Pink Gold - Ch.54 - Taking Priority (Patreon)

** content warning: violence, injury **

It felt early when I drifted awake the next morning, but the sun was up and shining in through the big windows. Then I noticed the smell of coffee in the air, and a moment later I heard some movement by the counter and mini-fridge.

"Good morning kids," Fiona smiled when I looked over in that direction. "Time to get up. There's a complimentary breakfast buffet downstairs with our names on it. Then we have to get to work."

She looked like she'd been up for a while, she was fully dressed and showered and everything. She'd just made herself a coffee with the one-cup pod machine though, like she knew it was going to take the rest of us a while to get moving.

"Morning," Ellie groaned next to me. "Ugh."

Harper stirred on the other side of me then asked, "Who wants first dibs on the bathroom?"

I ended up going first, although it meant I had to get up first. A quick shower helped me wake though, then I got dressed next to our bed while Ellie went next. When she was done our boyfriend finally dragged himself out of bed and headed into the washroom. Fiona and I waited together on the sofa, she was still sipping her coffee while I had some spring water. Ellie grabbed a can of cola and joined us after she was dressed, then the three of us waited for Harper to finish getting ready.

It was about a quarter after eight when the four of us finally left our room and headed down to the hotel lobby, then found our way into the breakfast area. It wasn't the biggest or fanciest set-up, but they had all the usual stuff. Pancakes, french toast, scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage were all set up in warming trays. There were toasters and a few different kinds of bread, as well as baskets of muffins and croissants and stuff like that. And to drink they had juice and milk, along with carafes full of fresh brewed coffee and tea.

I got myself a couple pancakes, some bacon, and a big glass of OJ. Ellie got toast, eggs, and bacon, then assembled it all into a breakfast sandwich. Harper went for the french toast with some sausages and bacon. And Fiona got eggs, bacon, sausage, and a few slices of toast. The redhead also got herself another cup of coffee, while my friends both had juice like me.

As we all started eating I commented, "Oh! I haven't even looked at my phone yet. Did we hear anything back from Lily or the others?"

"Yeah," Fiona nodded, but she didn't seem very positive about it. "Lily said it was interesting and asked us to keep the rest of the team updated on what else we find. She didn't say anything about joining in though."

Ellie frowned, "I don't suppose there was anything from Cel?"

"I don't think I've ever seen them on the group chat," the redhead shook her head. "I wouldn't be surprised if they're lurking, they probably read all the messages. Or maybe they have some other way to keep updated on what we talk about in there? But they don't post to it as far as I know."

After a bite of her toast she added, "Lily didn't have any news from them either. Or if she did, she didn't mention it on the chat."

"So we're on our own then," I sighed.

Fiona shook her head, "Peri wrote back. She said if we're going to move on the house that she'd help. We just have to text her and let her know when. Preferably not too early in the morning though."

Harper lowered his voice and asked, "What's the plan with that? Like if we 'move on the house' how do you figure we should do that?"

Our Welsh friend didn't answer right away, instead she had a few more bites of her breakfast while she seemed to be thinking it over. Finally she replied just as softly, "We'll magic-up in our hotel room, then Onyx can take us right to the front door. As soon as we're there we kick it in and get to work. Don't give them a chance to prepare, no warning, just storm the place and secure everyone inside as fast as possible."

My eyebrows shot up, and I exchanged a surprised look with both Harper and Ellie. Then I asked, "How are we supposed to 'secure everyone'? Like I don't think my halberd has a 'stun' setting. And for that matter it's not exactly designed for easy use indoors."

"Same goes for your axe and Peri's bow," my girlfriend pointed out.

Fiona was munching on a strip of bacon but when she was done she shrugged, "Don't use the weapons. You've got fists and boots, along with speed and strength. That goes for all three of you, although I'm sure staves and sceptres are a lot more non-lethal than edged weapons."

