“Damn, there’s nothing!” Mentos overturn a few pots he came across in an old miner’s camp, they were dry as chips. “Where the hell is water when you need it!” After he yelled, he moved to the back of the camp where a stack of old machinery was lying dormant.

“Come on, give me something.” Mentos overturn the old machinery that was moveable in search of the faintest drop. Out of the blue, the wall close by shook violently followed by the impactful revelation of a thirsting Centzor. “Oh shit!” The creature almost snapped off Mentos’s head had he not tripped and fallen backwards on his bum.

“Damn you for scaring the shit out of me.” Flipping to his feet, Mentos did a quick check to see if he had shit himself. After finding out he didn’t, he released the sharpness of Shark Skimmer and cleaved that Centzor apart. SLASH! SLASH! Acidic elements from the creature’s carcass spilt about and melted away some of the old pots lying nearby. Seeing this, an idea came to mind. “That just might work. I got to go tell Vee.”

BOOM!

Just as he gave his back to the wall where that Centzor came out of, Mentos was frightened to see legions forcing their way through the gap. They were madly digging away at the side to make it wider and easier to come through.

“Oh shit! Vee! Vee! They are coming through!” Mentos began to sprint for it back to where the Bastians were idle beneath the large gap in the ceiling. He was running so wildly that his pants fell below his waist and caused him to momentarily trip, but he quickly got back to his feet and continued running while calling out, “Vee! Vee! They are on my ass!”

“Huh!” With his keen sense of hearing, Hao heard Mentos cry for help from over one thousand metres out where he was currently digging a hole in the ground. “Mentos needs my help.” He abandon what he was doing to get back to his friend as fast as he knew how.

<Night Tamer>

<Night Tamer>

By consecutively teleporting within the limits that were afforded to him, Hao arrived within range of Mentos in no time at all. ‘There you are.’ He noticed Mentos getting closer but he was not alone. A horde of bloodthirsty Centzor was chasing after him.

“Mentos move out of the way.”

<Quick Draw-Drive>

The vibrant vertical slash raced ahead to intercept the Centzor. Mentos rolled out of its path at the right moment and later witnessed the splitting impact that Hao’s skill had. Quick Draw-Drive formed a straight line of severed corpses within the income horde.

“That should slow them down for a bit.” Thinking this, Hao rushed ahead to assist Mentos to his feet then both of them began sprinting back to where the hole was in the ceiling.

“Vee, I think I’ve found our ticket out of here.” As they ran, Mentos shared his discovery with Hao.

“Huh, you’re a genius Mentos!” Said Hao upon hearing the idea, he then proceeded to ask, “How much do you think we need.”

“With how thick and juicy those bastards are, I’d say one should be enough. The only problem is transferring the acid.”

“Just leave it to me. I know what to do.” The vigour had returned in Hao’s voice upon identifying the sure possibility of their escape. He shared his plan with Mentos as they carefully prepared its execution.

“Hey, big fella!” Mentos called out to Maelstrom as he approached, “It’s time for you to be useful! Get over here and help us out.”

“Growl?” Maelstrom didn’t like being ordered around by someone other than Kiera but in this particular situation, he had to comply with the humans who were currently keeping him alive. Thus, he followed Mentos' command and went by his side awaiting further instruction.

“Alright Vee, do your thing.”

Swoosh!

The sound of Hao’s feet screeching against the ground was audible as he made a quick U-turn to face the incoming horde. “Alright, I have to get the timing just right.” He waited until the Centzors entered within the calculated range of his Vibe Sense before making a decisive move. “Now!”

<Volume Raiser>

He timely stamped the tip of Vibe Edge onto the ground to temporarily amplify the activation of his skill. The speakers sent out a shockwave that uplifted over a dozen Centzor who were at the forefront of the horde. While this bunch remained in mid-air, Hao flung forth his sword, using Spin-Off to keep the rest at bay. Tune Points were populating very quickly.

“Alright, you’re up big fella.” Mentos who was on top of Malestrom’s head, commanded the beast to grab one of the Centzors that were still being affected by Volume Raiser. It did the task without much hassle, scooping up the tasty creature in its mouth.

“Hey, you better not swallow that!” Mentos gave Maelstrom a serious warning as he tapped its head with the blunt part of his sword to enforce how serious he was about the matter. Next, he called over the Sword Fishes, had Maelstrom chew up the crunchy carcass and spat the ichor into their bubble-back tanks. Their internal organs started to glow more brightly as they assimilated the liquid. Seconds later, they twirled in a frenzy while rising to a dramatic altitude.

“That’s what I’m talking about.” Receiving confirmation, Mentos turned his direction towards the horde and yelled, “It’s done Vee, you can pull out now!”

“Huh!” Hao heard him loud and clear. “Return!” He called back his spinning Vibe Edge before rushing over to where Mentos and the Bastians were waiting for him. The Centzors were hot on his tail.

With the help of the Sword Fishes, Mentos, and Maelstrom began their ascent towards the hole, the vortex of water they produced was supporting their weight and propelling them upward.

“Hurry Vee!” Looking down, Mentos urged his friend to catch up.

“I’m coming!” Hao’s grip tightened on Vibe Edge’s hilt, preparing to release his teleportation skill. However, just as Night Tamer was about to be tuned, a gigantic Centzor, much larger than the rest burst out of the ground inches before him. The surprise encounter caused his grip on Vibe Edge to loosen and the sword to fall out of his hand.

“Dammit!” Hao was in deep pickle now. Without Vibe Edge in hand, his sight was drastically diminished and he had no way of defending himself.

“Vee!” Mentos hollered his name upon seeing the gigantic creature that was holding Hao back. “This isn’t good. He dropped his sword. I have to go back down there and help him.” Without second-guessing, Mentos stood up then ran to the edge of Maelstrom where he leapt off like a bird. “I’m on my way Vee. Hold on!”

‘Hmm?’ Although he couldn’t see, Hao heard Mentos’s courageous voice among the swarm of screeches bombarding his mien. The smaller Centzors quickly caught up to him, coupled with the mammoth mother before him that looked to be twelve years pregnant, now he had nowhere to run to, only swift death awaited him.

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