Chapter 20: Never Give Up

The HV...was extremely slow. Honestly, even though it was going through the mud and weak ground without issue, it moved about as fast as a sloth.

"Mateo, I think my awakening magic failed you...this vehicle is slower than my grandparents and both of them had bad knees." Thalia laughed at her own joke.

"Funny, want me to kick you out and lock the door? You can walk while being chased by the skeletons." Mateo turned around as he drove the HV. 

"The skeletons seemed to not want to attack the machine." Alna noticed. She wasn't wrong. Despite them reappearing the moment the HV made it through the fog, they didn't attack it. They were walking alongside of it, occasionally trying to touch the door but then they'd give up and kept walking next to it. Maybe they didn't think of it as a threat despite us being inside?

"Listen, all I know is we owe Mateo big time for this. So far we've been chugging through the marsh but none of the skeletons have attacked us and we are safe." I stated.

"Don't make me blush now hero." Mateo said.

The HV continued pushing through the marsh but as I did before, I think I jinxed us with that safe comment. The HV came to a crashing halt and I heard a strange small explosion noise follow. 

"Hero...from here on out, when we do anything that is dangerous and somehow get away unscathed, you're staying quiet." Mateo sighed.

"I swear I'll do that..." I too sighed.

"Well, the skeletons still aren't attacking..." Alna's comment proved false though when suddenly we heard a large noise from the entrance of the HV. 

"YOU TOO CAT!" Mateo got up and went to check the door. We all saw from our spots a small hole beginning to appear. 

"Maybe they can now sense us being the HV stopped moving?" Thalia examined the hole and without warning another large bang near the door followed by a new bigger hole. 

"They keep that up, we will be swarmed in a few minutes." 

Mateo's comment wasn't wrong, now they were continuously hitting the door and making larger holes. Our safe haven would soon become our tomb...

"Can you fix the HV?" I asked, readying my sword in case they burst in.

"Maybe, I think the chemicals I made were too weak...let me try making some more and refueling the HV. I can do that from inside luckily. Just keep them busy if they burst in." Mateo ran to the back of the HV and into a small room. 

"Keep them busy he says..." Thalia now was furthest from the door. There were several big holes on the door frame, maybe a few more and they could force themselves in.

"Mizuki we need to keep them busy...let's go outside and keep them away while Mateo does his magic!" Alna's idea meant we'd need to go out into the marsh but I didn't disagree. Without Mateo it was only us two that could fight and Thalia would be an issue if stuck in here dodging strikes. 

"Thalia, go hide in Mateo's room. We will lure them away as best as we can and when the repairs on the HV are done, call us back." 

"Okay...stay safe you two." Thalia vanished into Mateo's room. We stood at the door, the skeletons hands were now trying to reach inside.

"Mizuki..." Alna looked at me and I didn't even need to know what she was doing...she was letting her monster form awaken.

"Alna! You can't!"

"I have...to...burst through...the door...follow...me." Alna's body began to grow in size, the fur covering her skin and her claws now larger than her hands. I cursed my own weakness but realized her plan was the most sound. With the skeletons brute forcing the door, we'd fail to open it through normal means. Her punching through meant we could lure them away and attack them.

"I'll save you!" I proclaimed.

"I...know...Mizu...ki..." Alna's words stopped and she began to growl. Despite her mind clearly in beast form, she followed through her plan and slammed full force into the entrance door. It caved in like paper and slammed back several skeletons unfortunate enough to be near it. Alna ran...more like lunged forward and began attacking skeletons, her attacks literally turning them into ribbons. I was awed by her ability but despite the damage to them, they fixed their bodies and got back up. 

"Damn it." I hacked and slashed at several skeletons trying to push them back. They no longer went towards the HV but towards us...namely Alna. I guess they found her to be a more imposing threat than me which was true.

"GRAWWWW" Alna's calm and pleasant voice was replaced by a monster's one. She growled as she continued her onslaught on the skeletons. I followed close behind her, attacking any she missed or the ones that revived.

I don't know how long we were at it, maybe a few minutes or a half hour but my strikes were now becoming weaker. A few times it took me several swings of the katana to cleave a singular skeleton and while the auto defense was still blocking the strikes, my arms were now a lot heavier. Meanwhile, Alna was still on a rampage. She didn't seem to get tired just more aggressive. A few times she swung in a circular motion and nearly hit me...once I think she did graze me a bit but my armor prevented it from cutting into my skin. 

"GUYS! IT'S DONE!" I turned and saw Mateo from the now destroyed HV entrance. 

"Okay! Alna...let's...go..." I suddenly realized our biggest error in the plan. Yes, we gave Mateo enough time to fix the HV by allowing Alna's beast form to unleash but how the hell was I going to get her to go back inside? She wasn't listening to any reason at this point and she was still just blindly attacking these skeletons without thinking.

