Tyler saw Steven balancing on one foot and took mercy on him.

He threw his spear and zipped over to Big Blue’s shoulder.

The friendly Snowzilla didn’t seem to mind.

Steven immediately dismissed the two shields he’d used to catch Tyler and called them under him.

He moved towards Tyler at a jog, calling and diminishing almost as an afterthought.

He stepped onto Big Blue’s shoulder next to Tyler.

This high up, the wind buffeted them, slipping through his coat and stabbing into him.

Tyler nodded to him. “You're pretty nifty with those. I met someone else with a shield Skill, and they couldn’t do a quarter of the things I’ve seen you pull.”

Steven focused on the Snow Lord as he answered. The boss was gathering herself and her monster, slowly turning to face them.

“Thanks, but I could use the power to teleport right about now.”

Tyler chuckled. “It is pretty sweet.” He scratched his chin. “Say, got any ideas?”

Steven tapped his foot. “Well, we don’t need to win ourselves. We just gotta stack the deck for Big Blue here. We both have ranged attacks, so…”

Tyler hefted his spear. “Fair enough. Bet I can tag the Snow Lord first.”

The Snowzillas began hopping closer to each other, bringing the Snow Lord into Steven’s range. He called, pulling the instant the shield appeared. It smacked into the boss’s head, staggering her.

“Fuck!” Tyler swore. “Didn’t think that through.”

He shrugged, then threw.

The Snow Lord dodged the spear, then glowered at them. Her hands crackled with blue light, and icy spikes began to form around her.

The ice kept building, growing so thick that it obscured her completely.

“Oh. Well, that’s bad.”

She attacked.

~<>~<>~

Margie frowned as her boys tackled a knight.

The bastard had been swinging for Kory from behind, but a quick shout had sent the woman diving and her dogs flying.

Buford’s mass hit the knight like a wrecking ball, and Noodle was right behind him, biting down into the snow golem's wrist as soon as it went down.

Kory scrambled to her feet and ran, bringing her chain down with all her strength.

The top link of the chain, which gleamed red, burst in a small explosion of flame.

The knight’s helm melted.

Buford and Noodle were off again, rushing towards the next fight.

Margie was effective, but she couldn’t help but feel it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be helping her dogs directly, either with a gun or her fists.

Micheal and Del were kiting a knight with a wizard supporting it.

Those wizards had taken a lot of convincing to focus on them instead of Steven and Tyler.

Her hands clenched at her sides. When Steven had been flung into the air, she thought he was dead for sure, and she had been utterly helpless to stop it.

She owed Tyler.

Micheal dodged a sword swing, and Del kicked out, her boot crashing into the knight's side. It wobbled slightly but straightened.

Del wasn’t a good match-up for these things. Her Skills made her strong and tough, but the knights were too durable for her to finish them herself.

But she could stall them just fine.

Noodle came in from the right just as Micheal dodged a blast from the wizard.

The icy magic split the snow and cracked the ground, but despite the wallop it packed, they were squishy.

Noodle tore into its back with a snarl.

As the wizard went down, Buford leaped.

Margie reached out to her hound, tapping into the truckload of momentum he carried.

She shaped it, curving it around to slam into his underside and hindquarters.

He flew forward, missing the knight entirely.

His shroud didn’t.

Margie clenched her fist, and his shroud shifted, becoming as sticky as glue.

It wrapped around the knight's shoulders and head, jerking it back.

Buford hit the ground and ran, putting his entire body weight into it.

The knight went down, its shoulders crashing down as its legs sprawled.

Buford turned, his hind legs digging into the snow.

He jumped, his body arching like a fox as he aimed for the knight's chest.

Del snapped her fingers, black and white flashing.

At the same time, Margie slammed Buford down with his own momentum, sending him crashing into the knight like a hammer.

The icy breastplate shattered.

They all turned as one. There were more targets to find.

~<>~<>~

The ice shard glanced off the Hand-Shield, bursting into chunks as it flew past.

Steven grunted and called a shield behind the Snow Lord’s head.

The boss had adapted, however, and dropped to one knee as he pulled.

He swore, then had to duck as she sent an ice spear hurtling his way.

Tyler threw his own spear in retaliation. Steven didn’t see if it hit, his focus taken up by the tree trunk swinging for him.

Big Blue hopped back, nearly sending them flying.

It was enough, though, and the punch missed them. The wind pressure from the swing just about threw them from their perch anyway.

“This is getting us nowhere!” Steven growled.

He tried to tag the Snow Lord again, but she dodged it without looking. A cloud of snow swirled around her. Steven was guessing she could feel through it, so the instant he called a shield, she knew.

Big Blue pulled back before his fist slammed forward.

The Snow Lord threw her arm up, ice forming before Big Red.

