”Oops.” Was what came out of Grant’s mouth when he witnessed his chunk knock one of Emma’s minion things away from the Metalwork it was coming toward. No time to dwell, only time to push on.
More of the Metalworks had begun to advance on the group of students, and the line still had to be held... Deep breaths and focus, he told himself over and over. Just as his chains had begun to lower back down to the earth once again, his eyes narrowed up at the Metalwork spiders that had just launched themselves from behind their charging allies. ”What the…” The second thing for Grant to notice was the net being lead by said spiders.
Before Grant could do anything to act against the strange attack, his feet parted from the ground, and then his body met with it again in impact and sliding. A grunt and confusion came after, his mind putting together what had just happened. His teammate had just swatted him away from the area of danger, at least as much as they could. No, he had to get up. He looked around again. He needed to focus on the approaching horde again. Pushing himself up and shaking the daze away, he heard Emma’s commands to her minions. Taking notes in his mind, he lowering his chains to the ground. Steer clear of Hazel, aim for Metalworks still untouched.
He waited for Emma’s minions to follow her commands at first before he pulled up a chunk once more. Being sure to not hit Hazel, he let loose another chunk, as he has been doing for most of the fight so far, but if it works, then there’s no reason to stop. At least not yet. He had a feeling that he needed to do more, and these Metalworks were getting close. Too close for comfort.
Grant nodded to himself as he dealt with some of the charging Metalwork canines, and he let out a breath, wiping the sweat from his brow. He was already getting a bit tired and disoriented from the two projectile attacks he had set loose. He shook his head to clear it and took a deep breath. Fog and dust, kicked up from amidst the battle was obscuring his view from the rest of the Metalworks, squinting and peering to no avail.
“Offensive Support, listen up. Five are charging in from the distance, forwards through the smokescreen. Someone needs to drag Hazel out or clear away the dust.”
The familiar voice cut through Grant’s attempt at looking through the dust. His phone spat out Brent’s words, informing him of the assumed charging Metalworks from beyond the smoke. Not only that, another, unfamiliar voice, was spat out from it.
A subnatural in the area. Might be more.
Gulping down a lump in his throat, he took a look around at his surroundings, noticing Hazel raising from the smoke, his teammates around him. He had to focus back on the battle at hand. Grant finally turned his attention forward, to the dust cloud and he tore more earth from the ground. Pressure and stress filled his body, his knees almost felt like they were going to buckle and just give out from underneath him. Like the two times from before, he decided to take a chance, launching the chunk in and through the smoke, hoping that he’d hit a Metalwork, even if he wouldn’t see it.
Grant cast his gaze up to the flying Metalworks that focused in on another entity, which turned out to be a dragon. That’s them out of the way, hopefully. Just as he began to ready another chunk of earth to deal with more of the grounded Metalworks, at the corner of his eye, he saw it.
That was a laser.
Indeed, a laser was just shot out from the Metalwork snake, piercing the helicopter that held the Striker team. Immediately after the attack of the laser, the helicopter fell. And fell. Metal on earth clashing together in the near distance. ”Holy shit.” Grant let out after his brief moment of speechlessness. His hand moved toward his phone but Angel’s voice stopped him. A glance toward her, and he remembered that they all were still in the midst of danger. Metalworks were already up and running toward his team, and he couldn’t let this distract him.
He closed his eyes and tried to calm his nerves before focusing back on the battlefield, missing the confirmation of Striker team’s safety. Screams and thuds against the ground rang across the battlefield, though the screams were easy to explain where from. Grant took a few steps to steady himself before scooping another pile of earth from the ground next to him.
His teammates were already attempting dispatch on a few of the charging Metalworks, so logically, he’d go for the Metalworks that were uninjured. Taking a few moments to mold his projectile, spreading it in hopes of it hitting more enemies, Grant focused. Deep breaths, deep breaths. His eyes narrowed before he reeled the projectile back and let loose another chunk toward the enemy.
