“OW!”

The sound of the cry of pain filled the air of the bunker. Nicole bit her lips, tears swimming in her eyes. “Be more gentle!”

Brisingr concentrated on wrapping the gauze around her wound. “The first time I see you in months and you attack me with a roll of toilet paper?!” Nicole asked.

“The first time I see you in months and you’ve already hurt yourself. I have to say, this is not the way I thought our reunion was going to go,” Brisingr replied.

Nicole scoffed. “Well, you know me. I thought getting hurt fighting a Legend was the only way to get you out of whatever funk you’re in.”

Brisingr bit her lip and tightened the bandage the tiniest bit. “OW! Stop it!”

“Oh no, please continue!” an angelic voice which did not match the context said.

“Nice to see you as well, Cynthia,” Brisingr said.

Cynthia giggled, her eyes laser-focused onto the red spreading across the white surface of the bandage. “My my, Nicole. That must hurt.”

Nicole deadpanned. “You think? Ow! Seriously, you need to calm down!” Brisingr didn’t respond, still focused on the task at hand.

Cynthia hid her mouth and turned around. “Why, Nicole? Didn’t you say you missed Brisingr and wanted her closer to you?”

Brisingr froze as Nicole’s face turned redder than a tomato. Nobody moved for a moment before Nicole shrieked, pushing Brisingr off of her and yelling. “I DIDN’T SAY THAT! STOP LYING!”

“Uh, Nicole?” Brisingr asked.

“I’M TELLING YOU, I DON’T LIKE HER! OKAY? I JUST-AGH!”

Nicole’s rant was cut off short as her body remembered the pain and she collapsed. Brisingr winced as she tumbled on top of her hurt leg and Nicole howled.

Brisingr glared at Cynthia. “You’re awful, you know?”

“Whatever do you mean?” Cynthia played the perfect part of the angel.

Brisingr ignored her and hurried over to help Nicole, propping her up against some of the barrels. Nicole didn’t look her in the eye as Brisingr did so and she silently cursed Cynthia. As much as she loved her, teasing an injured companion was not the way to go.

“Comfortable?” Brisingr inquired. Nicole nodded. “Very well then. We must come up with a plan. Yggdrasil, how are things fairing?”

“We’re making decent headway, but the only thing we can do is attack the terrain. All of our missiles and bullets are doing nothing against Atlas.”

Brisingr nodded. “Yes. I punched him with everything I had and nothing occurred.”

Nicole straightened up and Cynthia's face was frozen in a large smile. “Seriously? A full-out punch? I mean, I’ve been hit by one of those, and there s no way you can’t react!”

Brisingr confirmed it. “Indeed. I believe his gauntlets can nullify the force and weight of a blow completely.”

“Hm. That would make sense. Most of Atlas’ legends are comprised around him holding up the sky, and he is most famous for appearing in Heracles’ myth. His gauntlets would make holding up the sky for thousands of years possible.”

“Exactly!” Brisingr agreed with headquarters. “So, how do we get past it?”’

Cynthia clapped. “Oooh, so we can throw everything we have at him and he’ll live?”

Nicole and she eyed each other. What was worse? A Legend who could not be hurt physically? Or a girl who appeared an angel but truly was a devil?

“Yeah, surrreeee,” Nicole said. Brisingr prayed for Atlas’ life before getting back on track.

“Any ideas?”

Nicole shifted a bit, wincing at the pain her leg gave. “Well, he’s imminent to physical attacks. That doesn’t mean he’s immune to temperature. How about it, Brisingr? Just like the good ole days? Both of us together, our combined heat should be more than eno-ow!” Nicole whimpered.

Brisingr gently eased her down again. “No. You already used too much, your circuits need time to cool down.”

“Nuh-uh! I have more than enough, I just need a boost!” Nicole protested.

Brisingr thought about it. Nicole was the most durable person she knew. She could withstand a boost, even in this state. It wouldn’t be so bad.

Nicole must have seen the interest rising in Brisingr’s face and carried on. “It’s just on the attack! And this time, I have you!”

Brisingr exhaled. “Fine. Only if-“

“She already used a boost,” Cynthia cut in, positively glowing with glee.

Nicole shot Cynthia a betrayed look while Brisingr tried to rein her anger in. “Nicole. Were you trying to lie to me during the heat of battle about your condition? You could have died if I let you get another boost, all because of a lie! Thank you, Cynthia.”

Cynthia beamed. “No problem! I wouldn’t want any harm put to my dear friend, Nicole.”

Nicole’s teeth grated. “Yes, of course.”

“Cynthia, it’s up to us two. Do you have your guns?” Brisingr asked.

Cynthia twirled them into her hand as a response. “Of course, I have my babies!”