Tyler hurled his spear, its butt igniting with white light.

The weapon boomed through the air, crashing into the wall ahead of Big Blue, letting him slam into the enemy Snowzilla without slowing.

They staggered, and Steven moved.

He jumped from Big Blue’s shoulder, his foot slamming onto a shield.

“Tyler, go!”

Steven had taken another two steps when Tyler appeared on the Snow Lord’s platform.

His spear was still sailing back to him, but the man didn’t let that slow him down.

He dashed in, swinging at the boss for all he was worth.

The Snow Lord snapped a hand up, deflecting the punch while driving her offhand forward, an icicle forming in her palm.

Steven snapped a shield out, blocking the stab.

His Class pounded in his ears, and his shields felt smooth as if he was moving his own limbs.

The instant he shoved off, he banished the shield behind him, calling it in front of him at almost the same time.

The third shield he banished and recalled over and over, protecting Tyler.

The Snow Lord used her own icy shields to block Tyler’s strikes, and while she couldn’t get a good hit in, neither could he.

But then his spear arrived. It smacked into his palm with a flash of light, and he surged forward.

He drove the Snow Lord back. Every attack she made was blocked by Steven or smacked aside by Tyler.

Her defenses broke, his shining spear taking them apart like they weren’t even there.

Steven closed in, his run bringing him to the platform's edge.

One of Tyler’s strikes came close to opening the Snow Lord up from belly to throat, and the boss’s hands ignited with blue light.

Steven jumped and began calling his Tower-Shield the instant he was in range.

Thump thump thump!

Green gathered in his hands, spreading out as more and more motes appeared.

The blue light brightened, and the temperature dropped.

Thumpthumpthump!

Steven’s shield crashed into place as the blue power in the Snow Lord’s hand exploded.

Cold slammed into them with a sound like a glacier calving, and the shield groaned in his mind.

But it held.

The blast died off, and Steven dismissed his shield, revealing the Snow Lord hunched over, her hands on her knees.

Tyler’s spear took her through the chest.

She staggered, dropping to one knee.

She stared at them as cracks slowly spread through her form.

Ice began to form in front of her.

Tyler ripped his spear back, and she shattered.

Ice showered the platform, striking it with a sound like falling glass.

Tyler whooped. “We did it!” He raised his hand up for a high-five. “Let’s fucking go!”

Steven made to return the high-five when they lurched, their footing shaking.

They had beaten the Snow Lord, but the Snowzilla was still going at it.

And now that the boss wasn’t in the way, Big Blue was going ham.

Problem was, he didn’t seem to care that Steven and Tyler were currently standing on his target.

“Shit!” They yelled in unison as the giant pulled back for another hit.

Tyler jumped off the Snowzilla and threw his spear. Steven did the same, a shield appearing under his foot before he could fall.

He sprinted away, angling his shields to bring him closer to the ground.

Once he was close enough to not break something, he leaped into the snow.

A spear thudded into the ground nearby, a light trail leading back to the sky.

Tyler leaped from the line to land next to him.

They stared at the two Snowzilla as Big Blue pounded his opponent down.

Steven had been ready to jump into another fight to help the others, but they had cleaned up the mob and were making their way over to them.

No one said a word for several minutes as the titans continued to battle, their hits shaking the earth.

Big Blue landed a hit that knocked Red onto his ass, and it didn’t get any better for the other snowman from there.

“Oh, there he goes,” Margie commented as the Snowzilla punched down.

There was a boom, and the other giant went still.

“Well, shit. I think we did it.”

The System’s raised voice confirmed it.

“Scenario complete! Fortress Wars!”

“LEVEL UP!”

“You have reached the Second Threshold. Would you like to advance?”

Steven hesitated.

He glanced around and saw the others had hesitated as well.

He liked this group, and he trusted James as much as one could trust someone they’d only spoken to three times. But it would be wise to hold some cards close.

They didn’t need to know how many were level 10 now, assuming the others had also leveled up, which was a safe bet.

Thankfully, everyone seemed on the same wavelength since colored light didn’t suddenly envelope anyone.

Tyler sighed. “I was hoping the System was lying when it said we wouldn’t get Skills or Augments unless we entered a hard Scenario.” He shrugged.

“Eh, it was still fun, though.”

James walked up with his phone out. “We should exchange numbers. We never got the chance before.”

They did, which was a relief to Steven. Knowing more people they could mostly trust not to stab them in the back was a relief.

The sky cracked, black lines spreading out from the middle.

A sound like a guitar string snapping filled Steven’s ears, then their surroundings blurred. Suddenly they were on the street next to Margie’s car, the others nowhere to be seen.

Micheal looked around and then rubbed his hands together like an eager child. “I vote we go to Margie’s and throw a party to celebrate.”

“Agreed!” Everyone echoed.