Ren Vespean

I found myself in a dark void, and uneasiness swept over me. I scanned around and I couldn't find anything in the vast darkness. Then blood-red mist started to spew out of the face of a humanoid creature with four sharp fangs. 

“Ren, Ren, Ren!” The face called out with a booming baritone voice, “Don’t trust them.” 

“Don’t trust who?” I asked as the face grew and the red mist covered my waist. 

“The guardians and rulers. Those warmongers are only using you and me for their own gain.” The face continued fading in and out of my focus 

“Who are the Guardians, the Rulers?” I asked, getting more and more frustrated from the vague warning.  

“I don’t have much time when you form a core, I would be able to fully talk to you, but they are inhibiting its formation,” the face stated with desperation leaking out of every word, “please try and break through those restraints, for our people Ren.” 

Those were the last words I heard before waking up and the sunlight beaming through the window. My body was covered with sweat; I quickly grabbed my stomach to where the core was trying to form but couldn't. What the hell was that, and who was that? I thought to myself. 

A knocking noise snapped me out of my trance, and a commanding feminine voice rang through. “Ren, get ready and meet us by the hanger; we are heading out now.” 

Quickly getting ready, I put on my suit, which morphed and wrapped around me. Grabbing my weapon case, I bolted out the door. 

Making it to the hangar, I surveyed the area and needed clarification on why we were leaving three days earlier. 

“Why are we leaving now? I thought we still had three days before we head out for our mission.” I asked the group, who were also somewhat confused. 

“Because our little friend is wreaking more havoc on the ecosystem.” Racheal responded, putting her hair into a bun and walking to her weapon case next to the plane hanger, “The penguin population has decreased by over twenty percent.” 

“So quickly load up, and let’s go hunting.” She continued, this time turning to us with a gleeful smile. 

Hours passed as we flew over the Atlantic Ocean; Diana was sleeping on the bench close to the cockpit. While William read a book about the Second World War, Racheal played poker with Hanz and me. 

“Hey brother, do you want to join us?” Hanz asked while shifting his cards to try and hide his four-of-a-kind. 

“I rather not indulge in gambling or other recreational activities before a mission.” He answered while turning the page of his book.

“Don’t be like that, William; keeping morale up is great, so join us.” Racheal told him as she pushed all her poker chips into the middle, “I’m all in.”

“I fold,”  Hanz said 

“I call,” I respond, pushing in all my chips, trusting my gut that she doesn’t have five of a kind. 

Showing our hands, Hanz bellowed out in laughter as Racheal revealed a five-of-a-kind. A smile was placed on her face as she grabbed the pot and pulled it close to her. 

“Again,” I demanded while shuffling the cards. Still, the copilot came out of the cockpit, stopping us from playing another game.

“Get ready to drop in tee minus five.” He said before going back into the cockpit. 

“Okay, clean up and get ready.” Racheal orders, waking Diana, who is like a child that didn’t want to get up. 

Putting on my parachute and ensuring I was fully strapped, I watched them put on their parachute and weapon cases. After five minutes, the hanger hatch opened up, filling the dark hanger with sunlight. Looking down, nothing but snow and ice hurt my eyes due to the sun reflecting off of it. 

“Ready thermal heating on your suits, low setting for now unless needed,” Racheal said as a faint aura of mana wrapped around her body as she walked over to the ramp before jumping out of the plane. 

Following her order, I turned on thermal heating which, once active, I felt a warm, soothing feeling from the inside my suit. Holding onto my weapon case, I hopped out. 

The icy winds felt more like a breeze due to the heating on my suit and the mana barrier around my body. The ground got closer, and I pulled the pin on my chute. The sound of the parachute catching the air and slowing my descent gave me a chance to survey the area. Tiny red dots could be seen in the distance, and Racheal’s body grew. She was stretching out her limbs and taking a few practice swings with her spear.

