An Unexpected Ally

With her helm on, Sam couldn't see Ryllis' eyes. But she felt them well enough, burning into her face like Ryllis was trying to set her on fire even without her powers. All Sam could do was stand there and stare back.

"What," Ryllis snarled, "are you doing here?"

Just like that, Sam snapped back to her senses. "That's my line, y'know!"

Ryllis stalked forward, the end of her spear clanking against the floor. The flashing alarms made it hard to see, but it seemed like Ryllis was stumbling a little.

Well, there was no mistaking the hate twisting her voice. "Hold on. Don't tell me...you're here to...to buy a familiar."

She dropped into an offensive stance, spear pointed. Her entire body was trembling.

Sam's heart dropped into her stomach. Yeah, Ryllis had never been nice to her, but she'd never outright threatened to attack her either.

"No, no!" Without thinking, Sam ran in front of Ryllis and waved her hands. "You've got the wrong idea! We're here to set everyone free!"

Ryllis clenched her teeth, jaw tightening. "As if."

"I mean it – look out!"

Boots thudding, more guards came pouring down the stairs. Ryllis spun around, but not fast enough. One of the guards had already swung her sword. Snarling, Ryllis blocked with the shaft of her spear, but she'd gotten stuck on the defense.

And – Sam's heart stopped – the guard was overpowering her. As she pushed against Ryllis' spear, Ryllis took a trembling step backward.

At exactly the wrong time, because another guard swerved at her from the left. Sam opened her mouth to scream a warning, but before she could Ivo came charging with a fallen guard's sword in hand. Metal clanged when he blocked the guard's strike, then he snapped his sword to the left to knock the guard's weapon out of his hand.

Ryllis took the chance to shove the guard attacking her away. But her momentum sent her lurching back, giving the guard enough time to recover.

Not if Sam had anything to say about it. Her Levia sparked and a shield spell flashed in front of Ryllis. The guard's sword glanced off the shield, sending her stumbling.

"What the hell?" Ryllis yelled over her shoulder. "I don't need your help!"

Stubborn as always. "Watch out, she's coming!" Sam shouted back.

Ryllis whipped her spear forward. It swept beneath the guard's raised sword and struck her square in the chest. Flames flickered around the tip, melting the metal beneath it. With a thud, the spear broke through the guard's armor. The guard collapsed in a limp pile at the bottom of the stairs and didn't get up.

Had Ryllis just...killed her? 'Stone cold,' Sam thought, sick with amazement.

But she forgot all about it when Ryllis fell to one knee and the spear slipped out of her fingers. Shouting her name, Sam ran toward her.

More guards spilled down the stairs, but by now the freed prisoners plus Darian and Lodo had engaged them. Swords clashed and sparks flashed, almost drowning out the alarms. In the chaos nobody was paying any attention to Ryllis, so Sam reached her without trouble.

As Sam approached, Ryllis hissed and flattened herself against the wall. Like a cat, but all silly thoughts fled when she saw how badly Ryllis was trembling.

Not only that, but her face – or whatever was visible of it, anyway – glistened with sweat. Sam's heart twisted into a knot. She'd never seen Ryllis so worn out before, not even after the battle against Ghost and Phantom.

Which didn't make a lick of sense. Those guards couldn't have given her that much of a challenge, could they? Normally she'd eat them right up for breakfast.

"Ryllis, what's wrong?" Sam asked, crouching down beside her.

Ryllis flinched, then gripped her spear tighter. "None of your business."

"Don't be like that! You seem like you're in bad shape."

"Tch." Ryllis' mouth twisted. "Breaking into this arena...took a bit more than expected. That's all."

Armor creaking, she hauled herself to one knee. But when she tried to stand up, she pitched over to the side.

Sam's body moved before her mind could catch up. She wrapped her arm around Ryllis' waist and pulled her arm over her shoulder. Ryllis slumped against her, groaning. Her armor dug into Sam's side, not at all comfortable, but Sam wasn't about to complain. Even if it felt like Ryllis' weight would soon crush her into a puddle on the floor.

"Shit," Ryllis hissed. Her face was so close her breath brushed Sam's cheek. "The fuck are you...."

