The Desert is Cold in the Dark [Dark Data]

[Nebula]

Round 3 start. Newly-huged Desertman has new stats:

ATK: 10
DEF: 10
SPD: 4
TEC: 0

The Skeleton Gunslinger is still alive, though his illusory assist has run out and he’s running on fumes.

Four days to finish this. That’s roughly Saturday the 15th, at 00:01am, or the end of Friday, BST (British Summer Time). Or just four days from this post.

[Summer]

Somerled stared up from his sideways perch on the pillar, eyes fixed on the newly formed hole in the roof. A faint breeze drifted in from the alien sky above, and a familiar feeling filled the storm spirit. A wide grin spread across his face. Everything about this sky was all wrong, from its dark purple color, down to the very atmospheric readings he was getting. Barometric pressure, humidity, air currents, all of them hurt his head to even bear witness to. But despite how unnatural it was, it was still sky, his domain.

“This isn’t looking good.” Sun’s voice rose up from somewhere beneath the monster, speaking an observation he just flat out didn’t agree with. Desertman’s maw opened wide, and it unleashed one hell of a roar, a tremendous sound that shook the very walls of the temple and dislodged even more stone. Somerled let loose a manic laugh as the darkloid’s bellowing echoes faded away, and he spun on his heel to face his other opponent. The dusty gunslinger wobbled on its feet, almost out of the fight entirely.

Somerled surged forward and wrapped one hand around his adversary’s throat before it could even think of reacting. Four tired hands shot up to meet his one, scrabbling uselessly against his wrist. The monster whipped around and heaved with all his might, releasing his grip on the darkling. Screaming uselessly, the skeletal warrior sailed through the air roughly in the direction of the bridge, and slammed against the stone right next to Sun, who jumped in surprise. The storm spirit grinned vibrantly. It looked like gravity was still taking a vacation. He took on a crouching stance, happy that this jump was small enough for him to actually make it, and sprang straight up. The very air around him shifted as he reached the apex of his leap, and soon he found himself back in normalcy.

CRACK

Bone crunched beneath his feet as she slammed boot-first into the marksman’s back. He spared a momentary glance at the dusty bug under his boot before turning up to face the Desertman. Its right hand raised ominously above its head, ready to crash down and crush the trio under a wave of sand.

“Somerled, Run!” Sun shouted out from his right, already booking it down to the other end of the bridge, no doubt told by Jim to say that. The monster’s only response to that was a mad cackle and a shout of his own.

“Thank you!” He raised his arms up to the giant, hovering hand. His hair began to raise to the sky as electrical current raced through the air. “For being such a fucking huge target!” His left hand dropped to his side, leaving only his right, which he pointed at the hand racing for him. He put his fingers together and snapped.

KRA-KOW

Brilliant lightning arced down from the demonic sky and stabbed right through the Desertman’s hand. Immediately, Somerled’s vision was wiped away by the electrical radiance, his eyes filled only by the plasmatic white and his ears deafened by the tremendous crack. Slowly, his sight returned, and he grinned a tired grin. Loose sand rained down upon the lightning spirit, the remnants of his adversary’s gigantic limb. Where impending doom had once been speeding down at him, there was now only air.

Desertman turned to face its missing hand, and its mouth twisted open in a scream that shook the very foundations of the labyrinth, unheard over the ringing still in Somerled’s ear. The monster was wracked with silent laughter, and he immediately set to work weaving his next spell, keeping his eyes on the sentient sandpile. There was no doubt in his mind that it’d try and get revenge on him for that, and he didn’t have it in him for another strike. He needed a less tiring spell.

“Thirty seconds!” he shouted into the void, hoping Jim would be able to hear him even if he couldn’t hear himself. Beneath his feet, the almost dead and exhausted gunslinger wiggled helplessly. The sandman’s black eyes swung over to the spirit that had dared to take its limb, and its remaining hand rushed towards him, sparing no time for a dramatic lift and crush maneuver. Somerled unfurled his whip and stared at the oncoming death with a maniacal grin.

He leapt backwards fearlessly, and began to plummet in time with the air pressure. His arm shot forward, and the whip lashed out, wrapping around the railing just as the unstoppable wave of sand crashed into it. The bridge shattered beneath the unyielding tide, but fortunately it saved Somerled from the bulk of it. Shrapnel and sand slammed into the spirit, cutting at his exposed flesh and driving the breath right out of him, and suddenly his short-lived free-fall was stopped. Living sand washed around him and bound him, and soon he was lifted into the air.
The monster cast a quick glance up as he was raised to the Desertman’s face, stuck in its hand. The deep purple sky above was now replaced by a dreary stormcloud cover, and Somerled let out a small giggle. He turned back to his captor, coming face to face with black-irised eye larger than his body.

“Hi.” He said plainly, barely able to hear himself. In response, the sandman lifted its mouth up and bellowed right into his face. Pain exploded in Somerled’s head as all hope of ever hearing again was squashed. His eardrums ruptured with a vengeance, and he could faintly feel a trickle of blood from his ears. Well fuck you too. “By the way,” he tried to say, unsure of whether it was coming out properly or not. “Look up.”

Whether or not the Desertman heard his words, it didn’t look up, and instead raised its last hand, ready to dash Somerled against the ground below. Wind and rain slammed into the storm spirit’s sandy restraints, tearing into the last limb and blasting newly-formed mud everywhere.

1002 Words
Somerled took full advantage of the open roof and used Heavenly Bolt (0/1 uses left) to obliterate Desertman’s right hand. He also used Microburst (6/11 left) mostly to create a rainstorm that’s gonna turn all this sand into mud.
Also he's probably deaf now :V

[Jim Raynor]

Jim grimaced at the ringing in his ears. Somerled's summoning of a lightning bolt had wracked the entire temple, the small enclosure rebounding and magnifying the resounding boom. Even in his closed visor, the sound penetrated easily, it a little muted.
 
"Son of a ... kid, tell Somerled to give us some damn warnin' the next time he decides to crack the air with electricity, huh?"
 
Raynor wasn't all that angry at the gaunt storm weaver. His inability to finish off the desert monster with his grenades had pissed him off and left him with little options to try a second time. At least Somerled directing nature's fury into one of its hands had done the trick; Jim couldn't see any sand pooling to recast itself. Maybe they had done enough damage that its self healing had been reduced, or limited? He could only hope that was the case.
 
Another pleasant side effect of his failed chain explosion, discounting the downpour of sand that allowed the monster to keep the fight going, was the opening of the temple to the elements. The lightning bolt had done wonders, and now rain pelted through the gaping hole in the roof, soddening the desert monster. Jim didn't have water or ice readily on hand so he hadn't conceived of affecting their foe with it, but since Somerled's rain dance, it fell in undulating sheets, soaking into the creature.
 
The bright gold of the creature's composition darkened into a heavy tan. It roared, raising its remaining hand over its head to block the precipitation, but it only distributed the moisture into another part of its body. The creature realised this, lowering its hand and snaking away from the rain, but the hole spanned at least five metres, and the water already absorbed by its body made its movement sluggish and jerky.
 
On the other hand, if any of them took a hit, the thickened sand would hurt a hell of a lot more.
 
Jim looked to Somerled. Pain and exhaustion written on his face, it was a wonder he continued to stand after that monumental effort. Raynor hadn't spotted the skeletal gunslinger lately either; perhaps he or Sun Ogong had finished that corpse's holiday from the grave?
 
The desert monster grumbled, its tone lower and more feral than before, rolling towards Somerled. Jim doubted the slim man had the strength left in his thin bones to escape safely, let alone re-engage.
 
Jim raced across the temple, his metal legs slamming on the temple floor. The wind howled through the cavity in the roof, hurling arrows of rain against his armour. He squeezed robotic fingers around his Impaler rifle as the water splashed between their bends and joints, trying to loosen and pry his grip from his lifeline.
 
