7.2 - Expansion (Patreon)

7.2 - Expansion

Sophia

Wyll and Lae’zel’s weapons sang as they clashed and darted against each other. She watched from the sidelines, waiting for her turn in the practice ring. 

It was like watching Dauntless fighting Miss Militia. She may have given them shit and hated their rules and regulations, but the two could fight when they wanted to.

Wyll was like Miss M. Patient, but sharp. There was a reason the woman had lasted for decades in a world filled with capes that, on paper, outclassed her in every way. 

Lae’zel was more like Dauntless, strong and looking to leverage that strength into a quick win, to overpower and break through.

Wyll made that thin fencing sword in his hands look like a wall of steel, each swing and thrust was parried and deflected, but Lae'zel, as aggressive as she was, wasn’t a slouch either.

Sophia wouldn’t call herself an ‘expert’ in sword fighting by any measure, but she did know how to fight and the principles remained the same. Footwork, range, body structure. She was good, they both were. 

A little ways away, the Tiefling… arms master?  -Is that where Halbeard got his name?- Anyway, he was teaching some of the other tieflings, they looked a little older than her, though god knows she couldn’t tell ages for shit with these demon looking people. There were a few kids too. 

She could just spy Emma walking off with Mullet. Probably to talk magic shit. That was good. Emma... Emma did need to learn to fight and Magic would be good for her to pick up.

A bit further away, the shortstack, Barcus, was with some… the hell was it called? Black something? Guy that made swords and shit. They were nerding out over that iron the team had found in the village. The fancy one that supposedly came from Hell. Just, medieval nerd shit. Not really interesting. 

Not too far away, near where supposedly, Auntie Ethel had been pretending to be an old woman set up her potions shop, Zevlor the tiefling boss was organizing guard rotations and coordinating with the Druids that knew how to fight, slightly more interesting and she made sure to listen with one ear.

And lastly, Shadowheart was organizing a medical room for the fight to come.

And that she did pay attention to. And would ask for details from Shadowheart directly later.

Behemoth had showed past any doubt that that shit was beyond important. From what she understood, the Tieflings and druids did have some ‘healing potions’ on hand after scrounging everything together. Because sure, a Stranger rating in a bottle was a thing, so why not pocket regen. 

From what she understood, between Shadowheart, Nettie and those healing potions, if every single person that was gonna fight got injured, they had just enough to heal all of them. 

Knowing the logistics of Endbringer battles, that sounded like cutting it ridiculously short. From what she overheard from Panacea, Emergency Response, even with her around, always wanted a surplus. Two or three times what could ever be needed in even the most catastrophic situations.

Likely because Endbringer battles tended to be the most catastrophic situations. 

She tried not to think about things here and what they were facing. Tried not to dwell on what could be. 

She wasn’t very successful to be honest. She’d never been part of… well… a battle. 

Sure she’d been in fights, even went to face Behemoth but this felt…heavier, somehow. More ‘in your face.’ 

But interrupting the worry-fest she would never admit she was undergoing was the sudden grunt of pain from Wyll as Lae’zel’s sword kissed the back of his hand with the flat, making him drop the rapier. 

“Dextrous. Impressive.” Wyll laughed, reaching down to pluck his weapon from the floor.

“You were more skilled than I thought you would be,” Lae’zel admitted with something that vaguely sounded like approval before looking towards Sophia. “Now for you.”

Sophia hopped to her feet cracking her knuckles. 

“Your weapon?” Lae’zel asked. 

Sophia pulled a knife, just the one. She had a spare, but she wanted to keep her other hand free. 

Lae’zel nodded. “And you will use your… Parahuman ability?”

“That’s the plan.” Wyll and Lae’zel had kept it to blades only but she didn’t make that agreement.

“Good.” Lae’zel almost seemed to smile. “I wish to test it myself.”

It. Not her. 

That rankled. 

Wyll stepped aside, and she got into the ring, taking her fighting stance as Lae’zel did the same. 

