Paramythi I: City of Glass
Chapter Fifteen: Heroism

Being pulled into Maxa’s office was not the most pleasant feeling for Elias.

If it had been under any other circumstance, he would have felt relieved to share such quality time with his oldest sister, within the confines of her own space where they would not be interrupted. Alas, that very fact hovered lowly in Elias’ mind now, the fact that they would ‘not be interrupted’ and he swallowed down the bundle of nerves which threatened to emerge as a babble of words, endlessly searching for his sister’s forgiveness. Thankfully, it was Maxa who spoke first and, while their ears were still ringing from the after effects of the suspicious suitcase in the shed, all attention was undoubtedly focused on the dock’s owner.

“So, without changing the subject, little brother…what brings you to the conclusion of sneaking into the docks?”

Elias looked up from his clasped palms and watched his sister slump into her chair across from him, on the other side of the messy desk between them. Maxa had never been one for etiquette, unlike Psykhe who sat beside Elias with her back straight, legs angled slightly and hands calmly folded upon the top of her thighs. Compared to Maxa, who was slumped to one side of her chair, a leg pulled up with the heel of her boot resting upon the plush cushion beneath and her arm lazily resting upon her bent kneecap, even Elias seemed to have more respectable manners.

“Elias,” Maxa started and her eyes narrowed. She was using her strong voice; the same voice she used on Elias when he would have done something to upset Pepi or Nino when they were younger. “You’re not making things better for yourself by sitting there, saying nothing.”

Elias visibly winced and set his eyes back down, thumbs twiddling with anticipation as he conjured up a viable response which could be as truthful as humanly possible; without breaking the heart of his sister. “Well…you know that school I mentioned, ugh…we—”

Much to Elias’ fortune, the door to Maxa’s office was opened in something akin to a hurry and one of the dock’s workers stormed in, hand clasped around the silver doorknob. His knuckles looked pale, displaying the strength and tension running through his hand as he gripped the cool metal, using it as leverage to keep him upright in his current state of panic as his eyes befell upon his boss.

“Ma’am, there’s a hoard of Capitol lapdogs coming this way. They’re travelling fast, what do we do?” The panic in his voice was not easily missed. It complemented the way his eyes bulged from their sockets and the tremors coursing through his body as he leant against the door. “They’ll tear everything down!”

Maxa swore under her breath and rolled her seat away from her desk and stood. “You two,” pointing between Elias and Psykhe, Maxa’s gloved hand flexed a forefinger and her eyes turned deadly, “you stay here.”

Elias resisted the urge to jump to his feet and plead for his sister to stay. The shock rattling his bones at the thought of coming face-to-face with Prowlers again seemed to keep him from doing so and he stayed sat, hands lifting from his lap to grip the edges of his seat. He could feel beads of sweat pop up on his brow and trickle down in his state of panic, and if it were not for the scent of familiarity from Maxa as she walked by to escape her office, he would have been pulled too far in his own havoc state to notice her next sentence.

“I’ll be back in a second. Don’t think you’re out of this, young man.” Maxa’s voice flitted through the small space behind Elias and the sound of the office door followed, wafting the scent of fish and sea into the small space as silence filled the air around them.

After a moment had passed, Psykhe was on her feet and riffling around the drawers of Maxa’s cupboard. Elias had no need to ask just what she looking for. When Maxa took them across the dock and over to her office, she had been thorough enough to relieve the two of their weapons and lock them up elsewhere. After sitting in her seat and beginning her questioning, she had tossed the key into one of her drawers, thus explained Psykhe’s frantic motions.

“She’s probably guessed, you know?” Psykhe spoke, keeping her head low as she continued her search.

“No way,” Elias swallowed dryly and unclasped his fingers from the arms of his chair, grimacing at the uncomfortable sensation of his sweaty palms peeling themselves from the leather comforter. “She would go mental if she knew. For Maxa in a reasonably bad mood, she was acting pretty calm.”

