Don't Forget

#46 Hybrids

     Not everyone could go charging into battle. For that, Quinten is thankful. He doesn't know if his magic would stand up to another fight. Even now, he's being careful not to use it. The dizziness has just gone away. Jason says that he was even acting super weird. All the squid number remembers is a numb haze.
     A small group of soldiers are hiding out in the woods with the civilians and the medics. Quinten knows a bit about healing even without his magic to speed up the process. The soldiers are periodically leaving the temporary base to retrieve soldiers that are injured. It's a new side of battle Quinten hasn't seen before.
"I don't like just sitting here", Jason mumbles uneasily. His armor grates together as he fidgets from side to side.
"Would you rather be fighting? I'm sure Sub is fine", Quinten tries to comfort him. That's the real reason the half Zemrlt is so worried.
Quinten and Jason are both children of war, along with so many others. Even Adam had no say in getting involved. The war's changed and affected all of them, usually for the worst. The children are left to finish their parents' war.
     "I know that! Sub wouldn't let anyone stop him, but what about everybody else?", Jason pouts a little.
     "Well, Adam can heal fast, remember? And Mitch has Jerome to watch his back. I think everyone will be ok", Quinten thinks too optimistically for the subject. He's never lost anyone close to him.
"If you say so", Jason mumbles, but his thoughts wonder off to another subject. "Do you remember everything from when you magic was so low?".
"Not really. It's mostly just a blur. Why? Did I do something worse then snap at an assassin?", Quinten slumps down a little bit.
"Nothing like that! It's just something that you said to me....... is, u-um", Jason has a hard time asking his question outright, "Could you really fix my leg?". Quinten chokes a little, surprised. He's thought about the possibility before, but didn't want to say anything until he was sure.
     "Well, maybe? In theory? I wouldn't really know what's wrong with your leg until I saw.... it; I don't know what to fix", the squid number carefully chooses his words. Healing wasn't top priority in the facility, especially for squids with physical deformities. It's seen as a weakness. Quinten doesn't think of Jason as weak at all. The lame Zemrlt half breed ran into a fire to get to his friend. Jason built his own armor. He doesn't know how to use a sword, but carries one so that he can protect people. Quinten looks up to Jason, even if he's older.
     What Four doesn't know is that Jason feels the same way. Adam and Sub are both amazing and important to him, but Quinten wasn't raised knowing what was right. Jason looks up to him because Quinten went against everything he thought was true.
     "Don't worry about it now. Your magic is still pretty wonky. You can tell me more later", Jason shrugs off the topic. He doesn't understand how his limp effects him; that's all he's ever known.
     Both of the teens are startled out of their conversation when a group of soldiers burst into the clearing. Quinten immediately gets up and grabs some bandages that are sitting nearby. Jason hurries behind to try and help.
     There's already a couple dozen injured soldiers scattered around the clearing, but more are coming. Quinten knows enough to help.
"For god's sake, put me down! I'm not dying!", the familiar voice makes the two push to the front of the crowd.
     "You're not dead, but you can't walk", Jerome half growls at Mitch when the Captain struggles in his grip. The bottom half of his right leg is dripping with blood. He took an arrow right above the kneecap. It's so deep that it must be halfway through the muscle.
     Jerome finally sets Mitch down against a tree as Quinten gets to his side. A few other medics linger, but Mitch waves them away when he sees Quinten and Jason.
"That's bad. You'll be lucky if you don't have a limp at the end of this", Quinten bites his lip. He could easily fix it with magic, but he's afraid to use it.
      "It doesn't matter. I should be with my troops instead of taking a nap", Mitch grumbles. His complaining is more of a distraction from the pain then actual complaint. How can he fight if he can't walk?
     "The gate has just been broken into! Lyssa will do fine from here. You know I'm right", Jerome crosses his arms. There's a lot of blood on him, but only a little of it is his.
Jerome was with Mitch when the arrow was shot. One second, the Captain was shouting orders, and then he crumpled to the ground like a folding chair. Jerome thought he was a dead for a horrible few seconds.
A deep war horn makes the hybrid jump. The GoldenEye troops are using arrows to communicate, but the sound didn't come from the squid's captive city; it came from deeper in the forest.
     "It's them....", Jason trails off, his wide eyes focused on the forest. He's never been to his homeland or even heard the battle horns before, but he can feel his kin coming closer. All Zemrlt do.
     The most shocking part is that the first groups don't make any sound in the dense tress. It's hard to make out any details as figures start streaming by a few at a time. They all flow around the camp like it's a rock in a flowing river.
     A great bird breaks out of the trees and ends up flying right over their heads. It's not until three more soar by that Jerome realizes they're not birds. The hybrids fly in a tight formation.
"Liblicen really came to fight", Mitch watches the hybrids pass, looking at Jerome. These are his people. Jerome is similar to Jason in the way that neither of them know their homeland. Mitch and Jerome fought over it before they got separated.
A figure runs low to the ground, but they stand up straight to look at others following behind. Jerome makes eye contact with them from across the clearing. The other bacca seems confused at Jerome's appearance. Everything about Jerome looks strange to them, but now is not the time for mind tricks. The bacca runs off on all fours with the others of its kind.
     "You know you want to", Jerome looks at Mitch in shock when he speaks, "I'll be fine. It's not like I'm going anywhere. Go see where these hybrids are heading; that's an order". If Jerome decides he wants to go to Liblicen, Mitch won't be the one to trap his brother.
      Jerome lingers for a few seconds before bolting. He leaves right before Zemrlt soldiers start showing up. They're just as silent, but there's many more of them.
     Now that Mitch is done talking and Jason is distracted, Quinten decides to get to work. There's still an arrow sticking out of the Captain's knee.
     "Bite on this", the squid number shoves a gag in Mitch's mouth and grabs onto the arrow. Mitch doesn't have time to react before Quinten pushes the arrow straight through his leg.

