The Pioneers yelled in fear as they watched the Thralls approach them, marshaling their blasters and shooting at the Kharnidd even as they tried to swim away. However, the Delta class was having none of that. It shot out a Psionic cross-chop at the retreating group, stoically taking several blaster shots to the chest and with only minor damage. The X of yellow light crashed through a shield and continued onward, smashing into the side of Li Huang and eliciting a scream of pain from the poor man. Thanks to his shield, he hadn’t been killed instantly, though the damage was so severe that he was forced to let go of his Oceanglide. That made him easy pickings for the pursuing Kharnidd. Emily watched in horror as one of the Epsilon class creatures pounced on the wounded man, tearing into him viciously as the other Kharnidd continued their pursuit. The Delta class’s claws glowed once again, and Emily heard Allen Praxis barking out orders: “Stand your ground! We can’t keep retreating!”
He'd realized that they were too exposed to keep running. They’d need to take their chances with facing their enemy head on. The Pioneers dismissed their Oceanglides and turned around to take aim. At the same time, the Delta class unleashed its cross-chop again, and Emily heard Praxis yell: “EVADE!”
Instinctively, she activated her evasion Capacity, blanching as she realized that the X of energy was shooting right at her. With a graceful kick of her legs, she performed an underwater flip, compressing her body and slipping through the upper limbs of the X. The heat of the Psionic power burned her skin, but she ignored the sensation and righted herself quickly. Praxis was still yelling, a hint of concern leaking into his voice as he called: “Focus fire, far right!”
The Kharnidd had adroitly dodged what scattered blaster fire the Pioneers had managed to send their way beforehand. Now, the Pioneers focused their fire on one Thrall that Praxis picked out. It had no chance to dodge, and the Xenos was soon engulfed in a barrage of green plasma. With one of the enemies still distracted by Huang’s body, that left only two Epsilon class and one Delta class Thralls chasing after the Pioneers. Their reduced numbers were the only thing that gave the soldiers a chance as the Kharnidd activated their full-body enhancement Capacities, closing the distance for the final time.
Gronik roared angrily, activating his own full-body enhancement and manifesting two large purple hands. He caught the Delta class head-on, reaching out and grabbing both of its upraised claws with his ability. Surprisingly, the Andrako held his ground for a moment, matching the fiend’s strength before the D class activated its third ability. Its claws glowed again, manifesting Psionic constructs that extended outward and cut through Gronik’s own ability. These yellow claw extensions were edged in dark purple, and they sped toward the Andrako’s chest with lethal intent before he was bailed out by his friends. At his right, Robert Forsythe stabbed at the Xenos, manifesting five violet Psionic stabs around his attack simultaneously. On the other side, Praxis fired out a purple laser from his hands, calling out: “BE STRONG”.
These words reverberated through the water with a power beyond the psychological. Emily felt her muscles literally strengthen, her movements growing smoother and more powerful as her skin shone even brighter. She didn’t have much time to think about it as she engaged one of the E class enemies, leaving the other to Leka the Forsica. All the while, Reggie circled overhead, staying away from the fight but preparing to swoop in and heal whoever needed help. And as for Harold…
He was running away. He’d ditched the other Pioneers and was swimming back to the facility. Emily would’ve liked to be outraged, but she didn’t have the luxury. Right now, she had a Xenos to kill. The fiend’s claws fell fast and sharp, the beast manifesting Psionic constructs just like its superior’s. However, Emily’s Capacity made her as slippery as an eel, her body weaving around the lightning-fast attacks with impeccable timing. She exploited what openings she could, striking out with her punch daggers and drawing purple blood from the creature’s hide. Each of her attacks dig deeper than they normally would, Praxis’s strength buff doing wonders to improve her attack power. The creature’s lengthened claws nicked her on occasion, drawing blood and causing pain but only causing superficial damage.
In the meantime, the battle with the D class had turned into a chaotic melee. The monster had been forced to abort its attack on Gronik, slashing powerfully at Forsythe’s attacks while holding up its hand to block Praxis’s laser. It destroyed most of the Psionic spears and deflected Forsythe’s physical attack, allowing one of the Psionic attacks to cut into its body in exchange for a quick counterattack. The Kharnidd’s claws reached out in a blur and ripped through Forsythe’s chest, delivering a fatal blow. Or rather, a blow that should have been fatal. The moment it cut through Forsythe, his ‘body’ flickered in a purple haze and vanished. The real Forsythe was a few yards away from the fight, breathing heavily with fear and relief. Forsythe’s Capacity, Decoy, was a movement technique that allowed him to create a realistic-looking, mobile copy of himself while simultaneously turning invisible and shooting away at a slightly increased speed. The invisibility didn’t last very long, and the copy couldn’t actually do any damage, but the ability was good at confusing enemies.
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The D class enemy looked suitably vexed, right before getting punched in the side. Gornik had healed his broken constructs and struck back at the Kharnidd while it was distracted. The Xenos flew away, only to stabilize itself and fly right back at the soldier even faster. Praxis shot another laser at the creature, but it gracefully ducked under the attack, swimmingly low before coming back up toward Gronik. It tore through the poor alien’s constructs yet again, slipping within his guard and slashing at his chest. The Andrako was bailed out by a last-second move by Praxis, who shouted: “BE TOUGH!”