"I don't know about this," Ellie sighed. "I was expecting more of a well-thought-out plan. Like something involving strategy and tactics, instead of just 'kick down the door and beat people up'."

The redhead shrugged again, "We can iterate after breakfast. We'll head back up to our room and put our heads together, see if we can come up with anything better. I still think we want the element of surprise though, and I think it's better if we move sooner rather than later."

"No offence Blake," she added as she looked at me, "But if your aunt is involved then there's a good chance she'll know you're in town. In fact we might have already lost the initiative, if that's the case. If so, then the longer we wait the more time they'll have to get ready for us."

I shook my head and sighed, "I really hope Leslie isn't involved. I hope she's ok though."

"So do we," Ellie said as she put a hand on my shoulder. "Even though I still don't trust the woman, I'd rather be proved wrong than find out I was right."

"Thanks," I mumbled.

The four of us were quiet for a bit as we focused on our breakfast again. Then Harper commented softly, "If we're going ahead with Fiona's plan then just remember to pull your punches, ok? If we're going to be subduing normal humans then we really don't want any accidents."

Ellie and I both nodded quietly, and I couldn't help thinking back to those two thugs who attacked me at the gas station. The guy I kicked was probably going to need another few months before he could walk again. And he was the lucky one.

Eventually we'd all had enough to eat, so the four of us got up and made our way back to the elevators. A minute or so later the doors opened on the seventh floor, and as we started down the hall towards our room Fiona's phone rang.

She pulled it out of her jacket pocket and glanced at the screen then answered, "Hey Val, what's up?"

The tall redhead froze a moment later as her eyes widened. Then she gestured to the rest of us, "Hotel room! Now!"

The four of us sprinted down the hall, then I fumbled with the key card to get the door open. Fiona was still on the call, but as soon as we got inside our room she switched it to speaker phone so we could all hear what was going on.

"... in County Donegal, Ireland. Cel says there's at least three of them, but maybe more! We have to get there right now!" the German girl said in an urgent tone.

"Say again please," Fiona responded. "I've got you on speaker now that we're in private."

Valerie impatiently repeated herself, "Outsider attack happening right now, in a small coastal village in County Donegal, north-west Ireland!"

"I'm ready to go," Peri's voice came through the speaker, "I just need a ride."

"Same!" Val stated. "Lily's not fit to join us but I'll be ready in thirty seconds. Onyx we need you to get us on location, now!"

Fiona nodded, "We're on our way."

The tall redhead ended the call then stuffed her phone back in her jacket pocket as she told the rest of us, "Rings up, kids. This takes priority, we'll worry about Judith's house later."

A moment later the room was filled with flashes of pink, red, purple, and shadows. We all gathered close around Onyx as she began to spin her staff over our heads. Our first stop was in San Francisco, where the green magical girl was waiting. Then my girlfriend brought the five of us to New Zealand to get Azura. And finally she teleported the six of us to the opposite side of the planet, where Outsiders were attacking.

It was mid-afternoon there, a sunny August day as we appeared on a pier overlooking a white sandy beach. The carpark was full of vehicles, but there wasn't anybody out enjoying the nice weather or the water. There were some scattered belongings though, as if people had dropped everything and ran.

"Where are they?" the blue magical girl demanded as she hefted her hammer and looked around.

Onyx turned on the spot with her staff then pointed, "The Outsiders are in that building there!"

"Shit there's people in there too!" Ruby gasped. She sounded scared as she added, "I think they went in there to hide and the Outsiders have them trapped!"

Violet raised her axe and took off at a limping run as she said, "Let's go girls!"

I started after her as I summoned my halberd, with the rest of the team following on my heels. It only took a few seconds to cover the hundred meters between where we'd arrived on the pier and the front of the structure. The signage was all in Irish, but from the images it seemed like this was some kind of sports complex. It might have also served as a community centre too.

The front doors had been smashed and wrenched off their hinges, and as we all approached I could hear some screams from deeper inside the building.

"Shit!" Peri swore as she heard them too.