Psykhe snorted and tugged open a stiff drawer, locating the key in which she was searching. Her fingers looped around the golden exterior and she held it up for Elias to see, serious eyes looking past the small piece of gold and straight into Elias’ frightened eyes. Tossing the key into the air with a smirk, Psykhe skilfully caught it again and motioned towards the door, closing the drawer with her hip.

“She took the weapons…” Elias whispered quietly. He had noticed the concern in Psykhe’s eyes when she looked back, meeting his gaze with her own yet again. When she nodded without a word to spare, Elias realised Psykhe’s meaning behind her assumption that Maxa had to have known Elias was in league with the Rebellion.

The Rebellion’s crest was clear upon the holsters of his knives.

Psykhe pursed her lips together and reached for the doorknob, turning it with a low ‘creak.’ Sensitive as her ears were, Psykhe immediately noticed the sounds of voices from outside and stepped back. “Get down!” She whispered fiercely and motioned with her hand to crouch down.

Elias swallowed heavily and made his way over to the young woman’s side, brushing against her elbow as he tiptoed towards the nearest window located just to the left of the door. He steadied his breathing, paranoid to the point that whoever lay beyond the walls of the small office would hear him no matter how careful he tried to be.

“—Kara, it seems you haven’t been keeping to our little bundle of a deal, eh?”

The voice that boomed from outside seemed unfamiliar to Elias and the young man frowned. He lifted his hands, red fingertips flattening themselves against the dusty window frame, and he lifted himself up to peer outside and examine the scene taking place. He shuddered when Psykhe came closer, her cool breath trickling the hairs on the back of hid neck. Elias’ focus wavered from the body beside him and he took a deep breath in through his nose and squinted his eyes towards the collection of figures crowded outside.

Maxa strolled into the scene with a casual air about her. She propped her gloved hand upon the curve of her hip and scoffed, hair moving around her face due to the heavy sea wind. “I never made a deal with the likes of you, Skliros.” Addressing the man who owned the unfamiliar voice, Maxa took a stance and stared the man down across from her; out of sight from Elias’ vision. “You may have harboured some kind of deal with the previous boss, but he hasn’t been in charge for a long time, now.”

From the corner of Elias’ eye, Skliros made his appearance. He looked relatively normal, albeit a tad more dressed-up than the people down at the docks. He had no speck of dirt on his cheek and his hair was slicked back beneath his hat. A crooked smile and the small hunch in his posture seemed to be the only things out of the ordinary, that and the chains he held in his balled hands. Chains with led to the necks of Prowlers.

“A payment towards Capitol-folk is how we work, yes?” Skliros bobbed his head as if to agree with his own statement and he grinned, dull eyes moving from the paleness of Maxa’s face and down to the Prowlers by his sides. “Oh, you don’t mind if my pets make themselves at home here in your workplace, do you? They are so very friendly once you get to…well, know them.”

The look on Maxa’s face was strained. From what Elias could see through the thick, dirty glass of the office window, she seemed torn between keeping calm and looking absolutely terrified. Elias was sure he saw a tremble run through her body as she forced a smile of her own and repositioned her arms across her chest.

“Why would I turn down the company of a Capitol civilian? Man, Prowler, or otherwise?” Said Maxa, fear noted in her voice which she tried to hide with the smallest of laughs. “A payment you say? First I’ve heard of it, and I’ve been running this place for a few years now.”

There was a twitch to Skliros’ face and his fingers loosened around the chains in his hand; a silent threat, no doubt. “Yes, so I’ve noticed…” Mumbled the man. His eyes glanced around, possibly to note the amount of faces he was dealing with and he inhaled, tongue swiping across his thin lips. “Nonetheless, Miss Kara, that payment is a symbol of your cooperation to us in Capitol. Without it, you would be no better than, say, the Rebellion.” A smirk, “and you know what we do to Rebellion folk after sundown in Emvolo’s grand city, whether it be Capitol or Tentrail.”

Maxa’s blue eyes looked distant for a fraction of a second. Elias had seen it, and there was no doubting that Skliros had noticed it, too. With a deep inhale, Maxa shifted her footing and looked down, considering her options with a furrowed brow. The silence which drew forth was almost unbearable.

