The Simulacrum

Things happened pretty quickly after this point. Josh's group got off the warehouse rooftop and rushed through the streets to rendezvous with the girls and their newfound reinforcements, who were still causing havoc on the road leading up to the castle in the middle of the town.

It was a bit of a chaotic scene, with the loyalists and their Fauns holding a chokepoint against an equally numerous Ninurta rebels, all of them trading blows in the form of a colourful array of magic projectiles, plus the occasional physical ones in the form of lamp-posts and pieces of the scenery. What can I say? The princess developed a bad habit of just chucking whatever big and heavy she could get her hands on, but it was effective, so who was I to judge? All was fair in love and war and all that.

"Team A is en route," Judy declared as she pointed at the Abyssals clustered around the adjoining street. "Distract them so that they can hit them in the back."

"Roger!" Penny exclaimed and hefted her sword, and she wasn't the only one eager to heed my dear assistant's orders.

"[Follow the commands of the Star-Eyed Maiden!]" the lead Faun from before declared with gusto, holding his spear up to signal a charge.

Meanwhile, the wife of the Ninhursag patriarch yelled, "G-Go men! Rout the rebels! Make them p-pay!", sounding both incredibly hyped up and yet terrified while hiding behind the backs of her fully armoured Faunish bodyguards.

While that was happening, my sister broke into a mad dash towards the Ninurtas' position with a thunderous (yet somehow still cute, though it might be just my big brother instincts talking) war cry, and my draconic girlfriend wasn't far behind her. I had a feeling that just the two of them should've been enough to scatter the hapless Abyssals clustered around the street corner, but they were still joined by a whole squad of Fauns, plus a few angry Abyssals of unknown pedigree but clearly loyal to the deposed Head of House Ninhursag.

Their charge caused the rebel forces to dig their heels in and pour everything they had into stopping them. They prepared their spells with the usual dance-like motions, and the ones who were already in the middle of casting threw their newly created fireballs, lightning bolts, and lumps of concentrated whatevers at the incoming formation.

If they focused their fire into a proper volley, it could've caused quite a bit of damage, but the ragtag bunch of Ninurtas engaging the group on short notice weren't exactly professional soldiers. Most of their attacks were off, whizzing past the girls' heads as they weaved through the incoming storm of destruction with graceful steps. A few unlucky Fauns in the back caught the brunt of it, yet they were still standing in the aftermath, if a bit charred and bruised.

However, just as the rest were about to unleash the second hail of attacks, an alarmed yelp from the sidelines made them all falter.

"They're coming from behind!"

It was at this point that Team A slammed into the back of the Ninurta formation like a runaway train. Josh, of course, was in the front, shield held high, and he crashed through their ranks, bowling over several of the more lightly built Abyssals in the process. He then slid to a halt, turned on his heel, and swung his sword in a wide, glowing arc, forcing the rest to keep their distance.

"It's the murderers! They're here!" a Ninurta man, seemingly of some noble standing based on his outfit, screamed at the top of his lungs. His eyes were wide with panic as he yelled, "Where are our reinforcements?!" right before a fireball hit him in the back and sent him flying.

Ammy didn't spare a second look at the felled Abyssal, and while she was breathing heavily, she still conjured a few more of her trademark fireballs that she promptly sent flying into the group. They were big and loud, but the hastily woven spells caused little damage to the Abyssals protected by their Barriers. I figured they were probably meant to disorient and separate the Ninurtas, allowing the two teams (and their native allies) to merge and form a single, much larger pocket of resistance.

I had to give it to them; they were doing pretty well for themselves. With the two groups joined together, they actually outnumbered the enemies by pure numbers, though it meant little when they had a whole lot of non-combatants in tow. Despite the threatening display they put up in the Mana Well chamber, I hadn't seen the dignitaries throw a single spell so far.

Not that it mattered much. The Ninurtas were already in a state of complete and utter disarray, their forces in a full-on panic as they tried to regroup and form something resembling a united front, but without any leader or plan present, all they managed to do was stumble over each other.

