In a blind rage, Luna Trevyn charged the two gunners, pelting their armor with rounds from her M-16. At first, they hardly noticed the hits, but when she threw a grenade, her presence was indisputable. Even though it missed its target, it struck a fighter and knocked him out by slamming him against a tree. The second was flung clear, bruised and stunned for a moment. The odds changed a little because Kieran Ravy now had three opponents in addition to Luna Trevyn's injured opponent. Better, but still gloomy. Dropping her rifle, Luna Trevyn drew her own blade and charged into the fray. Kieran Ravy's assailant turned to confront her. Luna Trevyn called out into the comm in between parrying blows.
"Earth, Air, and Water, die! "Where in hell are you?"
The distance to Earth is 150 meters! ETA: 30 seconds Luna Trevyn, keep going!" At last, Yan Zantara reported.
"There is 100 meters of water out! "ETA 20 seconds!" was the update from Nora Rahmyn.
"There are zero meters of air out! "ETA: zero seconds!" Declaring, Nayla Zantara was already interacting with the wounded Water warrior. There were now four defenders against three attackers. With her constant dodging, weaving, flipping, and jumping, Nayla Zantara's brilliant fighting style completely frustrated her opponent.
Kieran Ravy, who embodied the Fire Code of Honor, rallied after his friends arrived and continued to attack despite his fatigue and wounds. Shortly after arriving, Nora Rahmyn engaged one of the fighters who was exerting pressure on Kieran Ravy. Slowly, the tide was shifting. Last to arrive, Yan Zantara stopped Kieran Ravy's last opponent just as he was about to pass out, exhausted and bleeding, and thus out of the fight.
With her crossbow pressed against the back of her opponent's neck, Nayla Zantara took the advantage and pinned him face down. He gave up. Before hurrying to Luna Trevyn's aid, Nayla Zantara made a quick check of Kieran Ravy's vitals. The pommel of Nora Rahmyn's sword delivered a quick, powerful blow to the opponent's head, causing him to crumple and his helmet to ring like a gong.
The final Water fighter became terrified upon witnessing his allies' defeat. Pulling a grenade, he scurried over to the fallen Kieran Ravy. He threatened Kieran Ravy via all available channels, saying that he would pull the pin if he didn't surrender right away. Nayla Zantara squatted, snarling, fighting the impulse to jump. Weapons trained on him by Luna Trevyn and Nora Rahmyn were prepared to unleash a steel storm. Torn between wanting to put an end to the battle and wanting to keep Kieran Ravy safe, Yan Zantara stood erect with his broadsword, breathing heavily.
Then the most unexpected thing occurred. Kieran Ravy, who had just appeared to be unconscious, rose silently behind the fighter in a panic. Leaping forward, he caught the man by the waist from behind. Kieran Ravy was on top of them when they crashed to the ground, frantically attempting to control the grenade with one arm squirming beneath his opponent.
Beneath the Water fighter's chest, the device exploded. His heart and lungs were torn apart by shrapnel as the explosion ripped through his armor. He passed away right away. Metal fragments were hurled upward by the blast, ripping into Kieran Ravy's right arm sleeve, splintering bone and tearing flesh. The destruction came to a sudden halt just below his elbow. Only a mangled, bloody ruin of bone and muscle remained where his forearm had been only moments before.
Kieran Ravy let out a cry that is only uttered by those who are severely injured. He clutched the torn armor sleeve to his chest as he writhed in pain on the ground. His blood pooled on the wet forest floor, mixing with that of his dead opponent.
Rushing to his side, Nora Rahmyn took off his helmet. She carefully removed the ruined armor from his right forearm, Yan Zantara and Luna Trevyn holding him motionless against the agony. It took with it what was left of his arm. She put the mutilated limb aside and started the gruesome process of extracting embedded shrapnel from the stump, ignoring Kieran Ravy's anguished cries.
At this point, fifteen arena medics had rushed to the scene to treat the injured. As medical professionals lifted Kieran Ravy onto a stretcher and ran in the direction of a trauma center, the four friends took a step back. Before proceeding to the next victim, a fifth medic briefly stopped them and inserted a needle into Kieran Ravy's upper arm. The needle contained clotting agents, strong sedatives, and marrow stimulators. The blood gushing from Kieran Ravy's wound slowed noticeably, and he lost consciousness instantly.
After racing after the stretcher, Yan Zantara, Nayla Zantara, Luna Trevyn, and Nora Rahmyn arrived at the infirmary in less than a minute. When they attempted to follow into the operating room, a doctor adamantly intervened, demanding that they take off their armor and receive treatment for their own wounds first. In separate dressing rooms, they reluctantly changed into hospital scrubs.
