Dericka awoke to the muted sounds of footsteps and shouting. Once she remembered what was going on, she shot out of bed with a curse and ran outside. Had she really slept through the start of the damn Challenge?

The first thing she noticed was how there was less movement than before. Around her, people were huddled in groups in clearings or crouched down in the corridors between the barracks. Due to a lack of space, some had even begun to climb on top of the barracks.

On the battlements, orders were being called out as lines of archers drew their bows and loosed arrows. Her eyes found Joseph, barking at a group of his builders as they hefted large rocks, dropping them over the side of the wall.

She made her way up the stairs and gasped as she looked out over the walls. From the desert zone, hundreds of scorpions were skittering forward, some already crawling up the wall, though the creatures seemed to be having some trouble with it. She saw an arrow bounce off a scorpion's carapace and heard the archer get scolded.

"Save your arrows, idiot! Leave the scorpions for the builders."

The groups of fighters were rotating around the walls, most of the archers heading for the eastern flank. She spotted Tasha coming this way, carrying what looked like the head of a pickaxe with both hands.

"Tasha!" She shouted and waved. The other woman looked at her, then simply nodded and continued to the battlements closest to the swarm of scorpions. That small gesture landed like a punch to Dericka's stomach. She paused for a moment, pushing down on the pain, then clenched her jaw and walked up to Tasha.

"What's happening?"

"I'm helping out wherever I'm needed," she said with a shrug. "Jakob seems to be running the show, mostly. I think he's over on the other side."

Dericka nodded, turning to the other side. There was nothing she could really do to help here.

"Kobe still hasn't returned," Tasha said before Dericka could run off. She stopped, eyes widening as she looked out at the swarm of beasts.

"Oh, no…"

It was all she could say as that sank in, the thought of losing more of her precious Party bringing back that terrible sense of despair she thought she'd escaped from.

"Call me if you see him, alright?" Tasha said, voice laced with concern.

Dericka swallowed and nodded.

"Let me find Dmitriy and let him know as well. We can each watch a different side."

She slowly made her way around the battlements, having to slide past people in places even as they nocked arrows to bows or heaved huge rocks up and over the sides. Space was tight enough that she was almost knocked off, once even having to grab onto a cursing man until she got her balance back.

"If you're not fighting then get the fuck down!"

Feeling out of place, Derricka hurried on until she could see the eastern flank. A few lines of ponies were galloping across the wide grassy plain, stretching as far back as she could see. Most of the archers were concentrated here, gingerly pulling the poison-dipped arrows from their brightly colored quivers.

"Hold your fire!"

Jakob looked out of breath, yet still screaming at the top of his lungs, elbowing people aside as he made his way along the line of archers.

"Stop using the poisoned arrows! Our stocks are limited! The damn ponies can't climb or damage the wall, just ignore them for now!"

He ran up to her when he spotted her.

"Dericka! Listen, we don't have enough people keeping order and issuing commands, so can you just… run around and make sure we're not doing anything stupid?"

She nodded and he made to turn back and run off, but she grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Kobe still hasn't returned," she said gravely. His eyes widened. "Will you keep an eye out for him?"

"Of course," he said with a sharp nod, then he was off again, shouting about conserving resources.

Dericka looked around, searching for a place where she could be of use.

"We need shields and spears here! Apes from the south! They'll climb the gate!"

With a curse, she was off.

***

The only reason he was still alive was that the beasts were focused on something else. Some unnatural instinct was driving them forward, heading straight for the settlement. Most of the apes passed him by where he stood, pressed against a thick tree trunk, seeming even more agitated and less aware of their surroundings than usual.

His lungs were still burning despite taking a break and he thought he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth. Blood was seeping from scratches all over his body, though he'd managed to narrowly avoid any crippling injuries so far.

Kobe waited until the stream of beasts slowed down, clearing up on one side, then ran the final stretch until the grassy plain and New Haven became visible. His breath caught as he came to a stop right past the tree line.

Beasts were swarming towards the settlement in long lines. Around the walls, some ponies were circling while others pawed or bit uselessly at the sturdy obsidian stone. The line of apes was storming the gates through a hail of arrows, climbing on top only to be stabbed by spears. As he watched, something was lit on fire, spreading in a blaze before the walls right next to the gate where the apes were amassing.

