II

We ran the whole way to Zone Two, eager to dive in to another battle. On the way we each channeled our Skills, allowing them to once again envelope our senses and take over our bodies, massively increasing our chances of winning against the Monochrome's. White. I looked everywhere for it, eyes darting to as many places as they could while we moved. Not a single Monochrome in sight, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be making their way to Zone Two. The red flare released by Statham demanded their attention, giving an indication that something else, us, were here.
The tree with a giant, red number '2' painted on its trunk loomed in sight; we were here. Slowing down, we placed our footsteps more carefully, unwilling to draw attention to ourselves until we were ready. White! My heart skipped and I notched an arrow automatically, ready to release straight in to the creatures heart. My bow lowered though as I realized the Monochrome I'd thought was ready to pounce from behind a bush was actually dead. A kill from either Lark or Statham, I couldn't tell from so far away. Looking around I counted another six lying in mangled remains, but it wasn't the time to investigate, the Monochrome's would be here any second.
I eyed the trees surrounding us, picking the one I thought had the best vantage point. Nudging Kaius, I pointed up to it, letting him know that I planned to attack from up there. With a barely perceptible nod, he twirled his falchion in his hand and moved to another tree away from mine, back pressed against the trunk, neck twisted to look around the tree and watch for the Monochrome's. Hauling myself up in to the tree, I settled myself at a height that was safely out of reach of leaping Monochrome's and notched an arrow, pulling it back tightly, the string of the bow resting against my lips as I waited.
As was their trait, the Monochrome's appeared as if from no where, bursting from the greenery in an explosion of white, spilling over each other as they scrambled to find us, the delicate smell from our bodies carrying in the wind toward the slits in their face that served as nostrils. A quick look and I counted out two dozen of them. How in the hell are there so many? I wondered, letting loose an arrow into one of the Monochrome's hearts, watching as it stumbled from its run towards us and bowled into the others, briefly creating a gap in the oncoming rush of Monochrome's.
Kaius swung out from his hiding spot and rushed forward, slicing his blade in skilled movements over each creature he encountered, either beheading them or decapitating a limb, slashing their chests open, black blood splattering all around them. As quickly as I could, I strung up arrows and released them in to the crowd surrounding Kaius, picking them off one by one. Between us, we took down eight of them within the first couple of minutes,  causing my confidence to grow. Surely this would be an easy win.
The Monochrome's however weren't going to give up that easy. With a chorus of shrieks and wails, all of the Monochrome's surged up and leapt on to Kaius, holding on where they could as they attempted to drag Kaius down to the ground. 
They moved in a large mass of quivering black and white, enveloping him completely, all determined to tear him to shreds. My fingers flew between quiver and bow, raining arrows down to their exposed backs and necks, but it seemed that as one fell off, another took its place. I couldn't tell if more Monochrome's had joined the battle or not, my eyes swam as the black and white of their bodies twisted and writhed around him, the patterns on their bodies tricking my eyes, making it hard to distinguish which body part was which. It felt like I was shooting blind. 
The volume of Monochrome's overwhelmed Kaius, I could see the creatures falling closer to the ground, their frantic desire to flatten him to the ground increasing as they weighed him down. My hands clutched at empty air as I reached back to my quiver, telling me I was fresh out of arrows. I couldn't tear my eyes off of Kaius, I couldn't see what they were doing to him, couldn't tell how he was able to withstand the volume of Monochrome's. I got up and started running along the branch I had perched upon, determined to dive in amongst them and rip them off.
"Kaius!" I screamed, panic lacing my voice. If he died, I died, I'd never be able to collect my arrows in time to defend myself. Just as I was ready to fling myself in to the horde, Kaius seemed to at last fight back. The Monochrome's sank closer to the ground as he crouched beneath them, readying himself. He flexed his body and burst upwards, letting loose a powerful roar, a shock wave pulsing out from his body and blasting every single Monochrome clean off his body. Even up in the tree I felt the force of it hit me and push me back in the air. Twisting around, I found myself falling away from the branch, fingertips grazed the rough bark as I tried to grab hold and failed.
I landed heavily on the ground below me, feet and ankles taking the brunt of the impact as I was unable to adjust myself correctly before impact . Pain exploded up my legs and they crumpled beneath me, unable to stop myself from falling, my head bouncing sharply off the ground. I didn't give myself enough time to assess how damaged I was, already I was pulling myself up, half crawling, half stumbling along to Kaius, ignoring the painful protests of my ankles.
My vision swirled from the impact, making it difficult to focus on the forest around me, so when I found myself suddenly hauled up and off the ground, my instinct took over and I wriggled, shrieking, lashing out with all appendages since I had no weapon to use. A bow was useless without its arrows. Powerful hands held me in place.
"Nyx, it's me!" growled Kaius, thrusting a handful of arrows in my hands. Shifting me, he looped a secure arm around my waist and set off running. I could see the remaining Monochrome's bounding after us, long, thin tongues rolling out of the corner of their deadly mouths, saliva leaving a splattered trail of melting foliage behind them.
"I don't have my sword," he shouted down at me, taking a wide circle around Zone Two, "I lost it when I blasted the Monochrome's off me." 
"Let me go then, I'll take them down while you look for it." I replied, casting another look behind us at the Monochrome's chasing us down. Kaius swung me forward in the air, caught me and spun in a circle, throwing me up in to the trees around us. Flying upwards, I grasped on to a sturdy branch, swinging myself in an arc to land neatly on top. In a fluid motion I spun around to the remaining Monochrome's bounding after Kaius and loosed arrows in to their flesh. Taking down the foremost Monochrome caused it to roll in a heap across the ground and the Monochrome's running directly behind it tripped, skidding over its body, limbs tangling with one another, pulling down four of them.
An arrow in each hand and I jumped from the branch towards the fallen creatures, the pain in my ankles lessened as I landed correctly this time. 
Face contorting with rage, I drove the arrows deep in to the backs of two of the Monochrome's, down in to their hearts, my eyes burning with anger. The other two regained a firm stance and leapt in a simultaneous action towards me. Dropping, I rolled forward and sprung up, pummeling my fist in to the belly of one of the Monochrome's, forcing it down in front of me. Springing on top of it, I gripped its head tightly and twisted, snapping its neck.
Without needing to look, I rolled off to the side, the last Monochrome missing me by inches as it attempted to take me down. Swinging my leg, my boot smashed in to its chin, snapping its head back and pulling its entire body falling backwards from the force. Leaping to the side, I yanked one of the arrows out of the dead Monochrome's and pounced on the creature before it could get up again. Gripping the arrow in both hands, I stabbed it down into its heart. Beneath me, the Monochrome shrieked in pain, twisting violently, blood and saliva spraying the area around it, myself included. 
Shielding my face with my arms, I grit my teeth against the burning droplets that melted through my jumper and sizzled my flesh. Twisting around, I searched for Kaius and spotted him not far off, blade swinging, cleanly taking the head off of the final Monochrome. As the anger left my veins, so did the adrenalin, and I rolled off the now dead Monochrome, lying on the ground beside it to take a breath.