04-17-2015, 04:47 PM
Dio continues to laugh for a few moments as he realizes that success is actually within reach before he gets up to take a step, his leg giving way as he staggers forward as blood dripped from his forehead and arm, a long gash torn in the jacket and the heart shaped circlet he wore split directly down the middle. His breathing was heavy as he'd take a moment to observe the situation and let his wounds heal, dark reality dawns on him that if he had not used his stand to throw him out of the way at the last moment he would have been cut in half, but even that would not have been enough, if he had not also had the assistance of Whirda he would have been nothing more than a particularly vile smear on the unpaved ground beneath the beast. That he, Dio, had come so close to death terrified him truly and completely. After all, that was merely the lightest of grazes he had received from the monster, and if that light touch had that much power behind it, it was completely possible that any direct hit would reduce even him to a meaty pulp he wasn't sure he could come back from.
Dio grits his teeth and shook off the shock of a near death experience before he'd turn to take stock of what happened while he was recovering. The vampire observes the flow of battle as it unfolds, carefully taking stock of what was going on as he'd formulate a new plan of assault. Kuzan seemed to be doing an admirable job of keeping the lava flows from becoming an issue, and interestingly enough forming new platforms for those who couldn't fly to get at the creature. Alain seems to have vanished into a fissure that Aang followed him into for some god forsaken reason. Then the so called avatar appeared a few moments later, and much to Dio's disgust he was crying. He didn't even need to be told that the man had vanished from Aang's sight at some point and the boy had presumed the mercenary dead. It was enough to make Dio nauseous, hiring the child he knew that the boy was naive. Though to go as far as to weep openly like a bawling baby on the battlefield, that was pure unadulterated weakness that he simply could not tolerate in any way shape or form, though if Dio knew anything it was that the Mercenary was likely still around just no longer interested in destroying the monster. He would swallow the bile he felt building in the back of his throat as he'd note the actions of Whirda, Proto, and Atelos he made an internal note to have him executed for deserting if Alain didn't show up soon. He also made a note to reprimand Aang for wasting time on tears when there was the monster responsible still alive and breathing. He never thought he'd need to tell a prospective do-gooder how to do their jobs, in his time being a hero meant gentlemanly conduct, and a tenacity that these men simply didn't seem to have. He missed Johnathon sometimes. They just didn't make heroes like him anymore.
Though, the battle still raged on in spite of Dio's internal retrospection on better days, and he was rewarded for his tardiness with a gout of boiling magma coming straight for him as Protoman's proto-buster fired off a barrage into the beast's weakened carapace. His stand appearing in a flash Dio would use the power of both their legs to leap away just in time, the curtails of his coat catching fire even so, and he was forced to discard the now charred jacket leaving him wearing little more as he'd turn to glare at the beast for daring to have interrupted his introspection. In his rage, however, his mind calculated a dozen ways in which to hurt this beast, and finally, he had what he believed to be a tactic capable of bringing this beast to it's knees.
As he'd retreat back he would turn to speak to the woman he'd seen produce that clone, the group that they had met apparently having the same idea as he had and returned to the explosive crates as a sort of fall back point. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed their help at this point. Even though his plan was working to a tee they weren't able to get enough explosives in the right place at the right time to get to the sin heart, and as long as that vile mechanism still beat within the monster they weren't going to be taking it down anytime soon. Thus, with a frown and swallowing a considerable amount of pride he would ask her if she had any ideas
The fair haired woman thought intensely for a moment, plans flashing through her mind like lightning strikes, her mind devising a dozen separate stratagems in an instant, unfortunately the challenge before them was simply too difficult and many of them had to be discarded as quickly as they were thought up, but one in particular stood out as the least risky way to finally take that bastard of a beast down "We have but one option if we're going to avoid losing another, it seems like the beast attacks anything that annoys it enough and doesn't seem to look too closely at it's food, it didn't even treat my clone as anything other than another annoyance it tried to bite down on. If we can sneak a considerable amount of explosive inside to where it's not protected by that diamond hard carapace via one of my clones we should be able to blow the beast's entire head apart, and open a channel to the sin heart where we'll destroy it. Be warned though, if this plan doesn't work I will destroy the gate from the other side to trap that monster here."