"Hey, ugly!" Jim called out. "You want some of this?"
 
Raising his weapon, Jim pulled on the trigger. A swarm of angry spikes exploded from the barrel and screamed towards the desert monster. The jostling of his sprint threw off his aim, landing fewer of the bullets than normal, but the ones that found their mark burst through the sandy mass with great force and leaving holes in their wake.
 
The violet eyes fixated on Somerled intensified and snapped to Jim.
 
"Yeah! Come get it!" Raynor baited.
 
The desert monster bellowed and slid after Jim with fervent desire. Jim spun and ran back the way he came. He had gotten the reaction he wanted, but he misjudged how fast his enemy could move. Maybe the sand was drying or he was acclimatising to the heaviness of his body, but the desert monster moved with a swiftness he hadn't shown before.
 
Sweat beading on his forehead, heart thrumming in his chest, Jim picked up the pace. His eyes locked onto his destination; an unbroken pillar, though with a few chips and chunks removed. He needed a few seconds to perform his attack, and he briefly wondered if he should have prepared before invoking the beast's ire, but his concern for Somerled had to come first.
 
Jim felt the rumble of the sand monster as it barrelled after him. Fallen debris drowned in its form as it slid over and through it; no physical obstacle was going to stop it from reaching the terran commander. He slapped a hand on the column and flung himself to its other side.
 
"Adjutant, Project Hellfire, now!"
 
"Authorisation code re-"
 
"No time for Swann's dumb games, adjutant! Override code R4 dash YN zero R!"
 
"Override code accepted. Executing Project Hellfire. Stand by ..."
 
Jim readied himself for the marine armour to shut down to draw the necessary power, but the adjutant spoke. "Reducing CMC-400 power combat suit energy to 20%." A loud crackle boomed beside Jim, and he felt full control of the suit return. "Project Hellfire activation successful."
 
Grabbing the Hellfire missile pod that had just been teleported in, Jim hoisted it onto his round shoulder and took aim. The desert monster had somehow gotten right on top of him. Panicking, Jim pulled the trigger, knowing full well he hadn't the time to line up the shot properly.
 
The missiles launched, snaking in all different directions. Five of the eight explosives missed their mark entirely, veering off and blowing new holes in the walls and roof of the temple. The remaining three looked like they would skirt over the beast's head, but instead they connected with the top of its head.
 
Jim sailed backwards from the force of the explosion. When he got up, he noticed the desert monster's eyes had been blown clean off, and was making no effort to reconstruct them.
 
"Heh, bein' blind must just be the ticket to a win."
 

952 words.
Jim used Hellfire missiles (Tier 1 Super Attack - 5/11 SP left). Most missed but a couple hit the desert monster in the face, destroying its eyes and leaving it blind. Up to Ogong if it reforms them or not.

[Dr. McNinja]

Ogong was dizzy now. In his weakness, he had collapsed to his knees. He had cast so much magic, he could feel the universe being angry at him. After all, every time he used magic, he was borrowing the power of everyone's words. The metaphorical interest was starting to pile up.

The monkey stumbled to his feet.

"Jim says," Ogong paused to lick his lips, which had gone dry, "Jim says to be careful with the lightning."

The sand monster was still up and running. Ogong grit his teeth.

"Adjutant! Project Hellfire, now!"

Ogong fell over again, barely able to even keep himself up. Desertman flowed forward, targeting the Prime who had nearly blown him to several million pieces. After a few seconds, Jim's suit spawned the giant explosion tube again over his shoulder. Ogong slipped behind a collapsed sandstone pillar as the rockets rocked the temple. Ogong licked his lips again, rubbing Yeo-Ee-Pil with his thumb nervously.

"I think I'm done," the monkey muttered.

"That thing is still standing," his staff muttered back.

"Still," the monkey sighed, "I'm pretty sure I'm done."

Ogong could feel the staff's approval. "You did good, buddy."

As he prepared to hide, he heard Sandman slam something into a wall. He glanced at Jim, who was firing his gun.

"Kid!" Jim shouted, "He's got Somerled! He's gonna kill him!"

The monkey glowered and spun around, sticking out his palm and shot a fireball at the roughly-shaped hand. The limb seemed to flinch, the sand quivering as it tried to compensate for the heat. But it did nothing.

"It's wet now," the staff noted.

"Crap," Ogong mumbled, eyes half-shut. "You got any ice spells?"

"Nothing right now, pal."

"Fuck it. Let's hit the dude. Really fucking hard."

"Watch your language, young man."

Ogong almost laughed before preparing himself. The staff did not find the situation as amusing.

"You know," it muttered, "You do this, you probably die."

"Yeah," Ogong muttered, "Yeah, probably."

He shifted his gaze to Jim, who was firing still. Barely standing, he stumbled his way to Jim. After a few seconds, he reached the marine, clambering onto his shoulder. Jim reached around to throw off the unwelcome intruder, but noticing it was invisible, realized it had to be Ogong.

"Somerled! Help Somerled!"

Ogong climbed onto the palm of Jim's left hand and used the heavy rifle in the marine's other hand and pointed it at the Desertman, hoping he understood. And fortunately, he did.

Jim groaned. "That's not a good idea, kid."

He didn't feel the monkey lifting off his hand.

"Fine," the marine said, "On the count of three."

"You'll help me," Ogong said expectantly.

"One."

"We literally just did this scene," Yeo-Ee-Pil replied.

"Two!"

"...Always."

"Three!"

The Earth, a colossal mass, the added weight of everything we've touched in one big mess, a giant ball that for so long we called "everything."

The Earth, moving.

As Sun Ogong flew through the air, two arcane circles appeared above his head. He landed unsteadily on the mass of sentient sand.

"JI JIN! the monkey mage shouted, punching Desertman right down the middle.

Normally, this would not work. But Desertman was technically entirely one with the Earth. The Earth, its solidity rippling under one blow.

"JI JIN!"

One more blow and Desertman felt everything inside him shatter. His arm collapsed in mid-air, releasing the storm spirit. The temple was shaking violently, as if the Earth was trying to retaliate.

This time, Ogong could not control the impact, and felt the same force that shook the very planet rip through his own body. The Desertman roared in pain, his own body becoming waves of dissonance. His very essence was being brutally assaulted. Ogong felt his muscles brace for the response, but he could not have been ready for the nearly bone-shattering force that rattled through his arms.

"Jim! Stop him!" Somerled coughed, "He said... His stick said this is gonna kill him!"

"JI!"

Ignoring the pain in his body, screaming for him to stop, Ogong clasped his hands together and raised them over his head.

"JIN!"

He brought his fists down, and swung his fists down to the sand monster with the third consecutive spell.

683 words. I know it's short but IRL is slapping me around a little right now.

Used T1 Earthquake, 4/11 SP

[Nebula]

The sand fell away. Inch by inch, hit by hit. It was as though the seemingly-invincible, ever-regenerating monster had suddenly lost what made it special. In truth, it was simple: he’d expended all his dark power. The energy of this micro-verse had yet to fully mature, fully blossom, and he’d over-extended it. He’d used everything to try and take down these three warriors, and though he’d almost succeeded, all things had their limits.

With the final hit, Desertman shattered. And just like that, he ceased to exist. As though he’d just been sand, all along. Sun Ogong blinked, his bloodied hands still gripping the staff with white knuckles, and looked for an enemy that was no longer there. But all there was was sand.

The spell was undone, and suddenly they could all see each other again. The brightness flickered into darkness.

The world lurched.

“I don’t like the feelin’ of that,” observed Jimmy.

Somerled agreed. “Let’s go.”

They could all feel it. That sudden hollowness in the air, like it was no longer quite as … real. Like a vacuum was trying to suck everything back out into nonexistence. That was, of course, precisely what was happening.

