-BLAZE-

  The Priestess was proving to be a very difficult person to rescue. Blaze put it down to the fact that she saw herself as the rescuer and not the rescued. She thrashed in Blaze's arms as he tried to drag her out of the room.

  "My people!" she screamed. "Let me get to my people!"

  Blaze saw her point. The Priestess acolytes were pinned down, surrounded on all sides by rubble with their only escape blocked off by the horrible fleshy monster. The only thing keeping them alive was the small ninja girl, who blurred through the air, hacking at the monster.

  The girl was doing exceptionally well, and was pushing the monster back inch by inch, but she did not seem to have any powerful blast-like moves that would kill the creature outright.

  And there was another problem.

  The pieces of the creature the ninja girl cut off writhed on the floor and crept towards each other. So far they had combined to become a writhing ball of flesh, but Blaze had a sinking feeling he knew what that ball was about to become. He fired a few shots at it. The blaster bolts singed the skin but nothing more. Blaze needed to get the Priestess out of here before the flesh became another creature to deal with.

  Then there was the problem of Nale. The Chintari villain had been pinned down by Artos, Portos and Tinkaku, but he was beginning to find freedom in movement. Tinkaku was a weak link. The Priestess aide fought only with a staff, and he didn’t seem to have any magic. That meant he needed to get in close.

  The problem was that Nale was significantly faster and stronger than Tinkaku. On multiple occasions Artos and Portos had to drive back Nale with their blaster fire in order to protect Tinkaku from a killing blow.

  Nale had hurled his blade at them, but had mercifully missed so far. The combination of the chaos, blaster fire and Tinkaku's persistence might have been throwing him off.

  Or maybe it was something else.

  Blaze noted that the villain was moving slower than he had in the landing bay. He was much more cautious and less decisive than during their fight. It was as if he was favouring a wound. Blaze wasn't sure how Nale had healed, but whatever method he had used hadn't been 100%.

  If only I could transform, Blaze thought. I could take him out now. But Blaze didn’t try, because he knew deep within him that the doctors were right. Transforming again too soon might end poorly for him. And if he got taken out, what would happen to the others?

  He continued to pull the Priestess towards the door. "Let's go, Priestess," he said. "They'll be fine. I promise." It was a blatant lie, but she was the most important person in the room. He had to make a choice. He felt like Ben in that instant. This was such a Ben move; cold, calculated and ruthless. Blaze felt a wave of deep respect for his partner. It was not easy making such decisions.

  "Watch out!" Artos shouted.

  Blaze turned and saw that Nale had brought out his red blade.

  "Great. Just great." Blaze hissed.

  Nale formed the first fireball and launched it. Artos and Portos dodged, but that meant it came right at Blaze and the Priestess. Blaze dragged her to the ground, protecting her head and falling on top of her.

  The fireball flew over them, lightly singeing their hair as it went. The fall caused Blaze’s grip on the Priestess to loosen. She was up in a trice and sprinting towards her people.

  Blaze swore.

  He bounced to his feet and charged after her. His hands now free, he took hold of his rifle and fired at Nale as he ran.

  The villain let his cape do its work, focusing rather on creating three new fireballs. Each fireball was aimed at a different target. One at Tinkaku, one at Artos and Portos, and the last at the Priestess.

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  Nale fired.

  The Priestess seemed oblivious of the projectile headed her way. She had fished another pistol out from somewhere and aimed it at the fleshy monster.

  Blaze pumped mana through his body, straining to catch up with her. Mana reinforcement was not his forte. He generally needed to transform to take part in any serious battle, but it was enough to allow him to catch up with the Priestess.

  He knocked her out of the way just in time, twisting his own body to try to avoid a head-on collision with the fireball. Unfortunately, it caught him in the side and he clenched his teeth when the pain surged through him.

  As he fell to the floor, he heard someone else screaming. It was the Priestess. Blaze ignored his pain and got to his feet hurriedly. He was surprised to see she was okay. Her eyes were on Tinkaku, and he definitely wasn’t okay.

  The Chintari aide flopped to the floor unceremoniously. The entire left half of his torso had been burned away, leaving just charred flesh.

