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Leviathan pale violet eyes swept across the remaining knights while water dripped from his body. Five of them remained standing. Then there's one young knight still raising his laser gun with trembling hands.
The young knight took a step forward… only for a dark stain to spread across the front of his trousers. Leviathan's jaw wrinkled in distaste.
"Erugh. Now that's just undignified."
The young knight's face went from pale to crimson. He opened his mouth, probably to say something defiant or in denial, but only a strangled squeak to come out of his throat.
Leviathan sighed, this was just getting pitiful at this point. "Alright. Here's how this is going to work." Eren's webbed feet took a step forward making the knight step back twice. "You can stay. You can fight. You can join your friends in the river or on the ground or wherever else they've ended up."
He tilted his massive head, those pale violet eyes glinting in the fading light.
"…Or you can leave."
The young knight didn't need to be told twice.
He dropped his laser gun and ran. He ran like death was at his heels; which practically is true to the poor guy; scrambling over the uneven ground and slipping on wet stones, not looking back even when he crashed into a horse and nearly fell.
The horse he bumped into got startled and reared its hooves in the air. Wasting no time, he grabbed its reins and hauled himself into the saddle. In a matter of seconds, the horse was spurred forward and disappeared down the ravine, consequences be damned he's getting out of here!
Leviathan watched him go, then turned his attention to the two knights who had been holding Ember's chains. "I think," he said slowly, "that you should get your hands off my friend. Now."
They stood frozen with their weapons raised and stuck somewhere between terror and the dawning realization that running might be their only option as well.
"Did I stutter?" Leviathan's voice dropped to a dangerous rumble. "Get. Your. Hands. Off. My. Friend."
One of them; older with a scar across his cheek and the look of a man who had seen too much; took a step forward. "You think we're afraid of y-you?" His voice cracked on the last word, betraying him. "You're ju-just a-a thing. A monster. We've faced worse."
Leviathan's teeth made a small snapping sound. "Have you now?"
The knight's resolve crumbled. He took a step back, then another.
"Get away from us," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Get away, you demonic entity—"
Leviathan flashed his teeth wider.
It wasn't a bite. It wasn't even a threat, really. Just a flash of those massive, razor-sharp teeth, gleaming in the dying light like a set of shark's teeth.
The knight's eyes rolled back in his head. His body went limp, and he collapsed to the ground in a dead faint, his head striking the rocky ground with a hollow thunk.
The other knight stared at his fallen comrade. Then at Leviathan. Then back at the fallen comrade.
"I don't know him," he said quickly. "Never met him before in my life. We're not friends. We're not even acquaintances. I just—I was just—"
He pointed vaguely toward the exit of the ravine.
"I'm going to go. Over there. Very very far away. If anyone asks, I was never here."
He turned and ran, not looking back, he grabbed a horse as well and urged it to run, while his laser gun got abandoned on the ground beside his unconscious companion.
"Smart choice." Leviathan muttered, then turned to face the only two who remained.
"So, you plan to run along as well?"
Anya stood with her laser gun still raised. Beside her, the veteran knight had drawn his sword getting to a defensive stance.
"You think this is over?" Anya's voice was shaking, but her aim was steady. "You think because you killed a few of us, because you scared off the rest, that we'll just—just let you go?"
Leviathan's eyes moved from her face to the veteran's, then back again.
"I'm being a lot more generous than I should be, either you scramble while you still can, or stand around here and try your luck." Eren jabbed a webbed hand at the horses still lying around. "There's still spare horse around. Might as well use them."
Anya's face contorted with rage. This changeling brat-! "You don't give orders here, monster!"
She fired.
Leviathan was already moving. The laser blast scorched the air where his head had been, singing the edge of his fin. He lunged for her gun. His webbed hand closed around the barrel, wrenching it upward as she fired again, making the blast go wild into the sky.
"Let GO!" Anya screamed, her finger still on the trigger, the gun overheating in their grapple. Leviathan's other hand closed around her wrist. He squeezed her arm making her fingers spasm and loosen her grip off her laser gun to the floor.
Then he threw her.
She flew through the air like a ragdoll, her body spinning till she hit the ravine wall. Her shoulders slumped first before her head fell forward, before unconsciousness claimed her.
Eren's attention then turned shifted to the veteran knight, who had not run but was standing his ground with his sword raised.
"Your turn," Leviathan said.
The veteran knight said nothing. He simply shifted his stance, settling into a form that spoke of decades of practice. His sword moved in a slow, deliberate arc, testing the perfect balance.
"I've faced abominations before," he said quietly. His voice was calm and steady without fear. "In places you couldn't imagine, creature." His eyes met Leviathan's. "You're no different."
Leviathan's jaw wrinkled. "Big talk for a man holding a toothpick."
The knight moved.
He was fast; faster than Leviathan expected. The sword cut through the air, a silver blur aimed at his throat. Leviathan threw up his arms, crossing them in front of his face, and the blade bit deep into his forearm.
Pain, sharp and bright, lanced through him. The sword edge left a trail of sharp gash across his scales.
