Nothing Comes Easy (Hiatus)

Chapter 13

(Marco's POV)

We were getting beaten by Ludo's new henchmen, and things were looking bleak. I was out of energy, Stella had taken one hit too many, and looked like she was about to fall to pieces. Marcus could only run, but he couldn't keep running forever, and Star was getting just frustrated, as she was getting beaten.

"Anyone have any ideas?" I asked as I kicked another mushren.

"Does anyone want to switch?" Marcus asked as he dodged another one of Talons' swipes.

"Easier said than done!" Star shouted as Splinter Birch held her in the air.

"If anyone else has a better idea, I'm all ears." Stella said as she narrowly dodged another punch from Boulder Blast.

"I didn't say it was a bad idea!" Star screamed as Splinter Birch squeezed her.

As I was about to look around for an opening, I was knocked over by Marcus who was struck by one of Talon's gusts. "Hey Marco. Did I drop in at a bad time?" He asked.

"Really?" I asked. "You're making jokes at a time like this?" I paused as I got an idea. "Actually your timing couldn't be better."

As he looked at me, confused, I pushed him out of the way; then turned to Talon, who was charging at him. I managed to side-step Talon just in time to avoid his swoop. "Help Star, I'll take both of these guys."

"Are you insane?" Marcus queried. Talon made another attempt at attacking Marcus, but because he was on the ground, he wasn't able to get as much speed as before; allowing me to grab Talon by the collar causing both of us to crash into more mushren. "Rescue Star, got it." Marcus said, before running towards Star.

"You are a fool." Talon declared as he got free. "Even if you could take me, you would have to fight Fungus Armungious as well. Not to mention that you've been fighting longer than anyone here, so you must be exhausted."

"Well you're right." I said as I took a few breaths. "I am exhausted and I can't take you and Fungus Armungious by myself."

"So then, what's your game?" He asked.

"My game?" I asked. I realized that my only hope was to keep him talking long enough for the switch to make its way around. "Well, it all starts with fanny packs."

(Star's POV)

I was being squeezed by Splinter Birch. I had no idea how I was supposed to win this fight, seeing as he seemed to be immune to magic. "Nunc finis hoc!"

"I can't understand a word you're saying!" I shouted.

Just then, something exploded in Splinter Birch's face, causing him to let me go. As I looked around to look for what caused him to release me, I saw Marcus running towards me. "Star!" He shouted. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I replied. "Maybe little bruised up, but I'm fine." I looked over to Splinter Birch who was regaining his wits. "He's immune to my magic and he might just be invincible, what are we supposed to do?"

"He's a tree." Marcus said as he lit another rocket and fired it at Splinter Birch's face. "He isn't immune to your magic, your just not using enough force."

"I've been using the strongest spells I know." I replied.

"Well he's not a thin tree, he can endure a lot." He pulled out a roman candle and placed a hand on my shoulder. "If power doesn't work then the only other option is to wear him down/weaken him with fire, and that's where I come in."

"I can help." I offered.

He shook his head. "No, I'll take care of this, you help Stella. I don't know how much longer she can endure."