Kill the Numbers [Dark Data]

[Dawnika Snow]

Dawn’s face turns crooked to Summer’s response. The denial of her challenge was one of the dumbest things that she had heard.

“‘The ally of my enemy is not my enemy?’ What the fuck are you talking about?” She asked extremely confused. “You’re telling me that aiding your enemy has not made the Ashen Blades your enemy? That makes no sense.”

Summer stopped, seeing that this was not yet over. He gave a sigh and turned back around to the vigilante who still had her weapon trained on him carefully. Through her vision, the sight lined right on his nose.

“If you are here to fight the Darklings with the Koopa Kingdom, that means you’ve painted a massive target on your back.”

“If we must go through this, then let it be done quickly.” Sonny sighed.

“Then allow me to make it quick.” The raven-haired assassin said ripping the Dark Chip from her pocket and shattering it her hand. The black-dark energy enveloped her body and a demonic resonance of midnight aura. Nothing really changed about her appearance beyond that, but Sonny could feel that whatever dark energy surrounded her, it wasn't good on his end.

Dawn’s body felt invigorated. It was an amazing resilience that she could feel the instant its power took her in it’s dark embrace. Her muscles seemed improved and she felt like the dark aura would surely protect her from unwanted injury.

“Ho-holy shit!” She exclaims to no one in particular, “This shit feels awesome!”

The assassin looked down her arms and her gun in amazement the back up to her opponent, who was still patiently composed. Her grin widened slightly with thoughts of victory assured. “Come on then! Vittoria agli Assassini!”

The man, a good dozen meters away from her, remained relatively passive for the first few seconds. Dawn jumped on the opportunity to spray an entire round at him as he remained practically immobilized. Her bullets definitely hit, but even still he stood resilient and vigilant. Her bullets barely pierced his skin, but only the ones that hit directly. While she spent her time talking, Sonny had been composing a shield of some kind. It seemed that any bullets that didn't hit his chest directly missed entirely.

“That’s a cool magic trick, I wish I could dodge bullets while standing still.” Sonny offered no response to humor her, as much of an insult that it was to compare his powers to that of a children’s birthday party entertainer. “It won't save you, though!”

The Vigilante gripped the hilt of her sword on her back, the lovely stainless steel blade glazing the red-light of liquid fire. Her opposite hand replaced the rifle to it’s holster. She dashed, sword forward, towards her target's throat, clawing at the skin like a hungry predator. There was no fear in her prey’s eyes, even so.

Dawn’s sword, Moyashi, sliced passed through Sonny, but made no mark on most of her slashes. There was no feeling of dragging skin when blade passed by him as she would normally feel in her wrists. Sonny was noticeably slow, he could barely keep up with the girl’s greater-than-human speed, but he was somehow nigh impossible to even scratch. She couldn't comprehend how that was possible, but she’s fought things more fearsome in the Omniverse than a man who was difficult to hit.

She continued her assault, nevertheless, striking out for any attack to hit home. She focused all she could on landing one good wound. She had thrown somewhere around fifteen different attacks and only landed two that hardly broke through his defense. Only, soon his defensive aura wore off, leaving him open. Slashes and cuts began to decorate Sonny’s skin, now unable to graze off the attacks he had been before.

The vigilante was relentless. Her blade sought to be painted crimson like a cougar’s lips after a successful hunt. Soon it’s wish was granted. Sonny’s cuts were rather shallow for what she had expected but soon they would all add up. She knew that if she were to back off, Sonny would activate his barrier again. He was standing still taking the hits like it was nothing. How could such a small person handle her invigorated strikes? His barrier finally re-engaged and he was impossible to hit again. The assassin backed off and took some deep breaths to relieve her fatigue.

“Okay, maybe I underestimated you.” She said, sword in hand. She reached down for pistol strapped to her boot as she spoke on. “You got a name, kid?”

“I'm called Sonny, and I'm not a kid.” He replies with a slightly irritated tone.

“Whatever, you're worth enough to trade names with skills like that. You're hardly moving and I can't hit you. That’s pretty amazing.” She admits rather humbly. “Let's see just how much longer that can protect you!”

810/1000 Dawn used the DARK HEART

Grants Survival, Basic Regen, and Increases ATK/DEF by +2

Stats: 5/3/3/4

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

The demon restlessly stalked towards Ebony's friend, blade trailing and scratching into the rocks; even through the ringing of gunshots, the cacophony of harsh scrapes reverberated through Ebony's skull. She shook and stuttered almost rhythmically, harmonically synchronising with each successive bang, ring, and vibration. Words mirroring this, Ebony screamed into the convergence of sounds - the synchronicity almost played like a disorganised mixtape. Unable to hear her own voice over the interference, her mouth still opened and closed, ivory-white teeth cutting through the harsh air. With her hood down, liberated black hair flowed behind her, cascading down and uncaught by the overwhelming tide of magic. Intoxicating. It wanted to be used. Her body wanted to use it. And she wanted to use it. It was hers, and precious few things shared that property. 

Morene was another. That woman was hers. Her only friend. And the flaming demon before her dared to hurt her. Ebony was a hair's width away from anger. Hate. Resentment. Those emotions were foreign in her visceral brain and quickly overshadowed by fear; fear with a little bit of excitement - just enough of the latter to keep her bones grinding, muscles shifting, mind whirring. Yet without it, unbeknownst to Ebony, her magic would have continued crashing through the outlet the situation provided - even if closed it wouldn't be able to hold back the tide. Raw power voided of emotion and purpose was her mana, yet it systematically bent to her weak will.

Swoosh. Bang. Scrape. All simultaneously occurring (from Ebony's frame of reference), the noise resonated within her mind fueling her fluctuating magic as she kept up the focus - yelling over the entropic composition. The burning demon was mechanically moving closer, it felt as if it was in slow motion to her, and even though her fragmented mind she came to the realisation he - the demon - must have felt like this too. Adrenaline pumped through her system. It was more stimulating than anything she'd felt before. If this was what combat was really like, some sick, disgusting, horrifying, degenerated part of her actually liked it. It nearly seemed like she could take on the world, her and Morene - or possibly just her.

Scrape.

The blood-chilling scratch violently kicked her out of those thoughts, bringing Ebony back to reality. She wanted to protect Morene - not hurt anyone else. He can talk, he has a life, maybe he even has friends of his own, albeit evil ones. 

He twisted, the fire curving around him as he pulled his shoulder back - dodging the blast of magical air with the bare minimum of effort. Almost effortlessly he'd predicted each and every bullet or blast as his trek towards the pair continued - ever-shortening the distance and driving doubts into Ebony and Morene's hearts. Yet neither faltered. Ebony stayed strong to support Morene while Morene had an obligation to protect her Ebony. She couldn't stop, not for anything.

Dark violet flames, almost similar to that of Ebony's scythe, may have shrouded the demon but they did little to hide his snarl. In spite of this, underneath all the bloodthirsty and demonic featured, he looked like a normal human - faint grainy ash and dirt stained the bridge of his nose, small trickles of red fluid leaked from the nicks and cuts of the projectiles he was unable to fully dodge - some wounds larger than others, yet overall he seemed no worse for wear. 

Scrape.

He stopped. Close, yet still dodging. 

Tap. Tap. Scrape. 

Tap. Tap. Scrape.

Counting. Waiting. Eyes flickering between Ebony and Morene, preparing to time his strikes for just the right moment. "Buffeting Lance of Wind."

He blinked, momentarily confused at the lack of magic to dodge. Ebony continued casting, preparing, completing, refining her spell - a slight smile rose on her face as she considered the words. "Flaming Inferno Razes Everything."

Click. Swiftly, Morene reached to reload.

Scrape. Swiftly, the demon jumped forwards.

Swoosh. A green swirling blast fired out of Ebony's palm.

Clang. With expert precision, the blade sliced upwards, and with a flick of the holder's wrist Ebony yet again was the target of her own attack.

Fire exploded out of her hand as the remaining part of the spell was executed. It collided with the demon's face during his split second of vulnerability, burning his jaw and cheek with raw magic. He grunted from the pain, yet that didn't prevent the air from crashing back into Ebony's chest, shunting the breath out of her lungs.

She panted, unable to see the source of the grunts and screams from her new position on the rocky floor. 

She shifted, not thinking about the action. Metal met the ground next to her head. Ebony froze, eyes locking with the towering darkling as it brought its blade up for yet another swing.

Bang.

It fell to the ground, falling on top of her. Luckily, she was able to bat the ownerless blade aside with her magic. A scream followed.

Ebony jolted, shoving the corpse aside, head almost bending forwards quick enough to give her whiplash. "Morene!"

The name echoed through the thick air with purpose. As if her yelling would give it meaning or assist her friend. It didn't.

Loosely, Ebony threw her stringy limbs forwards, trying to right herself and reach Morene. She wasn't going to be alone. Not again. Lurching forwards at the sickening sight, she stumbled forwards, muttering under her breath. The darkling carcass floated behind her before being propelled towards her opponent. It collided with a meaty thwack, briefly preventing him from assaulting her friend.

Ebony growled, cloak pulled up above her head and eyes flickering red. Heat from his flames seared into her as the demon prowled closer, ignoring its former target. 

Scrape.

Ebony screamed, crumpling to the ground. Involuntarily, she shook, limbs contracting out of control, paralysing her. Locking her mind in an immobile body. Still convulsing, a multitude of blasts shot out of her palm, orbiting to protect their spasming caster, but more importantly: her friend.

999 words.

Kuzuru takes a couple of minor bullet wounds. Mostly nicks. He dodges most of Ebony and Morene's stuff.
Kuzuru uses burst movement to close the distance while Morene is reloading.
Ebony uses the air version of Elemental Blast (with the fire version stored from multicasting).
Kuzuru delects it back at her, but she then uses the stored fire version straight after which hits Kuzu.
Ebony is knocked back out of the immediate fight.
Kuzu hits Morene a bit more with his sword.
Morene shoots a darkling that was going to kill Ebony instead of targetting Kuzu (although she probably still fought back a bunch, she just left an opening at that point).
Ebony uses her telekinesis to throw a dead darkling at Kuzu.

Ebony uses T1 Super Attack: Wild Magic Surge on Kuzu (Renji). In terms of description stuff, there's probably going to be a few rocks flying about as well as some dust/dirt/ash and maybe some magma, but the main fear here is the many stray spells flying about in the close range.
1 SP used. 1/2 SP remaining.

Note: Ebony found her spells amusing because they spell blow and fire respectively.
Note2: The vague description of moving stuff with "her magic" referes to Ebony's telekinesis. Because to her it's a magical spell.

[Claptrap]

Claptrap's eye surveyed the battlefield, taking in the small brawls erupting among the two armies. While he wanted to go to his boss' aid, he had another duty to perform. Bowser was stalking along the battle line, obviously wanting to get his claws dirty, but the small robot's cannon held the massive koopa at bay. If he took a step too close, Claptrap would let the artillery fly, forcing Bowser back with a few mild injuries. Unfortunately, Claptrap's luck had ran out. Bowser took a step towards the line, testing the water, and Claptrap pulled the trigger. Instead of a storm of bullets coming out of the cannon, however, it simply revved, fired a few shots, and dissolved into thin air. 