"GRAWWWWHHHH" Alna's anger was intensifying. Her body was now almost double in size. Where she originally stood a head and then some shorter than me, she was now twice my size. What could I do?

"Alna...I promised to save you. I will keep that promise." I ran over to her and tried to get her attention. Alna was focused on the skeletons and not me trying to grab her from behind.

"Alna we need to leave...the HV is fine...we can escape." I occasionally had to stop holding her to block an incoming strike. 

"Please...you did it, we are safe come back to us!" I took a risk but dematerialized my sword and grabbed her with both arms. I could barely get my arms around her once petite frame. I kept trying to calm her but she was in full blown rage. 

"Hero!" Mateo had run out of the HV and came over. 

"I can't get her to calm down!" I didn't let Alna go but she was now trying to swing me off all while attacking the enemies around her.

"Damn it...here...try this." Mateo summoned a strange syringe-like object.

"What's this?"

"A tranquilizer. it should calm her down." Mateo said, the skeletons didn't seem to even try to move towards him. 

"Alright!" I tried to to inject Alna with the syringe but to no avail. It broke the minute it touched her muscular beast frame. 

"You have to be kidding..." Mateo looked and then jumped as if an idea came to him. 

"What?!" 

"Hero, give me a few minutes. I'm going to lure these creatures to a new threat...one they will notice I bet." I gave him credit, he must have realized why they were only focusing on Alna this entire time.

"Okay!" I yelled. Mateo ran back into the HV. Despite me not helping much at this point I didn't let Alna go...her attacks were now breaking pieces of my armor off and my skin was getting lacerated. I won't deny it hurt something fierce but I promised...

"Skeletons! Come over here!" I turned and saw Mateo holding a gigantic dragon?! No...it was a toy shaped like a gigantic dragon but somehow it was making noise and shooting fire. Yet, it worked...the skeletons turned to see the dragon, looked at Alna and then went towards the dragon. They weren't attacking the strongest thing...they were attacking the biggest object! It's why they didn't attack us in the HV and were just tapping it when it was moving. They weren't sure it was a threat till it stopped and was just an object of a large size.

"Hero! This thing can't take much damage before it breaks! You need to ease Alna now!" Mateo was moving in the HV, probably Thalia driving it and he was holding the dragon near the door. The skeletons were trying to touch it but never attacking it. Still, if the HV stopped again, they would attack it and be right back on us. 

"Alna...please calm down!" Sadly my screams were falling on deaf ears. Alna was not calming in the slightest and now seeing me as the only target in the area, was trying to break my hold. She didn't have try too hard, my body was already exhausted from before and one good shake threw me off. I landed on my back into the mud. Alna looked at me with angry feral eyes.

"RAHHHHHH" she screamed and lunged at me. I re summoned my sword and blocked but the impact pushed me deeper into the earth. I could feel my body taking her force.

"Alna...you need to stop! The threat is gone! We're safe!" I rose to my feet but Alna struck me again and sent me flying backwards. My sword flying out of my hand. I had learned I could resummon my sword to my hand even when launched away from me but Alna's next strike gave me no time to do so. I was once more sent flying back from her wicked strike. My chest armor breaking. I was now left in my shirt and leg armor. Blood was also covering my vision a bit, I didn't know when I got hit in the head but I didn't have time to think about that. I re-summoned my sword just in time to once more block another strike. 

"Gah..." I was able to block this hit but my arms felt like they were going to shatter like glass. I couldn't keep this up...

"Alna...I need you back...I won't lose you...I WON'T GIVE UP!" I ran towards us and jumped at her. The move mixed with the uneven ground cause Alna to fall back a bit and we both landed on top of each other. Meanwhile, Mateo's plan was working still but the HV was slowing again...

"Alna...please come back to us...COME BACK TO ME!" I pinned her to the ground as best as I could. She swipped at me, scratching my chest and arms like I was paper thin but I didn't stop. 

"I know we haven't known each other long, I know I'm the further thing from a real hero but I do know this...I LOVE YOU I NEED YOU BACK!!!" I screamed as loud as I could and for the first time Alna's attack...stopped.

"PLEASE STOP! PLEASE COME BACK TO ME!" I was at my limits, my voice hoarse and my arms like udon. Yet finally, just as I couldn't hold her back anymore...I heard something through her growls.

"Mi...zuki..." 

"YES! ALNA IT'S ME!" I held her tighter and finally her form was beginning to shrink.

"Mizuki..." her voice was still beast-like but her form was returning, I was no longer holding onto the top of her torso but now about even sized with her. 

"Alna...you're okay..." I turned and then saw a troubling sight. The HV was stopped in the distance and the dragon toy was being attacked and destroyed by the skeletons. Our distraction up. 

"Damn...I failed..." I couldn't even stand. I was still on top of Alna who was almost back to her normal form. 

"Damn it you two! Hold on!" I heard a voice in the distance but I reached my limits...I was going to die here...