Aether Beasts

"Now, grab one each then follow me," Kaylin said. "There's not much time left. The twin horn will be here within the next two hours, and we must be set up by then or this will all be a waste, and because our attack will be a signal to the rest of the steel heart."

We all picked up a box then proceeded to follow Kaylin until we finally reached the area he had been speaking about. It was very clear now how exactly things were going to work out and why these explosions could do a lot of damage. The pathway to the gap the steel heart were now occupying wasn't particularly large and would mean that the twin horn forces would be tight and clumped together.

"Alright I want you to move into pairs then position yourselves down this path, around ten meters away from each other," Kaylin commanded. "I want each of these explosions to take out as many of the twin horn as possible."

I glanced over and was about to open my mouth to ask Sandra our Misty to pair up with me when Lilly shot up beside me and grasped my hand in her own.

"Partners!" she shouted proudly, much to the annoyance of Sandra and Misty.

Sandra opened her mouth to object when Kaylin spoke once again. "That's fine, it doesn't really matter who your partner is. You've all been chosen because you're the best of the best and know what you're doing. I trust all of you to make the right calls, and if not then you have a partner to ask for help."

Sandra's face darkened and she shot Lily a scowl before she grabbed Misty by the hand and went to storm off, but instead Misty pulled Sandra over to us.

"Some privacy please," Misty said to Lily with a tone that brooked no argument.

"I'll be back when you're done," Lily said to me with a wink as we walked off to give us some privacy. "Don't take too long now."

"What is it?" I asked as I turned to the blonde, but my words were but of as she pressed her lips to mine in a gentle kiss.

She kept them there for only a second before she pulled back with a blush. "Just in case we don't make it."

As she turned and walked off, Sandra moved in and pressed her own lips against mine, and this time I was ready. I deepened the kiss for a few seconds, then allowed her to pull back.

"Take care, Aiden," She said. "And try not to let that little minx get you killed."

She turned and walked off to join Misty while Lily walked back over.

"She really doesn't like you, does she?" I asked Lily. I'd seen Sandra act in a similar way when she'd first met Misty, but even then it hadn't been this bad.

"I sort of deserve it." Lily shrugged. "I played a little prank on her when she first joined and it went awry. It was hilarious, but not for her."

I raised an eyebrow. "What sort of prank?"

"Just the usual," She replied vaguely. "Now let's go."

"Once the plan has commenced and is done, I want all of you to return to the area we were just in," Kaylin called out as everyone moved into pairs. "I know some of you might want to gawk at the explosions, but for your own sake's, don't."

We ended up near the front close to Kara and Micheal who had always formed a pair, though Kara didn't seem to be having the greatest of times, or at least that was what I assumed from the sour look she'd had when she walked past my position, but she was clearly putting up with it because none of that really mattered right now. We could all be dead within a few hours, or most of us.

"Remember our talk," Zirani said.

"I know," I replied with a sigh. "I know. Wish me luck."

"Good luck, Aiden and." She paused for a second. "And I'm glad we met, truthfully. If we… if we don't make it today then I want you to know I'm grateful for everything and that I'll be with you to the bitter end."

I smiled and brushed a hand against my eyes. "Damn, bad time for it to be raining."

"It isn't," Zirani pointed out.

"Yes... yes, it is," I said, and took a deep breath to calm myself. Now was not the time to let myself fall into my emotions. It was hard not to let my thoughts wander to Misty, Sandra, and Zirani, to my family and friends in West Vale, to everything that had happened. With a force of will, I pushed it all down and focused on the mission. No time for tears.

We waited patiently for the twin horn to arrive. The plan was simple we would wait until the front of the army had gotten us then everybody would through their explosions into the army. Kaylin had primed them before we'd positioned ourselves as pair, and Lily and I held our boxes at the ready.

The sky darkened as time passed, as though the world was witness to what was about to happen, a layer of clouds slowly blocked out the sky, and a chill wind blew past. It was eerily silent, though Lily had attempted to make a few jokes to lighten the mood, I hadn't really been paying attention. My heart was beating faster than ever, and it spiked when the ground began to rumble and the sound of distant voices could be heard.

The twin horn had arrived.

It started out as the faint clashing of voices among other sounds. Clattering steel, laughing, and other sounds I couldn't recognize. Slowly but surely they drew closer and closer until they finally came into sight. They were in a loose formation, with those at the front atop riding beasts that looked like a cross between a lion and a lizard. From what I could tell, the one at the center was an elder, from the way his robes stood out against the rest. They were far more intricate, as was the blade strapped to a hilt on his belt. I didn't pay much attention to his features since they would be torn apart soon enough, but I did notice a horn strapped to the side of his beast. Most likely to call for a stop or something like that.

As they marched closer and closer to our position I turned and nodded to Lily who had an excited smile on her face and her box resting in her hand.

"On my mark," I said, and raised a hand up. Five fingers fell one by one as the army drew ever closer, and when my hand turned into a fist, I nodded, and the both of us fed the tinies amount of aether in our boxes, only a speck so that the explosion would happen after a few seconds, then we flung them out straight into the front of the army.

The world seemed to stop in those few seconds as we peeked over the rise we were in to watch. The boxes flew through the air and the elder's head seemed to turn in slow motion as his eyes locked onto the boxes.

The last look on his face before everything became chaos was one of confusion, no doubt wondering about the tiny amount of aether within the devices.

The explosion was like nothing I'd imagined. What I'd pictured in my head was normal explosions but with effects depending on the type of aether, instead, there was a sonic boom, and Lily and I were nearly flung back as the ground shook and the wind around Lily\\\\s box swirled and rapidly grew into a large tornado while a bright flash of dark greenish light lit up the area around my own box. A moment later, large vines tore themself from the grounds and began violently moving, tearing arcanists from their saddles, while crushing dozens more.

I watched in awe, but my attention was momentarily taken away from the spectacle as I heard the sound of the other explosions. I heard the roaring of flame and was that splashing sound of water? What about that crashing and shrieking noise? Was that earth or metal? The sounds melded together into a symphony of destruction and all I could do was watch as the twin horn were torn apart.

Would this be enough? Could we actually win?

Almost as if in answer to my words, Lily tugged me down just as a bolt of fire flew through the space I'd just been.

"We need to go, now!"

I nodded and we turned and ran as more techniques flew by and towards us. We moved erratically, and I was tempted to head over to where the others would be, but I shook the thought away.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

Where do think?" Lily replied. "Where Kaylin told us to go unless you wanna go back into that?"

"No," I said as I leapt to the side to dodge a blade of wind. "Damn that was close."

As we ran together, I couldn't help but worry about Misty and Sandra.. I really hoped we met them when we arrived at the gathering area.