All in all, it was a fairly textbook example of a successful pincer attack.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the tumultuous group, a surprisingly heartwarming scene was unfolding, as the portly patriarch and his wife found one another and literally ran into each other's arms, completely ignoring the chaos erupting around them. It would've been a sweet moment, if not for... well, all the bloody chaos unfolding around them.

Unsurprisingly enough, Josh was sharing my opinion, as he bellowed, "We don't have time for this! We need to get to the train station, now!"

"Train station?" the matriarch repeated after him, and once the initial joy of their reunion wore off, she pulled back and stared at him. "But why?"

"It's our way out of here!" Josh roared back, but then Elly's voice rose over the chaos as she pointed at a newly formed group of Abyssals pouring out of one of the side streets.

"Reinforcements! And they've got a big one with a hammer!"

"Let me see, let me see!" Penny, sounding just a tad too enthusiastic for my liking, pushed past a few of the Fauns to get a better look at the approaching group. "Has anyone called dibs on the big guy yet?" she asked, and seeing that nobody answered, she promptly raised her hand and exclaimed, "Dibs!"

She was probably riding on an adrenaline high, or something.

"We don't have time for that either! We need to gather everyone and get to the trains, or we're gonna be in a whole lot of trouble!"

"Joshua is right," Judy moved over to back him up, one hand on her communications artifact. "I just contacted Neige. She and Angeline rescued most of the sailors, and they're already on their way to the station. Some of them are injured, and they can't hold the site by themselves."

"You heard her," Josh doubled down and started handing out orders. "Ammy, Judy, stay in the middle with the non-combatants. I'll take point. Elly, Penelope, you bring up the rear."

"What about me?" Hareng called out, looking expectant, but by drawing attention to himself, he only made the matriarch and her Fauns eminently confused.

"What is he doing here?"

"Oh, don't mind me, my taken fair madam. I'm just a hostage!" he declared with an ear-to-ear grin, then turned back to Josh. "So? Where do you need me, boss?" he asked with a disarming smile, only to be met with a deadpan glare from the guy.

"You're the worst hostage ever, you know that?"

"No way. I'm at least in the top thirty percentile!" the blonde Ninurta argued back, only to be ignored as Josh turned back to his team.

"We're not here to win a war. We just need to create a path for everyone to the station and retreat safe and sound. Understood?"

"But... the big guy!" Penny moaned, and I had no idea why she was so fixated on that Abyssal. Maybe because he was the first proper weapon user they encountered, and it tickled her knightly competitive instincts?

Anyhow, Josh's plan was pretty sensible, and so long as nothing went awry, I had a feeling that it might just work out pretty well, unless...

"Kyaaa!"

There was a sudden explosion of bricks and debris as the whole facade of a building toppled over, burying half the approaching Ninurta reinforcements (including the nondescript hammed dude) under a pile of rubble. Then, as the startled screams died down, there was a rumbling, guttural roar that all too clearly identified the culprit.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me...!" Josh exclaimed with clear frustration. "Not this thing again!"

Meanwhile, the Chimera shook the dust and plaster off its body, now a bit more humanoid than before, kind of resembling a werewolf. A big, scaly, six-eyed werewolf, with a long tail and fur in odd places, but still, close enough. It rose onto its hind legs, letting out another throaty roar that made the whole street fall into stunned silence.

I had no idea why they were so dumbfounded. I mean, they should've seen this coming. There's no way it was dead yet; spooky monsters never die when they fall like that. On the bright side, at least it had no concept of friendly fire, considering its dynamic entrance pretty much scattered the Ninurta reinforcements.

On the less-bright side, it was mono-maniacally focused on Josh again, and it immediately began lumbering towards their position on all fours, snarling like a dog that had just found its favourite chew toy.

"Change of plans," Josh muttered as he readied his sword and shield. "Judy, you take point. Take everyone to the station. I'll join Penelope and Elly and keep this fucker off your backs as long as I can."

"Does that make this Plan H, or Plan—" Hareng started, but seeing Josh's withering glare, he immediately backed off with a placating, "Never mind, boss! I'll go make myself useful!"

