To Be at Peace with Yourself

Chapter 13: Retaliation

The title of the chapter along with fact that I'm using 'Dragon's Nest' from Pokken Tournament should tell you what's going to happen here...

***

"Well lookie what we found... our runaway lab rat!" the soldier holding a gun crowed, nudging the one on his right. 

Palette growled at the insult as Goth pressed further into him.

"Dude, you totally missed," another on his left, wearing a sash covered in little silver balls, pointed out. 

The gunman groused, "We're dealing with a dangerous experiment here! It wouldn't be worth searching for a month if I could just pop its head off like a little girl's dolly."

It made the skeletons bristle how they were so casually talking about murder.

"Palette...," Goth murmured, nudging him toward the safety of a tree trunk, "We have to run..."

We can use the trees to-

"That wouldn't be such a good idea, kid," the third man called out in a lazy drawl, holding a rectangular object containing an assortment of buttons up for everyone to see, "I've already notified the lab that you've been found as well as sending our current location coordinates. Reinforcements should be arriving soon, so running is pointless." 

The second man cackled, "Nice, way to stay on top of things!"

"So," the first one said, waving his gun slightly, "What's your decision?"

The air around Goth began to crackle as his magic coalesced around his hands. Pulling out of the taller's grasp, his eye lights were quivering as he whispered, "Palette, hide. Now."

The artist snapped his attention to the smaller skeleton, whispering back frantically,  "You can't be serious! You can't fight them, we have to run!"

Goth shook his skull, never taking his eye lights off the trio and keeping his voice low as he said, "We'll be attacked as soon as we turn our backs. A fight's happening, one way or another. Also, they said more are coming soon. Beating these three before the others come is our best chance." 

"We haven't got all day, brats, make a choice or we'll start this party!" the gunman shouted.

Palette grit his teeth as he replied quietly to the smaller, "Even if that's true, these guys are trained to kill! You'll get hurt fighting by yourself!"

"And if I don't fight, they'll hurt you," Goth countered, clenching his fists in resignation, "Please... trust me." 

Goth stepped forward, bone constructs materializing around him. The artist reached his hand out to stop them, only to hesitate. He growled at the three men but reluctantly began to edge towards the tree for cover as his companion had asked.

Good... thank you, Palette.

"So, you choose to fight... nice, I was looking for some action!" the man with the sash grinned, picking one of the balls off of it. The other two readied their weapons as well, a handgun and a knife respectively. 

The man with the knife kicked a brown object forward... 

Palette's hat!

Goth instinctually dove for the hat, throwing up a shield of bones for good measure. The man with the silver ball tossed it. 

The pair of skeletons tensed as the object rebounded off the bone shield, letting out a hiss as smoke rapidly shrouded the area.

Palette choked out somewhere behind Goth, "Gas?! Goth, b... be careful!" 

"Pa... Palette!" the scarved skeleton coughed, trying in vain to use his sleeve to block the smoke while donning the hat. 

I can barely see a thing! I won't be able to keep an eye on Palette like this, but they can't-

He gasped as a dark object came hurtling toward him: the soldier with the knife, a red light flashing on the left corner of his visor. 

The small skeleton barely avoided their first strike, launching a wave of bone constructs in retaliation. A hiss was heard close by.

I hit someone, at least.

Goth didn't have the chance to celebrate as the attacker closed the distance once more, their slashes forcing the monster into a flurry of dodges and narrow misses. 

They shouldn't be able to see through the smoke, how is he able to fight so well?! 

Goth jolted as a tree impeded his path backward, grunting as a hand slammed into his neck, pinning him in place. The man smirked, bringing his knife down.

No! I can't go back! I can't-!

With a flash of light, magic surged into Goth's palms and he pushed the energy forward without thinking, blowing away the smoke and his aggressor in the resulting gust. 

The man dodged backward, thinking it was another attack. 

He was partially right... a long, thin stick with a curved blade on the end now rested just before the skeleton's hands. It was giant compared to Goth, but as he grasped it, the weapon felt light as a feather.

"Goth?!" Palette yelled frantically, the area around him still shrouded in smoke.

"I'm fine!" the smaller blurted out, trying to get a feel for the object in his hands.

"The Professor never reported anything on the subject possessing a scythe," the knifeman called out, irritation in his tone. 

"Expect the unexpected, comes with the territory, dude!" the sashed man yelled, clearly enjoying himself. 

So this thing's a scythe?

Gripping the weapon, Goth charged forward, slashing in the same manner he'd seen the knifeman do. The air sang around the scythe's blade as it swung toward its target. 

This is... this is great! I can block and fight back without being within range of the knife! 

The soldier seemed to sense this too, now being the retreating party as he dodged Goth's swings.

It feels so natural; like it's a part of my arm. I can win this-

"That's enough of that, brat."

Goth shot a glance toward the voice and felt his soul shudder in his chest. The gunman had their arm wrapped around Palette's neck, holding him off the ground with a gun placed against his skull. The artist struggled, pulling on the arm wrapped around his neck as he tried to get his feet back under him. 

"G... Go-urk!" he choked as the man's grip tightened.

"L e t h i m g o," Goth rumbled,  an unfamiliar, cold rage dripping from every word as magic rolled off his body in waves.

"Or what?" the man quipped, nudging the gun into his captive's skull, "He can't heal like you can and we don't need him alive. Do you really want to risk me pulling the trigger before you can reach us?"