The First Battle (2)

"MONSTER!! IT'S A MONSTER!!" Several screams just like this filtered out of the trees as the sound of metal ripped through the cool air. Bullets ripped through the soft flesh of the giant, but an influx of air and vapor quickly undid the damage.

The titan released a tremendous roar. It held such force that it seemed like it would take down the surrounding trees. The grotesque humanoid maintained its charge despite the onslaught of gunfire, cupping its hands tightly against its chest as if protecting somewhere precious.

Lucius was right. The safest spot to be in the upcoming battle would be alongside the incredible power of a titan. Next to him, Fen quivered maniacally, clawing at the bit of light that seeped in through the cracks of titanized flesh.

"There, there, Fen... we're safe here," said Boro, staring through a finger gap into the hostile treeline. Outside in the immediate carnage, one shot sent an isolated splatter of blood flying from Jon's massive body, getting a bit on the child's face during his observation.

Immediately, the blood starts evaporating, but the sounds of violence don't stop.

"Jon.. go."

Upon hearing this whisper of a command, the giant throws its terrible body headfirst into greenery, crushing one of the ambushers on the frontline into a bloody mess.

"SHOOT! SHOOT!!!" cried one of the nearby attackers. As she screamed and desperately tried to find the strength in her legs to kick herself away from the bloodstained creature, it turned to her with nothing but an apathetic sort of malice in its eyes.

Its arms still restrained, the titan had no choice but to flail its body in the woman's direction by pulling against the rugged dirt with its teeth and kicking off the occasional tree. Despite its awkward movement, however, the large body moved with terrifying speed.

With half a scream still left in her lungs, the ambusher was devoured: gun, clothing, and all. Without even taking a brief respite to enjoy its meal, the titan threw around it large, black eyes to ascertain which member of the fleeing crowd should be its next victim.

Doing his best to ignore the sound of half-chewed flesh churning around behind him, Boro ascertained the situation once more. Yes, this was the safest place to be on the battlefield. At the same time, the most dangerous place was...

"Damn it!" cried one of the ambushers. His face was gaunt, with traces of scars underneath his short brown hair. His face was half covered by dirty wraps, but they had fallen off in the chaos and now showed his bloody mouth. He coughed out a mouthful of blood, pressing down to his neck wound with one hand while holding up the crude pistol with the other.

"RRRRAGGHHHH!"

As soon as the man made the shot, Sid plunged the dagger deep into his chest, all the way down to the guard. As his body fell away from the blade, the color faded from his crazed eyes. Although the shot had missed, there was still blood dripping from every part of Sid's body. How much of it was his, and how much belonged to others, was anyone's guess.

Collapsing onto one knee, Sid pushed the back of his hand deep against his abdomen. Despite the force, however, a ring of blood still pooled against the thin cloth he was wearing.

"Damn it... these blades are getting dull now. I can't handle them fast enough."

PING!

A stray bullet flies into the scene, grazing off the long metal pole strapped onto Sid's shoulder, just barely protecting him from another injury.

He almost laughs. Adjusting his belt to tighten around his wound, he slowly forces himself up against a tree with a wobble. Getting around the trunk provided some cover, but there were certainly still enemies on the other side as well. It looked as if there would be no end to them.

"Are you serious...? I think I'm done for real this time..." muttered Sid, who tried to take a breath but was interrupted by a painful hacking of blood.

"The giant is a decoy! If we can attack the rest of them on this front, we can still control the situation!" screamed one of the ambushers.

Sid's head tottered against the tree. The bark on his back was already starting to feel cool. In the corner of his eye, a small metal eye seemed to speak of the end, but the voice was soon silenced as the body behind the gun barrel toppled down lifelessly.

"Get up!" screamed Lucius, whose pistol was still smoking from the shot, "it's not over yet! You have to keep going!"

"It's the old man! He's not dead!"

Gunfire was redirected in the direction of Lucius, Kenton, and Dan, who were taking cover behind the wooden pile Jon had formed. Kent was taking the occasional shot from one of the pistols which Lucius had passed to him, while Dan was firing from behind blurred, teary eyes, shooting and reloading with frantic speed into every direction within the trees.

"These guys..." said Sid while leaving a red stain on the bark where he had lain, "...what a bunch of slave drivers. I'll haf ta give 'em a piece of my mind when I get back..."

With the sound of steam erupting from the mechanisms on his waist, two wired hooks flew instantaneously across the treescape. Before any of the attackers in the bushes could react, Sid was already pulling himself and his blades past them.

The edges were dull, but they still cut with enough force. With a chestful of air, Sid held his form tightly as his muscles struggled to pull the hard steel through pounds of meat and sinew. Although a couple of still-bleeding bodies lay on the ground where he took his last push, there were still a dozen more closing in on his direction.

The metal canisters sputtered weakly. Just like their wearer, they too were on their last legs.

"This should be alright, no...? I'm almost out of gas..."

His pursuers were closing in. "Get the swordsman! As soon as we take care of him, we can focus on attacking the gunmen over there!!"

One shot. Two shots.

Two more of the bodies fell as they closed in on Sid, but it wasn't enough. There were still more than ten, weapons drawn, ready to tear him apart.

"That's it..." said Sid, barely standing. "Get close. There's no more with guns amongst you all, huh?"

Just before the closest attacker could take a swing at him, with a final gust of wind, Sid threw himself several meters up in the air before his gear would carry him no further.

"Is that all...?" He winced. "I thought I could go a bit further up..." he murmured to himself while unclicking the metal stake attached to him.

Kenton looked away while Dan cried out with his hand outstretched. "SID!!"

After a brief moment of what seemed to be total silence, there was the sound of yet another tremendous explosion.