บท 28: The Fight

Holden positioned himself behind both Jackson and Natasha as they readied themselves. The plan was one they'd known ahead of time; Holden would stay back and try to time and execute a ritual. As a dozen beasts came ever closer to the trio, Natasha placed her hands on the ground and unleashed a slew of vines that crept forward like a rising tide.

The green and brown substance entangled the legs of the first row of cryptids, the slack tightening and disrupting their balance. This made the captured cryptid's growl with rage as they fought against the bindings, inadvertently accelerating their fall. With a loud thud they collapsed, but they did not give up their efforts. The beasts reached their arms forward in an attempt to claw themselves ahead, sinking their rotten hooves into the dirt.

Though the initial set of foes were incapacitated, others remained. They charged forward with their weapons in hand, passing by their trapped brethren with little interest. In response Natasha extended the range of her pre-established vegetation, their thickness and height shielding the three from sight. At that moment both Holden and Natasha looked away from Jackson. He sprung ahead at unimaginable speed once his ability's conditions activated and materialized behind one of the pig spawn. Locking his arms around the soggy flesh of its neck, Jackson pulled backward until he heard a sickening crack.

He caught the attention of the two atrocities on either side of him, though their alarm was too little too late. Not having the time to focus their vision on him, Jackson dipped from reality once more before realizing his form next to the one on the right. Withdrawing a sizable blade from his side he forced the edge into the ear of his target. The thing screamed and thrashed wildly as the weapon dug in further until it finally penetrated the brain within.

He used the dead body as cover, concealing himself once more to take the other beast off guard. Finding himself hovering near the thing's legs he took the opportunity to slash through its Achilles tendon. A bellowing roar forced its way out of the pig spawn's lips while it fell to the ground. Jackson mounted its back and proceeded to slam his knife into the creature's skull, each stab digging deeper and deeper until it broke through the shell and ripped into the soft tissue underneath.

There was a palpable sense of commotion that gripped the crowd of monsters like a vice. In front of them their allies screamed and struggled against the web of plant life that coiled around their flesh. Their eyes whitened and their mouths overflowed with spittle as their efforts were rendered fruitless. Some even sunk their teeth into the vines, shaking their heads to tear the bindings apart. Even the ones who accidentally bit into their tongues and spat blood from their mouths showed no sign of stopping.

Between those confined by Natasha and those mauled by Jackson, those in the middle stumbled about aimlessly. Further the vines encroached across the property, nearing them by the second. The tips waved and slithered like hungry serpents with only one goal in mind; to consume their prey. When a pig spawn would instinctively back away they'd find Jackson's blade ripped through their throat. The man's muscles bulged as he applied overwhelming force with each swing and slice, relentlessly butchering whatever was in his path.

It was then Holden decided to take his chance, emerging from behind cover and entering the fray. Natasha's vines made a path for him, allowing Holden to walk through the mess of struggling bodies without issue. Having been noticed by two of the still active creatures, the things released an ear-piercing screech and moved towards Holden. One approached him from in front while the other crept closer to his side. Armed with a large wooden board imbued with a scrambled assortment of nails, the beast in front of him swung its weapon at his head.

At the same time the one to the side thrust a powerful kick aimed at Holden's midsection. Holden was prepared for this, however, having already spread his vision to cover his blind spots as he'd practiced prior. Without hesitation Holden ducked down and rolled out of the way of both attacks. He gracefully stood to his feet and as he looked up he saw the two enemies already in his vicinity, launching a follow-up assault. The armed opponent had thrown a second swing and the unarmed foe tossed itself at Holden with reckless abandon, trying to sink its boar teeth into any muscle or tissue it could find.

"They really are simple in terms of how they attack", Holden thought to himself as he evaded the point-blank offensive.

His movements were fluid and quick, unnaturally so, but it wasn't of any shock to him. Performing a ritual wasn't his sole prerogative during this encounter after all. He'd absorbed two qualities of his environment leading up to this moment, one done back in the barn as a form of preparation.

