The dome brightened under the onslaught as C and Eldridge ducked. The mist lingered as the jets waned until they slowly died out all together.

“Well that held,” Eldridge muttered as he stood and took in the twice scarred landscape.

The loose dirt of the landslide was marred with deep gouges along the path of the streams. The rodent wave still continued down the hill, though the speed seemed to have died down just a little.

“Have a little more faith in me,” C laughed as he stood next to his friend. “This puppy will last till the end of time.” He continued a second before another stream blasted against the dome and he ducked with his street sign over his head.

“I see that,” Eldridge chuckled as he recovered from his own flinch.

“Merely a reflex,” C answered as he stood once more.

“Can I shoot out of this thing?” Eldridge asked as he examined the yellow-white dome, all while he pulled out his pistol and took aim.

“You should be able to,” C answered as he lowered his stance to focus on the threat before them.

“Should? Should!” Eldridge glanced at his friend before he shook his head. “Well whatever,“ He said as he unloaded the last of his rounds into the front of the swarm.

Two of the creatures stumbled as the rest of the rodents steam rolled them. Eldridge let out his breath and spoke. “This doesn’t look good, any ideas Ocel?”

His shirt was silent, though he could feel it crawl against his skin. With a sigh he padded himself down one final time as he checked for any more ammo.

The air around the creatures condensed over their heads a second before a larger number of water jets slammed against the dome. As the water hit, the dome slowly grew brighter. Soon the two of them could no longer see out of the bright wall of light, though they could still hear the torrent of water rush by.

Eldridge dropped his gaze to avoid the blinding light and noticed that underneath them the warding circle also started to glow. The next second a wave of light blasted out from the ward and towards the outer dome. The protective wall flashed as the wave of light blasted up the dome, and into the air above it.

All that light concentrated, condensing into a ball as the water faded once more. Instantly the creatures returned to their charge and the distance between the two groups narrowed at a far greater pace then Eldridge was comfortable with.

Above his head the ball of light grew out and in the blink of an eye it took the form of the lion from before. The creature moved as if alive, its mane billowed in the wind as it hunched down and took in a breath. The roar that followed echoed across the valley as the rodents visibly shuttered in fear.

“That should give us a moment,” C answered as he looked at the construct above his ward.

The creature paced in a circle as it continued to let out an imposing aura. The pressure radiated in waves of light and force.

“Whatever it was, I’ll take it,” Eldridge answered as he stared at the motionless creatures. “Any chance it’ll scare them away?”

“I doubt it, it should have happened by now if it was going to.” C answered as his hand touched the edge of the ward.

“If only I could have done more with my skill, my meditation.” He mumbled to himself as he glanced down at the ward below him.

“Meditation,” Eldridge repeated as a thought blasted through his mind. He closed his eyes and focused on the information C had gone over earlier. Suddenly the void in his mind was filled with the Freki interface once more. He passed over most of the information, determined to actually give it a once over, as soon they were out of this mess. His focus finally landed on the information he sought. Loose Xenoid: 468 Light. 128 Unassigned.

“You said you spent your xenoid to unlock this?” Eldridge asked as he glanced towards his friend and waved at the dome.

“Yeah, sorta, I mean it was one application of light. But I need to gather 300 more light before I can improve it further. And with these water creatures I doubt that will be happening anytime soon.” C answered as he pulled back from the edge as some of the rodents began to twitch.

Eldridge looked at his friend then at his xenoid numbers as a plan formed in his mind. He closed the interface and rushed towards his friend, not wanting to waste a moment. In his haste his foot slipped and he slammed against C’s back.

“Oof,” The breath left C as he took a step to recover. On reflex reached up to steady and remove his friend from his back.

“Wait!” Eldridge answered as he grabbed tighter around his friend’s shoulders. He could feel it, the link he needed. He focused on his core, on his light xenoid and willed it to rush into his friend. The tingle, the same one he felt from the deer, tore from his center, through his body. His muscles locked in pain as it felt as if something was being ripped out of him.

“What are…” C paused.

“Shh,” Edlridge said through grit teeth. Soon he felt the rush begin to die down. A breath later and he let go of his friend, the stream all but gone.

“Check your light now,” Eldridge replied softly as he steadied his body. As soon as he could safely stand he focused the interface up once more.

“What the,” C answered as his eyes closed momentarily.

“I sure hope it worked,” Eldridge answered as all of his light xenoid was gone. All he was left with at this point was the unassigned variety. He looked at the rodents, who had all but fought off their fear as they slowly took steps towards them. On the hill, an unfamiliar man was climbing his way towards the creatures. It looked like he intended to take them all on, on his own.

If he was to help that man, he had to be quick and make a decision. Any strength left unused was a waste at this point. With that in mind Eldridge opened his interface and looked at his options.

Possible Skills to Assimilate:

Mind Enhancement: 2000

Shadow: 100

Wind: 100

Pounce: 100

Stealth: 100

Light was gone, something he attributed to lacking any of that alignment. Mind was out of the question as he barely had over a hundred loose xenoid to his name. That left shadow, wind, pounce and stealth, two elements he wasn’t sure of, and two skills that didn’t seem to have application at this time. He grit his teeth and mentally selected wind and closed the prompt. Almost missing the fact it would cost him 125 unaligned.