She didn’t wait long. No reason to. She rushed forward, closing the distance. She saw Lae’zel’s eyes narrow, her blade dipping low and darting for Sophia’s legs.

She shifted, shadow passing through steel, vaulting up and over, her hand wrapped around Lae’zel’s neck, the other with the dagger being caught by the woman’s free hand, stopping the mock stab down into her sternum.

For all that the Gith looked like an emaciated human, she was strong. Wiry muscle grabbed hold like an iron rod and wouldn’t let go.

Sophia’s weight settled on Lae’zel’s back, pulling the woman down. Off balance, she tried to capitalize by kicking at the back of the Gith’s knees to lower her further but Lae’zel thought fast and threw her head back in a headbut that cracked against Sophia’s cheek, making her see stars before she phased out again. 

She returned to corporeality on Lae’zel’s right, and the woman backed away, but Sophia didn’t go for her.

She went for the blade.

Catching Lae’zel’s wrist to stop the strike, she dropped the knife and reached for the sword, grabbing hold of it near the crossguard.

Then, she phased it right out of the woman’s grip.

Lae’zel shouted in angry surprise and Sophia smirked. 

First trick she learned.

Disarm the Nazi, suddenly he’s a lot more scared and a lot less dangerous. Crowbar, Gun, sword, they all worked the same. 

But just as soon as she tossed the sword away Lae’zel answered with a savage punch clear across Sophia’s jaw. It knocked her right to the ground, Sophia was half sure her jaw was broken! 

But adrenaline was pumping, the rush of the fight flowing through her insides and so Sophia practically rebounded right off the ground to swing right back.

But Lae’zel moved, practically sliding around her punch to deliver a straight uppercut into Sophia’s stomach, knocking the wind right out of her.

She phased out, moving straight through Lae’zel to appear behind her, ready to draw the second knife, put it against her neck and call it there.

But just as soon as she returned to the world of touch her face was met with a back hook kick that felt like it knocked a tooth out as Sophia hit the floor again.

“Chk. You’re predictable.” Lae’zel growled. “You use that power as a crutch. You have no true skill.”

“Fchjkk yugh.” She tried to say only to gargle on a mouthful of blood. The side of her face was already starting to swell. She could both feel it and see it as her eye wasn’t able to open properly. 

“And I think I’ll be calling that there.” Wyll said, stepping between them. “Let me get Shadowheart.” He said before looking to Lae’zel. “You did not have to hit her quite so hard.”

“Better she learn of her deficiencies here where a bruised face is the worst of it, than on the battlefield.” The Gith shot back, sneering. “You must have seen it. All of the openings. Were it not for that… shadow ability, she’d have been dead thrice over.” 

“Stop talking about me like I’m not here.” Sophia reached up with one hand wincing as she touched the tender flesh of her cheek.

“She’s young, Lae’zel. The young are allowed to make errors and have them corrected.” 

“Chk.” She made that strange sound, half dismissive, half frustrated. 

When Shadowheart arrived, she took one look at Sophia and gave Lae’zel a nasty look. 

“A friendly bout.” The half elf muttered. “Should have known you’d be incapable of such a thing.” 

“She does not bleed. It was friendly enough.” The Gith answered, sneering right back. 

Fucking Christ, just find a room and hate fuck already.

Shadowheart shook her head, and made a sound that was eerily similar to Lae’zel’s ‘Chk.’

“Hmm. Karlach?”

Wyll’s muttering drew her attention to her right, which was, at the moment, her blindspot because of that swollen eye. Karlach had apparently gotten out from following Hebert around and had made her way up here to… The nerd squad with Barcus and that other guy?

The hell was that about?

“Hold still.” Shadowheart muttered as the pale glow of green caressed the side of her face, providing near instant relief from the pain. 

“The fuck are you two talking about anyway.” She demanded with a snarl. “My fighting’s fine!”

“If by fine you mean little better than a C’hoki jesting, then yes, it is fine.”

She didn’t know what a C’hoki was, but she knew that tone, so she flipped the bitch the bird anyway. 

