Chet angrily pushed himself off the ground. His body worked to heal his bruise, but it took a moment. He had a feeling that fighting Austin would be a challenge, but he did not expect him to have such a powerful attack. It would take almost all of his Essence to fully heal himself. He would have to be satisfied with just enough healing to allow him to continue to fight.
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“You have all sorts of new tricks,” Chet snarled as he readied himself to charge Austin.
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“I don’t think you can handle it,” Austin taunted with a smirk as he allowed Essence to flow into his free hand.
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Chet’s nostrils flared in anger before he kicked off the ground and charged Austin at full speed. In response, Austin already brought his hand back as a metal ball formed. The moment the ball finished forming, Austin threw it forward at Chet. Chet moved too fast to slow down or dodge the ball and had no choice but to take it head-on. A cracking noise could be heard as the ball smashed into Chet’s shoulder.
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The force of the hit threw Chet off balance and forced him to stop. He grabbed his shoulder as he tried to deal with the pain. He was running out of Essence, but he knew that the only way to continue fighting was to heal his shoulder. Essence flowed directly into his shoulder and started to heal the break. Chet could feel his bones cracking back into place and healing. He gritted his teeth as the healing process was extremely painful for a moment. As the healing finished, the pain started to dull.
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“You just don’t go down, do you?” Austin sighed. “I thought that would at least get you to quit.”
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“I won’t quit,” Chet paused for a moment to take several deep breaths. “Until you’re dead!”
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“I’m sorry, honey. But you are going to stop,” a voice interrupted. Andrea walked out of the trees.
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“What are you doing here?” Chet angrily asked as he turned around to face Andrea. “Aren’t you supposed to be finishing off the camp with Carter?”
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“Carter is dead,” Andrea said quietly. For a moment, her voice sounded sad. “Which is why we need to leave and regroup. We bit off more than we can chew.”
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“Why would we leave now if he is dead?” Chet growled. “If anything, we should get our revenge now!”
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Andrea placed a hand on Chet and kissed his cheek. “We will get our revenge later. We need to heal and get stronger to do that.”
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“Fine,” Chet let out a deep breath. “You’re right.”
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The two started to walk away from Austin into the forest. Before they could get far, Austin threw his shield as hard as he could at the pair. Andrea quickly turned around to face the oncoming shield and slashed with her knife. The force of the shield caused her to lose balance, but she managed to redirect the shield upward with her slash.
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“You think I’m just going to let you leave?” Austin’s voice was cold as he used his Essence to pull his shield back to his arm.
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Andrea did not respond to Austin. Instead, she gave a nod to Chet. The two burned what little remained of their Essence and dashed into the forest. The pair moved so fast that they were out of Austin’s range in mere seconds. In frustration, Austin threw his arm to the side and willed his shield to vanish in a flash of silver light. He wanted to chase them down but knew that he needed to return to the camp.
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When Austin returned to the camp, he was shocked to see how many dead people there were. The survivors worked to get the camp back to normal. While some organized dead bodies, others tended to wounds. The people of the camp were doing their best to return things to how they were.
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As Austin looked over the camp, he scanned to see if Maya and Elliot had returned. He could not immediately find them among all the people, and his heart started to race as he swung his head back and forth quickly. He first recognized that Beth was in the camp and started to walk towards her.
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As Austin walked towards Beth, he saw that women and children gathered around her. Eventually, he recognized Maya’s auburn hair from behind. His heart instantly calmed as he saw her, and his pace turned from a walk to a run.
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“I’m so happy you’re safe,” Austin’s voice cracked as he embraced Maya from behind.
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Maya turned towards Austin and buried her head into his chest. He could feel his shirt grow wet with tears as she did. “I was so worried when we came back, and you weren’t here.”
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“Don’t worry,” Austin forced a smile on his face as he brushed his hands through Maya’s hair. “I’m here. Everything will be okay.”
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Maya squeezed Austin tighter before she lifted her head from his chest. For a moment, she looked at Austin’s face as if she were taking in every detail, then she kissed him. As she released her kiss, she said, “I’m just so relieved you are okay.”
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“Me too,” Austin nodded. “Where is Elliot? Is he okay?”
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“Don’t worry, he’s alright. Some of the other mothers gathered the children, and they are playing together,” Maya responded. “They decided it was the best way to make sure they didn’t get in anyone’s way right now.”
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“Oh, that makes sense,” Austin nodded. “They probably don’t need to see all of this, too.”
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“Yes, exactly, I wish I were with him, but it’s for the best,” Maya said in a somber tone.
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“So what’s going on now? Is there anything I can do?” Austin asked. As the adrenaline of his fight with Chet died, Austin could feel exhaustion start to set in. His Essence reserves were extremely low, but seeing the devastation in the camp made him want to help.
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“You’re done helping for now,” Maya insisted. “You look like an absolute wreck and need to rest. We have it covered.”
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“But I’m sure there is something-“ Austin protested.
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“No, you go rest with everyone else,” Maya demanded. “It’s our turn to help.”