He hurriedly disappeared into the crowd while yelling, "You've heard the boss! Follow the fair maiden with the funny glasses!", all the while Josh, Elly, and Penny grouped up to face the Chimera.

The Ninhursag matriarch, bless her heart, seemed to momentarily forget her shock and called out, "You can't be serious! That's a Chimera! You'll die!"

"Don't worry about them, wife!" The patriarch grabbed her by the arm and pulled her along, following the flow of the group. "If anything, those cursed Ninurtas may just be out of a Chimera by the end of the day!"

Well, that was some optimistic thinking, I had to give him that, but he might not have been entirely off base. Unlike with the previous match-up, where most of the group were casters with poor effect on the magic-resistant hide of the Chimera, all three of them were melee bruisers.

Josh, as he already demonstrated, could hold his own for a while. Penny had speed and agility on her side, so unless she got cocky, I probably had no reason to worry about her. Meaning, I was a little worried, but let's ignore that for now. And as for the princess…

"Catch this!"

She opened the fight by chuckling a half-demolished lamppost at the creature, forcing it to raise its arms and shield its face with a pained yelp. It was a good opening, and Josh didn't waste it. He charged in, shield held high, and slammed into the Chimera's chest with all his might, sending the monster stumbling back a few steps and leaving its flank wide open.

Penny wasn't sitting on her laurels either, and she used her superior mobility to get behind the beast. She performed a nifty (read: superfluous) spinning slash that sent a cascade of sparks into the air, and while it didn't cut deep, it still managed to make the Chimera yelp in pain.

"What is this thing made of?!" she yelled out in outrage, much to Josh's vindication.

"I asked the same thing before!" he shouted, only to hiss as the creature swung its fist at him. He managed to bring his shield up in time, though the sheer force of the impact still sent him sliding back a meter or two. Once he regained his footing, he added, "Just make sure you keep his attention! We must buy time for the others to escape!"

"But... how are we going to escape?" my princess asked the obvious question, and it made the guy stumble over his words.

"I'll... I'll figure that out later! For now, we just gotta hold the line!"

"I'm not sure this counts as a line!" Penny noted as she nimbly dodged a backhand swipe from the Chimera that could've taken someone's head clean off. She then ducked under its arm and came up with a thrust aimed at its armpit, where the fur was thinner. The blade sank in a good few centimeters this time, and the beast responded with a pained roar that made the windows of the surviving buildings rattle in their frames.

Seeing that the creature was now singularly focused on her, my knightly sister took the opportunity to somersault back and put some distance between them, allowing Elly to rush in and hit the beast's side with a fancy shoulder bash. It looked a bit odd, but I've seen her use that before, and she repeatedly reassured me that, yes, it was a proper martial arts move.

In any case, despite the major size difference, the Chimera stumbled back again, and while it didn't fall, it gave Josh enough of an opening to bring out his wings, leap into the air, and perform some sort of diving shield bash right on the creature's snout. It kind of looked like a much less powerful version of the move he used to break the ice slide from before, which made me wonder: did Josh have a move-set now? Was he finally graduating into full shounen battle protagonist status?

Idle meta thoughts aside, they continued to kite the Chimera to the best of their abilities. It was a slow, arduous fight, and while they managed to get a few more good hits in, none of them had any lasting effect on the creature.

Meanwhile, the rest of the large group was moving down the road as fast as they could. Judy was doing her best to keep the pace steady while making sure none of the non-combatants were left behind, but the road ahead was not looking great. The streets were narrow, and more Ninurtas were popping out of every side alley, trying to block their path.

Thankfully, they were still completely disorganised, so while they managed to get off a few potshots here and there, the Fauns surrounding the main group managed to shield them from most of the damage and then promptly subdue the attackers. They were a tough bunch; I had to give them that.

"We're almost there!" Judy shouted over her shoulder, the adrenaline rush of the situation pushing her usual monotone mien. She pointed at the grandiose Victorian-style station down the street, and then froze for a moment before changing the target of her finger and saying, "Fliers on the left!"