Leviathan hissed, staggering back. He looked down at his arm. The wound exposed pale flesh visible beneath the torn scales, and steam was already rising from it.
The veteran knight snarked at his successful strike. "Not so tough now, are you?"
Leviathan's eyes narrowed. "You'll pay for that." Before he flexed his claw and lunged for the kill.
However the knight was ready. He sidestepped Leviathan's charge, his sword struck again, opening a gash across Leviathan's side. The creature roared in fury and spun a fisted hand, the fist whipping around to catch the knight across the chest.
The man flew backward, crashing into a boulder with a grunt. But he didn't stay down. He rolled back up with his sword still in hand, and charged again.
They clashed in the center of the ravine, sword against claw. The knight was good; better than good, maybe the best Eren had faced in a while. But an average human can't match the strength of a Piscciss Volann. And an angry one to boot.
He caught the knight's sword on his next lunge with his teeth, shattering his sword to pieces, then held the sword arm in a vice grip. The knight struggled trying to pull free, but Leviathan's grip was iron.
"Like I said, toothpick." Leviathan growled.
The knight's free hand shot out, grabbing a handful of Leviathan's scales. His knee drove up into Leviathan's stomach; once, twice, three times; each impact forcing a grunt from the creature's throat.
But Leviathan held on.
He lifted the knight off his feet, spun him around, and threw him toward the river.
The knight hit the water with a splash that sent ripples racing across the surface, and for a moment, he disappeared beneath the dark current. Then he surfaced gasping for air, before going into a coughing fit, his armor was dragging him down. He thrashed, trying to reach the shore, but the current was strong and his armor was heavy and—
Leviathan stood at the water's edge, watching.
The knight's eyes met his. For a long moment, neither moved. Then the knight's struggles slowed, his body going limp, and he began to sink.
Leviathan watched until the bubbles stopped.
Then he turned away.
Grandpa Arlet lay on the cold ground, his broken leg twisted beneath him, his arms bound behind his back. He had watched the entire battle; watched Eren tear through the knights like a force of nature; and he couldn't decide whether to be proud or terrified.
"Kid," he muttered. "I came to save you."
Leviathan turned toward him, those pale violet eyes softening just slightly.
"Looks like it's the other way around, old man."
The creature knelt beside him, his massive form blocking out the fading light. His razore sharp jaws opened and closed around the chains binding Arlet's wrists.
Snap. Snap. Snap.
The chains fell away, clinking against the stones.
Arlet rubbed his raw wrists flexing his fingers. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet." Leviathan moved to Ember, who was still lying on his side, the chains wrapped around his muzzle and legs. The Vulpimancer's ear flaps were pressed close beside his head, his body tense, but he didn't struggle as Leviathan's teeth found the chains.
When the chains fell away, and Ember surged to his feet, shaking himself from the feeling of any restraint on its body. He turned his smooth, eyeless face toward Leviathan and let out a low, rumbling chuff, most likely out of gratitude.
"Easy Ember." The young Piscciss Volann assured. "You're okay. You're safe."
Ember's tail thumped against the ground.
Leviathan turned back to Arlet, now noticing how one of the old man's ankle was twisted.
"I need to get out of here, before more of those guys may show up." Leviathan said as he reached out his hand which Arlet caught, hauling him to his feet.
Grandpa Arlet put his weight on his good foot as Eren helped him hobble towards the nearest horse. Leviathan helped Arlet into the saddle, then turned to check on Ember. The Vulpimancer was standing on his own now, though his movements were stiff, his body still healing from the sonic disruptor's assault.
"You okay to walk?" Leviathan asked.
Ember nodded his head.
Leviathan looked down at his own chest where the Omnitrix symbol was still glowing green and active. The watch had saved his life more times than he could count in just two days.
"Gotta say," he muttered, "this thing really comes in handy."
Ember rumbled beside him, suspiciously close to a scoff. If it still had its eyes, they might have been deadpan.
"What?" Leviathan glanced at the Vulpimancer. "Did I say something wrong?"
Another rumble. Definitely bemusement.
"Okay, fine. Thank you for saving me too. There happy?"
Ember's tail thumped.
"Of course you would be."
Leviathan's gills were beginning to flap seeking for more water, the moisture on his skin evaporating in the cooling air.
"Alright," he said, reaching up to touch the Omnitrix symbol. "Time to—"
Ember's growl cut him off.
The Vulpimancer's teeth were set to a snarl, his body coiled while his head turned toward the top of the ravine. A silhouette was moving, and something they were holding was glowing.
Shit. He forgot.
"GET DOWN!"
The laser blast tore through the air where Eren's head had been, scorching the stones beside him. After recovering from dodging that lethal shot, his eyes identified the source of the attack.
Enoch stood at the top of the ravine, his golden mask gleaming in the fading light. His laser gun was raised, smoke curling from the barrel, and even from this distance, Leviathan could see another shot was about to be fired.
The alchemist had survived the fall. Of course he had.
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