NOVEL FROG Chapter 137: Neck & Neck
Panda nearly screamed when he saw the hooks break, sending Frost plummeting toward the ravagers below. His panic distracted him from Reaper, who snuck past everyone upon seeing an opportunity to leap at him. He grappled with Panda’s back and tried to shove him down the same hole. Losing balance, Panda clung desperately to the blades, despite seeming futile. However, Frost wasn’t one to panic, so he grabbed one of the broken hook strings with one hand as soon as he felt gravity pulling him down. The grappling mechanism still worked, and after Panda came back to his senses, he pulled the triggers again.
Without the extra weight, the mechanism boosted Frost rapidly, accelerating his ascent. The friction didn’t last long but burned his hand through his glove as he held the string with one hand and Panda’s shield with the other, holding tight to both until he reached the roof. Reaper got bored of toying with Panda and realized it was more effective to just stab him, and just as the latter lost his balance, Reaper began cackling in premature victory. Panda had to let go of the blades before falling to the ground and rolling to the side as Frost came flying at him.
Instead of attacking Panda, Reaper was knocked back after Frost slammed the shield into his face once he reached the roof. The impact stunned Reaper, freeing Panda and allowing him to get away from the hole. Lightning crackled around the base, giving Frost a dramatic return to the fray. The rest of the team seemed to have their opponents in check, each dealing with a member of Spook, except Reaper and Onyx. Frost and Panda reunited with a brief dap before exchanging weapons, turning to their adversaries, and coordinating their attack to charge at Reaper and Onyx, respectively.
–You can’t give it a break, huh? You really want to di-...– Reaper mocked, but his laugh was cut off by Frost’s aggressive approach. Onyx and Reaper were on the opposite side of the hole in the middle, so Panda pushed his opponent away from the rest. This allowed Frost to freely attack as violently as possible, though it wasn’t enough to land a hit on Reaper.
Reaper dodged effortlessly, slowly backing away to the roof’s edge, while the rest stayed closer to the middle of the tower. He seemed confident about luring Frost into a trap since he was attacking so recklessly, but he was the one cornered instead. Frost didn’t give him a chance to fight back once again, unleashing a flurry of rapid swings that would finish any other member of Spook. Frost and Reaper’s duel was intense and fast-paced, but the rest of the battle was equally brutal in comparison since they were evenly matched.
Panda and Onyx’s fight was a display of sheer strength. With no weapons other than Panda’s shield, the two giants wrestled amidst the chaos, sticking to the center as they tried to push each other down the hole. Onyx was taller and seemingly invulnerable in his armor, absorbing Panda’s punches to his upper body and rib cage without flinching. In contrast, Onyx’s punches were slower but powerful enough to force Panda to shield himself constantly, using those moments to reassess since his current approach was only draining more energy from him.
After trading blows to little effect, Panda decided to charge at Onyx head-on and grab him. It was hard to wrap his arms around his body, let alone tackle him to the ground, but he still attempted it. Onyx resisted and scoffed at his weak shoves before trying to pick him up, but as he leaned down, Panda landed a stunning jab on his face. He wasted no time and planted his shield on the ground, jumping at Onyx and wrapping his arms around his thick neck while still disoriented. Despite punching him in the gut repeatedly, Onyx couldn’t stop him, and once Panda locked his head, he pulled all his weight downward, slamming Onyx’s head onto the shield’s edge.
The sound of Onyx’s skull smashing the shield echoed around the roof, leaving him momentarily unconscious. Panda almost celebrated taking one of the opponents out, but the rest of Spook turned their rights to him and tried to surround him since he was in the middle. Nitro had already pummeled Scarecrow to the point where he couldn’t move and stayed down on the floor. He was just turning to assist Panda when Scarecrow magically reanimated, with his sickles returning to his hands like magic. Candy began shooting in his direction, warning Nitro just as Scarecrow aimed to decapitate him from behind.
Nitro reacted in time and had to continue fighting, but Candy kept shooting to take Voodoo down, who was darting around the roof, doing little more than distracting her. Finally fed up, Candy decided to aim at Scarecrow to protect Nitro before trying to back away to provide support from a distance. But just as she shifted her focus, Voodoo materialized behind Candy and tried to restrain her. Candy and Nitro were fighting on the left side of the roof, with Kiwy and Saint battling on the other side, though Panda had drawn the attention of both Daishi and Freak, who abandoned their fight with Saint and Kiwy.
Saint wasn’t about to let them go and chased after Daishi, while Kiwy sprinted across the roof to assist Nitro and Candy. She charged at Scarecrow, knocking him down to clear her path to Candy, who was struggling in Voodoo’s grasp as her opponent attempted to cast an immobilizing spell. Candy had no way of defending herself but saw Kiwy jumping to her rescue, so she kept Voodoo distracted with her spell to let her teammate attack. Kiwy pounced and clawed at Voodoo with relentless ferocity. Voodoo only got his cloak ripped at the bottom before she teleported away, reappearing on the other side of the roof with her two other female teammates.