He bit the bullet anyway, and felt an electrical sensation flood his body. His knees wobbled as knowledge of the air around him increased. It was unlike his mind magic, less ethereal, more fluid, more physical.

The other contrast was the knowledge was there, whereas with his other magic he simply stumbled through understanding. A deep breath filled his lungs as he focused his mind. There was a battle to be fought.

***

Arthur woke to a rumble the likes he’s never heard. His eyes blinked as he sat, the man he ran into laid on the ground next to him. After a short second to make sure the man was breathing, he continued to take in the world around him. Behind him was a road which cut through the forest that surrounded him. To his right was a giant dome of light, with a lion on top of it, the inside of which held two men. Along the hill he fell down was the endless number of blue rodents all frozen in some form of terror.

A terror that he knew wouldn’t last, they still held that ferocity in their beady little eyes. A part of him, a primal part, wanted to run, to get as far from this entire unnatural event as he could. Rodents that shot fine jets of water, ethereal lions that paced, none of it made sense. Arthur stood, shoving that fear to the farthest reaches of his mind. He had brought this plague upon these men, he would not leave them to their fate.

He tore off towards the hill before he fully realized he had made up his mind. As each step brought him closer to his foe, his left hand reached for the serrated knife he kept sheathed at his side. His right holstered his pistol, the gun having long run out of ammunition. Just as he was a few feet away, the creatures began to break fear’s hold.

With his right hand, he slammed his fist into the neck of the first rodent he came across, the knife in his off hand slid in through the rib cage. The thing, concussed and in pain, was unable to react as he tore the blade through its chest. Blood poured and gargled breathing was heard as he withdrew his knife and the creature fell towards the ground.

The next instant saw four of the creatures lunge at him, each vying for a chunk of his flesh. He ducked under two as another clamped down on his shoulder and tore at the padding underneath. The fourth he met with his knife, sinking it into the creature's forepaw. His mouth clenched on the harmonica before him as pain radiated from the teeth in his shoulder.

The harsh sound of his breath emanated from the instrument and Arthur stumbled slightly as the burden on his back lightened. His eyes narrowed as some of the creatures before him stumbled as the sound reached their ears. His hand reached up and gripped the creature’s neck all the while he breathed in and out through the instrument before him.

He could barely hold a beat, if that was what you wanted to call it, as he struggled for dominance with the dog sized beast. In the glimpses he did get of the other creatures, he could see the effect it held on them. Each move they made was just that much slower, that much more difficult. It was as if the sound pained their minds.

Another rodent bit at his legs, flesh and cloth tore as Arthur struggled to keep the sound going. In his gut he knew it was the only hope he had at making out of this endeavor alive.

***

Byung rolled himself over into a pushup as he tried to recover from the hit he took earlier. His head was still a bit cloudy, though he remembered the danger that was soon coming. His knees constricted as he brought his body into a crouch, the scene before him sadly becoming one of normalcy. A man charged some xenoid infested beast as Cee and Eldridge conversed under the safety of the dome. A dome he contemplated running into. Still, that lone man needed help and Byung couldn’t leave his back undefended.

With grit teeth, he made up his mind and rushed the creatures before him. The hill was rough, his body unaccustomed to such intense strain. Still he made great time and narrowed the gap between him and the unknown man. The first creature was down and the swarm was off, the man waylaid by beast after beast. Two flew over him and Byung sprang into action.

He lacked knowledge of martial arts, but at the very least he outweighed such creatures. As they landed off kilter, their expectation of prey unmet, His knee slammed into the closest of the creatures before they could recover, his elbow followed as he let his weight slam with him. It rolled down the hill dazed by the assault as Byung’s body rolled over and he landed on his knees.

The other creature hissed and bared its teeth, predatory hunger in its eyes. Byung readied himself, knowing this was unlikely to end with him uninjured. Just then a harsh tone filled the air and the creature before him stuttered. A fear replaced hunger in the rodent’s eyes, though this was unlike the terror from before. It took a second for Byung to recognize it.

It wasn’t hunger that drove the thing, at least it wasn’t its hunger. It was afraid, this was true, but not of Byung, and not truly of the illusionary lion. There was something larger out there, something beyond terrifying to the creature before him. Each note that rang, tore through the fear even as the creature continued to bare its teeth, as it continued its slow march towards Byung.

Byung felt for the creature, as he watched it fight the conflicting nature. A pang of guilt, a pang of desire thrummed at his heart. The harmonica moved his sorrow as he reached out for the scared rat. He called out with his will as he spoke softly to the terrored beast.

“Come little one, I will not hurt, I will protect.” Each word followed a beat as the notes thrummed the air. The words little more than placations as he did his best to look safe to the hissing creature. The thing continued to step towards him, though its eyes slowly changed. Fear was there, hunger as well, yet there was also something Byung might call hope.

Soon his hand rested on top of the blue rat’s forehead. Byung felt it, something attacked his mind, a clash of wills if you will. He screamed as he held onto the creature, his gut told him that if he floundered now, he would lose the creature, he would fail it. He would not let this beast down.