Rain and thunder. Grant was never too good with this kind of weather. Always interrupted his favorite pastime, sleep. So he laid awake, staring up at the bottom of the top bunk as the rain tapped tapped away at the window, never ceasing its endless downpour. Was it raining that night? That night when his life had changed to the way it was now? Wouldn’t that be funny. Rain and thunder to go with the feeling of utter...
There was a harsh knocking at the door that snapped him out of his thoughts, and his head rolled for his vision to meet with the door. Knock knock knock. He sighed. If he couldn’t sleep, at least there was something to keep him preoccupied, so he pulled himself together to greet the, most likely, soldier waiting at his door.
Sure enough, a ‘generous’ guard was waiting for him, offering an umbrella to the tired boy. How kind. He took the already wet umbrella and stuffed a hand down his pocket. He could only guess where this guard was going to lead him. “...Well go ahead and lead on.” He mumbled and with that, the guard began his escort. He stepped out, looking back to steal a final glance at the knife that laid on the table before he closed the door, following the view of the back of the guard.
Grant sat back in his seat as the briefing went by, listening to the key information he had to know.
His team, the plan, the time, and the enemy. He barely recognized many of the names on his team, one being completely unknown to him, but the biggest thing of the briefing that stuck out to him was their current target. A subnatural. His kind. A human. A homo-sapien. Call it whatever, it was still what he currently was at this existing moment. And now his mission was to kill that very thing. He wondered what he would feel at the very moment this was done. Guilt? Shame? Anything at all? He knew it wouldn’t matter for so long. He had to do this.
He had to survive. Whatever it took. If it meant taking another life. If it meant anything. He couldn’t just let his life end. Alone, he resolved himself. Alone, he ate his meal. Alone, he made a trip back to his dorm. Almost forgot the knife.
Not even too long after the match had started between the two teams on screen, Grant had slumped back against his chair, asleep with the only sound coming from him being calm, light snores. Luckily for him, he wouldn’t be awake to watch the events of the match unfold live. The absolute carnage and merciless fight between the two groups of classmates. It had to be some kind of miracle that Grant hadn’t been woken up for most of the fight, and only when it was mostly over did consciousness finally return to him.
With a small groan escaping his mouth, Grant’s eyes blinked open to the sight of the replays playing over and over on the screens. He blinked and blinked while his mind continued to chug along from the lingering sleepiness. He only saw the leftovers of what was the brutalities that had occurred amongst his fellow Subnaturals. He felt... he didn’t know what he felt. Sickened? Shocked? He had just woken up and was greeted with the reality of his classmates. And even his new roommate. Even then, only tiredness graced his face. He looked down at the blank evaluation sheet that laid in front of him. Right. He still had to write.
A yawn left him after a few moments of staring at the paper before he picked up the pencil loosely in his hand and brought it down, pressing the tip to the sheet lazily.
General Thoughts:
Fell asleep. Seemed violent. Really violent. Not really a good thing when up against each other. Seemed unnecessary against each other. Up against monsters, maybe justified, but these are our own classmates.
Suggested Improvements:
Try not to kill each other next time when it’s just a game.
Considering all that Grant saw was the violence after, he couldn’t really give any good advice about how to do better. Not like he would have much advice in the first place. Another yawn left before a chain emerged from behind him and made contact with the paper and he let his chain bring the paper over to Frederic for him as he just slumped back against his seat, dropping the pencil back where it was, letting it roll for a bit.
Oh. They won. That was surprisingly easy. Was easy the right word? It was fast either way. Grant looked around at the soldiers who came into the field, one group of which taking Siena from his arms, and he returned his hands into his pockets. Looking around now, it seems as if Grant was spared from the injuries that might have befallen him, but his teammates weren’t given the same treatment as him. Color him lucky. Or just smart. Soldier surrounded him, but they already seemed to know he posed no real threat to them. He just let himself be led to the outpost.
In the safety of the outpost, away from the eventual battle between teams 3 and 4, Grant watched as everyone was healed from their injuries, with the help of another Subnatural. The healer of the other team, to be exact. His eyes flickered toward the screens, showing key moments that had occurred within the battle. He moved to take a random seat at the desks as Fredric explained what they were to do. Grant let out a long yawn. Looks like he still had to stay awake to watch this match. Or not. Either way, he sat back in his seat and watched the screens with tired eyes, ready to shut at any moment.
