Carl's Save

--Carl's Perspective--

After the explosion by Austin and Amy, I wiped dirt out of my eyes and waited for the smoke to clear behind cover. I wasn't sure what exactly hit us, but I did know that it was a lot to deal with at once.

We were saved by Illya, I think, but nobody was anywhere to be found. With pipes and electrical lines exposed everywhere, it was too risky to walk around, especially with all of the iron rebar floating around, making a perfect conductor for exposed lines.

"Rin! Illya!" I screamed out. I tried to raise my voice along with my body, but an aching wound in my stomach stopped me from moving.

I held it as more blood seeped out, and tightly gripped it with my belt and a cloth I had in my pocket.

It was strange, to see this much of the world dug up. It was a subtle reminder that the foes we're facing aren't human, and aren't of this scale of power. Austin and Amy were very, very powerful, and this is a small example of what they were capable of.

I pushed my way around pipes and let my body down slowly through rocks and rebars. I carefully checked to see if there were any powerlines around and moved forward accordingly.

From the grey, murky dust swirling around the area, I could see blood leaking down a slight slope in the explosion, and followed it to its origin point.

"Hey! Illya? Rin?!" I shouted out, following the blood uphill.

When I got up, I pushed a giant chunk of cement off of Illya's body and felt her neck for a pulse.

She was breathing, and slowly opening her eyes, looking at me with a blank face.

"I'm still alive...? We didn't die?" She asked me, pushing her body up and clearing the rest of the cement with her tendrils. Her golden strands encapsulated me and fixed my body from any injuries.

"No, we're still fighting... do you know where Rin is? You're the only one I've been able to find... also, do you want to explain to me what the hell that was? Austin can do that?" I asked her. I didn't mean any ill-intent, but it was impossible to not be upset at the circumstances.

"I had no idea either, trust me. Had I known, I would've warned you. It looks like this is the area Austin pushed his blades through to shred it from underneath us. I should've known, if I had the Eye of Providence, I would've been able to see it..." Illya said, pausing, and then looking toward the hill where the bunker was.

"I know how we can beat them... I need Dani. Can you get her for me? Austin and Amy will not survive us," She said, clearing her clothing of any dust and debris.

"Right after we find Rin, together. That's what we do, right?" I asked her. Illya nodded, stretching her neck, and pointing at a limp tendril that reminded me of the ones on her back.

I pulled her over there... maybe she's still there," Illya said.

We walked along the length of the tendril, and I observed it closely. I never realized it, but it just looked knitted together with strands all the way down to the tip that was blocked off by a giant block of cement and dirt. It was odd to me.

"So, you can make these by knitting strands together in a big concentration? It's honestly smart..." I asked her, sliding against it with my ankle.

"It's a little more than that, but yes, that's pretty much it. I couldn't make six like before because I don't have enough power. We were lucky to get two," Illya explained to me.

"Right here guys! I hear your voices!" Rin shouted out.

Illya slashed through the cement with a saber and Rin jumped together with us, wiping dust off of her, and having her wounds healed by Illya's strands.

"Lucky to get two tendrils? You used to use six, what happened?" Rin asked. She happened to hear our conversation...

I kept a close eye on our surroundings by looking into the smoke, but I still couldn't see too much because it was all billowing up at the top of the crater to exit. I refused to use my scope, as it would produce a glint and give away my position.

"Well, I'm not The Deity like I used to be, and I'm not diving into my reserves until absolutely necessary. As in, when I fight Austin and Amy with Dani. What about you, how many bullets do you have left?" Illya asked me with her hand on her hip. She stood by idly waiting for my response as I counted the ones across the sash on my body.

"Five more. More than enough to take out somebody. I should've used the rest on those two, I probably would've done a lot more damage," I told her, caressing a bullet with my fingers.

"That's the second damn time Austin and Amy escaped... I'm so pissed at that. They shouldn't have gotten away the first time, but now they got away again. Dammit!" Rin said, kicking the rock back into the pit.

"Don't be hard on yourself, Rin. The fact that you're an Arkian who can barely control strands and got two members of Quake to run is impressive in and of itself. It's really my fault for not impeding them, but I can't use my Incarnation on Austin because if it gets off of Fico, we're screwed," Illya explained.

"Thanks, Illya... good fighting out there, by the way. I'm glad you're a part of the team now... or something," Rin said, before pointing at the bunker.

"I'm going to go sit out and try to get back with Mandi and Ren in case anything happens. If you need me, will you contact me?" Rin asked me, waving her radio around in her hand.

"Yeah, I'll call you," I told her, tapping mine and watching her walk off.

"You're not giving up yet? You said it yourself, Quake is basically throwing in the towel at this point," Illya told me with a side-eye. She was trying to grade my answer, wasn't she?