Leo ‘Aggronaut’ Princeton stared at the Grimlins slowly hedging in on his fireteam. Even with them keeping back, the sheer stench of the nasty little garden gnomes hit like a truck. Rotten pieces of flesh, ears, and gore clung to their bodies all over, pinned on like trophies.

  Aggronaut shifted, feeling his arm pull and tear at the wound. It hurt so freaking bad, and yet he kept his shield up. They would touch his fireteam over his flatlined body and not a moment sooner. He was the Vanguard. He wouldn’t let them pass.

  “Hah!” With a shout, he met a Grimlin rushing at him with a dagger. He preemptively slammed forward with his shield, but the sneaky git ducked under the blow. It slammed the dagger into his chest, barely blocked by his armor. Still, the impact nearly knocked the breath out of him.

  Aggronaut flicked his mace, caving in the Grimlin’s child-sized skull before it could retreat. A couple Grimlins shifted, intent on going around to his fireteam. Without even thinking about it, he used his Trait: Jeer. “Come at me, rotkin!”

  The Grimlins immediately lost focus on his companions, dialing a hundred and one percent into him. It was fine though. He was used to it. Tanking the aggro was what made him the soon to be great Aggronaut, after all. Or, at least, he was supposed to become great. At this rate? Leo wasn’t even sure if he’d be standing ten minutes from now.

  ”Flame Strike!” Floris ‘Burniac’ LeFaine called out from behind him. His Striker, and faithful childhood friend, swayed her staff. Five fireballs leapt from the tip, firing off into the crowd of Grimlins.

  The five fireballs impacted a few of them, outright killing one and seriously injuring the rest. It hardly mattered though. It wasn’t an AOE strike. The rest of the Grimlins closed ranks before the effects could even be seen, betraying and killing the injured on instinct. The horde still stood there, eagerly waiting for them to tire and fall.

  “Leo! Left!” The last member of his fireteam called out. Jennifer ‘Glowbal’ Townie fired a few shots with her pistol, killing another Grimlin. Her eyes closed in concentration for a mere moment. “Flashboom!”

  The bullets fired from her pistol immediately exploded into flashes, blinding the rest of the Grimlins. Unfortunately, the same could be said for Aggronaut at the front of the group. Blinded as he was, he couldn’t see a Grimlin sneaking around to Glowbal until it was too late.

  ”Help!” Glowbal let out a shout, trying to dodge to the side. She was too slow. Too late. Aggronaut looked back just in time for the Grimlin to slam its dagger-

  Wumph!

  Kra-KOOM!

  The Grimlin was torn apart by a massive projectile. Its body flopped, split into two by the sheer force of the blow. It dived without even knowing how or why. The sparking green projectile continued, striking and killing over a dozen more Grimlins before it lost momentum. For a millisecond, silence reigned supreme.

  And then in the next, thorns sparking with electricity flooded the area like a bee swarm. They flew into the horde of Grimlins, slaying several and seriously injuring a large swathe. In the immediate aftermath, the entire area turned into a bloodbath. The Grimlins, treacherous to their core, turned on each other in a rapid frenzy when they saw their weakened brethren.

  Unfortunately, that was just a fraction of the mass. There were still dozens, maybe even hundreds of Grimlins surrounding the group. He’d long given up on keeping count of the horde. The only reason they weren’t dead due to sheer swarm tactics was thanks to the Grimlin’s cowardly nature. None of them wanted to make the first move.

  Leo recognized the sound as a sniper. There was someone out here helping them out. They only needed to survive long enough to holdout, and help would be on the way. He immediately felt a weak pulse of hope. Maybe he and his childhood friends could actually see this one out? Maybe it wasn’t over? As long as there was even a spark of hope, he’d burn brighter then the sun.

  “Love potions must have side effects! Otherwise, how’d you come into existence?!” Aggronaut once more used Jeer to control the mass and focus their attention on himself. It was draining to keep using it as he had, and its duration was severely shortened when used on multiple targets. It’d barely done its job though.

  Although the Grimlins didn’t quite understand what the stupid humie was saying, the ether stirred their emotions all the same. One of the Grimlins, tired of the constant waves of rage, let out a shout, “Kloa-kla-kleili!”

  ”Kloa-kleili!” The rest of the swarm shouted from behind it.