"Fuck," he breathed. "I'm so screwed."

The settlement did seem to have things under control for now, slowly whittling the beasts down, though a lot more were coming. Should he just hide in the forest and wait it out?

One of the apes spotted him and turned to rush at him, screeching with rage. Kobe moved back into the forest, ducking behind a tree, easily cutting the predictable ape's throat when it appeared. If more were coming, waiting in this forest would be a terribly dangerous plan. They'd easily swarm him, or wear him down over time.

He looked back at the settlement. Even if he lived through a mad dash towards the gate, avoiding both arrows and beasts, they'd never open it. With that amount of beasts outside, they'd be damning themselves. The walls were about twenty feet, he thought, maybe a little less, but still too high for him to climb. Unless…

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There was something he'd started experimenting with, but not successfully, mainly because it was so damn dangerous. It was a bad idea, maybe even the worst he'd ever had, but it was also the only way he could see to get back into the settlement.

And if it worked… It would probably be the coolest thing he'd ever done.

He took a deep breath, nodded to himself, then began to get out the harness from his backpack.

***

Barry watched from the bushes as waves of beasts began their assault on the settlement. He had been ready to step in, but they had things under control so far. The scorpions had been a dangerous threat until someone managed to make a large metal pin float around and smash in the scorpion's heads one by one.

There was no single Ability that could accomplish that as far as he knew, except perhaps a combination of Magnetic Abilities. More likely, it would be someone that had managed to unlock Direct Manipulation. It gave him great relief that there would be other protectors out there. Perhaps his family would be safe even without his help, and he could just wander off and go live a solitary existence without ever having to show his deformed face to anyone.

The apes were the main danger now. If they all went up at the same time it would be trouble, but uncoordinated as they were, they kept getting knocked down by spears and shields as arrows continued to thin their numbers.

He brought his focus back to the illusion he was layering over himself, having moved on from his arm to his face. Keeping it going while he moved was fine, but the fine facial expressions were hard to get right.

He was experimenting with a frown when he noticed a black man racing out from the treeline and running full tilt towards the town, arms and legs pumping. The guy was wearing some strange kind of metal harness, gripping a spear in one hand and holding something else in the other one - maybe some kind of disc?

"What the…"

Barry gaped as the man swerved between the apes, running for his life as they spotted him and began to follow. The majority of the beasts were focused on the settlement, but the angry roars of the others made a number turn around and rush at him. One lunged and delivered a nasty cut to his thigh with its claws, but the man pushed through, stumbling forward.

He quickly picked up speed again, threw a disk to the ground and leapt. There was some effect that empowered the jump, jerking him violently up as his momentum carried him forward. Screaming, arms flailing, the man soared over the heads of the apes, who jumped up and clawed at him but failed to reach him.

Barry took a step forward - it was clear from his trajectory that he'd crash on the ground well before the settlement walls, at which point he'd get mobbed by the apes and likely die in seconds.

"Better give him a hand," Barry muttered as he pointed the thin, white fingers of his artificial hand at the apes.

***

Tasha stood at the edge of the battlements, leaning over to maintain a good line of sight on the pickaxe-head she was using to slaughter the scorpions. There was a rhythm to it that became mesmerising, in no small part because of the Extract.

Down, crunch, up, squelch.

At the pace of a slow count, the sharp metal would smash through a scorpion's head, then pull itself back out, moving to find a new angle for its next victim. Once she worked her way through the beasts scaling the wall, she just smashed it up and down wildly through the swarm bunching up at the bottom, like she was a giant hammering a bunch of ants into a pulp.

When her PE began to run low she pulled back, lifting the pick back up and placing it against the wall. That was all without touching it, of course, covered in ichor and pieces of carapace as it was. There might even be some venom on it. Best to keep her distance.

A quick check revealed that her Value had again exceeded two hundred, so she converted that into another 100KJ additional PE Capacity. With what she'd been given by Jakob and everything she'd collected herself, she was already up to 600KJ.

