Heat of the Moment

[Android 17]

The projectile twirled through the air as a yellow blur before slicing clean through half of the decayed bone that connected its desiccated wings to its shoulder blades. Although not enough to sever the appendage completely, the damage was enough to knock Roseus from the sky, and the undead dragon came crashing down to the floor of the magma chamber with a thunderous boom that shook all of Mount Escorial.

“Advance!” Julius shouted as they all fired upon the downed drake. After an initial salvo that blasted apart more of the decomposing monster’s hide, the dragon regained it senses and leashed a wide spray of viscous lava at her attackers. Seventeen dove back but as he did, he caught sight of one of the koopas vanishing beneath the wave of lethal liquid.

I’m sorry, Jiggy, The little red-shelled turtle, blanketed by the lava, was gone long before the cyborg’s boots smacked back down onto the ground.

“We have her on the ropes!” One of the astronomers shouted as he stepped forward to fire another bolt of energized ice at the dragon. As he tried to launch the attack, something sprung up from the ground in front of him. The man tried to sidestep away but was too slow to avoid the rusted axe blade that buried itself halfway through his chest. A weak, wet hrngh escaped the magician’s lips before he dropped limply against his murderer.

“Of course,” Seventeen muttered beneath his breath as the dust settled and he saw that five figures had torn their way up through the layers of dirt and stone. Although the uprooted adversaries were just over four foot, the axes they held were just as tall. Their helmets and lower bodies were rounded, but their chests looked like little more than once-shiny cylinders. In a way, they looked like life-sized chess pieces that someone had left in a dank cellar for a few years. What could have once been shining chrome torsos and beautiful paint to the rest of their armor had been faded and in a few places gouged away entirely.

As he retreated to put some distance between himself and the new arrivals, Seventeen noted that the five axe-wielding warriors each had distinct colors and proportions. For instance, the yellow one looked like he was packing on a little too much weight, and the pink had a dirty bow on her head to complement her crumbling eyelashes and faded lipstick.

Still scanning his surrounding, Seventeen made eye contact with Marie Koopa, who wore an expression of immense discomfort on her face. “What’s with you?” He shouted as some of the remaining astronomers leashed a concentrated bolt of lightning against Roseus.

“That’s them.” Marie rasped, gesturing toward the still unmoving warriors. “Has to be them, based on all of the descriptions.”

“Your fruitcakes?” Seventeen asked, eliciting both a scowl and a nod from the female reptile. “Wonderful,” he added as he tightened his grip on the Power Sword.