Unlike the recovery tent, the healing tent was small, only large enough for a handful of partitioned sections where healers were working on the worst cases.
Having grown up with Dr. Wong in the palace his whole life, he assumed that he understood the intricacies of healing magic; every broken bone or sprained ankle had been attended to almost immediately and with seemingly little effort.
But as they entered the tent entrance—bypassing a sound barrier he had sensed but not recognized for what it was—the reality of war hit him like a gut punch.
The moment they breached the air-gapped barrier, a scream cut through the air—the kind of scream that was so primal, it stopped the two of them in their tracks. From their vantage at the front of the tent, they couldn’t see the ongoing process. But as the screams turned into a pitiful mewing sound, Terry was suddenly convinced that he didn’t need to actually witness the proceedings.
Another individual in scrubs strode over, his expression far too casual in light of the cacophony echoing around him.
“Yes? What do you need?”
Tania shot Terry a desperate look, clearly as disturbed by the sounds as he was. It took him a moment to get his thoughts in order before he could speak.
“We, uh…we’re here for the soiled—” A shout ripped through the air—inhuman and far too loud for a normal set of lungs. Following close behind it was a pulse of aura, on par with an A-ranker, by his estimation. The dividing fabric further down rippled as if threatening to tear away, before a second powerful aura joined the first. It seemed to contain the blast—and the sound, cutting off the shout abruptly.
The nurse seemed to hardly notice the commotion, but did pick up on their shell-shocked expressions.
“No need to be frightened. We have an A-ranking Disruptor containing the patient.”
Tania audibly gulped, looking past the nurse’s shoulder with a horrified look before turning to face him.
“W-what happened?”
The nurse pursed his lips in disapproval, then softened his expression after giving them a more thorough once over—as if just realizing how young they actually were.
“A-ranking Duelist,” the nurse explained. He shook his head, but had a clinical detachment to his expression. “Got hit with some sort of acid attack that is resisting neutralization. And due to his constitution, the healers can’t put him under. They have to peel his skin away and force new growth.”
“That’s terrible…” Terry muttered.
The nurse nodded agreement, then turned on his heels as his name was called from a nearby room. “Dirty linens are over there.” He pointed absentmindedly to a large laundry wagon in the corner before jogging away.
The two of them stood there in silence for a handful of moments, the atmosphere of the tent hanging over them like a waterlogged blanket. Terry’s Skill pinged once more in the back of his mind, blissfully dragging his attention away from the morbid scene.
Letting Master of Skill Analysis loose, he gave a quick glance to the active Skills before taking an Aura Snapshot.
Active Powers in Range:
Bone Integrity Insight (Unknown User)
Advanced Bone Growth (Unknown User)
Nerve Response Suppression (Unknown User)
Hemalysis Acceleration (Unknown User)
Dermal Bloom (Unknown User)
Increased Desquamation Turnover (Unknown User)
Sound Dampening Field (Unknown User)
Unknown (Unknown User)
Unknown (Unknown User)
Unknown (Unknown User)
Unknown (Unknown User)
As he reviewed the list, half of the Skill names made no sense to him. But he took a snapshot all the same, resolving to go through them with a closer eye once they were far, far, away from this tent.
“Come on,” he said quickly to Tania. “I’ve got the active Skills snapshotted.” A rush of activity near the back partition drew his eye and he turned away to grab the laundry wagon. “And enough nightmare fuel to carry me through a month of restless nights.”
Tania grabbed the other side of the wagon handles, her face pale as she nodded.
Together, they left the tent in a hurry and deposited the dirty sheets with the laundry crew.
When Tania suggested they join back up with his mother, he found himself desperately nodding agreement; that had been more traumatic than he had been anticipating.
A part of him knew that this was nothing, that war with other Awakened worlds would only get worse. Atlanta popped into his head and he shuddered at the thought of what that triaging hell must have encompassed.
