46 Outmatched

"I won't be able to protect you. Get ready to fight, or you'll die," Zero advised his comrades. 

Vangrave verbalized the confusion held by the others, "The hell're ya talkin' about?"

"Yeah, what's going on?--" Kiwi began to ask. 

At that moment, from all directions, plumes of smoke erupted and filled the crater, expanding like an all-consuming fog. 

"Smoke? What kind of trick is this? An ambush?" Hanma questioned, readying her sword. 

Vangrave fell in order, holding his halberd in front of himself, yelling into the unseen depths of the mist, "Bring it on!"

"Don't provoke them, please–I need time to think," Kiwi huffed, standing back-to-back with the swordswoman and mad dog. 

–Through the veil, an object pierced with stunning velocity, aimed straight for the head of the thief. No, its trajectory was beyond that, perfectly curved in a way that would assuredly pierce the skulls of the three players. 

["Blink"]