  Nale roared in victory. "A satisfying death for a traitor!"

  Blaze looked back at the Priestess. She looked horrified and there were tears running down her cheek. He rushed to her side, grabbed her by the shoulder, and forced her to look him in the eye.

  "Focus on me," he said. "Don’t look at him." He realised that wasn’t working so he tried something else. "Stay here!" he commanded.

  She didn't respond, but he believed she got the message. Blaze rose to his feet and grabbed up his rifle. The burn in his side screamed for attention but he continued to ignore it. He was severely handicapped without his transformations, but it didn’t mean he was useless. Blaze flipped some of the controls on the side of the rifle, then reached into one of his pockets.

  All Stellar Authority agents carried healing packs with them on missions. Unfortunately, the nature of the healing packs meant that only a maximum of two could be carried in close proximity. They would become too unstable and might explode otherwise.

  Blaze had two healing packs with him at the moment. He fished one out of his pocket and loaded it into the rifle. He took aim at Tinkaku and fired.

  A single blue bullet zipped into the Chintari man’s body. He didn't react, but if he was alive, the healing pack would keep him that way. Blaze turned his attention to the fleshy monster. He flipped the buttons on the rifle again, then fired.

  This time a single black bullet shot out. A black circle appeared where the bullet hit the creature. Blaze turned and fired at a nearby wall. Another black circle appeared there. A mechanical squeal cut through the air and suddenly the creature was pulled towards the second black circle.

  Blaze looked at the female ninja and shouted. "We have 10 seconds. Evacuate them. Move!"

  She obeyed immediately and began ushering the acolytes out of the room.

  The Priestess wiped her tears and began to help her. Blaze heard Nale scream and charge in their direction. He had anticipated that. He flipped the rifle controls again. This time he aimed at the ground in front of Nale. He fired three bolts into the ground. The cape, likely not sensing direct danger to Nale, remained still. Nale stepped on the weakened floor and it caved beneath him. He fell through.

  Seconds, Blaze thought. Everything was measured in seconds now. Blaze spun towards the fleshy creature. It broke free and ran towards him. He repeated the same move and fired at the ground. The creature fell through.

  Time. He just needed to buy time. The Priestess and her crew were almost out. Suddenly, Blaze felt his skin prickle. The temperature in the place had gone up a few degrees. His eyes widened.

  Ahead of him, he saw the ninja girl stiffen. She moved sharply and pushed the Priestess aside.

  The ground ripped as a fireball burst through it. It slammed into the ninja girl directly. She spun as it hit, a black barrier forming between her and the projectile. Whatever it was, the barrier seemed to protect her somewhat.

  She fell to the ground, gasping. Smoke arose from her clothes, but she didn’t seem to have been severely burned. Nonetheless, she doubled over and coughed. If not for the barrier she would have likely died instantly. Blaze didn't hesitate. He flicked the rifle controls, loaded the second healing pack, and fired it into her skin.

  "Get her out!" he yelled at Artos and Portos. Blaze heard a scrambling sound behind him and turned in time to see Nale leap out of the hole the creature had fallen through.

  Blaze flicked the rifle's controls but he was slow. Nale grabbed the rifle and ripped it out of his hands. Blaze focused mana in his fist and punched at the villain, but Nale dodged it. The villain held his hand to the side. His blade flew into his grip. He dashed forward and grabbed Blaze by the throat. Blaze tried to pry off the villain’s grip, but no matter how much mana he channeled, the man’s fist didn’t open.

  Blaze punched Nale in the face and hurt his hand. He tried to knee the villain in the abdomen. Nothing worked.

  Nale laughed.

  "The reptile man," Nale said with a sneer. "Can’t transform anymore can you? You thought you had won. That you had beaten me. You were wrong. Even now you probably think you have bought them time. It is useless. You are their greatest defender. And I am about to kill you."

  He leaned in close and whispered into Blaze’s ear. "I will relish this."

  Blaze acted on instinct. He bit Nale’s ear and pulled, tasting blood. Nale howled in pain, but he didn’t loosen his grip.

  He glared at Blaze, as blood dripped down the side of his face. "You really are an animal," he said. "Die like one."

  He sank the blade into Blaze's flank.