"What's it look like? Helping you!" Sam huffed, but her indignity was all for show. With every breath she tasted Ryllis' scent – sweat and metal, mixed with the acrid tang of burning. Not exactly the most pleasant aroma, but it spread a tingling warmth through Sam's chest anyway.

A guttural roar, like a bear or lion, almost made Sam drop Ryllis. After tightening her grip, she lifted her head just in time to see Ivo charging at two guards.

Her jaw dropped when he grabbed them by the scruffs of their necks and slammed their heads together. The resulting clang echoed through the entire hall, then Ivo dropped their limp bodies like they were empty sacks of flour.

Right, Sam couldn't forget why she was here. She had to join the fight, help out the others. "Can you stand?" she asked Ryllis.

Ryllis nodded, short and sharp. So Sam got to her feet, helping Ryllis up with her. She promptly regretted it when her knees trembled and the breath rasped in her throat. That armor was no joke.

But Sam clenched her teeth and told herself to bear it. This couldn't be ten percent as bad as what Ryllis was going through.

And it didn't last long, anyway. As soon as she was upright, Ryllis gave her a little shove. With a startled squawk, Sam let go of her.

Before she could protest, Ryllis had already picked up her spear and faced the fight. But when she tensed her legs, ready to jump back in, Sam came to her senses again.

"Hey, wait!" she shouted.

Ryllis glanced over her shoulder. "What?"

"Why'd you come here anyway? You wanna help us free everyone?"

"Tch." With a jerk of her shoulder, Ryllis turned away. "Don't be stupid."

"Then why – "

"For one person. That's all." Ryllis' voice became fierce.

"One person? Do you mean you're looking for a prisoner here?"

"That's why I came to Earth." Ryllis raised her spear. "I finally figured that person might be here. So don't get in my way."

"You're still going on about that?" Sam groaned. "C'mon, you're here, we're here, we can help – hey!"

Because Ryllis had already jumped into the fray, spear whirling. She knocked aside one guard, slammed the butt of the spear into another guard's chest. Sam stared, mouth wide open, before her brain finally caught up with her eyes. As a guard lunged at Ryllis from behind, she cast a strengthening spell.

Ryllis started when the mint green circle appeared beneath her. Then, snarling, she knocked the guard to the floor.

"I said don't get in my way!" she yelled, not looking back at Sam.

"Well, I said I was going to help! So there!" Sam stuck out her tongue. "Look out!"

As another guard charged from Ryllis' right, Sam got ready to cast the spell again. But before she could, Ivo dove in and slammed the hilt of his sword into the guard's helmet. The metal crumpled like tinfoil, and a few seconds later the guard hit the floor with a satisfying crash.

After the crash a sudden silence filled the air, broken only by the fighters' ragged breathing. No more guards were coming down the stairs, Sam realized.

"Is that...is that all?" Meg asked cautiously.

"No, more will come. But it may take them a little time," Ivo said.

"Good." Meg nodded. "Then we'll try to free as many people from the first floor as we can. Sam, let's go – wait a minute. Is that Ryllis?"

She goggled, but Ryllis just hoisted her spear over her shoulder and marched toward the stairs.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Sam ran after her. "Where're you going?"

"Continuing my mission."

"Aw, come on! Help us free the others!"

"I told you I'm not here to do that," Ryllis snapped, stepping onto the bottom stair.

"Well, if she doesn't want to help, it's – " Meg began, but Sam had already reached the stairs and grabbed Ryllis' wrist.

With an ominous creak of armor, Ryllis tensed. Okay, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea – but when she stayed still, making no move to escape, Sam breathed easier.

"You're looking for someone, right?" she demanded, glaring at the back of Ryllis' head. Maybe her gaze wasn't as half as intense, but she'd make sure Ryllis felt every inch of her eye daggers. "Who knows, maybe they're one of the prisoners on this floor. If you help us, you might find them."

Ryllis didn't speak. Her wrist remained stiff beneath Sam's hand, not twitching a muscle.

Then she sighed like she was letting out all the air in her body, her shoulders slumping. Startled, Sam let go. But instead of hightailing it up the stairs, Ryllis slowly turned to face her.

"Fine," she said, the corner of her mouth twitching. "It can't hurt."