The Noble Queen-A Shadow Slave Fanfic

The monster had been wanting out!

The vessels had been biding their time, using the remaining uncorrupted humans as bait.

It had worked. Jet, Noble, Chip, and Coy had answered the call to bring out the innocents trapped within the barrier.

Yet, the monster hadn't accounted for them coming in from the top of the dome or expected Jet to take the mundane mayor directly to the Dream Realm.

Noble had seen the strong response when the explosions rocked the city, but it was more likely the sudden disappearance of the hostages that had angered the Skinwalker.

The monster would not allow that to happen again before it had reached its goal.

Noble furrowed her brow. 'Prepare to be disappointed.'

"Help!" a small voice screamed beside her.

The floating duelist was not the only member of the group who had been pelted by former people. Coy and those riding on Helios had also been attacked by the unconventional precipitation.

Nearby Coy had scrapes across his face, and his armor was caked in blood. One of his daggers had been dismissed and was reforming in his hand. He was still in one piece.

"Down there!" He pointed.

Below them, Helios roared. Trying to protect the humans and fight off the creatures had caused him no small amount of trouble. His beautiful mane had been ripped out as the falling vessels tried to gain purchase and climb on the Symncus's back.

The echo's mouth and paws were covered in blood as he continued to shake the remaining skinwalkers off of his body. They were stuck tighter than glue!

That was until Helios slapped his front and back paws together and arched his back. He sucked in a large amount of air and then blew it at the attackers. The combination of the crushing force and gale-force winds caused a small shockwave to emanate from the powerful beast, dislodging all but one of the possessed hitchhikers.

As well as the boy Leo was trying to protect.

"Teran!"

Lonzo reached for his son, ready to plunge after him if needed. But Fir caught him before he could make the suicidal jump, and so the child fell all alone.

Noble locked onto the boy before he could go too far. She dove after him, scooping him up with one arm as she cut apart the skinwalker trying to sink her teeth into him. They flew through the departing monster upward toward the rest of the group.

The human storm had not been meant to kill them, merely to slow them down. If the Noble and the others were dead, then there would be no reason for the army to keep the portal open.

Whether the Skinwalker knew this or just didn't want to bother finishing off the humans, Noble wasn't sure. All she knew was that she couldn't let the monster reach its goal.

While Noble struggled to catch up to the others, she looked up to see Fir in hand-to-hand combat on the Symncus's back. The man was keeping his head down to avoid eye contact, and the position was about to get him killed.

'Leo, fetch!' Noble sent the silent command.

Helio's long tail snaked around the vessel's waist, lifting the creature from his back. With extreme prejudice, the golden echo threw the corpse back where it came from--at the column that formed the massive hand.

The tower of broken humans was tall but not infinitely wide. The collision knocked four of the human building blocks out of line, causing the whole structure to sway.

"That's it!" Noble's eyes went wide.

"What is?" Teran tried to keep his eyes shut despite the exclamation.

"It's like a house of cards. If I remove the ace..." Noble's voice trailed off. "Go be with your Dad. I will continue to send you all up, but I need Leo."

The Master released Teran from her grip and sent him toward Lonzo. The father and son drifted into the air away from their ride.

"I've got you!" Noble assured Fir as he tried to hang on to the floating Symncus.

Reluctantly, the scout sailed away from the furry steed, keeping his eyes shut both because of the danger and the elevation.

"What can I do?" Coy drew near to the others.

Noble frowned, looking at the man's waist. "You have your radio?" 

Coy touched his side as his face paled. "The monsters must have taken it!"

That was unfortunate. Now there was no way to warn those above that the monsters were coming. The Skinwalkers would be obscured by the clouds until the last second.

Pursing her lips, Noble nodded. "Then there is no time to lose. I need you to leave!"

"What?" Coy looked confused. Isn't that what they were trying to do?

"Go to the Dream Realm. Now!"

Despite Noble's assertion to Fir, the duelist did not have everything under control. Fighting off the Skinwalker's mid-air had cost her essence and then diving to save Teran had blown through even more.

If before she barely had enough to get them through, now she was severely lacking.

Add to that the need to stop the Skinwalkers from escaping, and the improbable task became impossible.

The only way for Noble to gain back a little bit of her essence expenditure would be to carry fewer people through the sky.

But unless she wanted to drop someone back to the earth, Master Coy would have to go.

Now that the dome was open, he could pull on his tether freely.

The curly-headed man seemed to understand. That didn't mean his heart wasn't breaking by leaving. 

He had already lost Chip in the course of this mission. Leaving before it was through felt like he was abandoning the others to their fate.

But if he stayed, that would all but guarantee the mission's failure.

"I would give you my explosive Memory, but it won't be ready to go for some time." He explained quickly.

Noble had seen how catastrophic the bomb had been in the tunnel. Having a two time limit before needing time to reset was unfortunate, but it made a lot of sense. Noble trusted that what Coy said was true.

With a salute, the curly-headed man dissolved into nothing.

Noble immediately felt her connection to the man sever. Her reservoir of essence slowed its rapid depletion. 

Her reserves were still draining at a frightening pace, but the other four beings under her care did not drain her nearly as much as the Master who was now safe from harm. Being part of her soul and free from the riders on his back, Helios required almost no essence to float through the air.

That was good. The Symncus was the only other being that could leave them, but he was also the best ally that Noble had left.

Fir was merely an Awakened and a wounded one at that. But he was better than nothing.

Noble looked at Fir as a small object formed in her free hand.

"Guard the others and make sure they make it to the platform!" She shoved the small Memory into the man's hand. "And give this to Endo! I want to speak with him as soon as you are safe."

"Yes, Ma'am." Fir saluted and took half of The Other's Voice. One eye came open before snapping shut again. "What will you do?"

"Take down the monster," Noble answered, her eyes swirling beneath their lids.

"By yourself?!" Fir's emotions spiked, but Noble did not have the essence to calm him. "You really are crazy!"

"It's only a million Skinwalker vessels." Noble shrugged.

"Good luck, Queen Bee!" Teran chirped.

The two men stared at her, concerned, but they simply nodded. Noble would need all the luck in two worlds.

Tilting her head up, the duelist sent the three on their way. They were barely halfway to their goal. Coming down, the trip had seemed much faster.

'Falling is easier than flying...'

There was no time to dwell on this fact.

The success of this mission lay solely on her shoulders now.

Noble had work to do.

Gritting her teeth, she dove into the action.