  The brave Grimlin readied its dagger and charged forward-

  It was immediately stabbed in the back and killed by one of its brethren. Said brethren laughed maniacally-

  Only to be stabbed by yet another. The chain continued, raising the scent of fresh blood into the air. That scent drove the horde wild and they finally started to move. Part of them charged the enemy in front. Another, larger part saw the exposed backs of their brothers and just couldn’t help themselves. Manic laughter filled the air.

  ”Fireblast!” Burniac shouted at the top of her lungs. A large runic circle formed in the middle of the group. It pulsed red, and ether flowed freely from her. Too much ether. She felt faint, immediately leaning on her staff for support.

  Boom!

  The circle spontaneously exploded into a massive fireball in the middle of the group, wiping out a chunk of the rotten little creatures. The scent of burning bodies spread through the air. It was too little, too late though. The Grimlins were already moving in mass.

  Aggronaut braced himself and let loose one last Jeer. “I’d insult your mother, but she’s suffered enough!”

  The wrath of the Grimlins shifted once more, single-handedly focusing on the stupid humie that dared insult them. Their species didn’t even have childbirth as a concept, let alone mothers. And yet they felt a burning, inexplicable urge to slaughter the smoothskin screaming away.

  Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

  One Grimlin noticed something was wrong. He froze for a second, about to call out that it was all a trap-

  Another one stabbed him in the back and instantly felled the group’s one brain cell. The grimlin smirked and ‘accidentally’ stabbed its brethren a dozen more times. The idiot had it coming for stopping in the middle of the pack. Just like that, the mass of child-sized monsters charged in to-

  Wumph!

  Kra-KOOM!

  Yet another massive thorn skewered through several Grimlins. This time, the swarm of thorns spread out like a shotgun blast, taking the buggers by surprise. The attack didn’t just stop there either. Vines of green electricity stretched between the major and minor thorns, creating a massive electric bramble.

  Against tougher or even just slightly less squishy opponents, it would’ve been a slowing annoyance. Some singing damage, perhaps. Against the Grimlins? Famed in their homeland for stat-maxing Scheming and nothing else? A brutal scene unfolded.

  The electric bramble sprawled out like chain lightning, grappling with the traitorous gits. In mere moments, it electrocuted dozens. That was all Aggronaut could see before the half-broken tsunami of Grimlins hit him.

  The next five minutes were the longest five minutes of his life. He stood a true Vanguard, defending his fireteam to the last. He dredged up every bit of his ether without regard. Instead of using it on protective or attack Skills, he dumped it all into Jeer.

  His constant Jeers, at the sacrifice of his own health thanks to the dozens of Grimlins always charging him, saved the lives of his companions. Burniac used magic until Ether Exhaustion hit her, falling unconscious in the midst of battle. If even one Grimlin had a brain, she would’ve been the perfect target. As was natural of Grimlins, they self sabotaged by killing their only brain cell.

  Glowbal fared slightly better, though not by much. She constantly spammed heal and buffs Skills onto her longtime friend in a desperate bid to keep him alive. It worked, barely. The three of them were just Feeble rank Wardens. By all rights they should’ve died. It was only by the constant shots from an ally, who they couldn’t even see, that they pulled through and survived.

  An evac team stumbled across the horrific scene a few minutes after the fighting stopped. When asked about the situation, the ragged fireteam gave full credit to the unknown sniper. Unfortunately, they never did find their savior. The bounty for the hundreds of Grimlin bodies and cores landed squarely in their pocket.

  Later, while decompressing at a bar and going over the events of the day, the three made a solemn oath amongst themselves. They should’ve died. If, in the future, they ever chance upon their mysterious savior? They’d stop at nothing to support them, no matter the cause.

  To that end, the trio doubled- quadrupled down on training, seeking to become the best fireteam ever seen by the likes of Bastion. And who knew? They might just get that chance. The world was a small place, Bastion doubly so.

  — — POV: Aylin — —

  I rubbed at my shoulder and checked the trio through the scope of Thorn’s Defiance. They were alive, though barely. It’d been five minutes of constantly shooting on cooldown. My shoulder was beaten to a pulp, even through the effects of Brace, Etheric Reinforcement, and protecting myself with thin layers of Ebonshroud. The heavy sniper definitely wasn’t meant to be shot like this.

