Path of the Hunters [PART 3]

"It'll be more fun when I'm not holding back." The polearm he held turned to sand, burying him.

*

He returned the smile. "Um... So ever'body's gonna be leaving soon..."

"Same here," Came Nova's voice from behind her. He grabbed the bat, crushed it into dust.

*

"Yeah... I hope the other two don't make trouble, or I'll never get around."

She glanced back, several daggers forming from the sand and shooting out at him. They passed through harmlessly and Sunny looked back at the wolf, who was watching them with an amused expression. "Hey!"

Aurélie only smiled.

*

"You mean the babies?"

Nova glanced back at Aurélie, smirked. "I had all under control."

*

She nodded. "I guess I can't leave Auntie Elesis to take care of them, on her own. She'll never survive." She giggled. "She can barely keep up with me."

"Well, if you 'ad sent blades at 'er, I would 'ave taken care of them. You aren't the only ones warming up."

*

He smiled. "Yeah, but I've never seen babies that small. How much trouble can they be?"

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Now that I think about it, why couldn't you do that for the kids?"

*

"Yeah, I guess you're right. But still, it'll be nice to get to know them."

She blinked. "I..." Now that she thought of it, she'd never actually been able to make the blades go through another person. "Hm... Per'aps I could 'ave..."

*

He nodded. "Yeah."

Damien walked into the base's field armory, all dressed up in his armor and loaded with with his standard weapons, though with a carbine replacing the battle rifle on his back. "Hey Cross, you in here? Katherine said you were here..." He called out as he looked around.

"That's an invaluable skill. Definitely perfect that." That's when he noticed something off. Wasn't there supposed to be someone by her side? "...Where's Trip?"

*

She smiled. "So, whaddaya say we go greet them, now?"

*

"In the back!" Cross called, waving his hand, which was now covered in armor similar to an ODST's only it was tan in color.

"Bof," she grumbled, looking around.

*

"Um... I should tell them I left..."

Damien walked over to him, face hidden under the visor. "So, whatcha think?"

He sighed. "Ah, shit. Well, this is Trip, so he couldn't have gone far."

*

"Hm? Who're you with now?"

*

He chuckled. "I think you guys have a new ODST variant." In a short amount of time, he had studied the equipment around him, and adapted it to his own tastes. Namely, he now wore an armor set similar to that of an ODST close quarters variant, but with some large differences.

The armor had been mostly stripped to compensate for his diminutive size, save for pieces protecting major points of the body-shins, waist, wrists, hands, and neck. The chest plate and left pauldron remained mostly the same, save for being downsized to fit him, and they were now painted a black color that contrasted his tan jacket. On the unarmored parts of his body, he placed hardened kevlar plates underneath his clothing.

"I give you the Mobian-exclusive Cross Variant. It's still got a long way to go, but this is a good start."

"A start is better than nothing, Cross." He stated as his visor de-polerized, showing his face as he anylized Cross's changes to the standard SS ODST armor, for once completely serious.

"Let's hope so," Sunny muttered. "It ain't like Trip to just wander off, though."

*

"Sunny, Nova, and Aurélie," he said, looking back. He blinked as he noticed that he had no idea which door to go in. And, for that matter, he had no idea where they were. He hadn't even noticed when they'd started to walk... "Um..."

"Well, let's hope he's at least with someone. He has that much sense to stay near trusted people, namely adults."

*

Yue looked around, a bit surprised at this as well. "Whoa! Didn't even notice we moved. Hmm... I think I recognize this area..."

*

"Given my preferences for close to mid-range combat," Cross explained. "I modeled it based on the Close Quarters variant. Because of size differences, I had to downsize on the armor. To compensate, I placed scale-like sheets of hardened kevlar plates underneath the unarmored clothing. It's not exactly prime against plasma, but it will do fine for this mission."

"I also modded the shield generator. It now produces a high-power frontal energy shield, when called upon with a simple flex of the muscles." Doing so, a green energy shield projected itself in front of Cross, extending his full body height. "Guaranteed to deflect just about any gunfire, maybe even sniper fire, and keep kicking. Haven't tested it that far, yet." The shield disappeared. "But it only lasts about five seconds, without my powers. And obviously, it only defends in one direction."

"And zero sense of direction," Sunny pointed out.

Aurélie sighed. "Enough bickering. Let us find 'im."

*

Trip looked around nervously, shuffling closer to Yue. She may have been younger than him, but she was someone he knew and that was much better than nothing.

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