“Are you really in need of consideration, Miss Kara?” Skliros hissed lowly, head bent in attempts to meet with Maxa’s eyes. “Surely it should not take you that long to come to a conclusion. You would be putting your men on the line, and then you really wouldn’t be any better than the Rebellion.”

Maxa’s throat bobbed and she raised her head, blue hair swaying in the wind mercilessly around her forehead and around her narrowed eyes. “I am going to need solid proof of your declaration of payment.” Finally speaking, her voice carried upon the wind and baffled Skliros, as well as her own men. “I’ve known of you for a good couple of years, man. I know how you can be, so don’t take it personally when I say how I can’t really trust you until you give me something viable to work with, ’kay?”

Skliros was reduced to nothing but a speechless, mouth-gaping fool and he tensed, eyes widening when Maxa turned her back to him in her strife to walk away and end the meeting. His nostrils flared and his lips pursed together, cheeks reddening. He was the perfect description of anger and he looked ready to explode from his boiling temper.

“Don’t you dare turn your back on me, Kara! I know you’re in league with them, the Rebels!” Skliros shrieked, flexed finger jabbing the air, causing the chains in his hand to rattle loudly and disturb the Prowlers tied to them. Their low growls began to stir and Skliros made it no better when he added, “you dyed your hair for them, didn’t you, bitch?”

Maxa’s footsteps ceased. Her back remained to Skliros and his Prowlers, but Elias could see the expression her face and he found his throat going dry when he noticed the swelling of moisture threatening the edges of his big sister’s eyes.

“It’s what people do for the Rebellion, isn’t it? Their silent way of praising them! Encouraging them!” Skliros took a step forward, dragging his bent self along. “Praying that they don’t die in battle! Sure, it was all the rage when the Rebellion first situated themselves in the sky. Their non-fighters even dye their hair, right? You would know, wouldn’t you, Kara? Because you’re a part of them!”

Elias could not help his expression from changing; fearful to shocked. Listening to Skliros’ words raised nothing but questions and explanationsall at once. ’Their non-fighters dye their hair’, that particular sentence rang in the young man’s ears and he thought of Neoma’s blue hair, a symbolic prayer for her partner Tovi, and Quincy’s peacock hair for Zyki’s safety. Surely it was a coincidence that Maxa had dyed it, right?

“—and just like Rebellion scum, I’m going to tear you apart!” Skliros’ shrieking tone brought Elias back to the reality of the scene unravelling in front of him and he gasped, urging himself to the door of the office without thought.

“Elias!” Psykhe shouted after him, hand reaching out to grab the fabric of his sleeve before he could leave, but he was far too fast for her clutches to grasp.

Psykhe cursed quietly and ran out after him, feet coming to a skid as Elias jumped onto the unsuspecting Maxa and pushed her to the ground just in time to avoid the savage claws of one of Skliros’ Prowlers. Gritting her teeth, Psykhe dashed to her left and picked up the nearest object – a boat oar — and swatted the length of it against the Prowler’s jaw before it could make a second attempt on either of the siblings laying on the ground.

The creature landed upon the ground, following the sounds of a sickening crack which had echoed from its jaw. Its slick, grey visage thrashed against the slimy concrete before going still upon its side, clawed hands turning limp and uncurling fingers shuddering to a halt. Its tongue lolled out of its teeth-filled mouth and it groaned its last sound, defeated.

“What in the Gods’ name-?!” Skliros’ voice was at full volume now. His face seemed even redder than before and he was quick to release the spare chain in his hand, setting his other Prowler onto Psykhe. “You’ll pay for that, Rebellion scum!”

Psykhe’s breath hitched when the Prowler tugged free from its binds and dashed forth, lunging on its hind legs and spreading its arms wide. Its strong fingers gripped the oar, pressing the wood flush against the width of Psykhe’s chest and pinned her down, snarling and slobbering in its anticipation to taste her pale, freckled flesh.

