Itzel sprinted across the lot, stepping over the strewn parts of carriers and the chunks of pavement as she kept her head low to avoid detection. Enidri turned to look at the woman dashing towards her, carrying an expression of both fury and worry on her face. "What are you doing?" Itzel could make out what Enidri was saying by watching her lips move. With the Tauria still facing the other way, Itzel ducked behind an upside-down carrier that was halfway between the two halves of the team. She pressed her hand against her chest while Enidri mouthed obscenities towards her in silence. Itzel took a deep breath and rested her back on the metal of the carrier.
There was a metallic creak as a part of the carrier began to move. Itzel got up and watched in horror as the rusted hinges that kept the door attached gave in. It made a loud metallic clang as the part clashed with the other rusty pieces inside. Itzel hunched forward, placing her hands over her head to protect herself as the sound of metal clashing that shot out through the entirety of the parking lot. The Tauria locked on to the location of the sound, letting out a roar as it pressed its remaining horn into the side of the totaled vehicle.
Metal crunched and tore as the Essencima continued to dig its horn inside the carrier. After extracting its sharp point from the metal shell of the carrier's exterior the Tauria bowed its entire body forward, preparing itself to ram into the vehicle head on. Enidri looked at the Essencima from the safety of her hiding spot and then towards Itzel who remained defensively curled up.
The swordswoman activated her Ion Blade and hopped over the hood of the vehicle and caught the attention of the Tauria. Hearing the creature roar, Itzel looked up and saw that Enidri was confronting the Essencima. She made her way to the carrier that Ringa and Brielle were hiding behind while keeping below the line of vision of the Tauria. It kicked up some gravel with its rear leg, ready to charge while staring at the glowing orange weapon in Enidri’s hand with rage.
"Eni!" Itzel said as loud as she could without screaming. Ringa and Brielle looked at her with confusion as she tried to get the attention of the swordswoman.
"What? Are you trying to get us all killed?" Enidri replied without taking her eyes off the Essencima.
"No! That Tauria! That's the same one that took that one Exterminator from the park!"
"Huh? How do you know that?" Brielle said to Itzel. Her gun was pointed at the Essencima but her eyes were on Itzel.
"The horn is missing. Gurk tore it off during the fight." After explaining her observation to the officer, she then turned to address Enidri. "There might be someone inside of it! So be careful with how you attack it!"
The Tauria charged forward, lowering it's one remaining horn. Enidri jumped diagonally to the side, avoiding the creature completely. The other three jumped away as the creature slammed headfirst into the carrier that covered them. The vehicle skid across the pavement, scattering bright sparks across the ground as the Tauria pushed further into it.
"I'll try," Enidri said as she ran past Itzel and in the direction of the Essencima. "But no promises." The Tauria turned around once more, facing Enidri. It lunged its head towards her, trying to stab her with its single horn. With a wave of her sword, she deflected the attack so that the horn only pierced thin air.
Where the Ion Blade grazed the horn was a bright orange laceration. The creature let out a loud bellow from the pain. It stepped back, standing on its hind legs as it angled its body over Enidri. With its stomach exposed, the swordswoman began to raise her blade for a vertical slash at its underbelly. She stopped her strike mid-swing. Instead of following through with the motion of her attack, she opted for a retreat.
"I wish you hadn't told me that!" she said to Itzel. "I could have killed it right then and there!"
"Going for the head is going to be the safest bet," Itzel replied. She stood up straight, maintaining her fighting stance. The Essencima was only a couple of carriers' lengths away from her. The woman threw a Serrated Gale, hitting it in the horn where Enidri had left an incision. The appendage snapped off, making the Tauria buckle forward and wail again.
"For once that attack did something!" Enidri shouted. With the creature's close range defensive option eliminated, she ran in with her sword lowered by her side for a running, upwards slash. But before she could reach the aching creature, a steaming bloc flew towards her, grazing the shoulder of her jacket. The knock back was enough to interrupt her attack. She then brought herself to a halt and to look in the direction where the attack had come from. Multiple Spittlers stood on top of from a multitude of vantage points, each one aiming towards her. Enidri turned around and sprinted in the opposite direction, waving her hands towards the rest of the team.
"Take cover!" she shouted. "We've got Spittler's incoming!" It didn't take long for the others to hear the volley of sizzling vomit scatter across the pavement. They all ran behind the opposite side of the vehicles they were hiding behind. Brielle let off a few rounds of her gun, blasting away a pair of Spittlers with a small burst of blue laser that came crawling down the wall. Their bodies were riddled with scorching holes as they crashed onto the sidewalk below.
"Ringa! Bri!" Enidri shouted at the two, "Take out as many of those Spittlers as you can. Once you get them down, I'll take out the Tauria."
"Understood!" Ringa said. "We don't have too much ammunition on us, but we'll make every shot count!" She holstered one of her guns, holding her remaining weapon with both hands as she kept the lower half of her body from behind cover. A few red lasers came out from her gun as she picked off one of the Spittlers.
"What should we do, Enidri?" Janus asked as he watched the woman jump over the carrier and landed beside him. She turned to face Janus and Gurk who was right behind him.
"You two..." she looked at both as she contemplated her strategy. "Gurk's going to come with me once some of the Spittlers have been taken care of. He's the only one that can match the Tauria's strength. You on the other hand," she said as she pointed at Janus, "are going to stay back. And stay out of trouble. I don't have time to worry about saving you just because you want to be a hero."
"Told you," Itzel said in a low voice.
"Same for you!" Enidri said sharply. "These Spittlers wouldn't be on us if you managed to keep quiet! Maybe you can throw a few more Serrated Gales and tickle one of them to death."
"You're acting like I can't hold my own! I'm going in with you and Gurk! The faster all three of us can take out the Tau—"
"Itzel!" Enidri shouted. The woman looked more frustrated than angry. "I don't feel like arguing about this, alright? You've got to just... trust me on this one. Stay back here. Make sure Janus is safe. Don't know why you let a rookie tag along but there's no point in berating you over it right now." She quickly brought up her screen and sifted through her menus as fast as she could, only taking a brief glance beyond her cover to see how the battle was going. Ringa and Brielle fired a few more shots, keeping the Essencima at bay. After sizing up the situation, Enidri returned to her screen.
"What are you doing?" Itzel asked as she tried to get a view of the projection. With one hand, Enidri spun it around so that Itzel could see what she had done.
"There. So you won't think I'm scamming you." Janus and Itzel both looked at the screen. In big white text were the words "Payment: Disabled" on her Labrisson Exterminator page.
"What did you do that for?" Itzel said with confusion.
"Now you know that whatever I'm doing isn't for money. Maybe then you'll actually listen to what I have to say. And I can't enable it for another two hours, so I'm in this for the long haul. Once that Tauria goes down, you and Gurk will be getting an even split."
"Fine,” Itzel said bluntly. “I believe you, Eni. Me and Janus will stay behind and watch for anything that might come from the other side."
"Thank you," Enidri said with relief. The plodding of a heavy creature across pavement could be heard over the sound of laser blasts. Everyone looked past the carrier they were using as cover. The Tauria crept closer to them, shaking its head and letting out a huff of air through its nostrils. Behind it were more Spittlers with open mouths, scanning for targets. They fired a few projectiles towards Ringa and Brielle, forcing them to duck down and cease their fire.
"You ready Gurk?" Enidri asked the crocodile. He kept his gaze focused on the slowly advancing Tauria that lead the formation. He looked towards the swordswoman and gave her a thumbs-up.
"Good," she said. "Now just follow my lead."