“Wait wait wait wait wait! You’re just leaving me here! Alone?” Nicole exclaimed.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be sending in a strike team to get you out with medic on standby. You’ll be perfectly fine, Nicole,” Commander said. “Besides, we have YouTube!”

“That’s not the issue!” Nicole shouted before cocking her head. “YouTube?” she repeated. Nicole vigorously shook her head. “No, I mean, you can’t leave me here! I can fight!”

“You can’t even stand!” Brisingr shouted back.

“Yes, I can!” Nicole shakily got to her feet, slumping down the wall.

“You have a fractured bone in your leg and internal bleeding in the same leg as well. You’re also losing too much blood,” Commander piped in cheerfully.

“Look, I-“

“You’re staying and that's final!” Brisingr ordered, reaching the end of her limit. When asked to stand down, you do it! She appreciated her drive to protect her city, but Cynthia and her could handle the job!

Cynthia whistled. “I ordered a package, guys, it should be here any time now!”

Following her statement, a chute slid down from the roof and a large suitcase fell onto Brisingr. She groaned, catching it before it fell.

“Commander?” Brisingr asked.

There was giggling over the com. “Sorry about that, a twitch of my hand.”

“Right,” Brisingr said slowly before examining the suitcase. It was plain, all black, and had the symbol of Yggdrasil imprinted onto it: a tree with 9 circles, each one containing the different insignias of different groups. Brisingr nostalgically rubbed over theirs; the one in place of Midgard.

“That’s what we’ve been working on the entire time you left, Brisingr. A way for those who want to fight but can’t to aid us in our battles,” Commander told her.

Brisingr made to open it before it was snatched away by Cynthia. She wagged a finger. “No, no, this is very dangerous and fragile. Only those who have extreme training can use it.”

Brisingr nodded. “Of course,” she said gravely. She studied Cynthia with new eyes. “Such a weapon must have great warriors wielding it after all.”

“Don’t listen to her, it’s point and shoot,” Nicole barked, apparently still angry over what was happening.

Brisingr chose to ignore her, instead gazing up at the exit. “You be safe, all right? Don’t do anything stupid and wait for Yddgrasil to send backup.”

“I’m not a kid!” Nicole shouted.

“Oh hush,” Brisingr reached inside a pouch on her belt and threw a baguette at her. “Eat up, I got it especially for you.”

Nicole looked at it with wide eyes. “This is-“

“That special restaurant we always go to, remember?” Brisingr smiled.

Nicole could only nod. “Well, I want to go to it again, this time with Cynthia. And I darn well can’t if you’re dead, so eat it and stay safe.”

She glared at the floor but nibbled it nonetheless. Brisingr gave her thanks before pushing up the plank. She and Cynthia exited, with Nicole staring balefully at them. Cynthia waved at her before Brisingr placed the plank back.

“We have to be stealthy,” Brisingr informed Cynthia. Cynthia smiled.

“Of course! Though, it’s going to take time to get this bad boy started up. You have to go out there and distract him, all right?” Cynthia said.

Brisingr had no idea how she was going to do that but what kind of a knight was she if she let lack of knowledge stop her? “Understood. But please, do hurry.”

“Sure!”

It was a war zone outside; even though the bunker was a mile away from where Atlas and her fought, the damage reached them. The whole city rattled from each blow, both from Atlas and Yggdrasil. The closer they got to the fight, the fewer buildings they found. The ones they did see were already traveling the fast path to death.

“Wow, that’s a big crater,” Cynthia commented.

“Indeed,” Brisingr said. The crater went a good 5 miles wide in every direction and a mile deep. At the very center was Atlas, who seemed unfazed by everything.

“Did he cause all this or Yggdrasil?” Cynthia asked.

“Us. We’re hitting the ground with what we’ve got, but he remains still,” Commander told them. So she’d been wrong. The city shaking was only from Yggdrasil. Then what would happen when he struck?

“We need to hurry,” Brisingr stated.

Cynthia purred. “Why? We should wait for him to tucker out, then we launch the attack!”

“He’s a Titan. He probably has more stamina than we do, Eons. Besides, by the time he ‘tuckers out’, he’d have wiped Neverstien off the face of the planet,” Brisingr informed her.

Cynthia pouted. “Well, that’s no fun!”

“How long do you need to get your weapon working?” Brisingr asked.

“A few minutes. Good luck!” Cynthia exclaimed.

“Thank y-“ Brisingr cut off short as Cynthia abruptly pushed her down the crater. She nearly tumbled before regaining her balance and sliding the rest of the way.

Normally, she would scold Cynthia for the action but right now, she was a bit busy dealing with Atlas. He peered down at her.

