[center][h2][color=red]Saria Silverlocke[/color][/h2][/center]

	[I][color=red]A fight it is then.[/color][/i] Saria had been hit by the spider-thing's initial attack, sending her flying back to the edge of the room, smacking the wall. Head spinning, she quickly shook it off, regaining her balance. Facing the abomination, she assessed the situation at a glance. There were about a dozen people all around the spider-thing, a few ending up next to her. They all wore strange garments, like they’d come from entirely different worlds. 

	She shook the thought. She didn’t have time to think about the intricacies of the ones around her. Surviving–– no, killing the beast would be the only reprieve from this situation, even if the others ended up being hostile. She was certain she could deal with them, so the spider came first. Glancing at the ones around her, she saw that some were still stuck on the floor, while others were up on their feet like her. 

	Saria would be the first to strike, but even as instinct coaxed every fiber of her body to rush out and beat it to the ground, her mind kept her focused, but just as deadly. Drawing the Red Blade, its crimson glow accentuated by the strange light that didn’t seem to have a source, she saw the beast begin its charge, dagger-like spines bristling all around its bulbous body, sharp enough to flay an unarmored man with a single swipe. 

	[color=red]“If you want to live…”[/color] Saria said to the ones around her, some attentive, some not. She clenched her blade like she was strangling her enemy, preparing for battle. 

	[color=red]“...Then you’d better get up!”[/color] She charged forth, sprinting at the beast. It was taller than her, far taller. If she was any common footsoldier, she’d be speared by a barbed limb before she could get in range. But she was no common footsoldier; she would be insulted with such a comparison. The first limb came like a pike wrapped in barbed wire. She deftly parried the strike as she closed in, feeling something in her shoulder yank painfully as her sword caught the beast’s weapons. It hurt, but she powered through nonetheless, severing some of the spider’s razor-sharp bristles. 

	But its legs were not what she was aiming for. No, her target was the soft, fleshy bit at the gap between the monster’s eyes. That woman had to be its weak spot. As Saria prepared to deliver a decisive blow, she knew that if she missed, or if the woman had tougher skin than she’d imagined, or if the beast recovered fast enough to intercept her, she would be in grave danger. She doubted that mere strangers would risk themselves to help her, so she eliminated them from the equation. At that moment, she sincerely believed it was either her or the abomination. 

	She lunged for the beast, blade raised, knowing that she would either win or die.