Gabriel's hands moved with practiced efficiency as he checked his rifle. I couldn’t help but noticed he hadn’t reloaded the thing once and made no move to check how many rounds he had left. Satisfied, he turned to the rest of us. "This has to be precise. We get one shot at surprising them, and then it's chaos." His eyes met mine, acknowledging the reckless insanity of what we were about to attempt. "You sure about this?”

  Absolutely not. Not even a little. This is nuts! Someone talk me out of this PLEASE! I thought to myself, though I kept those thoughts on the inside. Elena looked at me with a steady gaze, not a shred of doubt that I couldn’t manage this.

  Instead I nodded, even though my insides felt like they'd been replaced with writhing snakes. "My [Flicker] gives us the element of surprise. I can hit them from behind while they're focused on the nest." I didn't add that I'd only used the ability a handful of times, or that my aim with [Dimensional Edge] was still embarrassingly inconsistent. Or that I had absolutely zero skills or experience on actual tactics and combat decisions.

  Elena tugged at my sleeve. "Dad, I want to help too." Her small face was set with determination that broke my heart and swelled it with pride simultaneously.

  "You will, love. You and Mei are our ranged support. You stay with Gabriel." I knelt down to her level. "But first, how about bringing in some backup? You’ve got one slot still open right?"

  Her eyes lit up. "Black Rose?"

  "Black Rose," I confirmed. "Wait until we attack to maximize how long she can help out. Your identify has a better range than me. Think you can go check the level of some of the critters down there?"

  Elena nodded and walked close to the edge, crouching low. I could see her eyes flicking from target to target.

  Mei stepped forward with a gleeful expression that was mildly concerning. "My turn!" she announced, extending her hands dramatically. The air between her palms shimmered and condensed into a ball of light that stretched and reshaped itself into a long, sleek creature with russet fur and beady black eyes. Russet fur clung to its body, its four legs ending in sharp claws. Its tail ended in a barbed spike that hurt to look at.

  "What... is that?" I asked, eyeing the animal warily as it chittered and squirmed in Mei's grip.

  "This," she declared proudly, "is Sir Chomps-a-Lot." The ferret twisted in her hands, attempting to bite her thumb. "He's really good at murder."

  "Charming," I said and noticed Nadia’s lips twitching with suppressed amusement.

  Mei's gaze dropped to her feet. "Still haven't filled my second slot," she admitted, her voice barely audible.

  Gabriel gave a firm nod. "Smart. Better to wait for the right choice than rush into the wrong one." The tension in Mei's shoulders visibly eased.

  Elena returned, her eyes narrowed in concentration. "I checked the Cobra Chicken and it’s Level 18, G Grade. But that doesn't make sense. It' s way bigger than the other one we saw. Shouldn't it be higher level?"

  I shrugged, pushing away the academic explanation on sexual dimorphism that threatened to spill out. "Nature's full of surprises, love. Sometimes the most dangerous things come in small packages."

  She nodded, seeming to accept that. “The bunnies are all around level 2 to 6. At least the ones I could [Identify].”

  I winked at her. "Good intel, sweetheart." I figured that Gabriel had probably already scoped out the enemies, but keeping Elena engaged in the planning now meant she'd be less tempted to join the actual fighting. The more important she felt now, the safer she'd stay when chaos erupted. I hope.

  Gabriel nodded his thanks to her as well. "Good recon.” he said with a smile. “Andy and the… ferret.. will approach from the east side of the nest. Black Rose and Nadia will flank from the west. I'll provide covering fire from here. Elena, you use those rainbow ribbons to disrupt any rabbits that try to escape or circle back.”

  When his attention shifted to Mei, a hint of challenge crept into his voice. "Let's see if your aim's improved any." Mei's nostrils flared as she yanked a bow from her backpack with practiced efficiency. Looks like we’re not the only ones with dimensional storage items.

  "And my [GLITTER! Bombs]?" Elena asked hopefully.

