Chapter 21: Bright Lights and Broken Radios

Team Volvidon was off to a great start. With Amy and Claire squeezed together in the passenger seat of my Vios, it was a miracle that we didn't get flagged down by a traffic enforcer or something of the sort. Yuri was very stressed due to being apart from his twin and was using Kwyatt as a teddy bear/stressball hybrid. He did not like that which made him stressed and struggled, which Irene didn't like as she apparently wasn't very fond of cats. Charlie was the only one who seems to be pretty chill so far.

"I don't care if you're as smart as a human," Irene grunts as she tries to scoot farther away from Yuri and Kwyatt, "Cats have betrayed me before and I don't see myself trusting one anytime soon, so keep those dirty claws away from me, please."

"Omoshiroi, I bet sensei Irene here has a hardcore back story regarding a cat,eh," Charlie grins as he pets Kwyatt. "Did a kuro-neko kill your family or wipe out your clan?"

"I was often scratched as a kid," Irene replies nonchalantly.

"Well maybe you were a crappy kid," Kwyatt groans as Yuri cuddles him tighter.

"I miss my brother," Yuri whimpers as he continues to manhandle the cat, he was being gentle but Kwyatt clearly does not appreciate this kind of holding, "Can we please finish this as quickly as possible?"

Amy turns around and chides Yuri, "You've been apart less than an hour, you should get used to some independence every once in a while."

"Come on Amy, it must be hard living with someone your whole life and then having to leave their side," Claire pulls her back, her gaze fixed on the road and perhaps even farther than that. "We don't know how twins feel like, so we need to be more understanding of his feelings."

"Also, the lad's like 9 so give him a break, yeah?" Charlie added with Irene nodding while keeping far away from the Palico.

"We're almost here," I speak up, hoping it would get everyone to calm down as I see the big round building we call the Araneta Coliseum in the distance. It was situated in Cubao,E.D.S.A(what it stands for I do not know nor care) which was a considerably trafficky highway in Metro Manila. If you were not used to driving here, you'd end up missing the underpass for private vehicles and having to struggle against bus and jeepneys stopping in the middle of the road to get some commuters to ride them and not some other PUV. At certain points in the road it becomes less of a highway and more of an informal terminal where public vehicles swerve in and out to drop off and pickup riders.

It's rare to find those drivers respecting proper bus stops, but as long as I don't miss the underpass we'll be-

Wait, where-

"Ah fuck!" I yell in frustration as I realized what had happened when everyone else was squabbling a while ago. I got distracted.

"We may be stuck in traffic for a while."

After getting stuck for almost fifteen minutes in an ocean of public vehicles, we finally made our way to the coliseum's parking area…which was closed off for safety concerns.

So Indigo parked the car in the adjacent building and we had to walk to the coliseum.

"What a great way to start the day, huh?" Amy groans as she rubs her butt, which probably went numb from sitting uncomfortably for too long.

Although we were sitting together and my butt was fine.

Indigo was right beside me with Yuri holding his hand and Kwyatt on his shoulder, making him look like some kind of fairy tale protagonist, perhaps a Disney princess even.

"Is something on my face?" He asks after seeing my giggling at him and I shook my head as we got closer to the stadium.

Indigo looks up at the absolute unit of a building, despite being called a coliseum it was more of a stadium for concerts and sports events. I don't think there were gladiator matches though.

"I remember going here last year with Frank and Char," He mused with a distant sense of nostalgia in his eyes, "Pentatonix had a concert here and we were happy enough to watch afar from the second floor."

Bummer, I wish he'd have invited me, but I get that there are things that you only do with family. God knows my gramama's the only one I got, but I still get the sentiment.

"It's kinda scary knowing there's a monster waiting for us inside," Yuri says weakly, his grip clearly tightening on Indigo's hand.

Charlie ruffles the little boy's hair, making him giggle, "Cheer up, buddy, ya got the biggest shield out of all of us, and a bloody large cannon on your lance to boot. Donmai donmai!"

