A Time to Kill

From the darkness of the winding passageway ahead, faint lights were floating through the air toward the group. As they approached they grew brighter and brighter, and seemed to expand until they were each larger than a man's head.

"Will o' wisps?" Melissa asked wide-eyed.

"No wisp could make a stench like that." Fred grimaced. Indeed, the pulsating lights were filling the air with an odor reminiscent of hundreds of rotting carcasses, only less agreeable.

"I call these little friends Noxious Lights." explained Borgatron. "They look like light, but have physical substance and burn the flesh on contact. They can also poison you. I have no idea what sort of biochemical process causes that smell, since they melt into nothing upon dying and so I have never been able to dissect one."

"As long as they have substance..." Fred said grimly, activating his beam saber's plasma blade. "...then that is all I need to know."

Yelling "For Allaria!!" the knight charged. The lead Noxious Light flitted toward him as if to attack - Fred brough the saber down and crushed the monster with mighty overhead chop. It dissipated into nothing before Fred could even pull his weapon back. Then to Fred's dismay one of the other Lights breezed past his head, moving straight for Melissa. It flew so fast she didn't even have time to blink before it smashed into her head-on. Crying out, Melissa spun through the air and hit the ground with a painful crunch. The Light danced over her as if in triumph.

"Melissa!" Fred gasped. Borgatron, meanwhile, was undergoing a strange transformation. His arms twisted around and around and his torso seemed to be opening up, a massive cannon barrel starting to protrude. With a bbboing sound a glob of sizzling green energy shot from his left arm - but missed the Light hovering over Melissa, instead blasting a giant hole in the opposite cavewall. Fred leapt out of the way of the last Noxious Light's lunge and raced toward Melissa, who was starting to stir. Now with a gawoosh sound the cannon in Borgatron's stomach spat forth two globs of extremely bright red energy, each making it's way toward an enemy - but again both missed, punishing the innocent cavewalls instead. In the next second Fred reached Melissa's side and yelled in rage as he chopped the Noxious Light out of the air. "Are you allright?!"

"I-I'm okay..." Melissa gasped, climbing to her knees. "Mr. Borgatron, look out!"

"Huh?" Borgatron whipped his head around and stepped aside just in time to avoid being hit by the last surviving Light's attack. Fred closed in and cut the final monster down before it could do anything else.

Melissa winced in pain as Fred helped her stand up. "I'm fine!" she said weakly. "Really."

"Minor burns to the neck." said Borgatron, having resumed his normal form. "It must hurt a great deal, but it shouldn't be life-threatening."

"I know, I know!" Melissa said. "Don't worry about me. Let's keep moving.

1. "Be careful, Melissa!" Fred said. "Don't worry, I'll be right here. I won't let anything else harm you."

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