05-28-2017, 07:27 PM
He’s confident, Samus noted with a smirk. Especially considering they were five-versus-one. As he brandished his arm cannon at them threateningly, Samus walked sideways, coolly keeping her gun arm and sight trained on him as she did so. It was a large, open clearing; plenty of room to fight. The tall trees that dotted the area around the portal might have been a problem, but the archers within them didn’t seem to be taking part in this fight.
At least not for now. Samus knew better than to fall for a surprise attack. She’d have to keep her eye on the danger sensor on her HUD.
Samus might have questioned the intelligence and moral fibre of some of her companions, but not their martial ability. If this was really five-versus-one, the centaur man had better have some serious power up his sleeves. Or they were going to take him apart.
As if he knew was she was thinking, the centaur-man unleashed a rain of shots her way. Samus was still a fair distance away from him, and raised her Barrier Beam almost lazily, keeping a watch for what her allies would do.
Madotsuki retaliated almost immediately with her own energy; a writhing column of something that was definitely not familiar to Samus. Meanwhile, Okor, Hiro and the gnome’s familiar stepped in to engage the monster in melee range. Samus almost felt sorry for their adversary.
As he was pushed back momentarily by the simultaneous assault, Centaur Man bellowed out; “I ain’t no joke!” He reared up on his hind legs and brought them crashing down, sending his three melee assailants flying backwards.
Samus raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her arm cannon. Fully charged, but there was no point wasting it on a less-than-critical blow. They could end this quickly with the right tactics. She watched, and waited for the right moment, continuing to circle outwards. Madotsuki and the gnome were doing the same thing in the opposite direction, although they were being more proactive in their attacks.
The Centaur Man charged forwards, managing to lift the great Okor off the ground and spinning overhead. Hiro rolled and Azzathec crashed harmlessly to the side. This was her chance.
Samus dashed across the ground, engaging her Rapid-Propulsion-System before flipping up and into the centaur’s blind spot. He must have had some kind of sixth sense, as he looked up to meet the hunter as she descended with her arm cannon outstretched.
That was fine. He could look.
A green-tipped missile burst from the barrel of her gun. She froze in the air to watch Centaur Man’s eyes widen; then he disappeared in the light of the explosion.
That wasn’t meant to happen. He reappeared a few metres away, panting. He looked pissed off. Maybe a little bit burnt. The super missile had connected after all; but he’d quickly dashed out of the explosion. Samus tutted herself mentally.
Centaur Man’s response was no half-measure. With all of the combatants to one side of him, he unleashed a storm of bullets in their general direction.
“Behind!” bellowed Samus as she brought up her arm cannon in a defensive measure. The gnome and girl ducked into her Barrier Beam, while Okor simply crouched, Hiro comfortably protected by his massive frame.
The rain ended, and they dispersed again. Centaur Man looked undeterred. In fact, he looked to be … enjoying it. He grinned. Then he lit up, the blue light only visible around his frame for a half-second before it exploded outwards, bathing them all in its radiance.
Samus turned to escape the sphere. But as she did so, she was shocked to see Centaur Man directly in front of her. It was as though …
He burst towards her, and plowed his arm into her stomach.
… Time had slowed down.
She was flying backwards before the pain even registered. Even on the HUD – and that was impossible. That thought had barely a moment to cross her mind before she hit the ground, rolling.
Samus grunted. On the plus side, she was out of that sphere now. True time manipulation? That was a neat trick.
The rest of the combatants came tumbling out of the sphere after her. It raised her spirits slightly to see that she hadn’t been the only one to fall prey to that attack. “Doesn’t seem like there’s any defense against that,” Samus noted aloud.
Centaur Man galloped towards them, as the bubble vanished back into his frame.
“But he can’t use it all the time,” noted the gnome.
That was right. Samus took to her feet. The outcome of the battle would hinge on whether he had any other tricks up his sleeve.
At least not for now. Samus knew better than to fall for a surprise attack. She’d have to keep her eye on the danger sensor on her HUD.
Samus might have questioned the intelligence and moral fibre of some of her companions, but not their martial ability. If this was really five-versus-one, the centaur man had better have some serious power up his sleeves. Or they were going to take him apart.
As if he knew was she was thinking, the centaur-man unleashed a rain of shots her way. Samus was still a fair distance away from him, and raised her Barrier Beam almost lazily, keeping a watch for what her allies would do.
Madotsuki retaliated almost immediately with her own energy; a writhing column of something that was definitely not familiar to Samus. Meanwhile, Okor, Hiro and the gnome’s familiar stepped in to engage the monster in melee range. Samus almost felt sorry for their adversary.
As he was pushed back momentarily by the simultaneous assault, Centaur Man bellowed out; “I ain’t no joke!” He reared up on his hind legs and brought them crashing down, sending his three melee assailants flying backwards.
Samus raised an eyebrow and glanced down at her arm cannon. Fully charged, but there was no point wasting it on a less-than-critical blow. They could end this quickly with the right tactics. She watched, and waited for the right moment, continuing to circle outwards. Madotsuki and the gnome were doing the same thing in the opposite direction, although they were being more proactive in their attacks.
The Centaur Man charged forwards, managing to lift the great Okor off the ground and spinning overhead. Hiro rolled and Azzathec crashed harmlessly to the side. This was her chance.
Samus dashed across the ground, engaging her Rapid-Propulsion-System before flipping up and into the centaur’s blind spot. He must have had some kind of sixth sense, as he looked up to meet the hunter as she descended with her arm cannon outstretched.
That was fine. He could look.
A green-tipped missile burst from the barrel of her gun. She froze in the air to watch Centaur Man’s eyes widen; then he disappeared in the light of the explosion.
That wasn’t meant to happen. He reappeared a few metres away, panting. He looked pissed off. Maybe a little bit burnt. The super missile had connected after all; but he’d quickly dashed out of the explosion. Samus tutted herself mentally.
Centaur Man’s response was no half-measure. With all of the combatants to one side of him, he unleashed a storm of bullets in their general direction.
“Behind!” bellowed Samus as she brought up her arm cannon in a defensive measure. The gnome and girl ducked into her Barrier Beam, while Okor simply crouched, Hiro comfortably protected by his massive frame.
The rain ended, and they dispersed again. Centaur Man looked undeterred. In fact, he looked to be … enjoying it. He grinned. Then he lit up, the blue light only visible around his frame for a half-second before it exploded outwards, bathing them all in its radiance.
Samus turned to escape the sphere. But as she did so, she was shocked to see Centaur Man directly in front of her. It was as though …
He burst towards her, and plowed his arm into her stomach.
… Time had slowed down.
She was flying backwards before the pain even registered. Even on the HUD – and that was impossible. That thought had barely a moment to cross her mind before she hit the ground, rolling.
Samus grunted. On the plus side, she was out of that sphere now. True time manipulation? That was a neat trick.
The rest of the combatants came tumbling out of the sphere after her. It raised her spirits slightly to see that she hadn’t been the only one to fall prey to that attack. “Doesn’t seem like there’s any defense against that,” Samus noted aloud.
Centaur Man galloped towards them, as the bubble vanished back into his frame.
“But he can’t use it all the time,” noted the gnome.
That was right. Samus took to her feet. The outcome of the battle would hinge on whether he had any other tricks up his sleeve.
![[Image: 0bwAI3j.jpg]](http://i.imgur.com/0bwAI3j.jpg)