Elias sat up quickly to check his surroundings the moment he noted Psykhe had taken care of the first Prowler. He pushed up from the ground without even flinching at the feeling of sea slime slushed against the pavement beneath him and he took up an oar of his own to bash against the Prowler pinning Psykhe to the ground.

“Elias!” Maxa screeched. There was a blur in her eyes as she examined the scene unfolding before her. She would have moved, would have done something to stop Elias from putting himself into anymore danger, if it had not been for Skliros’ arm that held her back. “Get off me, rat!” Prying herself away from the man, she caught a hold of his coat and tugged hard enough for it to rip.

Skliros made a loud noise, akin to the sound of a bird getting caught in a trap, and wrenched his coat free from Maxa’s hand. He took no second to consider himself when his hand struck across the flesh of the woman’s cheek, turning it a raw red upon contact.

Elias had looked up from his swatting task to see this and he felt an anger burn in his chest. “Maxa!” He cried, turning himself away from the raging Prowler on top of Psykhe and towards his sister. It had been one of many mistakes he had done during this mission and he soon found himself being pushed to the ground and hot breath was trickling over his shoulder, along with a furious burst of agony that errupted from his bicep.

When Elias’ scream filled the harbour, everyone seemed to freeze; including Psykhe who was freed from the Prowler’s weight.

Then, after the sound of a sickening crunch in Elias’ ear, everyone started moving again. Taking a deep breath in, Elias looked up to see the source of such a horrid sound and came face-to-face with the Prowler above him. Its face was still, however, and it had something sharp peeking out from the side of its head, followed by the long thread of wire sticking out from the opposite side of its skull.

“Elias! Look!” Psykhe jumped to her feet and pointed frantically to one of the docking shed’s rooftops. Her eyes twinkled with genuine relief and she sighed heavily through her nose. “It’s the Rebellion.”

Elias followed Psykhe’s gesture and stared, wide-eyed, towards the rooftop. Standing upon its damp tiled surface was a young woman he had never seen before. She was quick and tied what looked to be a zip wire against the gutter of the roof before darting across its thin length in a hurry to pounce on to the Prowler slumped against Elias.

Skliros looked beyond baffled as reality seemed to beat his expectations. He shuddered and dragged Maxa further away from the havoc, only to bump into the swarm of dock workers who looked, needless to say, extremely pissed off at the man who hit their boss and sent Prowlers into their workspace.

Maxa snorted and bit the man’s wrist, granting her the pleasure of release from the rat and her ears were filled with the sound of Skliros in pain. She was on her feet in seconds and rounded on the man, kicking him in the jaw with one mighty swoop of her boot. He fell to the floor afterwards, unconscious.

“Get him outta here,” Maxa rubbed her hands together and scoffed, eyes narrowing upon Skliros’ red, bruised face. “I’m gonna fucking sue him.” She grunted and turned back to Elias, mumbling something about ‘payments being a load of Shema crap’.

“Boss, we ain’t outta the clear yet!” Yelled one of the men surrounding the harbour. “That flock of Prowlers are still coming this way! I think ol’ Skliros here was a distraction!”

Elias was helped into a sitting position with help from the woman who had saved him and his eyes looked towards Maxa before he could even consider thanking the woman for the save. His concern was fixated on his sibling, as any loving brother’s attention should be under these circumstances. He swallowed thickly and seemed to fall in and out of focus, even when Psykhe reached his side and knelt beside him, he was unable to feel the warmth of her palm against his stiff shoulder and only groaned weakly when Maxa turned away to tend to her men and whatever problem they needed her for.

“What’s wrong with him?” Psykhe grit her teeth and moved around, dropping the oar, and crouched in front of Elias. Her hands cupped his cheeks and she checked his eyes and the pattern of his breathing. “Is he in shock?”

Nodding, the young woman beside Elias stuck her heel against the curve of the dead Prowler’s skull and yanked her zip wire free with a horrible sound. Crimson droplets splattered against the floor and coated the slimy pavement surface, splashing just inches from the toes of her boots. After reeling the wire back into their gun, she latched it back into place around the belt at her hip and knelt beside Psykhe.

