Chapter Text
Grom's body slammed against the wall. The blue and grey brick-and-mortar crumbled onto his disheveled shoulders. His red hood loosely protected him from the falling debris. The few pebbles that collided with his top woke him up from the temporary nap.
His eyes groggily rolled open, peering through the black film of his cartoonish hoodie. He looked forward and watched them clash once more. His comrade's boxy armor shuttered and shook against the force of their opponent. Ash's broomstick had been modified for combat with a steel rod and base to boot. Though the bristles on its end were standard issue for a janitor. A fact that while ironic was still very comedic to Grom.
He had only begun working with him a month ago. During this time he and Ash shared many memories. On their first night together, Ash invited him over to his personal room within the Castle's tunnels. They had quite the personal party; drinks, songs, and lewd humor to boot. Ash treated him like a member of the family from the very beginning. Grom liked to think he was a brother at this point.
Ash roared out with the stabbing jab of his broom's end. The massive beast caught the handle and pulled Ash inward. Its fist was a deeper shade of black than the shadows that housed Ash's face. Claws a dim beige and glistening off the fireplace's flames. A massive paw came swinging toward Ash's face. He barely brought the stylized shield up in time. Though the strength of this beast was far greater than his. Ash's face was smashed against the back of his shield. It punched through his defense and slammed against him like a motorcycle.
Grom remembered how they had fought off a swarm of infants just last week. They had torn the castle courtyard apart. Smashing through the snack machine, coloring across the walls, and even wasting perfectly prepared treats by throwing them like snowballs. After fighting off an army of children they had finally finished cleaning the palace walls just last night. Only for this monster to show up.
Grom watched as Ash came sliding his way. His square body bounced on the ground and glided along the freshly waxed flooring. He pushed off the ground with his shield arm and skidded to a stop before Grom. His stout form was odd to watch masterfully fly around the arena. Grom was still plastered against the wall from the attack he had just received.
Something that Ash resented, "Ai, ye gonna stan' der all day or ye gonna ge' up, inna-ye?" His Scottish tongue slashed through that sentence like his staff through the air.
Grom nodded solemnly. He pulled his arms out of the rubble and fell beside his ally. "Comrade..."
Ash focused ahead as the monster approached. "Ai, wha' is it?" Its long arms reached far past its extended torso. A beast standing nearly three meters high and shambling toward them with a heavy coat of black fur. That thing wasn't a bear, nor a wolf, not even a goat. It was some sort of amalgamation of a lion walking like a gorilla while growling like a dog.
Grom spat up a bit of blood. Below his red hood was a tuff of blond hair. A flaw he hadn't been able to correct due to his busy schedule. "Will this be every day?" He blew a bit of the hair out of his eye.
Ash snickered out a warrior's, "Aye!" He shimmied a bit with his sword and shield. Then felt Grom grab hold of his blocky body and help himself up. In return, Ash reached out a hand to assist. The two stood tall as their feet quaked beneath the monster's approach.
This beast had no name, no face, and no known purpose. It stunk like manure and shed its fur with each shift in position. The duo didn't dread this fight so much as the clean-up that would occur afterward.
Ash had to turn his whole body to look at Grom, "Well I'm fresh outtie idea. You?"
Grom took a deep breath before choking on the monster's odor. Between coughing fits, he managed, "I have one. You won't like."
"Do yer dinger."
"I charge attack. Big one. It work."
"Souns' peachy. Now gimme tha teeth."
"You have to distract it."
Ash slurred along in his country's drawl at the stipulation. He wanted to argue more but the beast was getting closer. He rolled his eyes and agreed stating, "Don' keep me waitin!"
Ash dashed forward while Grom retrieved three of his walkie-talkies. He positioned them in a line with two pushing against one in the middle. His hands forced them together while they repelled against him like matching magnet poles. He looked forward while Ash clashed with the giant once more. All the while he continued with a grunting growl.
Ash was now face to face with the beast once more. He slashed across its stomach and hissed when it had no effect. The beast slammed a fist down that he narrowly avoided. His body reeled back despite his broad appearance with the grace of a dancer. He dashed forward and stabbed at the arm that missed him wildly.
This time the beast swung with a backhand and smashed against Ash's chest. The force caused his armor to tremble as he rolled away once more. This time he caught sight of its feline tail as he stopped his fall.