Though Kiwy had saved Candy, the spell left her unable to move her legs, making her a stationary target. While she waited for the effects to subside, she could still use her guns, and upon seeing the Spook girls surrounding Saint, she opened fire, providing enough cover for him to retreat. He reluctantly left Panda to fight by himself and ran to Nitro and Scarecrow, who had resumed their duel, albeit much more one-sided.
Nitro struggled to fend off his opponent’s attacks since he didn’t have a sword or any type of melee weapon, taking a nasty slice to his right shoulder that reopened his wound. His arm went limp, but Saint arrived just in time to stab Scarecrow in the back. But despite Dominion cutting through Scarecrow’s body right in the torso, the hay-filled menace was still standing and continued his assault on Nitro, seemingly unaffected and even oblivious that he had been stabbed.
–What the–... How??– Saint exclaimed in confusion and slight terror as his sword lodged in Scarecrow’s body after his wound regenerated. He froze at the futility of his attack, but as the omen wasn’t bothered to turn around, he decided to kick Scarecrow toward Nitro, who quickly seized the sickles and began hacking at his body. He shaved all the hay off his body, but it seemed to regrow with each cut, and the more Nitro attacked, the less effective he was. But this gave Saint an idea.
Pulling Dominion out of Scarecrow’s body, Saint warned Nitro to duck. Nitro complied and dashed away, allowing him to swing his sword at the neck and decapitate Scarecrow. The body fell motionless, but it was clear he wasn’t down for good, as his head was about to reattach itself to the body. Acting quickly, Nitro rushed to the head, and with a powerful kick full of spite, he launched Scarecrow’s head as far as he could, leaving his little top hat behind. The head flew far beyond the destroyed walls, landing among confused omens who had no idea what to do with the disembodied head, though they still held it high as they charged into battle.
With another Spook member down, Crisis knew to act fast and take the rest down. The ravagers were breaching the upper floors, cornering the Cloudstars in the tower, and the omens who were already at their level were preparing to close in from all four sides. The fight on the roof was only drawing more attention from the enemies outside, and the hangar below was crowded with combatants from both armies trying to climb up by stacking racks. The enemy was closing in, and like the relentless thunder indicating the growing strength of the storm, time was running out for Crisis before they were completely trapped.
They were struggling to fend off Spook, too engrossed in their individual battles and proving their superiority to notice the ravagers had reached the second floor and were pushing the Cloudstars back. Both squads could see the enemies in the hangar trying to climb up to the roof, but they remained locked in fierce combat. Saint and Nitro shared a brief chuckle in celebration, but they quickly turned their focus back to the fight. It seemed like they were gaining the upper hand against Spook, even though Frost still couldn’t land a clean hit on Reaper, and both Panda and Candy were partially immobilized. But as their win against Scarecrow boosted their confidence, they immediately looked for their next target to take down.
Their celebration was short-lived, as they noticed the three Spook girls ganging up on Panda after knocking Onyx down. Freak was the first to attack, attempting to restrain Panda by whipping his arm and pulling hard, while Daishi lunged at him with her kunai. Just as she was about to stab Panda, Kiwy jumped onto his shoulders, intercepting her midair and hissing at the other girls to back off before tackling Daishi to the ground. Despite her failed attempt, Voodoo tried to restrain Panda with her magic, effectively freezing him in place except for his arms. Nitro and Saint immediately moved to assist, but as Saint rushed to Voodoo, Nitro noticed Onyx getting back up, fueled by his rage to get the jump on Panda.
–BEHIND!– Nitro shouted, but Panda could do little to defend himself. He managed to turn his head and duck just as Onyx swung at him, dodging his first blow. However, Onyx took advantage of his paralyzed state and approached to grab him, aiming to toss him into the hole nearby. Voodoo’s spell completely stunned him, and with no ability to resist, Panda was at Onyx’s mercy.
Candy tried buying some time by shooting at Onyx, but his armor deflected the bullets, only slowing him down slightly. Nitro, torn between helping Panda and stopping Freak, who was also approaching with her sharp knives, chose to go after Onyx as well. Despite the urgency, he focused on the immediate threat like Candy, but they both overlooked Voodoo, unlike Saint, who saw the opportunity to free Panda and take another opponent down in one move.