Azura stated, "Stick together. Violet and I up front, Peri and Rosa in the rear. Onyx and Ruby, you're in the middle. Guide us where we need to be. Now, move!"

All six of us fell into formation almost like a military unit. We stepped through the broken doorway and into a large lobby area, then made our way across it. Unfortunately that's as far as we got before the whole formation thing fell apart.

"To the left," Onyx whispered.

At the same time Ruby stated softly, "We need to go right."

That brought us all to a sudden stop, as Azura hissed "Which is it? Left or right?"

"I'm sensing Outsiders down that hallway on the left," my girlfriend responded firmly. "At least four, maybe five of them."

The red magical girl shook her head, "There's a large group of survivors in a room somewhere to our right. I think some of them might be hurt though? And I'm sure they're very scared."

"Scheiße!" the blue magical girl swore under her breath. I didn't even have to speak German to know it was a swear, her tone and expression made that clear.

A moment later she made the decision, "Violet and Onyx with me, we'll deal with the Outsiders. Rosa and Ruby with Peri. Find the civilians and get them to safety, then join us when you can."

Ruby and Onyx and I all shared a quick look, but there was no time to talk. A moment later our girlfriend was following Azura and Violet down the hallway on the left, while Peri and I led my boyfriend through a large doorway on the right.

We ended up following a short hallway a little ways before turning deeper into the building. The regular lights were all out, but the occasional emergency lights were enough that we could see where we were going. There were still plenty of dark corners and shadows to keep us on our toes though. And I hadn't forgotten what happened to Lily on Monday, so I made sure to keep an eye on the ceilings and the undersides of shelves and cabinets, incase we ended up facing more insectoid Outsiders.

Following Ruby's instructions the three of us soon found ourselves at another large doorway. The red magical girl nodded, "This is it. I have to get in there! There's at least a dozen people, I think some are hurt. And they're all scared."

No sooner had she said the words when we heard a scream from the other side of the door. Peri kicked it open then she and I stepped inside, and my eyes immediately swept the room.

It turned out to be a small cafeteria or lunch room, and just like my boyfriend said there were over a dozen survivors huddled together in the far corner to our right. Two of them were laying motionless on the floor, surrounded by the others who were all cowering in fear. Most of the people were quiet, but a few were sobbing while others prayed.

None of them were looking at the three of us though. The ones who didn't have their eyes closed tight were staring past us at another entrance off to the left, where a big Outsider had just forced its way through the doorway.

It was shaped vaguely like a giant wolf, but I counted at least seven or eight legs instead of the expected four. As if that wasn't grotesque enough it seemed to be wearing some of its skeleton on the outside, including the large jagged horns and teeth that protruded at unnatural angles from its misshapen skull.

Peri immediately raised and fired her bow at the monster. The dimly-lit lunch room momentarily filled with green light as her magic arrow burned deep into the Outsider's muscular chest, and the monstrosity responded with an ear-splitting screech. But it didn't fall. It didn't even miss a step as it stalked towards the group of defenceless civilians.

Both Ruby and I were already moving by that point. My boyfriend rushed to help the terrified locals while I lunged forward to intercept the beast. The cafeteria provided enough open space for me to use my halberd, and I took full advantage of that as I swung it around and down. The pink crystal blade flared with light as it sank deep into the abomination's right frontmost shoulder.

Even that didn't stop it though. In fact it only seemed to make the Outsider angrier, as it let out another screech of rage. Before I could pull my weapon free the monster suddenly twisted and lashed out with its jaws and two of its massive clawed appendages. I was forced to let go of my halberd as the vicious maw clamped down on the shaft where my hands had been, but I wasn't quite fast enough to escape the claws.

My right hip erupted in agony as the force of its strike sent me tumbling backwards through air like a rag doll. A solid oak table exploded into kindling when I crashed into it, and my vision started to go dark around the edges as I found myself laying on my back on the floor surrounded by shattered wood and splinters.