It's kinda weird hearing Japanese terms with his pseudo british-scottish-australian-irish-canadian hybrid of an accent. I never could pinpoint which one he was using at any given time.

Ms. Irene stood next to me and gives me a concerned look, "Are you sure you want to stay here with us? It could get dangerous and I can't promise I'll be able to look after you properly once the hunt begins."

I knew this, but I also knew that if there really was no power inside, someone had to turn it on while they were keeping the enemy busy. It's just like back then with the roller coaster.

Sure, looking back I almost got crushed by a falling roller coaster but hey it all worked out well in the end.

"I'll help," I replied and flashed a confident smile which does not seem to convince her at all.

Indigo came back to us after talking with the personnel in charge of the place with a bummed look in face.

"Power's all busted," He says while pointing his thumb towards the personnel, "Technicians were too scared to go inside and restart the circuit breaker. Everything else outside is fixed, all we need is to turn the power back on."

Wow, my guessing game was on point.

"So we gotta escort a technician?" Amy asks looking annoyed that an extra sidequest has shown up.

"No dice," Indigo shakes his head, "No one's willing to venture inside even with a hunter escort, they said it's an easy enough process that we won't need a pro's help."

My time has come, I thought, and I told them my idea.

"Absolutely not!" Irene, Indigo, and Amy all said in tandem, except Amy's had an f-word squeezed in her sentence.

"Aye, it's too dangerous lassie," Charlie sighs, "We dun't know how the monster will act, nor do we know if there are live wires that could electrocute ye lyin' about."

"Hold up," Kwyatt interjected, "She does have a point that we all need to focus on keeping the monster distracted, especially if sneaking around to turn the power on doesn't work."

He stands on his hind legs, arms akimbo, and continues, "I'll accompany Claire to look for the circuit breaker, the rest of you should take your places in case the monster gets smart and starts attacking."

"Alright," Indigo lets out a defeated sigh, his logical side winning for once, "Keep her safe."

The area near the main entrance was dimly lit by the sunlight pouring in from outside, but since there would be no windows deeper in, the rest of the building was shrouded in darkness. Both the way to the circuit breaker was upstairs along with the entrance to the second floor seating area, so Amy went with Claire and Kwyatt.

"Try not to fuck this up," Amy says to all of us as she turns on a flashlight app in her phone.

The three of them make their way up and I was left by the main entrance with Irene, Yuri, and Charlie. We couldn't risk turning on our flashlights in case it accidentally alerts the monster to our presence.

"How do we know opening the door won't alert it anyway?" Irene asks.

"We don't," I reply, trying to think of possible contingency plans in case we were attacked the moment we entered the concert area. With nothing ideal coming to mind, all I could tell them was, "Stay sharp, get ready to run at any moment's notice."

Opening the door as slowly as I could, I could feel myself slowly breaking out in a sweat with every tiny creak from the door. My senses were drowned in silent darkness as a musky stink permeates through my nostrils.

It wasn't that repulsive, it was more similar to the kind of smell you get when going to a barn or a zoo, but it was still unexpected and the enclosed space made it harder to take in without gagging or choking up.

I fought as hard as I could not to make any noise from the stink, and I could feel the three behind me go through the same struggle as we quietly and carefully snuck in.

Reaching out, I try to feel the area in front of me, wondering if this was what blind people have to deal with all the time. If I remember correctly, the installed seats were all on the second floor, as the ground floor area had to be convertible to a sports court or a stage with foldable chairs for the audience depending on the situation.

Right now it was in empty court mode, and there were no chairs to bump to which was good. What was not good was the fact that we were in an empty expanse filled with darkness, with no visible way of knowing what's in front or beside us. The story could easily take a turn for horror if it turns out that the people I've been feeling behind me were not the ones I entered the place in.

