My Name is Marcus: Dark Times

XII. Infestation - Swarm

Vespiquen hovered over the field, a look in her eyes that demanded unquestioned dominion over all who stood before her, lest she take it by force.

Grimmsnarl panted hard - between being poisoned and taking the brunt of a super-effective Megahorn attack, his battle with Scolipede had taken its toll.

"Grimmsnarl", Marnie called, "you sure you're good to go another round?"

"Snarl!", Grimmsnarl howled, a battlecry of affirmation.

Marnie nodded. "M'kay, stay sharp."

Weston didn't hesitate to make the first move. "Vespiquen, Power Gem!"

The ruby-red gemstone that sat upon the brow of Vespiquen's head began to glow brightly before launching a ray of light towards Grimmsnarl. Grimmsnarl dove out of the path of the beam, narrowly avoiding it as it struck the ground with a thunderous explosion that kicked up a thick cloud of dust.

"That was a close one", Marcus remarked.

"Grimmsnarl's taken a lot of damage", Hop added in a worried tone, "I don't know how many more maneuvers like that he's got in him."

"Power Gem, back to back!", Weston shouted.

"Dodge 'em all, Grimmsnarl", Marnie called.

Vespiquen proceeded to fire a barrage of beams from the gem on her head as Grimmsnarl frantically jumped from side to side in order to avoid the assault.

What's his game now? Marnie thought to herself.

Then she noticed it - the enormous cloud of debris that now enveloped the entire pitch, obstructing her line of sight over the field.

"Now, into the air, Vespiquen!"

Vespiquen took flight high into the sky, hovering well above the debris that clouded the field.

"Not good", Piers remarked.

Marcus and Hop looked at him curiously.

"Those last attacks", Piers continued, "they were used to tire Grimmsnarl out 'n hinder his and Marn's view of the field. Weston's not takin' any more chances with Marn's unpredictable strategies." He gave a concerned look out towards the field. "Whatever he's plannin' to use next, he wants to be completely sure it ain't gonna miss."

Grimmsnarl looked frantically from side to side, trying to get a fix on his opponent.

Vespiquen hovered over the field, her shadow casting itself downward as her silhouette obstructed the light of the sun above.

"The time has come to release the swarm", Weston announced behind grit teeth. "Vespiquen, Attack Order!"

From within the hive of Vespiquen's thorax, small insectoid underlings began to trickle outward and into the air - slowly at first, and small in numbers. However, those numbers began to rapidly grow as what began as a small stream of underlings turned into droves upon droves upon droves.

Marnie couldn't see it. She could hear it - the roaring crowd surrounding her being silenced, their noises buried beneath the buzzing of tens of thousands of pairs of tiny wings swarming through the sky in formation overhead like a raging vortex.

That... can't be good...

Marcus and party's eyes all went wide as the army of insects continued to grow in numbers around their monarch in the sky, their sheer volume a veil that blotted out the light of the sun.

"T-that's-", Hop stammered in horror, "...That's gotta be the biggest Attack Order I've ever seen..."

Marcus swallowed hard. Come on, Marnie...