Erin was in two places at once, both inside the golem and of the golem that surrounded her body. A mess of writhing vines wrapped around her form as she curled in on herself at the golem's core, and those same vines were like her arms and legs, hurling the golem forward at Captain Grayson. The golem was an idea she had yet to try—a way to protect herself while fighting dangerous foes not that different from Bibi's armor.

Another crew member couldn't be there to form a wall against her opponents every time. Sometimes, she couldn't run either. So, instead of taking a blow to the jaw as she did earlier, she could stand up to more physically strong people and hopefully take them down.

She embraced her golem form and threw the first punch at Grayson as she charged, bringing down her fist like a hammer on top of him. Her arm stretched as it came down, flinging itself through the second half of the arc like a ball on a chain.

Thump.

Grayson stepped to the side, his eyes locked on the golem's head. Erin grimaced in her real body. He had moved just enough to avoid the attack and nothing more. He was playing with her.

"Vine Cage!"

She yelled inside to help her form the idea but realized it would just sound like muffled cries outside. That didn't matter, though. Vines erupted out from her chest, slapping out at Grayson to try and catch him.

Whip.

"Step."

Grayson blurred. He disappeared instantly, reappearing to the side and behind where he had been moments before. Erin reoriented on him, pushing herself forward on vine hands and legs in a lumbering charge.

Boom. Crack-tsh.

Ice cracked across the ground beneath Grayson as Wen took a shot from behind Erin. Grayson jumped a moment before it hit, hanging in the air for a precious second. Erin trusted Wen not to hit her, raising her fist in a strong right hook. The vines modeled into formation before surging forward as she leaned into the punch.

"Vine Punch!"

Thud.

The moment he was in the air, she knew he couldn't dodge anymore. That gave her a chance. Her fist slammed into Grayson, sending him crashing backward into the wall with the full force of her golem's bulk. She followed him into the wall, slamming him between her vines and the metal without a second's hesitation.

"Gruh!"

A force pushed against her fist, keeping her from contacting the metal, and her vines folded around that force. Erin looked through the golem's eyes from its petal head, peering around her fist and at where he had Grayson pinned.

Grayson had put himself bodily between her fist and the wall, standing up with the wall as the ground and holding himself against the force of her fist. Her vines tangled around him, which meant only one thing—Wen wouldn't be able to get a clear shot on him without first going through her vines.

"Step!"

Erin had no idea what he was trying. While entangled in her vines, he shouldn't be able to get away. However, she knew that Grayson wasn't an idiot. He had to have a plan.

Rip.

Grayson moved in a twisting motion, carrying her vines along with his body as he spun rapidly in place. Erin tried to pull away and release him, but it was too late. She stumbled back, her golem's arm torn to shreds and leaving her with only a stump for a right arm.

Thud.

"That's a good idea, girl," Grayson said as he landed on his feet, the vines falling around him in tatters. "But neither of you has enough to put me down. I can already see the end of this fight."

Erin's heart beat a rapid rhythm in her chest. Aether practically leaked out of her loosened vines as she struggled to control her thoughts. He was stronger than she had expected, and she wasn't familiar with her new technique.

"We're not going to back down that easily," Wen said, stepping beside Erin and leveling her revolver on Grayson. "We got a good hit in on you. Let's try our luck again."

She had a point. Erin took in a deep breath, closing her eyes to the world around her and focusing on her form. Aether filled her gate, and she funneled it back into her right arm. She willed the plants to regrow.

A sapping sensation filled her chest, but the vines responded, wriggling and wrapping around each other as they stretched out of her damaged shoulder.

Thwack.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Her arm dropped to the ground with a snap as it exploded out. Erin's mind shook for a moment before she reoriented herself. It had cost some of her strength, but she was ready to fight again. She opened her senses and nodded down to Wen.

She was ready to try again.

"Where do you all find so much energy?" Grayson shook his head. "You'd make it easier on all of us if you just came along quietly. You don't have long before the rest of the base responds, and then you'll be facing down me and every soldier in Tartarus."

Erin wished she could respond but couldn't speak in her golem form. The layers of vines would just muffle her voice. Instead, she raised a fist, jumping forward and bringing it down hard to where Grayson stood.

Boom. Crack-tsh.

Grayson jumped back to dodge Wen's bullet, and Erin brought down her fist hard along his path of retreat. Her arm stretched as it came down, the vines still malleable. Fist and man collided, or so she thought until Grayson pivoted to the side.

Thud.

Again, Grayson positioned himself so that he just barely avoided the blow. It was like he could see the attacks before they happened and move himself so that he could narrowly avoid them. Erin didn't have to ponder long for a technique that could do that.

Combined with his use of the Path of Step, that gave him the Path of Will as well. If a captain had two techniques, those were the limits of his abilities. And he was a bad matchup for her and Wen.