"Understood!" Ammy barked back and let loose a string of smaller fireballs towards the winged Abyssals attempting to get ahead of them. Her attack was joined by a series of lightning bolts, courtesy of the Ninhursag patriarch. Their combined efforts were enough to break up the attackers' formation, and the ones that managed to land were quickly overwhelmed by the Fauns.

"This is it! This is the main entrance!" the matriarch announced, gesturing at a pair of large, wrought iron gates. They were wide open, and the main hall of the station was visible just beyond, a large, cavernous waiting room with a high, glass-domed ceiling.

"Hold the entrance!" Judy commanded as soon as they reached the gates. "Make sure nothing gets in while we get everyone onto the train!"

"I have an idea!" Ammy yelled back and raised her staff over her head. With a chant and a weave, a familiar magic circle materialised on the ground, and from it emerged an equally familiar stone construct. "Petra! Sit there, and don't let anyone through!" she commanded, pointing at the entrance.

The large golem dutifully shuffled over and planted itself right in the middle of the entrance, its arms crossed. If nothing else, it made for a very effective roadblock.

"Good thinking." Judy's voice was off-pitch, probably because she was shouting quite a lot as of late. Being both frantic and yet still deadpan was apparently bad for one's vocal cords.

Meanwhile, there was another piece of good news.

"Look, everyone!" Hareng called out with undisguised elation, a finger pointed down the tracks. "Our demure and scary maidens are here!"

That referred to Snowy and Deus, I figured, and lo and behold, there they were, leading a small gaggle of bruised and drenched sailors along the railway platform. The trainyard wasn't just for passenger service, but also for cargo, and since the rails led all the way to the docks, it made sense that they chose to follow them to the station instead of trying to navigate the streets and alleys of the city.

They were all looking a bit worse for wear, especially the sailors who were still complaining about their lost ship, but nobody was seriously injured.

"We've gathered everyone!" Angie declared as she rushed up to Judy and Ammy. "Well, everyone except the captain. He went down with the ship."

"That's... tragic," the class rep noted in a sombre tone, but the Celestial girl only blinked at her and hurriedly shook her head.

"Wait, wait! Not that way! He can breathe underwater, or something, so he said he's gonna stay behind to make sure nobody loots his ship."

"Abyssals can breathe underwater?" Judy blurted out, her exhaustion once again showing in her voice, and this time, my belatedly landing Abyssal sister was the one who provided the answer.

"Um... Some of us can. Depends on our ancestry." She paused, and it was only at this point that they realised not everyone was present. "Where's Josh?"

"Right, I was just about to ask!" Angie followed her up, and I figured I might as well Far Glance over to see how they were doing.

In one word, not too well.

"How much longer?!" Josh yelled while trying his best to get out of the way of a giant, scaly paw. He managed to dodge, but not fast enough to fully avoid the impact, and was sent skidding across the cobblestones.

"I told you, just a few more seconds!" Elly barked back, only to let out a startled 'Awawa!' and resume her previous stance, arms spread out and mouth wide open, with a highly condensed ball of bright red light forming in front of her.

"You said the same thing a half a minute ago, too!" Penny complained, then did an acrobatic back flip to get out of the way of the Chimera's tail. It slammed into the ground with a thunderous crash, shattering the pavement and sending debris flying everywhere. As soon as she landed, she assumed a low stance, like a spring coiled and ready, and then she lunged forth at blinding speed, leaving a faint silvery afterimage behind.

Her blade, glowing with a transient white light, bit deep into the Chimera's flank, eliciting a pained roar from the creature. It tried to reach back and swat her away, but my knightly sister was faster, and she yanked her sword out, twirled around, and then dashed out of the range of a clumsy yet powerful counter-swipe. She didn't look hurt, but she was breathing heavily, and her movements were getting a bit sluggish.

In the meantime, Josh picked himself up from the ground and hummed a short healing aria, and while I couldn't see any visible effect from my perspective (he was wearing a Magiformer, and its Wards had my seal of guarantee after all), some colour returned to his face, and he moved a bit more freely now.

