Residual (Chapter Twenty-Two)

[tanadin]

Sorry about the shorter chapter, guys! (about 1800 words) Some stuff happens, we kill off some characters, I get to play around with shipping some more (in like two pairings, possibly a third, it's great!), etc. etc. (R7 I USED THE CHARACTER DEATH TAG ARE YOU PROUD OF ME)

I predict that we're going to have a few less action-packed fighting chapters (which is good, I'm terrible at fight scenes as you all have seen) and a few more character development, talking, running around with people chapters. Like chapter twenty-one. But maybe not. Let me know what you think about that- I'm a little lost as to exactly where I'm going right now. I have certain things I want to do, but I'm not sure exactly what I want to do between now and then, is all.

Chapter list: http://tanadin.dreamwidth.org/382.html
Map of the continent: http://tanadin.deviantart.com/art/Monstrous-Residual-map-526465833
Character status spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1yvK6D0XzgjhMNjblFFQaAeJ7JkzdidaLJux1S8qsSUA/edit#gid=1227692709

Chapter Twenty-Two

Kingdom of Traz’madar, Minecraftia. October 1, year 373. Time instance 483Z.

Vechs was just about to fall asleep again when Seth’s alarms went off, indicating that whoever was on watch had spotted a Hostile. He groaned but jumped up, seizing his weapons. Aureylian looked like she wanted to stay behind, but picked up her sword as well and followed the stream of Mindcrackers outside. Only those well enough to stand were there- those that were in the condition that Bdoubleo and Arkas were in stayed within. Doc left Jsano to look after them, leaving with the others to address the source of the alarm. There were no dragons outside at the moment, presumably out scouting and watching for approaching Hostiles.

Iirkolav and Pak tried to convince Blame to stay inside, but he just growled at them. Vechs, seeing him awake for the first time since he had passed out in Illian, gave him a quick hug and a grin that Blame waved away, eyes locked on the problem.

Four Hostiles were approaching, and they looked none too pleased.

Kormaeix landed first, followed by Vellan in his dragon form with Xevdramon and Zyr on his back. The tiny demon and the scorpion man jumped down and growled menacingly.

“Great. Legendary, Lethamyr, Kaizo Caverns, and Ragequit Holidays.” Vechs mumbled, readying an arrow on his bowstring.

“We are done fooling around with you.” Kormaeix hissed as Vellan transformed into his preferred golem form. “You have dealt too much damage.” He drew his swords. “You will die!”

“Make peace with your gods.” Vellan rumbled.

“Good morning to you too.” Pause grumbled sarcastically- the last thing said before Xevdramon threw himself at the nearest person. He latched onto Avidya and started clawing at him, making a horrible screaming sound that mixed terribly with Avidya’s sudden shout of terror.

“Get him off of me!”

Vechs’s arrow slammed into the small demonic figure, knocking him to the ground. Blame moved in on him but was forced to dodge around a swing from Vellan. A single hit from him could snap a human’s spine.

Zyr had been immediately attacked by a furious Nebris and a couple of other Mindcrackers, those who recognized how dangerous he had been and that they currently had no more antidote. It was mostly ranged fighters who targeted him, all staying well away from his stinger.

Kormaeix was locked in combat against a good half dozen Mindcrackers, but was managing to hold his own, primarily due to his immunity to most of their weapons. Blame and several others focused on Vellan, while Vechs and Aureylian turned towards Xevdramon.

The smallest Hostile was difficult to hit as he threw himself between the Mindcrackers, delivering burns and cuts before flying or jumping to the next. It was too dangerous for Vechs to risk trying to shoot him- he could shoot one of his teammates.

He lost sight of Xevdramon quickly and wildly looked around, searching for his target.

He heard Aureylian shriek in surprise and whipped around, seeing the Hostile flying right at her.

Iirkolav was faster, though. The dark red sword flashed outwards, letting Xevdramon’s momentum drive him against the blade and cut him into two. The Hostile’s body broke apart, leaving an orb similar to Draemae’s but with darker red fire in its place.

Ragequit Holidays had been defeated.

Vechs stepped closer to Aureylian before thanking Iirkolav. His counterpart ignored him, already clanking away as quickly as he could to assist in the fight against Kormaeix. His blade struck under the snakeman’s left arm, causing him to flash silver and scream curses at them.

“He’s vulnerable! Destroy him, quickly!” Iirkolav shouted, aiming a blow at his arm.

Vechs fired an arrow and earned a scream, but he missed the second time. He felt Aureylian leap from his side to get a strike in at the Hostile as Vechs aimed another shot.

Unfortunately, as he released the arrow, someone moved between him and Kormaeix and ended up receiving a powerful shot between the shoulder blades. They were thrown forward and to the ground.

“Oh, shit! I’m so sorry!”

Mhykol tried to pick himself up off of the ground but couldn’t due to the arrow’s placement, crying out as he tried to do so. “Vechs!”

“Sorry!”

He was about to move to help the other Mindcracker when Zyr’s claws raked down his back. Vechs howled in pain and scrambled away, almost dropping his bow. Zyr laughed hysterically at causing his maker the injury, pausing to do so during a critical moment.

Nebris’s first stroke hit him where his stinger connected to the rest of his tail, shattering his immunity to normal weapons.

Nebris’s second stroke sliced off his head.

Zyr was cut off mid-laugh as his body dissolved, leaving a gray and misty orb with shimmering cobwebs within on the ground.

