Athena landed with considerably less than her usual grace when Jerik finally caught up to the Smoke Brigade. In fact, without her front leg to stabilize her, and approaching at such a high speed, she practically collapsed on landing, and sent a shower of dirt into the air in a long slide, covering several members of the platoon. They hurried to get out of her way, though a few were still knocked aside as she struck them a glancing blow.

“Get ready for contact!” He screamed, leaping off of Athena’s back. “Form a screen protecting the wagons! Nick, get your kit and get Athena battle-ready!”

“What?” Nick blurted, his face rapidly going pale with the surprise and panic of the moment. “What happened to her?”

Jerik had no time to reply. The dragon that had been so close to catching Athena was rushing in now, and it released a long stream of fire as it swooped down on them. Everyone dove to the side to avoid it, breaking the one chance they had for defense. The flames crashed over the wagons, shattering wood, incinerating precious supplies, and igniting what was left. Jerik swore loudly even as he opened fire with Benji’s rifle. Thankfully, the dragon was only Rare-Class, and the bullets shredded the monster’s wings, bringing it down. Some of the others, recovering from the dragon’s attack, finished the beast off with another volley.

They had a few seconds of peace, in which they stared, horror-struck, at the burning wagons. All of their backup weapons, repair materials, and loot were destroyed. But they didn’t have long to ponder how bad their situation was. A distant roar shook them all from their thoughts, and they turned to see no less than three more dragons in the near distance, flying directly at them.

“Defensive screen now!” He yelled, switching to Paragon and loading a round. “Nick, patch Athena up!”

“Right!” The young man said. He drew out the compressed repair kit he carried in his pack and ran over to where Athena was laying on the ground, growling in pain and anger. “I can’t do much without the supplies we just lost, but I can get you moving again.”

Athena remained as still as she could and let him get to work. Jerik, meanwhile, fired at the lead dragon, striking it at the base of its neck. He swore again, having meant to hit it in the head. But then someone just behind him fired as well, and half a second later the dragon fell out of the sky, a massive hole torn open in one wing. It plummeted out of sight in seconds, no longer able to fly. There was no chance it could survive that fall. He spared half a glance to the side to see Averin, his rifle lifted, reloading.

“Good,” he said firmly, the animosity of earlier already fading from his mind. When it came down to it, he was just glad to have another competent sniper with him. “We’re probably fucked, but we’re going down fighting.”

“Damn right, we are,” Averin said with a fierce grin. “Don’t lose to me, you hear?”

“As if.”

The two of them continued firing, putting five rounds into the second dragon and bringing it down before the third reached them. It was a frost dragon, and its icy breath froze five or six members of the platoon before it passed. Jack turned to follow it, switching back to the assault rifle and firing a volley. More than a dozen guns fired in unison with him, but the dragon was quickly out of range, and barely injured. It circled back, flying lower. It hit the ground in a long, controlled slide, and lunged forward to snap up two of the platoon in its jaw. Eight dead in seconds.

Fortunately for them, the close proximity led to the dragon’s instant death as more than twenty rifles pelted a storm of bullets into its chest, neck, and head. With a feeble imitation of a roar, the dragon collapsed, killing one more as it fell to the ground. Its head actually barely missed Athena, making Nick jump as he felt the giant creature shake the earth around him. He went back to work quickly, his soldering iron patching up the hole in Athena’s leg.

With the dragons dead, there was another long pause. Jerik could see on the horizon that a swarm of monsters was rushing in their direction. Probably the entire army, he thought. But they wouldn’t make contact for some minutes. Which gave them some time to prepare. Not enough to flee, but enough to plan some resistance. Jerik pulled his tablet out, and furiously scrolled through the information there. Where was the thing he was looking for? There! The Menoran army, judging by Max’s location information, was nearby. Less than half an hour away, in fact.

By his best estimate, they had ten minutes before monster contact, if they were lucky. Probably closer to five. He turned to face the platoon and shot the large ice chunks that had once contained their allies. They’d respawn sixty seconds after their death, and the ice was just obstructing their view. The items left behind by the players spilled out across the ground, and the last surviving Toad rushed forward to collect it all. It was his job to sort the items by player, so he could re-equip each respawning player as quickly as possible.

“Protect him above all else,” Jerik said, pointing at the Toad. The players around him moved to form a protective screen. “The longer he lives, the longer we survive. At least we have more offense without the wagons. We’re still fucked, though.”

“Jerik!” Morgan shouted, running over. She was still pale and clammy-looking, but she seemed to have recovered enough to fight as normal. “I’ve just checked the map. The army is close.”

“I saw,” he replied quickly. Even as he talked, he was reloading the assault rifle, and giving it a quick inspection to make sure it wasn’t badly damaged. He did the same for Paragon. “But given our situation, I wouldn’t say they’re close. Those monsters will hit us long before we could reach them.”