But for now, he was content to leave the healing to the professionals in order to pursue his pressing goal. He needed to get stronger; hopefully, one day, strong enough to prevent scenes like this from every happening again…
As the two of them walked back to his mother’s tent—neither of them keen on taking a portal as they worked through the sights and sounds of the past hour—Terry sent a message to Juan.
[Terry]: Hey, bro! Looks like these rifts have popped up in your neck of the woods. I’m coming down with my mother and some Protectorate big wigs. You get back okay?
There was a tense couple of moments without a response, and Terry had the irrational fear that something had happened to the older boy.
Maybe his abuela really did kill him…
He breathed a sigh of relief when Juan Carlos’ message finally came through.
[Juan Carlos]: Bro! I thought you forgot about me! I barely had time to breath before those Incursion-thingies popped up! I’m in one right now!
Terry felt his chest tighten with anxiety; despite all the evidence to the contrary, he had a strange thought that Juan couldn’t handle himself, that Terry needed to be there to protect him. In the back of his brain, he knew the older boy had managed just fine without him during his descent into the Underworld. But there was still a nagging trepidation that he couldn’t explain.
[Terry]: Damn, be careful, dude. We should be there to help soon!
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[Juan Carlos]: Right on! Can’t talk now. I’ll link up when we’ve cleared this rift!
Terry let him focus, turning to Tania as they walked. “My friend from the Underworld is in one of the rifts right now.”
Her eyes went wide. “Is he okay?”
He nodded slowly, recognizing the Fire Elementalist hadn’t sounded troubled in the least. Still, something about the rifts in general was putting him on guard. Maybe it was the prospect of multiple worlds essentially invading Earth at the same time. Maybe it was because he hadn’t used his time with his mother to grill her for more information on what the rifts actually entailed.
All he knew was, that the rifts were like dungeons that had to be cleared—filled with traps, puzzles, or just waves of creatures. After they were cleared, there was a choice to be made: close the rift or push through to the connecting world.
From his brief conversation with his mother, he’d learned that the Protectorate had chosen to close every rift rather than strike back at the attackers. There were limited supers in this one versus six war and potentially losing people in raids would lead to an attrition rate that Earth couldn’t maintain.
There would be a time to strike back—his mother had danced around that subject, redirecting him with questions about his experience in the Underworld or Terraform’s Market. But the implication had been clear: when the S-rank rifts open, she and her father would be part of the vanguard aiming to put an attacking world on notice.
The thought terrified him—losing either of them was unconscionable. Losing both…
He pushed that from his mind lest he start spiraling emotionally and turned back to Tania.
“Juan seems good, but it’s hard to tell with that guy. One moment, he’s ready to throw himself into a wave of sanguine in a blaze of glory. The next, he’s terrified for his life and frozen in the moment.” He chuckled to himself. “And he’s got a serious complex around his grandma. I honestly think he would have sacrificed himself if he didn’t think his grandma would find him in the afterlife.”
“Ah, a grandma’s boy,” she said with a smile. “Well, sounds like a good person from what else you’ve told me.”
“He is,” Terry replied with a nod. “Kept me sane in the Underworld—if for no other reason that he spoke English when no one else did. Well, before we met Ben, that is.”
A strange set of expressions passed across her face at the mention of Ben and Terry felt that twinge of jealousy flare deep in his chest. Rather than let it fester, he decided to make light of her obvious attraction.
“You like him, don’t you?” he asked with a teasing smile.
She didn’t look at him, so missed the expression. “What? Ben? Yeah, he’s great…” She trailed off when she noticed his smirk. Her eyes narrowed defensively. “What’s that look for!”
His eyebrows climbed his forehead. “No, I mean you really like him.”
The immediate rush of crimson to her cheeks answered for her, though she tried desperately to prove otherwise. “I do not! He’s like almost sixty!”
Terry snorted. “Come on, he looks like he’s barely thirty. I saw the way you were looking at him.”