I reached back and felt Yuri shaking with his hand gripping my shirt, as soon as he felt my hand is other hand immediately grabs mine, not wanting to walk blind by himself.

Getting close to him and the others, I whisper, "Get ready," and crouched as low as I could until my hands could feel the floor. Pointing my phone's camera as close to the floor as I could, I turn on my flashlight function, hoping the blast of light will get muted by the surface and won't get the monster's attention.

The area around my feet slowly illuminates, softly but brightly enough to make me blink a few times before my eyes could slowly adjust to the increasing light.

Slowly, I raise my phone tidbit by tidbit, until I could look back and see the terrified and dimly lit faces of my teammates.

The stage becomes less shrouded in shadows, not enough to fully see the whole area we were in, but enough to at least see more than 1 inch ahead of me. I need to see further, which means I have to actually use the flashlight like a flashlight and point it forward. I'll be able to see more of the area, but this also risks the monster getting awakened and/or alerted of our presence.

I try to calm my shaking hands, knowing that if the monster attacked right now all I could do is attack with my hunting horn with no way of knowing if I could survive a direct hit without any armor.

A part of me wanted to just wait here until Claire and Kwyatt turned on the lights, but we needed to make sure that the monster was here or not and revise our strategy accordingly.

Slowly, I raise my phone, the bright light by its camera pointing forward, slowly illuminating the space ahead of me. Like being in an empty basketball court at night, barely anything was appearing in front of me as I slowly pan my hand around to check out the rest of our currently visible perimeter.

Yuri's breathing starts getting harder and faster, and I take a step back to hold the young boy tight.

"Hey," I whisper, "You've got this, you and Yuel's got one of the biggest weapons and shields in the team. As soon as things get crazy, just sync with your hunter Yin and everything will be fine."

He nods, and takes out his 3ds, clutching it by his chest as tightly as he could. His breathing barely slows down, but there was nothing else I could do about that.

Every inch I scan seems to take forever, with the darkness around us seemingly getting stronger and engulfing the small light we had.

"Oh screw this," Charlie whispers and walks ahead of me, turning on his phone's flashlight as well and scanning impatiently around him.

As his light passes to my left, an area I haven't fully checked yet, a shiny red shimmer catches our eye, making us all turn towards where he had pointed his phone.

Crimson steel-like plates covered our immediate vision, as we take a couple of steps back we notice that the red plates followed a circular shape, balled up right in front of us.

At the very center of the shape, a slit opens, revealing a bright yellow pupil as the pointy black iris thins and stretches in reaction to the light pointed at it.

Despite the shiver in my spine, a voice inside me tells me that it was similar to the part in Jurassic park where the kids where in the jeep getting inspected by a T-Rex.

This one may not be a T-Rex, but as it curls out and stands on all fours, it didn't matter. The danger was equal to or more than that of a dinosaur trying to eat you.

"Sync up!" I whisper as loud as I could, wanting to minimize risk towards everyone else, hoping that Amy had already found a good sniping spot.

Charlie syncs with his GS wielding chef Rezamesu, and his phone disappears, decreasing our lighting. Irene turns into Sokatoa, readying her switch-axe and possibly calculating whatever variables her odd mind can handle.

Yuri had already transformed into Yin, nearly adding a light source considering how bright his Shagaru armor was. He had unknowingly turned into a human beacon, and the Volvidon visibly locks-on to him.

"It's looking at me!," He whimpers with a manly hunter voice and raising his shield in time as the monster's tongue shoots out like a whip.

Rez and Sokatoa dives sideways to dodge the attack, with the tongue bouncing off Yin's shield. I took a step back, but the tongue latches on to my hand with a slimy thwip.

I pulled back as hard as I could, worried that it would take my hand. The tongue lets go and I fall down my ass, checking as soon as I could if my hand was still attached to my wrist.

It was still there, but realize my phone was not as I see the flashlight dancing around as it gets dragged around by the Volvidon's tongue until it eventually goes into its mouth.

