Past The Limit

Cage sprints forward at full speed, sword in hand, staring forward wide-eyed. Behind him, a litter of Parasite carcasses spread across the ground, along with massive crab-like creatures, their shells swirling with a mix of black and red.

Ingen and Krash stand in the middle of the carnage, one smashing skulls and bones with his Warhammer, and the other clawing and wrestling with others. Krash may be the weakest, but fortunately, he is at least competent enough to assist Ingen.

Compared to Kyro and Ingen, Cage has spent little time on Kalar. However, even he can tell that something is not right. Nearly every moment that they spend out here in the open, monsters pour from volcanos, ravines, and lava rivers. Moments of rest between battles are rare and short.

In their best condition, Cage and the others would be able to deal with the horde with little difficulty. However, that is not the case. Not for all of them, at least.

Cage stares upward, and watches as Kyro stands on the back of a squirming centipede. His sword has taken the form of a Warhammer similar to Ingen's, his teeth gritting as he smashes the spiked face into a plate of black armor on the mid-section, cracks forming with every strike. The heart of a centipede is in the middle of their bodies as Cage has been told. Kyro must be aiming for it.

The centipede thrashes around violently, its sharp-tipped legs carving through the rock with the erratic motions. Kyro stumbles with the shaking, kneeling as to not be thrown off. Cage reaches the side of the centipede, his sword disappearing from his only hand as he touches one of the stationary middle legs gently. He begins to sprint faster than ever before, parallel to the centipede, brushing his hand on legs that he can reach, dodging the ones that dash around with the moving parts of the beast's body.

Each leg he touches goes limp, and before long, half of the legs on the centipedes left side are rendered useless. Cage halts, turning to see the remaining legs that he was forced to dodge tremble and collapse, unable to hold up the creature's ridiculous weight. Kyro glances at him, nodding before returning to his smashing. It isn't long before the black plate of armor shatters, leaving the centipede vulnerable.

Cage walks forward as Kyro's weapon shifts back to that hulking sword and pierces through the centipede's exposed heart. Cage glances over at the others. Ingen and Klash step over dead monsters and head toward him, blackish-red blood staining their clothing, both panting and wiping their sweat. They've been fighting for over an hour, the flood of beasts seemed endless at times.

Cage looks back up at Kyro, who still stands atop the unmoving centipede carcass, his face up to the smoke-filled sky, chest rising and falling with heavy panting. A layer of sweat covers his body, soaking through his leotard. His sword hangs loosely in his hand, and his other hand wipes his wet forehead.

Kyro always handles the centipedes, while Ingen stays with Cage—and now Klash—to deal with the small monsters. This system has worked just fine, until now. While Kyro can usually handle multiple centipedes all at once without breaking a sweat, he is now having trouble dealing with just one.

He's moving slower, reacting late, and his strength seems to be a fraction of what it usually is. The ridiculous leaps, the flashing slices and stabs, the frequent use of Vas. Kyro's usually overwhelming fighting style has been replaced with a slow and methodical strategy.

He's saving his strength, because there isn't much left to use. The bags under his eyes and his sluggish movements are more than enough evidence to prove it. The Rajin has struggled to keep himself together for a while now, his will the only thing stopping him from collapsing.

As Cage, Ingen, and Klash arrive near the dead centipede, they all find out that Kyro's will has gone far beyond its limit. Kyro gazes down, meeting each man's eyes with a flat expression. "Ingen," Kyro mutters, falling forward off of the slain centipede and into Ingen's waiting arms.

Ingen sighs, looking down at Kyro's sagging body, "You lasted longer than I expected," Ingen says quietly, earning a weak hum from the man in his arms.

Krash steps up, eyes wide, "What happened?" he asks.

Ingen glances at the Tanzide, a solemn expression on his face, "Help me carry him," he says. Krash does as he's told without hesitation as if the giant Lion-headed man is accustomed to being ordered around. He doesn't seem bothered by the evasion of his question either. Krash slings one of Kyro's arms over his shoulder and wraps his own around the Rajin's waist.

Ingen does the same on the other side, holding his Warhammer, Kyro's sword, and a grey bag in his massive free hand. He looks at Cage, offering the bag to him, "Carry this, if you will. The Lion and I will have our hands full until we reach the stem," Ingen says, pausing, "Kyro told me that you still have a couple of Rage Stones in that... wherever it is the things you absorb go. Still have them?"

Cage nods, taking the grey bag, "Yes, but... I promised Yoru that I wouldn't give them to Kyro." he says softly. Cage glances at Kyro's hanging head and limp body. Suddenly, the Rajin raises his head slowly, looking at Cage with a weak smile. His head drops again a moment later.

