Across the gym, Kendra was still squared up with the alpha gobdog. She'd been doing alright, her armored skin taking the brunt of its claws, but then her gaze flickered to Nox. Bad timing. Seeing him basically being used as the monster's personal punching bag made her lose her cool for a sec.
"Nox, you idiot, do something!" she yelled, her voice tight, betraying the worry underneath.
That one moment of distraction was all the alpha needed. It barrelled into her, a solid wall of muscle and fur. she slammed into the wall, the impact knocking the air out of her. She slid down, vision swimming for a moment, and pressed a hand to her side.
"Ow, damn it," she muttered, wincing. "That's definitely gonna bruise."
Vasa's voice cut through. "Kendra, focus! We've got our own problem here!" Ice was still creeping up the alpha's legs from Vasa's efforts, but the thing was barely slowing.
"I'm trying!" Kendra shot back, already pushing herself to her feet. "But look at him—he's getting demolished!"
Nox barely heard them. A constant, high-pitched whine filled his ears, and the monster pinning him wasn't giving him a break. Another fist connected, and he felt something pop near his cheekbone. His HP dropped to 50.
'Okay, this is bad. For real bad,' he thought. He tried to wrench his head free, but the thing's grip on his hair was relentless, each strand feeling like it was being individually torn from his scalp.
"Let go, you overgrown mutt," he managed to get out, his voice raspy and weak, but still laced with annoyance.
The monster just let out a low, guttural chuckle that seemed to vibrate through his skull. "Not a chance, little insect. I'm having way too much fun." It said, mocking his earlier words.
Just when it felt like his lights were about to go out, a small figure darted in from the side. Yeda. She appeared out of nowhere, ran right up to the monster, and threw a punch at its leg.
It was a tiny, desperate swing, making a soft thwack against the creature's thick fur that probably didn't even register as a tickle. Did absolutely nothing damage-wise, of course. But it was enough. The monster paused, its ugly head tilting down to look at her.
"The hell?" it rumbled, genuinely perplexed. "Who's this supposed to be?"
she just stood there, her fist still an inch from its leg, her whole body rigid.
"Uh, sorry?" she squeaked, her voice barely a whisper. The word was out before she could stop it, and she took a clumsy step back, like she'd just touched a hot stove.
The monster stared at her for a beat, then its jaw opened in a laugh. "Sorry? That's what you've got, kid? You think that little tap dance is going to save your buddy?"
Nox, still hanging by his hair, coughed, a wet, sticky feeling in his throat. He forced a bit of a smirk, though his face felt like raw meat.
"Hey, don't knock it. She's got spirit." One of his eyes was swelling, making his vision lopsided, but he couldn't resist. "More than you've shown all day, furball."
"Shut it," the monster growled, giving his head a sharp, painful shake. It shifted its gaze back to Yeda. "You're next, little girl. Soon as I'm done playing with this one."
Yeda swallowed, her hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. 'Oh crap, oh crap, what did I just do?' The thought bounced around in her head. Her palms were slick with sweat.
'Am I about to die? Like, for real die?' Fear took over her body. She had run in to help him, but now she was just… stuck, staring up at this massive, hairy beast that looked like it could snap her in half without a second thought.
She wanted to help him. No, she needed to. Her whole life, she'd been the quiet one, the girl who just sort of blended into the wallpaper while everyone else did the exciting stuff. She was so tired of it. Tired of feeling useless. But what could she even do? She didn't have any cool powers like the others.
Just one stupid little punch that the monster hadn't even flinched at.
The boss monster was still holding Nox up, its fist connecting with his face over and over. He looked awful—blood matted his hair, and his left eye was almost completely swollen shut.
Yeda felt a sick lurch in her gut. She couldn't just stand here and watch.
From across the gym, Kendra yelled, "Yeda, get the hell out of there! You're gonna get yourself killed!"
"I'm helping!" She shouted back, her voice wavering. It didn't sound nearly as confident as she'd hoped. "He's gonna die if we don't do something!"
"Yeah, and you'll be right behind him if you don't move!" Kendra retorted, her armored fist cracking against the gobdog's snout to keep it off Vasa.
Yeda ignored her. Her eyes found Nox's. He was dangling, barely looking conscious. He coughed, a spray of red misting the air in front of him, and rasped, "You punch like a little girl."
The monster yanked him hard. "Shut it, you little shit."
That's when a blue window flickered into existence in front of his blurry, narrowed vision.
[Yeda's potential is shaking.]
[She needs a little push, and she expects that motivation from you.]
He tried to focus on the words, a throb persistent behind his good eye. 'Crap, really? I'm not good with this motivational stuff.'
He was definitely not the pep-talk guy. Never had been. But then he saw Yeda, really saw her—the way her eyes were fixed on him, wide and almost pleading, like he was her last hope or something.
He knew that look. He'd felt it staring back at him from his own reflection too many times: that desperate need to be more, to do something, anything, but feeling completely stuck.
He sucked in a breath, a sharp stab in his ribs making him grit his teeth. "Yeda," he said, his voice low. "Listen up."
She blinked, her gaze unwavering, even with the monster practically using his face as a speed bag.
"Huh?"
"I know what it's like to feel useless," he began, each word an effort. The monster's grip tightened on his hair, sending fresh pain down his neck, but he pushed on. "My whole life was shit. Lonely as hell. Weak. Got my ass kicked almost every day, and nobody gave a damn. I wanted to do something, anything, but I didn't have a clue how."
Yeda just stared, her lips slightly parted. The monster let out another growl. "You're wasting your breath, insect," but he ignored it.
"You're standing here, though," he said, meeting her gaze. "You ran in, you punched that thing, even though you don't have powers. That's more than I ever did back then. More than most people would even think about doing."
He saw something shift in her expression, a tiny flicker in her eyes. Her hands, which had been trembling, slowly clenched into fists.
"So don't give up now," he finished, his voice raw. "You can do this. I believe in you."
The monster let out a harsh, barking laugh. "What's this? A little therapy session in the middle of a beatdown? Cute. Won't save either of you."
But Yeda didn't even twitch this time. Something had definitely changed. He saw it in the way she suddenly straightened her shoulders, the way her chin came up. She gave one short, sharp nod.
"Okay. I won't let you down."
Another blue window materialized in front of him.
[Trust in you has reached 100%.]
[Soul link created.]
'The hell is that?' he thought, but there was no time to process. Yeda started to glow. Not like a flashlight, but like an inner light was suddenly blazing out of her.
A silver aura, bright and almost too sharp to look at, wrapped around her. She didn't say a word, just took a small step back and settled into a stance—legs apart, arms held loosely at her sides, but with an energy that made her look like she was coiled and ready to spring. She looked like she was about to draw a sword, except, well, there was no sword.
The monster noticed the shift, its head tilting again. "What's this now? Another parlor trick?"
She didn't answer. She moved. One second she was standing there, the next she was a blur, charging forward way faster than he'd ever seen her move. Her empty hand sliced down in a clean, powerful arc, and the air in front of her seemed to distort.
The boss monster actually recoiled, its grip on Nox vanishing as it instinctively leaped back.
A heartbeat later, a deep, smoking gash tore through the gym floor right where the monster had been standing. Concrete dust plumed up from a scar easily ten feet long.