Battle Wounds [Alice]

[Alice Kingsleigh]

The dark hunters watched their prey from the shadows, lurking. Their crooked antennae quivered with anticipation. The primal hunger for more hearts nearly led one of them to leap up and attempt to snatch the three with a single swipe. It probably would’ve if it weren’t for its kind’s instinctive aversion to light. Moved to take a better vantage point, pools of darkness silently shifted their position within the alleyway. That was the thing about Neoshadows; they remained beasts yet showed signs of a basic sense of self-preservation. That itself made them dangerous opponents.

Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to wait much longer. The somebodies were moving – a tad too slowly for their liking, but the thrill of the chase would only make the prize all the more delicious. Their eyes were set on the tallest of the group, the one directly approaching their half-eaten meal. His fear was palpable; the Heartless could almost taste it in the air. Would he be able to keep his head cool enough to avoid a claw plunged straight into his chest? One of the Neoshadows – the eager one from before – decided to find out. His heart was certainly ripe for the taking.

The other one could prove to be more problematic. While the scent of fear, albeit weaker, followed her movements, the hume seemed to be prepared to repel the upcoming assault on her heart. Anticipating. Anxious. Armed. The sight of the glowing weapon in her hand almost made the Heartless recoil. The light enhancement posed another threat to a direct strike. Still, nothing the remaining hunter couldn’t handle.

And so, they emerged.

Alice barely managed to notice the dark tendrils toying beside her left foot before the first of the Neoshadows (Neoshadow 1) pushed its upper body through. She immediately jumped back in an attempt to create some distance between them. The creature’s dark claw, however, proved to be too swift for her to avoid, connecting with the girl’s lower leg in a slash.

She groaned, ignoring the stinging pain as she pushed the Vorpal Sword down to strike in retaliation. Unfortunately for her, the Heartless and its pool of darkness were nowhere to be seen.

Decided to capitalize on the possible distraction, the second of the assailants (Neoshadow 2) materialized from the ground directly before Marmadue. It aimed a clean slash at his abdominal zone, antennae trembling for a brief moment, before it attempted to retreat to the ground below for a second round.

---

[ Enemies remaining: Neoshadow 1 & Neoshadow 2 ]

[Marmadue]

Marmadue rushed at the man, gritting his teeth and trying his best to not stumble on any rubble or loose stones around – or his legs, that too was a preferable outcome. As was the fact that he wasn't immediately attacked. A moment of hope, perhaps the Heartless had indeed left the scene, perhaps feeling intimidated by not being given an easy meal or… Or whatever it was those monsters even really wanted to do! A short-lived moment of hope.

So close, yet so far. Suddenly, out of nowhere, it was there. A monster, a shadow with those piercing, glowing eyes. Closer than the Yuke had ever wanted to be to one. A sharp gasp escaped his mouth as his legs did what they could to bring him to a stop before he collided with the monster – and its rather sharp-looking claws, his eyes squeezed shut in anticipation.

Though with his mind preoccupied with that, the spell he had been holding was released. A flash of blinding light erupted from his hands, engulfing the alley for a short moment

[Alice Kingsleigh]

Marmadue’s magic immediately filled the area, rays of light bouncing off concrete walls as they ricocheted their way out the alley. It was a thing of an awe, what he’d done. An outstanding display of magical knowledge and control. Alice might’ve even deemed it beautiful… if it hadn’t been so bright to the point of nearly blinding her, of course.

She shut her eyes close and instinctively raised her shield in an attempt to protect her senses from the blast. The resulting dizziness lasted but a moment thanks to her quick thinking, allowing her to move her form just in time to block a second strike from her opponent (Neoshadow 1).

"Leave… us… alone!" Alice groaned. The woman let out a battle cry as she shifted her weight into her right leg and pushed the Heartless back with her shield. Once she’d managed to create some space between them, she seized the opening by aiming a horizontal slash across the monster’s torso. The blade struck, and the Neoshadow retreated once again into the ground.

Unfortunately for its partner (Neoshadow 2), the Yuke’s flash of light had caught it off guard. It let out a sharp shriek of pain as it received the full impact of the attack. Once the alley’s brightness receded, nothing but a small orb of pink remained in its place, hovering for a brief moment before swiftly making its way up, up, up… and out of sight.

