06-13-2017, 03:26 AM
Their pursuit of the judge was put on pause by the sudden earthquake, and while it proved no great threat itself it heralded a new danger. Undead creatures burst out of a large crack in the ground and charged the group of primes. Celestia tried to take to the air, to get a vantage point from which she could assess the situation, but she found she could not. Flapping her wings only produced some noise and a few awkward seconds of standing still. She was ground-bound. So that's what she had felt when the passed through the portal. She was sure there were other changes too, but she wouldn't have time to stop and assess them right now.
Before anyone could stop her, Chara took the initiative, and before anyone could stop she turned and began warping around the ghouls and striking where she could, and explaining her intent to draw them off so the main party could continue their pursuit. Of course, in her state Chara wouldn't be able to do it alone, and seeing this Revan followed her into combat, and he was joined shortly by Ash, with the argument that there was no point in separating given the opponent they would have to face.
In other circumstances, Celestia would have jumped in as well. Defending a weakened member of the party was a natural inclination. But in this case, it wasn't just a matter of traversing the region, they had to pursue the judge before he accomplished his goal. Celestia couldn't be sure what the judge's goal was, but presumably it had something to do with the large citadel off in the distance. If nothing else, getting there would allow Judgeman to strengthen his defences, and he had already given them enough trouble without such an advantage.
Celestia made her decision. She could trust Revan and Ash to keep Chara safe. If the judge got to his destination, all this effort and pain they had gone through might be rendered worthless. The ghouls meanwhile, while something of a menace wouldn't be all that threatening on their own.
One of the ghouls had shambled over to her, reaching out with it's emaciated hands. Celestia lifted a hoof to block its attack, catching some light scratches in the process before knocking the creature away with the gavel. The ghoul fell to the ground, and while it was hardy enough to recover quickly, a prone position made it easy prey and the bulk of its senses were likely still bound to its head. Celestia took a moment to aim before firing off a searing ray of heat, aimed at destroying the ghoul's eyes and ears, before beginning to gallop away, in the vague direction of the judge and the citadel he was headed towards. “Keep safe, I'm going on ahead!” she called out as she went.
“Are you crazy!?” It was Ash who called back, between swings of his chainsaw, “Didn't you hear what I just said!?”
“I know, but I don't have to fight him properly, I just have to keep him distracted until the rest of you can catch up! I'm counting on you to be quick!” By then, Celestia was too far away to make out any reply clearly, as she continued to chase after the judge.