Simone didn’t stand around, she ran for the edge of the room, grabbing Roe as she went. The stunned woman gasping at the sudden contact. She was about to protest when the Tomb Guardian turned its head to look at them, its mournful eyes glowing brightly beneath its featureless faceplate. She hoisted herself over a table just in time for a flash of white light to fill the chamber. Kik screamed, Simone covered her head, Roe covered her face, and for a moment everything was quiet. Simone looked down at Roe who was shaking in her grip. She looked back over her shoulder, not daring to poke her head out just yet.

“Can we do anything about that light?” She demanded.

Roe trembled and Simone had to shake her, “Roe!” She hissed as loudly as she dared, “Can we do anything about that light?”

Roe uncovered her face and looked up at her, “It comes from the Tomb Guardian’s eyes.”

Simone clicked her tongue and checked her warcaster before letting go of Roe and shifting her weight. She just had to think of it like a firefight back home, she was going to get hit, it was going to hurt, but as long as she kept moving she could keep herself alive. The important thing was to make sure she hit her target. She cleared her throat and listened, trying to track where the Tomb Guardian was. She heard the faint clack of it taking a step as it turned to scan the room, searching for its quarry.

She licked her lips and felt a bit of guilt well up in her stomach, she knew what she had to do but it felt kinda cruel. She took a breath, raised her weapon next to her head and turned her body to face where she’d heard the metallic step from. On three…

One, two, three!

“Hey Kik! You still alive?” She shouted, drawing a gasp of horror from Roe.

“Kik is alive!” Kik shouted back and then paused, “Hey!”

Sorry Kik, she thought and jumped from her position, leveling her weapon as fast as she could at the side of the Tomb Guardian’s head. The machine-horror-thing had turned to look in Kik’s direction, its eyes beginning to glow as it whipped its head back towards Simone. Simone didn’t have to think to use [Strike The Soul], the feeling just came to her. Her mana dipped and then dipped again as the warcaster went off. The loud crack-bang of sound echoing through the chamber as a violet bolt of light erupted from the barrel, crashing into the guardian’s face and piercing one of its eyes.

“Hell yeah!” She shouted, the magic fading from the machine’s glowing eyes. Its body crackled and shuddered, something stilling its movements for a heartbeat. A second later, it raised its hand and a bolt of white light erupted from its fingertips, launching in her direction. “Woah!” She gasped, darting to the left and running away from its point of trajectory.

She jumped over a chair and slid across the ground, turning and trying to level another shot at the creature only to have to duck again as a hail of pale bolts slammed into the space around her. She cursed and raised her voice, “Roe you better be ready to shut this thing off! I don’t have a big pool of magic!”

To her surprise she saw the woman who had been cowering a moment before racing around the opposite side of the room already, her eyes fixed on her path. Simone rolled her eyes and kept moving along the route she was going, popping up now and then to keep the machine’s interest. She checked her MP, it was very slowly going back up. She had maybe two more shots. It sucked being such a low level! She darted over a desk and rolled onto the ground as two more blasts of white death splashed over her head, shards of cold leaping to trace dark spots of necrosis across her arms.

When she landed she looked up, spotting Kik cowering behind a small shelf. Kik looked up and whimpered, “You used Kik as a distraction!”

“Sorry Kik,” She said, “We got its eyes, no more big flash.”

“Kik helped?” Kik asked.

“Kik helped,” She confirmed, “Cmon, we gotta keep this thing busy for Roe.”

“But it can still do the shooty death!” Kik protested.

“Then keep moving!” She barked, patting its head and darted away, rising up and trying to level another shot. She spotted Roe who shook her head and kept moving, going back the way she had come. The Machine turned and tried to level its hand at her, firing a few more shots ahead of her path. She stumbled and doubled back only to see a very terrified Kik run screaming out from its hiding place with what looked like a glass jar over its head. Simone blinked, what the hell is that? Kik threw the jar just as the machine turned in its direction, ready to disintegrate the tiny gremlin-thing.

“Kik! Keep moving!” She shouted, darting in its direction.

Kik hurled the jar and it smashed on the ground at the machines feet, there was a flash and then a concussive sound ripped through the room, sending Simone sprawling. She rolled and got back to her feet. Kik hadn’t moved, its legs obviously rooted to the floor in terror. She looked back at the machine, it was still recovering from the sudden development but it would be on Kik in no time. She pressed her lips together and then let out a groan of exasperation. “Quit being a fucking hero girl!” She chastised herself and darted towards Kik, sweeping it off the ground as a spray of white light lanced through the spot he had just been standing in. One ray catching her on the back. She watched her health drop and swore, whipping her arm around and firing off a shot from her warcaster.

“Fuck you!” She shouted, the violet shot crashing into the machine’s body and sending another stunning shock through its system.

Kik clung to her gambeson as she forced herself to move through the pain, the dull ache that had come with the pale light sending sickening sensations through her body. She shook off a wave of delirium and pumped her legs, looking for Roe. The cranky noblewoman had crept to within just a few feet of the machine, her fingers glittering with some kind of magic. She looked up from Roe and at the machine and for the first time they made eye contact. A chill went down her spine. Wait, was it thinking? Her eyes went wide and she drew up her warcaster again, “Oh no you don’t!”

It whipped its body around and bore down on Roe as Simone fired her last shot. Volet energy breaching the machine's defenses one more time. It leaned over Roe and froze, its body going very still. Roe looked up at it and let out a breath, placing her palm to its chest and muttering a spell.

Just like that, it collapsed.

Simone dropped to a knee, swaying. So that’s what the manual meant by feedback from using too much mana at once. She rubbed her nose and blinked a few times, breathing hard. “Is it over?”

Roe sat down on the ground and offered Simone the first proper smile she’d ever seen out of the woman. Simone let out a breath of relief and pat Kik’s head, “It’s over, Kik.”

Kik looked up at her from its perch on her clothing, its face sodden with tears. “You came back for Kik!” It sobbed, wailing at the top of its lungs. Simone rolled her eyes and slumped a bit further onto the ground, patting the creature on the head while Roe looked between the two of them with amusement on her face. Simone just shrugged.

Just as they’d finally taken a breath, the machine twitched and sat up. Simone swore, nearly dropping Kik who shrieked in terror, she raised her weapon and glanced at her mana. Barely anything. Not nearly enough to pull off another proper shot. Roe, however, darted between Simone and the machine, holding up her hands. “Wait! Wait wait! It’s over! I promise! Just give it a second.”

“The hell are you talking about, it’s awake! Look at it!’ Simone shouted, not lowering her weapon for a moment.

“Just trust me!” Roe shouted back.

“I don’t even know your name!” Simone barked.

“I don’t even know yours and I’m trusting you!” Roe argued.

Simone pursed her lips and glared at Roe, “I will fucking haunt you.”

“Deal,” Roe breathed as Simone lowered her weapon. She turned around and took the machine by the head, “Hey there, can you hear me? You feeling better now?”

There was a pause, Simone rolled her eyes again only to freeze when a metallic voice echoed out from within the machine’s body, “Princess, is that you? You’re alive! Stars and moon!”

Simone’s mouth fell open. “Who’s a what now?”