The Mimic in Monsterland

Fennel ran in front of his squad, making for the Academy District gate as fast as he could. Jaren stayed back, focusing on getting more squads together. Fennel’s squad was already united so they rushed out immediately.

Fennel kept his concentration on the battle ahead. His mind tried to wander back to what happened this morning and why he went on a rampage. He knew the frontliners from his squad and another had a sparring match which turned into a contest of sorts. Fennel didn’t have any problems with that. Competition was a great motivator for training, so he facilitated it.

The impromptu tourney proceeded well, each squad had some wins and losses. It was all good fun until someone said something that made Fennel’s blood boil. It was just as Fennel hopped in the ring for a quick match against a frontliner from B4. He just couldn’t remember what exactly, but it pissed him off to no end. It sparked the same feeling he had the previous night when he fought the thug. That tingling sensation of bare knuckle brawling. He shook his head. None of that mattered right now. People were fighting and dying, he needed his mind sharp and focused on the fight ahead.

“Hey, boss?” Lukans said. The big eyed ranger caught up, running at Fennel’s side.

“Yeah, Lukans.”

“It’s strange innit? A break in. We haven't had one in months. And in the Academy District at that.”

Lukans was right. It was strange. It was even longer than a few months if Fennel remembered right. Fennel was still enrolled at Academy #3 when it happened. They broke in around the merchant district. It was handled quickly by the wall guard. Only three shops took any damage.

Uncle Herman’s probably pissed right now. Prevention of this very event was his direct responsibility, and somebody screwed up. Big time.

“You’re right. But that last raid was a crazy one. A group of the monsters might have still been roaming around and found a weak point in the wall.” Fennel said, doubting his own words.

“I don’t know Cap, I’ve a brother that works for the crafters' guild in charge of wall maintenance. Apart from the Upper City, they keep the Academy District walls in tip-top shape. By order of the council. The upcoming generations are our most vital asset is what they say. Something like that at least.” Lukans replied.

Fennel had to agree. Laurelhaven went to great lengths to make sure the Academy District was protected. There should have been plenty of guards on watch there. Enough to at least sound an alarm before the monsters broke through. Fennel’s nose twitched. Something about the whole thing stunk.

The only silver lining Fennel could see was that the Academy District had plenty of wide open spaces which is what the majority of the raid training centered around. Fighting in between buildings and city blocks was far from that.

They arrived before the gate. It was left wide open now as other squads from some of the other barracks rushed on. Fennel was ordered to stop by one of the gate attendants. They made sure the passageway didn’t get clogged with soldiers.

Fennel took a moment to rub his calf. It was sore from sparring and other training. That fifth mannequin might have been a touch too many. And all the running from last night. Fennel shook his head. He really didn’t want to think about last night.

He turned back at his squad. There were only nine of them now. They were to receive the new additions tomorrow. His squad seemed to be in decent shape though, aside from the other frontliners, Zaner, Roscoe, and Tedi. They were looking a tad haggard from the sparring as well. And they didn’t have Rook’s stamina regen capabilities anymore.

Fennel decided to address his squad.

“Everyone! Remember this isn’t a raid, but many of the same rules still apply. I will get our orders when we arrive at the command center. Most of the civilians should have been evacuated from the district, but keep your eyes out for stragglers. They are the number one priority.”

He looked at each of his team members' eyes. He could see determination and even some righteous fury harboring there. Good.

“Also remember this is our home. Avoid destroying any buildings or property. The monsters will do plenty, don’t add to it. The Academy is where we grew up. Where we grew strong. Are we going to let these FUCKING monsters have their way in our home?!”

A resounding “NO” filled the air from his squad. He even saw that Gloria raised her head and voice.

“Squad A5! You're up!” One of the gate guards yelled for Fennel’s squad.

Fennel nodded and yelled out to his squad. “MOVE OUT!”

——

Another disgusting glob of gecko goop shot out, heading straight for my forehead. I dodged out of the way, slipping on the angled roof. But I found my balance quickly. It was one thing Gremlin form was good at. The lower center of gravity and Dex bonuses helped a ton fighting in awkward places. Tigris probably would have been better, but it still had a good thirty odd minutes left on cooldown. Not that its claws did much against this filthy gecko the last time I fought one.

I pulled the weapons from my belt, keeping my eyes on it, hoping to find an opening to strike. I wouldn’t be able to make them myself like last time. I don’t have an abundance of knives to throw at it.

But the gecko was at a disadvantage as well. It wasn’t in a cramped cave where it could crawl around the walls and ceilings. That’s what made the monster such a pain the first time around. I’m sure it can’t be at its best in this open air, two dimensional battlefield.

Not that I was in perfect shape either. That initial shot that landed on my shoulder hardened already, making my left side movements stiff. I switched the dagger over to my right hand. Wielding it took more finesse than a spear and that was lacking in my left side right now.

It hissed and flicked its tail, launching another blast at me. I jumped out of the way of the goop, then ran straight for the monster, aiming my spear for its head. Something told me that a full on assault would be best. I mean that’s what Chu did and it worked. Why wouldn’t it work for me?

The gecko tried to get out of the way, but it wasn’t fast enough. Even if it had managed to dodge, I was ready to pop FnF for a second to finish it. My spear head was inches away from it now. Until I felt a Preflex tingle on my face. I withdrew my attack and turned FnF on, moving away from my current spot in a rush.

Which was correct. Another shot of gecko gloop was heading right at my face. But it wasn’t from my current target. I looked further down the roof and saw something shimmer. My heart sank. It was another gecko. One that had been cloaked. Two! Just my damn luck.

