Zandur stared out his window, taking in the sights.
The book was still there, open and untouched.
Heh. What good am I. What purpose do I serve in this city. Telling a bunch of girls to go die. Words couldn't describe the depth of his hatred, for himself and his weakness.
Us humans… are fated to suffer.
He looked up at the night sky, its clouds reflecting a burning red.
Heheheh… Hahahahhah!! HaahahahAHAHA!!
The sound of a door breaking could be heard.
Those fucks. Those bastards. What worth does human life have for them? Harsh sounds of running, doors being broken and slammed open. He continued gazing out the window. Detached fucks. He witnessed a murder. I'm sorry, my people… I've failed you. Humanity has failed you… You deserve better.
He took a discreet dagger, in his hand,
The door flung open.
and slit his throat.
—
Harsh running. Three figures ran for their lives.
"A'Shaaleth Achthu!"
Bullets of wind, glowing a faint green, pierced the air, sharp shrieking whistles echoing through the field. A couple bodies fell. Two of many. Very many.
"Tch."
Suna had no time to regret, cleaving through multiple bodies in a sequence of moves. The heaviness of her knife aided her. It grounded her in combat, her mind standing strong amidst a sea of unforeseen events.
"Auflecht Ampeth!" Angie seemed to pull from an infinite supply of spells, that seemed to fit each situation like a glove. It was a level of combat reliability that just seemed so uncharacteristic of her.
"Shit." Cyra let out a remark.
Suna racked her mind, but found her tools altogether lacking, as she looked up.
"What is that…"
A towering figure, the group didn't know what to call it. It was a conglomeration of masses, trying to ascribe words like "face", "limbs", and "body" to parts of it was a craze-inducing task.
The closer they got, the larger their estimates of its size became. It soon became… frightening.
"…"
No one had any words.
—
"Angie. Angie. Angie! Stop, Angie!"
Suna tried, and failed, to stop the short red-haired bulldozer, that had plowed its way all the way back to the door of their room. She plowed through the door, too, before reaching the bed, and slumping down on it.
Closing the door behind her, "Angie. Angie, talk to me." She continued imploring the expressionless bulldozer, that continued to plow through her words, rendering them meaningless.
"Angie-"
"Stop!"
Suna stopped.
They sat there.
"I-, I-... I don't know what to do, Suna…" She whimpered.
"...We have to leave-"
"And then what!? And then what, Suna? We… We're weak." Angie never stopped casting her gaze to the ground, her head remaining lowered all throughout their walk up to this moment.
Suna knew, that she couldn't just make empty promises, she couldn't just hug her and tell her it'll be okay. Angie wasn't a child anymore. And now that they were grown up, they were big enough to see the world. How… hopeless it seemed.
But a fire within her flared. It refused to give up, to accept her hopeless circumstances.
"Angie-"
"Just stop already-"
"No, you stop!" Suna pounced on Angie, grabbing her at the chest by her thin robe. "So what if it's hard? So what if it seems difficult? We're going to survive, that's all that matters!"
Angie had an incredulous look. "That's, that's all that matters…? So it doesn't matter if all these people, everyone, they all just die? That's okay? That's okay with you?"
"...Yes."
Angie just lay there, stunned. "How can you say that? What even are you…?"
These words, Angie's doubt, it hurt Suna.
"Angie, I-"
Bells. Bells ringing.
Their heads jerked, looking outside, processing the sudden sounds, of clamor, of voices yelling. The two knew better than to hesitate in such a situation. The two grabbed the few belongings they had, and shot out the door.
When they reached the outside, they could smell it. Smoke. Blood.Already?
Mass panic had erupted in the streets, the prime tinder was lit aflame. It was hard not to get caught up in the mania, to maintain composure when the surroundings tens of thousands of people had all lost it. It was a sad sight to see.
Angie and Suna dashed, resolutely, as if a destination was already in mind. They both adeptly avoided groups of clamoring people, escalating combat, strewn objects and obstructions; the landscape was unforgiving and treacherous. Yet they ran.
They weren't far. The areas near the gates were crowded in a sea of people, but Suna simply jumped up and ran on top of the human sea. Angie rode along a root that rose from the ground, which carried her up and over it.