There goes our main source of light, and the darkness slowly creeps around us as we can barely see each other. Yin keeps his shield up, he was the only one barely visible, but the rest of the area was shrouded in darkness.

I run towards him, hoping to stay safe behind his shield until I could pull off a couple of HH notes, or at the very least until the lights turn on.

A splash of gooey liquid knocks him backwards, and I skid to a stop to avoid stepping on a puddle of Volvidon spit. The last thing I need is to get paralyzed.

"Is everyone alright-" Rez shouted, followed a loud PANG! as I can only assume that the monster bounced at him and he managed to block with his huge knife of a greatsword. "Bloody hell I din't know this thing could locate by sound!"

No one answered him, in fear of getting found by the monster and caught unaware. Perhaps they were talking through the comms, I wouldn't know as I need to be in hunter form to talk or listen in on them. I wanted to tell Rezamesu to either shut up and try to hide, or keep making noise and take the agro.

I just noticed that I couldn't see Yin anymore, probably means he went deeper inside and farther from my limited vision. My body froze as I realize I was practically alone and exposed as I try to sync with Dirge again.

No luck, only my Hunting horn shows up, not very useful if I can't see the target. Not to mention the hunting horn tends to leave its wielder vulnerable if used incorrectly.

I crouch down, trying to minimize my hitbox, not knowing if I should try to find my teammates or wait for the lights.

The stadium goes quiet again, as the shadows around me creep closer and closer, threatening to fully block out my vision. All I could truly feel was the stink of the monster permeating through the whole place.

No further movements, at least none that I could see or hear. The ground was still, meaning either the monster wasn't very rumbly in moving or not moving at all.

I close my eyes, trying to use my other senses to give me any information at all.

Suddenly, a large rumble shakes through the floor, as I hear something collide with the ceiling.

Shit, was the Volvidon getting impatient and just bouncing around randomly? It could bring the building down on us!

The monster hits the ceiling again, and I fell something powdery trickle down my head,face, and shoulders, making me look up.

I couldn't see anything, but my eyes could tell there was something in the darkness above me.

And it was getting closer.

I jump backwards as a loud crash bursts in front of me, sounding like a block of cement as huge as my body. Losing my balance from the shock, I struggle to stay up as I fall ass first on the floor.

That was when something metallic and heavy drops on my torso, and I feel the wind knocked out of my lungs as pain throbs and coats my whole chest.

W-what the fuck was that, was all I could think off as I make out what looks like those steel beams holding overhead lighting lying across my chest and legs, pinning most of my body to the ground.

I had to get this thing off me, worst case scenario I stay stuck here as the light turns on and I have no choice but to watch my friends finish the mission without me.

Worthless as usual, a voice inside me whispers, seemingly echoing inside the darkness. I refuse to listen and push the thoughts away, trying to think of how I can get out of this mess.

I try to do a sitrep all over my body, checking if my limbs were all still intact and if I could feel or move all of them. So far so good, I wasn't impaled or paralyzed or anything critically brutal.

However, I could feel what seems like thick strands of wire strewn across the steel beams on my chest. Electrical wiring, I assume, torn apart after the overhead lighting fell down.

So now, I'm pinned down by heavy steel beams, with open electrical wires strewn across my body.

As soon as Claire gets the power back on, there's a chance I'm getting fried.

Whoever decided to put the circuit breaker in a small room deep inside the building is a huge dummy, although I suppose the kid putting herself through this much trouble instead of forcing the professionals to do their job is a huge dummy as well.

I wanted to help so bad, but if I fail this little mission I could end up putting Indigo, Amy, and everyone else in grave danger.

Amy had already gone inside one of the entrances in the second floor when a loud crash echoes through the building, sending tremors beneath my feet as I prop myself to the closest wall to stop myself from losing my footing.

"What in the hell?!" Kwyatt asks somewhere beside me as I move my phone around to check where the room could be.