“Bites from Prowlers cause paralysis in most cases, it’s a way to keep their prey still and incapable of fighting back.” She had an accent which seemed unfamiliar to Psykhe and her skin was pale with dark splatters of colour, displaying vitiligo across her visage. Her hair was a dim colour of violet and grey, only reaching above her shoulders and flowed in choppy lengths against the strength of the wind. “Our team’s medic will see to him. No need for worries.”

“Is your medic nearby?” Psykhe’s voice was a tad faulty, as if she were holding back a choke during her state of current panic from the prior events. Alas, she seemed unwilling to direct her total attention towards herself and whatever injuries she may have sustained from the Prowler’s pouncing and scratching. If she had been bitten, however, she would know it after having been informed of what a bite from a Prowler can do. “Your partner? I mean, you are from the Rebellion, aren’t you?”

The woman nodded and pulled Elias up from the ground, away from Psykhe, and tugged his arm to coil up and around her shoulder in a supportive manner. “Yes, I am with the Rebellion. My name is Alexis.” She held out her spare hand, the one that was not holding Elias. “You are with us, too?”

Psykhe felt no reason to stand offensive towards the fellow Rebel and nodded, hand outstretching towards her ally. When they made contact, the feeling was warm and flowed with a mutual trust that Psykhe could feel comfortable with. “I’m Psykhe,” stopping herself before she could allow the name of her family to slip past her lips, she forced a smile, “and he’s Elias. His sister runs the docks here.”

Alexis nodded and rearranged the weight she offered Elias. “There’s a herd of Prowlers coming this way. The noise from before…was that you?” She retreated her hand and used it to lead Elias further away from the crowd, expecting Psykhe to follow. “Foolish mistake to make, Psykhe.”

Psykhe dragged her feet with shame. She knew what Alexis meant; about opening the briefcase and causing that horrid screeching sound. What Elias had thought to be a business card had been something else entirely. “I know. Elias…he—” swallowing her tongue, as well as her pride, Psykhe cleared her throat to lengthen the pause of breath and ducked under the beam of wood Alexis had hurried under. “…He and I were reckless.”

Alexis hummed a small confirmation and eased Elias to a sitting position on top of a nearby crate. She supported his back, worried he might tumble over if she were to deprive him of weight altogether. “That was a typical anti-rebellion trap set up for you and your partner, Psykhe.”

Psykhe bit the inside of her cheek, nearly blurting out how she and Elias were not partners, but managed to swallow down the temptation and nodded solemnly. “Yeah, I know. We thought we could handle it.”

“You are first year Rebels, you and Elias, yeah?” Alexis inquired, her blue eyes flickering with concern. “That sound was a trigger. Its volume reaches all borders of Emvolo and signals Prowlers from their coves and cages from inside Capitol.”

Psykhe had been ready to agree and apologise for what she and Elias had done, when Maxa strode into earshot and ducked under the beam of wood to replace her brother sitting atop a crate, paralysed; the look on her face was beyond furious.

“You,” jabbing a forefinger towards Alexis, Maxa shoved Psykhe out of the way and placed a hand on Elias’ shoulder, determined to keep him upright without the help of a stranger. “You’re from the Rebellion, huh? Were these Prowlers following you? Did you lead them here?”

The volume in Maxa’s tone was dangerous and Alexis could feel the aura of hatred running off the woman’s person. She stepped back, shoulder bumping Psykhe’s to give Maxa and Elias room. Unlike Alexis, however, Psykhe stepped forward to confront Elias’ sister.

“It wasn’t her. It was Elias and I, we found something in one your sheds.” Psykhe’s eyes flickered over the features of Maxa’s stern jawline and furious eyes. “Someone’s been stalking your docks. We found a briefcase in the shed you caught us in. When we opened it, we accidently triggered a Prowler alarm and brought the herd this way. That man you were dealing with…Skliros? I think his appearance was nothing but coincidental.”

