Chapter 28
Warnings: None
~Lachlan's P.O.V.~
Our heads snap towards the cracking wall, and we all draw our respective weapons, along with equipping our beaten up armour. Rob and I lash out our dual swords, Jerome whips out his prized diamond axe called 'Betty', Vikk draws his sword and uses his endersoul hand to levitate a stone block, and Mitch although in no condition to move, loads up his bow and aims it towards the cobblestone block.
But the very moment the block shatters, and only a second before we rush forward to attack, Rob lashes out his arms.
"HOLD YOUR FIRE!"
And before any of us can question him, an all too familiar glowing head is poking through the hole.
"Preston!" We yell in unison, our weapons disappearing in an instant.
"That's my name." He smiles, breaking the block underneath him and strolling inside the cave.
"We thought you'd never make it!" I exclaim, the six of us joining in a group hug.
"Correction, you didn't think he'd make it." Rob says.
"That's a lie and you know it. You guys just wouldn't admit it." I counter, sticking out my tongue.
"None of that matters now, what does matter is that Preston found us safely. And now we need to tell him our plan." Vikk states, Jerome, Mitch, Rob, and I nodding firmly in agreement.
"What is this plan in which you speak of?"
"I'll tell him." Jerome offers, "Okay, so. *insert plan here*"
After Jerome finishes explaining the plan to Preston, the cave is filled with silence. And then, Preston starts to chuckle.
"Haha very funny Jerome. Now are you gonna tell me the real plan or not?"
Jerome stares blankly back at him and blinks, "That is the real plan Preston."
Preston's smile instantly fades. "Seriously?"
"Yep." Mitch confirms.
"So you guys want me, a human, creeper, lava hybrid, to fight and defeat four mutant snowgolems myself?"
"Pretty much." Vikk says, nodding.
"You guys are insane! It was risky enough for me to even come out here, never mind fighting mutants!"
"Yes Preston, we know it's a risky plan." Rob continues, "But we though if you heated up enough, the snow will instantly evaporate before you even get close to it. And because the snow golems only attacks are throwing ice blocks and present at us, you'll only have to dodge present seeing as the ice would probably melt too. Then all you've got to do is pretty much walk up to them and boom, their dead."
"... Yeah okay there's some logic behind that. But there's four of them, and only one of me."
"Jerome, Vikk, and I will cover you with our bows and try to distract them. And then Lachlan and Rob can protect us by using their swords to knock down the mutants blocks." Mitch states, as if he had planned that idea ages ago.
"Speaking of mutants..." I trail on warily, "Shouldn't they be ambushing us right now? Because last time I checked they were waiting outside to kill us."
Ever so slowly do we turn towards the cobble stone wall, freezing in place as we watch two snowy arms grab at the edges of the gap where Preston entered. And then, the entire wall smashes. All of us jump away from the exposed entrance, the four mutant snow golems bursting in.
"NEW PLAN! PROVOKE AND EVADE, MAKE AN OPENING FOR PRESTON!" Mitch hollers, shooting an arrow into one of the snow golems who is approaching Preston.
The five of us split ourselves equally to distract the mutants. Mitch takes on a mutant by himself, firing an arrow at the golem and then using the terrain of the cave to his advantage, ducking behind ledges and dodging the projectiles. Jerome and Rob work together basically playing ping pong with the mutant. As the mutant will approach Jerome, Rob will run up behind it and hack into it with his dual swords, and then when the golem turns on Rob, Jerome will shoot it form behind and draw its attention back to him. And then Vikk and I have our own technique. Vikk will smack the snow golem and repeatedly telelport out of the way before it can hit him. And then when Vikk needs a couple seconds to rest from the constant teleporting, I'll strike at the mutant and keep dodging the projectiles until Vikk is ready again. This leaves one snow golem for Preston to take down.
Panting heavily with searing lungs, I catch my breath as Vikk skillfully evades the snow golem. Taking this brief moment of freedom to check on Preston, I watch as he ducks under multiple blocks. But each second that passes results in Preston's skin glowing a tad brighter. It's not long before the waves of heat are noticeable, even from over ten blocks away. And just like it had done so long ago back in the spider nest, Preston's lava like skin begins to drip from the intense heat. The very next ice block that is hurled towards him evaporates before it can come within three blocks from him. He lunges towards the mutant snow golems and within five seconds all that remains is a small puddle and a lifeless pumpkin head. And... A fish. The mutants must have gone and picked it up! That must be why Preston wasn't attacked the instant he got here!