---

[ Enemies remaining: Neoshadow 1 ]

[Marmadue]

It was a good thing his spell had been prepared and held, as most likely Marmadue wouldn't have had the time – or the idea – to react. The light erupted from his hands, but he did not witness its blinding light with his own. No, his eyes had squeezed shut the moment he had gotten much too close to the monstrous shadow, from fear, and from the anticipation of the pain… That didn't seem to be coming? The Yuke's legs had slipped across the street and he did end up finding himself face first on the ground, perhaps lightly bruised from the tumble he took, but the adrenaline didn't allow him to even feel anything that small anymore. No, his body felt like it was lacking holes and scratches he expected to be there. He finally had to open his eyes and take a look while he patted himself, and indeed, nothing.

It had been such a short moment. Light traveled and disappeared fast, after all. By the time Marmadue looked around properly, it was gone – and that wasn't the only one! He couldn't see the shadow creatures anywhere! The one right in front of him had been replaced by a glowing ball of something, that would have been a lot more fearsome if it wasn't currently floating away from them. Was that… The shadow? Was it gone? He had no idea his spell could actually… Do that! Glancing behind him, Alice looked like she was fine as well. And the man they had come to rescue… Well, he didn't look well.

The Yuke scrambled to get up, there pretty much only being one thing left in his panicked mind. Their mission. Dusty and slightly scratched from the rubble that had rubbed against him as he had landed on the streets, he made his way to the man and knelt beside him. A green light started to envelop both his hands and the man's body as Marmadue worked his healing magic, praying that it would still work.

[Alice Kingsleigh]

As the Neoshadow retreated into the shadows, Alice took the opportunity to move closer to Marmadue and the injured stranger. The Yuke seemed to be doing quite well on his own; the creature targeting him was nowhere to be seen, and he’d already begun preparing a healing spell to use on the man. The princess entertained the idea of assisting him with the materia she’d received from Dueler X, but his earlier words still echoed in her ears. Both Marmadue and the victim would be vulnerable to attack until the latter was successfully stabilized, so it was up to her to make sure the remaining creature and any other Heartless were kept far away from them.

"I’ll hold them off, Mister Marmadue," she spoke, offering the Yuke an encouraging nod. The woman turned to adopt a defensive stance with her back facing her allies. The shine of the light coating the Vorpal Sword grew brighter and brighter by the second. If anyone or anything attempted to get the jump on them, Alice would be ready.

The human male, on the other hand, didn’t seem to be doing so well. His skin looked unnaturally pale, beads of sweat trapped above his brow before they slowly rolled down the side of his forehead. His small, ragged breaths were barely audible in the black of night. They were only interrupted by the occasional wince due to the pain of his multiple injuries.

The most gruesome of the lot was probably the bent metal tube sticking out of his upper right leg. Treating that, or even repositioning the man to begin evaluating him would certainly pose more of a challenge than usual. Simple Cure magic just wouldn’t be enough there.

---

[ Enemies remaining: Neoshadow 1 ]

[Marmadue]

The man was still alive. That was… Good! He was in bad shape, his breathing was so weak and he was clearly in pain… But he was alive. That was what Marmadue could latch onto, as he allowed his magic to pour out and heal the man's injuries. It was immediately obvious that he would not be able to just use his magic and allow the man to stand up good as new, however. That nasty-looking metal pipe was very much inside the man's thigh, and wouldn't just magically disappear – even with the help of magic. At least he didn't have the ability to do something like that…

"Ah? A-Ah, yes," the Yuke clearly already was distracted by his healing when Alice spoke to him. Hold off? Them? Didn't the monsters already disperse…? …Well, if new ones appeared, then Alice could indeed do something like that, yes. It would be very helpful.
"Try to ah, relax, good sir. Your injuries will take a while, but it should start to feel more, ah, manageable," he addressed the injured man.

All he really could do now was to heal and get the patient in a state where death wouldn't be imminent. When he no longer would bleed out and when it wouldn't be as serious. The pipe… It had to come out eventually, but right now, removing it would be a very bad idea indeed,