Siege of Darkshire - The Breach

[Strazio Rockwell]

For a long moment, longer than he probably should have taken, Strazio stood catching his breath. His hunched shoulders shuddered with every laboured breath. Blood dripped from his body and mixed with the mud below his feet. He had lost track of how many wounds he had picked up. None were particularly deep, but that was besides the point. They all hurt like hell. He looked for Gamzee. A crowd had gathered around his apprentice and the sunglasses-clad time-prick. He scowled. It was impossible to see the high-blood through the chaotic smattering of soldiers. His attention shifted towards the zerg queen and Hiro, the two of them were engaged in what was probably the deadliest game of tag in history.

“Alright,” he muttered to himself, “need to get moving.”

He spat and stepped forward. There was no joy to be had here. Limbs and assorted viscera formed a trail to the Queen of Blades. Sons and daughters now slaughtered and left unrecognizable by even Omni himself. Scattered across the killing field silver-grey crests glittered beneath the blood and muck, each one an oath carried unto death. Strazio thumbed at the simple crest around his neck. It was heavy. His promise to Demitri and Rumford, pulled tight against his neck. He wrapped his hand around the metal trinket and squeezed until the edges drew blood from his palms. His teeth grinded against one another and his body shimmered with white-hot energy. The Defender of Darkshire sucked air and shouted with as much force as his beleaguered body would allow.

“You,” he bellowed and pointed a crackling finger at the infested female, “what is your name?”

She chuckled for a moment and answered, “I am Sarah Kerrigan, you might know me better as the Queen of Blades.”

“Well, ‘Queen of Blades’,” Strazio shouted, his voice becoming more hoarse by the minute. He stepped past Hiro, who was preoccupied with a nosebleed from hell. “You’ve made a terrible fucking mistake coming here,” he continued, his voice trembling.

“Is that so?”

“It is,” he growled, “I’m the defender of these people.”

Kerrigan smirked and wave her hand towards the destruction around them. “It looks like you’ve failed them Strazio,” she said, “though who could blame you? After all you’re only human.”

“I may have failed them,” he shouted, his body now almost completely engulfed by electricity, “but I sold my humanity a long time ago.”

With that declaration Strazio screamed. As he did so his flesh peeled away and vaporized into ash. Beneath his skin a blinding endoskeleton of white-hot hatred seethed. Sharp yellow irises submerged in a pool of dull ebony stared down Sarah Kerrigan. Only once every last scrap of skin was burned away did the Avatar act. With a screech that sounded not entirely unlike microphone feedback the Strazio charged forth.

Kerrigan edged away from her assaulter and flung whatever her mind could grasp at him. Swords, shields, limbs, and other assorted chunks of battlefield debris careened towards the rampaging battering ram. He chose to ignore the smaller objects, taking the impacts head-on, while he fired buckshot bursts of wild energy at anything larger and/or sharper than a grapefruit. As a final defense Sarah threw her wings forward, and braced for impact. A stomach-turning squelch slithered across the battlefield as Strazio impaled himself upon her wings, taking the points deep into his abdomen. Black blood, thick and viscous boiled forth from his new puncture wounds. Kerrigan extended her wings out and took a half-step back, trying to keep the snarling ball of rage as far away as possible. She tried to pry her blades loose from his gut, but he grasped the spine of her left wing and forced it to stay buried in his gut. For a moment the two played tug-of-war as the Avatar attempted to snap the bony appendage in half. 

“Alright then, you want them” the Queen of Blades hissed, “you can have them.”

Her free wing sunk itself into the Avatar’s shoulder, biting deep like a scorpion tail. Strazio wailed, but kept his grip tight. His body shuddered and seemed to flicker for a moment. He continued screaming and clamped down tighter. The Avatar stepped forward, pushing against Sarah’s considerable strength. Lightning crackled around the two as Strazio stepped forward again, his muscles working overtime. He released one hand and moved it farther up the spine of her wing, closing the distance between the two. She stabbed him again, this time in the leg, but he continued his approach. After a few more steps the two were within arms reach and for a moment neither moved. Kerrigan’s wing twitch and shivered as he pushed with all of her might against the Avatar. 

“Die!” Strazio shouted.

He released her wing and raised a palm to her chest. It all happened in a mere moment, but a moment would last a lifetime in combat. A burst of heat and light erupted from his palm and crashed into her chitinous chest. The force of impact sent the Queen of Blades reeling as the sledgehammer of energy collided against her chest. In the same instance she extended her left wing, flinging Strazio across the battlefield. The two hit the ground simultaneously. Strazio screamed and thrashed about, a torrent of black blood spilling from his gut. Instinctively he rolled onto his knees and dug his hands into the mud. He screamed for a long time before forcing himself to his feet. The fight was not over, but at this rate it wouldn’t last much longer.

924 words on Wordcounter.net
Activating Avatar of Anger (Tier 1 Powered-up form) for 1 round -2 SP
Strazio used Shatter, Overcharge, and Survival
Kerrigan used Telekinesis, and Wing Blades