She stopped in her tracks, squinting as she looked him up and down. Then, her eyes widened as if with some revelation. “Ahhh, I see what’s happening here.” Her own teasing smile lit upon her face as she took on a singsong tone. “Somebody’s jealous.”
“Am not!” The words left his mouth before he could yank them back, and he felt his own face flush with heat.
Tania simply crossed her arms with an amused expression, her eyebrows rising skeptically.
He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment as he forced himself to calm down. When he did, he realized that there was no point in trying to downplay his reaction. Opening his eyes, he nodded.
“Okay, you’re right.” The words physically pained him. “I guess I am a little jealous…” He trailed off, having difficulty following that sentence to its natural conclusion.
Tania’s eyes softened, the teasing smirk melting off her face as she realized the implication of that statement. His eyes widened in shock as she reached forward, grabbing his hand. Unlike their usual interactions, where she playfully—or not so playfully—swatted at him, this time, her touch was tender, and slightly hesitant.
“Listen, Terry.” She looked away for a moment, worrying at her lower lip before taking a deep breath and turning her eyes back to his. “I’ll admit that your uncle is incredibly handsome in a rugged sort of way.” He felt his heart drop into his stomach and his face must have reflected that, because she hurriedly added, “But that’s it. He’s handsome—so what?”
There was a spiteful part of him that wanted to point out that being handsome was a pretty large variable in the equation of attraction for most people, but she cut across his thoughts with a slight tug on his hand.
“But so are you.” He had never felt his stomach roll so much. She must have been nervous too, because she hesitated, her grip turning damp with anxiety. But Tania wasn’t one to shy away from difficult words, and her resolve hardened visibly in her eyes. “And you’re so much more. You’re brave and kind and empathetic. You always try to do the right thing—no matter what. Which makes you reckless, sometimes.” She seemed to think about that before adding, “And hardheaded. And really sanctimonious—”
“I’m sorry.” He cut across her with a shake of his head. “Can we go back to the part where you were complimenting me?”
She snorted, reaching out to grip his other hand so that they were nearly face-to-face.
“I was circling back…” she said breathlessly, her voice trailing off.
He found himself drawn into her eyes, seeing her as a growing woman now, rather than the hard-nosed companion of his childhood. She’d always been pretty, but they’d trauma bonded so powerfully, that anything more had seemed off limits.
Now though…those eyes were pulling him in, their lips reaching closer…She closed her eyes, inching up on her tippy toes—
A rough, rumbling voice cut through the air, causing them to both flinch.
“Look at the two lovebirds,” Savage growled. “It’s sweet enough to make me puke.”
Before Terry could gather his wits, Tania was ripping from his grip, her face a thundercloud as her fists balled.
“You bastard!” she yelled, stomping toward him. “You wet-dog-smelling piece of shit! You can’t let anyone have a moment of joy, huh?” Terry’s eyes widened as her whole body tensed. “Your life’s so pathetic you have to intrude upon mine—” She threw a wild punch at his shoulder.
Which Savage intercepted with a casual ease. Tania’s whole body spasmed as he visibly squeezed her tiny fist within his massive clawed hand.
Terry acted without thought, his aura ripping through space like a buzzsaw, right at the edge of Savage’s wrist—only to hit the beast’s aura like a brick wall.
Tania cried out, her knees giving way even as Savage lifted her aloft by her hand.
In a desperation-fueled surge, Terry redoubled the aura cutting at the wrist, felt the skin parting slowly.
“Careful, my prince,” Savage purred with an amused tone. “I’m allowed to defend myself. Maybe not from you…” Tania let out another pained cry as he squeezed tighter. “But if you take my hand…who knows what sort of spasm might occur…incidentally.”
“Let her go!” Terry cried, crossing the distance with two quick strides. He punctuated his words with a right hook to Savage’s body. This wasn’t the scared, normie Terry that had shattered his collarbone ramming into the A-ranker.
This was C-ranked Terry, with all the Body Tempering benefits of a Duelist and years of training with Whipvine.