"Your trial period for this program has expired. Please insert new dark chip to renew usage." The Hyperion voice said cheerfully in his ear. That wasn't good. Bowser roared in triumph as the stream of bullets halted and charged towards the little robot, crushing a group of darklings getting too close to the koopa line as he did so. Claptrap 'gulped' as he summoned his shotgun and cocked it, facing down the charging brute in front of him. As the turtle drew close, Claptrap raised the shotgun and blasted him, not quite stopping him in his tracks but definitely slowing him. Claptrap fired another shot, then another, before diving out of the way of Bowser's charge with a 'Waaah'. 

The massive Koopa turned to face the robot, who was less than a third of his size. "Uh, surrender now and we'll let you off easy?" Claptrap said hopefully. Bowser responded with a hearty chuckle and a jet of fire breath. Claptrap dived again to escape, throwing himself behind a nearby piece of rubble to shield himself. The robot stuck the top half of his body out of cover, peaking at the koopa before firing a shot and ducking back behind cover. Another jet of fire was fired towards Claptrap, the flames licking the rock and raising the heat but only slightly burning the robot himself. The rock was starting to melt under the intense heat of the Koopa King's breath, when inspiration struck Claptrap. 

"Run vaulthunter.exe!" Claptrap cried internally to the Hyperion voice in his head. "Of course." It replied as vaulthunter.exe booted up and scanned Bowser's fire breath. "Analysing... Analysis complete. Vaulthunter.exe mimcry ready." Claptrap ran the mimicry and a small nozzle emerged from his wrist. Leaping from behind the rock, Claptrap aimed at Bowser and released a solid jet of flame into the surprised Koopa King's face. Bowser roared in anger and pain as his face was singed. Although his scaled face was mostly fire-proof, he was forced to close his eyes to stop the fire from damaging them. A group of koopas rushed to their king's aid, but were roasted in their shells by the flamethrower. "Yes, hahaha, fear my power!" Claptrap cried maniacally as he gradually pushed the Koopa King back towards his own line.

The robot's power trip was cut short by a vortex of power forming near his boss. The young girl in the ridiculous outfit was channeling god knows what power, levitating the rocks and ash around her into a hurricane of power. Claptrap didn't know what was happening, but he know what he had to do. Duck for cover. The robot abandoned his target and spun around, rushing towards the darkling line. Fully intending to run and hide, Claptrap caught a glimpse of Kuzuru out of the corner of his eye. The demon that Claptrap knew as his boss was weathering the storm against two people, one of which was the girl who was currently going supernova. Courage and pride swelled within Claptrap at the site of his boss, and he turned once more. This time he was running towards his ally to give him all the support he could bring in his small box body.

658 words.

Claptrap's Vulcan cannon expires and he's charged by Bowser.
Bowser takes a few shotgun shots, and misses Claptrap with his charge. 
Bowser breathes fire at Claptrap, which is mimicked by the robot.
Both fighters are moderately singed by each other's flames, and Bowser is slowly pushed back.
Claptrap metaphorically jaw-drops at Ebony and goes to run.
Kuzuru facing two fighters at once inspires Claptrap to come back.

[Kuzuru]

Well, now it was a party. Every competent member of the Blades was present for this glorious calamity, and were it not for the fusillade of magic directed at him, Kuzuru would’ve paused to savor the moment. However, the tempestuous sorceries set against him proved to be a sobering reality check. The two coals that served as his eyes darted frantically in their sockets. Up until now the duo’s attacks had been relatively predictable and avoidable. But now there were simply too many threats for even his doped up mind to process.

Pangs of self-preservation forced him to take a step backwards. Kuzuru’s retreat was rewarded with solid blow to the back of his head; the attack pushed him forward and fizzled his thoughts. Another burst slammed into his gut and ripped the wind from his lungs. He fell to his knees. The ruddy flames that served as his vicious countenance flickered and died out. He looked towards the sky and closed his eyes.

One moment his flesh trembled as if a hundred scarabs had wormed their way beneath his skin, and in the next, his body became nothing more than a blooming cascade of sharp edges. Blades sprouted from every available inch of skin, forming something that resembled a blossoming flower. Like some sort of twisted art installation the spire of metal sat stalwart against the oncoming barrage.

Ebony’s magic clashed against the bulwark. Large chunks of metal snapped free on impact and tumbled end over end across the battlefield. She managed to shave away a good portion of the defensive sabres, but before an opening could be exploited her magic ran dry.

With a stuttering sizzle, the girl’s magic relinquished control of her body and she buckled over. Blood trickled from her nose, staining the trampled ground. Morene stepped forward and leveled her rifle at Kuzuru’s shield.

The remaining metallic fronds twitched and shifted and crumbled. A cacophony, not unlike that of an earthquake raging through a china shop, filled the air as the blade grew brittle and fell to pieces.

From the sarcophagus of swords emerged a triumphant Kuzuru, largely unharmed by Ebony’s assault. He smiled and shot a pair of finger guns at the recovering teenager.

“Now that has to hurt the pride, huh dar-?” he began to taunt, but the words never got the chance to leave his mouth.

Morene pulled the trigger and fired a slug of electricity at the boasting demon. Dead center. Kuzuru gasped as the projectile pounded his chest. His heart skipped a beat and his lungs ignited. The demon sucked air.

“Well,” Kuzuru spoke, took another gulp of air, and continued, “that was rude, interrupting me while-”

Once again Morene fired. This time the slug slammed against his leg and Kuzuru yelped in pain. She readied another bolt and fired before he could gather himself. The third projectile shanked to the right and whizzed past his head, leaving a trail of ionized air behind. Taking this half-second of respite, he sprouted a blade from his shin. Sinking the talon-like protrusion into the earth, he kicked in an arc and rustled up a smokescreen of dust, soot, and dirt. The Liberator stayed her fire and glanced over at the recovering magician beside her. Ebony’s body trembled as she climbed atop a shaky pair of legs. Morene frowned and turned her attention back to the cloud of dust.

By now the leading edge of the battle had pushed past them. The Koopas had fallen back to a more defensible area, leaving a tide of darkspawn in their wake. The shambling, ink-covered masses seemed perfectly content to allow Kuzuru his fun. The marching tide offered them a wide berth. Occasionally a darkspawn would stray from the horde and be quickly brought down by Morene’s vigilance. Her steely eyes hyper-focused on the waning cloud of dirt that Kuzuru had shrouded himself with.

Inside the cloud she caught sight of a silhouette and fired. Once more the bullet hit dead center, filling the air with a wet squelch. However, the figure did not stumble, and in fact pressed forward. In one hand Kuzuru held the now lifeless corpse of a darkspawn, raised in front of him as a shield. His other arm hung limp at his side, weighted down by the thick, cleaver-shaped sheet of metal that jutted outwards along his forearm. He trundled forward as fast as the weight hanging at his side would allow.

Morene fired again, but Kuzuru’s fleshy meat-shield absorbed the impact. Ebony’s eyes went wide as she saw him approach, but she did her best to ignore the almost overwhelming sense of dread. Her hands set to work crafting a spell.

Once Kuzuru was within spitting distance he tossed aside the battered corpse and rushed forward. His legs cried as they tried to compensate for the massive weight now strapped to his arm. He ignored them. The demon swung his cleaver arm in a high arc, bringing it over his head and crashing down in one thunderous motion. Morene side-stepped the guillotine and it buried itself into the ground. Using the weight as an anchor, Kuzuru swung his body around and delivered a flying kick to the Liberator’s ruined arm. She screamed and toppled over.

“You two numbskulls are so worried about each other,” Kuzuru commented as he freed his arm from the ground, “it’d be cute if it didn’t make you fight like shit.”

He raised the gargantuan blade over his head and stepped towards the fallen Morene. Her eyes stretched wide as the weapon’s shadow bisected the sun. Kuzuru grinned.

Ebony stepped forward with a shout, a roiling mass of magic rocketed from her outstretched hands. The spell broadsided Kuzuru’s raised arm, the sudden impact mixed with the shifting of weight sent him tumbling over. A gut-wrenching pop resonated from his shoulder as it dislocated from the socket.

Claptrap's metallic voice called over the din of battle, “Don’t worry bossman, I’m on my way!”

Kuzuru will counter Ebony’s super move with his own defensive super move “Demon Lotus” Kuzuru now only has 1 sp remaining.

The effects of the DARK BURN darkchip have faded.

[Summer]

“Let’s see just how much longer that can protect you!” With an excited shout, the soldier wrenched her pistol out of its holster, bringing it to bear against the spirit, who was already in motion. She’d scarcely completed the movement before his heavily-bandaged hand slammed against the warm metal of the barrel. Skin and muscle molded around the perfectly round opening, sealing it off completely as he pressed his whole weight forward, turning it up and away from his chest.

BANG

A single, sharp report burst forth from the handgun. In an instant, searing gases ate away at Sonny’s already ruined flesh, a burning pain that quickly turned into a sharp, stabbing agony as superheated lead slammed into his palm. The gun’s chamber recoiled back, and all that expanding gas, suppressed by his dispersive magics, was expelled. A dull red blossom burst forth from where Dawn’s right eye used to be as the bullet cartridge itself was turned into a lethal projectile from the blowback. Her mouth flew open and she reeled backwards, letting loose a shriek that he could only faintly hear over the ringing in his ears.

The spirit grit his teeth and marched forward, matching his adversary’s stumbling backpedal and staying just close enough to repeat that should she foolishly continue using her firearm. His right hand dove into his pocket, quickly closing around a syringe, one of the leftover shots of whatever the hell had been in that first aid kit he’d used, and he forcefully wrenched it free. He hesitated for a moment, a quick deliberation running through his mind concerning whether to use it on his mangled hand, which had taken another devastating hit, or inject it right into his chest, where all his injuries were accumulating.

In his moment of deliberation, the soldier found her footing once again, and with her one remaining eye, she glared a look of pure malice at him. With nothing more than a dismissive glance in response, Sonny plunged the syringe into one of the gaps between his ribs. Within moments, the mysterious concoction began to work its magic, mending up the more minor nicks and bruises that dotted his chest. Dawn lifted her sword-bearing arm across her chest in a large, rage-driven wind-up, and went for the throat with all her might. The sun spirit cocked his head drastically to the right, a heavy breeze tickling his left ear and cheek as his repulsive aura guided the serrated katana away from him.

Momentum from that dramatic swing carried the young assassin’s arm way out, spinning her slightly in place, and in a desperate bid to keep Sonny from capitalizing on this overextension, she raised the handgun yet again. In one fluid movement, the sun spirit discarded the empty syringe, lifted his ruined hand towards the pistol, and spun on his heel, facing his side toward Dawn.

BANG BANG

Two deafening shots blasted out from the gun before the youkai could seal it up again. Both of them went wide, pushed even further away from an already tiny target. His seemingly useless left hand found purchase around the barrel before the third shot came, and the bullet-heated metal seared his palm.

“So I take you want to lose your other eye, too,” the spirit hissed, turning the gun upwards once again as he pressed forward with all his weight. Forced into such an awkward position, Dawn leaned back dramatically, tearing her handgun free from his grasp. Sonny shifted his weight, throwing it all onto his right foot as he hooked his left around her calf, before mercilessly yanking it right out from under her. Already unbalanced, the one-eyed assassin was completely upended, head bouncing off the volcanic rock at their feet.