In utter silence, the roof was pulled away. The trio were witness to the vast expanse of sheer nothing that lay beyond.

In the twilight, their footsteps no longer ricocheted. No longer sounded like real sound.

But, warped and faint as it was, one sound persisted. The laughter of the gunslinger, standing before them.

The Gunslinger will not have you escape.

You each have up to two posts each, totalling 2000 words (this may be put into one post, or two), to get the hell out of the ruins before you no longer exist, along with the nebula space. Everything is falling apart, the magic of the ruins included.

You have 7 OOC days.

[Dr. McNinja]

Ogong, processing the lack of sand monster, collapsed to his knees, spitting blood out of his mouth.

“Yay...” he muttered, “We won...”

Anticlimactically, he fell on his face. Jim glanced quickly up at the rapidly evaporating roof and pick the monkey up by the hood.

“Come on, kid. I ain’t carrying you all the way there. Get up.”

Ogong didn’t respond. Somerled grimaced.

“Come on, Jim.”

The storm spirit started sprinting down the hallway, his footsteps muffled in the void just behind Jim. The marine hefted the monkey over his armored shoulder and started running clumsily after Somerled. Stone collapsed behind them, then was never there.

As they entered the hallway, the three Liberators heard crisp laughter echo down the hallway from ahead.

“Uh oh,” Jim muttered.

Quartets of gunshots marked the rebounding bullets that shattered the stone behind the Liberators, sending shards of sandstone into the growing void. Jim instinctively turned in place, crouching and covering the monkey boy with his arms. Somerled ducked behind Jim’s leg.

“You asshole!” the spirit roared, lashing out with his bullwhip. It smacked the skeleton in the face. The Dusted Gunslinger indignantly threw all four pistols at the Liberators before pulling out a fresh set of revolvers. Then it cackled as the hallway seemed to tilt backwards. Pillars shot out from the floor, intending to crush the trio. Fortunately, Jim managed to latch onto one with his hand, still holding Ogong. Somerled couldn’t find such luck and fell down, the void tingling behind him. He lashed out with his whip in a Hail Mary move. He found purchase around Yeo-Ee-Pil, which was being extended by the monkey.

“OH GOD MY BACK”

Ogong looked down, his feet holding onto Jim’s chestpiece and his hands holding Somerled from certain non-existence. There was no color in the abyss below them. The monkey felt his simple mind try and wrap around the lack of things. Seeing a black hole was fairly simple. He’d seen it before, in the Second Great War back home. He had even seen whole words vanish. Whole concepts and ideas disappearing. This was nothing like the void Ogong stared into as he pulled Somerled up towards them. It wasn’t a blank white, but it also wasn’t the black of darkness. There was just... absence.

“Not dead, then,” Jim smiled.

“I rescheduled,” Ogong replied through grit teeth.

The Dusted Gunslinger was perched on a pillar himself, annoyed that his enemies were somehow still alive, shot at the pillar Jim was holding onto. Jim instinctively reached for his gun and fired rapidly and haphazardly. A handful of spikes and the Gunslinger’s rounds landed on both loose sandstone pillars, which collapsed simultaneously. The skeleton yelped and reversed gravity again, turning the ceiling into the floor and the reality-erasing floor into the reality-erasing ceiling.

The bullwhip went slack and Somerled fell on top of the other two. All four began to tumble down the hallway. After a second, all four fighters began to resume combat. Jim opened his shield to guard Somerled and Ogong from the barrage of revolver shots, and Ogong kicked off the rapidly passing wall and lunged at the skeleton. Upon colliding with the skeleton, the monkey pressed his opponent’s skull against the wall and grinded it. Surprisingly, it did nothing but shoot sparks. The skeleton quadruple-pistol-whipped Ogong, who gripped his head in pain. He used Yeo-Ee-Pil to smack the skeleton towards Somerled, who gripped onto the Dusted Gunslinger and commenced a brutal beatdown of the Gunslinger.

As the skeletal menace aimed all four guns at the three Liberators, its arms in angles not possible for the human body, Somerled instinctively kicked the skeleton in the chin. The kick was extremely fast, and emitted a thundering sound, if the thundering sound was emitted from under five feet of concrete.

The skeleton shot faster downward than the Liberators. Terrified by the rapidly approaching wall, the skeleton waved his hands. Gravity normalized again, and the four warriors skittered across the rough sandstone floor. Ogong very adamantly regretted not wearing proper clothes for this as he looked at his bleeding forearms.

The Dusted Gunslinger growled, then cackled loudly again. It vanished in a cloud of dust. The three looked back at the all-devouring absence, approaching quickly behind them. Ogong continued to try and ignore how he clearly remembered a stony surface where there was now clearly nothing. It was a nothing so hollow there was no possibility anything could have existed in that lack of space.

Shaking his head, he set off in a sprint behind the two other Liberators. Jim again struggled to keep up with them. They didn’t say anything – no use wasting precious breath for unnecessary words – and flung themselves into a room.

It was unclear if they were making any solid progress through the temple. Most of the time, they were just guessing which path to take when faced with various forks in the path. Thankfully, Ogong finally recognized a landmark. He saw the smoking pile of black steel that had trapped him and almost got him killed by Jim.

“There!” the monkey yelled.

The Liberators sprinted down the corridor and past the armor. The monkey, being the fastest by a slight margin, jogged around the corner and grit his teeth. There was a wall where the hallway had continued. He rapped against it with his staff. He spent a few seconds

“Jim! I need your grr-nay thing!”

Ogong and Somerled ducked behind Jim. Jim fiddled with his rifle, then launched one grenade in a hurry. The void was catching up. Ogong focused as much magic as he could.

“HWA!”

The fireball hit the explosive, and Jim pulled open his shield as quickly as he could. The inferno was stopped by the thin force field. With the wall busted under the heat, the two smaller Liberators ran and vaulted through the hole. Jim just kind of charged through, sandstone dust spilling behind his shoulder.

In front of them, another wall was starting to seal up the hallway. Behind the sliding stone, the Gunslinger could be seen. Panicked, the Darkling fired another barrage of bullets, but could not aim properly through the crack.

Ogong hopped through the closing gap and stuck Yeo-Ee-Pil between the wall and the sliding slab of sandstone, holding it open for his teammates. Yeo-Ee-Pil groaned under the pressure. Ogong, out of breath, slipped through and suddenly noticed the stabbing pain in his shoulder. He’d been shot.

The Gunslinger cackled as he faded away again. Ogong fell on his knee, staring in horror at the blood pouring out.

1097 words. Let's do this!

[Summer]

Ah, fuck. Somerled swore in his mind as Sun fell to his knees beside him. Blood gushed out from a new hole in his shoulder, put there courtesy of their good friend, the Gunslinger. The monster cast a panicked glance towards the direction they should have been running now, and to the closed-off wall behind them. They didn’t have time for this shit. The nothingness was relentlessly closing in on them. His eyes shifted over to further down the hallway, where Jim stood, halted mid-stride, lips flapping as he shouted something he couldn’t hear.

Fuck. He fell to a knee as well, turning to face the fallen monkey. His mind raced desperately as he eyed the wound, he had so many questions and this was entirely out of his expertise. What would Sonny do? His other half was well-versed in first aid, but with his deafness, he couldn’t communicate. As he debated and deliberated, one thing came to mind, the only thing he knew how to do.

Cauterization.

He stared deep into the boy’s panicked eyes, his face growing pale, and mouthed that word to him. Sun grimaced, and nodded solemnly. Somerled didn’t waste a second, already beginning to channel the necessary spell. Electrical current coursed through his body, and he roughly planted both of his hands on either side of the wounded shoulder, palms digging into the bullet hole.