Though he'd deactivated his vision dispersion so as not to become disoriented, he implemented the surrounding air into his body to become lighter. On top of this, he'd taken Pepper's heightened mobility and applied them to his two legs. Both factors improved his pace considerably, allowing him to avoid harm where he otherwise wouldn't.

Holden glanced at his companions to see how they were holding up. Jackson was finishing off the last of his crowd and Natasha maintained her focus on constricting the corrupted cryptids in her grasp. She intricately guided vine strings into the ears and noses of the beasts, entering their heads and eviscerating their brain as humanely as she could. As they'd managed their fights well, it was up to Holden to finish his.

He shifted and glided as the monstrous subjects kept him on the defensive. With every blow from the armed thing a small crater forced into the ground or structure it contacted. With every charge from the unarmed rabid beast, the buildings trembled with fright.

"Simple-minded, that's for sure. Once they start an attack, they won't stop. They're unrelenting by design, but that'll be their biggest weakness to capitalize on."

Holden focused his attention on creating a great distance between himself and the beast. Once he'd used his superior speed to do so, he locked in specifically on the unarmed attacker.

"That one shows even more aggression than the other, by making distance I can pretty much ensure it'll attack me first. That'll give me enough of a window."

As he predicted the unarmed enemy charged first and threw itself at Holden with all the strength it could muster. Holden reciprocated its approach and ran at it with full speed. Before the two could impact each other Holden slid underneath the beast and traced his fingers along the thing's underbelly. He quickly rose to his feet and continued his sprint toward the armed beast, pushing his speed even further than what he had demonstrated before.

"It's exhausting... holding onto that cryptid's built-up momentum like this. I need to dispel it at the right moment..."

His feet pounded against the ground. Closing in on his target he pushed forward with a leap, allowing all prior buildup to culminate in this moment. With all that he became far too quick for the armed creature to hit him. Although it swung, it couldn't hope to keep pace with Holden's oncoming attack. He put a pause on absorbing the light weight of surrounding air and allowed a single thought to permeate his mind.

"Alright, here goes nothing. In exchange for not being able to absorb more than one thing at a time, boost the momentum I've absorbed to its maximum!"

With a mighty swing, Holden's fist struck the creature square in the nose before it could defend itself. His knuckle didn't stop there, however, as it broke through the skin and burst out the other side of the cryptid's head. A wet splatter reverberated across the area as the now headless beast collapsed to the floor dead.

Holden backed up and clutched his arm. It was badly bruised, his muscle and bone not quite strong enough to withstand the blow he delivered. His fist ached with pain, so much so that he had to manually remind himself he wasn't done yet. He turned to face the second foe, the disgraced bundle of horror running at him yet again. As per the conditions of his ritual he'd have to face it with only one of the phenomena he absorbed. So, he released what was left of the momentum he took earlier and retained the additional mobility granted by Pepper.

Holden skirted right and left regularly, not giving the remaining cryptid the opportunity to fight on its terms.

"Holden, hold off! Natasha is going to finish that one, you don't need to attack," Jackson shouted from across the battlefield, having finished up his portion of the fight. He was correct, Natasha had extended one more vine in the hopes of wrapping things up.

"Nah, I've got this one. There's just one left-" Holden replied before gasping for air. A sharp pain rippled through his ravaged forearm, the shock causing him to pause momentarily. This left an opening for the beast to swing at Holden who entered its proximity. Holden attempted to move out of the way but it was too little too late. The wood board collided with his unguarded face, brutally cracking against his skin and sending him tumbling back. A massive bruise engraved itself into his cheek, heaps of blood spewing from his mouth.

The pig spawn pursued Holden on his way down, the chaos throwing off Natasha's planned attack by milliseconds. The beast delivered a harsh knee to Holden's gut as he tried to regain his balance. This was followed up by the cryptid smashing its fists into Holden's increasingly battered face, to which Holden's body convulsed and contorted in a fruitless bid to escape.

