The sun finally peaked over the horizon, spreading warmth over the ridges of the world. “Do you think you could walk the rest of the way if I helped you?” Logan asked as he helped Angel her feet.     “Yeah. Yeah, I think so,” she replied while clinging onto his arm. “The pain is starting to go away.”     “We’re still getting you help ASAP.”     Alice flew around the couple, scanning Angel thoroughly. “Just watch the ribs; one bad step and… well, the details aren't important.”     “Actually, they are,” Merlin stated. “What will happen to her ribs? If they break, they could go into a lung or heart. Maybe one will just snap off, and albeit not fatal, it will still hurt. Perhaps the cartilage around them are weak and her ribs may no longer function properly… Details are important.” Angel glanced at Logan, worry in her eyes.     “Logan, may I?” Alice asked. The warlock just nodded. Alice flew over to Merlin and popped his core with a piece of her shell.     Merlin's eye flickered as his systems recalibrated. “What? It's a legitimate concern!” Alice hit him a second time.     “You'll be fine,” Logan said reassuringly as he assisted Angel.     A blood curdling scream echoed off the nearby peaks. The two Guardians froze. “What was that?” Angel asked. Logan never replied; instead, he helped Angel back to the ground then picked up his bo-staff. He kept scanning the surrounding ridges. Several warbeasts lined the horizons.     Angel took a large stick not yet turned to ash and her ghost ignited it. The warbeasts charged down the slopes, growling and snarling the whole way. Logan swung downward, causing the first warbeast to faceplant into the earth, then tumble the rest of the way down the hill. The next warbeast leapt into the air, but the warlock knocked it to the side.     Several warbeasts circled Angel and Alice, but waving the flaming the stick was enough to keep them at bay. They growled at her, some attempting to lunge at the vulnerable woman just to have Alice temporarily blind them with a flash of light.     One warbeast ran straight into Logan, its metal helmet crashing into his shin. Logan pushed himself up to see another beast preparing to bite him; the warlock rolled over and held up his staff to block its jaw. The warbeast refused to let go, so Logan twisted the staff and flipped the creature over then slammed its head into the ground. The warbeast that charged Logan came back and bit his leg. Logan screamed as it dragged him along and thrashed his leg around.     “Logan!” Angel screamed helplessly.     Another warbeast flanked Logan, inspecting him. Despite having his leg get torn apart, he turned his attention to the new beast. “Silajir, you don't have any Light left!” Merlin screamed. Logan looked to his ghost, and in a split second decision, he grabbed his hat and threw it into the maw of the ambushing warbeast. “Silajir, my hat!” Merlin screamed. He looked at the creature chewing it to bits, and his shell seemed to expand slowly. Logan took this opportunity to draw his knife and stab the throat of the one gnawing his leg.     Logan rolled over, picking up his staff in the process, but it was too late. Merlin was already a whirlwind of shell repeatedly assaulting the warbeast. Parts of the animal's scales began to chip off, which exposed its sensitive flesh. It finally gave up and ran away, dropping the remains of the blue, star-spangled hat. Many of the other warbeasts that were burned by Angel's torch also ran away. “No one--touches--[i]the hat![/i]” he said as he put on the shredded bits of his hat covered in slobber.     “Sorry ‘bout that, bud…” Logan said to his ghost before he collapsed to the ground.     “Logan!” Angel cried as she walked over to him. She took the coat that was draped over shoulders and wrapped it around his bloody leg. “It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay,” Angel kept repeating the phrase as she tried to stop the bleeding.     “Angel, don't worry about me. Get out of here, I'll catch up when I can,” Logan winced as he tried to flex his leg.     “I can't leave you wounded like this,” Angel rebuked. As the two talked, the ridges came alive again--this time with psion headhunters. Their laser sights scanned the environment momentarily before they all closed in on the two defenseless Guardians. Logan just sighed as he looked at each of the snipers.