Dark on the Waters [Dark Data]

[Blink]

It had been a long time since Blink had seen real, life-threatening against-the-odds combat. She had been in some scuffles here and there, mainly one on one fist fights or quick chases, but nothing like this. Nothing like surviving against an endless horde of corrupted darkspawn and a giant humanoid bug. It really tested the limits of her teleportation energy, as she had to pull from reserves she didn't know she had. It was easy enough to zip through her portals, but she found it difficult to correctly place the gates to where she could have the advantage coming out. More often then not, she would open a portal and then have to immediately close it because the monsters were so close to going through it already. Thus far, she had successfully avoided serious injury, but it came at the  cost of wearing down her stamina. She wouldn't admit it aloud, but she was feeling the fatigue.

Blink was currently standing with the men she was fighting alongside. There was the spikey-haired blonde swordsman, Cloud Strife, whose blade was about as big as his body. There was Cole, the young man who had proven himself to Blink already earlier with his acrobatics and excellent use of two energy-pumped handguns. Then there was a child robot. That description, Blink had mused, might be considered rude or condescending, as it did nothing to explain just how lethal that 'child robot' had proven to be. He was by far the strongest of the foursome, even if he looked the least threatening.

All four of them stood side by side, staring at the monster that someone referred to as 'Hornet.exe'. Most of the soldiers that it came with had been dispatched, leaving only a couple plus the endless supply of the darkspawn this island seemed to generate. The further inland they had gone, the more thick it was. This hornet creature had been shot a stringer at that, but Cloud seem to brush off whatever he was hit with. Blink thought he might have been wounded, but he seemed okay, so she didn't think anything else of it. Instead, she prepared for another confrontation with the bug.

Unknown to Blink, though, there was a fifth warrior in the scuffle. Apparently, others had known about him but she was genuinely surprised to see a vehicle zipping through the air above the horde in front of them. She wasn't totally sure what its intentions were, but it was heading directly for the insectoid. Sure enough, without budging its course, it slammed right into the hornet and spiraled sideways, off course. Hornet.exe didn't make any audible noise, but it looked pissed. It turned towards the recovering aircraft and began to fly towards it. Whoever was in the vehicle must have been a damn good (or lucky) driver, because they just narrowly avoided slamming into the rocky meadow by pulling up just in the nick of time.

"We have to save him!" the robot exclaimed. He took a couple steps forward as he scanned the skies, his face following the direction of where the big Hornet was going. He hesitated a moment as he realized there was still another wave of darklings coming at them.

Blink put an arm up to the side and opened up a portal next to them. On the other side of the green gate was the very island they were on, except from a high viewpoint. "I got it!" She told them, and without really thinking things through she jumped through it. She probably could have consulted with her companions first, but teamwork was never her strong suit.

She was now falling through the sky, but with a plan in mind. She could clearly see the aircraft zipping through the sky, being chased by the huge bug. Her dark hair blew through the sky as she worked up some speed, and prepared to strike.

"You shouldn't go alone!" she heard. Her eyes shot left. The metallic pre-teen waved at her as he felt next to her. She awkwardly waved back, mid-fall. Being heavier then she was, he fell a bit in front of her and then aimed himself at the monster.

First Proto Man landed on the shoulder of the bug, followed by Blink slamming into its back. Neither one had an exact plan of attack other then to intercept it and send it off course, which they did successfully. It had to caught itself from sending all three of them into some trees, and then recovered before hitting the ground all-together. The ship in front of them had made a sudden sharp turn, and seemed to be heading back towards them.

"He's going to fire at us!" Blink shouted, clinging super tight to Hornet.exe's ankle. Proto Man was propped up the flying creature's shoulder-blades, keeping his balance as he planned his next move. He looked up when Blink warned him. "He doesn't see us!"

"Jump!" Proto-Man called out.

Blaster fire erupted from the aircraft towards the corrupted giant inspect. Proto Man lept up into the sky, his boots suddenly turning into a little rockets, giving an extra boost. Blink dropped off of the leg of the creature was riding. The energy blast hit the bug with a loud explosion that left a bundle of smoke. Blink disappeared into a portal under her.

She came out just over the flightcraft, sending just behind its windshield. Proto Man had given himself enough push to time his landing so he plopped right next to her. The weight of the two extra bodies caused a slight shift in the flight pattern, but it quickly recovered. "Hey!" came an angry voice underneath them. "What's the big idea!? Don't you any decency!? You don't just jump on super-elite pilot's windshields like that!" With a whirring sound, the protective glass opened, revealing an alien figure inside. His face was angry, but dropped into shock immediately upon realizing who was above him. "Ohmy--are you Proto Man? The Proto Man? Its an honor!"

"He's back," the robot said, very monotone. Blink looked up, as did the pilot who had to turn back around, to see Hornet.exe once again flying along. This time, he was soaring near them as they heard back towards the grove they were earlier. "Can you fly us lower, towards our companions?"

"C-can I fly?" the pilot stammered, but then quickly gathered himself. "Of course I can fly! I'm a super-elite pilot! Just watch this!"

Blink tensed a moment  as the spacecraft started to move towards the ground. Her eyes never left Hornet.exe, who seemed like he took no damage at all. It seemed to match altitude, following them as they moved back to where they left Cloud and Cole, ever closer to the dangerous center of the island.