Anyone that could emerge from the sickeningly tight chokepoint that was the front gate were met with an unavoidable truth, a sky-shaking reality.
Rows. Lines. Blocks. Legions of assembled figures, that from this distance seemed more like solid shapes in the distance. It was a wide area, so they likely couldn't form an impenetrable wall just from a lack of numbers. But their spread and their density left little hope for the average person that came across the sight.
Suna and Angie both grimaced, as they searched the plains in front of the city walls. "There!" They ran towards a figure.
"It's not looking too good, girls." Cyra had no words of encouragement to offer the girls, she likely didn't have any for herself.
"Mom, you got a horse?"
"Felt bad, but I had to take 'em off a merchant when the bells rang. I… This world doesn't react kindly to altruism." She looked down, soberly, disappointingly. Angie's look was sad. She too was disappointed. But she couldn't rebuke her, or even get mad. She was just sad.
"What should we do?" Suna braved the question.
"Hahaha, I don't really know, Suna. Got any bright ideas, cunning one?"
Suna thought. She had been thinking. This whole time. Considering the worst-case scenarios, considering the proximity of the Geth. She didn't want to linger, but, well… She had got caught up in Angie's lacking pace. But there was no time to regret, it was likely that the perimeter of Geth was already established, a noose that was constricting slowly around this city, mercilessly. Unknown danger lurked behind every corner, but unfortunately for her, there was no way to plan around the unknown, not without sacrificing her agency or by simply being stronger than it. She was at a loss. Her mind was insufficient to deal with the problem it was faced with.
"It seems you agree with my assessment, hahah." Cyra turned towards the approaching army. "Well, we're lucky to have a horse, I guess. Beats nothing."
Angie interjected. "What about the ships?"
"Long gone, Angie. And, well, if you look from here…" The group couldn't see past the tall walls that stood a short distance from them. What they could see, was…
"...Flames…?" Angie was confused at the fierce red in the distant sky, over the coast.
"Yep. They must've infiltrated; all this was too coordinated, too fast. I mean, what could they do about it? Bastards aren't easy to uncover when they want to hide." She sighed, turning back towards the distant fields ahead of them. "All I can do is hope James and Krax escaped this shit… If they were quiet and smart, they could probably sneak past most of their patrols and outposts. Either way… I mean, who could really expect this, though, this isn't something we're prepared for. This is too fierce, there's too many of them, it just doesn't make sense…" Cyra had little to add to the situation.
"It looks like they're stopping."
"Yeah, they… they like their psychological warfare, too." The group looked at the people emerging from the gate. Their reactions. "Heh. Like a bunch of sheep. Herded. Hahah."
Suna… Her mind was a whirlwind. Her heart was a storm. Her body was a still ocean. Her soul… was a blade. This feeling, of overwhelming danger, of insurmountable odds… It was twisted, more twisted than she knew, but she liked it. She liked being pushed like this, it was an opportunity to grow. She had just been stumped over her lack of inspiration, her lack of danger; she felt like she was stagnating, sinking deeper into a pit of quicksand. She felt that if she remained actionless for long, that she would forfeit her right. Her right to improve. To grow stronger. So… she liked it. But she didn't have the time to inspect her emotions, she was in the middle of calculating odds, examining the options available to them, the options available for the Geth, the options of the people. She even considered trying to rally the people, for some sort of desperate offensive. But she knew. She wasn't strong enough for that.
"I think we should try going along the coastline. It'll be harder for them to surround us, and we could go into the water if necessary." Suna came up with an idea.
"Oh, Suna, you're ignorance is still just as cute, hahaha." Cyra laughed. "Suna, the water's are notoriously infested with human-hungry predators. Unless you're familiar with underwater combat and spells, enough to fend off swarms of monsters that smell you're blood for miles, then it's probably not a viable option."
Suna reconsidered the remaining options. "Perhaps we should wait for them to start their offensive. A good amount of them will be distracted with the people and the city, leaving us a higher chance of escape."
"Well, maybe… but they're going to close their noose. I think we should wait and see what the people do. If they launch a counterattack, I think that would be perfect. But if they wait too long to do that, and we give the Geth enough time to bunch their numbers closer, there won't be any gaps in their line to exploit."