“I remember you! Have you come here again to humiliate yourself?” Atlas boomed.

Igniting her palms, Brisingr leaped into action as Yddgrasil drew her forces back. She needed to not overexert herself, remember to keep it to the minimum.

Brisingr launched fireball after fireball, each one about medium power. Even so, the heat emanating off of the flames turned the metal red hot.

It didn't affect Atlas in the slightest through as he threw back his head and shook with laughter. “Little girl! I have gone through Tartarus’s flames! Yours mean nothing!”

“Brisingr, you need to go all out if you want to take the guy out!” Cynthia yelled.

Brisingr cursed. What was she doing, revealing her location like that? Luckily, Atlas didn’t seem to care for her, only sparing a quick look before shifting his attention back onto her.

“Hold on that, Brisingr. We’re getting permission right now. Hold off as best as you can using minimal firepower,” Commander ordered.

“Yes, ma’am.” Dodging a strike, Brisingr kept on shooting off flames. She knew she wasn’t doing anything to this creature, only keeping his attention on her. She was lucky he seemed to find her more interesting at the moment than destroying Neverstien. Still, she had no doubt he would soon get bored.

“RAAAAAH!” Brisingr let loose a hail of fire shaped like arrows, each one more concentrated than a larger fireball.

These actually seemed to make an impact on the Titan as he winced. Not much apparently, as he swatted them all away soon enough.

“You have the skill, I’ll grant you that. But you are still no match for me!” Atlas brought his foot down and immediately, the most powerful earthquake in history occurred. Brisingr frantically placed her sword down to act as a shield from the incoming debris. When the dust settled, everything around her was gone.

“Brisingr! Over 4% of Neverstien is wiped out! Eons, hurry up!”

“On it,” Cynthia's voice whispered through the coms. “You know, we should really have a crash course on these things.”

“Wait, didn’t you learn how to use these things?” Brisingr affirmed.

There was a pause. “Uh, no.”

“Brisingr! 4 o-clock!” Commander shouted.

Brisingr whirled around. Whether it was all the dust, the ringing in her ears, or the rage she felt at her teammate, she completely missed Atlas. As he swiped his hand down, Brisingr raised her sword, praying she could block it.

“Heads up!”

Brisingr heard something break the sound barrier as two projectiles zoomed in at speeds no gun could hope to match. They were metal rods, electrified.

On their own, they would have instantly killed any person and could have obliterated tanks. Both of them put together could level a building.

At the last second, they redirected themselves and headed downwards, into the ground. Brisingr suspected the goal was to get Atlas into another hole.

It would have worked too, if not for the fact Atlas seemed to be getting tired of being trapped in holes all the time. With reactions no human could hope to match, he caught the rods. The force behind them was instantly nullified the moment it made contact with skin and his Willful Construct worked its gift.

At the same time, a bone-chilling scream was heard and Brisingr’s blood ran cold. Turning around, she caught the sight of Nicole falling to the ground, unconscious.

“Get me stats, now! Recalibrate her systems! Cool it down, all the way!” Commander barked orders. “Brisingr, ignore Atlas and get to Thor!”

Brisingr didn't waste the time responding, instead bounding over. Cradling her, she found Nicole’s arms hung limply. The sight of a bone shard was seen poking out of her elbow and Brisingr saw red.

What was she doing here? Nicole was supposed to be safe at Yddgrasil right now, most likely with Commander. She wasn't supposed to be lying on the ground with both her arms broken.

“What happened, Commander?” Brisingr’s voice was unrelenting and sharp.

“She overdid it. She pushed her circuits too much, and they got spread too thin. There was too much pressure applied, and the circuits tightened. It tightened so much, it completely crushed her bones.”

Brisingr cursed. “How bad is the damage?”

Commander sighed. “I hate to say this, but she may lose the use of her arms. For now, hand her over to Leroy. He’ll get her to safety.”

Brisingr glanced up and found Leroy standing there, his immaculate suit blowing in the wind. His eyes were covered by shades, but she could tell from the way his lips pursed he too was affected by Nicole’s state.

Although Brisingr was loath to admit it, she knew they had better care at Yggdrasil than anything she could cobble up herself. Not to mention with her gone, Atlas would have free rein.

“Here.” Gently transferring her into his waiting arms, she slicked back some hair that stuck to her sweaty forehead. “Keep her safe, you hear me?”

Leroy nodded silently before leaping up, landing on thin air, and pushing off. Brisingr watched them go, slower than usual because of Nicole, before they vanished from view.

“Brisingr? Your heart rate has gone up dramatically.” Commander said.

Brisingr took a deep breath. “Yes. Because now, I’m going to kill the bastard.”