However, that small respite was immediately shattered when the Chimera, ignoring the fresh wound in its side, suddenly spun around and lunged at him again. Josh managed to parry the initial charge with his shield and stab at the creature's neck, but it disregarded the shallow cut and tried to bite down on his head in return.

"Oh, no you don't!" Josh roared and his blade flashed red, the prelude to a now-familiar sword-burst. I mean, it wasn't a sword-beam per se, so that name was as good for it as any.

In any case, he used it while the tip of his blade was still embedded in the Chimera's neck, and the result was… messy. The explosion of crimson light made the creature stagger back, clutching its throat and making gurgling noises, but it didn't fall. Instead, its eyes narrowed with fury, and it let out a high-pitched shriek that made my eardrums ache, even though I was watching through Far Sight and so, by definition, didn't have any eardrums at the moment.

"What the actual, literal hell?! That was at point-blank range!" Josh bellowed with undisguised indignation. "Why don't you die?!"

"Duck, you idiot!" Penny yelled, and before the guy could react, she flickered in and out of sight (from his perspective, I presumed, since she momentarily turned on her Concealment Sigil) and she quite literally slammed into him and tackled him off his feet.

He was understandably startled at first, but noticing the swelling red light in the back, he quickly put two and two together, and he leaned into it, holding onto my sister while the two of them rolled away. A moment later, Elly finally released her dragon breath, and a huge, ridiculously thick laser beam shot from her mouth, scouring a line across the street and then hitting the Chimera in the chest.

It was a direct hit, the crimson ray splitting like a jet of water hitting a solid surface, but the Chimera's resistance didn't last long. Before long, the creature was sent flying back as if carried by an unstoppable torrent, its flesh sizzling and burning all the way until it slammed into a nearby building with enough force to bring down a chunk of its facade on top of it. By the time the dust settled, the Chimera was compeltely buried under a small mountain of rubble, leaving the street in a state of stunned silence once again.

"... Okay," Josh wheezed as he lay on the ground with my sister on top of him. "Remember guys… Nobody dare jinx this. Not a single word about this until we're on the train."

"Yes, I've heard what Judy said too," Penny was quick to reply, looking a bit frazzled as she brushed the dust off her Uniformer.

"R-Right! No jinxing," Elly stammered out while wiping her mouth, looking a bit pale.

By the sound of it, my dear assistant must've warned them about the power of that particularly annoying trope, and while I was pretty sure Josh and Penny didn't get it, they were too mentally worn down to argue about it.

There was a long beat of silence in the aftermath of the battle, eventually broken by my knightly sister letting out a startled sound as Josh stood up while still holding her in his arms. It was a full princess carry and everything, and before she could start complaining, the guy unfurled his Celestial wings with an audible grunt.

"We're done here. Let's go."

He didn't wait for a response, and with a few powerful flaps, he took to the air, carrying Penny with him. Elly was still out of it, so it took her a second longer to react, but then she spread her draconic wings and followed him without another word.

The trip to the station was unexpectedly uneventful. They flew over the rooftops, and even though they occasionally saw groups of armed and armoured Abyssals running amok on the street below like a flock of headless chickens, none of them felt brave or foolish enough to engage the airborne trio.

By the time they landed on the platform next to Judy and the others, the main group had already finished loading everyone onto the only passenger train in the station. It was a massive, black behemoth with a sleek, aerodynamic design, and it looked like it was pulled straight out of a dieselpunk fever dream. The only thing it was missing was the characteristic smoke-stack of a classic steam engine, but since it ran on magic, that made sense.

Speaking of magic, there was a whistling sound coming from the front, and Ammy poked her head out of the cab of the locomotive with an elated, "Guys! I think I've got it! Just give me one more minute to warm it up!"

"Finally, some good news," Josh groaned as he let my sister down, only to pause when he noticed Angie looking at him funny. "What?"

"Nothing," she said, but then she sidled close to him and patted him down. "You're not hurt, right?"