Lightning flashed silently in the storm spirit’s hands, and beneath his firm grip, Ogong’s body jerked, muscles assaulted by the current. The delicious smell of burned flesh filled the monster’s nose as electrical plasma seared the wounds closed. Without missing a beat, Somerled sprang to his feet, dragging Sun up by the hood with him. His gaze shot over to Jim, still standing in the same position, and he flashed the soldier a thumbs-up, before throwing the monkey haphazardly over his shoulder. With his free hand, he pointed forward, down the hall.

Go. Jim nodded wordlessly at his suggestion, and picked up the pace, pulling ahead of the monster and his carry-on. Unable to see further along the dimly-lit corridor, Somerled kept a steady eye on the soldier’s armored form, using his every movement as a gauge of what was to come. He lumbered to a half far ahead of the monster, giving him just enough time to wonder what it was about before the hallway suddenly opened up around him and revealed the answer.

The labyrinth gave away to a sprawling, empty room, complete with a disturbing nothingness looming above right about where the ceiling should have been. Three exits dotted the wall opposite them, along with two more to either side of the hallway they had just emerged from, and one on the right and left walls respectively. Minus the endless oblivion floating above them, Somerled recognized this room. Without slowing down for a moment, the split spirit sped past the hesitating soldier and made a beeline for left-hand wall. He was into the next corridor in seconds, and spared a quick glance behind him making sure Jim was following.

White filled the spirit’s vision as his head slammed into the sandstone brick of the labyrinth’s wall, and he stumbled backwards, a splitting agony filling his brain. What the fuck? He thought to himself, blinking rapidly to clear up his vision. He unsteadily gazed around, blurry eyes flicking across the featureless wall. What the hell had happened? He was certain he’d come through his way before. A metal gauntlet clapped onto his unburdened shoulder, and his head whipped to the side, bringing him face to face with Jim, who pointed back down the hall.

No. Somerled shook his head. He was absolutely certain this was the path. But how was it blocked off? Perhaps it was like the sliding sandstone from earlier? Electrical adrenaline coursed through his left arm, and he shrugged the soldier’s hand off his shoulder. His left hand balled up into a fist, and surged forward in a silent flash of lightning, slamming into the featureless brick. Agony shot through the spirit’s arm as the bones in his hand shattered against the wall. Dust shook loose from the walls and ceiling from the sheer force of the punch, and massive, web-like cracks spread across the brick facing.

Come on. He drew back his arm for round two, more electrical energy channeling through his broken hand. It shot forward in an instant, slamming into the wall and breaking it even further. Somerled gritted his teeth and let loose a silent, pained noise as his hand was reduced to a mangled mess. Two arms closed around the monster’s waist, warm and metallic. Even as Jim tried to drag him back, he got ready for strike number three. His feet planted solidly into the ground, his monstrous strength keeping him firmly in place, and lightning flashed for the third and final time.

A garbled curse, unheard by the spirit’s own ears, escaped from his lips as his hand slammed into the compromised wall. Shards of brick, stone, and bone exploded into the sealed hallway hidden behind the wall, and Jim’s grip let up. Somerled shoved the stump of his left hand, pulsing with agony into his pocket hoping that would stem the bleeding, and shot a smug look at the soldier. Jim didn’t catch that look, instead pushing past the monster and barrelling through the ruins of the wall, and Somerled followed suit.

905 words. Somerled’s left hand is no longer useable.

[Jim Raynor]

Jim turned around, ensuring that Somerled still trailed behind, carrying their dazed monkey-boy companion. He hid his crumpled hand from Raynor's view.
 
"You know next time," Jim shouted over the crackling and rumbling of the temple as it crumbled and flowed in swirls into the abyss above them, "I can punch through the wall without breakin'  a bone. Just a tip." Somerled didn't react. His voice probably didn't reach him.
 
The metal clanging of his feet faded beneath the roar of ceiling and wall tearing from their foundations and being sucked upwards. Jim didn't know how long it would be until that unstoppable force seized them and dragged them inside oblivion, and he ran with no sense of direction. They had been turned upside down, battled creatures that should not exist, and then they had run blindly through walls on Somerled's hunch. Jim just hoped there was a way out still. It could very well have been obliterated by the collapse of this pocket universe, but as long as there was hope, Jim would keep moving.
 
A clear, chattering laugh sliced through the grumble of complaining stone walls. Jim shot a glance over his rounded shoulder. The skeletal gunslinger, still somehow alive, sprinted emphatically after him, his jaw flapping wildly. His four hands plunged into holsters and whipped out a quartet of revolvers aimed squarely at Jim's back.
 
Jim spun and skidded backwards on flat feet as he trained his rifle on his undead rival. "We're runnin' for our lives and you still gotta be doin' this shit?"
 
His finger coiled around the trigger.
 
"Stop! Jim! What the hell?"
 
Jim dropped the barrel of his rifle. The skeleton was gone. In his place stood Somerled clutching Sun Ogong, gesturing frantically at him.
 
"I ... did you see that skeleton?" A quake coursed through the temple floor. "Uh, never mind. Let's get outta here!"
 
They dashed off again, down a long and straight hallway. Above them, a storm of stone and sand ascended in spirals, sucking upwards in some unseen vacuum. Jim tried not to look too long at the nothing above him; unlike even the darkest, unlit regions of space, the void above him signalled the absence of anything. Even staring up at its uniform, unceremonious emptiness felt like it somehow penetrated his skull and started extracting his thoughts from his mind with long, oily fingers. He caught himself a few times with blank eyes, staring into that bland horror with an ever blanker mind. Shaking off its frightful nature, Jim focused on barrelling down the corridor.
 
An almighty crack jolted Jim in his marine suit. He chanced a look over his shoulder, past Somerled and Sun Ogong. The voraciousness of the void above had apparently grown. No longer satisfied with the ceiling or nibbling at the apex of the walls, its hunger lashed out and splintered the floor behind them. Crunching booms like thunder somehow made it to Jim's ears as huge slabs of sandstone ground tumbled upwards. He fought the urge to watch them ascend into oblivion, and stamped down the thought that the ground they had yet to trample on could do the same.
 
A speck in the distance grew larger, and Jim knew his friend had come back to piss him off again. The spotlights on his suit chest flashed over the pistols locked and loaded in each one of the skeleton's bony hands. Jim raised his left arm parallel to the ground and out flipped his arm-mounted shield. Pops of light matched the pinging of bullets against his bulwark as Jim ran blindly forward, trying to count the number of shots the undead cowboy had fired. As soon as the collision of metal projectiles on metal plate finished, Jim collapsed the barrier. The skeleton threw all four pistols, but they bounced harmlessly off Jim's armour.
 
"Gettin' real sick of this," Jim murmured.
 
He reached out a robotic hand and seized the gunslinger by his exposed throat, running all the while. His first action was to clobber the pain in the arse, and then to pummel him into the quickly eradicating hallway wall, but something changed to stop his vengeful thoughts.
 
He carried himself by the throat.
 
"Oh no," Jim said, fingers tightening around the hallucinatory flesh of his doppelganger's throat. "You ain't trickin' me outta this one."
 
Jim went to hurl his captured foe into the wall like an egg against brick, but as he let go, the skeleton simply vanished. An echo of mocking laughter trailed in its wake.
 
"Oh, you slippery son of a bitch," Jim said. "Keep movin', guys! We gotta be close!"

[Summer]

Illusion, or something else? Somerled stared intensely at the spot the gunslinger had been not moments before. As soon as Jim’s grip on the tricky skeleton had let up, it just up and disappeared. No flash of light, no smoke and mirrors, it had just gone. If that was another one of its fancy tricks, then killing it was gonna be one hell of an ordeal. The monster frowned, following after the armored soldier as he started forward again. His eyes quickly scanned over the quickly-dissolving labyrinth. At least now, with ceiling being devoured by the void, they didn’t need to worry about its silly wall-walking.

