Tess and Zavier were decked out. The kids were inside with strict orders not to go outside under any circumstances. Their only role was to watch the tablet and open the door if their parents came running and screaming towards it.
Tess had her 9mm's but wanted to leave them holstered. They'd discussed it, and they both felt that relying on the guns would leave them at a disadvantage when the ammo ran out. Instead, she held a machete in her off hand and the Toxic Weaver Dagger in her right. She'd tried the riot shield, but it was too heavy for her to hold for long periods.
Zavier had the shield in his left and Toxic Weaver Dagger in his right, but he wore his tool belt with all the additional equipment. They'd wrapped the handles of all their weapons in layers of electrical tape in hopes that it would stop any electrical discharge. Zavier had also insisted on setting a fire extinguisher outside the house and that they both wear the flame-retardant welding jackets.
They'd discussed using the garage but neither one of them wanted to weaken the materials when the kids might be using it later. Plus, they'd be at the same disadvantage that using the pistols gave them - they weren't really preparing for life in this new world. Keeping everything safe only meant that, when it all went sideways, they wouldn't have the experience needed to stay alive.
Which led to them standing outside the front door, ready to start the path around the back.
"Hey," Zavier said, "I love you."
Tess's eyes softened. "Love you more than the world, Babe," she said, eyes going hard again a moment later as she went into what Zavier called her 'Tactical Mode.'
They'd discussed tactics briefly but they knew each other so well that there wasn't need for more. They'd rehearsed enough firearm drills to respond immediately to proper commands, and they knew each other's body languages more than they knew their own. Tess joked that she could tell when Zavier was upset before he did (she could), and Zavier swore that he could tell if she was stressed about her upcoming work day by the way she brushed her teeth (he could, but she'd never admit it).
They rounded the corner and within moments two jet black squirrels emerged. Zavier and Tess both cast an immediate Identify just to be on the safe side, ensuring that they were still fighting the Arcane version of the Scamperers. Everything was as expected and Tess stepped wide of Zavier to give herself room to swing. Zavier had a moment of panic that she was going outside of the range of his shield, but if anyone could defend herself it was Tess. They were close enough for him to leap to her if need be anyway, but she wouldn't appreciate the implication that he thought she was too weak to take care of herself.
There was no more time for thoughts as the Scamperers were on them. Tess's came straight on, leaping at her from at least ten feet away. She sidestepped easily and raked the Toxic Weaver Dagger along its side, the squirrel screeching as it fell in a tumble. It was up in a flash and ran at her again but she kept it at a distance with the machete, punishing it with sharp stabs every time it tried to dart in. Every few jabs she'd switch up her style, allowing it to get in close and she'd sidestep, dodge, or twist out of the way. Her years of yoga were paying dividends right now. Every lunge was met with a stab from the Toxic Weaver Dagger, and every rush was hit with the sharp end of the machete. She knew a man would be slashing away with it but she didn't want to wear herself out when she just needed to keep it at bay. Patience and a calm, cold mentality in the face of danger kept her cool-headed.
Zavier was slashing away wildly. He'd taken the first lunge against the shield and let himself be pushed back, but he didn't want to get into a contest of strength, he just wanted to stop its charge. He buried the Toxic Weaver Dagger in its shoulder, but it skipped backwards before he could pull it out. Its arms were too short to pull reach it and it spent a moment trying to bite at the dagger. Zavier pulled out his machete and walked forward to start hacking. He aimed for the neck and head, trying to hit a carotid or something else vital, but so far he had hit mostly muscle and bone - although large chunks of flesh were flying away like wood chips from a lumberjack's ax. Black lightning danced down the machete and splashed off the shield, but the electrical tape was doing its job. Soon his arm started to tire so he stuck the machete point-first into the soft ground and pulled out a five-pound maul. He knew he didn't have much strength left in that arm so the maul was a risk, but if cutting wasn't working he'd go for bashing.
The Scamperer rushed back in but Zavier was ready. He angled the shield so that the squirrel skipped off of it, falling forward and into Zavier's arcing hammer. With a sickening crunch the skull split open.
One Arcane Scamperer, level 2 defeated
Zavier whooped then turned to face Tess. Even amidst the danger he was lost in her movements for a split second. Never, for a single moment in their relationship, had he lost the attraction he had felt for her on that first day they met, but right now he'd have fallen head over heels for her again. She looked like an ebony goddess of death, untouchable and in her element. A light sheen of sweat covered her skin but she may as well have been walking on a summer day for all the effort showing in her face.
In an instant Zavier saw something they'd discussed but hadn't come up with a plan for. He saw a shimmer around the squirrel and suddenly the black squirrel lunged at her while a shimmering patch of Scamperer-shaped air fled backwards. Tess's machete passed through the illusion, throwing her off balance, just as Zavier yelled "Invisible!"