"Earth to Lachlan!" A tired voice intersects with my thoughts. "You're up mate!"
I redirect my attention to Vikk and the snow golem, quickly sneaking up behind it before it can strike him down. I plunge my sword into its snowy back, the golem letting out a pained crunching sound and whipping around. It attempts to chuck a present at my head, but I duck under it and back away to create some distance between me and this monster. I'm vaguely aware of the passing heat, signifying Preston is going to kill another mutant. My eyes flicker over briefly to determine he's helping out Mitch next. Which is probably a good thing since apparently Mitch had tripped and his ankle got trapped between two rocks.
"Lachlan, pay attention!" Vikk's voice rings out just in the nick of time.
I turn back around just in time to see an ice block sailing towards my head. I side step it quickly and my eyes follow as it smashes against the rock behind me. I sigh in relief, momentarily diverting my attention from my opponent.
"Lachlan heads up!"
Once again I turn around, and once again there is an ice block whizzing towards my head. The only difference is that this one is much closer, and faster than the last. Not to mention there is a present following closely behind it. With no time to try and deflect or dodge the incoming projectiles, I simply throw my arms over my head in a desperate attempt to protect myself. I squeeze my eyes shut for impact, that is until, there's a twange, whoosh, and two distinct crashes.
I crack open a hesitant eye to see what happened. Judging by the fact that Mitch still has his bow raised (even in his awkward position), and Vikk has his endersoul hand stretched out, I can only assume Vikk has fired a block to intercept one block, and Mitch shot down the other. I also witness the second golem disintegrating, brought down by a tackle from Preston. It also seems Jerome and Rob are still going strong... It almost looks as if they're having fun.
"Thanks guys!" I express, yelping as another block soars over my head. Right... It's still not dead.
"Over here you wimpy lump of snow!" Vikk taunts the mutant, beginning another cycle of teleporting.
Once again while Vikk telelport and I catch my breath, I take time to note our standpoint. Jerome and Rob are grouping together to keep the snow golems focus on them while Preston sneaks up behind it, ready to strike. Mitch's ankle is still wedged in the stone, and he's trying to pull it out but failing miserably. And Vikk is still jumping around, but for the brief moments he's visible I can tell he's starting to take too much damage. The short rest periods I create for him aren't giving him enough time to regenerate, and the fact that food has been scarce probably isn't helping.
"Hey Preston, get that thing down quickly! Vikk's starting to give out!" I call, a poorly aimed present passing over my head.
Preston flashes a quick thumbs up before turning back to the golem.
"Look out guys, I'm coming through!" He hollers, taking a running start at the mutant.
Jerome and Rob quickly feint to the sides to avoid being burnt as Preston sprints directly through the snow golem. It gurgles in pain, swiftly drooping until it's nothing more than a pumpkin on the ground.
"Lachlan and Vikk, you guys get away. Jerome go help Mitch, and Rob you think you can distract it yourself?"
"Fudge yeah." He replies confidently, Preston nodding approvingly.
I back quickly away from the mutants line of fire, and the very moment Rob arrives the distract the mutant Vikk telelports beside me.
"You okay Vikk?" I worry, his weakness blatantly obvious.
"Yea... I just... need... a minute..." He huffs, backing against the wall and sliding down to the ground.
"Teleporting that often really adds up y'know." I comment, squatting down beside him as he smiles weakly.
"Trust me... I know."
Vikk and I watch in silence as Preston finishes off the final mutant. And off in the corner Jerome gives a hearty pull on Mitch's leg and his foot pops out from its prison. Now that the fight is finally finish, we all celebrate and congratulate each other.
"The first thing I'm doing when we get back to our house is sleeping." Rob plans, all of us chuckling.
Then my eyes flicker over to the forgotten fish sprawled on the ground. "Which reminds me... It's about time I get my memories back."
Everyone nods in agreement as I tiredly push myself to my feet. And then I confidently approach the lifeless raw fish.
"I'll catch you Lachlan, go for it." Jerome offers, walking up beside me.
"Promise you won't eat it while I'm out?" I tease him, Jerome rolling his eyes.
As a few snickers sound in the background I stoop down and grip onto the slimy fish. I straighten out and only a few seconds later the sensation of falling overcomes me and the world clouds over.
~~~
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