The beginning of the End (Artefact Battle) (PvP)

[Albert Wesker]

Colonel staggers as the latest series of strikes rain down on his torso, carving deep into the metal plating and eliciting a crackle of static as his inner workings are clipped. Exposed to the open air of the nexus, they sizzle and spark violently, producing a warning on his internal display about the damage. Inconsequential.

He rounds on the girl, swinging his saber in a blistering green arc. She ducks, skirting under and around the blow, coming up with those twin swords of hers again. A swift one-two-three of strikes leave a ringing echo, and a new series of dents and a deep gouge in his chest. His limited patience is rapidly diminishing. There was only one target he was truly after in this fight. He needed to get to him.

Another flurry of strikes come at him, courtesy of Joline. He meets them head-on. A swift, powerful step-in blow from his saber collides with one, cleaving through and shattering it into countless shards and pieces. The other smashes against his shoulder, joining its sister blade in exploding into pieces. The young woman tries to leap out of range again, but the soldier navi was having none of it. Not this time. He lunges after her, his free left hand latching onto her by the forearm, and keeping her securely anchored within his reach. "No. No more games," he says quietly, tone as flat and lifeless as ever. A dim glow slowly builds in his eyes. "You're in the way." Those were his final words to her, as sparks leapt from about his fingers, coursing along Joline's arm and into her body, producing a sickening squirm and tightening of her entire body as the electricity flashes through her.

The cyber soldier's eyes blaze with light, and around him the ground trembles. His cape whips up, thrown directly out behind him as if caught in a fierce wind. His eyes tremble and shake wildly, the pale green split by a line of black, spreading into a slitted, vertical pupil. Purple light flickers up around him, darkening into a deep aura of violet flame. The mass of chaotic power blazes up, twice again as high and broad as the navi lost within it. The glare of pale green glows visibly from within it, and as suddenly as it began, it stops. With the maddened, primal howl of a great beast set on the hunt, the blaze of power explodes outward, leaving Colonel standing there, his appearance radically changed. Where there had once been a sleek, armored soldier robot, there was now a primal, almost bestial-looking robotic...thing. As much beast as humanoid, clawed hand still wrapped around Joline's arm, shaggy mane of hair whipping about behind him and heaving deep, unnecessary breaths.

A grin slowly splits his features, and he hefts the ragged form of the young woman in his grasp up, hauling her off the ground by her arm. The glow in his eyes flares as he whirls about, toward the rest of the fight, and bursts into motion. He viciously drags the barely-cognizant Joline with him. Tearing across the void, clawed boots thundering and gouging at the ground as he makes a headlong charge right for his primary target. He barges heedlessly through the chaotic battle sprawling around him, ignoring and smashing through anything in his path.

The lightning-man, Enel, currently in the midst of continuing his engagement with the one called Shay, receives only a passing strike. His ability to see such things coming aided him greatly, and he leaps up, curling into a flip that let him avoid the worst of the hit. The sheer force behind the maneuver, hurling Joline bodily at him, still clipped his heels, sending him into a comical spiral and intensifying his flip, but leaving him to land — albeit awkwardly and unsteadily — on his feet. The fury radiating off of him was an almost tangible thing, his teeth bared in a snarl, and a bolt of lightning was launched after the impudent machine-beast.

A snarling response was given, the primally distorted form of Colonel ducking to one side, bracing his movement with his clawed hand and rounding on the so-called god. A look of contempt was written on his features, and in a blur his empty hand came up, claws crackling with sparks, and hurled a bolt of his own in response to distract the arrogant man before he lurched back into motion. He had no time for this. The beast was loose; but its power was more than could really be maintained for long. This had to be finished now.

He closed in with single-minded determination on the target of his hunt: the Red Hood. Locked in a fight with his own opponent of the moment, his focus was elsewhere, even as the bestial soldier drew ever nearer. A deep, bass rumble rises from the soldier program, pitching higher into a growl as he barked out two short words. "RED HOOD!" Then he was upon the two fighters.

The heavily-wounded Erik was caught completely off-guard, and had only barely managed to regain his feet when a mass of fury and force met him, smashing him aside like a thing of straw. He brings a defense to bear, weapons at the ready and a desperate lunge back to avoid the crazed beast. It is all for naught. A cry of pain, the devastating wound in his torso clearly aggravated by the impact. He flops and rolls away, out of immediate range of concern.

Colonel's eyes settle on the Red Hod, and the vigilante takes half a step back. It is answered by a matching step forward, the jagged sword of the hunter rising. "No more of this madness!" he snarls, his eyes quivering on the border of madness. "No more interruptions!" And he strikes, bringing down a devastating hammer blow. "Fight! To the end!"

1000 words exactly...AGAIN! :frogsiren: (according to on-site wordcounter)

Joline used Kanshou & Bakuya, Foresight, Burst Movement
Used Colonel Saber
Mimicked: Lightning Body (Enel)
Colonel activated T2 Power Up: Beast Out for the remainder of the round (0/5 SP remaining)
Used mimicked Burst Movement (Joline)
Enel used Bolt
Mimicked: Bolt (Enel)

Colonel's current stats, while powered up:
ATK: 8
DEF: 5
SPD: 6
TEC: 3