Nox hit the floor hard, the air punching out of his lungs. He coughed, trying to get his bearings. 'Holy crap! What the hell was that?'
Kendra, over by the entrance, apparently saw it too. "Holy shit, Yeda! Since when can you do that?"
Vasa, who was still tending to the alpha gobdog's legs, just gave a slight nod. "Interesting. She's awakened."
The boss, landed a few feet from Yeda, actually looking unsteady for a second. "What the—? You think that little stunt's going to hurt me, girl?" it growled.
Yeda didn't say anything back. She looked completely zoned in. She swung her arm again, and the movement was surprisingly smooth, like she'd done it a thousand times. Another one of those invisible cuts shot out. The monster tried to dodge, but the attack still connected with its shoulder, and a thin line of dark blood appeared.
When she moved to attack again, the monster flinched, just for a moment. It tried to cover it with a snarl, baring its teeth, but Nox didn't miss that brief hesitation.
She was really going at it now. The silver energy around her was strong as she moved her arms like she was wielding invisible swords. Every time she attacked, the creature had to give ground, its big feet dragging on the gym floor as it struggled to deal with her speed.
"Take that, you ugly fuck!" she yelled. Her voice was surprisingly firm, though Nox thought he heard a bit of a tremor in it, like even she was surprised she was pulling this off.
She attacked again, and another invisible cut formed in the air. The monster threw itself sideways, mostly getting out of the way, but not quite fast enough. A gash opened on its arm, and more of that dark blood dripped down.
Nox watched it all, leaning against a wrecked piece of gym equipment. He was still trying to get his breath back from the beating he'd taken earlier.
'She's actually pushing it back,' he thought. 'Damn, didn't see that coming.' This was the same girl who, not long ago, was swinging a metal pipe around looking mostly terrified. Now she had this huge thing backing up.
The boss monster stumbled then, just a bit, its whole frame teetering for a second as it fought for balance. Nox figured his earlier hits, the ones with his fists and the pipe, were finally adding up; there were marks all over its body. It made a low sound in its throat, trying to power through, but Yeda didn't let up. She saw it stumble, and her whole posture seemed to sharpen.
"Now's my shot," she muttered, so low Nox almost didn't catch it. Her hands seemed to clench on empty air, as if she could feel the weapons she was imagining. She lunged, and the energy around her seemed to get even stronger as she aimed a big swing right at the monster's chest. If that one landed, this might actually be over.
But right when her arm was coming down, the silver energy around her wavered. It blinked, then blinked again, and then it just snuffed out, completely gone. Her legs buckled, and she went down to her knees, her hands hitting the floor to stop her face from doing the same.
She coughed, and a spray of blood came out of her mouth, making a dark patch on the dusty floor.
"D-Dammit," she gasped out, one hand going to her chest. "What the hell…?"
Nox pushed himself upright, his own aches momentarily forgotten. A blue screen appeared in his vision.
[Yeda has a body unfit for the power]
[Overload.]
He stared at the notification, the words sinking in fast. 'So that's it. Her body can't take that kind of output yet.' It made a grim sort of sense. She'd only just gotten this power, whatever it was, and she'd been using it like she was a veteran. Too much, too soon.
The boss monster had frozen when she collapsed. Now, its mouth stretched into a wide, nasty-looking grin, showing all its sharp teeth. It let out a rough sound, something that might have been a laugh, like it found this whole turn of events hilarious.
"Well, well," it said, and its voice was full of an ugly confidence. "Looks like your shiny new trick ran out of juice, huh, little girl?" It took a slow step towards her, one of its clawed hands rising up, ready to come down hard. "Guess I'll just finish you off now. Save me the trouble later."
She looked up, still coughing, a trail of blood on her chin. Her arms were shaking as she tried to push herself up, but Nox could see she didn't have the strength.
"No way," she whispered, and he could hear the edge of real fear in her voice. "Not like this…"
The monster's claw started its downward arc. Before it could connect, Nox moved. He went faster than he thought he still could, his legs protesting with every step, but he covered the distance between them quickly. His fist connected with the creature's jaw, packing all the force he had left. The monster went flying backward, slamming into the far gym wall.
The impact actually made a new crack in the concrete, and the monster just slumped there for a second, looking stunned.
"Back off," he said. His voice was level, matter-of-fact, like he was telling some random dude to get out of his personal space in the school hallway. He didn't even bother looking at the monster after it hit the wall. He just turned to Yeda. She was still on her knees, breathing hard.
She looked up at him. He could see the blood on her lips, and she looked completely drained. He knelt beside her, though he kept an eye on the monster, just in case it had any sudden recovery ideas.
"You okay?" he asked. His voice was quieter now, not as harsh.
She shook her head, wincing as another cough shook her.
"I'm sorry," she said, the words tumbling out, unsteady. "I thought I had it. I really tried. I didn't mean to screw up like this. I am so sorry." Before he could process it, she leaned into him, her arms going around him in a hug. Her grip wasn't strong, but she held on like she was scared to let go.
He froze up for a beat, totally not expecting that. He could feel her arms shaking against his back; he could tell her heart was beating way too fast. It had been a long, long time since anyone had touched him like this—since anyone had even wanted to.
Back before all this dungeon mess started, he was the kid people steered clear of, the one they'd make fun of or just flat-out ignore. Real connection wasn't really in his vocabulary anymore. But this? This felt… different.
He let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and awkwardly put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright," he said, and his voice came out way softer than he intended. "You did good, Yeda. That's more than most people ever did for me."
She pulled back just enough to look at him. He saw tears in her eyes, but she was fighting them. "But I couldn't finish it," she said, her voice wavering. "I wasn't strong enough. You had to step in again."
He shook his head, cutting her off before she could get going. "Nah, don't sell yourself short. You had that thing totally freaked out before your power decided to peace out. And you saved my ass earlier with that crazy slash thing. That's not nothing, for real."
She blinked at him, then asked, "Really?" as if she couldn't quite believe him.
"Yeah, really," he said, giving her a small nod. "You're tougher than you think."
Over by the wall, the monster was stirring, pushing itself up from the debris and making a low sound. Nox got to his feet, moving to stand between Yeda and the creature. "Stay back," he told her, his voice shifting, getting that hard edge back.
"I've got this now."
Her hand, shaking a little, grabbed his sleeve. "But you're messed up too. There's blood on your face, and you're limping. You can't take that thing alone."
"Heh, don't worry," he said, gently but firmly moving her hand off his arm. "I'll kick this thing's ass for both of us." He turned to face the boss monster. It was on its feet now, its eyes fixed on them, and it looked absolutely furious.
"You think you can protect her?" the creature said, its voice harsh. It moved its neck, and there was an audible crack. "I'm going to rip you both to pieces and enjoy every second of it."