[2-5] Exodus from the Nose Crash

[Kenpachi Zaraki]

The fiery feline felt himself tumble across the water’s surface with all the grace of deflated pool toy, his mind growing hazy as he slowed to a stop, sinking beneath the waves. The air had been knocked from his lungs upon impact, the sea providing all the comfort of concrete. Struggling to maintain consciousness beneath the water, Nanaki heard a muffled crash and several moments later...silence. His amber optics blinked through the stinging of salt water, unable to make out what was happening in the shallows. With what tenuous grip on reality he had left, he forced his nose toward the surface, kicking hard with the last of his strength.

“And stay down.”

The words of the cybernetic humanoid drifted through the now nearly silent air, barely notable by the waterlogged feline. He gulped voraciously for air, the darkened edges of his periphery beginning to clear as perfusion returned to his brain. Strength, too, began to return as he took in deep, uneven breaths, struggling to angle his feeble movements back toward the shoreline. Even in his nigh-unconscious state, he knew better than to assume the fight was over. The burgundy beast pressed on, swimming with increasing vigor toward his allies.

From her vantage point at the upper end of the beach, Christa had watched Cyborg lay into the volcanic titan, taking advantage of the lull to regain what small bits of composure that she could muster. Blood dripped from far too many locations, intermingling with sweat and dribbling over her bruised and battered body. Despite the numbness that had settled over her frame, her digits moved dutifully in a practiced motion, sliding another round into her rifle. She had missed her mark on her first shot, the bullet instead impacting the golem’s head. Though this was better than the round sailing over her foe entirely, she was prepared to use what little energy she had left to ensure that she did not make the same mistake twice.

As Red finally neared the beach once more, he felt an ominous quake reverberate through the water. His heart rate immediately spiked, hurriedly paddling toward the shallows despite the protest of his aching limbs. Not seconds later, the choppy water around him began to bubble as the temperature rapidly spiked. A deafening roar echoed throughout the waterfront as the downed colossus’s craggy chassis exploded with hellish heat, showering the gathered warriors with superheated rock. The burgundy beast watched in awe as the fiery titan clamored oafishly to its feet, its flames burning brighter than ever with the lack of petrified carapace. Now visually resembling a walking bonfire, the enraged, blinded titan stumbled in Cyborg’s direction, hell-bent on destroying whatever lay in its path.

“Christa!” Red called over the creature’s thundering roars, hacking water from his weakened lungs. “Another!”

The sniper didn’t need to comprehend her ally’s pleas; she had already taken aim once more, leveling her formidable rifle on the distracted giant’s chestplate. With a crack she took her shot, the bullet splitting the air and impacting the golem dead in the ‘sternum’. With a sound reminiscent of an avalanche, the nightmarish creature’s chest burst open like a mouth to hell, blinding white-hot flames streaming into the moist air as large fragments of jagged stone dislodged themselves from the titan’s frame and embedded themselves in the sandy beach. Christa felt her breathing go hoarse as the air rapidly dried, the intense heat of the golem’s core robbing the moisture from the area. What little water that remained at the titan’s feet had vaporized, exposing desiccated, cracked sand reminiscent of a drought-struck desert. Cyborg and Chara could only sit in awe of the golem’s power, scarcely able to process the fact that the being was still alive, let alone seemingly stronger than ever. They watched as the avatar of destruction and rage raised a burning hand toward the direction of the shooter, an enormous sphere of destructive energy rapidly taking shape.

Nanaki had finally reached shore, watching in horror as the golem took aim at his downed ally. Thinking quickly, he closed his eyes and began muttering the words he had heard so long ago, taught to him by his now deceased friend. Her smiling face appeared in his mind as he recalled the incantation, announcing the words as he cast the spell: “Veil of light, ward evil’s might!”

Christa watched with trepidation as the burning titan let the blast fly, only to have it explode prematurely seconds before destruction. As the dust cleared, a translucent wall of energy flickered in front of her for a moment before disappearing entirely. She turned to see Nanaki now on the shoreline, his tribal tattoos glowing with azure light.

“Do you have...anything left?” the fiery feline shouted, breathing heavily as the glyphs faded to black. Throwing around white magic had taken its toll on his stamina.

The blonde sniper nodded wordlessly, pulling a grenade from her supply and holding it aloft for her ally’s inspection. Nanaki nodded in kind, breaking into an all-out dash toward the blinded colossus as it let loose an explosive outcry. It raised its ungodly fists to the heavens, magma spraying from its agape ribcage and littering the beach with molten gifts.

“I’ll lend a hand,” Cyborg announced, his extremity once more forming a formidable cannon. He stood tall, shielding Chara from the imminent destruction.

“NOW!” Nanaki barked, lunging into the air as he began to channel energy into his maw.

Christa pulled the pin effortlessly from the device, bringing her arm back and lobbing the explosive in a high arc. The grenade sailed through the air as if in slow motion, tumbling gracefully toward the creature’s exposed chest. As it neared the golem, Cyborg too released a blast from his cannon, aiming his own fast-moving projectile at the titan. On queue, the fiery feline snapped his jaws shut, launching the Fira spell to round out the triumvirate. The trio of attacks married mid-flight, detonating in a grandiose explosion not inches from the creature’s exposed core. The blast threw the participants backward, a thick cloud of dust obscuring the warzone.

2059/2400 (both posts) per Google Docs. Used Fira and Shell this round, Fira and Sled Fang last round (all normal moves)