"Just a few scrapes. I'm fine," he assured her, at which point she responded with a curt, 'Good!' and hugged him, much to his confusion. From my vantage point, it kind of looked like she was marking her territory, but maybe I was just overthinking it.

Meanwhile, the last of the Fauns lagging behind to secure the perimeter also finished boarding the train, and so Judy waved at Josh's group from the door of one of the passenger cars.

"Everyone, please get on, pick a seat, and sit down. We're leaving."

"You had me at 'pick a seat'," Elly mumbled in a daze as she ambled over to the steps below the same door. "I'm dead tired."

"It's lucky we weren't followed," Penny added with an equally exhausted voice. "I thought we would have to keep fighting until the train started rolling..."

Judy chided her with a quiet, "Hush," but while my sister heard it, the same couldn't be said for the guy poking out his head through the nearby window.

"You see, my fair maidens?" Hareng spoke up with a grin as he hung out of the train window like a golden retriever. "I told you everything is going to work out juuust fine! We're all together, all safe, and nothing can go wrong now!"

And then the classy glass and wrought iron canopy over the platform shattered as the head of the Ninurta family from before, still drenched and holding a pair of huge fireballs over his hands, appeared right over the train.

He bellowed, "I won't let you get away with this! I refuse to be humiliated any further!"

"Oh..." Hareng hummed, looking just a bit startled, but then he flashed a weak smile at Josh and told him, "Don't worry, boss. I'm sure you've got this!" Then he closed the window and, by the looks of it, hid under one of the train seats.

Well, at least it was just the Ninurta patriarch. Sure, he was dangerous, but it wasn't like—

"Could you please stop doing that?"

The sudden yell coming from my side nearly made me fall off my bed in fright, and when I opened my eyes, I found future-me glaring at me with his arms crossed.

"Uncle Antonio!"

The kid from the other room rushed over with an elated pitter-patter and caught his legs in a bear hug. My future self tousled his hair with an indulgent smile and a soft, "Hi, Beansprout. Let me talk to Uncle Polemos for a minute, and I'll be right with you." He waited until Ollie left my cell, then he turned back to me, his friendly expression gone. "Seriously, stop."

"Stop what?" I asked back, momentarily stumped, but then he pointed at Cal in my lap, and I hastily put it aside. "Hey, I was just..."

"Using self-suggestion to induce narrative influence," he said with a groan. "Listen, it doesn't work the way you think it does when you do it like this. Your imagination starts to wander, you start thinking of tropes, and then the Simulacrum responds to that, and you get a whole flustercuck. It's already hard enough to keep this retcon together without you pulling at the strings too. Stop it."

"... If it's a problem, then why didn't you tell me beforehand?" He gave me a flat stare, as if he couldn't believe I just asked something so monumentally stupid, so after wracking my brain for a second, I ventured an educated guess. "Timey-wimey bullshit?"

"Timey-wimey bullshit," he confirmed, and pointed a finger at me again. "In short, stop doing it, stop trying to get yourself involved until the time is right, and now, if you excuse me, I have ten free minutes, so I'm going to pamper the kid a bit."

And with that, he just turned around and walked out of my cell.

I whispered a quiet, "Dick," under my breath, but then he lurched to a stop and leaned back.

"I can remember that, you know?" he said with a cheesy smirk, and then walked out of sight, making me roll my eyes so hard they nearly popped out of their sockets.

Anyhow, that intermezzo aside, I quickly turned my attention back to Josh and company, and... the train was already barrelling through the outskirts of Digirmah at a hair-raising pace, Elly, Snowy and Deus were engaged in a three-to-one magical slugging fest in the air with the Ninurta patriarch, and on top of the final passenger car...

"Just leave us alone already, you big, dumb bastard!" Josh roared with a downright palpable frustration as he deflected a strike from... yes, you guessed it! The bloody Chimera was there too! Again! Somehow!

...

Okay, so was this actually my fault, or just the Simulacrum loving to throw everything at the kitchen sink at people during dramatic climaxes? Whichever the case was, one thing was for sure: Holy crap, this escalated quicky!