The storm spirit pushed on, driving his legs just a bit faster and catching up with his lumbering ally. He pulled his still-bleeding hand out of his pocket, and knocked his forearm against Jim’s metal shoulder. The soldier shot him a quick glance, and Somerled gestured towards the monkey still slung over his shoulder with his mangled stump. Take him.

Jim raised an eyebrow, and the spirit let out an exasperated sigh. He dropped Sun from his right shoulder, carefully maneuvering him to his left side, and held the lazy monkey against his side and in the crook of his elbow. With his good hand now free, he pretended to do a little quick-draw with it. Gunslinger. Then, with a small snap of his fingers he wreathed his hand with weak lightning and threw a fake punch. The deaf spirit thought the message was clear. Jim would hold onto Sun and the next time their relentless adversary showed its face, he’d hit it with a lightning strike.

It’s fast. Somerled mouthed the words, twisting his lips with exaggerated movements in an effort to make his message as clear as possible. He lifted his hand up again, another silent bolt of lightning flaring to life with a snap, and mouthed, I’m faster.

Jim nodded, and offered up his shoulder. The monster ungracefully hoisted Sun up and onto his ally, carefully keeping his balance as he tried to run and swing around a rather heavy lump of meat. You’re not making this easy on us... he thought to himself as the monkey was roughly switched from Somerled to Jim. I can see why wounded soldiers are more expensive than dead ones though.

Something brown flashed in the corner of the spirit’s eye just as the swap finished up. Their friend, one step ahead as always, blocked their only way out of this endless hallway. Jim’s arm swung out as he lumbered to a halt, shield unfolding just in time for the quadruple barrage. Somerled shifted to the side, barely managing to squeeze himself behind cover before the hail of lead started. The heavy smell of gunpowder burned through the air, and each little explosion disturbed the corridor, the only signs the spirit was able to use to tell that the gunfight had started.

Somerled’s good hand shot to his pocket for a moment, searching for his trusty bullwhip, before he stopped himself. He only had one hand to hit with, and he couldn’t hit with it if he was carrying the whip. Jim started forward again, pressing on through the gunslinger’s barrage. Even if its endless suppressing fire wouldn’t harm them behind the soldier’s shield, it was slowing them down, forcing them to take their time. And the slower they went, the more likely that the abyss would catch up.

The mouth of the hall drew slowly nearer as the trio marched on, and the spirit knew the time was near. He spared a quick peek around the side of the shield, using the moment he had to estimate the distance, and ducked back in before an errant bullet took his head off. His left arm tapped against Jim’s side again, prompting the soldier to turn to him, and he mouthed a quick order. Aim for its legs. The armored man nodded, and the monster grinned cheerfully, falling back a step and dropping into the classic sprinter’s pose. The first little spark of electrical adrenaline coursed through his body, and he shoved forward with a powerful kick.

The monster sprinted forward, dodging around the side of the shield just as the gunfire let up, baring his teeth in a menacing smile as he stared down the gunslinger. Their skeletal adversary discarded its empty guns in a panic, arms racing into its cloak, and its foot sliding backwards. A fountain of blood erupted from that leg, and the gunslinger wobbled to the side, mouth wide open in a silent scream. Somerled was upon it in a moment, his arm drawn back exaggeratedly. All four of the darkling’s arms flashed up to protect its face and chest, still empty, as its own well-being trumped the need for weapons. The storm spirit shifted his stance immediately, throwing all his weight onto his right foot as he slid to a halt.

A brilliant flash of lightning illuminated every corner of the corridor as his left foot slammed into the gunslinger’s right knee. Somerled gritted his teeth as the bones of his feet cracked even beneath the thick padding of his boots. The dusty darkling was thrown head over heels as its legs were torn out from beneath it. Dust exploded up from the floor as it collapsed, covering the entire labyrinth in a thick, irritating cloud. Somerled reeled back, the airborne grit scratching at his eyes and lungs, and blinked furiously, trying to get it all out before his enemy tried something else tricky. His vision cleared up quickly, along with the air, revealing only a trail of blood leading further away from the trio, and a leg, severed at the knee, lying on the ground.

Somerled eyed the severed limb curiously as he stepped towards it, doing his best to ignore the stabbing pain in his foot with every step. He leaned over and picked it up off the floor, before turning to his allies and presenting it to them with a grin. The gunslinger wouldn’t be doing much running now.

1012 words.

[Dr. McNinja]

Somerled had, once more, lost a limb. This was beginning to be a pattern. Though, to Somerled’s credit, he was throwing some serious punches and Ogong’s own legs were essentially useless at the moment.

In front of him was the giant caltrop that the Gunslinger tried to crush them with.

“We’re making progress!” Ogong shouted, “I got this, Jim, set me down.”

Ogong's blood burned in his body, as if it had been entirely replaced with adrenaline. He couldn’t even think properly, just ensuring that his feet were always in motion. Eventually, he slipped into another room, eyeing the every-increasing void behind them. He was honestly surprised that the Gunslinger would be this persistent, even when his whole world was disappearing.

As he ran forward, the four-armed skeleton leapt out of the shadows and tackled the monkey. Gravity turned upside-down, but only for Ogong. The monkey grunted as he started tumbling through the air, only barely catching himself on one of the rungs of the humongous caltrop. The skeleton vanished and did the same for Somerled, who managed to do cling to the same rung with his un-demolished hand.

Jim looked up at the two upside-down Liberators, then at the pure disappearance now entering the room like a gas.

Ogong looked relatively down. If he were to let go, he would fall directly into the void, as would Somerled. He needed an idea, lest the storm spirit become nothing.

“NAH-WAH-RAH! SOO!”

A large circle of ethereal light spawned under Somerled, and a large grey hand shot out from within. It collided into Somerled and pushed him up to the next rung. Ogong himself was swinging up to the next spike.

“Coulda warned me,” Somerled mouthed.

“You’re welcome.”

Jim reached up, grabbing onto Yeo-Ee-Pil, which was extended forward by the monkey chief. Ogong then latched onto Somerled. Jim hoisted the two with great effort onto the roof of the next corridor. Ogong and Somerled tentatively stepped onto the ceiling of the hallway as the giant caltrop stopped existing.

Ogong looked behind to locate the Gunslinger. No luck. That annoying pile of bones had disappeared again. He sprinted after his two allies. Yeo-Ee-Pil had shut up again. So they were in trouble.

At that exact moment, the three skidded to a stop at a giant crevice in the ground. Ogong’s bare feet screamed their gratitude for his temporary pause. There was no other passage, and the way back was incomprehensively nowhere to be found.

Somerled stepped forward, raising his remaining hand. Ogong cleared his throat.

“Jim can’t carry both of us.”

“He’s right, Somer. Ogong, got your fire ready?”

Jim launched another explosive, which Ogong ignited with his arcane fire. The raging explosion was once more stopped by Jim’s shield. But it did nothing to the wall.

“What the hell...” Jim muttered.

The void behind them was catching up. Ogong looked nervously at the increasing non-existence. Now the floor was collapsing just behind their heels. Ogong felt a tingling as his hood was caught in the void.

Then Somerled reached out with his hand through the wall.

Ogong and Jim glanced at each other, then all three Liberators rushed through the imaginary wall, barely avoiding being sucked into absence.

“Nice job, Somerled!” Ogong laughed in relief.

Somerled mouthed, “What?”

Ogong shook his head and gave him a thumbs-up.

The monkey ran too slowly, still exhausted by having to use magic far more powerful than the sum total of the spells he cast in his life. Jim reached out for the back of Ogong’s sweater, then blinked confusedly.

“Kid, didn’t you have a...”

“A what?”

“A hood or something?”