Just as she was saying that, some groups of desperate people dashed for the enemy, aiming to break through their line. It was all too easy for the Geth to see what they were up to. As they got closer, further away from the doomed city, the Geth simply converged and swarmed the fleers, sparing none. Even if they seemed to be well-versed in combat, or if they knew seemingly strong spells, the overwhelming advantage of numbers was simply insurmountable; their strongest attempt at resistance just seemed laughable, like a fly squashed under an elephant's hoof.
Angie's expression quivered. She had graduated from her panicking days, but they weren't that far behind her. It was hard for her to simply stare death in the eye and not flinch or waver. But, but she tried her best. She truly did not want to become a burden to the others again. Not ever again, she repeated to herself in her mind.
Suna wanted to grab her hand, and reassure her. But this… it just felt different than before. Even Suna didn't think she could easily escape with her life while facing a literal army. And… Angie's doubt in her from such a short time ago… the pain from that short interaction… She still felt it vividly in her heart, her heart that longed for reconciliation, that wanted to apologize to Angie, but, it seemed she wouldn't be getting that chance any time soon. She hated this feeling… yet another feeling of helplessness.
So the group waited, and observed, following Cyra's suggestion. They saw people eye their horse, but they were cautious. Cyra put some more distance between them and the walls, just to deter anyone from the idea that they could have it. There were strong-looking individuals that entertained the idea of a confrontation, but, perhaps saving their energy for combat with another group of enemies, they didn't act.
Waiting… Waiting…
Their shoulders started to feel heavy, burdened by this unimaginable invisible weight, one which Suna was starting to get a little accustomed to. But she still had to fend it off, fight the urge to just say 'I give up', and lay down and let Death take her. Some of the more common people they saw, some of them did that. They fidgeted back and forth, on the ground and against the walls, or they stood listlessly, their bodies reflecting their lack of will, their lack of desire to resist. The weight had crushed these people. Suna could imagine, that even if these people somehow made their way out with their lives intact… that they wouldn't get to truly live again. She pitied these people, people she saw die in droves back on Yrma. Perhaps… their deaths are the most painless ones… Grim thoughts. How could she not have grim thoughts?
The sun, the Hopeful sun, dipped down, and down, dripping down from the wall of sky, whose shades and colors started to reflect more accurately the poor people of the city. Fire seemed to have spread, engulfing parts of the city, their red perhaps reflecting the Anger and Hurt of the people, whom had been betrayed. There was a startling lack of a certain Slayer, one which Suna would have expected to come out by now, to calm the people and reassure them of their safety. Was all that he had to give to the people… three gold coins? This level of showy flippancy… it even grossed out Suna. At least she didn't pretend to be a Hero, or anything. At least she tried to be earnest and honest with her feelings.
And so they waited, with only their thoughts and observations to occupy them. The group did not chatter, or speculate. They only pitied, and prepared. Angie had actually opened up her book, at some point, reading collectedly through it. Cyra muttered some chants, her arrows glowing in her hand. Suna tried to observe the army. She couldn't find any armored figures, which she was thankful for. But she didn't dare assume their lack of presence. She tried to pick the best path for them to try and break through the enemy line, but to be honest, they all seemed just as bad as every other. She paid little heed to scuffles and desperados that emerged from the growing crowds of people. She considered resharpening her knife, just to have something to do, but she felt it was pointless, she didn't want to miss any change of circumstances.
And change, they soon did.
A figure descended from the dark sky, lit ablaze by a grand sunset. She could barely make him out. But the way he floated down in the air, as if he was above the law of gravity… it was unsettling. She felt even smaller, in this world.
They gave no words, merely a signal, an open hand raised to the sky. The army emitted a tense feeling, like a coiled spring, ready to launch at any moment. The group of three got on their horse, a strong, large horse that seemed to hold the weight of the three fairly lightly-equipped girls. The people seemed to sense this energy – the collected ones foreseeing the oncoming confrontation.
It seemed like forever. Until the hand came crashing down, resuming the stopped time.
From there… it was Mayhem.