Making absolutely sure to not let this opportunity go to waste, the sun spirit scoured his pocket again, a frown spreading across his face. He’d hoped to win this fight without laying so much as a finger on her, and his little trip-up there ruined that. At least it was a defensive trip, he reasoned. After all, she was up in his face and everything. She even had a gun. Obviously a take-down was completely necessary for his own safety. He brushed aside the fact that he’d been the one who closed the distance, and wrested another syringe free from his tattered fall coat. Keeping his left side towards the fallen soldier in case she opened fire again, Sonny plunged the next batch of painkiller into his chest, taking in a deep breath as more aches and stings began to fade away.

BANG, BANG, BANG

Three more shots assaulted the spirit’s ears. Two sets of stinging pain erupted in his arm, the first from a bullet burrowing into his bicep, and the second from one bouncing off of his shoulder. Sonny flinched, gritting his teeth as his hand shot across his chest to cover the first wound.

“Hey, look who’s finally learning how to shoot.” His voice sarcastically said of its own volition, forced out through his clenched teeth by his other half. This is hard enough without you riling her up. Sonny thought to himself as he turned to face Dawn. The assassin shakily rose to her feet, anger flashing in her one good eye and blood pouring out of a new cut on her head. Well, that’s partially my fault too.

896 words, two (2) Medigels used.
Tripping people totally isn’t fighting what are you talkin about >.>

[Miranda Frost]

Her comrades rushed ahead, eager to get into the fight they so desperately wanted. Silly children they were, chasing that sweet treat dangling just out of their reach. Miranda tightened her hold on her dark motorcycle, its heavy pistons within roaring as she tested its engines, but she couldn't bring herself to follow behind. Something sinister was gnawing at her. Reaching into her pocket, she slipped out the black colored chip. Kuzu never did say what it did but given what she saw of Claptrap's, she imagined it would be something similar, but could it really be that simple? Hesitantly she opened up a panel on her forearm, sliding the chip in, her internal systems began its work to decode it and ensure compatibility. 

 Better safe than sorry.

Twisting the grip, her bike would surge forward off of the grated deck of the Terremoto's loading dock. Through the air the black knight's bike flew, if only momentarily. The ash at this point had been matted down by the roaring troops of both sides, allowing her decent maneuverability.  Kuzu was just up ahead, holding his own against what seemed two primes that had flocked to the king Koopa's aid. The two from where she sat seemed to gaining the upper-hand against Kuzu-boy, but it would seem Clappy was moving rather quickly to the rescue.

 This was good. Numerical advantage was something they could benefit a great deal from. 

 Though Kuzu was just up ahead, the fighting was picking up in the space between. Koopas threw themselves at the hordes and bullet bills careened through the sky. As if the observation alone was enough to grab the enemy's attention, a salvo of bullet bills were unleashed upon her position, the intimidating projectiles determined to keep her away. Miranda gritted her teeth, yanking the grips off to the side to swirve slightly. She'd let a hand drop from the handlebars  swatting away the first one with the back of her claws. Her eyes narrowed into a wince, the impact surprising her more than she'd like. The bullet would collide with the ground beside her, blocking the other bullet's view as she continued onward. Some of that group would collide with the ground while others attempted to follow only to crash into the battle lines.

 Miranda would let free a sight of relief the fight becoming closer and closer. She'd shift a leg over the seat and fling herself off, tumbling into the loose ash. She'd recover, her boots pressing into the bloodied ash hard as she broke off into a sprint. 

 "Almost there", she'd tell herself before text formed before her vision: DARK CHIP CALIBRATED. SUBMIT AUTHORIZATION CODE TO ACCESS. Miranda chuckled before stating, "Be Human".

 The effects were as instantaneous as they were familiar. She could feel the fire in her heart overwhelm her. She was furious at the world, furious at herself, and worse of all, furious at the ones who dare threatened her employer. It was all clear to see now. Kuzu was not necesarily in the wrong. This world belonged to Primes and Primes alone. Bowser had let his population  completely out of hand. For this reason he must pay the price.

 First these two will suffer for their interference. Miranda would grin wildly, her body covered in a dark, deathly smoke. Her eye would glow a brighter, piercing crimson that fixated on her first target. Quickly her eye would scan over them, deriving their skills and battle tactics. At first glance it was easy to see these two opponents were perfect for each other. They complimented each other's weaknesses which helped against Kuzu's onslaught, but how would it fair with two more opponents about to interrupt their game?

 Miranda would leap high into the air some sixty meters forward, her fist wound back tight.

 Miranda would let out a maniacal laugh as she came  crashing down, just enough time for the three combatants to dive out of the way. The force of her body crashing down would toss up the loose layer of ash around her but even this couldn't impair her vision. She'd dive through the cloud of ash the moment she recovered in time. Her form would storm through, Her sudden mode of entrance  startling this scythe wielder. Already she was too close, but she'd let him strike first, the desperate blade of the scythe slicing down.

 Miranda's claws would catch the blade, her strength holding it in place. 

 "What's up, Buttercup?", she'd taunt, the force of her grip starting to crack at her overwhelming grip.

 "Hell no", the woman in black garb would state before backing out of her grip, the scythe chipping mid-blade as she did. The knight clad in the dark cloud would continue her sudden assault, lashing out with her claws. Miranda would not give this person the chance to get away. The scythe wielder would find it difficult to deflect all of slashes and stabs and decided to roll off to the side, scythe spinning and extending out to strike at her calf, sparks flying as metal met metal. 

 Miranda would roll forward  and push off the ground with her palm, flipping her body into the air before landing on her feet. She'd kick off again, her burst of speed allowing her to close the distance. The spell-caster uttered the beginnings of a chant, but Miranda would not let her get it off. She'd bring her scythe around as Miranda got ever closer, but even then the black knight was within the Scythe-wielder's guard. Miranda would grasp at the scythe's staff before thrusting her knee into her gut, delivering a crushing blow. Miranda would step back her eyes gazing down upon her like a wolf staring down her prey. 

 "This isn't your fight. Why don't you run along and leave this to us, child", Miranda would say, preparing herself for the response. She had a feeling she wouldn't quite like what was waiting for her.

Miranda uses Dark Chip: Dark Surge
Miranda thrusts herself into the fray and engages Ebonywood, cutting her off from her buddy bud.

[Nebula]

In the end, it was darkness that prevailed that day in the Ashen Steppes. Wendy Garrison was ultimately overrun by the Nebula Forces. It wasn't exactly a slaughter; the Koopa forces put up a good fight but in the end, there was no stopping the overwhelming numbers and bruce force of the mindless darkspawn that pushed its way up the walls and through the gates of the castle. By the time the sun was coming down over the Steppes, Wendy Koopa and her brother had to practically drag their father out of the back of the fort. The surviving Koopa forces retreated out of the back of the fortress and towards the cave entrance where the bulk of their Kingdom would need defending.

The Darkloid stepped past the gate of Wendy Garrison, into the newly captures Koopa castle's courtyard. He looked around to survey what was left.

Most of the mercenaries that were hired had not made it through the fight. They were either killed or had ran off. A few of them could not handle the Dark Chips they were given. The only ones left were any salt was the Ashen Blades. They were near the fountain in the center of the courtyard, waiting for some kind of reward. Near them were some Darkling Knights, who had also successfully overcome the power of their Dark Chips.

Towards the left of the courtyard was a large metal cage. Previously it must have been used to house wild animals from the Ashen Steppes. Now it had only three feminine-looking humanoids in it. All three had taken some violence not only in the battle itself, but maybe some unnecessary attacks when it was all said and done. Despite this, they looked strong-willed.

Darkloid looked over at the Blades and smiled as best he could. "I thank you for doing the job for which we paid you. Your help in testing out our Dark Chips, and pushing back the Koopa forces have been exceptional." There was no question he was leading this off to say something negative next. "But," he began, confirming that. "We now have every possible advantage in this Verse. Now your power is more suited to the darkness then for yourselves."

Frowns covered the faces of the Ashen Blades. Hands moved to their weapons. At the same time, the Darkling Knights nearest them and all around the perimeter of the courtyard suddenly pulled their curved, crimson-glowing swords. One of them kicked the lock down on the cage, causing the door to fall forward, releasing the three prisoners inside.

The tall Dragonling Spellcaster backed up, his hands in the air already moving, tracing strange symbols with his fire-coated claws. "Your power will belong to Nebula one way or another. Fail here and die. Or survive, and follow me!"

The Darkloid disappeared into a portal, which was left hovering in the air towards the top of the gates to the Garrison. The Ashen Blades and the three enemies they faced found themselves surrounded, with the only place forward being an obvious trap.

-Summer, Ebony and Morene all take 5 points of damage (moderate injuries)
-Kuzuru, Claptrap, Dawn and Miranda all take 2 points of damage (from using Dark Chips)
-Short rest. Everyone regains half of their max SP.

-The Darkloid has turned on the seven characters (including the four Blades), in an effort to get your power. You are now facing a courtyard full of Dragonling Knights, and have been baited into following the Darkloid into a portal
-The purpose of the ambush is to convert you all to Darklings. Those characters who have used Dark Chips are the primary targets as they already begun to feel the 'bugs' associated with the darkness in them.
-To follow the Darkloid, you can simply enter the portal he left. Through the portal you will find an open, empty field full of spurting lava pits. More on that later.

This phase will last until Friday at 11:59 EST. At that point anyone who intends on entering the portal (and survives the encounter) will enter it. You may write up to (approximately) 2,000 words (in as many roleplays as you want). I tried to leave the ending to the siege open for you to fill in as you choose.

[Kuzuru]

Kuzuru smiled looked at his fellow primes. He winked at Morene and Ebony before turning his attention to the remaining Blades.

“Well, I’d be lying if I said that was unexpected,” he said, “though the moron turned on us before we could kill off the Koopas.”

“So what now?” Miranda asked.

The demon frowned and picked at a bit of shrapnel that had lodged itself in his arm. That was the question of the hour. Behind them the portal hummed, and in front darkling knights brandished their twisted weaponry. Above swirled a tempest of ash and fire.

“Well the way I see it, we’ve got two options,” he spoke, raising his voice so the other three could hear him, “they really want us to follow dude into that portal, they even released the prisoners so that they could follow, so we could do what he wants and follow him into a potential deathtrap, or…”

He stretched out the “r” in “or” and raved his hand towards the knights.

“We can do the opposite of what he wants and fight our way out,” he said, “either way is probably going to be a bitch, but I’d take the bitch I know over the bitch I don’t every time.”

“Unless our enemy knows that you’d do the opposite of what you thinks he wants and he really wants us to leave the portal alone,” Claptrap exclaimed.

Kuzuru shrugged and replied, “maybe, but reverse psychology is the way to madness my robotic friend.”

The demon glanced over at the three defenders and asked, “what about you three? You gonna join us so we can finish our roll in the dirt later? Or you gonna stick around and die?”