“No. This is a hoodless hoodie.”

“...could’ve sworn you did.”

Jim hoisted Ogong onto the back of his armor’s neck. The monkey gripped tightly onto the many plates of armor as the marine sprinted after Somerled, who had missed out on that entire conversation.

They turned a corner, and entered the room with the portal.

“There!” Ogong shouted excitedly.

The Liberators sprinted for the portal, excited to finally leave this hellish place. Unfortunately, this hellish place seemed to have different plans. As they ran, the distance between them and the portal actually seemed to increase.

“Jiiiiim?” Ogong called out nervously.

“I don’t know either, kid. Just run!”

Somerled was shouting incoherently as the other two tried to figure out their next step. The void crept up behind them.

The four-armed skeleton reappeared, walking through another illusory wall in the back. It cackled, and limped towards the portal.

Ogong pointed two fingers at the skeleton. He focused as quickly as he could, spawning the rings of magic above his head again. As he focused, the Chinese characters inscribed themselves.

“Sswah-rah! BAHL-SAH!”

A bolt of light shot from Ogong’s fingertips flashed out and landed between the Gunslinger’s eyes. The skull flew far back, shattering against the back wall. Unexpectedly, the headless, legless skeleton seemed to turn and glare at the monkey.

At that exact moment, Ogong collapsed, unconscious.

832 words. Used Launch: Bahl-Sah, 3/11 SP. Ogong has fainted.

[Jim Raynor]

The monkey boy slumped on the ground, the echo of the skeleton's smashed skull resonating in the room. The light that jetted from his hand lingered a moment as the headless apparition still found a way to operate. It hopped between the trio and the portal, its fleshless arms reaching into its cloak. Their only way of exiting the dissolving realm was through the undead gunslinger. Jim hadn't fought this hard to fail here.
 
"Kid!" Jim yelled. "Kid! Are you OK?"
 
Sun Ogong murmured something, his head slightly tilting on the sandstone floor. At least he wasn't dead.
 
The headless skeleton reached out towards the wall and tore one of the sandstone blocks free; it yielded surprisingly easily, but Jim didn't know whether to put that on the undead's mystical strength or the cohesion of the bricks breaking apart. He slammed the sandstone block on the stump of his spine, stuck out his thumb and jabbed two holes in the front of it. Tiny dust particles spilled from the indentations and lifted into the air, carried by the abyss' irresistible call. Another stab of his bony thumb drew a half crescent line beneath the holes, effectively finishing its 'face.'
 
There stood a skeleton with four arms, missing a leg beneath the knee, wearing a tattered cloak and a sandstone block as a head, with its 'eyes' and 'smile' carved right into it.
 
Jim measured up the situation quickly. He and an injured old man had to destroy a deranged skeleton cowboy before the whole of reality around them inexplicably stopped existing, a skeleton who had survived every attempt on its life so far, while ensuring that a hybrid human-monkey boy wasn't forgotten or accidentally killed in the process.
 
Of all the crazy situations Jim had found himself in during his action-packed life, this ranked somewhere in the middle.
 
The entire corridor behind them splintered and crumbled into chunks, some of the debris heading upwards in an artistic spiral while the rest plummeted below. It seemed the end of the world was no longer just above them, but below them and squeezing in towards them from all angles. Jim kept his eyes on the hobbled skeleton and the swirling gateway behind him, unwilling to gaze into the depths of nihilism actualised that drew closer with every passing moment.
 
"All right, Somerled," Jim said, watching ahead. "We haven't been able to put this son of a bitch down yet, but this ain't the time to be goin' easy on him. Now, the way I see it-"
 
Somerled dashed ahead of Jim, limping awkwardly on his broken foot.
 
Jim shrugged. "Sure, why not? Plannin' hasn't got us too far."
 
A thunderous crack shook the ground, rending a jagged fissure between Jim and Somerled. The thin man stumbled at the quake, his thrown fist knocked off balance. The skeleton gunslinger toppled to the side, the weight of his new skull causing him some difficulty in retaining his footing.
 
The fissure split. The floor on Jim's side of the crack dislodged and floated backwards. A stomach-turning pit of nothingness opened between Raynor and the remaining chunk of ground that housed the portal. Jim hurriedly stuffed his Impaler rifle into the compartment of his leg, knowing two free hands were more important than a weapon.
 
Jim pressed down on the hovering platform, tipping the edge. Sun Ogong's limp body slid towards the bleak void, and Jim frantically reached out, snagging the monkey boy by his furry tail as his body skidded free. Taking a deep breath, Jim locked his eyes on the portal platform.
 
"Jumpjets, adjutant!"
 
Flames belched from Jim's armour as he blasted from his floor segment, sending it spinning away before it simply never existed. Moving in a muted arc, Jim landed on the other side, still gripping his young ally. Somerled rose to his feet, as did their cinderblock-headed enemy.
 
"Somerled!" Jim yelled, pointing at the portal. The tear in space and time opened up into the temple where they had slain the dark priests. "Get in there now! We're right behind you!"
 
The thin man obeyed, hobbling towards his salvation. Jim gave chase, hoisting Sun Ogong onto his shoulder. The skeleton gunslinger wasn't done yet, though. He flourished four pistols from within his cloak and took aim at Somerled. Eyes wide, breath catching in his chest, Jim stretched out towards the undead. His metal fingers snagged the ghoul by its rib cage, penetrating its tan, gossamer flesh, and he yanked it backwards. The bullets sped off into the sky, screaming readily into the end of all things.
 
Jim shot a glance over his shoulder, watching the smiling blockhead windmilling his arms at the edge of the platform. His bony heel slipped and he fell backwards into the awaiting void.
 
Jim sighed heavily, feeling a weight leave his chest. "Good, he's finally done. Now-"
 
Something clawed at his ankle and snared it. A chill rattled Jim's spine as he spotted the skeleton gunslinger grasping at Raynor's armoured leg, dangling above the abyss.
 
"Oh no, you ain't comin' on this trip!"
 
Jim shook his foot, jostling the skeleton, but his four hands clamped him in a death grip.
 
"Come on, you son of a -"
 
Jim's stomach jumped into his throat as the ground beneath his feet crumbled. Shouting, adrenaline soaring into his mind, he dropped like a tonne of robotic armour, the portal whooshing out of view. He threw out both hands, snagging the edge of the floor. His body whiplashed at the sudden halt. Still the skeleton clung onto him.
 
"Kid!" Jim yelled, realising Ogong was no longer perched on his shoulder.
 
"It's OK! He's up here!" Somerled shouted back. "He slipped off you when you slipped!" He kneeled over the edge. "I'll help you up!"
 
"No!" Jim said, rattling his leg. "You only got one good hand as it is. I'll pull us both down!"
 
Somerled looked from side to side. "I can't just-"
 
"Get yourself and the kid back through the portal!" Jim said. "I'll work it out!"
 
"I-"
 
"Go!"
 
Somerled hesitated a moment longer. "Dammit!" His head vanished.
 
The end of everything crept upwards at an alarming rate. Jim could feel it crawling through the air, scouting out the new atoms it would metabolise. It buzzed in his teeth, sent goosebumps over his skin, even dried his closed mouth.
 
The skeleton threw a hand up to Jim's thigh, climbing up his leg. Startled, Jim clenched a hand, crumbling the floor into chalky rocks. He sucked in a breath as he dangled by one arm, noticing how precariously close his other hand hold was from shattering.
 
"Jumpjets!"
 
"Fuel depleted," the adjutant said, as if nothing was wrong. "Jumpjets unable to activate."
 
Another hand snapped just below his waist.
 
Jim grit his teeth. One option. "Adjutant, eject and into my console!"
 
He didn't have time to confirm.
 