  "Hit them hard at the start, right as your Dad and the others attack. After that save those for emergencies," Gabriel advised. "Once they’re actually down with the rabbits too much glitter might make it hard for them to keep track of enemies"

  Elena's face scrunched in confusion, her eyebrows knitting together as if someone had just told her the sky wasn't blue. The concept of "too much glitter" clearly violated some fundamental law of her universe, and I bit back a laugh.

  Andy flexed his gauntleted hands, his golden armor now fully materialized across his body. "We're not trying to kill the Cobra Chicken, right?"

  "No. Our job is to help it protect the egg," Gabriel confirmed. "That said, it’s not friendly. It will likely attack us just as readily as it would the rabbits."

  With final nods all around, Andy and Nadia began their careful descent down the ladder. The air beside Elena shimmered and darkened, as if reality itself was being torn. From this rift emerged Black Rose—a nightmare given form. Eight limbs of writhing shadow extended from her back, each tipped with a blade that seemed to drink in the surrounding light. Her face, pale as bone and webbed with throbbing black veins, tilted with eerie curiosity. She folded her arms across her chest, surveying us with eyes like twin abysses. When her gaze found mine, something stirred in those bottomless depths—a flicker of familiarity that chilled me more than her appearance.

  Black Rose simply stepped off the edge of the roof, her limbs digging into the concrete as she skittered down the wall like a monstrous spider. Sir Chomps-a-Lot squirmed out of Mei's grip and raced down after them, emitting a high-pitched battle cry that sounded disturbingly like a toddler's giggle.

  I moved to the edge of the roof, rolling my shoulders to loosen muscles that had tensed like steel cables. My mouth had gone dry, heart hammering against my ribs as I visualized my landing spot — a dense patch of undergrowth behind the main cluster of Murder Bunnies.

  "Thirty seconds," Gabriel murmured, his eye to the scope of his rifle. "Let them get into position."

  Elena slipped her hand into mine and squeezed once. "Don't die, okay?"

  I attempted a smile that probably looked more like a grimace. "That's the plan."

  "Now," Gabriel whispered, as Fall Out Boy’s Centuries began to play in the background. Personally I would have gone with Welcome to the Jungle, but this was one of her mother's favourites. I triggered [Haste] and [Blur], the familiar electric rush flooding my veins as the world around me slowed. Then, focusing on my target location, I activated [Flicker].

  The universe folded and unfolded around me—a gut-twisting sensation that never became routine. Concrete vanished beneath my feet, replaced by a heartbeat of absolute nothingness, then suddenly I hovered above the Cobra Chicken's massive form — my teleport range falling short of clearing the murder bunnies completely.

  I'd like to say that I executed a perfect landing atop the creature's head, springing forward with action-hero precision before triggering another [Flicker] that deposited me gracefully behind enemy lines in a textbook combat crouch amid the glowing ferns. In fact, that is what happened and what I am going to say if asked.

  In no way did I emerge with my arms pinwheeling like an inflatable car dealership mascot, panic flashing across my face before I desperately triggered [Flicker] again to avoid face-planting directly onto the Cobra Chicken's scaly head. Anyone who claims otherwise is clearly a lair or just wasn’t able to appreciate my tactical acumen.

  Disorientation hit me like a physical blow as I very gracefully appeared behind the Murder Bunnies, my knees bending to absorb the impact as I landed among ferns that glowed with bioluminescent spores. I swayed, fighting the momentary vertigo as my senses recalibrated. The undergrowth felt spongy beneath my boots, releasing a sharp, medicinal scent with each subtle movement.

  Ten feet away, a Rabbit of Unusual Size turned its head, nostrils flaring as it caught my scent on the breeze. Before it could alert the others, I drew [Dimensional Edge] and lunged forward.

  The blade connected with a meaty thunk, biting deep into the rabbit's haunch. It let out a high-pitched squeal of surprise and pain that instantly alerted the rest of the pack. As they began to turns towards the squeal, a barrage of [GLITTER! Bomb]s consumed the murder bunny’s line, resulting in a chorus of shrieks and howls.