They were taken right away to examination rooms by doctors. Nayla Zantara had suffered severe bruising, multiple long, shallow cuts on her arms, and a deep stab wound in her thigh. Luna Trevyn suffered a concussion and a deep cut from a sword that partially severed her left leg, an injury she hadn't even noticed during the ferocity of combat. Yan Zantara suffered a few small cuts and extensive bruising down his left side. Although Nora Rahmyn's injuries were relatively minor—a mild concussion and roughly six superficial bullet impacts on her armor that hadn't fully penetrated—the attending physician was initially alarmed to see her covered in Kieran Ravy's blood.
The worst condition was that of Kieran Ravy. His torso was badly bruised, he had multiple stab and slash wounds, his left ankle was broken, and his right forearm was gone. Seven bullets were also embedded in his left leg and arm. He would have bled to death in a matter of minutes if the field medic hadn't stepped in.
Upon being granted access to the observation gallery that overlooked Kieran Ravy's operating room, the four companions observed a group of six physicians working, their scrubs and gloves crimson, surgical masks and goggles in place. Two carefully cleared the remaining shrapnel from the damaged arm stump, two others removed bullets, one applied a tissue-regenerating spray to the gashes, and the final one kept an eye on the flow of new blood and medicine.
Almost an hour later, one of the surgeons came into the observation room. To avoid the inevitable flurry of inquiries, he raised a hand. "Your friend is going to be alright. He is now stable, though it took some time to remove all of the shrapnel. But he lost a lot of blood. It will be a long time before he fights again.
Nora Rahmyn expressed their main worry. "How is his arm doing? Can he retrieve it?
The physician gave a serious nod. "Yes, choices are available. It would take months to regenerate the limb in a specialized ward. As an alternative, we could affix a cybernetic substitute. Early tomorrow, we could have one fitted. Thankfully, the amputation is clean and located just below the elbow joint, so we don't have to recreate the intricate joint. He might even have several specialized arms that he could switch out as needed if he had the correct model.
"Would it match his skin tone?" Zantara Nayla inquired.
The physician gave a headshake. "I'm afraid not. Prosthetics that are precisely matched in terms of color and texture can be made, but they are very costly. If you'd like, I can show you the options."
For the next fifteen minutes, the four looked over a list of artificial body parts. Even though Kieran Ravy could have held the catalog, he was not in a state to be woken up to make the decision himself. They decided on two models: a robust, all-purpose arm with four fingers and a thumb, with a high-grip palm plating and a 360-degree rotating wrist, made of the same magnesium alloy that Kieran Ravy preferred for his armor and easily adjustable. The second was a specialized one-thumbed, three-fingered gripper that was designed to apply a vise-like grip to nearly any material. The middle finger was noticeably thicker.
They bundled their damaged armor, changed out of their scrubs into casual attire, and went back to Kyara for a much-needed night's sleep after deciding on Kieran Ravy's new appendage.
But the work of the surgeons went on. For optimal stability, they carefully fastened the cybernetic mounting bracket to Kieran Ravy's forearm bone with bolts. The circular bracket had six shorter connectors evenly spaced around a central peg for nerve impulse transmission. They found the severed primary nerve bundle by carefully cutting along the bone, and then they connected a piece of cloned nerve tissue to Kieran Ravy's own nerve at one end and the bracket at the other. His new arm would now be able to communicate with his brain and receive feedback.
The following morning, Kieran Ravy was awake and sitting up in bed when Yan Zantara, Nayla Zantara, Luna Trevyn, and Nora Rahmyn got back. He welcomed them with unexpected vigor.
"Hey everyone! How are things going?
He appeared exceptionally healthy, despite still having multiple monitoring devices attached to his chest and being covered in post-operative bandages.
"Hi, Ravy Kieran! "How is the arm doing?" Yan Zantara inquired.
"This?" In response, Kieran Ravy lifted the shining metal limb and spun the wrist so quickly it was a blur. Fantastic. When I woke up, I was shocked. You are aware that this device has a small self-healing kit built into it? I have everything: a set of wrenches, pliers, and a grease gun. What are all of you gazing at?
Indeed, their faces were filled with a mix of amusement and worry as they stared. Nayla Zantara expressed what they all thought. "We thought you might be a little more… you know, traumatized."
"By awakening with a piece of metal fastened to my arm? "You undervalue me," sneered Kieran Ravy. "I mean, I'm almost accustomed to the concept. From the hip down, my dad's left leg is cybernetic. In fact, he wanted to be permanently confined to a wheelchair in order to develop a "seasoned veteran" appearance, but Mom dissuaded him from doing so.
A nurse leaned through the doorway after they had been talking for a few more minutes. "I apologize for bothering you, Mr. Ravy, but you have a message downstairs. A government official. They declared it to be urgent.
The five friends looked at each other. Could this be the call they had been waiting for, trained for, and recruited for?
"Well," Kieran Ravy said with a smile, "it appears that I will be leaving sooner than I had anticipated." He led the way out of the room after swinging his legs out of bed and covering his bandages with a light green hospital shirt.