Freak was right about to pounce on Panda from the front, who could only watch as both she and Onyx approached rapidly. Onyx had already grabbed him, and as much as Panda tried to wiggle around, he couldn’t move due to Voodoo’s spell. But since she was too focused on restraining him and didn’t notice Saint approaching, she was taken by surprise when he swung his sword at her head. She reacted swiftly, blocking his attack by deflecting his hand and pushing his sword away. Without a second thought, he tried to stop her by any means with his other hand, grabbing her cloak to pull her close for a headbutt. But as she stepped back before he could strike, Saint overbalanced and tripped after leaning forward too much.
Saint began pulling her down with him, and while Voodoo tried to run back, his hand gripped her clothes so tightly that he ended up tearing them even more. She was crushed under his weight, though he tried to get up right away, only to fail when he realized he was on top of her. Saint disrupted her spell but couldn’t follow up with an attack after an awkward fall as he accidentally slid his hand under her ripped cloak, getting a feel of the exposed skin beneath. Both froze, but Saint was almost mortified by the glimpse he caught under her clothes. Even though he was restraining her, he appeared remorseful for even laying hands on her and waited for her to push his hand away.
Voodoo, momentarily distracted by the unintended intimacy, seemingly forgot about the fight and never shoved him off. Saint was already agitated but was now flustered and turning nervous. He was too uncomfortable to look her in the eye, but since he was unconsciously stalling Voodoo, Panda managed to break from her spell just in time. As soon as he regained movement, Panda elbowed Onyx in the face and knocked him back for a moment, long enough for Nitro to step in and charge at him, hoping to tackle him despite his massive size. Nitro’s tackle, combined with Panda’s hit, was enough to make Onyx stumble, but he quickly regained his balance and grabbed Nitro’s by the head with one hand.
–I’ll use your puny skull to rebuild my face. Let’s see who laughs then!– Onyx growled at Nitro’s face while lifting him in the air. He only taunted him for a second to hear him scream before slamming him onto the concrete, shaking the entire roof with his strength.
Panda, still unable to fully turn around, faced Freak unprepared. Daishi was scratched multiple times before shoving Kiwy off her, and upon seeing Nitro down and Panda’s back defenseless, she charged at him while sharpening her kunai. Saint eventually got up, and in a daze, he offered Voodoo his hand to help her up, but she sheepishly turned away and vanished from the roof. He was still dumbfounded and took a second to see Panda in danger, and after noticing that Onyx had taken out Nitro, he began running to help, followed by Kiwy.
In spite of his immense pain, Nitro tried to crawl away as he noticed the ground beneath him crumbling. Onyx was finished with him and turned his attention to Panda, who faced both Daishi and Freak with fearless resolve against their synchronized attacks. Kiwy, closer to him, rushed past him to assist Nitro, who desperately crawled towards Panda on solid ground, but he only reached for his shield while Onyx remained oblivious. Saint also rushed to Panda’s aid but had to prioritize between two opponents, deciding to protect him from Daishi, who was aiming to stab his stomach.
Without his shield, Panda could only pull Freak closer by yanking her whip, sending her flying to the roof's edge with a charged punch. She landed next to Reaper and Frost, who remained isolated in their little corner, so engrossed in their own battle that they ignored her. Just as Daishi attacked, Saint jumped in, taking a stab in his left forearm. He howled in pain and tried to push her away, but she followed with another kunai, forcing him to block with his sword while still having a blade embedded in his forearm. Taking the hit for Panda allowed him to turn around as Onyx attacked again, but before engaging, he felt the ground behind his opponent crumbling and stepped away.
–Help…– Nitro whimpered, barely audible. Panda couldn’t escape Onyx's grasp and started wrestling him again while keeping an eye on Nitro as he tried to hold on to his shield. He watched his teammate tumble over as the ground cracked beneath him. Only a few inches away, Nitro failed to grab the shield and began slipping into the hole. Kiwy leaped to rescue him, grabbing both of his hands, but she couldn’t hold his weight as the hole grew larger.
With no solid ground to hold onto and insufficient strength to pull Nitro up, both he and Kiwy began to fall while Panda watched in horror. He was struggling to push Onyx away to save his teammates, but as the ground beneath him started collapsing as well, he found another way to handle him. Instead of fighting by force, Panda held Onyx in place, standing his ground until the ground gave way. Before he could fall, Panda delivered a swift kick to Onyx’s stomach plate, boosting himself off him to get out of the way. The kick sent his opponent falling backward into the ravager-infested pit below. But as Onyx fell, Nitro and Kiwy lost their grip and were about to join him.
Panda was too slow to reach them, but Saint was right behind, though he was preoccupied with Daishi, who would not stop attacking. Desperate to save his teammates, he deliberately took another kunai to his right hand, grunting in pain and adrenaline but sucking it up as Daishi now had no weapons to attack him with. He used the opportunity to shove her away, throw his sword back at Candy so Daishi couldn’t steal it, and immediately run to rescue Kiwy and Nitro. Without seeing the hole in front of him, Saint jumped to the floor, splashing his face with water as he extended his arms blindly. He closed his eyes as he touched the floor, bracing himself, but quickly opened them again when he managed to grab Kiwy’s feet, momentarily preventing both her and Nitro from falling to their deaths.
