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Her partner was quiet today.
Which sounds redundant because he was always quiet. In all their time travelling together, she thinks he had only spoken to her maybe around five times. Even still, all those times were to discuss plans of attack. She really didn’t know much about him other than his demeanor. They hadn’t even exchanged names.
Despite how quiet he usually was, he was still quieter today. She was used to hearing small grunts of acknowledgement from him when she explained something, or other sounds such as clearing his throat or the soft little hums that he thought were too quiet for her to hear. He would be wrong.
She tried her best to shrug it off. They had work to do tracking down the modules in the East that the Guardian of Central had gotten traces of. Whatever was bothering him, he could deal with it himself.
She hated how loudly their boots clacked off of the clean white tiling of the Sunken City. She hated the water on either side of the path with the toad men she knew could be lurking underneath, waiting to strike. Everything about this area made her feel vulnerable and out of her element. Even still, she strode ahead as confidently as she could. She tried to tell herself that she wasn’t trying to act tough, but she couldn’t fool herself.
However, bravado was nothing in the face of an actual fight.
Toad men vaulted out of the water from either side, surrounding the two drifters in an instant. She had known it was probably inevitable, but regardless, there was nothing the two drifters could have done to stop the ambush. She had no idea what the toads wanted from them, but they would have to take it from her dead body.
With a swift command, her drone sped forward like a bullet, slicing through the chest of a toad blocking off the path ahead. The toad fell backwards, and she slipped through the opening to dart towards a larger platform up ahead. She and the other drifter would have better odds fighting in the large plaza. The Drifter must have caught on to her plan, because he chain dashed so quickly that he was already ahead of her. He spun around and drew his sword and pistol, ready for the toads to catch up.
She felt a throwing star ping off the back of her helmet, so she spun around as well, only to be met with a toad much closer on her heels than she had anticipated. A volley of plasma from her partner’s pistol whipped by her shoulder and hit the toad right in between the eyes. The bullets came so close to her that she could have sworn she saw the fur of her poncho fizzle. Damn it, she’d chew him out for something that risky later, but for now, it worked.
She sent her drone on the attack, and it did a good job at keeping the toads pushed back while the other drifter moved in to take better shots. This method worked fairly well until they heard hissing from behind them. A huge weight slammed into her back, sending her careening forward. She scrambled to get back on her feet. By time she had stood up, her partner had already sliced apart the plant beast that had knocked her down. However, the interruption had allowed the toads time to advance, and the two drifters were getting surrounded again.
Then she heard something that made her heart sink even more. It wasn’t hissing this time, but a wet, whooping cough.
She glanced back at the Drifter to try to gauge his condition. He had sheathed his sword and his right hand was now pressed firmly to his mouth. However, he still had a pistol in his left, and he was doing his best to continue contributing to the fight. Maybe things were still alright? She turned her attention back to the battlefront.
Things didn’t stay “alright” for very long. A few moments later she heard his coughing get much, much worse. She noticed he had moved to a corner of the plaza that met up against two buildings that were tall enough to not be submerged when the city sank. She got the memo that he was trying to move to a more defensible position, so she moved in to guard him. It was good that he could manage to get to this position, but it was a double-edged blade. Sure, she could defend him much better with the safety of solid walls behind them, but at the same time they were now cornered.
She did her best to fend off their attackers, but it was a losing battle. Was half the damned toad population here?
One of the blue toads threw a firebomb. Backed into a corner like she was, she couldn’t dodge the wide spread of fire. She yelped as a searing heat lashed up her side.
In desperation, she ordered her drone to stay on the defensive while she turned to check on the Drifter. He was on his knees and hunched over in a pitiful posture. One arm was tightly wrapped around his abdomen, while the other was at his throat. It was like he was clawing at some invisible force throttling him. Bright fuchsia blood had saturated his face mask so thoroughly that it was beginning to run down the front of his cloak. His face was contorted in pain, eyes squeezed shut hard. His whole body shuddered uncontrollably with every forceful cough. This was the worst she had ever seen him.
She cursed to herself. Wasn’t there anything she could do? Were they going to die to some circumstance they could do nothing to stop?
Pain shot up her spine as two throwing stars pegged her in the back, and she staggered forward. She twisted around and struggled to give her drone better guidance on how it should fight, but she was getting close to giving up. Tears began to well up in her eyes, but she couldn’t tell if it was from the pain or the frustration… or the fear.
Through her blurring vision, she spotted a flash of rose and teal off towards the side. A toad gurgled as it collapsed, and the other toads surrounding her swiveled around to look. The Guardian lunged forward, cleaving a toad in two with their sword. A few of the toads fled immediately. It was possible that they recognized the imposing knight, and wanted nothing to do with fighting them.
Still kneeling on the ground, she whipped her unburned arm out in front of her, commanding her drone to continue the fight.
