Rising Shards

I didn't know what to do as I tried to understand the situation. Marmalade was behind me, bleeding from her stomach or gut, wailing in pain. Chickadee was either incredibly fast or my reaction times were woefully slow as she had rejoined the others.

"That should do it," Chickadee said.

Syval was still on the ground recovering.

"Aira, help her!" I said. She could teleport Marms back to camp, get her to safety. But she just looked upward.

"How am I supposed to get to her?" she asked.

"The hell are you talking about, she's right there!" I said.

"What?" Aira said. "I can't understand you. Oh!"

Just like last time, it was instantaneous. I was in that state again, finally. It felt like drinking from a frosted-over stream on a mountain path, a rush of cold and relief at once. I was less visibly foggy this time as I looked down at my hands, seeing the claws I'd been feeling at random points since I drank that junk. Everyone around looked shorter, until I realized that I was like a foot taller in this state. A glance at one of those triangular windows showed me that I looked like an Exa Cani, a big wolfish beast, but spikier and more feral looking. I didn't have time to study every change in my body, but I had a tail, and that my leg joints were all...different.

None of the physical changes really hurt, or if they did I was too pissed to notice. If these devil idiots wanted a fight, they got one. It felt like it only took two bounds to reach Chickadee, and I swung at her hard. She strained to block it, but she was still able to stop my fist. She was either stronger now with her devil-ification or had been holding back.

"Not exactly like ours, but at least you're ready for a fight now," Caeda said.

I looked back, Marms was gone, hopefully Aira got her out of here. Syval wasn't around either, which was fine by me if all of them bailed. It just meant I could really let loose.

There wasn't a need for a warmup between us, the fights earlier had that covered. With a roar, I threw my other fist, but I missed, a weird glowing block rising up under me, Caeda's elevator conjuring power lifting me upward. I stepped forward, finding another block under me. Caeda kept making more and more as I approached her. I pounced, but in midair P.D. dropkicked me.

I tumbled, but stayed upright by grabbing the ground, my claws able to grab through the pavement of the road easily. It was less easy dodging shadowy energy bolts from P.D. and Chickadee, which hit me in my face and upper chest. They had enough oomph behind them to knock me on my back. I felt at my face, surprised at how inhuman it felt in this form, now sporting a wolflike snout and two rows of sharp teeth.

I didn't have much time to feel up my own face though because the trio was on me quickly, stomping at me like I was Penteldtam. I couldn't even fight back, which gave me about thirteen more sympathy points for Penteldtam when this happened to him.

Something blue knocked Caeda over, then Chickadee got tackled by Aira.

"Fear not, uh, c-citizen?" Syval said, standing proudly in his stupid Tokickaman outfit. "We are here to rescue you."

"If you're trying to be secretive about who you are, you should've left Aira behind," Caeda said.

"I...don't have a costume yet!" Aira said.

"You should get one, it'd make you feel a bit less sidekick," Caeda said. "Unless that's what you're going for."

"Did you seriously leave to go get your costume?" I asked.

"Don't roar at me, I can't understand you!" Syval said.

"I think she's asking why you went to change," Aira said.

"You can translate for her?" Syval asked.

"No, I just think in the context it makes sense," Aira said.

"Where's Marmalade?" I asked.

Aira couldn't figure out the context for that one, but it didn't matter, as the two were pushed back by a blast from P.D.

"Stop humoring this, why are you letting them talk?" P.D. said.

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