Dio nodded, turning towards the location they arrived at and running towards what was left of the damage explosives. That they couldn't be used traditionally was true, but when rigged with one of those clones and another thermal detonator the fusion material inside would still explode. He'd rush towards the other crate and grab a fresh detonator from it, Dio reaching down to his belt to remove the belt with the heart shaped clasp in the center, a few well-placed strikes creating loops in the leather for him to attach a ring of thermal detonators, and with that done he'd turn back towards the damaged crate carrying it back towards Whirda in a flash of movement as he'd say "can you take this crate and this belt down the beast's throat? If we manage to detonate from inside the beast I think we'll be able to do enough internal damage to give us a shot at the heart. It won't be a pretty journey, but given the disposable nature of your clones it's our best option."
Whirda can barely hold back the bile she felt creep into the back of her throat at the man's display of molasses thick charisma his voice oozed, the very nature of his words soothing the heart and seeming to intentionally appeal to the way she preferred to be spoken to, carried himself in such a way that his very form seemed to exude a charisma that bordered on the unnatural. She had experience with Dio's type in spades, ones who took note of the tiniest details and applied them in their word play like a surgeon would a scalpel in order to create the responses they desired, the very definition of a manipulative personality. Unfortunately for Whirda however, no matter how much she lamented the fact Dio was unquestionably right here. As it stood with the beast distracted, disabled, and reeling from a combination of attacks that had been paid for in blood they had no choice but to proceed with the only remaining option of damaging it's internals while it was down and using that moment to go in for the killing blow on The Sin Heart that perpetuated the beast's vile existence. That also didn't mean that she had to be happy about this though, and she responded to Dio's attempt at charisma with a harsh edge to her voice. 'Fine, if that's the best option we have, but if this fails don't think I wont seal your undead ass in here so fast it makes your head spin." She said, her ire for Dio leaking through the normal cool exterior she kept up, but Dio paid it no mind. After all, as a man dedicated to the ideals of evil he was quite accustomed to people vowing to kill him and even coming at him with intent to die in the pursuit, how could he possibly be flustered by something as small as a little bit of vitrol from someone who understood his aims?
However, as the best laid plans of mice and men are often wont to do, a factor came up that almost ensured it would go awry. There was Aang, pinned almost dead center between this things eyebrows, a factor that made it readily apparent to Dio and the crew that they couldn't go ahead without sacrificing the young avatar. While others saw a cause of panic and peril however, he saw his chance to cement a pawn in his plans, to create a loyalty so sickeningly complete that it made Dio's stomach turn at the mere thought of it. Though he loathed the idea of letting anyone know the secret power of his stand what he needed more than that secret right now was one simple thing, reliable allies, and now heaven itself had presented this exchanged to him and he had no intentions of letting this ultimate chance pass him by! Adopting a pose, his arms shrugging the yellow jacket he wore half way off, his legs in a wide stance as he'd mimic the heroes of his world, a hand splayed in front of his face as he tried to channel a faux version of that all too virtuous and self righteousness that the men who had dared to hound him often did as he'd say.
'Wait, we cannot move forward as long as Aang is trapped on the beast. You move in behind me and I'll give you the signal to detonate the charges once he's free!"
Aghast that Dio would even consider the value in another's life Whirda merely nods as the leader of that group of strange primes charged towards the beast just as it would cry out, the monster thrashing in agony from the intense power that the Spartan's blows had carried, yet this didn't bode well for Aang as the avatar would shake violently, his body slamming against the diamond hard chitin as the Avatar clung desperately to the spine he had affixed himself to for the sake of distracting the beast, Whirda running beside him as her body would shimmer changing into a series of clones that branched out even as Dio's speed picked up, doubling to out pace even the fastest car from the modern world as he'd charge towards the beast with everything he had, The World Materializing as Dio would leap from building to building, his soul grabbing onto him as he'd leap once more hoisting him like a javelin before letting him fly, the combined momentum hurtling the vampire like a missile with incredible accuracy as Dio would charge his body with stand power, giving his eyes a touch of the keenness they had back on his home world to give him the prowess necessary to undertake this herculean effort. As Dio whizzed by, his movements fluid as he'd tuck in to grab the boy from his position affixed it seemed almost as though it would all go off without a hitch, however in the beast's death throes it lashed out wildly, with a speed and intensity that vastly outstripped even the incredible power it demonstrated before, and just as Whirda would leap forward the beast would open it's maw to roar in agony and defiance of the primes who had dared to wound it so gravely, and as it did so one of those house sized spines raised to come into Dio's way. Unable to fly or alter his trajectory quick enough, Dio slammed into one of the spines that protruded from the monster's snout with enough force that he felt several ribs crack, another thrash as the Beast took the clone down it's throat and Dio felt his collarbone snap like it was balsa wood, just a simple dry crack and he, Dio felt even his bones which had stood the test of time and had survived at the bottom of the ocean for a hundred years crack! Feeling the agony of his snapped bones he knew that he didn't have much of a choice, and he'd will his stand to appear. The World grabbing Aang and flying off to deposit him on a near by building as he'd shout. "ACTIVATE THE DETONATORS."