[Summer]

Sonny took in a deep, burning breath of ashen air, letting a brief silence fall over the group of primes in the wake of Kuzuru’s little speech. The sun spirit assumed this was probably the leader of the group that had so rudely ambushed him, given the way he was talking with authority. He lifted up his good hand, briefly rubbing it against his face, before sliding it up and pushing through his hair exasperatedly. A vague warmth blossomed in his chest, a sign that, for all his patience, he really shouldn’t be the one talking.

“Summer,” he mumbled under his breath. “Give me a minute to cool off.”

“Of course,” his other half responded, a cruel note to his voice hidden just behind a cheerful facade. “I’ve been just itching to get my hands dirty.” With that said, both halves of the split spirit fell silent, beginning a mutual concentration to switch out. Misty light sloughed off Sonny’s body as his very being fell apart, and all at once, that light becoming a burst of dense fog. Control over their shared body was wrested from his consciousness and he was back in the passenger seat. In his place stood the spirit of storms, who stretched up and out, spreading his arms as he got used to being in control again.

“Alright!” He cheered, dropping his hands back to his side as a hot and dry wind sprung up from nowhere, driving away the lingering mist and ruffling his black hair. His grey eyes flicked to either side of Kuzuru, quickly scanning over their assailants. In the desert, the Darklings had taken on the form of twisted bandits and raiders, restless and raging, always ready to throw down. Here in the steppes, it seemed as though they were simply humanoid dragons, all clad in armor and wielding various different types of weaponry. Summer’s mouth turned down in a brief frown. As if dragons weren’t hard enough to kill, now they were armored. Well, they weren’t really anything to write home about, he’d mostly have to look out for their intelligence. These guys were almost geniuses compared to the outlaws he’d seen before. Sure, they scurried about restlessly, hissing and jeering at the group, but they also weren’t attacking just yet. They were waiting for something. Some cue, perhaps? Or maybe just waiting for their prey to make up their minds. Die running, or die fighting? The monster’s mouth cracked into a grin once again. That patience would be their downfall.

“So let me get this straight.” Summer shifted his gaze back to Kuzuru, speaking in an even tone that betrayed a subtle menace behind it. The calm before the storm. “You’re giving me a choice between running off only to later participate in a fight I didn’t come here for...” His words were punctuated by a sudden drop in the air pressure, the sort of terrifying drop that sparked up worry in the hearts of man and beast alike. For a brief moment, the jeers and taunts of the darklings fell away into a confused chatter, before they found their nerves again. The storm spirit turned on his heel, ash kicking up beneath his boots, and faced the portal in the distance. “Or finishing up what I came here to do in the first place, before you so rudely interrupted me. Yeah, fuck off.” Summer took a step forward, a strangely cool breeze kicking up and billowing out across the courtyard. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go rain on this smarmy little fuck’s parade.”

The monster cast a quick glance up to the sky as he strode forward. Ash and volcanic lightning obscured the sky, as per usual, but he didn’t need to see the sky to know his magic was working its, well, magic. Twenty seconds of conversation had passed, and the atmosphere above had been thrown into turmoil in that time. That gave him about ten seconds before all hell broke loose. Ten seconds to clear 40 meters and keep the other Liberators out of harm’s way. Immediately, the spirit surged forward, spurring himself on with all the speed he could muster. A raucous cry rose up from the ranks of the Darklings. Their prey had made up their minds, the bloodbath could begin.

Summer’s legs kicked rhythmically across the soot-covered stone, his eyes darting side to side as he scanned over the dragon knights, trying to find the best route through this maze. The lizardmen charged him down in turn, and from somewhere behind him, he could hear the battle beginning back with the other Primes as well. A sword swung down from the right with a wild sweeping motion. Summer shifted his weight to the side, stepping awkwardly out of its way, and gritting his teeth as the blade nicked his ribs. Seizing the opportunity his brief stumble provided, a red-scaled adversary from his left lashed out with its greatsword. The monster hurled himself to the side, a clumsy jump that brought him to safety nonetheless.

Wind escaped from the black-haired man’s lungs, driven out as he hit the ground shoulder-first. Summer swiftly rolled himself onto his chest, his grey coat staining itself even darker from the ash on the ground. A mace hammered into the ground where he’d just been, shattering stone beneath it. Shards of brick bounced lightly off of his jacket, and with his arms now firmly under him, he threw himself to his feet and kicked forward once again. Untold numbers of darklings were beginning to swarm him, he who was so foolish as to throw himself into their numbers, alone and unarmed.

The monster’s mouth cracked open in a big, toothy grin, even as a blade a deep gash through his left arm. He continued to press forward, undaunted. He could feel it, a maelstrom of wind and rain rushing down from the heavens. Another sword bit into his shoulder, bringing with it a rush of pain that was almost drowned out by the pure elation flooding him. A maniacal laugh rose above the jeering of the dragonlings surrounding the monster, and they all froze for a moment. They were beasts, beings of nature, and now that they were paying attention, they could suddenly feel it themselves. A natural disaster was upon them, and they hadn’t noticed until it was too late.

A torrent of wind, rain, and ash slammed into the ground, the beginnings of a magnificent downburst. The dragonlings nearest Summer, for all their sure footing, were unceremoniously swept off balance and dashed against the ground. Catastrophically powerful winds ballooned outwards, dragging the fallen darklings with and turning them into meaty projectiles to be used against their allies. A chain reaction was quickly formed, of wind turning the knights into missiles, crashing into more knights and throwing even more meat outwards. And all at once, the wind faded away, leaving no trace except for the swath of devastation surrounding the spirit of storms.

“Ah... That felt good to get out of my system,” Summer said to himself, turning his face up to the pouring rain. He ran his hand through his drenched hair, scraping the wet ash out of it. “Alright Sonny, you can take over again,” he spoke, casting a quick glance down to the struggling, aching bodies of the dragonlings around him, making sure none of them were up and trying to get the drop on him. “Just don’t disperse this. This place could use a bit of rain.”

1255 Words
Brief switch to Summer
Used Microburst on a good chunk of the dragonlings. Both the Blades and the Liberators were safely out of harm’s way. 2/3 SP Remaining.
It is now raining over the battlefield.
Summer is switching back to Sonny.

[Morene Fellon]

In the span of a few hours at most, Morene and Ebony had thrown themselves into an ongoing siege, witnessed a betrayal of not-so-epic proportions, and watched as a boy literally brought down a storm on some half-sentient monsters.

Worst of all, however?

The man who was previously trying to kill both Morene and her partner winked at them. Even observing as the blondie brought thunder down upon the Darklings didn't give Morene enough time to cope with the utter disgust she felt at the moment.

Rain pattered down on Morene's clotting shoulders. She looked on at Kuzuru, still waiting for a response. He opened his mouth to speak, but in that time, Morene thought for a second just how badly she wanted to pummel this man into the ground. Professional? No.

Deserved? After looking back to see Ebony nigh shaking in her boots, Morene could answer that with certainty.

Yes.

A step forward was all it took for the armor-clad woman to get into arm's reach of the man. Kuzuru was expecting a snarky agreement to his terms, or perhaps contempt in the form of a stubborn refusal.

Instead, Morene revved her arm all the way back, swatting the man straight in the lip with her metal-alloy backhand.

Kuzuru reeled back, almost losing balance and falling to the floor at the sudden smack to the face. He tripped on his own feet, clenching on his stinging mouth. It didn't take long for him to get back on his feet completely, however. Morene sighed. Readjusting her gauntlet, she gave a calm glance to Kuzuru and his eyes now wide in disbelief. She looked back at Ebony to make sure she was okay, and... Morene was amused to find her trying to hold back a giggle. She'd feel terrible about laughing at such a humiliating display, of course, but Kuzuru himself alleviated that by letting out a sensible chuckle.

"Now," Morene enunciated clearly, "I'll go with you."

The woman was in the middle of feeling better about the situation at hand before Kuzuru himself gave a response, surprisingly quickly at that.

"I can't lie... That was gutsy. I like that, though," the boy finished speaking, letting go of his cheek in the process. Kuzuru felt a bit ignored however, finding Morene turning back over to Ebony before he even finished giving her some form of respect, if one could call it that. He rolled his eyes, a smarmy grin on his face as he realized he really wasn't going to get in the woman's head any time soon. Maybe with a bit of effort, he thought, but... there were more important issues on hand; the dragonlings were on top priority.

Morene couldn't care less; she had to take a moment to lay a gentle hand on Ebony's shoulder. She was still visibly shaken, and it didn't take long for Ebony to realize Morene did not enjoy it.

"Are you alright, dear?"

Ebony looked at Morene's eyes. Even through that helmet of hers, it was hard to mistake the genuine concern. The sound of intense rain and snarling was all that could be heard in that short moment. The huntress sighed, shaking her head slightly as she retracted her collapsible helmet. Morene saw Ebony ever so slightly comforted by the sight of her partner's face. Her lips quivered, but eventually, words came out.

"Y-yes."

More rain, and the snarling turned to squeals. Morene knew that answer meant "no," but at least she wasn't scared enough to be honest about it. Morene wanted to take that and keep fighting as if nothing, but... Guilt was still present in the woman's chest, bringing a child, however capable, into a place like this. She wanted so badly to confirm that suspicion, but...

The dragonlings still remained, and they finally came full force.

Hellscythe wished she had more time to think, but roars filled her ears and rang them like bells.

"Please," Morene rested another hand on Ebony's shoulder, looking her straight in the eye, "A promise is a promise."


The huntress' rose to her feet, turning on her heel and pulling out her rifle. More loud noises, this time in the form of gunshots. Ebony closed her eyes, trying to adjust to the sudden combat she and her new group of allies had to face. Slowly, she looked at the dragonlings steadily approaching her and Morene.

Kuzuru and his faction were already locked in battle. So much time had passed already, and Ebony was not up to deal with it at the moment.

Still, she knew she had to. Even if everything in her head told her know, the teenager knew Ebony Hellscythe would be up to the task. After all, this was for the people, right?

Standing upright, Ebony turned to her new allies, if only temporary. She raised her palm, magic crackling in her hands as Morene continued to mow down the remaining zombie-like creatures, her poleaxe in one free hand ready to gore anybody who got close to the two women. There was a time and place for everything for sure, but now, Morene needed her. Or at least, Ebony hoped she did. Even then, the teenage Prime wasn't about to let more monsters ruin her day.
 
So, in a way, the siege raged onwards, as did the storm.

887 words, according to Wordcounter.net

Morene gives Kuzuru a pop in the mouth, reassuring Ebony for a slight moment and going back to shooting at Darklings.

[Miranda Frost]

The whole thing was a setup, a trap. Who's to say that conquering the Ashen was even the true goal here? Miranda watched as the man who set them up made his escape. How infuriating it was for the true enemy elude them so. It was such a simple trap, yet Kuzu's unrelenting blood-lust could have possibly ensure their deaths.

 Miranda would cross her arms as her former adversaries became allies of necessity. It wasn't completely an annoyance. Miranda held high regard for the way the pair worked together. Seeing Kuzu getting stricken across his smug face was pure bonus. The pale woman smirked, the dark flames that flowed over her flickering before cutting out, before a message appeared over her vision.

DARKCHIP.EXE IS CORRUPT, TERMINATING PROCESS.

