Yakuubdi

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Name: Yakuub-di - Straight Strike

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"Something's happening, Mua'teth..."

"I know, I hear it too. Over that way."

"Should we check it out?" Yakuub-di asked, already readying her weapon.

"Of course. I think those robots are involved too, I can smell them from here," Mua'teth growled, spreading her wings and taking to the sky. Yakuub-di soon followed, speeding after her sister in the direction of the noise.

The younger twin let out a low whistle at the destruction before them. A city lay in charred ruins, the ground blackened and strewn with charred pieces of iron armor and weapons. Five Emberoids marched in a slow line, blasting the buildings before them with chemical from their bellies and scorching the earth with the lava-like substance pouring from their wings.

"Mua'teth, look at that thing! It's massive!" Yakuub-di exclaimed, eyes wide.

"Yeah, I see it. That one's modeled after an Imperial, that's why it's so big. The others are a Guardian and Ridgeback, plus two Snappers," Mua'teth explained, watching as a small building was reduced to ash by the Imperial Emberoid's wing. "Whoever made these things is smart. Look, the Snappers are holding back with the other three surrounding them; those ones must be important to this plan somehow..."

"I think you're right, but where are they going? The city looks empty."

"After the citizens, if I had to guess... Come on, we should find them. They can't be too far and maybe they can tell us more about those things."

"Relying on outsiders for information, huh? Guess we don't have too much of a choice here," Yakuub-di said, sighing and shaking her head. "It looks like those things came from the southeast, so they had to have gone north or west. Should we split up?"

"I-"

A loud crack interrupted her, drawing both nain-kianjas' attention. As they watched from above, the Ridgeback Emberoid shattered a barrier they hadn't noticed, revealing the horde of frightened, escaping dragons hidden behind it.

To their alarm, only a thin line of twenty exhausted soldiers stood between the encroaching robots and the fleeing group, only about half still brandishing some sort of weapon. A large Guardian stood at the head, clearly their leader, rallying the soldiers for what appeared to be a desperate final stand.

The sisters watched as the Guardian, wielding nothing more than a broken sword, charged straight into battle with his soldiers behind him. The Guardian met both the Ridgeback and Guardian Emberoid in a brutal clash, leading the two away and leaving the Imperial and Snappers to his comrades.

Screeching, the Imperial Emberoid bucked in a futile attempt to dislodge the soldiers clinging to its hide, spouting as much chemical as it could from its enormous wings. A handful of the soldiers harrassed the Snappers, forcing them further away from the Imperial.

"Whatever they're trying to do seems to be working," Yakuub-di said, feeling a little impressed.

"...They need help," Mua'teth muttered, dread growing in her heart. Just as the words left her mouth, one of the Snappers managed to catch a soldier in it's jaws, flinging the helpless dragon into the dirt. Similarly, the Imperial struck several down with a sweep of one massive wing and the soldiers' leader let out a roar of pain as the Ridgeback dug its sharp teeth and claws into his flesh.

"Come on, we've gotta help them!" Mua'teth exclaimed, drawing her combistick and rushing forwards.

"Mua'teth, wait! MUA!" Yakuub-di cried, but it was too late. Muttering a brief curse, she drew her own combistick and charged after her sister.

"Yaku-"

"Are you mad? They're just outsiders, what-"

"That doesn't matter! They might be outsiders, but I can't sit there and watch them die, sister!" Mua'teth roared, glaring at her sister beside her. "I'm going to help them whether you join me or not, Yakuub-di!"

Yakuub-di paused, falling behind for a moment and wondering when she last saw her sister so fired up about something. She quickly pushed those thoughts away, gritting her teeth and charging after her sister once more.

"Mother won't be happy you know!" she yelled.

"I know! I don't care!" Mua'teth yelled back. "You help that dragon with the Ridgeback and Guardian, I'll get the Snappers. The Imperial's too busy dealing with the soldiers right now and once we get rid of the others, we can team up on that big guy!"

Yakuub-di nodded, giving her sister a quick smile even though she knew Mua'teth couldn't see it, and raced towards the two large Emberoids. Her combistick ready, she took aim and flung it at the Guardian Emberoid. The stick pierced through the robot's neck, leaving a clean hole behind it as it lodged itself in the ground.

The Emberoid didn't flinch, simply turning its burning gaze to her and quickly switching targets. She leaped aside as the robot crashed into the spot she'd been just moments before, dousing the area in flame. Reacting quick, she fired a beam of magic at the robot, though it did nothing but polish the beast's hide.

It rushed her again and again, the frenzied slashes from her shuriken doing nothing to weaken it.

'How can I beat this thing?!' she thought, a bit of fear worming its way into her mind. She couldn't see anything else but the Guardian Emberoid - its proximity to her and massive size meant it blocked most of the battle from her view.

A sudden, horrible screeching noise akin to a nail on glass sounded from her left, though she couldn't tell what it was. Unfortunately, it was enough to distract her and give the Guardian Emberoid a chance to strike.

It grabbed her in one massive paw, pinning her to the ground and readying its chemical breath when, suddenly, it sputtered and loosed a similar screech. She scrambled away as it's grip loosened, looking back in shock to see the Guardian piercing the Emberoid's stomach with her combistick.