Dio grits his teeth and shook off the shock of a near death experience before he'd turn to take stock of what happened while he was recovering. The vampire observes the flow of battle as it unfolds, carefully taking stock of what was going on as he'd formulate a new plan of assault. Kuzan seemed to be doing an admirable job of keeping the lava flows from becoming an issue, and interestingly enough forming new platforms for those who couldn't fly to get at the creature. Alain seems to have vanished into a fissure that Aang followed him into for some god forsaken reason. Then the so called avatar appeared a few moments later, and much to Dio's disgust he was crying. He didn't even need to be told that the man had vanished from Aang's sight at some point and the boy had presumed the mercenary dead. It was enough to make Dio nauseous, hiring the child he knew that the boy was naive. Though to go as far as to weep openly like a bawling baby on the battlefield, that was pure unadulterated weakness that he simply could not tolerate in any way shape or form, though if Dio knew anything it was that the Mercenary was likely still around just no longer interested in destroying the monster. He would swallow the bile he felt building in the back of his throat as he'd note the actions of Whirda, Proto, and Atelos he made an internal note to have him executed for deserting if Alain didn't show up soon. He also made a note to reprimand Aang for wasting time on tears when there was the monster responsible still alive and breathing. He never thought he'd need to tell a prospective do-gooder how to do their jobs, in his time being a hero meant gentlemanly conduct, and a tenacity that these men simply didn't seem to have. He missed Johnathon sometimes. They just didn't make heroes like him anymore.
Though, the battle still raged on in spite of Dio's internal retrospection on better days, and he was rewarded for his tardiness with a gout of boiling magma coming straight for him as Protoman's proto-buster fired off a barrage into the beast's weakened carapace. His stand appearing in a flash Dio would use the power of both their legs to leap away just in time, the curtails of his coat catching fire even so, and he was forced to discard the now charred jacket leaving him wearing little more as he'd turn to glare at the beast for daring to have interrupted his introspection. In his rage, however, his mind calculated a dozen ways in which to hurt this beast, and finally, he had what he believed to be a tactic capable of bringing this beast to it's knees.
As he'd retreat back he would turn to speak to the woman he'd seen produce that clone, the group that they had met apparently having the same idea as he had and returned to the explosive crates as a sort of fall back point. As much as he hated to admit it, he needed their help at this point. Even though his plan was working to a tee they weren't able to get enough explosives in the right place at the right time to get to the sin heart, and as long as that vile mechanism still beat within the monster they weren't going to be taking it down anytime soon. Thus, with a frown and swallowing a considerable amount of pride he would ask her if she had any ideas
The fair haired woman thought intensely for a moment, plans flashing through her mind like lightning strikes, her mind devising a dozen separate stratagems in an instant, unfortunately the challenge before them was simply too difficult and many of them had to be discarded as quickly as they were thought up, but one in particular stood out as the least risky way to finally take that bastard of a beast down "We have but one option if we're going to avoid losing another, it seems like the beast attacks anything that annoys it enough and doesn't seem to look too closely at it's food, it didn't even treat my clone as anything other than another annoyance it tried to bite down on. If we can sneak a considerable amount of explosive inside to where it's not protected by that diamond hard carapace via one of my clones we should be able to blow the beast's entire head apart, and open a channel to the sin heart where we'll destroy it. Be warned though, if this plan doesn't work I will destroy the gate from the other side to trap that monster here."
Dio nodded, turning towards the location they arrived at and running towards what was left of the damage explosives. That they couldn't be used traditionally was true, but when rigged with one of those clones and another thermal detonator the fusion material inside would still explode. He'd rush towards the other crate and grab a fresh detonator from it, Dio reaching down to his belt to remove the belt with the heart shaped clasp in the center, a few well-placed strikes creating loops in the leather for him to attach a ring of thermal detonators, and with that done he'd turn back towards the damaged crate carrying it back towards Whirda in a flash of movement as he'd say "can you take this crate and this belt down the beast's throat? If we manage to detonate from inside the beast I think we'll be able to do enough internal damage to give us a shot at the heart. It won't be a pretty journey, but given the disposable nature of your clones it's our best option."