“Maybe,” Morgan said. She too spoke quickly, understanding the need for expediency. “But if we use a mobile defense pattern, do you think we could make it?”

He frowned as he thought through the question. It had merit, he realized. Without the wagons, they’d move a lot more quickly. It would still be a huge gamble, but it had a better chance of success than if they were to make a stand here in the open, without backup. Die where they were, or die on the move, rushing for a goal. It was a quick decision for him.

“Let’s do it,” he said. At that exact moment, Athena got to her feet. She tested her leg gingerly, but it seemed fine. At least, it could take her weight. Nick was rolling his supplies back up and gave a reassuring nod.

“It won’t hold against real damage,” he said. “But she can move and fight.”

“Good,” Jerik sighed, relief flooding his systems. He moved to stand right in front of the tek griffon, staring into her eyes. “We’re about to fly back into the storm. Our chances of survival are slim, but we can buy time for these guys.”

Athena’s eyes were thin slits, and she seemed eager to fight something. Say no more. Let’s hunt together.

“You got it,” he said, hurriedly climbing onto her back. “The rest of you, move to the north to intercept and join the Menoran army. Nick leads the move, and Morgan issues orders.”

They were all still pale and showing the signs of exhaustion born of fear, but at his words, their eyes hardened, and all nodded, hefting their weapons a little higher. He gave them a nod of his own. This seemed like the kind of moment where he should say something inspiring, he thought. But all he could think of was how dismal their chances seemed, even with fine discipline and training. Still, he had to make an effort.

“We’re in the final stage now,” he told them, slamming a new magazine into the assault rifle and detaching the silencer. “Final boss, home stretch, all that bullshit. We’re out of supplies, but we’ve got bullets. So use them. Let’s fuck ‘em up.”

Athena jumped into the air as the men roared in approval at his words, shaking their weapons in the air. In no time at all, they were as small as ants upon the ground, and a second later, he lost sight of them altogether. He crouched low over Athena’s neck and she picked up speed, rocketing back towards the monster army that was charging in their direction. From his pack, he retrieved two thunder grenades, holding them clutched in his hand. He waited for Athena to fly over the horde before he pressed the buttons and threw them down. A shuddering explosion shook the air, shredding a dozen monsters and sending even more flying in all directions, punching a hole in the line. It was filled a second later.

Another dragon appeared, flying forward to challenge Athena. She dodged its rush with ease and turned to pursue it, sinking her talons into its delicate wings. It crashed to the ground, smashing another few dozen monsters before it came to a stop. Though nowhere near dead, the other monsters simply stampeded over it, finishing it in seconds. There was no way to stop the horde, he thought. He could throw every grenade he had and barely account for five percent of them. Still, he and Athena strafed along, taking out as many as they could.

In the moment of battle, Jerik found, to his surprise, that he could easily hold on with just his legs, his instincts making sure he stayed put. That left his hands free to manage the assault rifle, and he fired indiscriminately into the army of monsters. They had no way to avoid the hail of bullets he released, and he continued to make small holes in their ranks. Every monster he brought down tripped one or two others, and, in his destructive spree, he was actually managing to slow down about half of the army.

Unfortunately for him, he had to constantly switch aim to flying monsters that rushed at Athena, protecting her by attacking. If she fell, they had no chance, so he had to keep her safe. Dragons, giant bats, wyverns, monstrous birds, and all other sorts of creatures attacked them, but no more than two at a time. Athena continued to fly as fast as a shadow, weaving in and out of each group of attackers while Jerik kept firing.

The number of monsters flying out to meet them increased exponentially, and soon Athena couldn’t afford to stay close too long. Each time she tried to attack one enemy,  another would be at her back or flank, slashing and biting. One succeeded in opening a deep wound in her flank. There was no blood to spill, thankfully, but it was clear she was running out of stamina fast. They were running out of time, but they couldn’t let up. Any second now, they’d fall, and it would truly be over.

Suddenly, another roar ripped through the air, and an electric-blue and jade-green dragon appeared, flying at top speed. They slammed into two of the monsters battling Athena, tearing them to pieces at once. The dragons were carrying humans, who hacked with a sword and a spear, cutting into the other monster. It was Max on Vernex, and a woman he didn’t recognize, on a dragon of her own. In seconds, the pair had wiped out the pack of monsters.

“Looks like we got here in time,” Max said, a broad grin splitting his face. “The army’s less than ten minutes behind us, and they’re well equipped.”

“Took you long enough,” Jerik said. He nodded to the woman. “Who’s this?”

“My sister Amira,” Max replied. “She knows you, of course. That’s enough for introductions, I think. Let’s put an end to Kan-Menora!”