The marine armour burst open, hinging at the hips. Jim saw the white of the skeleton's fingers stretch for his shirt as the armour launched him like a rocket. He watched as the gunslinger clambered to the cavity of the suit just as the fingers lost their hold. The four-armed undead smiled his sandstone-brick smile as he plunged into the void with the CMC-400 armour.
 
Jim bounced and rolled onto the floor, leaping to his feet and sprinting towards the gateway to safety.

1229 words makes an even 2000 with my other post. 

The skeleton has fallen into the abyss. Jim's CMC-400 armour has too; Jim is now in his Alternate Form (normal human Jim).

ATK: 2
DEF: 2
SPD: 2
TEC: 5

Will Jim, Somerled and Ogong make it to the portal before everything ceases to exist?!?!!?

[Nebula]

In the dark, gloomy burial chamber in a corrupted pyramid somewhere in the middle of the Endless Dunes, a tear in space itself wavered and flickered. It spat sparks and bolts of energy, great erupting belches and coughs of a world giving its last heave on the other side. A plume of dust rocketed through, flashes of light and a storm of violet energy cascading over everything. Massive grooves and fissures were torn in the heavy, dusty rock of the chamber as the already unstable portal grew even more unstable, pitching and whirling crazily.

With a noise like thunder, it belched forth a humanoid form -- or, rather, one form followed closely by another. The weather-controlling monster came staggering out of the portal, among a huge cloud of dust and dissipating pocket dimension. Face met dusty ground as his balance shifted, gone from a disintegrating world where gravity was a suggestion rather than a law back to firm, logical reality, such as it was in the omniverse. Only mere moments behind him came the comparatively diminutive form of the monkey chieftain, the exhausted kid flopping and flipping forward to come to a rest sitting, staring back at the portal with a dazed look in his eyes.

The portal flickered and wavered, shrinking and sputtering. The steady image of what was left of the labyrinth that was Nebula's stronghold grew hazy, distorting and shimmering through the collapsing portal, like the screen of an old television, the image failing and half-covered in static and snow. Even through that, the haggard form of Jim Raynor materialized into clarity, half-running and half-limping after his rough and tumble escape from the last ditch effort of the dusted gunslinger. Every bit as tenacious as the pocket dimension he was trying to keep the three liberators from escaping, but he'd finally been bested, leaving only a race against the clock for the terran marine to beat for his escape.

Great, thick plumes of dust and small pebbles and shards of blasted sandstone belched through the portal, the entire burial chamber bathed in violet, rendering it all but impossible to see. Overhead, the old stone of the pyramid groaned in protest, cracks splintering through it. Jim came stumbling through the remains of the portal in a run, slapping the storm spirit and the monkey boy to get them up. "Come on, go! Go!" The urgency of both his voice and his movement was enough to get them all up and moving, exhausted as they were. One last dash, up the crumbling hallway of the pyramid. The doors had been opened, or fallen away at the stresses being emitted from the portal, and it was a clear shot back out into the light of the harsh, desert sun.

The three were ejected from the structure, down the last few meters of the corridor like shot from a gun. They tumbled head over heels through the air, coming down with a rough impact among the sands. All around them, the darklings of Nebula's forces that were left were writhing among the sands, flickering and sputtering like dying candles. Some of them, either too loyal or too stubborn (or too mentally gone) to give up, groped and struggled for weapons, trying to continue the fight. Some desperately clawed along, trying to drag themselves away, get to safety that wasn't there. They were all dying, as the source of their power bled away to nothing.

But over all the chaos and noise, there came a sound that chilled the three liberators to their core. Rising over the sound of tumbling, falling and shattering stone, through the clouds of dust and shards of rubble belching out of that hallway, there came something else. High-pitched, ringing like a bell. A demented, mad cackling. And after it, came the sound of...hoofbeats. Exploding out of the corridor, just as the entire structure of the ancient pyramid came tumbling down, and all but riding on the shockwave among a billowing wall of dust and sand, there came a massive, skeletal horse. Six legs, each one ending in an ironshod hoof, and a skull with eye sockets pulsing with the purple glow that Nebula's corruption gave off. Sat in the saddle, all four arms clutching the reins in a deathgrip, sat the gunslinger. Still missing a leg, now completely headless, even the sandstone brick it had used as a replacement gone. Where the horse had come from might never be known.

It thundered out, over the sands. The three liberators threw themselves aside, out of its path, as it cut a hasty retreat, fleeing at full gallop out into the desert. Hunched in the saddle, weakened and looking as if dying, the gunslinger nonetheless remained strong, held its grip on the reins and posture in the saddle. Vanishing among a cloud of sand and dust, it disappeared over a dune, vanishing into the scorching desert. A moment later, a whispery, weak laugh drifted back on the wind.

The gunslinger had escaped, but the liberators were alive.

Endless Dunes: COMPLETE! You have liberated this verse and freed it from Nebula's control.

You are free to do as you please. If you intend to continue with this, you can join one of the other verses already in progress. If you're all done, let me know and I'll get to administering your rewards.

Thanks for participating!

[Summer]

Heavy breaths escaped the spirit of storms as he lay. Disturbed by the heaving of his chest, sand shifted, slowly seeping into every crack and crevice of his clothing. His jacket and pants were slowly caked by a fine layer of mud as all that dust and dirt drew out the rainwater soaking them. The hot desert sun beat down on him, unhindered by the clear sky above. Unsuited to such an arid environment, there was no doubt that his storm clouds had likely been short-lived. Or they’d just been in there a lot longer than it felt like. Here in the omniverse, either one was a possibility.

Somerled slowly rose up to a sit, dirt stinging his wounds. Mud stuck to his wet hair and neck, an uncomfortable sensation for the monster. For a moment, his eyes flicked back up to the endless blue expanse above, and he debated conjuring up a little shower to wash it away. He quickly shoved that thought out of his head. That would only serve to create even more mud. The split spirit cast a quick glance over to his allies, both of whom were slowly rising to their feet. Protected by his suit until the last, Jim was spared from a muddy fate, but Sun wasn’t so lucky. The monkey boy slapped and scrapped at all the dirt covering his clothing.

Raynor locked eyes with Somerled, and the monster held up a single finger. One moment, please. He didn’t have time to deal with his deafness earlier, on account of the whole running for their lives, but now he had all the time in the world. He lifted his good hand up, palm to the sky, and concentrated, summoning up a glob of omnilium. The rainbow coalescence molded to his whim, slowly forming a healing salve of some sort. Such things had existed in his world, though with his healing ability, he had never needed them. There was always a first for everything.

Whatever it was he had summoned finally appeared, stuck in a pipette or syringe of some kind. He lifted the syringe to his right ear first, jamming it down the canal and injecting its soothing gel into the deepest part, even past what remained of his eardrums. The salve swiftly began its work, and a faint ringing sound slowly rose to life. He quickly followed it up with his left ear, and waited. Slowly, his hearing began to return, and he was soon greeted by the sounds of sand shifting as Sun shuffled around impatiently.

“Hello?” Somerled said, testing out his hearing. His own voice sounded faint to him, but he was almost healed.

“Hello!” His voice responded, briefly borrowed by his other half. Sun stopped in his tracks, and Jim crossed his arms, raising a curious eyebrow.

“Uh... I thought we weren’t doing this?” The storm spirit lowered his voice a bit, heat welling up in his face.

“Normally, no. But I wanna have some fun too,” Sonny answered without a care in the world.

“Er, weren’t we doing this by deaths?” Somerled said, looking over to the side and trying to pretend his allies weren’t hearing this.

“Change of plans, Summer. You just sit back, relax, and do some math in your free time or something. It’s what I’ve been doing.”

“Hm... fine...” he mumbled after a few short moments. Truth be told, he needed some rest. He’d been going non-stop for what felt like days. It’d be nice to turn off his brain for a bit and relax. He let his other half take over, and his body slowly dissolved away.