“Her fundamentals are there, she simply lacks experience.” Wyll defended. “Though I do think some of your errors are being exacerbated by the reliance on your unique ability.”

She grumbled. “I was best on the team in CQC outside of Aegis-” And that fucker cheated, because it was impossible to choke out a guy who could breathe through his fucking skin when you cut off his wind pipe.

Not to mention the bastard didn’t get tired.

Fucking cheat.

“I don’t know what this See- Cue -See is. But unless you wish to wind up with some Goblin axe through your skull, you have work to do.”

Again, just by tone alone, it merited flipping the bitch the bird. 

Still.

“Whatever.” She muttered, picking up her knife again. “So show me what I’m doing wrong oh ‘Swordsmen of fantasia’”. 

“I am of the Astral plane. Not… whatever you just said.”

Oh for fuck’s sake!

—

She stayed for a few more bouts, before she decided to go for a walk. Genuinely, it was to get some air. The Hollow reeked of people, their sweat, the animals they brought with them and everything else. There were too many tieflings, too many druids, too much everything in the small cramped space. 

Lae’zel and Wyll had been correcting her ‘mistakes’ Wyll in the way she was used to, a nudge here, a moved foot there and so on.

Lae’zel much more brutally.

According to them her knife wielding was crude, and her footwork relied way too much on her shadow state to correct things whenever she messed up.

‘Have the foundation. With a foundation no one can topple you, but if the day ever comes you can’t use your power you will be at a supreme disadvantage.’ Wyll had said, and used himself as an example. 

Before the tadpole the man was apparently budget Eidolon from how he told it. Now, now he had to rely on his bladework and so far it hadn’t failed him. 

Still, she ached, she could feel the sweat making her clothes cling to her and the only option to bathe was a freezing cold river or one of the underground waterfalls.

God what she wouldn’t give for running water. She’d face Behemoth all over again if she was promised a hot shower after she was done.

Fuck dude. 

She decided to head towards the… “wall”. She didn’t have another word for it. It was the cliffside that housed the ‘gate’ of this place. From what she could tell it was where everyone was planning to fight, judging by how the Tieflings and druids were driving stakes into its edges to serve as an extra barricade. 

It was a good spot to fight from, speaking as an archer at least. Nice and high, not very much ‘cover’ but the stakes would serve well enough once they were dug in and placed in sufficient numbers. 

The skies overhead rumbled, the clouds quickly starting to darken with rain. 

If she heard shit right, it was gonna rain and not stop until either the Goblins, or the druids were dead. 

She made it to the gate, there were four Tieflings there, one man, three women, each sort of milling around, keeping watch. She offered some nods as greetings and they nodded back. Nothing much to be said.

She made it to the gate, and leaned on the railing, looking out, towards the forest beyond the wall, pillars of smoke were rising off in the distance.

Gobbo’s were burning down the whole forest it seemed. 

The skies rumbled again. And she guessed the Druid’s ritual was gonna be a bit more useful than she thought. 

“Pssst. Psssst!”

She blinked and, rather stupidly…, looked down.

That blue frilly, jackass from the temple was hissing up at her. 

“Oh! Jolly good!” Said idiot waved and smiled. “Please, do let me in!”

She stared. “How the hell are you still alive?”

Some of the others noticed the commotion and started coming over.

“My invisibility potion!” The blue moron explained. “I’ve been slipping past the Goblins all day and night and day again! But it’s finally worn out!”

“Don’t invisibility potions only last a few minutes?” One of the Tieflings asked the other.

The other shrugged. 

Another one ventured to ask. “Soooo… do we let him in or…”

Eventually… for some reason… they let the idiot in. 

“Capital!” He cheered and waltzed through that gate without a care in the world.

Ok to clarify, this chapter takes place concurrently with Emma's, Madison's and Taylor's will also take place during the same time period. So this is still pretty much on "The first day" back at the grove

It slows the pacing down a bit but considering the relatively breakneck pacing we've had so far and the fact that the girls do need to learn in order to actually utilize their class, I think it's important and necessary.Next up, Madison.