  I cast [Fracture Zone], the air around us splintering into shards of distorted space-time. Three of the nearest bunnies stumbled, their movements becoming jerky and uncoordinated as they fought against the temporal disruption. Taking advantage of their confusion, I activated [Flicker], vanishing and reappearing behind a particularly large Burrowfang. I attacked with [Dimensional Edge] but my aim was off, and instead of sliding neatly between its ribs, my blade scraped across its stone-like fur, only leaving a shallow cut.

  From the east side of the clearing came a battle cry as Andy charged forward, his shield raised high. The golden light emanating from his armor cast strange, elongated shadows across the forest floor. Three Murder Bunnies immediately broke off their assault on the Cobra Chicken and pivoted to face this new threat. I couldn’t see Sir Chomps-A-Lot but I could hear him shrieking in a howl fit for the hell beast he was.

  Nadia and Black Rose came from the west, Nadia’s spear weaving complex patterns in the air. With a sharp gesture, she erected a shimmering barrier of force between Black Rose and the approaching rabbits. The lead bunny smashed into it head-first with a sickening crack, bouncing backward with a dazed expression. Black Rose immediately took advantage of its disorientation, attacking it and shredding it apart, before moving on.

  The sharp report of a rifle split the air. One of the Rabbits of Unusual Size staggered, its shoulder exploding into crimson spray. Before it could recover, a second shot thundered across the clearing. The creature's head snapped backward violently as the bullet found its mark, leaving nothing but a ruined cavity where the back of its skull had been.

  Black Rose moved like a shadow given terrifying purpose. Her limbs became blurs as she descended upon a cluster of smaller rabbits, slicing through them with mechanical precision. Dark ichor sprayed in graceful arcs as she cut a swath through their ranks, her movements eerily silent except for the wet sounds of flesh parting beneath her blades.

  Sir Chomps-a-Lot proved surprisingly effective, latching onto a Burrowfang's face with needle-sharp teeth and refusing to let go. The massive rabbit thrashed wildly, unable to dislodge the ferret as it clawed frantically at its own eyes.

  Prismatic ribbons suddenly materialized across the clearing, hovering just above the ground. A Rabbit of Unusual Size sprinted across one and immediately went sprawling, its legs tangling in the magical construct. The ribbon flashed brilliant blue, and the rabbit convulsed as electric energy coursed through its body.

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  In the center of the chaos, the Cobra Chicken swayed, clearly struggling to understand what was happening. Its massive head swiveled between the Murder Bunnies and our attacking party, reptilian eyes narrowed with suspicion and exhaustion.

  "Watch the Chicken!" Gabriel shouted from above. "Don't get between it and the egg!"

  I barely registered his warning before a Burrowfang slammed into my side, knocking the wind from my lungs. I hit the ground hard, moss and dirt filling my mouth as I rolled to avoid its snapping jaws. My fingers scrambled for purchase on [Dimensional Edge], but the blade had been knocked from my grip in the impact.

  Overhead, a glittery swarm descended, swirling around its head. The Burrowfang hesitated, momentarily blinded, giving me just enough time to activate [Flicker] and put some space between us. As I rematerialized, a wall of cold air hit me and I realized I'd teleported directly beside the Cobra Chicken's nest. Its massive head swung toward me, eyes dilating with unmistakable hostility. Well, shit.

  The Cobra Chicken's eyes locked onto mine. It’s reptilian pupils contracting to slits against golden irises that held no kindness, no mercy, just the cold calculus of survival. Its head reared back, jaws unhinging to reveal rows of serrated teeth that would make a shark envious. I scrambled backward on hands and feet, my heart pounding so violently I swore it was trying to escape my chest before the rest of me became snake food. [Dimensional Edge] lay just out of reach, its impossible geometry catching the sunlight in a mocking wink. Not like this. Not while Elena is watching. I thought to myself.

