Lucky Rabbit {Twisted Wonderland} [Various X OC]

Taking Down the Beast

The clearing the group first arrived in had just come into view when they heard it. Those gargling shrieks and the screeching of metal could only mean one thing.

"Are you kiddin' me?! It's still coming! It pushed off all that weight!" Ace cried in disbelief. Sure enough, the mine monster was rapidly catching up to them, even going so far as to sprint almost like a wild animal, using its clawed hands for an extra boost.

"Ooooooooogh...! Giiive it baaaaack...!"

The five reached the clearing in a matter of seconds. The monster was quickly gaining ground on them, and they were running out of places to run to. Deuce glanced behind them and cursed.

"It's too fast! It's about to catch us!"

Yu skidded to a stop and turned to face the dripping beast.
"Then it's kill or be killed!"

Ace and Deuce copied his actions, followed by Grim a moment later. Ace pulled out his pen, already bracing himself.

"Aw, fine! Let's just smash the thing. Try not to wet yourself, Deucey!"

"Same to you, Ace!"

"I'm gonna show ya why they call me Grim the Great!"
Grim spat out a wave of blue flames, and the fight began.

Elle quickly looked around the clearing for anything she could possibly use as a weapon, but came up empty. She knew when she was a liability. Since neither she nor Yu could do anything in this fight except for get seriously injured, she decided it was best for the both of them to stay out of it. If things went poorly, someone needed to be able to carry the wounded. Her eyes immediately searched for Yu, and once she found him, she pulled him with her behind the other three.

"Huh...? Elle? Why are we...?"

"All we would be in that fight is an obstacle. Unless you can find a weapon that could actually hurt that thing, it's best for us to stay back."

Yu bit the inside of his cheek, the stress and frustration weighing on him. His next sentence came out more bitter than he intended.

"Weren't you the one refusing to let anyone go in front of you when we first saw it, though?"

Elle tried not to flinch. She should have expected he would be mad at her. She took a deep breath that came out more as a sigh. Apologies were never enough in her experience, so the safest option would be to run through her logic. Hopefully he would understand her reasoning and there would be no need to involve anything as abstract as emotions or morals in order to justify her actions. Her eyes were a little duller and her tone was monotone as she explained.

"Yeah. I didn't know what it was, I didn't know its strength or what it was capable of. At that point, the best strategy was to run, which I am the worst in the group at. Strategically, my being in the front would ensure the highest chance of survival for the group as a whole.
The difference here is that we have knowledge of what the monster is capable of, and a solid and feasible plan that we're working with. Those three aren't at each other's throats, and the monster is weaker. I don't just throw myself into harm's way to be a hero or anything. I'm just doing my best to keep us safe."

Yu wasn't exactly expecting a speech, but he supposed it did give him some insight as to how her mind worked. From what he could tell, she simply considered herself another variable. Her self worth wasn't high, but it wasn't low, either. It was...neutral. Detached. Needless to say, he didn't like that.

"I'd rather it never have to get to the point where you sacrifice yourself...but that's not really in my control, huh?"

A small silence fell over the two as they watched Ace duck under the slash of the monster's pickaxe and fire off a wind spell, redirecting a fireball that Grim sent hurtling past the ink creature around to hit it in the back of the head.