So when his hook slammed into Savage’s solar plexus, he was satisfied at the explosive grunt that burst from the revenant. He shifted to follow up with a left hook to the chin, when Savage twisted on a dime, interposing Tania between him and Terry’s fist.
Terry pulled back on his strike, stumbling and off balance as Savage snorted with laughter.
“Little pup’s got a bite now, eh?” Savage held a snarling Tania up by her wrist, his eyes finding Terry past the squirming girl. “How about—” He shifted faster than Terry could follow, slinging Tania away like a discus. “—a game of go-fetch!”
Tania screamed out with pain and fear, her body rocketing through the air. Wide-eyed, Terry reached through space, angling to open a portal to catch her. But as he began to form the exit portal, he realized that he had no way to tamp down her velocity—not without possibly breaking her neck.
Instead, he angled the exit portal up, and she passed through with a wild scream a moment later, flying another hundred feet into the air before he managed to gently grip her with Master of Telekinesis. Her screams slowly died down as she realized Terry had her, turning into moans of pain as she clutched gingerly at her arm.
As she descended toward the ground, Savage cast him a fang-filled smirk.
“Here, my prince. Allow me.”
Before Terry could shout out, Savage bent his powerful legs and leaped into the air. With a horrified gasp, he realized the revenant intended to collide with the girl—an impact he wasn’t sure she could survive.
He first tried to grip Savage with his telekinesis, but found it sliding off the beast futilely. With desperate speed, he ripped open a portal in Savage’s trajectory, but the Duelist passed through it, tearing it to shreds with his own aura.
Tania saw Savage rising toward her through her pained daze. She let out a defiant scream, the fear evaporated away in the face of her incoming death.
He tried to shift her position with his telekinesis, but Savage was like a loosed missile, flying through the air so fast Terry didn’t have time to act.
But he tried anyway, releasing the magic to let gravity take her down faster. He could see it wouldn’t be enough and added his Telekinesis back into the mix to accelerate her descent—when a blur flew through the air, colliding with Savage like a truck.
A sonic boom reached his ears a moment later, followed by another, deeper, thud from their impact.
There was no time to figure out what had happened—Tania was aggressively falling to the ground below. Reversing his magic with a painful tug on his aura, he decelerated her as fast as he dared. As she fell, he considered opening another portal to catch her, but realized there was enough clearance to bring her to a soft landing.
As her feet touched ground, her knees buckled and she started to collapse. He eased her down to the dirt with a flex of aura, clearing the distance between them in a single blink.
“Tania! Oh my God.” Her shoulder was completely dislocated, the bone of her upper arm jutting up past her shoulder. He reached for her, but she flinched away with a grimace, hissing in pain.
“Don’t touch it! Don’t touch it!”
His hands hovered, unsure what to do. He instinctively went to send his mother a System message, then growled in frustration when there was no connection.
“I’m going to portal you to the healer’s tent,” he said quickly. “One second—”
He was cut off by the sound of something flying through the nearby tents before slamming into the dirt with a handful of skips like a stone thrown over water. Only a dozen feet away, Savage lay in a boneless pile, the soil churned up about him.
Ben appeared in a flash, his entire body coated in blue-grey ice. The armor slowly dissolved away as the man strode over to the beast and placed his foot on a burnt-orange chest.
Savage groaned in obvious pain, his eyes finding Ben over him.
“Do it!” he growled. His elongated fangs were fully pushed through their gum sheaths, stretching nearly a foot from his mouth. “Kill me! Better dead than a slave!”
Ben snorted. “With pleasure.”
Savage growled as the pressure of Ben’s foot increased, the growl turning to a breathless moan a moment later.
Terry felt frozen in shock, unable to process what he was witnessing. The first thought that flashed into his mind was: good.
So when Tania’s voice cut across the clearing, he was just as shocked as Ben, the two of them whipping their heads toward the girl.
“Stop! Don’t kill him!”
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