Despite bleeding from his left forearm and right hand, Saint held tight to Kiwy and attempted to pull them up. They dangled precariously, with Saint quickly slipping due to the weight. He panicked in silence, unlike both Kiwy and Nitro, though the latter was louder with his cries compared to the cat girl’s exhausted whimpers. As they felt themselves slipping, they could only brace for the impact. At least they would go down together, but just as they were about to lose hope, Panda jumped in to grab Saint’s legs, saving him like back at the antipunk cave. Kiwy, Nitro, and Saint looked back to see their savior using all his strength to pull them up.
Their relief was short-lived, however, as Daishi approached Panda from behind, grabbing his own shield to use as a weapon. She couldn’t push him off, so she aimed to strike him with the shield. Before Nitro or Saint could warn him, Panda sensed someone sneaking behind but chose to keep holding on to his teammates and take the hit. He didn’t know it was his shield being used against him, but he felt the weight of the object as Daishi swung it at the back of his head.
Candy stayed back, close to the tower door, unable to muster the courage or focus to shoot at the enemies with her teammates in the way. She hesitated countless times, struggling to steady her two pistols even when half of Spook was down. Opting to aim just one pistol upon seeing Daishi attack Panda, Candy held her breath, trying to calm her nerves, but that didn’t stop the shaking. The shot was difficult to make from her angle, with Panda in between her and the target, but she couldn’t doubt herself any longer. Almost shooting her teammate, she finally locked her sights and fired, hitting Daishi in the side of her stomach.
Daishi instantly dropped the shield, and before Candy could hit her again, she ran towards Voodoo, who teleported next to her, grabbed her, and vanished together. Seizing this opportunity, Panda kept pulling Saint up, who simultaneously pulled Kiwy up, and she, in turn, pulled Nitro. With the combined strength of Saint and Pana, they managed to get their teammates back to safety next to Scarecrow’s decapitated body, where they all sat down to catch their breath. As both Nitro and Saint needed urgent medical treatment, especially the latter, Candy tried to join her, but as she ran to the center, Voodoo reappeared with Daishi. The latter was now enraged, and despite having to stop the bleeding from the stomach with one hand, she leaped at Candy from behind.
Meanwhile, Freak crawled her way towards Frost while he was busy with Reaper. Panda’s punch sent her flying, seemingly breaking a couple of bones upon landing, but she remained committed despite being incapable of standing up. She saw Reaper pinned down, struggling to keep up with Frost’s ruthless energy. He was in a murderous frenzy, swinging his blades continuously for minutes without losing steam, despite everything up to this point. In fact, he seemed to be gaining speed to wear Reaper out, waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. But as Frost focused too much on his opponent and waited for an opening to finally slaughter him, Freak grabbed his leg and stabbed his ankle with one of her small knives.
–AGHH! YOU FU-...– Frost screamed in rage, instinctively kicking Freak in the face and sending her sliding across the slipper floor back to the center, closer to the rest of the squad. Quick to defend himself, Frost turned around just as Reaper made his move. However, he wasn’t attacking but escaping. Reaper ran towards the rest of his squad, seeing that only Voodoo and Daishi were still standing, though unarmed. They singled out Candy, and before her teammate could step in, Reaper took advantage of the situation and helped Voodoo and Daishi restrain her. Everyone watched in dread, including Frost, who was the farthest away but the first to realize Candy was now a hostage in a desperate attempt by Reaper to resolve the conflict.
–Alright, that was a lot of fun. Everyone, settle down now… Let’s just all relax and take a big breath… We wouldn’t like to make any sudden movements, would we?– Reaper asserted sneeringly, looking at all of Crisis with a mischievous grin peeking out from under his cracked mask as he held Candy with his scythe pressed to her throat.
Panda, Saint, Nitro, and Kiwy froze, trying to comply and desperately pleading for Reaper to spare Candy’s life. As he moved closer to the edge of the left side to retreat with his teammates, Frost’s eyes locked onto Candy. Her wide eyes, filled with fear, met his for a brief second. Seeing her shaking frightfully, Reaper’s hands tore at his insides, igniting a familiar rage that surged through him, hotter and more volatile than ever. His blood was boiling, and every muscle tensed as he gripped his blades, his knuckles turning white while the bloodlust in his eyes burned red. He seemed ready to leap at him at any second, despite not having the grappling hooks anymore. But he restrained himself with all his willpower during that agonizing silence, only for his resolve to shatter under the pressure as Candy broke into tears.