What was the time? Eh, Grant just slept as usual, so it didn’t really matter. He turned back on his side and tried to ignore the disturbance.
Knock knock knock.
God, who was out there? Maybe they’ll go away if he just ignored them. Sounds like a plan. He didn’t want to deal with anyone this early... Or... late. He wasn’t sure. He didn’t open his eyes enough to actually see the time of day.
KNOCK KNOCK KNO- Grant groaned in annoyance, moving onto his back and sitting up.. “Alright, alright!” He’d say loudly in his annoyance, getting up from his bed. Days spent sleeping... to be interrupted by this? He picked the mess that was himself up, and he wiped off the drool off his mouth as he swung open the door. A guard stood there, appearing ready to just burst into his room at any second now if necessary. He seemed to look Grant up and down before shaking their head, gesturing with their gun. “Get out here already.” He’d command, and Grant had no choice but to agree. The place that he was lead to, alongside a group of students whose faces were familiar, and others extremely familiar, was a lecture building. Great. He filed into the classroom, deciding to let everyone else pick their seats... and after that was done, he took the seat which was mostly on its lonesome. Announcements, a great thing to be woken up for. Thanks, anonymous guard. Grant spent his time sitting, between the realms of sleep and awakeness as he laid his cheek against his fist. Bursts of information from the teachers came through, a schedule, something about presents that were handed out. He saw a couple things, and obviously none of them were heading his way. He never filled the form out, nor did he sign the requisition sheet.
After everything was said and done, the teacher that was left was the seemingly shy math teacher. Classes. Great. Grant let out a yawn and let the classes pass on by him, and at the end of it all, he blinked his eyes open enough at the sound of a snap. Lunch had just arrived. Finally. His head felt like it was just going to fall over any second now, but the day was still not done. So in the meantime, Grant decided to just get something to eat, maybe sleep a bit. Maybe a lot. Either way, his course was set toward the cafeteria and for once, not to a bed.
Grant’s eyes snapped up as the explosion went off. Panic, worry, and fear were dulled from the exhaustion that he felt. The nausea had finally left, but that tiredness was not leaving so easily. His eyes widened just a bit when he saw the crystal come down into the trench with him, his hand only tightening more around the hilt of the knife. Surprise filled his mind as he found himself within a sphere. He looked around, finally standing straight... at least he thought he was. The sphere lifted him up, into the air, out of the trench that he had made in the thick of battle. In the air. He pressed his free hand against the sphere as he looked on at the battlefield. Had they won? Was this victory?
His eyes caught the sight of the monsters that had been left on the field be trapped within a similar sphere as he and the remaining others were in. No- not just the remaining students... he even saw multiple bodies, spheres carrying them. Did that mean- no. Don’t think about it, Focus. He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, missing the sight of the remaining monsters being obliterated in their respective spheres. All he knew was that, somehow. Within a miracle, luck, or whatever god up there’s blessing, he was still alive. He survived. That’s what he wanted, his ultimate goal. So why? Why, as his feet touched down on the battlefield of this cruel assessment... Why did he feel empty? No satisfaction, no light-heartedness. Just nothing. He scanned around him, for some kind of answer. His classmates, his teammates, alive and-
Padma. He looked at his former roommate’s body on the ground, in the near distance, where it had landed. Nothing prepared him for her death. It was so quick. His feet began to carry him, onwards toward her body, paying no attention to his comrades that accompanied him in battle. Not letting go of that knife.
Pound after pound, Grant stared at the practically nonexistent corpse of the baby squirrel that was in the now ditch in front of him. He didn’t care, he didn’t want to see the damn thing again. Just a splash of red. Red. Red. Die, die, die, die, die...
"Grant? Grant, it's dead! We should h-help the others."
