Cavalry

Breathe. That’s all The Reaper could focus on. The temporal displacement had disoriented them but they quickly realised when and where they were. Undulia’s fist struck their left temple as the three fought on the corpse pile. Loren had taken a step away from the battle, knowing that any pain he inflicted would be inflicted unto him; his skin burned as Undulia turned The Reaper’s scythe back onto them. Both combatants retreated to their corners. Now separate, Lore and Char stood with their clones at the foot of The Slingshot, the sea of the dead surrounding and separating them from Undulia and Loren.
“I must commend your toy soldiers. They play nicely with other people’s toys.” Undulia shouted over. She tapped at her wrist. “Kill them all but leave the ginger. He’s mine.” Undulia smiled as, wave by wave, the sea came to life.
“You didn’t kill them?” Lore stared through Ace. “Why wouldn’t you kill them? They’re only robots!” Ace pointed to a sheepish Magpie.
“We were a little pressed for time and we needed a quick solution and and…” Magpie spewed every possible excuse he could in under a minute as more and more of the soldiers rose from the floor.
“You up to it?” Lore nodded to Char.
“I’m fine if you are.” Char looked to her damaged partner.
“You lot, there’s a communications module in there somewhere. Take my Breacher and send the signal to The Razor. We’ll clean up.”
“All well and good giving it to me but… Never mind, we’ll work it out on the go.” Ace waved his hand towards the staircase and they were off.
“Thanks for waiting.” Lore smiled. They held their hand out, Char took it.
“This looks like an even match up.” The Reaper smiled as they extended their staff.
The golden light poured from the head of the staff, once again forming their scythe. The Reaper was, initially shorter than the soldiers but their problem was swiftly rectified. Now hovering a foot or so off of the floor, they began their attack. With one wide swing, bodies started to fall. The soldiers who had been more than an equal to the clones and any other known warrior stood as grass to The Reaper. Like a knife through butter, Undulia’s forces lay spread on the ground. While the majority had been disarmed in Magpie’s initial sabotage, a few small clusters had retained usage of their weaponry. With their flailing comrades now out of their way, the rifle wielding troops had their chance to shine. The courtyard, lit only with The Reaper’s glow, now saw multiple new light sources. The soldiers tight formation and sustained fire was leading their bolts to coalesce into waves of burning plasma. Trying their hardest, The Reaper used their scythe to absorb their opponents attacks. While this was effective, their defence was far from absolute. Undulia, who had remained with Loren to observe their downfall was starting to get impatient. That was when the tank re-entered the fray.
“If you want a job doing…” She tutted under her breath as she reactivated the primary reactor and readied her weapons.
Noticing this new threat, The Reaper darted from The Slingshot’s base to the eastern wall of the courtyard. They had managed to thin the soldiers numbers but still some remained and without them protecting it, The Slingshot was now open.
“They’ll be alright. Come on, we’ve got an ex to fry.” Char whispered in the back of Lore’s mind. The Reaper nodded at the thought.
Time slowed. The soldiers and the tank were still moving, but now at an infinitesimally slow rate. Swimming through the air, The Reaper threw their scythe towards the soldiers who were now at The Slingshot’s entrance; they continued forward, every centimetre closer to the tank brought with it agony and strain. They were already injured and they were pushing themselves further than they had before but it was the only way. Burning, they reached Undulia. Between them sat thirteen layers of reinforced metal but that did little to dissuade them. Summoning the last of their strength, The Reaper held out their hand. Turning it clockwise, the metal began to tarnish. It was a struggle but after one hundred and eighty degrees, Undulia was revealed and a pile of rust created. Time resumed. The scythe had done its job, mostly. The one lucky soldier whom it had missed was swiftly dispatched of by Avarice. The scythe now stat amongst its dead as Lore’s staff. The Reaper split, spitting Lore and Char to the floor. Unconscious, Lore fell to the tiles below. Char managed to land on the remains of the tank. Winded, she took a breath before moving towards the quaking mess within. She looked so small. Swaddled in the wreckage, Undulia sat. Buried in rust, she looked to Char then hid. Char looked to her, then to Loren. She held out her hand.
“Here.” Char spoke softly. She was apprehensive at first but eventually, Undulia accepted her offer. She was shaking like a leaf as Char lead her to disembark the tank. “Sit down.” Char maintained a calm demeanour as she gestured for Loren to come over.
Lore grunted as they regained consciousness. They blinked repeatedly, trying to clear their vision. Char made her way over, skipping over the dead. She shot herself towards Lore, arms outstretched, ready to latch onto them. She wrapped them up in her warm embrace. There was a noticeable temperature difference between them. Char backed away for a moment to check her partner. Being The Reaper of so long had taken its toll but they were still alive and quickly recovering.
About ten minutes passed in silence as the clones tended to the deactivated mess of robots and Char tended to the wounded.
“I’m sorry.” He spoke in a soft whisper. “I didn’t want this but it had to happen.” He shook his head at Undulia. “She could be so much better but not yet… Thank you.” He looked to Char and handed her their weapons. Char left the two of them alone and returned to Lore.
“Hey you.” She handed Midpoint Loren’s weapons before kneeling at Lore’s side. “Our communication got through. Fleet will be here in the next few minutes.”
“What about them?” Lore pointed to Undulia.
“She’s harmless. I think watching your mug suddenly teleport and dissolve through a tanks hull scared her straight. At least that’s what I’m getting from Loren.”
“If I say so then.” Lore chuckled.
“This is Occam’s Razor to Slingshot. The Cavalry’s here.” Emm’s voice boomed over the courtyard’s loudspeakers as clones repelled from the sky. “Sorry we’re late…” They followed up. Both Lore and Char chuckled. Plans Made.