Ingen raises his bushy silver brows, a faint smile appearing on his wide face, "You've kept your promises to all of us, huh? Good," he says, the smile disappearing as quickly as it came. Ingen looks toward the Stem, which is still over a mile away, "I'm not telling you to start breaking your promises, but you need to be ready to do so with that one. Kyro will never get past his addiction if we all die. Who knows when another one of those hordes will come? We need his strength if that happens, and Krash needs that bag for his people."

"I'll be ready," Cage responds with a firm expression, squeezing the bag of Rage Stones in his hand.

"Good," Ingen nods, lifting Kyro's limp body until the man's legs dangle in the air. Klash is nearly the same height as Ingen himself, and that allows both men to carry half of the heavy load without needing to contort their bodies, "Let's get moving. If we're quick, then that promise of yours may be kept intact."

They begin their journey to the Stem, Ingen, and Krash stepping quick over the black, uneven rocks, nearly dropping their load a few times before finally getting into a rhythm with their steps.

Cage follows close behind, black eyes warily scanning the hot, ashy land surrounding them, stepping fast to keep up with the long strides of the others. The grey bag is taken from his hand by those black tendrils and is replaced by one of the swords. As he does this, he takes a quick peek inside the vault.

The trackers are here, floating near the other items. The black crystals would be invisible against the darkness if not for the slight glow still held inside of them. Tiny tendrils of multi-colored light flow from them to that platform farther away. Lithi must be absorbing the Anima inside of them, as he has done for every other source holding the magic.

Cage pulls himself from the vault, glancing back at the monster carcasses littering the area, the distance causing them to be little more than black dots with minimal features to him. It looks as if some giant came and spilled a massive bag of beans on the ground.

Cage returns his eyes to the backs of the men before him. Such a waste. But alas, there is no time to absorb them. The delay might give more chances for another horde of monsters to pour upon them, and who knows if all of them will be able to survive that?

Kyro is out of commission... unless Cage breaks his promise. Ingen is strong, and while not nearly as much, so is Cage. But will they be able to fend off centipedes, parasites, and those crab-like creatures with just them? Krash will be there to help, but if the horde is large enough, then he will only be a burden. They could let the Tanzide perish, and rid themselves of a liability, but...

Before they left the cave, Krash had told all of them why he was on Kalar. He is simply trying to protect his home from Utherian brutality. His people are on the brink of destruction, and the Tanzide army has neither the strength nor the numbers to fend off the invaders. Kyro and Ingen both sympathized with Krash's reasoning, after all, they spent a large part of their lives doing just the same for Raj.

Even Cage feels for the man. He's never been on a battlefield, however, the goal driving him is just the same, in a way. They both want to protect their family and are willing to do anything to keep them alive.

Cage quickens his pace until he walks beside Krash, black eyes gazing at the twin peaks beneath the Stem. Cage has questions, lots of them. The Tanzides and Mammoria haven't been mentioned in Gira's Records yet, all he knows about the animal-headed people is what Yoru told him.

Krash glances down at Cage, adjusting the blue arm on his shoulders, "So... You can paralyze people with a touch?" he asks.

Cage raises a brow, looking up and meeting the man's orange eyes, "Yes," he responds.

Krash nods slowly, seeming puzzled. Whether his confusion is caused by the words or his own thoughts, Cage has no idea. The Tanzide peeks over his shoulder, careful as to not stumble and drop Kyro, "And the Massor. You... Killed it?" Krash asks, looking down at the black-eyed man again.

Cage hums, "I ate it," he says, failing to hide a smirk.

Wide orange eyes stare down at him. Under the low whistle of the wind, a gasp can be heard.

Cage laughs, and Ingen joins him with a chuckle, "Right. You haven't seen it yet," Ingen says.

Krash looks at Cage, his expression sliding from bewildered to intrigued. His eyes practically beg Cage for an explanation.

Cage chuckles, presenting the sword in his hand to the Tanzide. Those tendrils appear, reversing the process that Cage had gone through just minutes before.

Krash's eyes widen, his expression shifting like those colors in the sky until it settles on child-like fascination again, "The sword went inside of you, and the bag... came out of you?" he asks slowly. Krash looks Cage up and down, one brow raised, "You don't seem to be in pain from the blade. Where did it go, then? Is it some sort of secret magic? It's obviously not Anima or Vas."

"Ah, another curious one. Great," Ingen chimes in, his tone like that of someone being tortured in the worst possible way, "I seem to be the only one satisfied with what I already know." Kyro suddenly grunts quietly, as if agreeing with his fellow Rajin. Though he's probably just in pain. A lot of pain.