We were told the breaker would be in a server room somewhere in the second floor, the guy we talked to had pointed it out in a map. Thinking back I realized that I wasn't very good with maps and had a hard time visualizing where the so called room could be from my location.

Another tremor shakes my core along with the walls around me, threatening my hands to let go of the phone as I held on like my life depended on it.

"You should check on them," I mutter through the fear, "If your eyes are like a cat they'll need your ability to see in the dark."

"Not until we find that room," He replies, putting his paw on my hand reassuringly.

He leads me forward, telling me of debris to avoid and possible rooms to check out.

The guy a while ago had given me the keys to the server room, so we have to check whichever room the keys unlocked.

Finding the right room felt like it took an eternity, having to slowly and carefully make our way around a huge building that felt like it just looped around in a circle.

The tremors come and go, some stronger than others, making me wonder what was going on inside the actual stadium. If anything bad happened to my friends, it was on me for taking too long. A couple more weight to carry for the rest of my life, right next to my dad.

I refuse to let anything happen to anyone else, and push the thoughts away, focusing only on what was in front of me.

Another door that may or may not be our target, I push the key in the door knob, and held my breath as I try to turn it open.

The lock clicks open, and I breathe a sigh of relief. I open the door and light the room with my flashlight, seeing large metal boxes with wires bound neatly beside each of them. What looks like a circuit breaker (from what I remember seeing at home at least), welcomes me from the very end of the small room.

"I've got this," I tell the Palico celebrating next to me, "Go and help our friends."

He pulls what looks like a tiny tribal horn out of nowhere and hands it to me.

"If you get hurt, blow on this," He says as he turns to find an entrance to the stadium, "It'll heal you, hopefully. At the very least I'll hear it and come as soon as I can."

I clutch the horn tightly across my chest as he leaves and I enter the room. Trying to move without tripping on any wires, I cross the room as fast my legs could allow, until I was face to face with my mission objective.

From what I remember Gramama doing, all I just need to do is flip a bunch of switches before flipping the bigger switch so everything could turn on again.

This won't zap me dead, right?

They didn't give me any gloves or safety gear, so I guess it won't. And even if it did, I've got a healing horn.

But will the horn revive me if I die from this?

The circuit breaker taunts me as the thoughts of death by electricity keep my hand from reaching out and doing what I need to do.

I have to do this, I tell myself, Or everyone could get hurt

I reach out, muttering a prayer while telling my dad that I wasn't ready to meet him yet.

Yin's shield, my shield, was heavy and awkward to wield, much like the thick gunlance on my other hand. I hold it up nonetheless, out of fear that my armor was not enough to keep me safe.

I look around and see that everyone else was swallowed by the dark, with Rez being the last person I heard.

A heavy gooey object splats on my shield, but I wasn't completely ready, and the sudden forced pushed me back as I snap back to the terrifying reality I had found myself in.

What would Yuel do?

Trapped in a living nightmare, a monster lurking in the dark, the adults all out of sight and practically gone, what would my twin brother do?

He'd jump straight at the monster, not giving it time to properly attack. Buying himself and the others time to regroup and fight back.

But can I do that? Cast off my shield and wield this heavy cannon-like spear with such ferocity?

Absolutely not. The shield was the only thing keeping me safe and to get rid of it was equal to suicide, I knew pretty well that it wasn't just the weapons and armor that make my body feel heavy when I'm in a hunt.

It was the terror, the idea that any of us could die and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Regardless of our abilities and weapons, we were still mostly just kids playing what can be considered as the most extreme live roleplaying game.

But if I don't do anything, the others could get hurt. They didn't have a shield like I did, or a big weapon capable of making monsters go boom.

Okay, technically Sokatoa's switch axe could do that, but still.

A shot rings through the air, telling me that Amy had become Arachnid and was trying to hit the monster. I hear her shot hit pure concrete, however, meaning she was just feeling around trying to find her target.