"Damn it", Miranda spat out, her claws digging into her arm to withdraw it. Upon examination it would seem the chip had burnt out, unable to be reused. Even the data that was left could not be scrapped together to produce the same effect once more. In short, the chip had lost its usefulness. Such an impulse of power had not left Miranda unscathed. Her prosthetic arms and legs were strained and her claws chipped in various places. The cybernetic networks throughout her body had run hot, which became apparent from the steam ebbing off of her body as the rain hammered down upon her. In the grand scale of things, Miranda could still fight at near optimal specifications. The damage done was annoying but not impossible to deal with.

 The dark chip had given the cyborg warrior a taste of overwhelming power and the euphoria it gave. The feeling was something she could become addicted to, but, unfortunately, she'd have to fall back onto something she hadn't used in some time.

 Her heads up display would scroll through her various subsystems until the descending tree of options came across her main power supply, the circuits that governed the distribution of power generated from the two crystals in her chest. All that was needed was to raise the limiters, giving her a tad more input of power throughout her body.

 She'd began stepping toward the charging hoards of darklings, their blades poised to strike. Something was awfully familiar about the whole ordeal. As her crimson, fire-like aura began to consume her she looked back on that day at Death Mountain. She remembered the hoards of dragons swooping down from the mountain to defend their mother from the Primes' assault. A cloud of red beasts, a symphony of gnashing fangs, and the light of raining fire filled the warrior's mind. Here was a similar scene, though these dragon-like creatures had something more human about them. They brandished their weapons and pounded against their armor pieces as they approached.

One by one, crimson wings of flame sprouted from her back, the six of them stretching out wide in warning as the hoard of dragonlings came ever closer. A burning halo would form above her head, completing the transformation. This day was all too similar to the Battle of Death Mountain, a day she swore would never relive. Yet here she was, facing a hoard of creatures with the same face as those of those dragons. They would pay for having her break her oath.

 The hoard would crash into her, enveloping her like a crimson tide. Their swords hammered against her cloak, but to no avail. She reached out grabbing on of the blades that struck out towards her face, shattering it within her palm with little effort. Her other hand would grasp at the dragonling's sword arm, her claws cutting pass the armor and flesh. She'd pull hard, swinging the  struggling body around as a make shift weapon, crashing him into the crowd around her. The surprised hoard gave space, realizing how little damage they were inflicting and rather circled her, their hungry eyes seeing nothing but stubborn prey in Miranda.

 "I've been here before, used to this kind of war. Crossfire grind through the ash.", she stated, lashing out towards a darkling that had gotten too close. It attempted to stab at her with its dagger but instead met her fist instead, the bladed fingers of her gauntlet cutting and crushing its face. Three more rushed to attack her from behind, but little did they know that the immediate group around her were all under her watchful gaze.  She ducked as they aimed to decapitate her and thrust her claws into their abdomen, slicing at their vulnerable  organs. 

 To the darklings, Miranda had became a tricky opponent.  Their obvious choices were to rush the angel of death and be obliterated or stay back and be erased by her fists.  Miranda however only had a limited amount of time before her transformation would dissipate.  Hopefully this glowing angel of war would draw much of their attention to her to allow escape.

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

Post starts are some point where Eb and co. are in the cage. 

The cage didn't bother Ebony. Not by itself. It was just metal. She actually liked small enclosed spaces, and while strange she felt more comfortable behind the steel than in the open, exposed, Nexus. The dull omnipresent white light gave her shivers. Yet it still symbolised something. It signified that she had lost. Failed to help Morene, and Morene had failed to protect her. Maybe if I wasn't there. I'm useless. 

She crouched down, leaning forwards into her knees and trying to cover herself with the cloak. The fabric felt nice, and she liked pressing herself against it, being surrounded by it. There was someone else in the cage besides Morene, both were thankfully still alive and well although Morene seemed to be sleeping off her injuries. She didn't know who the other guy was, but he'd fought the darklings as well so he had to be good.

It was hot, yet Ebony still found herself shivering. Leaning on Morene didn't provide any comfort on a physical or emotional level, not through the hard metal, not in these conditions. Yet Ebony did so all the same, shifting one of her hands and looping it under the woman's arm. Her friend was slouched back against the side of the cage, breathing steadily.

"Hello! My name’s Summer Murdoch, but please call me Sonny. Everyone does." The blonde man spoke in friendly and light manner. Almost happy, warming to Ebony's ears.

Ebony looked up at the voice, face still partly hidden under the hood's shadow, her green eyes shined up at the man as she continued hugging her legs and Morene's arm tighter. 

He continued, still optimistic. Speaking as if he was sure of himself. It was uplifting to an extent, and while Ebony was never the pessimist, fear tended to skew one's mind. "I’m one of the people who came here to help deal with the darkling problem. Didn’t go so well the first time, but the sun hasn’t set on us yet. So I hope we can work together..." He looked at Ebony expectantly, green-grey eyes calmly looking down on her. After making a slight gesture with his hand, he straightened his arm down towards her, opening his hand and readying himself to pull her to her feet.

She eyed the appendage, looking back and forth between it and Morene, causing light to flicker across her face, revealing a stray tear stain she herself hadn't noticed. Taking a deep breath and moving her free hand in front of her face, she twisted her wrist and elbow oddly inwards before extending her arm out sideways while she carried out the pre-prepared routine. "I am Ebonywood Hellscythe." A pause, silence. Her free arm lingered in the air, slowly drifting back towards her knees. "B-but you can c-call me, Ebony."

"Nice to meet you Ebony, and don’t worry about your friend there. She looks sturdy enough. Just give her a few minutes and she’ll be right as rain." Sonny smiled.

Ebony shook slightly, relaxing her grip on Morene and clasping her fingers around Sonny's hand. Belt buckles shook and boots thudded against the floor as the two pulled Ebony to her feet. She didn't let go, subconsciously pulling his arm closer to her and invading the man's personal space. He stepped back, shuffling away awkwardly. Ebony's arm was locked, making her upper body close the distance. Except her legs didn't move. It wasn't a large motion, but it pulled her off balance. And when people fall off balance their arms reach out for something to pull them upright. In this case, that happened to be Sonny. With one arm already locked up around his hand, the other reached forwards, grabbing onto his shoulder.

Her belts shifted and Ebony's cloak briefly flew in the wind as she planted herself into Sonny's chest. In an attempt to stand up straight, she shifted, bringing her arms behind him and gripping onto his back. It worked well enough for its purpose, and it wasn't until afterwards, she realised she was hugging him. But he was warm and a bit squishy. It was hard for her not to continue clamping onto him. He was like a radiator, like her scythe in that regard, but more comfortable to hold. Her head tilted sideways as she gripped tighter; the top of her hood pushed her victim's chin.

Slowly and clumsily, Sonny moved his own arms behind Ebony, slotting them under her cloak and lightly pushing against the back of her black shirt. She shivered at the contact. It wasn't a bad shiver or an "I'm cold" one, it spread warmth throughout her, making her feel tingly. She just didn't expect Sonny's gesture (and had almost forgotten he was anything besides a warm huggable squishy object) but it was appreciated. She could almost forget what had happened and where they were. Her knees relaxed slightly as she slumped, ear now pressed against his chest. Faintly, through the fabric of her hood, she could hear the steady beating of his heart.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Ba-dum...

"Ahem." Morene's voice. She was awake.

Ba-dum. Ba-dum. Strangely, it seemed to be beating slightly faster now that Morene was consious.

Sonny's arms fell limp, brushing against Ebony's back as they returned to his sides. Outside of her range of vision, Sonny looked at Morene, visually begging her to help pry the girl off him - as if he didn't enjoy being hugged.

"Ebony dear, perhaps you should let go of..."

"Sonny," the hug-dummy helpfully interjected. His voice sounding a tad strained.

"Morene." She nodded towards the man then continued with her main point, laughing heartily at his predicament as she spoke. "Perhaps... perhaps you should let go of Sonny now."

Ebony mumbled into her cloak, making vague nondistinct noises of dismissal. Ba-dum. Ba-dum. It was back to normal again.

Sonny looked down at her, placing his warm hand on her head, fitting it under the hood and ruffling her hair gently. It felt weird to Ebony, no one had done that before. Not that she disliked it. It just felt strange to have someone else play with her usually hidden hair. Normally she was the only person who touched it, brushed it, adjusted it. Again, she mumbled aimlessly, pressing against Sonny. Ba-dum. Ba-dum.

Morene shook her head, chuckling, then coughing and wincing in pain. Her wounds may have closed while resting for the most part, but they were still there. Even as a Prime she'd still need to rest longer to fully recover.

Sonny was released from Ebony's grasp so quickly he almost fell over, having been accustomed to the changed weight distribution for the majority of their time in the cage. Ebony turned around, looking at Morene, completely forgetting about Sonny after hearing her friend in pain.

"I'll be fine. It'll take more than that to bring me down, hun." Morene grunted, bringing herself to her feet, metal clanking.

Ebony was about to reply, still concerned, but Sonny spoke up.

"Looks like the head honcho himself is coming out to pay us a visit. Wanna guess what that means?" He paused and straightened his back slightly before speaking again, this time in a much deeper tone. "The fun’s about to begin."

Ebony wasn't sure she agreed with that last statement, but it was obvious something was happening. Maybe they'll let us free?

---

The moment the cage door slammed open, Ebony instinctively shifted behind her friends. The guy with the swords scared her. Really scared her. Even if they had a common foe now, she didn't trust him. It wasn't a grudge - Ebony didn't keep grudges - it was a lingering fear, and little could be done to ease that. Him winking at her certainly didn't help in the slightest, but before she could even consider that Sonny changed, hair turning to black (a much better colour in Ebony's opinion), and storm pushed down around him, expanding outwards towards the monsters.

It looked awesome. 

Morene's response following the storm brought some brief relief to her fear over the sword guy, but it was superficial. Just a small chuckle from the circumstances, nothing more.

Like before, Ebony had very much struggled to find her place in the fight. Even with Morene's guidance and the now blonde again Sonny positioned to protect her, she couldn't find the will to move forwards. To take the next step. The time with Sonny softened her resolve, gave her time to think and compose her thoughts. Decide what she actually wanted to do for herself. Stepping into a fight now was like leaving one of those heated shops. The ones that blast hot air at you just as you exit into the freezing cold. Sonny was that hot air, and while it felt nice at the time, it didn't help her determination in the slightest.

Part of her wished to get back to that 'hot air', even if it wasn't the time right now. But in truth, what Ebony really wanted was to go home. Not like before where she longed for her old friends, the crew of the ship, back at the Nexus. Right now, she just wanted to lie down on her hard bed on the boat and go to sleep. It was uncomfortable, she could always feel the wood through the mattress and her skinny body would do little by itself to prevent that, but that didn't matter right now. She just desired to go back to that familiar place, to rest in comfort. Her body was fine for the most part, eyes still wide open and attentive, but although she couldn't have been gone from her home for more than a matter of hours, it felt as if days, or even weeks, of stress, shock, fear, and excitement were condensed into such a short period of time.