  The entire time, Rabbyte buzzed around me taking action shots with her bunny mascot. Something about research notes? I stopped paying too much attention. It was just too fun shooting into the masses of Grimlins. It was like… hmm… like one of those tower defense games? I’d seen them in the Glass store a few times. I should really get one when I get back…

  I dropped the sniper. It fell, dissipating into ether before it could even hit the ground. It was safely stored in whatever the OS used to store bound items. “Clear.”

  ”Whoohoo! You rock, Moon! And, uh, sorry I didn’t bring anything with range…” Rabbyte rubbed at the back of her helmet. Her metal ears hung low. Beside her, the bunny mascot imitated her posture in a stance of complete apology.

  ”’S fine.” I glanced one last time at the trio of Wardens. Without the scope, I couldn’t even really see them from here. “Help?”

  ”I pinged the spot on Tower. An evac team should be coming this way now.” Rabbyte’s red eyes glowed. “How’d it feel?”

  ”...” I flashed a thumbs up. I was a bit sore, but I’d be fine after a night’s rest or so. The sniper was a seriously lux weapon.

  Rabbyte moved up next to me and looked off toward the park. “Hmm… I wonder why the Grimlins grouped up so much? Seemed a little weird.”

  “…” I shrugged. I didn’t even know what the three species were before she mentioned their names. I still didn’t even know what a Pikxie was.

  “And the Cobblins? There were so few of them. Where’d the Pikxies go too? We should’ve seen at least one by now.” Rabbyte rubbed at her helmet. Her foot tapped lightly at the ground in thought. “I know we’re here for weapon testing, but help me investigate? Something feels off.”

  [Nighteye’s ears perk up in excitement. A Quest! Does this make you a Questing Knight?!]

  Questing Knight? What’s that? Was it like a Knight Errant? Oh- uh, they were brave knights who go out and around the world, slaying beast and monster wherever they stand. Most never returned, but those that did? We were regarded as heroes and legends.

  [Nighteye nods her head sagely. Interesting. Questing Knights were Knights that made oaths and set out to fulfill them, whether it be monster slaying or otherwise.]

  Hmm… I’d like to meet one of these Questing Knights. The stories their swords must know-

  “So?” Rabbyte bounced from foot to foot. Her mechanized eyes glowed brighter like they were trying to stare into my very soul.

  “Yep.” I adjusted my Ebonshroud sunglasses and pulled out my Glass. Better tell Lucia I’d be home late so she didn’t worry.

  ”Ayo! Let’s go!” Rabbyte bounced toward the stairs, though froze up when she actually opened the door and looked down. “Um- I’m going the express way down. Have fun!”

  Rabbyte bounded toward the edge of the building and casually jumped off of it. After falling down a story, she rammed her power armored fist into the side of the building. The power armor easily took the impacts, slowing her descent. Then, she jumped to the other wall and repeated. Thirteen stories was a seriously long way down to do that.

  [Nigheye’s tail twitches with mischief. You really going to let her one up you like that, oh brave Knight? Go on. Go to your loser stairs.]

  Was that supposed to incite me? Because it was working. It was working really well, actually. I summoned the Will Wire. The paper thin twine spooled out, growing with but a thought. It wrapped around itself several times, creating a braid that was far stronger than just one wire by itself.

  Ebonshroud flowed out of my skin, coating the rapidly lengthening braid of wire. On top of that, I added in Etheric Reinforcement. Ether flowed through both my Ebonshroud layer and the individual layers of wire to further ensure it wouldn’t break. I made a piton of Ebonshroud and slammed it into the ground with my foot.

  Once I was all set, I threw myself off the building. The Will Wire slowed my descent to a safe speed. Even that was faster than Rabbyte’s method. I passed her with a smirk on my face. So much for taking the express way.

  — — —

  AN: I never enjoyed writing third-person, but this time was really fun. I’ve got about a dozen projects I’ve been bouncing around the past couple weeks, most in third person to try changing some things up. Everything from a romance to a wuxia to even a psychological… thriller, maybe? Yeah- my minds been everywhere recently. Most will probably never leave my docs?

  On another note, what do you think of the onomatopoeias? They’re a lot more present here than they were in Outrun. I really like them so far. Gives me some old school comic book vibes.