Whirda can barely hold back the bile she felt creep into the back of her throat at the man's display of molasses thick charisma his voice oozed, the very nature of his words soothing the heart and seeming to intentionally appeal to the way she preferred to be spoken to, carried himself in such a way that his very form seemed to exude a charisma that bordered on the unnatural. She had experience with Dio's type in spades, ones who took note of the tiniest details and applied them in their word play like a surgeon would a scalpel in order to create the responses they desired, the very definition of a manipulative personality. Unfortunately for Whirda however, no matter how much she lamented the fact Dio was unquestionably right here. As it stood with the beast distracted, disabled, and reeling from a combination of attacks that had been paid for in blood they had no choice but to proceed with the only remaining option of damaging it's internals while it was down and using that moment to go in for the killing blow on The Sin Heart that perpetuated the beast's vile existence. That also didn't mean that she had to be happy about this though, and she responded to Dio's attempt at charisma with a harsh edge to her voice. 'Fine, if that's the best option we have, but if this fails don't think I wont seal your undead ass in here so fast it makes your head spin." She said, her ire for Dio leaking through the normal cool exterior she kept up, but Dio paid it no mind. After all, as a man dedicated to the ideals of evil he was quite accustomed to people vowing to kill him and even coming at him with intent to die in the pursuit, how could he possibly be flustered by something as small as a little bit of vitrol from someone who understood his aims?
However, as the best laid plans of mice and men are often wont to do, a factor came up that almost ensured it would go awry. There was Aang, pinned almost dead center between this things eyebrows, a factor that made it readily apparent to Dio and the crew that they couldn't go ahead without sacrificing the young avatar. While others saw a cause of panic and peril however, he saw his chance to cement a pawn in his plans, to create a loyalty so sickeningly complete that it made Dio's stomach turn at the mere thought of it. Though he loathed the idea of letting anyone know the secret power of his stand what he needed more than that secret right now was one simple thing, reliable allies, and now heaven itself had presented this exchanged to him and he had no intentions of letting this ultimate chance pass him by! Adopting a pose, his arms shrugging the yellow jacket he wore half way off, his legs in a wide stance as he'd mimic the heroes of his world, a hand splayed in front of his face as he tried to channel a faux version of that all too virtuous and self righteousness that the men who had dared to hound him often did as he'd say.
'Wait, we cannot move forward as long as Aang is trapped on the beast. You move in behind me and I'll give you the signal to detonate the charges once he's free!"
Aghast that Dio would even consider the value in another's life Whirda merely nods as the leader of that group of strange primes charged towards the beast just as it would cry out, the monster thrashing in agony from the intense power that the Spartan's blows had carried, yet this didn't bode well for Aang as the avatar would shake violently, his body slamming against the diamond hard chitin as the Avatar clung desperately to the spine he had affixed himself to for the sake of distracting the beast, Whirda running beside him as her body would shimmer changing into a series of clones that branched out even as Dio's speed picked up, doubling to out pace even the fastest car from the modern world as he'd charge towards the beast with everything he had, The World Materializing as Dio would leap from building to building, his soul grabbing onto him as he'd leap once more hoisting him like a javelin before letting him fly, the combined momentum hurtling the vampire like a missile with incredible accuracy as Dio would charge his body with stand power, giving his eyes a touch of the keenness they had back on his home world to give him the prowess necessary to undertake this herculean effort. As Dio whizzed by, his movements fluid as he'd tuck in to grab the boy from his position affixed it seemed almost as though it would all go off without a hitch, however in the beast's death throes it lashed out wildly, with a speed and intensity that vastly outstripped even the incredible power it demonstrated before, and just as Whirda would leap forward the beast would open it's maw to roar in agony and defiance of the primes who had dared to wound it so gravely, and as it did so one of those house sized spines raised to come into Dio's way. Unable to fly or alter his trajectory quick enough, Dio slammed into one of the spines that protruded from the monster's snout with enough force that he felt several ribs crack, another thrash as the Beast took the clone down it's throat and Dio felt his collarbone snap like it was balsa wood, just a simple dry crack and he, Dio felt even his bones which had stood the test of time and had survived at the bottom of the ocean for a hundred years crack! Feeling the agony of his snapped bones he knew that he didn't have much of a choice, and he'd will his stand to appear. The World grabbing Aang and flying off to deposit him on a near by building as he'd shout. "ACTIVATE THE DETONATORS."