The buff was targeted at Gronik alone, his grey carapace glowing even brighter just before the Kharnidd’s claws made contact. Even so, the alien cried out as his flesh was rent, scattering navy-blue blood into the water. Forsythe struck again at the creature’s back, but it managed to whirl around and grab his spear at the base of the head. The Psionic attacks struck its body, yet the Kharnidd gave no sign of concern as it yanked on the weapon, pulling the Pioneer forward. Forsythe yelped as he used Decoy to get away, the beast’s claws tearing through his spear and fake copy at around the same time. The Pioneer had dismissed the weapon before he left, but when he manifested it again, Forsythe noticed the head had been torn clean off. He didn’t have time to be surprised before the Kharnidd was right on top of him, slashing downward with terrifying force. Forsythe used Decoy again, but the Kharnidd wasn’t fooled. It tracked his motion by the disturbance he made in the water, the Capacity’s invisibility doing nothing to prevent this visible trail. The Thrall struck at Forsythe as he reappeared, taking advantage of the small cooldown required between uses of Decoy. Forsythe could do nothing but gape as the claws sped toward his eyes. Inches before contact, they stopped.
Gronik had appeared, a little shaky but apparently healed of all his injuries. His purple hands grabbed onto the Kharnidd’s arms, holding on for dear life as he barely stopped the creature’s attack. Praxis swooped around in the background, firing a laser into the creature’s unprotected rear. The Xenos noticeably flinched, then kicked at Forsythe. He managed to use Decoy to prevent himself from being disemboweled by the claws on the Kharnidd’s foot, but the beast didn’t look mad. It just pulled extremely hard on the constructs holding it back, bringing Gronik directly into its range. It would be sure to finish him off now.
For its part, the Anrako retracted its constructs, making them now look like simple gauntlets, and it used its momentum to deliver an all-out punch. The Kharnidd was unamused, catching the fist and using its wings to prevent itself from flying away. Praxis shouted for another defense boost, but that didn’t stop the Kharnidd’s Psionic claws from piercing Gronik’s side and tearing some deep gashes in his hide once again. Gronik winced, but two little balls of purple light flew down from above, phasing into him and healing his injuries with visible speed. The Kharnidd followed their path with its eyes, spying the small, navy-blue cone circling the fight and cursing it out in various, creative ways. In that moment, it realized that it would get nowhere without killing the supportive fighters.
Forsythe had swum up behind the Xenos, utilizing his phantom stab attack even with his broken spear, and the Kharnidd did something unexpected. It whirled around and threw the Andrako right at his fellow, forcing Forsythe to abort his attack and catch his flying comrade. As a price, the Xenos took another laser to the back from Praxis, grimacing even more gingerly this time. All this minor damage was starting to add up.
And yet, the field was clear. The Kharnidd zeroed in on Praxis and shot out another cross-chop. The Pioneer fought fire with fire, shooting a laser into the center of the attack and shouting out for another buff. The cross-chop made contact all the same, sending Praxis spinning away. The Kharnidd elected not to chase, instead shooting out after Reggie. The Colare cursed and tried to evade, yet its high swimming speed could do little to protect it from the Delta class while it was on the warpath. The Kharnidd bore down on the Pioneer with upraised claws, and Reggie activated his last resort. His Codex, which was stuck to the flat side of his back, pulsed with green light and erected a small bubble shield around the endangered Pioneer just in time. With a shriek of rending energy, the Kharnidd’s claws closed around the shield, digging in but failing to pierce immediately. The Kharnidd strained to crack it, only for disaster to finally strike. Its full body enhancement began to time out, the light around its body flickering and winking out.
While such enhancement abilities were very powerful, they typically had a maximum run time before ‘burning out’. The Kharnidd would have to wait a bit before it could re-activate the ability, not to mention the fact that it was running low on mental energy in the first place. Even so, its natural strength was already considerable, and it continued to squeeze the enemy within its grasp powerfully. As it did, the Xenos’s body was suddenly struck with several plasma bolts. Turning, the Kharnidd saw the two frontline Pioneers blasting away at it, desperately trying to save their friend. The Thrall snarled, grabbing onto its current quarry with the claws on its feet and shooting out another cross chop. The Pioneers could only unleash their own offensive abilities in defense, the three Capacities colliding in a blinding flash of light.
Gronik, the Kharnidd’s primary target, was stunned and badly burned. His own enhancement ability had run out, and the defensive boost that Praxis had provided him was long gone. The Kharnidd swam over quickly, the bubble shielded Reggie still in its clutches. Forsythe tried to strike back, but it was futile. The Xenos turned its full attention on the man, destroying all his attacks and shearing through the remains of his spear with a flurry of slashes. It cut through Forsythe, only destroying a decoy again, but that was acceptable. The evasive Pioneer certainly couldn’t keep that up forever. For now, the Kharnidd turned toward the Andrako, who’d recovered enough to throw a weak, construct-enhanced punch. The Xenos caught it easily, its own Psionic claws shearing through the Pioneer’s ability and cutting ruthlessly into his arm. The monster relished the enemy’s scream of pain for a single moment, the thrill of the hunt running through its veins.
And then its vision turned purple.