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Austin sighed but did not protest further. He turned his gaze on a group of scouts, sitting on the ground, and walked towards them. There were several scouts that Austin did not know, but Austin recognized Gavin in the center of the group. As Austin sat down in the back of the circle, he noticed that the scouts were excitedly praising Gavin.
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“Dude, that was so amazing! You sent her running!” A young man said with eyes bright in excitement.
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“You have to be close to Copper! That’s so cool," a woman added.
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“Guys, it’s really no big deal,” Gavin said with a little frustration. “I even let her get away.”
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“She got lucky. Next time, you’ll get her,” another person said.
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“Maybe,” Gavin said quietly. While he knew that next time he would be stronger, he also knew that next time Andrea would be stronger. As Gavin thought to himself, he saw Austin and his eyes lit up. “Here he is! The real star of the show. Without him, I wouldn’t have been able to fight back like I did.”
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The group seemed to turn back to look at Austin in unison. Austin felt strange as they looked at him. They all conveyed excitement that Austin was not used to. Almost as if they were treating him as a celebrity.
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“You’re the guy that fought that monster of a man!” One of the group exclaimed.
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“The way you sprung into action was so cool. You were like an action hero,” another person said.
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“Yeah, you have to show me the ropes! Gavin said that you inspired him to use his technique,” a third person added.
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Austin was taken completely off guard and even put his hands in front of his face as if he were trying to stop the group. “Uh, thank you. But I’m really just a guy.”
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“Just a guy? No way! You, Gavin, and Mike basically saved us all!” A member of the group argued.
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“Which is why you should let Gavin and Austin rest,” Mike’s voice pierced through the commotion. Mike looked over the group before he continued. “Shouldn’t you all be working to set the camp back up? I don’t think any of you are wounded.”
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“We were just taking a break and talking with Gavin,” one of the group protested.
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“You can take a break when everything is back to normal,” Mike’s voice was stern. “Now get out of here.”
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The group begrudgingly stood up and started to walk away. Groans of annoyance could be heard as they walked away. There were even some complaints about Mike’s attitude as they walked.
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“Keep complaining, and I’ll find more work to do,” Mike told the group as they walked away.
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“Thank you,” Gavin said to Mike. “I wasn’t sure how much more I could take.”
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“No problem, I know you aren’t the best with people,” Mike smiled. “They were not helping you rest.”
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“I did not expect those reactions. What happened?” Austin asked.
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Mike placed a hand on Gavin’s shoulder and said, “This young man defeated one of the invaders and made the other retreat. In the midst of the battle, he even created a technique for himself.”
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“Whoa,” Austin’s mouth opened wide before he smiled broadly at Gavin. “That is really awesome! Especially creating a technique!”
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“I guess so,” Gavin said quietly as his cheeks started to turn slightly red. “I have you to thank for that. I couldn’t have made the technique without you.”
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“Was it the books?” Austin smiled mischievously.
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“Well, no, okay, maybe a little. But it was mostly you showing me the way our affinity can work,” Gavin explained. “I used it to turn my entire body into a conduit of my Essence. Next thing I knew, I was filled with incredible strength and speed.”
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“I’m happy I could help,” Austin said. “Sounds like a Beast technique. So I don’t have to worry about you stealing my techniques anymore.”
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“I was never going to steal your techniques,” Gavin chuckled slightly.
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“You say that now, but I know you thought about it,” Austin teased.
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“Shut up,” Gavin laughed as he playfully pushed Austin.
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Mike left the two to their rest and went to check on the operations of the camp. The pair talked a little more after that. They mostly vented their frustrations to each other while also detailing the events of the battle. Austin was shocked to hear that Gavin’s technique had such a strong backlash. The two began to talk theory on how to prevent the backlash. While they could wait to see what happens when Gavin became a Copper, they also thought it was important to figure out a way to prevent a backlash completely.
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Austin watched the camp as the two talked. It was strange how the battle took mere moments but caused such a drastic change. Able-bodied people made rounds to the injured, and Austin soon noticed that they channeled Essence into those who were hurt. Austin was so used to focusing on techniques for battle that he did not think that Essence could be used in such a way. Especially when the Essence was not specialized.
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Maya soon came over to the two and placed her hands above Austin’s chest. Golden Essence flowed from her hands against his bruises. He felt some pain leave him as the Essence warmed his body. She then did the same with Gavin’s legs.
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“They have you healing people?” Austin asked as Maya finished up.
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“Yep,” Maya responded with a cheerful smile. “We are pretty sure my Essence affinity is something related to life. So it makes me especially capable of healing people, but I guess anyone can do it.”
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“Oh, that’s really cool,” Austin nodded. “You’ll have to show me how sometime.”
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“Maybe I’ll keep it a secret. It’s something I can do that you can’t,” Maya teased.
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“Come on,” Austin complained.
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“I’ll think about it. But I have to get to other people. I’ll see you later,” Maya gave Austin a kiss before she left him with Gavin.