"Oh, shut up, Ingen," Cage snaps back, "I know it's hard for you to relate, but most people's brain size matches that of their head. We can fit a little more in ours."

Ingen scoffs, and though he can't see it Krash's figure, Cage can imagine the twist of annoyance on the Rajin's broad face, "You seem to be getting comfortable with your feet on the ground. Should we stop for a sparring session?" Ingen asks, his tone half taunting, half serious.

A nervous chuckle escapes Cage's lips, and he looks at the black rock below his feet. Feeling the solidness of the rock, he begins to think landing neck-first on dirt or water doesn't seem so bad. His bones repair themselves, sure, but a broken neck is not something he wants to experience.

Cage sees a few decomposing bodies as they walk, all Rajin. The stench is horrible, but the wind saves them from having to hold their noses for too long. It's clear that they're victims of the Massor, even the ones with scabbed over cuts and scrapes. The monsters of Kalar do not leave injured bodies behind. They don't leave anything.

Krash looks between Cage and Ingen, seeming to be wondering if they are truly friends. Cage notices this and remembers the Tanzide's questions. Cage thinks for a moment, sorting the words in his mind, "I wouldn't say it goes inside of me. It just goes... somewhere. Somewhere far away, I think. I don't mean to disappoint you, but there's still so much that I don't know about it," He says.

Cage has felt this way since first experiencing his powers, however, his conversation with the man named Lithi has increased his feeling of utter ignorance tenfold. He'll have to find time to speak to the strange blonde-headed man again and ask the right questions. That seems the best way to learn more about... well, everything.

Krash nods, "Truthfully, I expected you to ignore my questions," He says, pausing. They walk around the twin peaks now, and the boat that Cage, Kyro, and Ingen arrived in comes into view, leaning against the rock wall where the two volcanos connect. Krash chuckles, his long white mane blowing in the hot wind, "As you saw when we met, I do not have the skill nor strength to force it from you. I have never been much of a fighter," he says.

"That's obvious," Cage and Ingen say in unison, causing a collection of chuckles to slip into the air.

They reach the boat, and Kyro is set down gently, his limp body leaning against the front bench, his legs sprawled out under the middle one, "We made it," Ingen says with a sigh, straightening his back.

While Cage is glad they made it without encountering another swath of monsters. It's strange that they would suddenly stop appearing. Are they hiding from something?

A few other boats lean against the Volcanos, and Krash glances at one of them. The rest must belong to other Collectors that have visited, though most of them will probably never return to retrieve the boats. The Tanzide then looks at Cage, eyeing the grey bag in his hands, "May I take that?" he asks, an uncertainty to his voice.

Cage chuckles, "What? Do you think we're gonna take these from you? Leave you alone and stoneless?" he asks, offering the bag to Krash.

Krash returns a chuckle, which leans on the nervous side. He accepts the bag, meeting Cage's eyes, "It did cross my mind."

"You would've been dead when we met you if that was the case," Ingen says bluntly. He already sits on the back bench of the boat, hand on the control orb, looking at Cage, "You coming? I'm damned tired of this planet. Don't plan on returning. Ever."

Cage nods, stepping toward the boat.

"I greatly appreciated your company," Krash says as Cage climbs inside the boat, a smile on his beastly face, "And your kindness in not letting me die."

Cage returns a light smile, "See ya. Stay safe."

"Get those to your people," Ingen nods to the bag at Krash's side, "And kill a few Utherians for me. You can handle at least that much, even if you do fight like a drunken cripple."

Krash chuckles, "Will do," he says. He nods respectfully to the men, then turns and walks to his boat.

"Wait!" Cage suddenly yells, remembering a question that slipped his mind earlier.

Krash turns, furry eyebrows raised, "Yes?"

"I've been meaning to ask, who told you about the Rage Stones?" Cage asks.

Silence. The wind whistles a bit louder. Krash stands frozen with a look somewhere between surprise, fear, and... guilt, "I..." he mutters.

"Wait," Ingen interrupts, putting a finger to his lips, "Shh..."

Cage looks at the Rajin man with furrowed brows, "What is it?" he whispers, leaning forward.

Ingen stares back into his eyes, but he seems to be distracted, listening closely to... something. He looks up toward the Stem, and the other two conscious men follow his gesture.

All three men freeze. Ingen's mouth hangs open, Cage can't bring himself to blink, and Krash has the same mess of emotions on his face as earlier, only the fear overpowers everything else.

"We're dead..." Krash whispers, "...I'm sorry, my brothers."