The man had cleverly reduced the share taken by the Settlement to only ten percent for the duration of the assault, so that the most effective fighters would be able to continue quickly empowering themselves. Apparently, that included her now, even though she hated fighting. The rest of the Value would be used to replenish ammunition.

A bestial screech from her left drew her attention and she watched as a handful of apes clawed at the defenders on that side. They were held back by shields and skewered by spears, with the exception of one that was crushed under a mace. Was that Dmitriy?

She watched as he let out a surprised grunt, then turned around, seeming to be looking for someone, until his eyes found hers.

"Tasha! It's Kobe!" he roared.

Her heart hammered as she scrambled over, pushing past rows of defenders to reach Dmitriy and look out over the battlements. She gasped as she spotted Kobe, clearly wounded, but still moving like an athlete, pumping his arms as he dashed between the apes.

"What the hell is he doing?" she screamed in a high-pitched voice.

"Trying to get back into the town? This is bold, even for him," Dmitry said, sounding approving.

"Shit!"

He got caught by a swipe from an ape, stumbled, but then raced forward again and jumped. She felt his bubble pulling upwards as he suddenly jerked up and flew, eyes wide with panic. If there was a Momentum Ability involved, she would sense it, so it had to be…

"Magnetism? The harness?"

Tasha frowned as she looked at him through narrowed eyes, then seemed to realize how much trouble he was in.

"We've gotta help him!"

She tried to reach out, to push him up, but he was still out of range.

"He's too far, use your thing!"

She couldn't hear his answer over the screeching of apes and shouting of the fighters around them. Kobe was coming down now, accelerating fast, apes closing in below him. At this rate he was going to crash down and be torn apart.

"Do it now!" she cried out, nails digging into the stone of the battlement as she watched, her face a mask of panic.

Tasha felt [Reduce Momentum] activate and watched as Kobe jerked in the air, slowing down suddenly about twelve feet above the ground. He tossed something - a disc? - but the apes were-

BANG!

BANGBANGBANGBANG-

She flinched back as a series of explosions sounded around Kobe, apes screeching and dropping to the ground. He pressed a hand against his ear but then saw the opportunity and ran for the disk, once again leaping with all his might.

This time he seemed more ready for it and his flight was more controlled, his arms stretched out to keep himself stable as he went up and up. He reached out his right hand, left still clutching his spear, but then there was a moment of weightlessness as he stopped his ascent. She met his wide eyes in that moment, saw as he mouthed 'help' before he dropped again.

With a curse she took hold of his bubble, pulling it up and forward until his hand gripped the battlement. He cried out and cut away an ape grabbing at his legs and then Dmitriy was pulling him up over the stone railing, Kobe rolling to a heap on the ground, chest heaving.

"Fucking hell, Kobe! Are you okay?" She asked, crouching by his side.

He tried to speak but was panting too heavily to get the words out. Now, taking a closer look, she noticed that the harness was really just a few plates of bent metal with extra fabric as padding. It had wrapped underneath his legs and armpits and seemed to be cutting into his skin, the fabric wet and sticky with blood.

"Did-" he began to say, still trying to catch his breath.

"Did… it… look… cool?"

Tasha let out a relieved laugh, shaking her head.

"Cool concept but the delivery was only a strong six. Too much flailing. And you should have seen your face."

His face dropped for a moment, but then he flashed her a boyish grin.

"It's good to see you again. I missed you."

There was a flutter in her stomach and she felt her face flush. She cleared her throat.

"How did you do the explosions though?"

He shook his head, frowning.

"That wasn't me. It wasn't any of you?"

Now it was Tasha's turn to frown, looking around.

"I don't think…"

Dmitriy interrupted her, swearing loudly in Russian. That was not a good sign. Tasha helped Kobe up and then they were all gaping at the horizon.

"Oh dear God, please tell me that isn't what I think it is."

A massive group of spiders was coming from the desert zone, each one larger than the scorpions and there were at least twice as many of them.

But when she looked to the south, to the grey rocky zone they had come through, she felt cold sweat running down her back.

At least a dozen of the green gremlin-like boss creatures were crossing the zone border, each carrying a heap of rocks and showing that nasty, evil grin.

This Challenge was far from over.

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