If she keeps that up, the monster's gonna target her.

She'll be a sitting duck, and so is Indigo who can't sync with Dirge.

I need to help her somehow, but what can I do with these heavy weapons and a body that won't move?

Inappropriate as it may seem, I remember myself flashing back to the days when we had just begun to learn how to sync. Even before that, when we tried to sync to fight a Deviljho, but couldn't.

Back then, I wanted to run away, even if that meant leaving my parents and everyone else. The only reason I stood my ground was because Yuel didn't budge an inch.

He was so sure we could do the same thing our bigger brothers did, and if Simon hadn't shown up back then we would've gotten eaten.

And yet he stood, ready to fight, because Indigo told us we could do it. And eventually we really did do it, and once I could sync with Yin I thought I'd finally get the courage to kick butt like Yuel and all of my brothers do.

But the fear was there, in fact it felt bigger, knowing that with this power I really have no choice but to stand in front of monsters and fight. I guess an even worse feeling was thinking that if someone got hurt while I had these abilities, it was my fault for failing to protect them.

Heck, the only reason I even chose a gunlancer was because Yuel was a lancer and my big brother Char was a cool lady with a big shield. I wanted to be brave and badass like them, protecting my friends and family without losing my cool.

But now here I am, frozen in place, unable to do a thing while knowing that Arachnid was risking her life for a chance to hurt a monster that could hurt her more.

I could use the comms and tell her to stop, but a part of me knew that she won't. Most of the Raptor Brothers were like that, after all.

I can't be like them, I realize, pointing my gunlance to the sky and letting my shield arm relax, But there has to be something I can do to protect them. Something only I can do.

"Arachnid," My shaky voice escapes my mouth into the comm, "I'll give you something to shoot at."

"Huh?" Was all she could say as I broke the silence.

I activate my wyvern fire, creating a miniature sun as the darkness was swept away violently. My eyes scan the room, finding the monster a few meters from me, flinching from the sudden flash of light.

It recovers and looks angrily at me, curling up and rolling towards me like a red bowling ball.

Raising my shield up, I prepare for the clash, not knowing if I'll be able to take on the brunt of a speeding volvidon ball.

"Come get me, you big butthole!" I scream with a misplaced sense of courage, not caring what happens next. I did what I had to, now it's up to everyone else to use my beacon and beat the monster.

The rolling monster uncurls and falls forward in front of me as a shot pierces through its thick armor. From behind it I could see Rezamesu and Sokatoa making their way toward us.

I keep my shield up, ready to take on anything this monster throws at me. I have to keep standing, so my friends can get a chance to fight back.

I can't run straight at a monster like Saber or Yang does. I can't morph in between shield and weapon forms to take down monsters like Relena does. And I can't blow on a big horn, risking getting hit in order to buff everyone else up like Dirge does.

But I can do this, and until everyone gets here and we fight together, I can't afford to falter.

Right now, that's all I need to know, 'cause that's what I learned from my brothers.

"Step into the light," I tell the monster with the biggest grin I could muster.

Everything hurts. My body aches with every small movement I make, what little there was to make anyway.

I cough off the powdered concrete as I try to push the debris pinning my body down.

Too heavy, no such luck. With no Dirge to turn into, I was just a guy with a hunting horn, and it was lucky that I didn't get crushed completely by the fallen steel beams from the ceiling.

The area was still dark, and Claire was still trying to look for the circuit breaker or a light switch. After the Volvidon's outburst a while ago, I can only hope she didn't get hurt and I hated myself for allowing her to help.

A shot rings through the air, Arachnid was still kicking, perhaps she'll be able to kill this thing soon. Assuming that everyone else was alive enough to help. I try to turn my thoughts into our situation and try to analyze how things will turn out, but the pain and the panic are beginning to take over.

3 kids: Amy, Claire, and most importantly Yuri. I have jeopardized all of them, I should have planned better, should've been more than 3 steps ahead. I'll never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to any of them.