It began shifting toward Grom. Ash noticed his ally was still hunched over preparing his plan. So, the garbage collector rushed forth to cut the monster off. He slammed a foot down on the round tip of its tail in hopes of catching a weak spot. He was horrified when the beast just slowly turned to face him. He groaned out an unfortunate, "Aw rubbish."
The beast picked its tail up with enough force to throw Ash into the air. Rather than panicking Ash saw an opportunity. He was high enough to see the crown of its skull. He launched his shield forward with the tip aimed at the softest part of a skull. If this beast was anything like normal mammals it would surely have evolved with a weakness on the top of its head.
But he would never find the truth. The beast lunged forward and threw off his aim. Instead, the shield just lodged itself into the small of the creature's neck. It reached a hand up and smacked Ash away in midair. His body went limp like a ragdoll. He flew back with twice the force that Grom had been hit with. His body was lost in a cloud of dust when he rocketed through another one of the castle's walls. His impact made a hole big enough for a small car to drive through. The beast made a low growl in response as it started walking to where it had delivered Ash to a stony grave.
"HEY!" The beast lazily looked behind it. Grom's body was glowing like a lava lamp in the midnight sky. His hood finally fell off his head and showed the battered face beneath. He had to keep an eye shut less the blood would seep into his iris. He gritted his teeth while yelling at the monster. "SPECIAL MOOOOOOVE: BRAVO-OSCAR-OSCAR-MIKE!"
The monster reached down and picked up a boulder. An action that alarmed the reconnaissance officer of the Starr Park clean-up crew. Grom couldn't lose focus, he was too close. He only called out to keep it from reaching Ash. His comrade had suffered enough. But now he was staring down a boulder bigger than an American Hummer.
Then the beast suddenly dropped the rock. It started stroking its fur. Specifically, around its upper body and neck. Grom saw a bit of rubble fall where Ash had been launched. He watched his ally reappear, though his battle scars were deep. Ash's armor had been fractured. Cracks rolled along the frame and into random crevices. Though the biggest issue was a massive hole along the top of his head. If Grom looked closely he swore a bit of Ash's head was poking out the hole. It was deep black and strangely stylized like a slick-backed greaser. Though it also looked layered like the armor around his arms.
Ash held onto the rubble with a shaky hand. He heaved up and down before speaking up, "I see ya got my gift." When he looked up yellow eyes were visible through the overcast of his armor. "Now...-" he reached out an open palm- "Make Daddy proud."
Grom saw what the beast was scratching at. Ash's last-ditch attack with his shield was well-planned. Somehow, he had placed his Little Helpers into the shield's frame. A small army of rat-sized robots crawled through the monster's thick coat. They hid in the natural crevices caused by the beast's unique design. Try as it might, it couldn't get rid of all the little critters crawling about.
Ash smiled beneath the cover of his mask. "IGNITE!"
A series of small explosions rocked the beast's frame. It fell to a knee and tried to cover up the brimstone. Some explosions kicked off against its cheeks and put it on its back. With its belly up, Grom's eyes exploded.
He roared out, "GRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH!" The three walkie-talkies combined into a single super sphere. It was the size of a beach ball and glowed a bright blue. He had to brace himself as the weight made his arms droop. "Here comes..." he swung about like an Olympic discus thrower. "THE BIG BOOM!"
The orb flew high into the sky. Glimmering like a star within the dark palace as it reached its apex. Then it rocketed down like a meteor. The beast didn't have the chance to defend itself as the bomb connected with its stomach. It smashed the monster between the concrete as it roared out in anguish.
Then the bomb split into four separate projectiles of equal size. Each one soared outward from the apex and was caught by a limb. Each hand latched onto a sphere while the groin and head absorbed the impact of the remaining two. Its painful cries could be heard for miles as the explosion turned the surrounding area whiter than the gates of heaven. It dimmed for a moment when its agape maw swallowed one of the bombs. Then its head glowed like a disco ball before evaporating.
Grom shielded his eyes until the impact had concluded. When he opened them Ash was wandering back into the center. He stood atop the body with his broom raised high. Grom could see his head a bit better in the light. His hair really was strange. Almost horn-like. But his thoughts were drowned out by a deft defying cry.
"That's... How we take out... THE TRASH!"