Markus looked at the looming fortress in front of the small group of Giants, armed to the teeth with guns and suicide drones. His oldest brother, David, grabbed Markus by the shoulder.
"You ready, Marky?" David asked, his musket and bayonet pointed to the sky.
"Yeah, and, it's been years since I heard you call me that." Markus replied.
"We'll lead the charge, you give the defense a go-around and get Riley, we'll catch up." David said, looking at all the guards.
"Alright, distract the guards, me and Saint will get Riley." Markus said.
David and the others charged up to the defense lines, drones soaring all around and crashing into the enemy giants. Markus and Saint snuck into the gate and through the fortress, up to the main room. Scavenger Phoenixes cawed, announcing their arrival. The two approached the door, and tried opening it.
"Locked." Saint spat.
"Don't worry, I got this." Markus said. He took a few steps back, and charged at the door, busting it down. Saint looked at him, shocked and scared.
"Now I know why you'd always beat David in a fight" Saint breathed.
"Come on," Markus said. The two Giants went into the room, and instantly saw a golden birdcage, with something moving in it. Markus ran towards the cage, and peered inside. It was a small, feathered creature that looked naturally armed to the teeth. "Hey, you seen a girl, around your height but, smaller?" Markus asked. The creature looked up at him, then spoke.
"M-m-Markus? Is it you?" It, she, rasped, weakened.
"Wait, Riley?!" Markus gasped, shocked.
"R-run, it's... it's, a, trap, go while you can. Argh," Riley rasped, falling over weakened, golden blood seeping through her feathers.
"Hey, hey, look at me." Markus said. Riley weakly looked at him. "I'm not leaving without you. You want to give in, I'm fine with that, but don't go now, save it for another day. You've been more to me than just a patient, you're one of my friends, I refuse to leave without you."
"Aww, what's the human term for when they think it's a match?" A voice said.
Markus turned around and saw another giant.
"Ahh yes, I ship it."
"BloodLust." Markus snarled. "What did you do to her?"
"Oh, well, why don't you ASKE HER THE SAME!!" BloodLust barked.
Markus looked at him, his right eye was dead, and the other was a bright red. He had scratch marks around his dead eye, which had two holes symmetrically close to each other. Markus grimaced in disgust.
"Riley did that?" Saint said.
"Your rat is unstable you know. She's a dangerous pet!" BloodLust snarled.
"Well, I guess she had her reasons, just like I've got mine!" Saint said, charging towards BloodLust.
BloodLust flicked his wrist and a glowing blue orb floated out of Saint's mouth. He dropped to the floor, and the orb floated to BloodLust.
"Alright, sick'em boy!" BloodLust said, snapping his finger. Saint got up off the floor, looking rabid, and,
"Soulless..." Markus breathed. Saint charged, and Markus leapt out of the way. Saint scrabbled on the floor, quickly recovering and trying again. Markus realized that Saint wouldn't stop until he was dead. He thought about a strategy to knock out Saint without killing him, and finally came up with a plan.
"I'm sorry Saint, but we can't leave her behind." Markus grabbed Saint, who began thrashing and kicking, and threw him across the room. Saint crashed into a pillar and went limp, groaning in pain.
"I see how well you can fight, I'm guessing your mother was like that too." BloodLust said.
"What?" Markus said, confused.
"Oh, your daddy was no match for me." BloodLust began, "The pacifist route your family lead was a perfect target. Killing him was rather, satisfying."
"H-h-hey, Markus"
Riley was laying on top of Markus's bayonet, which was inches from Markus. He quickly grabbed the gun, placing her into his pocket, and pointed it towards BloodLust.
"Go on, shoot me. It won't help you." He said.
Markus was about to pull the trigger when a weight smashed into him, knocking him onto the floor. Saint snarled, snapping at Markus. He grabbed Saint around the head, trying to hold the giant off.
"Brachiosaur!"
Akatosh stood in the doorway, Markus's gun in his hand. He threw Saint off of Markus, suspending the giant in midair, and tossed the gun to Markus. He snatched it, then shot BloodLust in the head. BloodLust froze, then touched the bullet wound.
"How?! You can't kill me with just a steel bullet!?" BloodLust roared, snarling with pain.
"It is able to kill anything, SoulKeeper" Akatosh said.
BloodLust was about to speak again when Markus shot him, right in the heart. BloodLust roared in pain, then fell to the ground, blood pooling from his wounds. Markus ran over to Saint, who was out on the floor. The others came running in. BloodLust began disintegrating into blue orbs, which scattered outside. One of the orbs hit Saint, sliding down his throat until it stopped glowing.
"The souls," Riley rasped. "I here them, cheering for their freedom."
Markus looked at Riley, shocked to see that she looked better than before and was glowing green. "What? H-h-how are you- you were nearly dead!"
Riley chuckled, then replied, "I have spells that help me. When BloodLust grabbed me, I used my Rising Phoenix ability to revive myself when I was dying. "I'm currently using rejuvenate to heal, but I'm not sure how long it will take. Rising Phoenix only revived me enough to be able to move. My bones still need to mend, and the spell works best while I'm asleep."
"Wow, I wish I had those abilities." Markus said.
"When your a hybrid of many different beasts, you'd want these abilities." Riley said, her voice still hoarse.
Markus chuckled, and looked at Saint, who was groaning and trying to get up.
"What'd I miss?" Saint asked.
YOU ARE READING
Lost and Found
Fantasy(Cover picture made by EnderShadeMC, I just added letters!) Riley Horsehoof SwiftFoot had a somewhat normal life. She struggled with turning in schoolwork, was very shy, and a major tomboy. But when the Age of Predators strikes at random, she'll hav...