Maybe it's not worth my time. I could get past them easily with a FnF empowered sprint. Yeah, that would work.

But then my mind thought of a different scenario. One where the geckos start firing off at the groups below. I hadn’t managed to make much headway, so Chu’s group was still directly beneath me and the geckos. I wasn’t sure the geckos would stay focused on me running or switch to new targets. Crap. I’m not sure I can take both out without expending too much stamina. Guess I have to try. I readied my weapons again.

Chu’s harsh words rang in my ears. “The mission comes first.” It chafed me something fierce, but he was right, the longer I mull over something like this, the worse the fight will get. I dodged another slime blast heading my way.

“Damn it!”

What’s the best choice here? What happened to no more lollygagging you dullard?

“Ah Screw it!” I swallowed a big gulp of air.

“THERE ARE GECKOS ON THE ROOF! WATCH OUT FOR THEM!”

After my outburst, I turned FnF back on and bolted between the two monsters, heading for the opposite end of the building. I still swiped at one of the geckos with the dagger. It landed right on its back, but I knew it wasn’t a killing blow. But anything to slow them down a bit.

And as I thought, the geckos couldn’t react fast enough to stop my advance. I blew right past them. I turned off my ability after I got a few dozen feet away. My stamina was sitting at 51% now. I was getting tired of having to watch it constantly. A major disadvantage of this form.

I looked over my shoulder, seeing if the geckos followed me, but they hadn’t. Or at the very least I couldn’t see them. They could have camouflaged themselves against the roof. I turned forward again. Focus on the objective.

No other flying balls of monster grease beset me on my mad dash to the edge of the building. For which I was wholly grateful. I felt my shoulder again. The slime was still hard and most certainly ruined Mrs. Warbler's clothes. It is water soluble, but you can never quite get the smell out.

I stopped thinking about it when I saw my goal in sight. The edge of the building. I skidded to a stop and peered over. My stomach quivered; I was higher up than I thought. I wasn’t sure if I could make the jump down unscathed. I swallowed. Not the time. Find your mark.

After sheathing my weapons, I scanned this side of the building. My target was a Salamandran gene wielder, not that I knew what that looked like. The actual helpful clues were that he was bald, had dark skin, and wielded a glaive. Which I was pretty sure was a type of polearm.

Although, what caught my eye first was the density of the fight on this side. There were a lot more monsters than where Chu and I broke through, as well as splicers. There was somewhere between 15-20. Fighting like lions. Very coordinated and powerful lions. Like really deadly circus lions. I shook my head. Now wasn’t the time for stupid thoughts like that.

I watched a duo eviscerate through a boar, each wielding longswords. Then another pair, getting awfully stabby with some longspears, protected by another two holding shields. And behind them was a small group of archers, sending innumerable arrows into the horde. There was even a mage. She sent waves of cold out into one of the flanks of monsters, encasing three goats and a wolf in ice. I was entranced, but I forced myself out of that awe. None of them were my target.

Resuming my search, I focused my sights on the polearm fighters. It took only a moment to find that particular crew. There were three of them, each wielding a different type. A halberd, one that resembled a pick, and then finally a glaive. A short blade at the end of a long shaft. And its wielder was bald with dark skin. “Found yah.” I said to myself.

I looked around to see if there were any other ways down. There was a short shed off to the side of the building. It was still a good drop, but I doubt I’d break anything hopping down it. I made my descent after swallowing the queasy feeling of looking down the dozen foot drop.

After a, only slightly, clumsy plunge, I landed on solid ground again. I relaxed until a blade found its way under my chin. I raised my hands slowly. It was a dagger at my throat, held by a pissed off ranger from the looks of it. A pair of amber cat eyes stared into mine. Their owner hissed and let me go.

“Who the hell are you? What squad are you with?”

“Um…” I realized right then I didn't really have a good answer for that question. I tried to

“I’m under orders from Terl, head medic for Jaren Holdsburn’s…uh…squad. He took over command of this defense. He gave me a mission to find the sergeant over there. Ghrond I believe.” I pointed in the direction of the polearm people. “The bald one with a glaive. He needs to return to the tent as soon as possible.”

The cat eyed ranger gave me a condescending once over. “I guess that makes sense. But why did they send a runt like you to replace him?”

“Replace him?” But my question fell on deaf ears, the ranger ran up behind the group of polearm wielders before I could get more info on that last statement. In the blink of an eye, the ranger was at the sergeant's side, whispering something into the ear of the sergeant. He made one last titanic slash on the head of a red wolf, slicing it down the middle, then retreated from the front. The pick and halberd wielders fell back as well, until another shield user hopped in front of them.

I picked at the crust on my shoulder while I waited and looked back at the building. This side of the building was dominated by a massive door, which presumably was filled with children and other noncombatants. I looked back at the sergeant who was coming my way.

The sergeant was about as tall as I was when in my base form. He wore a suit of ringmail that was covered in blood and missing quite a bit of rings. On top of being bald, he didn’t have any hair on his face whatsoever. His dark skin had this sort of glassy and rubbery finish to it as well, kind of like a salamander, which makes sense considering his gene was called Salamandran.

“Who are you?” I nodded and gave him the same rundown I gave the archer who was already back top firing off arrows into the horde. My explanation was more polished this time.

He only nodded once I finished. He turned back and looked back over the battle.

“That’s gonna be a tad trickier isn’t it?”

“Yeah, I hadn't thought that far ahead. Getting here was hard enough.”

He turned back to his squad. “Fresh orders! Cut me a path out of this shit!”