After a brief bit of fighting, all the sounds of combat had ceased. All of the remaining toads had either fled or been eliminated. The only sounds that remained was her frantic panting whistling through the slits of her helmet, the sloshing of water against pristine marble, and the Drifter’s wheezing gasps.
The Drifter was barely off the ground at this point. The only thing propping him up was one elbow, and it looked like even that was becoming a challenge for him. Fuchsia was swirling around in a small puddle of water beneath him.
In a few urgent strides, the Guardian was upon them. Their eyes flitted between the two younger drifters, trying to gauge the severity of their conditions. Even through the shadows cast by their helmet, she could see the anxiety in their eyes.
“Help him,” she panted, nodding her head in the Drifter’s direction.
Wordlessly, the Guardian knelt down at the Drifter’s side. She didn’t know if it was just coincidence or if he was aware that he was finally safe, but regardless he succumbed to unconsciousness and crumpled to the ground.
The Guardian swiftly and carefully grasped the young drifter by the shoulders, rolling him onto his side so they could see his face. They removed his face mask just to be sure it wasn’t obstructing his breathing at all. His entire jaw was streaked with blood.
Now that the panic and adrenaline of battle was finally starting to subside, concern for her travelling companion began to knot in her chest. His breathing was so shallow and labored that she wasn’t sure if he was even getting any air into his lungs at this point. His blue skin was turning into a concerning shade of pale sky blue.
The Guardian looked up at her. “Can you walk?” they asked curtly.
She nodded shakily. “I think so.”
“Good. There’s an old abandoned church I know of that’s nearby. We can set up a temporary camp there.” Before even waiting for a reply, the Guardian carefully scooped the unconscious boy into their arms and began walking, only glancing back to be sure that she could indeed walk well enough to follow them.
It was a couple hours later. The warm sun streaming through the church’s windows was enough to keep them comfortable. The Guardian had already helped tend to her wounds, and the pain-killing effect of the medpack injection she had taken was in effect. She’d probably need further treatment for her burns when she got back to Central, but for now she and the Guardian had done the best they could.
The Drifter was still asleep, loosely curled up in a ball with his cloak wrapped snugly around him like a blanket. His breathing was still strained and raspy, but at least his facial expression looked much more serene. The Guardian was closely watching over him, concerned.
For a long time, nobody talked. In fact, nobody really did anything other than think. She was the one to finally shatter the silence.
“FUCK!” she howled as she slammed her fist into the ground.
The Guardian startled and looked up at her for some sort of further explanation.
“Just…” she struggled to form the words. “This is just so damn frustrating! I’m so sick and tired of seeing skilled warriors like you and him losing against something you can’t even fight!” she spat. She brought her knees up to her chest and buried the face of her helmet in them, exhaling sharply. The Guardian looked down at the floor, not knowing what to say to that.
When she picked her head up, she realized that the Drifter’s eyes were open. He was looking at her bewilderedly.
“Oh… That woke you up, huh?” she said, a little embarrassed. If she wasn’t wearing her helmet, then the others might have noticed her cheeks flush.
The Guardian lightly placed his hand on the Drifter’s shoulder. He flinched at first but then relaxed.
“Feeling better?” the Guardian inquired softly.
The Drifter paused, but then gave a slight nod of his head. He struggled to sit up, and the Guardian wrapped their arm around his back to help support him. He leaned into them, unable to support his own weight. The Guardian still looked worried, but they eased up somewhat.
“I’m glad.” There was a small flash of a smile through their helmet.
There was another period of awkward silence that was broken by her abruptly standing up. She walked over to the others, taking off her helmet as she walked. It’s not like she needed to hide her blue skin around these two. She sat down in front of them and met them both eye-to-eye.
“Listen,” she began, “I don’t know who or what those black specters you two keep seeing are. I don’t even know if they’re real, but if they are, then I will find them. We will find them,” she corrected, “I don’t even know how, but I don’t care. I’m not going to stop trying... I’m not going to give up on you guys.”
The Guardian perked up and gave a big, genuine smile. Even the Drifter smiled weakly. The corners of his mouth pulled back to show a slight glint of teeth.
“And you know what?” she said, “When we find those bastards… We are going to make them suffer so much worse than everyone who’s gotten sick with their shitty disease combined! In fact…” her mouth twisted into a wicked smile as she bared her sharp teeth. She summoned her combat drone over to her side. “I’m going to take this drone and shove it up their a-“
“Miss!” the Guardian interrupted.
The Drifter chuckled, surprising both her and the Guardian. It was a shaky, wheezing chuckle that was mixed with a bit of a dry cough, but it was a laugh nonetheless. Neither one of them had heard him laugh up until this point.
He grinned, showing off his teeth as well.
“Th…thank you.”