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     Jerome's heart is pounding as he runs. His battle axe thumps on his shoulder with every step. The only hybrids he's ever met are Quinten, Jason, and the squids. The thought of fighting beside other hybrids is strange and foreign. He's always relied on his strength in battle, but now there'll be allies who are just as strong.
     It's hard to do anything accept follow the hybrid's fleeting figures. Jerome doesn't know what he's running to until the tress thin out into the plains.
While GoldenEye soldiers are fighting to get into the city, there's an entire battle going on outside of it. There's no way that the squids could call in more troops with such short notice, but they obviously new about the attack if they moved their forces outside. The gate was suppose to act as a bottleneck to limit the number of soldiers coming out.
     One of the assassins must have been caught. Jerome gets a shiver down his spine when he remembers that Red never shot his signal arrow. Surely someone like him wouldn't be caught?
     Either way, Jerome has to help fight. He pulls out his axe and falls into line with another hybrid. They have scales and lizard eyes, but they don't give Jerome a second look as they both crash into a line of squid troops.
     The squids were definitely not expecting a second army. They've been divided up into smaller groups by the Liblicen soldiers. The hybrids seem to stay mostly with their own species during the battle. The Zemrlt are the only ones to repeatedly defend anyone. Jerome stands out a bit in that regard.
     The Bacca bashes away a squid's sword with his axe, slicing with his claws. The squid doesn't back up fast enough to dodge Jerome's fist. He connects with their chest and cuts deep with his axe when they're down. His fighting style is also very unique. There's a thick line between swordplay and mauling, but Jerome makes it work.
With many more deaths, Jerome fights his way to what he assumes in the center of the fighting. He's only got a shallow cut on his chest to show for it. There's a strange empty space in the middle, scattered bodies being the only occupants. At least, until a Zemrlt breaks back into the space with a squid underneath him.
Jerome can immediately tell that there's something very wrong with them. The Zemrlt seems to be dragging squids back to this spot to add to his..... collection. Jerome can't help but be curious enough to watch. No one else seems to be paying it any attention.
"You fucking killed him!", the Zemrlt is screaming in the squid's face, his voice filled with unimaginable grief and anger. His uses a sword to to stab into the squid's chest. It won't kill them, but make them bleed out slowly. Jerome is horrified to see that most of the other bodies aren't so dead. They're all suffering the same fate. This is cruel, even to an enemy.
      When the Zemrlt stands up, Jerome can finally see their face. He's surprised to see a white mask with blue and purple markings. Only his eyes are visible. The right eye is the usual Zemrlt grey, but the other is a startling white. The color glows and pulses. There's blood leaking from his eyes and all over the mask.
     Why are none of the other hybrids concerned about this? The masked Zemrlt turns to find his next victim. It doesn't seem like he's stopping any time soon.
     Jerome turns away. He doesn't understand what's going on, but that's also why he shouldn't intervene. He doesn't know Liblicen culture. That behavior could be normal for all he knows.
     Jerome is ripped from his thoughts when a squid tries to attack him. He blocks the blow and fights back, trying to forget about the circle of genocide.
      When Jerome pounces on a squid, probably crushing their rib cage, he comes face to face with another bacca. They're obviously surprised to see a stranger with fur. This is definitely not how Jerome planned to meet another hybrid.
     There's no time to talk. Jerome finishes up his squid before jumping up and blocking an attack meant for the other bacca. They scramble up quickly and resume the battle. There'll be time to talk, but not now.
     The squids weren't prepared for the Liblicen troops, and they start abandoning the battle in small groups. It gets to the point where the ruling Captain is forced to call a retreat.
     The Zemrlt seem to be willing to let them run with their tail between their legs. The other hybrids grudgingly follow their lead. Jerome hangs back off to the side to try and blend in.
      The only hybrid woh doesn't relent is the one with the mask. He throws a spear and cuts down one of the stragglers, trying to go after more. He's still screaming and now covered in even more blood.
     Two other Zemrlt are forced to run out and pull him back. The masked Zemrlt fights, but doesn't turn his sword on them. He's two angry to give in, but unwilling to attack his own.
     What could of made him so angry? Jerome watches the three get swallowed up into the group of Zemrlt. None of the hybrids seem to know what to do now that they've won.
     Jerome is just as lost. He's not sure if he should go check on Mitch, or try and approach the other hybrids. Either way, this battle is over. He can only hope that the city is secure by now. There's a lot more injured hybrids then Quinten's little camp can take.