And it had been years since I let such rage flow through my very veins to let it happen.
I felt the ripples of white and golden flames peak through my scales from my face and wings. All that was pent up from the panic and anger. "See? You're a murderer." I opened my claws, feeling the force of the onslaught. Roots tore through the ground beneath him, and they burst from the ground and grabbed his forearms, lifting him up, just off his feet.
"Do it. You're gonna need death to fight off what you provoked from the sky. Killing fuels murder machines, that's just how it will always be." He just smiled, taunting and careless of his own life. I couldnt help but listen to his words. I panted, and in a flash, the dirt below split and a root spiraled out and pierced right through D'Mantis' chest. His blood splashed through him, splattering on my face and the grass. He choked quietly on his own blood as I stared deep into eyes loosing their life.
"I- It's our only purpose.." He sputtered his words as his labored breaths stopped. Feeling the fire coarse through my veins, with no time to waste, I turned to the defense of Storm's Remnants. I let it all go, breaking into a run, running both to and from death itself, a war cry erupting from my lungs.
To save whatever was left. The coming onslaught of fire to take us all. Its do or die.
YOU ARE READING
Division
Fantasy"You follow a lie." "You followed a future told by a crystal ball that only led you played in my hands." "...How do you know anything of that.." Storm's End in ruin. Power in the wrong hands. A fate to be followed. A field of truth left in nothing b...
