No More Speed

With the lack of Fico's speed, she could only move at the normal pace that the rest of us could.

The dark vision I possessed in both eyes was like a shade of black, like sunglasses on a sunny day. It blocked stuff out, but it felt like I could see... more with it.

My field of view was larger, and everything wrapped around nicely and brought it back to me. My depth perception was heightened... and most importantly, I could tell Fico's plan just by looking at her.

The problem with my ability to tell Fico's movements is that I couldn't speak fast enough for it to matter. This ability was exclusive to me, and me alone. However, if I was lucky, I could revive old hand signs that I gave to Dante and Amera when we worked together. They might understand if I can remember them properly... but a part of my brain is shot and I'm forgetting stuff easily.

Dante came in with both of his swords and Fico blocked it, pushing him back, kicking at his head, and then purposefully jumping over him to dodge Tavian.

"My physical strength is far greater than anything you're capable of. Let's see you take a hit of this," Fico said.

When she landed on the ground, it cracked underneath her, and her whole body vibrated in conjunction.

"I will give you something to fear," Amera said. Her voice carried from afar and carried itself on one of her Chakrams.

It faded into smoke as it touched Fico's body, and the strands that built upon it vanished into her chest. Her forearms began to light up more than usual, and she had a sense of euphoria around her.

"This is it! The Asterio's strands! They're so sweet... like sugar! Have you ever tasted this Tavian?!" Fico asked us.

With the way things were going, Fico was starting to look like she had more power added to her... where was she getting it from? Why was she playing around with us if it was so easy for her to kill us?

"Let's see what you're made of then, shall we?" Fico asked me.

Her side-eye actually hurt my peripheral vision, and before she ran over to me, I could see the path she took.

I backed up perfectly as the claws scathed across my face, and swiped the saber up, cutting off her arm, and causing her body to flicker like a light.

Tavian went in next and pushed her back, swinging twice with his sword in a horizontal fashion. Fico ducked and jumped over both, placing her hand on the blade, and squeezing it until it shattered.

"You talk a lot! For somebody so incapable of doing any real damage to us, I'm starting to think you aren't the leader of Quake!" Tavian teased. It was all just trash talk, and with the way Fico was fighting us, it didn't really feel dire. It was more like training.

Fico wasn't ever truly attacking us... was she?

I turned back to look at the gate. It was closed shut, yet nobody was there anymore to close it. I believe Yonoa and Troy left as soon as Sky ended his first fight with Quake... but if they left when they were supposed to, why was it currently closed?

I looked back at Fico, and she was tapping her foot again in a rhythm. One... two... three...

I watched it go up and down, ticking like a clock. When she realized why I was watching for so long without attacking, she pushed Tavian and Dante away and smiled.

"What'cha lookin' at?" She asked me with a terribly obvious smile.

"What are you buying time for?" I asked her.

"Buying time? She's clearly trying to kill us!" Dante shouted out with his swords primed.

He went in for another attack and while he was mid-swing, his forearm exploded into chunks of bone and flesh.

"That wasn't me trying to kill you, but that was me trying to hurt you. I've been trying to hit Noboki for a while, but it seems that even with brain damage, she's faster than the rest of you," Fico said.

Her foot stopped stomping.

"What do you mean? She hasn't been trying to kill us this entire time? Why are you even fighting us then?" Dante asked. He wasn't too quick with catching on, but he would get it eventually.

"I can't give away the surprise right away, can I?" Fico asked again. Her claws sharpened and glistened in more sunlight, and the goop started to surround her arms as she prepared for an attack.

"You won't let... us go back... in there... will you...?" I asked her slowly and she nodded.

"Well, you can certainly try, I think that would be entertaining at least," She said again. Fico rotated her positioning so her back was facing the gate, blocking us from entering.

It seemed settled then. The reason she was stopping us from progressing is because she had to keep us out for a reason. What that reason may be is a mystery to me still... but in due time, I will figure it out. I have to.

I took the lead next, planting each foot into the ground and running at her with a burst of speed and a tilted golden saber.

When I collided with her claws, they passed straight through as they retracted. She pulled them out once more as my saber passed through, and got dangerously close to my head. I dropped my body as if I was knocked unconscious, bending my knees, and diving backward while she ran at me again.

She was scraping my face with the claws, once on the cheek, and once on my forehead. The wounds hurt badly and sizzled like food on a hot pan, the same pain that my forehead dealt with when I was hit by a blade. I was afraid it wouldn't heal, but her persistence in attacking told me that there was a chance if she left it alone for long enough.