It was too much. Breathing and trying to calm herself did nothing. She could still barely think. What was my name again? Not Ebony, Ebonywood Hellscythe, the real one. Her birth name. The one buried under layers upon layers of wishes, years of neglect, and desires for something new. A part of her she'd attempted to smudge over in her usually futile attempt to become something she was not. It was strange for the question to crop up in her mind by itself. She didn't know why she thought of it but felt it was important somehow. In truth, it was the only thing she truly had connecting her to home. She would never admit it, always refusing to accept or acknowledge the likely fact, but Ebonywood Hellscythe died with the ship. Lost. Forgotten. No one would remember that her or that character. Thus, at this very moment, without her old name, she had more ties to this world than her own - something that couldn't be allowed.

Scrape. Ebony shuddered, any line of thought she had broke from the noise of the sword guy's blade against the rough ground. She dreaded that sound; it left her reeling, unable to act properly should she so much as acknowledge it. Trying her best, she attempted to ignore its reoccurrences.

Amongst all this, her mind felt drained. Tired. The cogs of thought turning slowly regardless of any force pushing against the handle. It was too hard to even consider anything through the internal turmoil and overwhelming fear and panic. The Ashen Blades still scared her, some much more than others, regardless of Morene's actions against one of them. Just thinking about it left her quivering in her boots. 

So she stopped.

Ebony stopped thinking.

She was magic. Magic cast spells. Spells could fight the monsters. Fighting the monsters helped her friends. And that was all that mattered right now.

Words rolled over her tongue out of an instinct she didn't know she had. Fire, water, ice, air, darkness, light, rock, lighting, raw magic. False, and rarely real, elements fired from her palms. One after another and another and another and...

1998 words

The start was fluff. Because Ebony needs it.

For fighting, Eb's pretty much just using Meta Magic: Elemental Blast (the basic 5 second charage -> damage version) on everything that looks like it might hurt her/her friends while hiding behind Morene and Summer/Sonny. Maybe some air (knockback) versions (still 5 sec. charge) on things too close to her, but most would probably be the usual damage.

If Morene posts again and goes through the portal (or goes through for whatever reason), Ebony will follow. If Sonny goes, she might follow. Eb is scared of basically everyone and everything besides Morene and Summer/Sonny (their storm thing was cool, and she warmed up to them while in the cage), although she's "in the zone" right now, so probably won't start acting scared until properly damaged.

Slight reminder that Ebony would probably use Counterspell on anything ranged (that she's able to react to) that looks like it's going to damage and hurt her/her friends.

Note: The "Scrape" sound is a reference to my fight post last round when Renji (Kuzuru) took on Ebony and Morene.

[Claptrap]

Claptrap wasn't too surprised when the darkloid announced his betrayal. He was hoping it wouldn't come to it, of course, but he wasn't overly upset with this development. The only thing that really bothered Claptrap was the dark chips. He should have listened to the voice of Hyperion's advice, after all, he REALLY didn't want to burst into flames. 

Claptrap summoned his shotgun and started firing into the oncoming waves of darklings. Multiple fell dead with each pull of the trigger, the relatively weak monsters unable to withstand the sheer strength of the Hyperion firearm. After putting down at least few dozen darklings, the shotgun was empty. Not having time to reload, Claptrap summoned his pistol and out down a few of the closest darklings with some well aimed shots. 

A sudden burst of rain from the sky turned a majority of the darkling's heads, giving Claptrap some breathing room to reload his shotgun. Realising that they couldn't just keep fighting until every darkling was dead, the group started slowly pushing towards the exit, specifically the hole that the darklings breeched in the wall to enter. The group of primes were killings what seemed like dozens of darklings every second, but with each killed there seemed to be more that rushed to fill the gap.

Claptrap unloaded the last shot in his shotgun and tried to reload, before a darkling knight took a mad lunge at him. The knight swung his sword in a wide arc, attempting to slice the robot clean in two. Claptrap dodged to the side and knocked the darkling back with a punch and a resounding 'Hiya!', but the knight kept coming with a mad fervour, completely focused on cutting down one of the dark chip users. 

Claptrap eyed the knight's sword, and scanned the weapon briefly before dropping his shotgun and summoning his own. The long sword was easily twice the size of Claptrap, not that that was saying much, but the robot wielded it with ease. A few wild swings put down the knight, with the sheer size of the blade cleaving the darkling next to him in half as well. An overhead swing cut another darkling in half, and a swing in a wide arc killed another two. 

The group wasn't getting anywhere quickly like this, and Claptrap was getting desperate to break a hole in the hoard. Thinking back to the battle for the garrison, Claptrap had an epiphany. He charged to the head of the group, cutting down any darklings that got in his way, before swinging in a circle around himself to clear away any that were too close for comfort. The path Claptrap had pathed closed behind him as quickly as he had opened it as the darklings swarmed towards him, desperate to both get to the signal the dark chip's data was emitting and to stop the robot from running away. 

Satisfied with how much he was surrounded, Claptrap ran vaulthunter.exe and began channeling power through his circuits. The darklings halted, and some even tried to retreat but were blocked in by their surging allies. Electricity arced off Claptrap as he charged the attack, with some of them forming into floating balls. The balls of electricity shot towards the swarming darklings, each of exploding and taking out a few each. The monsters fell into chaos as their prey started slaughtering them, unable to get over each other to run away.

The group was slick with darkling blood(?) by the time the attack was over, with a smouldering pile of bodies surrounding Claptrap. The robot himself, however, was still. His one eye was no longer lit up, and his arms sat limply by his sides. He slumped forwards, and fell over, his wheel slipping in the bloody mud. A feminine voice rang out from the robot, saying "CL4P-TP unit rebooting." Before a visible bolt of electrocuted climbed up Claptrap's body and the robot returned to consciousness with a jolt. "Whoa-ho, what a rush." He exclaimed before looking around. "Oh yeah, we're fighting for our lives." 

Claptrap surveyed the battlefield as he picked up his shotgun and reloaded it. Although there was still a large amount of darklings, he had at least managed to put a dent in their numbers and earn the group some ground. There was still a lot of work to do for the group to escape, but at least they were a few steps closer.

[Nebula]

Even though they were out-numbered and seemingly out-matched, the fight did not last a terribly long time. What had initially seemed like an endless supply of Darkspawn soldiers, quickly revealed itself to be quite finite and easily matched. When put up against seven strong Primes (four of which were Ashen Blades), the Darkspawn could not stop the fight from turning out to be terribly one-sided. The last Darkspawn went down with a thud after a solid punch to it's dome. The skull bounces off the fountain at the center of the garden, and almost instantly it's glowing purple eyes were extinguished. For good measure, a boot caved in what was left of the cranium, ensuring it didn't rise again.

There was a few moments pause. The only sound was the panting of their breaths, and the rain trickling around them. The seven survivors stood in the middle of Wendy Garrison's outer courtyard. All at once, all sets of eyes rose to the portal at the top of the gate. It began to lower down to a more accessible height, until it rested just above the paved ground. It was enticing them. It wanted them to enter.

"It's clearly a trap," Kuzuru broke the silence. "Walking through that portal is exactly what he wants. So don't." There seemed to some nods of agreement around him, at least from his band of allies.

"It's the only way forward, so that's where I'm going," Summer spat back at him. There was more then a little bit of contempt in his voice.

Before any argument could break out, another voice joined the conversation. It was a whisper, but it was loud. Almost like the rain itself was speaking out above them. Around them.

There was never a choice. You must face me either way.

The portal suddenly crackled, as if lightning was about to spurt from it. All seven of the combatants, fighters of some kind or another, turned their attention towards it and got into a defensive position. The girl Ebony was behind Morene. Kuzuru and Miranda stood by each other, with Claptrap directly in front of them. Dawnika Snow was directly behind Kuzuru, backing him up. The man known as Summer (or was it Sonny now?) was off to the side, standing on his own but closest to the two females he had been caged with.

Everything I throw at you makes you stronger. Makes the darkness stronger. It was clear at this point who was talking. Even though it was hushed and distorted, there was no mistaking it was the Darkloid himself. When it is finally time, when the darkness is at it's peak inside of you, only then will you be granted release into Nebula's Army.

The portal opened wider, until it resembled one of the many gates that connected the verses in the Omniverse. But this was on distorted, a dark purple glow connecting the sides of the doorway. Then it crackled again. Louder. Until it literally exploded in a bright, violet array of colors.

It enveloped all of the Darkloid's targets, and washed over them completely.

Find me in the Nebula Space. Find me in Darkness.

-Everyone is now in Nebula Space, but split up into pairs determined by random.org. The Nebula Space is a few square miles big, basically like one big Lava World from the Mario series. Everyone is tasked with finding the Darkloid, who is (presumably) at the top of the mountain.
-Miranda and Kuzuru are in a series of fire pits (like a marsh, but with lava, I guess?). They are on one side of the mountain.
-Claptrap and Morene are in a cave system, which leads upwards to the peak of the mountain.
-Summer and Ebony are on a steep mountain path.
-Dawnika was not transported to the Nebula Space, and is left back at Wendy Garrison. She requested to leave the saga.

The purpose of this round is mainly just for some social interaction/character development, but of course if you want to do some action and/or try to escape, feel free. I'll do my best to adapt.

You have until Saturday night at 11:59 PM EST to write pretty much as much as you want. As usual feel free to hit Blink up in private, Skype, or in the OOC thread for any questions or ways to work something fun in.

[Professor Sunshine]

As Syn Shenron made his first few steps into the Ashen Steppes, the first thing that he had noticed while looking around was a small group of Goombas and other kinds of small looking creatures, heading in his direction across a volcanic landscape to reach the gate to escape the Verse. Smiling in that a bunch more weak creatures like the Goomba were heading into his general direction, Syn cracked his knuckles a bit before beginning to rush at the Goombas. Upon finally reaching the Goombas, Syn Shenron started to unleash a barrage of fists on the closest Goombas he could find, breaking the faces of each Goomba he hit with one or two punches each.

After about 10 or 15 minutes of punching around Goombas, the group of Goombas had dwindled to about three Goombas, two of them being adults while the third one being a small baby Paragoomba. Before he finished off the group though, Syn thought cleverly, he might as well get some information from these creatures, so he can learn where to find more people to kill off. Hahaha, your kind is so much easier to kill than the fairies that cost me my life earlier, but before I kill you I would like to ask why you are leaving from this place, other than the obvious reason of this place being a volcanic mess."

"Look man, we're just trying to get out of here to get as far away from these dark creatures that attacked Wendy Garrison today! Most of the others chose to go underground rather then leave this barren Verse, but I don't think they will just stop with the surface, and I think they'll continue to ravage this place until there's nothing left. Now please, let us live!" As one of the adult Goombas said these words, he seemed to try to bend down, as if to beg for mercy, and luckily for the Goomba, Syn was curious on what this Wendy Garrison is, as maybe there Syn could find out more of the dark creatures that had apparently ravaged the Garrison.

"Well, considering the fact that you got me piqued about this 'Wendy Garrison' thing, I will let two of you live, but on one condition.
I demand that you tell me where exactly this Garrison is, and then you can choose who dies among you."