“Pretty big coincidence to have Rebellion, Capitol and a herd of Prowlers coming to my doorstep in one afternoon.” Maxa scoffed, free hand propping itself against her hip. “I want you to fix my brother and get out of here.”

“And what about the herd, huh?” Psykhe threw an arm out towards the dock. “How are you going to get rid of more of those creatures when they break down your doors and tear you up? You’re going to need the Rebellion here. It wouldn’t be the first time, huh, Kara?”

Maxa’s face turned red, fury igniting the already-furious expression on her face. If not for the unfamiliar faces which joined the small group, she may have just lashed out on the two; with words and action. Instead, she held her composure and inhaled deeply through her nose as the small corner of the docks, shielded away by crates and beams of wood, began to fill with other people. People from the Rebellion.

A tall woman stepped between the unfamiliar faces and Psykhe released a long sigh of relief to have noticed her first. She walked up to her, ready to blurt out the events of all that had happened, when a low growl emerged from the distance and Maxa’s eyes went wide.

“The name’s Reidonn,” the tall woman dismissed Psykhe before she could even begin to start unravelling the events of all that had happened in detail, and with a swift movement, Reidonn cocked a smile and tipped her head to Maxa. “I’m one of the Rebellion’s big deals and I got a small band of us together to help you out. Now, you might not like it, but it’s going to be happening in a couple of minutes because we got Prowlers on our heels and they’re all looking mighty hungry for you and your workers. So,” Reidonn held out her hand and coaxed one of the Rebels to her side, a young girl with dark hair tied into two braids which ran down her back. It was clear to everyone that she was not human, though no comment was made as she opened up her bag of medical supplies and laid them on the crate beside Elias, “if you’ll let our young medic, Damara, take care of your little brother, then the rest of us can do a quick sweep of Prowlers and, hopefully, no-one else will get hurt.”

Maxa had no choice but to pull away as Elias was taken from her and laid down on a line of crates by Damara’s gentle hands. “I want you all gone the moment you get those goddamn monsters off of my property.” Inhaling deeply, Maxa pulled up a crate and sat on it, keen eyes on Elias from a respectable distance while Damara worked.

With Maxa far out of earshot, Psykhe turned to Reidonn. “The captain sent us on this mission to inspect some photos the Junior R has been sending him. We found a briefcase with a Prowler alarm in it. I think this was all a trap.” Her tone was low, hushed solely for Reidonn’s ears alone. “How big is the herd?”

Reidonn’s face was unreadable the whole time Psykhe spoke, making it difficult for the latter to read the situation accordingly. “The herd isn’t too big, about…fifteen, maybe twenty? They’re tearing the streets apart but no civilians are being targeted, those monsters are just making a clean destination to us and this harbour.” A frown suddenly crossed Reidonn’s face and she flicked Psykhe’s shoulder, “where’s your weapon at? You’re going to need it.”

Psykhe raised her brows and sucked in a deep breath. “No worries, I’ll get my weapon. We’ll clear these Prowlers out and take the briefcase back to the base. Surely someone up there will be able to replace out who and where it came from.”

Reidonn cocked a smile, hand coming down hard against Psykhe’s shoulder. “Nice job, Trezla.” She beamed. “Nice job.”

Psykhe cringed at the sound of her family name and forced a small smile in return. She pretended the other Rebels around them was not staring her way - including Alexis - tearing her apart piece by piece to decipher how her name could possibly be Trezla when she was a part of the Rebellion. Nonetheless, Psykhe swallowed the lump in her throat and turned away to walk past Elias and over to Maxa, averting her eyes from anyone else but the woman sitting in the corner.

“You’re with the Rebellion after all, huh?” Maxa scoffed, knee bent in a similar manner to how she sat in her office; slouched and informal. “I worried as much.” She added under her breath.

Psykhe excused the fact she saw Maxa’s eyes wondering off towards Elias and swallowed, downing the lump of nerves forming in her throat. “Kara, I need you to tell me where you took our weapons. We’re going to need them if you want the harbour to be left as unharmed as possible.”