Over the past three days, we have been pushed to get used to our weapons. But seeing Racheal's proficiency, I can only imagine her strength later in her career. William landed soon after me, and using the momentum, he continued to walk towards us after landing. Then Diana landed next to me with a thud. 

“Is everyone here?” Racheal asked, looking around to confirm. 

“Hanz should be landed soon,” Diana replied, taking a few warm-up swings with her rapier.

Looking up in the sky, I saw Hanz descend, but it seemed he was straying away from the landing zone. 

“That dumbass,” William remarked as Hanz landed on a thin piece of ice and fell through the surface. 

“Should We help him?” Diana asked, peeking around me to look at the flailing Hanz, trying to keep himself above the surface. 

“No, he’s fine; look, he’s picking himself back up,” Racheal commented while Hanz walked over to us, dragging his ax behind him and with his head down.

“Alright, the previous squad put a tracking device on PB-27, so we know its exact location,” Racheal told us while holding up her left forearm to show a map with a red dot blinking and moving away from a green dot that I assumed is us, “follow me and use about fifteen percent mana output.” 

Then she burst off, picking up snow and dust from her speed. Matching her speed, we followed our squad leader. The environment blurred as we ran faster than an average human could run. Still, Diana caught up to Racheal, and she could have run past her but slowed just to be behind Racheal. If I had to rank every in the squad with what they are best at. 

Diana would be the fastest, while Hanz has us beat in strength. William and Racheal tied with their mana outputs being in the high fifties. I’m unsure where I stand, but it’s probably with weapon handling due to my training with Elizabeth. While running, we got closer to the red spots I saw while landing. Penguin corpses littered the frozen wasteland. Diana closed her eyes but still kept her pace. 

“What’s the matter, Diana, upset over a penguin,” William commented as he scanned the carnage PB-27 left after his meal time, “I wonder what your reaction would be if they were human?” 

“Shut up; I just don’t like seeing dead bodies.” She snapped back. 

The rest of our journey was silent as we approached PB-27 location. After what felt like twenty minutes of running, Racheal stopped atop a cliff and turned around, putting one finger to her lips. 

Walking over to look over the cliff, I saw the beast. It was currently gnawing on a bone of what I could assume was its meal. Its Icy claws stained red from its hunt. 

“Okay, twenty percent to start off. Increase by intervals of two if needed.” She commanded mana, humming around her body and spear as she jumped down the cliff. 

“I guess no, formation just charging straight at it,”  William commented while getting his sword out of its casing. 

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Hanz said before jumping off the cliff, his ax above his head, and then crashing down on top of PB-27. 

“The hell are you doing?” I heard Racheal shout before an ear-piercing roar filled my ear canals. 

PB-27 stood up on its hind legs allowing it to tower over Hanz, who was no small man already. Tiny drops of blood stained its white fur behind its neck. Swiping its claws at Hanz, razor-sharp ice spikes burst out of the ground, causing Racheal to jump out of the way. 

Hanz barely escaped severe injuries as his right arm and left leg were cut and frozen from the attack. Quickly I raised my pistol at the bear, pulling the trigger, and two bolts of black lighting shot toward it. Seeing a faint mana barrier around PB-27, it moved out. Two explosions were the result of bolts hitting the ground. Which left cracks throughout the ice 

Racheal put herself between Hanz and the bear, blocking the swing of its claws. With her speed, Diana flashed to the side PB-27 seeing mana channel into the tip of her rapier. She sent two quick stabs into PB-27. Blood pouring out of its wounds sent another roar before using its paws to try and gore Diana. 

Shooting another bolt of lightning at it, I was starting to feel the drawbacks of using my weapon as my left arm started to feel numb from the recoil of the shots. The bolt hit the beast in its side. The once-white fur of the beast was now red and black from injuries. William took this chance to cut one of its tusks off as Hanz struck the beast in its hind leg, causing a shock wave to shoot around us. 