"God damn it, why didn't you listen! What are you trying to prove?!" Jackson activated his ability, appearing within the proximity of Holden's assaulter in the blink of an eye. He flung his leg at the thing's midsection in an attempt to force it back. Before he could, however, the creature screamed in agony as a tremendous sense of violence flooded the environment. Jackson glanced down at Holden who still lay on the ground. Though his face was a mess, the attack stopped entirely.

Holden's hand raised to catch the creature's fist. He'd stopped it in its tracks and split the arm in half, exposing the pure white bone underneath. Before Jackson could so much as blink Holden was upright and snatched the weapon from the thing, jamming it through the beast's neck, tearing through its throat. With his enemy stunned Holden used both hands to grab its scalp. Again and again, he slammed his head into its snout until the cryptid's face collapsed in on itself like a deflated tire. Having exacted his revenge, Holden turned to face Jackson.

There was something different about the now silent boy. Slowly the damage he'd accrued from the beast faded away. Though the violent intent remained, Holden ignored both the now-stunned Natasha and Jackson and walked down the dirt path. The recently concluded battle got the attention of something in the direction Holden traveled, and it ignited that being's own aura.

It was a mixture of anxiety and anger.

"That's it. That's the state Melony and Holden warned us about," Natasha signed to Jackson.

"Yeah, it is... and it looks like it's being drawn towards what I can only assume is the pig. He's like a machine, marching towards whatever expresses the strongest emotion in the area. Could it be some sort of automatic threat detection?"

"Maybe, but don't you think we should subdue him? After we handle the pig, won't he set his sights on us," Natasha asked.

"Not yet. We should see how he behaves in this episode as much as we can. Then we can knock him out and return him to normal," Jackson responded.

"Really? It isn't like you to take that kind of interest in new people. You see something in him too, don't you?"

"Come on, let's just go. We shouldn't let him wander in there on his own."

The two followed behind Holden who unconsciously walked forward with a single goal; The elimination of the threat at all cost.

---

"How long are you gonna stand around? I know I can handle it myself, but I'd still like some help over here!" Xavier leaned against a nearby dresser as Mark fought with several mannequins.

Mark had formulated a long golden spear by hardening the liquid he produced. He swung it with childish glee as he slashed through the plastic cryptids. They swarmed around him like a pack of mad hornets, throwing objects from the perimeter and diving in for close combat at irregular intervals.

"You're always talking about how you don't need help. Yet like clockwork, you ask for it every time."

"Dude, you're the one who was talking about clearing these guys out quickly! Now give me a hand before I cut yours off." With every mannequin Mark cut down, two more emerged from the darkness to attack. He adjusted his spear by adding a second blade to the other end, whipping it at his enemies with precision.

"I did say that, didn't I? Fine, if that's how you truly feel, I'll help you out this once."

A stream of silver fluid leaked out from underneath Xavier's fingertips. The trail of leakage built upon itself until it all culminated in a large mirror. Placing it down to face Mark and the mannequins, Xavier stood to the side of the mirror and retrieved a hammer from his pocket.

"Let's see here," he murmured to himself as he readied the hammer.

With perfect accuracy, he used the hammer to hit portions of the mirror the mannequins occupied. As their reflection cracked and chipped, so did they. One cryptid noticed this and bolted at Xavier in its standard unbalanced manner, throwing a punch straight at him. With an unamused expression, he slid the mirror in front of him, the collision making the mannequin shatter into pieces.

"Took you long enough," Mark commented. He dusted himself off and absorbed the gold back into his palms through his pores.

"You never cease to amaze me with your... remarkable inefficiency. There's a strong chance that the others got attacked as well. These ones are pretty weak though, but we should still meet up with them."

"Can we stop by the food court on our way? That's where Dean and his sister should be, plus I worked up an appetite. Fighting on your own because your useless partner thinks he's too cool is tiring, go figure."

"Yeah, whatever," Xavier replied. "We'll hit the food court first. Just don't get any ideas and browse other stores on the way there. Think you can handle that?"

"Sir yes sir, as you always say to Dean."

"Shut up."