Grant snapped back to reality. The ensuing battle around him coming back to him. He looked around, his chains retracting from the club shaped earth and it fell into the ditch that once laid a corpse of a dead squirrel, now buried in rubble. Confusion shot through his mind. What was he doing? There wasn’t any time for this. He turned his head to see Siena running away for cover. Right. If he was going to get through this, he needed to ensure that his team... the rest of his team survived this. For... his own survival. But first, he stepped toward... her body. He didn’t look. He didn’t want to. He knew that if he did... no, he didn’t look. For his mental state’s sake. He noticed the knife that had clattered to the floor, moment before her demise. He didn’t even give a thought to the pillar of light. It just seemed important to pick it up, but his attention was drawn away from the knife in his hand.
Gunshots. Or more accurately, a gunshot. If he remembered right, one of his team mates had retrieved a gun, and said team mate was shooting at running fish. His eyes lead from the fish that had been shot, the fish still up, to the armored man, who was just getting out of his earthen prison, roaring. That was a problem. ”Okay… just gotta throw another..” He mumbled to himself, lowering his chains to the earth, but his plans soon changed after he saw the remaining fishman begin running at his two other team mates, seeming to... fire at them? As strange and weird it was, it was happening, and he was closing in on them. ”Gotta help them.. But I need to keep the armored man down…” He muttered to himself, conflicted. He knew he needed to act fast. He glanced around in a panicked manner, before he noticed the somewhat perfect square hole in the ground from the earth that he had initially thrown from before. Something clicked in his mind, as if someone slapped him and told him off for being so stupid.
He took action, beginning to rush toward the two who were being shot at. He felt sluggish, but he wasn’t collapsing. Must be the adrenaline pumping through his body. Once he was close enough to them, not right next to them, but close enough for them to at least hear him, he called out to them. ”Hey! Over here!” He shot his chains down into the earth. He focused. He took a deep breath in and pulled a large amount of the earth from the ground, leaving a large, rectangular shape in the ground. His feet felt unsteady, and his heart was pounding. Nevertheless, he managed to chuck the rubble in the direction of the large, armored man that was just recovering. After he let go, he let out that breath. He felt lightheaded... and his feet were right next to the edge of the trench he had just made. In his daze, his foot slipped and he ended up falling into the ditch with a thud, for better or worse. He laid against his back in the trench, the breath taken out of him as he breathed heavily. A thought crossed his mind. This... Sucks…
@Chasers115 and @Kyrisse: A trench has been made for ya. An out of shape skinny, lazy boy awaits in there, exhausted on the floor.
Grant flinched. The only response that came from him as he watched the squirrel’s head and skull caved in at the moment of impact from his club. Just a flinch. He paid no heed to the remaining squirrel as it backed away, and he just continued to step to the body of the obviously dead squirrel. Each step was heavy. With effort. His heavy breaths shook, seeming to rattle his lungs as they did. He looked on at the dead squirrel with empty eyes. His club raised, unaware of anything else around him, not even the squirrel that squealed nearby. He raised his club, and...
A feeling. Some... kind of feeling. An unexplainable feeling. As if.. He had no words for it. Or as if.. there just weren’t any words at all for it. Everything. Yet nothing. Flowing on and on without stop. No. Not just everything. Maybe even something beyond everything. Further. Further from him. Something he couldn’t dare to reach. Yet it reached him. A small piece. A small piece for him. A small piece... of that thing beyond everything. For him... for him. He reached out and grabbed it, knowing, that piece was made just for him. He felt that piece become one with who he was.
Even without him knowing... out of his back, a second chain sprung out, and it shot straight to the club above him, making contact with it. That heavy weight lightened up, and his legs had an easier time holding him up. He stood straighter than before, yet his hands still shook. He felt pain in his palms as his nails proceeded to dig their way deeper into them. He stared down at the still body of the squirrel, and brought the club down. An impact followed. Grant raised it once more, watching the blood almost stick to his earthen club. He brought it down again. Then again. And again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. Again. The earth receded more and more with each impact. Flattening the squirrel more and more against the ground. Pulverizing the son of a bitch until it became no more. He refused to stop. Grant didn’t flinch.