Maxa’s smile was lazy and half-forced. “Right, right,” with a shrug of her shoulder, she extended her hand and flexed a forefinger, jabbing it through the air and towards a pile of boxes tucked away under a tarp between a shed and her office. “It’s under there. The key’s in the office—”

Psykhe raised a hand, cutting Maxa off with the shine of the key gripped between her fingers. “Thank you.” with a sharp nod, she turned away and ducked back under the beam of wood and jogged over towards the tarp.

Talking with Maxa, especially while Elias was more or less unconscious, made Psykhe feel uneasy. She knew what it was like having an older sibling and the burden of keeping Elias’ identity within the Rebellion a secret was too heavy to hold on her shoulders; although Maxa had not doubt figure it out by now. In Psykhe’s defence, the Kara household and all its secrets were none of her business. She repeated this fact over and over in her head as she knelt down against the slimy concrete and tossed the tarp open, revealing the safe with a silver padlock dangling with the temptation to unlock.

Working the key into the lock and turning it until she felt a ‘clink’ made Psykhe at ease. She would feel better once the familiar sensation of her scythe returned to her empty palms. Tugging the safe’s door open, she released a low sigh and reached inside the deep contents of the safe and pulled out her weapon just in time to hear the call of alarm from one of Reidonn’s troops, a young boy with what appeared to be scars tracing his neck and the exposed line of his clavicle and shoulder.

“Reidonn! They’re climbing over the walls!” He called, dark hair covering the glowing irises of his eyes, which was swirling in a pool of darkness. Like Damara, he was not human, but unlike Damara, he was not the same species as she was. “We’re ready for your backup!”

Reidonn appeared in a matter of seconds, a long spear in her hand. “Calix, you and Ares need to cover Damara. Don’t let them anywhere near Kara!” She grabbed a young man nearby, clutching her free hand around his elbow, and shoved him out towards the other man, Calix, who had been calling for Reidonn’s assistance. “Ares, watch out for your partner! Keep mind of yourself, too! I don’t want to have to tell your brother that we lost you while I was babysitting!”

Calix shot his partner, Ares, a wide smile of sharp teeth, akin to a shark’s grin, and the two darted towards the walls where Prowlers were visibly peeking over the edge and growling down towards the pair of rebels.

Calix’s weapon of choice seemed to be the gloves he wore. Their metal ridges coiled around his wrists and right up his arms, stopping at his shoulders in the shape of a ‘V’, sharp enough to cut upon touch. When he punched, his knuckles would reform into guns, or knives, depending on the order he sent from his palm.

Unlike Calix, Ares was a long distance fighter and had a machine gun lodged in the sleeve of his coat, tucked from sight until the last second. He moved quickly and kept hurling Calix through towards the enemy as if his partner weighed nothing, sending more close-ranged attacks straight to the Prowlers faces whenever they lashed out towards them.

There was no need for worry when the pair came into contact with the first wave of enemy units, due to their corresponding teamwork and quick actions to take down the slim, grey figures that crawled down and launched themselves at the duo.

Psykhe sucked in the salty air around her and unstrapped her scythe from its binds. The whole contraption came undone with a satisfying ‘clank’ and ‘click’ of the metal fixing itself into place in order to form her trusty companion. All at once, she felt far more confident and stared down the Prowlers that had managed to slip past Ares and Calix. Their slimy visage shone from the contact of the sun above and they growled, droplets of drool hanging from their wide mouth of teeth.

“Psykhe!” Alexis jumped beside the scythe-wielder and held her zip-wire against her hip, unhooking the safety latch. “We stand together, no matter our names.” Her words, although not necessarily the comfort to all of Psykhe’s problems, seemed to ease any remaining tension from the blonde. “We are the Rebellion, after all.”

Psykhe looked away from the speeding Prowlers and shared a moment’s glance of eye contact, chest rising and falling with determination she fought she had lost upon arriving here. “Yeah, we’re the Rebellion.” Angling her scythe outwards, Psykhe turned back towards the Prowlers and her eyes turned serious. “So let’s kill some Prowlers.”