After a few minutes of chatting among each other, one of the Goombas stood out from the group of three, and said to Syn Shenron "The Garrison is just a few miles north of here, but as for who you are going to kill, we personally don't care of who you kill, as long as you leave this baby alive. His entire family had died in the battle at the Garrison, and we want to make sure that he grows up to be able to use his wings to fly, rather than being stuck underground and never getting the chance to fly."

"Oh don't worry, you won't have to worry about either of those things." With those words, Syn grabbed the Paragoomba and threw it into the air before launching a Negative Finger Beam at the baby, causing it to explode. As Syn saw the Goombas fall down in tears from losing their baby, Syn growled at them before beginning to head in the direction that he thought was north, leaving the two remaining Goombas alive so that they could possibly spread tale of Syn. As Syn continued to walk throughout the Ashen Steppes, he wondered on what the Garrison would look like as he got closer to the destination.

A hour later, Syn had managed to finally see the Garrison in the distance, and as he got closer to the castle, he could begin to see some of the Darklings in the distance, wielding swords as they walked among the areas surrounding the Garrison. Deciding to go into the castle to see if there were any survivors that were not these weird dragon creatures, Syn knocked out the two Darklings near the front gate with some well timed punches, before beginning to explore the castle, looking for anyone left behind.

Eventually, near the end of his exploration of the conquered Garrison, Syn had managed to see the portal that lead to the Nebula Space, with some sort of woman passing by him as he entered and she left. Curious about the portal that was in the middle of the room, Syn wondered on what would be on the other side of this portal, as for all he knew it could lead him to any kind of chaotic area in the Omniverse that he could imagine. After thinking about whether to enter the portal or not, Syn eventually decided to throw caution to the wind, and as he jumped into the portal he prepared for the worst.

OOC: 831 Words. Syn's gonna be in this Nebula Space stuff too, it's okay since Blink and I talked about it.

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

"Morene!"

Ebony frantically reached out into the bright light, clawing at the air and hoping to make contact with her friend. Her gloved palm met nothing and her exposed fingers only touched each other.

When her vision cleared, she found herself elsewhere at the bottom of a steep incline. A path arced its way between the dark outcropping rocks, presumably heading towards the top. It was dark, and the sky was thick with ash, but that didn't matter. If Ebony couldn't see any monsters, then they couldn't see her - if there were any in the first place. Darkness was safety.

Where's Morene? Am I... alone?

Ebony shuddered at the thought. She'd already been separated from her old friends from back at the ship. Losing her new ones was unacceptable. It couldn't be possible. Morene was right next to her before the harsh colourful light shrouded everything. She had to be somewhere nearby. Ebony braced herself, pulling back her hood for visibility before resummoning her scythe for comfort and superficial protection.

"Morene! Where are you?" Ebony screamed, calling into the thinning air. More quietly, she added, "I'm over here." Seconds passed, yet there was still no response. Not even an echo. No one. Nothing. Ebony grunted in annoyance, stomping her foot and dislodging a few rocks, each rolling down the path with some colliding with others and bringing those with them. This isn't fair. Why me? Why Morene? Can't those things just leave us and this world alone? There's lava everywhere for crying out loud, it doesn't need anyone trying to destroy it.

Something wet rolled down her face, dripping onto the floor. She ignored it. The rattling of her belts and the rustling of her boot buckles were just part of her imagination. She wasn't scared. She wasn't shaking. Morene was already coming for her, and together they'd save the world and find a way for Ebony to go home. And then Morene and come with me! 

Footsteps. Dirt crumbling under feet.

Ebony straightened her body instantly, partially with the aid of her scythe. Her legs ached. Running and standing for hours on end wasn't something she'd ever done before. At least, not since she ran from the tower, and that was almost two years ago. Shifting her weight, Ebony turned on the spot, snapping her neck around in the direction of the noise so fast it hurt. 

It wasn't Morene.

It was Sonny. The blond man.

The man she accidentally hugged.

The man she'd grabbed on to and hadn't let go of.

That was the person in front of her.

Within a split second of making eye contact, Ebony's head was already under her hood. Suddenly the rocky floor was looking very interesting to her. That said, at least half of Ebony's mind was grateful for his appearance; he was nice. Maybe he can help me look for Morene. She has to be nearby somewhere. Maybe she got stuck by one of the rocks? 

"Hello there Ebony, it's nice to see a friendly face around here-"

"We need to find Morene." Ebony spoke at a 'normal' volume, although with her head bent down and covered with her hood it seemed quiet to Sonny, like she was mumbling. Nonetheless, he still stopped talking to listen. "She was next to me a moment ago, so she has to be around her somewhere?" She posed it as a question, waiting for a confirmation from Sonny.

"Perhaps. But I suspect she would be heading to the mountain top. That seems to be where our foe lies. If we head up there together then I'm sure we'll find her at the top." Sonny smiled, although Ebony couldn't see it. She was still very interested in a particularly shiny rock on the floor.

"B-but I already called for her. She could be h-heading here now. W-what if she gets here and we're not there anymore?" Ebony shivered.

"I heard, Ebony. Although I think she'd have called back by now if she got your message."

"But... but what if she can't speak back?" Ebony was anxious. Part of her didn't want to head any further. Heading up the mountain would lead to having to fight again, and even if they were just evil monsters, she still felt bad about hurting them, and guilty for causing the demise of some. She didn't like it one bit. It was, after all, one of the main reasons she ran away from the mages. 

"Ebony, Morene is strong. She will be fine."

But I'm not... Ebony took a deep, long, breath under her hood, still staring at the rock but not focusing on it anymore. The air was hot, but she still felt cold. She shuddered.

Sonny walked towards her, heading a few metres up the incline to reach a level height with her. Placing his hand on the top of her hood and loosely ruffling the fake ears, he spoke. "Let's not delay. The sooner we get moving, the sooner we'll reach Morene."

Ebony caught herself leaning into his warm hand. Even though the hood, she could feel the heat. She stifled the urge, relaxing her feet back onto the floor and falling down from her tiptoes with a slight crunch. It was silly, he wasn't even touching her, and he was messing up the hood. She could almost visualise the small creases he was making. How would he like it if I messed up his hair? Except it was already pretty messy. Ebony personally prefered it when it was black, although she only saw that for a short moment in the fight.

Yet, when he removed the hand and began taking the lead in their trek up the mountain, Ebony found herself missing the contact. Not that she'd admit it. It was silly. Ebonywood Hellscythe was cool, and stalwart in the face of danger. She wouldn't get flustered by the thought of someone playing with her hair. She didn't want to do anything un-cool like hugging anyone, especially not the warm squishy man named Sonny. Definitely not him.

No. Ebonywood Hellscythe would do none of that. She'd simply continue on her trek up the mountain path and have none of those thoughts.

...Even if he was kinda nice.

1040 words.

Summer/Sonny and Ebony weren't directly near each other, but they are now. Team "Let's head up the mountain as slowly as possible" is starting their quest!

Predicting a lot of: "Are we nearly there yeeeeeett."

(If you want any edits Summer, PM me and I'll sort it out. But I think this is good. I wanted to try writing Summer without asking you about every little detail. You're free to do the same with Ebony.)

[Summer]

The light, steady rhythm of footsteps echoed off the rock and cliff faces surrounding the duo. Two sets of feet meandered up the mountain at a leisurely pace, following the steep, twisting path. Sonny’s calves burned with each new step he took up. Certainly, he hadn’t expected this trek to be a walk in the park, but with just how vertical and treacherous this route was, he was almost tempted to just step off to the side and climb right up. Although “path” was probably the correct word to use here, given that there did seem to be some semblance of a long, winding road leading up to the summit, it wasn’t by any means a good path. Sharp boulders, debris, and other various types of shattered stone littered the mountainside, either blocking off passages or just in general making traversal difficult. Rock shifted beneath the sun spirit’s feet as he walked, and from behind he could hear the telltale clattering that Ebony wasn’t having it any easier. 

“Are we almost there?” The silence was broken at long last, done in by an all-too-familiar complaint coming from the girl trekking along just behind Sonny. For a brief moment, something overcame the spirit. He whipped around in an instant, turning to face Eb, an uncharacteristically aggressive glint to his eyes. Within a moment he caught himself, and with a few rapid blinks, a simple, confused look painted his face. Taking in a deep breath, he turned his head up to peer at the summit above.

“It seems like we’ve still got a ways to go,” Sonny answered nonchalantly, leaving unvoiced his pure confusion at what had just happened. Temperamental flare-ups like that just wasn’t like him. There shouldn’t have been any situation outside of Summer’s antics that would prompt a response like that. Hoping that something like that wouldn’t happen again, because there wasn’t much else he could do about it at the moment, the youkai shoved that little incident to the back of his mind and buried it there. Eventually, there’d be a time to worry about it. Now was not that time.

“Even think about sayi-” His own voice growled out of the blue, speaking words that weren’t his in a familiar, menacing tone. Rather than trying to stop those words with a sentence of his own and devolving into a coughing fit, the split spirit instead skipped right to the coughing part. He doubled over, chest convulsing and forcing loud, ragged breaths out through his throat, scratching it up.

“A-are you...?” A quiet voice stuttered, barely audible over Sonny’s hacking. And all at once, it just ceased. The spirit straightened back up, clearing his throat out.

“Quick head’s up,” he began, turning to face Ebony. The timid girl almost seemed to shrink in on herself when his gaze settled on her, no matter how gentle it was. Summer had already fucked that up for him. “I’ve got two personalities rattling around in here, and you’re about to see them come to blows. Nothing to worry about,” he tried to assure her. “We’ve done this whole song and dance before. Sorry in advance...”

“Usual rules?” Summer growled once he was sure his other half was done talking.

“Let’s go with an Omniverse Special,” Sonny responded evenly, digging his feet firmly into the gravelly ground. “Unstable bodies, first to disperse loses, anything goes. If I win, you play nice no matter how angry you get. You win, carry on as normal and I don’t interfere with you. Deal?”

“Deal,” came the grave response. A cloud of fog sloughed off of the sun spirit’s body, swirling around in a tight vortex just a few paces away as it coalesced. “Your defense won’t save you in our unstable forms.” The storm spirit’s voice rose out of the mist. “This will be over in a flash.” Wind sprung up out of nowhere, blasting a furnace-like heat over the trio and chasing away the fog, revealing the form of Summer, standing tall and ready to fight. He took one intimidating step forward, hair beginning to stand on end as he undoubtedly channeled electricity through his good arm.

“And disperse,” Sonny said monotonously as he lifted his hand up. A tiny blast of dispersion magic struck Summer, barely enough to nullify the maintained spell holding Summer together, and in an instant he just up and exploded into a cloud of fog, consciousness returning to their shared body. “You really didn’t think that one through, did you?” The only response the raging storm spirit could muster up was a few fury-induced stutters before he fell silent again, skulking.

“So Ebony...” The sun spirit said as casually as he could. He needed to change the subject quickly, lest the poor girl got any more intimidated by that fuckery. His gaze met her own for a moment, before she quickly shifted it away, hiding her eyes under her hood. She stepped forward uncertainly, indicating they should probably get moving again. “How’d you learn your magic?” He matched her pace, falling to her side. “It’s been a long while since I’ve seen someone cast magic without a medium,” he carefully avoided using the word ‘human.’ “Quite frankly, I’m impressed.”