"This fight is over." Grayson looked up at Erin's eyes. "I can't put down your vine body, and neither of you can hit me. Come along quietly, and we'll go easy on you. Keep fighting, and I'll have to start hurting your friend."

"You've been holding back from getting close to me," Wen observed.

"I don't go around hitting women when I don't have to." Grayson shrugged. "I'm not a monster."

"Hah." Wen laughed, stepping to put Erin's vine body between them. "Holding back for your high ideals, then? Chauvinism at its finest."

"Maybe." Grayson spat. "Maybe I don't like the idea of people beating on my granddaughter."

Erin raised her eyebrows inside her vine golem, but the gesture didn't translate outside the form. She hadn't expected that particular comment, nor did she know what to do with it. It was odd to think that a captain might have a granddaughter.

"Maybe you should retire then," Wen said. "That way, you could visit her."

"Step!"

Grayson disappeared, and Erin moved. She brought up a thick vine arm to block it. However, he was too fast. He blew past her and appeared in front of Wen, his fist slamming hard into her stomach.

"Aah!" Wen gasped as she doubled over.

"I would be retired if it wasn't for you outlaws."

Without thinking, Erin brought down her arm, sending it crashing down on top of Grayson, where he stood. However, he jumped back and was out of reach immediately afterward. Wen collapsed to her knees, her gun falling beside her as she struggled to catch her breath. Grayson regrouped away from them both, his hand holding onto his cap as he shook his head.

"I'll ask you not to mention my retirement again," he said. "Or I'll have to get more serious."

Cough. Cough.

Wen reached for her gun, grabbing it as she looked up at him. A line of blood ran down her lips from where she had coughed up some from her stomach, and her eyes were narrowed. Erin wished she could help Wen recover from the blow, but her aether and focus had to go to maintaining her vines. If she released them, she would be out of her form and the cost of making it in the first place. She would be useless for the rest of the fight.

"Hold him still," Wen said, forcing herself to her feet. "Just long enough for them to get a clear shot. Don't let up for anything."

Erin nodded her golem's head and turned on Grayson. He smirked. She doubted she could hold him down, but she had to try. All she wished was that they had a distraction—something to keep him occupied long enough for her to land a solid hit with her vines.

Crack. Boom.

Above them, a storm let loose with an explosion of thunder. Erin half-expected for rain to start falling as dark clouds filled the sky. However, that wasn't right. Nothing in that idea could be right.

They were in Tartarus, a massive stone and steel military base built to be a giant dome. There were no clouds inside of Tartarus. There was no wind and no storms. That meant that whatever she had just heard couldn't have been thunder.

Grayson and Wen must have noticed the same thing because both looked at the sky above. Grayson's hat fell from his head, and Wen's eyes went wide.

Erin followed their gaze and saw a massive ball of blue electricity in the sky above the lake inside Tartarus. Shocks of electricity jumped off the ball, lancing out and striking the metal walls of the base where they stuck out from the stone.

Crack. Boom.

With each strike, shocks range through the walls. The platform beneath them vibrated, and even through her vines. The power of each strike reached Erin all the way in the core of her golem, and she shuddered at the thought.

"That's Alex," Wen whispered, and Erin focused on the center of the ball.

At the center, wreathed in the blue jumping light, was a man, his arms and legs outstretched in the center of the maelstrom of electricity. She couldn't see many details about him, but there was no doubt in her mind either. It had to be Alex.

"What in the abyss," Grayson whispered, walking over to the rails as he looked out over the lake.

Thud.

"Vine's Grasp!"

Erin almost let the opportunity go by, but it was their only chance. She jumped forward, bringing down her vines on Grayson and catching him in a tangle. He might have tried to dodge, but he was distracted by whatever Alex was doing.

Erin pushed her golem body forward, willing the vines to wrap around the man and retracting them from her body. The vines pulled away from her, tightening themselves around Grayson's body and the railing without thought or purpose. They would tighten around anything they touched and wouldn't let go until they ran dry of aether.

Plop.

She fell out from behind the golem, completely exposed.

"Do it!" she shouted at Wen, but Wen was already lining up her shot.

"That is exactly what we needed," Wen said, pulling the trigger.

Boom. Crack-tsh. Boom. Crack-tsh.

Two shots fired off from Wen's gun, slamming into Erin's vines. Ice cracked around the vines, and a deep, penetrating cold went to work. The green vines turned white as ice formed around them, and the cold seeped past them and deeper inside. Erin could feel it through her connection with her curse. The heat leeched from her vines, and it would do the same to the captain contained inside. Despite it all, they had managed to trap Grayson and take him down.

Erin collapsed on her back, the power rushing out of her as she maintained her vines. Wen smiled down at her. They had done it. They had won.

Crack.

For the second time, a moment caused her to doubt as the vines cracked and ice burst into water from the vines in front of her.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.