I considered calling for help, but that would risk alerting the Volvidon of my location, and if that pinball decides to bounce on me none of my organs would be left intact.

The only thing I can do now is to try to channel Dirge again.

At the very least, I hope that everyone else makes it out alive.

A powerful flash of light emanates from afar, like a small star or solar flare, with Yin at the bottom of it. This caught the enemy's attention, but I think that's exactly what he wanted.

Now Arachnid, Rez, and Sokatoa knows where each other is, and where the monster will be for the next few minutes.

I just need to get up from here so I could help them, especially since if I'm still here by the time Claire gets the power back up I'll be literally toast.

Steadying my breathing and trying to replicate my séance with Dirge this morning, I close my eyes and try to connect once again to my hunter.

That was the plan at least, until my world was engulfed in bright lights and I realize that Claire had already turned the power back on.

Opening my eyes, I thank my dad for not taking me with him yet as the room lights up and the machinery around me begins to hum awake.

I can only hope I made it in time as I make my way out and find the entrance to some kind of overlooking room where controls for the lights and audio are scattered about.

A huge window lets me look out and see the carnage in the stadium itself. Yuri's hunter was blocking every slash, pound, and even farts that the red armadillo thing flung his way. Charlie and Ms. Irene's hunters were behind the monster attacking with a searing large knife and an explosive transforming sword. Amy's hunter was in the second floor terrace, providing gunshots that keep the monster distracted.

Wait, where's Indigo?

I scan the room, looking for a huge drum with a smiley face on it, knowing that it was his hunter's weapon.

All I found was the man I spent a night with lying unconscious under metallic debris. My heart sank as I realize that he may have gotten hurt-or worse, because I took too long. I saw a furry blur run to him and realize that it was Kwyatt.

He must've told them through the comms, as finding Indigo's body took everyone's attention. Yuri's hunter turned to look and was knocked back by a bounce attack. Ms. Irene's hunter throws a flashbang, and as the monster tries to shake itself awake from a stun everyone except Amy's hunter runs straight for their leader.

While they were busy tending to Indigo, Amy's hunter was continually shooting the monster, trying to keep it busy. But the red armadillo seems to have focused on the hunters kneeling down by the unconscious body.

I have to warn them, I thought as I fumble for the speakers and must've accidentally tapped into the frequency of their comms.

"Guys, heads up, motherfucker's fixated on you!" Amy shouts through the comms.

"He-He's not breathing," Ms. Irene whispers uncomfortably, "Oh god…"

Charlie's hunter was trying to push off the debris covering Indigo's body, shouting "Okite! Okite kudasai! Come on you cheeky wanker!"

The monster had curled up into a ball and was rolling around, possibly to pick up momentum.

Yuri's hunter steps in front of everyone with Indigo, raising his shield.

"I won't let it hurt you or anyone," He says with a mixture of confidence and fear in his voice, "So please get up."

The monster rolls violently and crashes with Yuri's hunter, continually spinning and grinding on his shield, sparks flying around them as Yuri's hunter gets slowly pushed back, his feet planted but skidding through the floor.

I think of what I can do to help, and see a headphone jack by the techno whatever board in front of me. Maybe I could play some music, I don't know if it will help but Indigo did like having background music on almost everything he does, including a hunt.

It's not much, but I have to try.

I plug my phone in and press shuffle in a hurry, and as the speakers begin blasting music and Queen's Radio Gaga begins enveloping the stadium, a strong flash of light covers everything below me. Indigo, the other hunters, even Amy all disappear into a white void for a split second as I cover my eyes from the bright light.

I'd sit alone

And watch your light

A sigh of relief escaped my lips as I see a familiar hunter standing over the debris where Indigo used to be lying under.

My only friend through teenage nights

The other hunters smile at him in relief as Yuri's hunter pushes back and keeps the monster at bay.