870 words
Got it out of the way quickly. Summer will play nice now
Now the real fun can begin >.>

[Kuzuru]

Kuzuru groaned. Heat assaulted his bare flesh and sent beads of sweat flowing across his body. He opened his eyes and was surprised to find himself face-to-face with a pool of molten rock. The demon shifted and rolled away from the pool and onto his back. Above him there were no clouds, instead a looming darkness that not even the brightest star dared to pierce hung in the sky. Again he groaned. Damage accumulated throughout his previous battle, coupled with the food pill withdrawal sent tremors through his body. Sitting up sent waves of nausea washing over him and revealed just how sore his body was. He rubbed his stomach and scanned his surroundings.

“Ah fuck,” he stated.

Wendy garrison was nowhere to be found. Instead he found himself surrounded by lakes of fire. Behind him a mountain, scraping at the roof of this molten world. The earth beneath him percolated with the pyroclastic rumblings of an apocalyptic eruption. Fissures spewed toxic fumes and jets of steam soared high into the sky. Everything stank of rotten eggs and heat, the telltale signs of sulfur. Atop the mountain red bolts of lightning arced and thundered down the cliff face. Every strike sprayed the base of the mountain with a hailstorm of obsidian and glass.

Kuzuru rubbed his eyes with the heel of his palms. It was not the inhospitable terrain that gave him conniptions, he rather admired the destructive countenance splayed before him. No, it was not the mountain that forced him to grind his teeth, but rather it was the ceaseless chattering that assaulted the inside of his skull. Hundreds of thousands of voices raged inside the very core of his being, each of them screaming for freedom. Nebula space played havoc with the prison he kept buried in his gut. Hairline cracks covered the walls that he had meticulously crafted to keep his prizes contained. A bulwark that had taken eons to craft sundered in a single solitary moment. Chittering thoughts ricocheted off the interior walls of his cranium and washed away any coherent thought of his own.

“Hey,” Miranda’s voice called out, “you okay?”

Her voice cut through the tempest and Kuzuru groggily turned his head in her direction.

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, crawling to his feet, “yeah, I’m fine Miranda, just a bit shaken up is all.”

Miranda turned her attention towards the top of the mountain and said, “I think our way out is up there, we should get going.”

A blast of obsidian shards pelted Kuzuru, tearing into his bare flesh.

He cussed and said, “this place sucks, give me a minute, I need a jacket or something.”

The demon held out his hand and tried to call upon that miraculous substance known as omnilium. He envisioned a slick black leather jacket and a solid red undershirt to match. A frown stretched across his face as the rainbow material did not show itself. What had once been merely an extension of his being was now strangely absent. Beads of sweat trickled down his brow and he clenched his teeth in frustration. The deeper he dug the worse his headache became, eventually culminating in a stream of blood pouring from his nose. He cursed under his breath and wiped away the fresh red on his upper lip.

“Damnit Frosty,” he said.

He tried to tack on something witty, but for the first time in perhaps a long time he found himself at a loss for words.

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

Ebony took a moment to answer. She found it jarring how quickly Sonny could switch from acting one way to another, even if there was apparently someone else living inside of him. How can he smile like that all the time? It didn't make sense. Although this was swiftly shrouded over by the fact that he had asked her a question. Which meant he was interested in her, at least slightly, and that was a nice feeling. Even if it was about her magic or its origin. She'd always liked talking about herself, or just talking in general, just as long as there was someone listening to her who cared about what she was saying. And then Ebony would always listen back. That happened a lot on the ship, and even with one of the nicer magic teachers from further into her past.

Still walking with her head hidden under the baggy hood, Ebony finally spoke up after making an attempt to compose her thoughts. "I kinda taught myself, I guess? I think I found some helpful books, but I can't remember much about them besides some of the things they said." Turning her head, she began to look up towards Sonny, before immediately hiding under the hood again upon noticing how close he was. Her shoulder was almost touching his, and if her closer arm wasn't under the cloak pulling it tight then her hand would almost be brushing against his. She shuddered and briefly tightened the grip on her scythe while Sonny looked down at her in interest. "The mages back at the... institute... always said I got lucky. That I was born with a lot of magic."

"Mages? As in magic users?" Sonny asked, "so is magic common where you're from?"

Ebony's brows furrowed in thought, the movement of her skin drawing attention to some crispy substance on the left side of her forehead. Having a vague idea what it might be, she tried to ignore it. "I guess so? Apparently everyone has it, but most people don't have enough to really use. But they still can if they practice a lot. I think the book said something like that..."

"That... sounds like an interesting place Ebony." Sonny smiled, speaking cheerfully. 

It was... Ebony sighed as the pair continued walking in silence. Footsteps crushed the smaller and weaker rocks into the ground, and the faint rumbling and bubbling of magma was audible. There was a faint breeze, an updraft, heading towards the top of the mountain, following the trail. With only odd paving stones here or there, it wasn't much of a path. In actuality, it was simply the most obvious way to the top. It was slow and tiring enough trying to scale the mountain by following it so Ebony didn't fancy her chances taking another route. Under closer inspection, it would have looked slightly artificial, with rocks looking newer and carefully placed distances apart rather than the route being weathered.

"How long have you been here Sonny?" Ebony broke the silence.

"Hmm? The Omniverse? About a few weeks, I think. Why do you ask?"

"Does it get better?" Ebony spoke quickly, although it still sounded quiet to Sonny's ears.

"Depends on what you mean by 'better'. It certainly isn't a boring place, that's for sure."

Ebony frowned under her hood, she didn't find that comment very reassuring. If anything, it reminded her of Morene slightly. How, despite her somewhat desperate pursuit of her aims to protect Ebony, she still seemed to almost enjoy the fighting. At least, fighting the monsters. Maybe that's why he's so happy all the time... Maybe he actually likes all this?

"I mean all 'this'." Ebony mumbled, her arm just touching Sonny through the cloak as she shook her shoulders. She immediately jerked it back, although the dissipating warmth made her regret it slightly.

Sonny turned slightly, looking towards her. "It's not always this hectic. You just got grabbed at a bad time."

"There's a right time to get grabbed?" Her voice cracked half way through the sentence, spiking slightly in both pitch and volume.

"I was saved from certain death, so I'd say so. It all depends on your outlook though." It was still spoken happily, although his tone drifted off slightly towards the end, eyes shifting away from Ebony to gaze over the surroundings. Rocks, rocks, dirt, ash, and more rocks.

Ebony looked at the ground, mumbling incoherently. Not quite looking where she was going, she stumbled, left shoulder bumping into an outcropping rock. She continued wordlessly while Sonny looked at her in concern. Moments later, her pace slowed, her legs aching. "How much further? Are we nearly there yet?" Ebony lifted her head, tiredly looking up at the winding mountain trail. They were still closer to the bottom than the top, although she wasn't sure how high they were when they started. 

Sighing, she leant her lower back against a rock to the side of the path, before jumping slightly and pushing herself up to sit on it. Her belt buckled clanked together as she slid up to the position, legs dangling above the ground aimlessly. Occasionally her boots made contact with the dark grey rock, producing a faint tapping sound that was barely audible over her measured breathing. Sitting on her cloak like this would push dirt into it, but at the moment Ebony didn't care. It was durable and filthy anyway, a little more wouldn't make much of a difference.

914 words. Over to you, Summer. Let's turn this 1 mile trek into a marathon. Wew.

Eb isn't used to walking this much. She's feeling very drained.

Also carry me pls. Not that I want you to or anything, I'm just tired. B-b-baka.

[Professor Sunshine]

As Syn Shenron passed through the portal and into the Nebula Space, he ended up on a small bit of land surrounded by pools of molten rock, and as he tried to balance among the small bit of land, Syn was thinking on the place he was in. Observing the place around him, Syn noticed that there were a couple of small boulders floating in the fire pits, forming a small path throughout the lava, which Syn thought could lead him around the pits. Hopping from boulder to boulder, the Shadow Dragon continued to look around the fire pits, to see if there was anyone around him in this new area.

After a few minutes of hopping from boulder to boulder, Syn could eventually see two people in the distance, but before he could approach and question them, he could see red bolts coming from the top of the mountain, hitting the cliff face and causing it to launch obsidian and glass in both their and Syn's directions. As Syn had tried to avoid the obsidian and glass, he put his arms in a defensive cross, in order to protect himself from the falling objects. While Syn was able to block off most of the glass that had fallen down from the cliff face, a big piece of Obsidian had still managed to scratch the side of the Shadow Dragon as it passed him, leaving a small cut as it passed.

Taking a good look at the scar, Syn's memories were brought back a bit to the battle with the fairies, where Syn had been inflicted with a similar cut from one of Clownpiece's Stripes, a memory which made Syn angry a bit. Despite that, Syn took his mind off of the memory, since he still had to dodge more pieces from the cliff face falling at him. After a bit of a while of blocking and trying to dodge the obsidian and glass, eventually the red bolts stopped striking the cliff face, and the obsidian and glass had stopped falling. Using this opprotunity, Syn continued to walk on his path to reach up to the two strangers.

By the time the Shadow Dragon had managed to reach the two, he quickly hid behind one of the really big pieces of the cliff that had fallen due to the red bolts, to watch over the two before making himself known. From what he could hear, he could understand that one of the people was named Kuzuru or something, and that there was blood coming from his nose, for reasons the Shadow Dragon did not know. Eventually, Syn Shenron had gotten too bored of waiting behind cover, and as soon as Renji had started trying to climb up the mountain, Syn had quickly climed up the cliff piece he was hiding behind, and stomped on it to make a loud noise, alerting them of his presence.

"Hey! My name is Syn Shenron, and I have come to this verse only to end up finding a rather destroyed castle, and a portal which dumped me into this hellhole. If you could be at least a bit wise, tell me everything you know, and maybe I'll come with you. After all,
I do want to make sure that I can leave this place rather than be stuck here." As Syn said those words, he hopped down from the cliff piece and onto the wall that Renji was climbing on, and began to climb a bit, trying to see how high he could go in this rugged environment before the red bolts began to fly down again.

The person named Kuzuru, who looked like to Syn as just a strong looking person with black hair and a sword, was the one to respond. "Look, I am just as clueless as you about this place, but I have a Darkloid to kill, so fuck off." As Kuzuru said this, Syn was kind of angry on how the guy did not know a lot about the place like him, but he had admired the braveness that the person had shown by telling him to go away, so perhaps Syn could find some similarities between himself and this guy, and maybe he could even have some fun with him over killing whoever the Darkloid was.

"Grr... It's a shame that you do not know much about this place either, but the guts you have to say something like that to me is real impressive. I may not know about this Darkloid, but perhaps I can help you kill him, provided that I get the finishing blow. After all, I have found a pleasure in the slaughter of millions, probably due to what I am from my universe." While saying those words, Syn had continued to climb the mountain, and had reached a small ledge from which he could stand on. As he waited for Kuzuru and the other person to reach him, he hoped that whoever this Darkloid that Kuzuru mentioned, would give Syn Shenron a proper challenge compared to the Goombas that he had slaughtered earlier today.

863 Words.
Syn's joining Renji's group in the Nebula Space, if Renji is willing to keep Syn around.