  "Nice birdie," I croaked absurdly, as if reasoning with an apex predator was suddenly going to be effective. "We're the good guys here."

  The creature's throat bulged as it prepared to strike — then something slammed into its neck from the side. A Rabbit of Unusual Size had launched itself at the Cobra Chicken, temporarily diverting its attention from me. I seized the moment, diving for my sword and rolling away from the nest.

  The clearing erupted in a symphony of nightmarish sounds. High-pitched shrieks from the Murder Bunnies cut through the air like serrated knives. The wet, meaty impacts of Gabriel's rifle rounds hitting their targets created a sickening percussion. Metal scraped against stone as Andy's shield deflected claws and teeth. Beneath it all, the constant, menacing hiss of the Cobra Chicken provided a chilling bassline.

  "Dad! Left side!" Elena screamed. Her voice cut through the cacophony of battle as the musical background faltered for a moment, before returning twice as loud as before. Her warning shot through my veins like lightning, every nerve ending suddenly alert to imminent danger.

  I spun just in time to see a Burrowfang lunging for my throat, its massive jaws open wide enough to take my head off. I raised [Dimensional Edge] in a desperate parry, the blade catching the creature mid-leap. The impact sent shockwaves up my arm, my wrist bending at an angle it definitely wasn't designed for. Pain flared hot and immediate, but I managed to deflect the worst of the attack, the rabbit's teeth scraping along my shoulder instead of clamping around my neck.

  Above us, the crack of Gabriel's rifle provided a steady rhythm to the chaos. "Twelve o'clock!" he shouted, his voice calm and measured despite the madness below. "Andy, on your six!"

  Andy pivoted, his golden shield catching the sunlight as he blocked a rabbit that had tried to flank him. The impact drove him to one knee, boots sliding in the blood-slick grass. He recovered quickly, but not before another rabbit darted in, teeth sinking into his calf where the armor didn't quite cover. His pained shout cut through the din.

  Nadia sprinted to his aid, moving faster than should have been possible, her spear sweeping in a wide arc that forced the attacking rabbits back. As she moved, her foot caught on an exposed root, sending her stumbling forward. The momentary loss of balance was enough for a Rabbit of Unusual Size to capitalize on—it leapt onto her back, claws digging for purchase.

  I cast [Chrono Shard], its glassy sliver of warped light catching the rabbit mid-attack. It fell away from Nadia, its image broken and fragmented for a moment. She shot me a grateful nod before she shot her own shard of force straight into its head, ending its existence. She turned and spun to face three more rabbits converging on her position.

  From somewhere to my right came a shrill, agonized squeal. I turned to see Sir Chomps-a-Lot caught between two Burrowfangs, their massive jaws closing on him from both ends. There was a horrible ripping sound, and the ferret simply... came apart, its form dissolving into motes of light that scattered like dust in the wind.

  "NO!" Mei's cry rang out from the rooftop. "You jerks!"

  A glitter bomb detonated directly between the offending rabbits, the explosion so bright it momentarily turned day into noon. I shielded my eyes with my forearm, spots dancing across my vision. When I could see again, both rabbits were staggering in confused circles, their fur coated in sparkling particles that seemed to burn wherever they touched.

  Black Rose moved through the battlefield like a living nightmare, her eight limbs whirling in a dance of precision violence. Where she passed, rabbits fell, their bodies carved open with surgical precision. But even she wasn't invulnerable. A particularly massive Burrowfang caught one of her limbs in its jaws and wrenched, the obsidian blade snapping with a sound like breaking glass. Black Rose hissed, a sound that made my spine try to crawl out through my skin, before driving her remaining blades through the rabbit's eye sockets.

  "Elena!" Gabriel shouted. Her name grabbed my attention, cutting through everything else.

  I whipped my head around to see my daughter frozen in place on the roof’s edge, a Rabbit of Unusual Size somehow having scaled the warehouse wall and now mere feet from her. Time slowed to a crawl as primal terror surged through my veins. The world narrowed to a single point — my daughter about to die.