Kaizo Caverns had been defeated.

“That was for Etho.” Nebris spat in the direction of the orb before heading towards the closest fight.
Kormaeix, injured, overwhelmed, and frankly terrified to see two of his companions fall, began to initiate teleportation.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Zisteau sliced off a wing before the screaming Hostile vanished, leaving a stick behind.

“Dammit!”

The Mindcrackers turned to look at the only remaining Hostile.

Vellan hesitated, realizing that he was alone. “Coward.” he decided, referring to Kormaeix, before swinging at Guude.

No one missed the irony of Guude almost getting crushed to death by a fist made of boulders, and he seemed to just know what they were all thinking as he barely ducked under the swing. Blame darted forward to try and get a swing in at Vellan’s knee to try and knock him down, but his injured leg betrayed him, giving out and making him fall. Aureylian rushed to his defense and helped him get out of the way of a potentially fatal blow from Vellan. She helped him get to his feet before he darted off to get an attack in at a different angle, Paul moving in beside him to catch him if he fell.

Vellan ignored them and instead suddenly shot a hand out and seized Aureylian, holding her up to eye level while pinning her arms to her sides.

Vechs’s heartrate skyrocketed, panicking. It was instinct that drove his arm to raise the bow, draw back the arrow, and shoot.

The arrow cut through Vellan’s wrist, making him drop Aureylian with the sudden shock of agony. Aureylian hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and didn’t move, causing Vechs to panic even more. His counterpart roared in fury as well and charged forward. Iirkolav was easily slapped out of the way by Vellan’s uninjured hand before the Hostile transformed into his winged serpent form, flying up and out of the way. He hissed one final protest at them before fleeing, bleeding from various wounds across his body. He didn’t want to have to fight twenty-something Mindcrackers by himself- he knew what happened to Hostiles that tried that.
Vechs ran to Aureylian’s side, dropping the bow as he fell to his knees beside her to make sure she wasn’t dead. Oh no oh no oh no oh please please please don’t let her be dead oh no oh fuck…

He almost sobbed with relief when he saw that she was breathing, just curled up tightly and whimpering in pain.

“Aurey-“

“Ankle.” she gasped. “Broken.”

Vechs barely glanced at it, concerned but knowing that it couldn’t kill her. “Are you okay?”

“My ankle-“

“Other than your ankle, Aurey, are you okay?!”

Aureylian lifted her head to look at him. “Y-yeah. I think I’m okay.”

Vechs pulled her into a tight hug, shaking. The words I thought I almost lost you again stuck in his throat and came out as relieved tears. He pushed his goggles up his face so that he wouldn’t end up drowning his eyes.

“I’m okay.” Aureylian whispered again, hugging him in return. “Are-“ She cut off, realizing that her hands were covered in blood. “Vechs! You’re bleeding!”

“I am?”

“Yes! You’re bleeding! You’re scratched all on your back!”

Now that she mentioned it, Vechs could indeed feel the pulsing pain from the wounds that had been delivered on his back. “Zyr.” he mumbled.

“Oh my god! Did he-“

“Not the stinger. Claws. I’m…I’m okay. Not as bad as-“ He looked up suddenly, remembering Mhykol. “Myhkol!”
“I’m alive!” Mhykol called, wincing as Doc picked him up.

“Be careful where you point that bow, will you? I don’t want an arrow in me.” Avidya remarked as he stopped by them. “Isn’t this yours?”

Vechs nodded and carefully took Xevdramon’s orb from him. “Where’s Zyr’s?”

“I think Nebris is kicking it.”

Something with enough power to level a city.

“Nebris!” Pause protested. “That thing could explode and destroy half of Traz’madar! There’s a lot of power in there!”

Nebris stopped kicking it and looked a little sheepish.

“Just bring it to Vechs, alright?”

The purple-eyed man nodded and picked it up, handing it to Vechs. Vechs slipped the two orbs into his toolbelt, and reflected that he was running out of decently-sized pockets. He stood and picked Aureylian up, guessing correctly that she could not walk with a broken ankle, and followed the others on their way inside.

~~~

Overall, the battle hadn’t been nearly as bad as the previous one. A couple of people had cuts and scrapes, but most of them, like Vechs’s clawmarks on his back, weren’t very deep and very minor overall. The only major injuries sustained were Aureylian’s broken ankle and the arrow between Mhykol’s shoulderblades. He didn’t blame Vechs for it and even apologized for getting in the way, but Vechs insisted that it was his fault for not looking as to who could get shot.

Doc had looked over Aureylian’s ankle and set it up to heal, insisting that she not try to walk for awhile at least. Vechs argued with him until he cleared the use of a quarter of a healing potion on both her and Seth to speed their recovery so that they could walk. Nebris tried to get them to use one on Etho, but Iirkolav told him that it would do nothing and would only waste the potion. Instead, the gray-haired Vechs advised them to use the last half of the potion to help heal Arkas and Paul, the latter being even more injured from this fight. They opened up a second potion to help heal Bdubs and Chad, leaving them at one and a half healing potions. A quarter of a healing potion didn’t do a lot, but the primary thing it did was address their most critical wounds and speed along the natural healing process and that was really what they needed.

That night, Vechs didn’t even think twice before slipping in beside Aureylian and hugging her close, being careful not to move her ankle to avoid hurting her. I’ll talk to her in the morning, he promised himself. Hopefully it won’t go badly.