Zavier didn't know if the almost-invisible version was even physical, it certainly looked ephemeral, but he swung for it anyway. When it retreated backwards it had been looking at Tess so it was jumping backwards as the illusion jumped forwards. Backwards, straight into Zavier's waiting hammer. Another sickening crunch and another notification.
One Arcane Scamperer, level 2 defeated
"Huh. Guess 'invisible' doesn't mean 'incorporeal.'" Zavier said. He and Tess looked around for more threats. When none appeared they gathered up their weapons and moved quickly back inside to hugs and cheers from two kids who suddenly felt that they had the most badass parents in the world.
Tess and Zavier went out again soon after and came back with similar results.
"Oh woah," Tess said when they stepped back inside. "I just leveled up."
"What did it feel like?" Luna asked.
"Like being full, but then it's all gone and you feel empty again, but stronger. Here, look at this," she shared her screen with them.
"Analysis of your encounters indicates a rapid reaction to threats and an ability to remain calm during battle. Fast response and a deadly aim indicates a strength in ranged weapons. Based on this, your agility and intelligence should be enhanced to synergize these abilities. Agility will provide you with faster reaction and aiming speed, while intelligence will increase your perception and enable you to more quickly analyze a situation. Three points to distribute. Agility increased to 12, intelligence increased to 15. Level three obtained. No other changes."
Tess Torres, Level: 3
Core Stats:
STR: 10 AGI: 12 END: 12 INT: 15 LUK: 9 CHA: 8
"Hey Babe," Tess asked, "what's your intelligence?"
Zavier crossed his arms in mock irritation. "Oh, because some numbers say you're the smartest one in the family we're just supposed to believe it?"
Luna and Cass laughed. "She was always the smartest one, dad!" Luna said.
Zavier chuckled and leaned in to kiss Tess. "Yeah, I guess we already knew that."
They went outside for one more round with the demon squirrels, gaining more confidence each time. They hadn't let up on the clothing just in case something more dangerous showed up, but at this point they were getting comfortable with it. By the time evening arrived Zavier had leveled up as well.
"Your fighting style is all about preparation and research. You look for advantages in advance and prepare the battleground to your liking. You ensure that all encounters are as low risk, high yield as possible. Your variety of weapon choices shows adaptability and versatility. All of these features can be enhanced by increased intelligence and luck. Intelligence will allow you to more fully comprehend any situation and allow you to better plan for it, whereas luck will ensure that situations, environments, and available equipment work out in your favor more often. Three points to distribute. Intelligence increased to 15, Luck increased to eight. Level three obtained. No other changes."
Zavier Torres, Level: 3
Core Stats:
STR: 11 AGI: 11 END: 13 INT: 15 LUC: 8 CHA: 8
"Guess who's as smart as you again!" Zavier whooped as he shared his screen with the family. Tess harrumphed and rolled her eyes.
As the kids enjoyed taco night while streaming videos, Tess and Zavier spoke in low tones in the kitchen.
"Have you noticed something weird about the fights?" Tess asked.
Zavier nodded his head but didn't answer, he wanted to see where this was going.
"They just feel too easy. I mean yeah, we were prepared when we went out, which really helped, but after what we experienced the first couple of days this just felt like the training wheels were back on."
"I was feeling the same," he responded. "And did you notice that they've only ever shown up in pairs? It just feels like a training scenario."
"Those first couple of days," Tess started, "they were harder than they needed to be. I mean, there was the element of surprise and all, but…" she trailed off, looking at Zavier with concern in her eyes. They were comfortable with teasing each other as part of their banter but she always hated saying something she thought might hurt his feelings.
Zavier knew where she was going and finished the sentence for her. "... but I over-engineered it and potentially made things unsafe by trying to make them too safe." He sighed deeply. "I've been thinking the same thing. In trying to plan for everything I put us too far outside of our elements. I tried to turn us into a SWAT team when we should have just gone with what we know, but with swords."
Tess's hands covered his. "You always take care of us and that's all you were doing here. You kept us safe and made sure no one got hurt. You did exactly what we needed you to do," she brought his hands to her lips and kissed the back of his fingers. "You keep researching and gathering information, we'll keep getting stronger. After that we'll power level the kids. We have a good plan, but it seems like it's not helping us to try to keep it too safe. I don't want the kids exposed to too much danger, but we're not responding in the way that's best for all of us."
"We can't just go off the rails, though," Zavier said. "We need some sort of plan. A lot of people have died and I'm betting most of them decided to just rush right in."
"I know, I know," Tess said. "I'm not saying we don't need a plan or tactics or strategy. I'm just saying that we're not a SWAT team, so if we go out there acting like we are then we are going to get ourselves hurt."
Zavier nodded in agreement. "I agree - although I'm going to keep the kill box up. If there's something new that we need to do a trial run on I'll want the first one to be in something safe like that."
Tess nodded, then stood up and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of his chair and towards their bedroom. Excitement dawned on his face when he noticed the look she was giving him.