“Quick converge on it,” Racheal shouted before blitzing towards the beast. We followed her orders, and we also charged toward PB-27. Still, before we could attack, the frozen air seemed to drop another hundred degrees. The ice shard on its back glowed a light blue before a blizzard of tiny ice shards burst out of PB-27. 

Jumping back, I felt my skin freeze and rip apart as the suit desperately tried to keep me from freezing to death. Landing about a few meters away, I wheezed and coughed as I could feel my lungs freeze from the spell. Looking up, I scanned the damage of spells. 

Ice shards jutted from the ground, and a few dripped red liquid. I tried to find the others, but my vision was blurry from tears filling my eyes. Wiping my eyes, I saw Racheal kneeling as parts of her suit were white and frozen with ice. We got out in time. I couldn’t see Diana or Hanz, but William was engaged with the beast. His speed slowed dramatically as he limped to dodge and counterattack. 

Running towards Racheal, I ensured she was okay, but she shrugged me off and pointed behind me. 

“Check on Diana; she took the hit for me,” Racheal said while increasing her mana output to warm up her body. 

Quickly making my way to Diana, I saw she had a giant gash on the right side of her stomach, and from the look of it, it bled quite profusely. Taking out my first aid kit, I quickly wrapped up her wound. While applying first aid, she opened her eyes, and a painful expression was evident from her scrounging her eyebrows. 

“Damn it, that was a fast attack.” She stated while trying to pick herself back up. 

“Don’t move, your wound is deep, and I can’t stop the bleeding right now,” I yelled at her, which caused her to stop and lay back on the ground. 

Finishing up, I put the first aid next to her and looked around for Hanz. I was instead met with William holding his right shoulder, which now has a deep scratch. Pointing the pistol, I fired one last bolt before resting my arm. The bolt hit the beast on the right side of the face. It howled as it lifted its head up in the sky. 

Before it could attack again, I holstered my pistol and grabbed William, pulling him away just enough from him to get cut on the side of his face. Black lighting rippled my sword. I swung and cut the beast on its shoulder blade, and the wound immediately seared. 

It swiped at my stomach, but I dodged it. The realization that we needed to regroup, I grabbed William. Increasing my output, I pulled him and I away from the beast. Dropping off near Racheal, who was applying first aid onto Hanz. It seemed an Ice shard got stuck in his right arm, and his left hand had a severe case of frostbite. 

Returning for Diana, we retreated from battle, and luckily PB-27 didn’t follow us. After making sure we were safe, we stopped and recollected ourselves. Overall I think neither we nor the beast are happy with the outcome of this battle. Diana was out of commission, and William’s right foot was also plagued with frostbite, so he couldn’t fight either. Finally, Hanz couldn’t use his axe, leaving Racheal and I to finish off this beast.  

“William, watch these two; Ren and I are returning to finish it.” Racheal orders while setting Diana down on her back and picking up her spear. 

“Nah, you two are about to reach your limit, so rest with us,” William contested while sitting down and increasing his thermal heating. 

“That’s not happening. I’m calling for evacuation, and Ren and I will complete our mission while they arrive.” She ordered again, this time her voice much more commanding. 

William remained silent as she called for an evacuation and explained the severity of the injuries. Diana was starting to look more and more sick. Most likely due to my quick patch job on her. 

“Okay, let’s go, Ren,” she told me after finishing the request, “we’ll be back by twenty-two hundred.” 

With that, we were off again, but this time much slower as our bodies felt the fatigue from the fight earlier in the day. We remained silent for about thirty minutes. 

“Thank you for saving Diana even after what you said,” she broke our silence but remained focused on the task. 

“Don’t thank me, I just remember what you told me before you went inside,” I replied, the words filling my brain. 

Racheal stopped at a cave entrance, reading her spear as golden mana burst out of her suit, and the atmosphere got heavier. 

“Maximum output; I plan on finishing this here and now.” She said determination and anger filled her eyes.