章節 14: Harpy Hare
Cherry sniffed the ground, growling low as he followed the trail from the Hive wizard that Yetta was hunting. The masked hunter tilted her head as she followed, crouching low to the ground. Hush was drawn back ever so slightly, ready to be shot at a moment's notice. The war beast broke into a sprint, suddenly, Yetta chasing after him. The wizard had to be close by. The bones on her legs clacked together slightly as she ran, pulling the bow back, and loosing.
The howling rasp of the wizard alerted Yetta. The arrow had found its mark. Grinning widely, she chased after it, switching to Breakneck. The grown over buildings offered plenty of cover, if only she'd stay behind them as she charged at the Wizard while shooting. A blast of energy knocked her back, Yetta skidding on her back. Blood trickled down her forehead, the Awoken woman holding the injury as Jason healed it.
Cherry launched himself at the wizard, yelping as he was knocked back. Yetta clambered to her feet, shooting at the wizard again, trying her best to break through the shield. Distantly, she could feel the Arc building up, she just had to wait for it to be enough…
With a click in her soul and a tingling in her hands, she grinned widely. Summoning the Arc to her hands in the form of a staff, she ran at the wizard, swinging high and clocking the Hive in the head.
. . .
Cherry chomped down happily on the wizard's arm, gauze wrapping his side while Yetta splinted one of his front paws. The toss into the wall had dislocated one of the joints. Yetta cried while she worked, whispering soft apologies and gentle reassurances to the mildly content war beast. "That's why I have him stay at the camp." Yetta hadn't even heard Carman approach. Looking up, Yetta stared at her mentor. Something seemed to weigh heavily on the warlock's shoulders, an invisible weight. She almost looked mournful.
"How'd the mission go?" the hunter sniffled. The exo gracefully sat on the ground next to Yetta, taking her helmet off. "I'm…guessing it didn't go well, did it?"
"The commander is ghostless." Yetta's breath caught in her throat.
"He…he can't be." Yetta looked at the weary commander, feeling choked up. She checked for Jason's presence, feeling a sense of guilty comfort that her ghost was still with her.
"The Witness is trying to wear all of us down. Make us easier to tempt and sway."
Yetta fell quiet, chewing on her lip. Suddenly, she stood up, grabbing Breakneck, and slinging it over her shoulder. "I'm going out," she announced. "I'll be a bit, don't wait up for me."
"Yetta, what are you doing?" Carman pushed herself to her feet, placing a hand on Yetta's shoulder. The hunter slid cold, golden eyes to face her mentor, grip tightening on the rifle. Carman nodded, letting go. "Do what you need to do. Just come back alive."
. . .
Blood coated her from head to toe once more, staining her teeth a gold tinted red, hive guts coating her boots and arms. She stalked into the same area she'd heard their voice last time, Breakneck ready to fire. "Witness!" she screamed into the air. "Got a bone to pick with you!"
"Hello, child. We've been waiting." She felt the air hum around her as they spoke.
"Coward," she growled. "Coward! You're just going to kill a ghost, somebody's best friend, and leave?! Coward!" Her voice rose with the anger threatening to pour out of her body.
"We did what we must, to secure-"
"Secure this!" She rose her middle fingers to the air. "And grow a damn spine! Face me!"
The air shimmered, and split, revealing a tall figure, unlike anything she had ever seen before. She wasn't even sure she could describe them well enough to do justice. This, she could say. Their head looked almost like a smoking volcano, faces appearing out of the smoke. Each step they took left behind quickly fading copies of them. Her head pounded, and she stumbled back, then held herself firm. She was not going to cower to this…this…this *monster*. "You are a challenge, we will admit." Their voice sounded layered with many voices, hurting her head more. "Now that we are face to face, tell us. Is this what you had imagined?"
"I can shoot you now. Of course it was." She raised her rifle, taking aim.
"But is that really what you want?"
"Somebody needs to put you down. Might as well be me."
"A fighter as good as you doesn't belong in the shadows. Come, and let us bring you into glory." A glitchy hand was outstretched to her, and for a second, she considered. Her feet moved her closer. "That's it…come. Rule with us. Bring about the Final Shape."
She stopped. Raised her rifle. Fired. The Witness stepped back, their calm composure cracking for a second. A trail of strange energy floated down their face, thickening the air around them both. She grinned. "Close enough."
"You failed to kill us."
"Not yet. But if you can get hurt, you can die."
"If you can kill us. Need we remind you that you fail-" She fired again.
"Maybe not me. Maybe not today, or even soon. But you are just as liable to die as all of us. And one day, you'll get your due." The world turned black around her, her nose dripping blood. The rifle fell from her hands, and she fell to her knees. "I know you'll get your due," she continued, raspy "Because Carman will make sure of it. If you kill me, you're only speeding up your own demise."
Yetta pushed herself to her feet, grinning madly. "So, do you want to risk that? Do you feel lucky, fuck face?" The Witness faded from view, and the world brightened up again, the blood slowing down until it stopped. Yetta took a deep breath of air, Jason shakily coming out from behind her.
"That was reckless," he chided. "But…to give you credit, so very…very awesome." Yetta chuckled, bumping shoulders with her ghost. Collecting Breakneck from the ground, she turned, walking back towards the camp.
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