And everything I had to know

I heard it on my radio

Parts of the song become a blur to me as I focus on the ones fighting below, like watching a show, except you feel every blow they strike, and every attack they defend. Their strength becomes yours, along with the pain, and you wish you had the ability to do what they do and fight alongside them.

So don't become some background noise

A backdrop for the girls and boys

Indigo's hunter swings his huge drum-horn-thing right at the enemy's small anteater like face, before blasting a powerful soundbased shockwave from the smiley face on its drum. The blast of audio that hurt the creature envelops the other hunters in a comfortable glow, giving them a newfound sense of strength.

You had your time,

You had the power

The monster lashes out with a long tongue at Indigo's hunter, but Yuri's hunter blocks it with his shield in time, and Charlie's hunter grabs the tongue with both hands pulling as hard as he can. Ms. Irene's hunter swoops in, and cuts off the tongue with a satisfying slash.

Everyone was moving faster and hitting harder with no hesitation, probably an effect of Indigo's 'song'.

You've yet to have your finest hour

Amy doesn't give the monster a chance to rest and shoots as much as she can until the red plating it had starts getting more cracks.

The monster manages to get its bearings back, and falls on its back into a ball, rolling away from the hunters. The hunters walked menacingly towards the monster rolling away, as their movement seem to match the beats of the song.

They barely hurried to run to it, as it falls into some kind of deep trap buried underneath the floor. The monster struggles as the hunters make their way to it, violet bubbles coming out of its mouth.

Kwyatt pounces on the monster after attacking with a boomerang, he was nearby the entire time, as if he knew that the monster would-

Of course, I bet Indigo told him to set the trap over there.

Trapped and poisoned, the red anteater thing had no choice but to take all the attacks the pissed off hunters dished out. With Yuri's spear turning into a cannon and blasting the monster's face into cinders, it finally falls dead, half of its body in the floor.

Indigo's hunter looks up at me, and waves thankfully for the song.

I have yet to fully understand how Dirge and I came into an agreement, but the feeling of becoming one again was…comforting. I wave at Claire in some kind of soundbooth as I stand proud and victorious next to my teammates. Friends. Family. Call it what you will.

All we hear is

Radio ga ga

We all unsync as Yuri gives me the tightest hug he could muster, and I hug back with no fear or regret.

Radio goo goo

Amy and Claire make their way down with tired but content smiles in their faces. Irene and Charlie breathe in sighs of relief as we consider all that we've been through in the last hour.

Radio ga ga

"Thanks for looking after my student, by the way," Irene smiles at Kwyatt, who's understandably proud of himself, "You were the first one to rush to Indigo's aid, too."

"Still distrust cats?," Kwyatt grins with a hint of gratitude in his voice, raising his closed paw for a fist bump.

Radio blah blah

Irene shrugs, "Not so sure about cats, or fist bumps for that matter," She hesitates, then with an 'oh well' smile, reciprocates the fist bump, "But I'm more than glad to fight alongside you."

Radio, what's new?

Claire walks up to me, and we shared an understanding nod with each other. As we all make our way out of the stadium, her hand found mine, and I didn't let go.

Radio

Back then, I should've died and I knew it. I can't explain how my mind and my body pushed through, and how I got Dirge back through the sheer desire to keep going. All I know is that the people beside me right now, and those waiting for us back home, are what gave me the strength to make it back from the brink.

Turns out I wasn't so ready to die yet, after all.

Someone still loves you

"Nothing like a near death experience to make you feel alive, am I right?" I joked as we all got back in the car and I started driving home. Yuri was straight asleep with his head laying on Irene's arm, Kwyatt purring contently on his lap.

"Not a bad way to end the day, I suppose," Amy murmured, her head subtly bobbing along with the rhythm of the music. Claire was smiling next to her, yet her gaze was fixed on the blur of cars passing us.

Everyone was tired, but those of us still awake managed to laugh lightly and joke around as we make our way back home.