A snarl ripping out of his throat, the Guardian heaved and cut the robot down the center of it's abdomen, spilling gallons upon gallons of chemical on the earth below. The Emberoid crumpled, the glow of its eyes fading as it finally lay, defeated, on the ground.

Her combistick landed beside her, tossed there by the weary Guardian. She could see he was rather badly injured; the Ridgeback Emberoid had carved several deep wounds into his flesh. Looking to the left, she spotted the motionless remains of the Ridgeback sitting in a pond's worth of chemical just as the Guardian Emberoid's husk did.

"Aim for the belly. That's how you kill these ones," the Guardian barked. "Now get up, we don't have much time left to kill the other three."

With that, the Guardian galloped to join his soldiers in downing the Imperial. Gathering herself, Yakuub-di snatched her combistick from the ground and rushed to her sister's aid, alarmed to find she was the only one remaining among those fighting the Snappers.

"AIM FOR THE STOMACH!" Yakuub-di screamed just as one of the Snappers managed to grab her sister's wing. Thankfully, Mua'teth heard her, jabbing her combistick into the Snapper Emberoid's abdomen in time to stop it from incapacitating her like the soldiers around her.

Yakuub-di didn't have time to feel relief; the other Snapper was closing in. She readied her own combistick and hurled it with all of her strength, hitting the Snapper precisely at its weak point. Both Emberoids quickly collapsed as the chemical leaked out, leaving only the Imperial.

"Are you alright?" Yakuub-di panted, landing at her sister's side.

"Wing hurts, but I'll be fine-"

"Finish it, quickly!" the Guardian roared, having seen the two Snappers fall.

"Let's help them finish this, sister."

"Yeah, come on!"

Yakuub-di grabbed her combistick, waiting for an opening to hurl it at the Imperial. She and Mua'teth spotted one, simultaneously throwing their weapons into the Imperial's chest.

The combisticks struck, lodging into the Imperial's massive chemical chamber rather than piercing through, and the massive robot froze.

Yakuub-di heard the Guardian curse loudly before urgently screaming an order to retreat. Each and every soldier still mobile turned to flee, but it was too late.

The heat in the clearing seemed to rise exponentially as the Imperial Emberoid screamed, its entire body slowly gaining an ominous red glow. The chemical within, visible through the clear chamber, appeared to be boiling where it once looked rather calm, boiling and expanding until cracks formed in the Emberoid's very body.

The sisters' eyes widened as they realized what was about to happen, knowing they were all far too close to flee. Suddenly, the Guardian appeared before them, managing to herd them and another soldier or two under his wings just as the Emberoid behind them exploded in a massive blast of heat and flame.

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Yakuub-di coughed harshly, struggling for breath. The explosion had blown her biohelmet off and filled the air with embers and ash, making breathing incredibly difficult and painful. She could hear her sister gasping beside her, realizing that her helmet was likely lost as well.

She tried to fan some of the sooty air away with her wing, but a sharp pain stopped her and sent her into another fit of wheezing. Slowly, she tried to sit up only to realize something solid and heavy was draped over her.

"Yak..." she heard her sister mumble, voice hoarse.

"I'm... I'm okay," she answered, pausing to cough. "I'll be fine, just... are you okay?"

"Helmet... gone... can't... breathe..."

Her eyes widened, realizing where they were. The Guardian had shielded them from the explosion with his own body, but now her sister lay pinned beneath him. Acting quickly, Yakuub-di grabbed her sister with her uninjured hand, slowly pulling her out from under the Guardian's chest and wing and into the open.

Mua'teth coughed harshly as Yakuub-di used her good wing to fan away some of the ash. She stared in shock at her sister's state, although she doubted she looked any better. The clearer air helped, however, and Mua'teth came to a few moments later.

"What... what happened? Oh, my head," she groaned, struggling to sit up.

"I... it exploded. He protected us," Yakuub-di murmured, turning her shocked stare to the motionless Guardian before them. Her eyes widened a hair further when she registered a small, subtle movement of the Guardian's chest.

"Mua-"

"Sir!" a soldier, having just crawled out from under the Guardian's other wing, exclaimed. "Beorn, sir! Sir, please get up!"

"He's alive," Mua'teth whispered, catching the soldier's attention. The dragon turned to face them, face immediately morphing into one of fear as he hastily pulled out a small knife.

"Who... Who are you? What do you want?!" the soldier stammered, standing between them and the Guardian.

"...Stand... down..." the Guardian groaned, his eyes cracking open to reveal his glazed gaze.

"...Sir?" the soldier breathed in shock, lowering his knife and looking back at the Guardian in concern.

"It's alright, lads... There's been enough fighting today... Rest, you've all... earned it..." he groaned, voice fading as his eyes drifted shut.

"Beorn, sir!" the soldier cried, dropping his knife and rushing to his leader's side. He placed a paw on the Guardian's chest, gulping in fear as the realization hit him. "He... He's..."

Yakuub-di met her sister's gaze for a moment, and they nodded to each other.

"We can save him," Yakuub-di blurted, Draconian feeling foreign on her tongue. The soldier whipped around in shock, his jaw agape, taking a moment to gather himself before frantically nodding.

"We owe him that much, at least. If not for him, we wouldn't be here," Mua'teth said. "But... the treatment will be painful and hard, he might-"

"He'll make it," the soldier said. "Whatever your treatment is, it can't be worse than this war."

"...Alright."

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