Ice Flower Path of ice

Chapter 12

We keep moving, naturally I was angry, not angry enough to go second level but still angry, this Opal girl needed to pay, no she didn't need to die but she needs to be put in prison or something. Garnet no doubt will win, I hope, surely Opal isn't that strong. We round a corner and run into another of the painting things, it doesn't look like someone we know, in fact it doesn't even look human, it just looks like- some type of werewolf with no hair. I act on instinct and swing the pipe with both hands hearing a satisfying smack as it made contact with the painting, it slams into the wall and before it can get up I hit it in the head again, and again, and again. I decide to stop just in case more of the painting creatures decide to come over here and grab Lynx's wrist dragging him into a run.

"Do you think you'll be ok?" I ask, even though we need to stay quiet, even asking someone this type of thing can make them feel better and I want Lynx to feel better, after all I consider him my friend even if he doesn't consider me his friend and I want to help.

"Maybe- if Ryder's ok."

"I promise he will be, if he needs help we'll help him."

"Th-anks Dustin." We keep moving letting the silence consume us again. We're quickly cut off by two more painting things, I move to swing the pipe at one of them but before I can the other catches it, these two look relatively human. The one I was swinging at kicks me and it sends me into the wall leaving me winded, I look up as the second is about to kick me and suddenly water tangles round its throat and slams it into the other, before they can do anything else the water envelops them and I see them slowly getting torn to shreds by something, no doubt Lynx was doing something with the water inside that bubble. I look over at him and he's just staring at the ground and curling his hand. The painting things are torn to shreds slowly and the water makes its way back over to Lynx, Lynx is no doubt one of the scariest people I have seen, when he's like this.

"Umm come on almost there I think." He nods as I stand picking up the pipe and run round the next corner, surely enough we're met with the main room of the warehouse, Ryder, Brock, Levi and Haven are all fighting off the painting things while Garnet is dealing with Opal, Garnet can handle Opal I know that for a fact, I glance over at them and sure enough Opal is being blasted into the wall by a pink energy wave, then a blue one, then a red one, Garnet isn't letting Opal get up. I look back at the others deciding to go help them, Lynx already using the water to tear multiple painting beasts to shreds, I just need to get to the door and I can actually be a help. I bolt for the door dodging around fists, claws, feet, stingers, all manner of things as the painting beasts try to stop me but I make it with just a scratch on my arm and fling the door open flicking my wrist and bringing plants swarming through the door but as I turn I see the others, Ryder is surrounded and being beaten by multiple painting creatures, Lynx is being held back and so are the others, they're fighting against it. The painting things can strategize, if they deal with one at once then they can kill them more easily, before I can do anything I feel my mands grabbed and my arms are pinned to my back and I'm pinned to a wall by just one of the creatures, fuck, they know we need our hands to use our powers, well Levi doesn't but he can't go through them while they're moving, not at his first level. We're all forced to watch as Ryder is beaten helpless save for setting the occasional beast on fire, then he falls to the ground on his hands and knees, the beating just getting worse, some of the beasts are clearly using powers. And we're just being forced to watch helpless.

I try to fight against the beast holding me against the wall but it's too strong, I can't even move an inch and my hands are still pinned.

"Get of-" The painting thing covers my mouth, how many arms can one thing have. I try to fight more but the beast punches me in the face which slams my head into the wall, I start seeing stars as my head pulsates with flashes of pain. I feel the floor start to vibrate beneath my feet and suddenly where Ryder was erupts into flames reducing many of the beasts to ashes. Then something stands, it's covered in green and vibrant orange scales, its eyes completely black, it only has pants on, torn and burnt pants. One of the painting beats punches the thing and it doesn't even move at all, doesn't react, it just turns its head to the beast and its hand is around the beast's throat faster than my eyes can keep up with. The hand is covered in the same scales as the rest of the thing, it looks reptilian but human at the same time, claws tip each finger of the thing...Is this Ryder, peoples second power levels have been known to immensely change their bodies, but I have never seen anything that is completely changed other than the shape of the body. Ryder digs his claws into where the beast's wind pipe would be and suddenly jerks his hand forward tearing a large gap in the painting beast's neck, the painting beast is set on fire and reduced to ash in seconds. It's amazing. Ryder looks at the other beasts turning each one to ashes save for a few, it starts to walk towards the others and tears them apart using his claws, one he even kicks the head off of. Ryder keeps walking, he sees me pinned but there are various other beasts in the way, he tears three more to shreds and reduces the next to ash.