  My body locked in place, torn between charging forward and staying frozen. A thousand thoughts and feelings coursed through me in that moment. Shame for putting her in danger. Guilt that I let my own need to prove myself to her lead us here. Rage demanding I do something, anything. Yet a cold, tactical voice in my head calculated the odds: I'd never reach her in time. The distance was too great, my skills too ordinary. Part of me still waited for some hidden power to manifest, some moment of insight to trigger and my abilities to evolve. Wasn't that how these moments were supposed to work? I was her father, her protector, and yet all I could do was watch.

  Elena froze at the roof's edge, terror etched across her face as the rabbit coiled to attack. Gabriel swung his rifle around, but hesitated—one wrong move and he'd hit Elena instead. A whistling sound cut through the air, followed by a meaty thunk as an arrow embedded itself in the rabbit's chest. The creature flew backward, tumbling off the roof and landing in a broken heap below. On the rooftop, Mei lowered her bow and rushed to Elena's side, her fingers still gripping the weapon that had saved my daughter's life.

  Relief flooded me, only to be immediately replaced by fresh pain as teeth sank into my thigh. I looked down to find a smaller rabbit attached to my leg, its jaws grinding against muscle and bone. I drove [Dimensional Edge] down through its skull, the blade parting flesh and bone with nauseating ease. The rabbit went limp, but its jaws remained locked in death, teeth embedded in my flesh. I kicked the dead rabbit clinging to my leg, wincing as its teeth finally pulled free in a spray of my own blood.

  "Fall back!" Andy shouted, his golden armor now streaked with blood—some of it his own. "Regroup by the warehouse wall!"

  Nadia limped toward him, one arm hanging uselessly at her side. Her spear glowed with residual energy, the tip coated in a viscous substance that steamed when it dripped onto the ground. "There are too many!"

  She wasn't wrong. Despite our efforts, the rabbits kept coming. For every one we killed, two more seemed to appear, drawn by the sounds of combat and the scent of blood.

  A deep rumble shook the ground beneath our feet. At first, I thought it was an earthquake—then I realized it was coming from the Cobra Chicken. The creature had risen to its full height, its posture now rigid with determination rather than exhaustion. Its throat expanded, the scales rippling as something built within.

  "COVER!" Gabriel bellowed from above.

  I threw myself behind the fallen tree trunk just as the Cobra Chicken released a sonic blast in the form of a “HONKISSS” that vibrated through my skull like a dentist’s drill. The Murder Bunnies took the brunt of it, their bodies seizing as the sonic attack overwhelmed their nervous systems. Three dropped instantly, while others staggered in disoriented circles, blood seeping from their ears and eyes.

  Taking advantage of the opening, Black Rose surged forward, her remaining limbs becoming a whirlwind of death. Andy charged from the opposite side, his shield now used as a battering ram, smashing into the confused rabbits with bone-crushing force. Nadia followed in his wake, her spear finding vulnerable spots with unerring precision despite her injury.

  The tide of battle shifted so rapidly I almost missed it. One moment we were fighting for our lives; the next, the remaining rabbits were fleeing, disappearing into burrows or the dense underbrush at the clearing's edge. The sudden absence of shrieking and growling left an eerie silence broken only by our labored breathing and the occasional whimper of a dying rabbit.

  "Is it... over?" Andy asked, his golden armor now dented and smeared with dirt and blood.

  Before anyone could answer, a loud crashing sound drew our attention to the nest. The Cobra Chicken had collapsed beside its egg, its breathing labored, black ichor pooling beneath its massive body.

  Suddenly the ground beneath Andy's feet shuddered. For a split second, nothing happened. Then the earth erupted upward in a spray of dirt and rocks. A Burrowfang burst from the newly formed hole, jaws snapping at Andy's exposed leg. He barely twisted away, but the movement cost him his balance.

  Before he could recover, the soil behind him rippled like water and another set of murderous teeth shot upward. This one connected, clamping onto the back of his armor with enough force to dent the golden metal. Andy went down on one knee, his shield arm pinned awkwardly as he struggled to dislodge the creature.

  My brain screamed at me to help him, to charge across the battlefield, but my Tactician self highlighted the fatal flaw in that plan. The space between us crawled with furred death. A direct rescue attempt would leave my back exposed to at least three other bunnies that were starting to erupt from the ground between us.

  Instead, I flowed sideways, renewing [Blur] and [Haste] as I moved. My mana reserves were starting to drip dangerously low and a wave of light headedness spread over me as the spells settled over me like a second skin, making my outline waver and distort. I tapped into [Flicker], disappearing in a brief fold of space before reappearing three meters closer to the nest, but along a different approach vector.

  A Rabbit of Unusual Size snapped at where I'd been, finding only my afterimage. A lance of energy shot forth from above as Elena put her bracelets to use.

  "Cain!" Nadia called out, voice tight with strain. "There's more coming!"

  She was right. The tree line at the edge of the clearing pulsed with movement, shadows resolving into another wave of murder bunnies loping toward us. I muttered a curse under my breath as I cast [Fracture Zone], targeting the area between the approaching reinforcements and our position. The air shimmered and cracked as reality splintered, distorting movement for anything trying to cross.

  Light bloomed from above as a [GLITTER! Bomb] detonated above a cluster of bunnies, searing them with prismatic energy. One squealed in pain, rolling frantically to extinguish the burning sparkles clinging to its fur.

  I spun to face a new threat, feet sliding slightly in the blood-slicked grass. My balance faltered for a critical second, and I barely brought [Dimensional Edge] up in time to block a set of teeth aimed at my throat. The impact jarred through my arm, nearly sending the weapon flying. I recovered enough to kick the creature away, but my stance was compromised.

  Gabriel's voice cut through the chaos, though not clearly enough for me to hear him, whatever he said was lost in the sounds of battle and the crack of his rifle. A Burrowfang that had been circling toward me jerked as the bullet found its mark, tumbling sideways into a heap.

  Andy was still struggling, one Burrowfang still clamped onto his armor while he fended off the other with desperate swings of his shield. The golden light of his aura pulsed erratically, suggesting his reserves were running low.

  I didn't rush to help him as I couldn't risk a direct approach. Instead, I called upon [S.T.O.P.] and the world slowed around me. My tactician went into overdrive and I picked my targets with cold precision, choosing paths that would create the most chaos among the murder bunnies without directly engaging more than one at a time. I released my hold on time and moved. [Chrono Shard] leapt from my fingers, freezing a rabbit mid-leap. [Abyssal Embers] followed, black fire consuming another that strayed too close.

  Overwatch pinged a warning, drawing my attention to a flash of movement to my right. Something different approached. This wasn't the earthy browns and greys of the murder bunnies we'd been fighting. This creature shimmered with unnatural brilliance, its form constantly shifting and refracting like light through a broken prism. I triggered [Identify] and a prompt arose, knowledge flooding my brain without me needing to actually read it.

  —

  Kalediobunny

  Species: Oryctolagus Homocidium Chromaclastus

  Level 12 (G Grade)

  A rare mutation within the murder bunny genus. The Kalediobunny’s fur is formed of crystal lattices that refract light into autonomous spectral duplicates. It has a special affinity for hard light and enjoys weaponizing color itself. Each shift in hue may trigger a different magical effect including combustion, toxin release, spatial displacement, or defensive illusions.

  Heads up - I would suggest you avert your eyes. It’s about to get sparkly in here.

  —

  Before I could fully process that last part, it was already too late. The creature's body pulsed once, twice, and then exploded into a supernova of prismatic light. Pain lanced through my skull as white-hot brilliance seared my retinas. The world dissolved into a kaleidoscope of colours and searing brightness.