---

“Ah~” Sonny sighed melodically, his now-corporeal arms stretched high above his head and his golden hair glinting in the sunlight. The brilliant mid-day sun suffused his body with warmth, and though he could still feel the wear and tear left by his other half with, that didn’t matter right now. All that he cared about was finally being able to move and stretch. Heat and dispersing energy rolled off his very being, and the damp clothes that had once pressed against his skin rapidly dried off. Mud turned back into sand and shifted off of him, leaving him warm, dry, and clean once again.

“Hello!” The sun spirit cheerfully greeted his new allies, both of whom were giving him rather confused looks. “I am Summer Murdoch,” he said with a wave of his only hand. “Spirit of the Sun, one half of the person you’ve been travelling with. Please, call me Sonny, and him Summer. Makes it easier on all of us.” Jim opened his mouth to say something, staring incredulously at the blond-haired spirit, but was quickly cut off.

“Are you going to do this every time?” The storm spirit spoke just as his other half finished, hijacking their shared voice. “Somerled. I’ve had this name for years. I’m not about to give it up.”

“Names are just convenient ways to refer to people. The person is what matters,” Sonny took on a condescending tone, grinning cruelly.

“...You heard that?” his voice fell.

“I hear everything, Summer,” the sun spirit’s said cryptically, grin still plastered to his face. “But!” His voice turned dramatic. “Who knew there was a sentimental side to such a stoic, unfeeling mons-”

“-Oka-!” The storm spirit tried to break off Sonny’s rant by giving up, stealing their voice mid-sentence. Two sets of words scratched at the sun spirit’s throat, and everything he was trying to say was cut-off by a violent cough. The benevolent youkai doubled over, head falling near his lap as he hacked, trying his best not to lose a lung. He took in a deep breath once it had faded away, steadying himself once again, and locked eyes with Jim.

“Hello! My name’s Summer Murdoch, Spirit of the Sun! Please, call me Sonny,” he greeted him properly for a second time. “Thank you for taking care of my other half, Summer.”

“It was a pleasure working with you...” The newly-monikered Summer mumbled half-heartedly.

“Apologies for the rough introduction,” the sun spirit slowly rose to his feet, mouth turned up in a radiant smile. “I hope we can get along!”

“...What?” Jim and Sun said simultaneously, a look of total confusion painting their faces.

Used 1 Medigel to heal 1 point of damage and fix Summer's deafness a bit

[Summer]

“Well that’s enough gawking!” Sonny didn’t break stride, leaving their question simply hanging in the air. “We’ve got things to see, people to do, darklings to kill...” He lifted his arm up glance at the Liberator Aide.

“You uh... sure you’re fine to continue?” Jim said after a moment, nodding towards his mangled stump, amongst the many other injuries he possessed. The sun spirit glanced over to said wound. Blood still slowly seeped from it, dissolving away into shimmering light as it touched air.

“Oh, this?” He lifted his arm up, waving it a bit. “It’s not a big deal. I don’t use my hands anyway.”

“Er, you just got done punching a lot of things,” the soldier responded, referring to Summer’s exploits within the ruins.

“That was my other half,” Sonny said, dropping his hand again. “We’re two halves of the same being, like a coin.”

“So... Sonny? Are you the same or...”

“Nope! I’m the immoveable object to Summer’s unstoppable force,” he explained. “You’ll see what I mean later. For now, could you see if there’s any verses that still need liberating? We can’t be the last.“ Jim simply nodded in response. “And Sun!” the spirit turned to face the monkey boy, “Keep an eye out. There might be darklings still on the prowl, and I need a few minutes to conjure us up some transportation.”

“Can do!” Sun responded enthusiastically, already leaning against his sentient staff lazily. It raised a few protests at this, which Sonny paid no mind to, instead turning away from his two allies and facing a large, empty space where he could summon a vehicle.

---

“And here we are!” Sonny announced grandly. It’d taken him a fair bit of time, as making transportation always did, but now they had a way to quickly cross the Dunes. Parked in the sand right in front of the radiant spirit was a large, tan humvee. Not usually his first choice in vehicles, but a horse wouldn’t seat three people. “You know how to drive this thing, Jim?” The sun spirit asked, turning around the face the soldier.

“What, you don’t?” he cocked an eyebrow. “Why’d you summon it then?”

“I do, I’d just rather spend time, you know,” the youkai waved his stump up. “Patching myself up a bit.”

“And you think I don’t want to fix myself up too?” Jim said crossing his arms. Sonny simply responded by continuing to wave his mangled hand. “Fine. We’re switchin’ out when you finish that up though.” The brown-haired man stepped past him, looping around to the driver’s side. Sonny pulled open the passenger side door, plopped into the seat, strapped in, and began concentrating immediately.

“So where are we heading to?” Sun said as he hopped into one of the back seats. The engine roared to life, before Jim answered.

“Ashen Steppes looks like it’s in some trouble, so we’re heading there first,” the soldier answered over the loud growl of the humvee.

“Couldn’t’ve made this any quieter, could you have?” He spoke a rhetorical question to the still form of Sonny. The sun spirit didn’t respond, too focused on shaping the rainbow coalescence into a first-aid kit. Slowly, the world outside the windows melded together into one big, sandy blur as the truck started forward.

“Uh...” Sun let out a loud hum from the back. “Is it hot in here, or is it just me?”

“This thing was sitting out in the sun while it was being summoned,” Jim answered, fabric shuffling about as he reached for something out of Sonny’s sight. “This thing doesn’t have ac either. Looks like we’re outta luck on that front.”

“Aww...” An incredibly disappointed sigh escaped the monkey, and Sonny could just imagine him sprawled out across the seats melodramatically.

“Ah, sorry for this...” The sun spirit finally spoke after a minute, a new first-aid kit in hand. “But I’m probably not gonna be helping the heat,” he leaned around the seat, bringing his arm closer to the lazy monkey. 

“What do you me-” he cut-off mid sentence, and wriggled away from the youkai’s probing stump. “Why are you so warm?”

“I’m the sun spirit,” he responded simply, drawing his arm back and opening the kit. “So if you guys start boiling alive in here, just let me know. I can swap with Summer.”

“What good would that do us?” Jim asked rather nonchalantly, eyes fixed on the endless dunes in front of him.

“He’s the storm spirit,” he responded, unwrapping some gauze. “Master of all storms. Rainstorms, thunderstorms, windstorms, and of course, winter storms.”

“Wait!” There was a sudden, lively note to Sun’s tone as he sat bolt upright in his seat. The humvee jolted as it crested a dune, and the monkey was sent tumbling into one of the doors.

“Seatbelt.” Sonny said curtly, wrapping up his wound. The magician mumbled something in response, but strapped himself to the seat nonetheless.

“Anyway!” He continued. “You mean that guy coulda been cooling us off this entire time and he didn’t do anything?”

“Ehehe-er...” Summer hijacked their shared voice for a moment to laugh cruelly, but was quickly cut off with a cough from his other half. “Well, I wasn’t feeling the heat, so I didn’t see a point, is his reasoning, I assume.”

“Get out here, Somerled,” an order, laced with anger, rose up from the back seat. “I’ll make you feel the heat.”

“Resolve your petty grudge later,” Sonny responded, applying some wholly unneeded anesthetics to his hand. “I’m busy here.”

Used 3 more medigels, in the form of a first-aid kit, to alleviate the hand wound.

[Dr. McNinja]

Ogong growled at the sun spirit.

“I cannot believe... that stupid storm spirit...”

“Stupid is right,” Sonny mumbled, “Busted up our hand.”

“So, wait,” Jim interrupted, “There’s... two of you in there?”

Perhaps this was hard for Jim to understand. But dual possession was not an unusual thing to Ogong – his world was full of angry spirits fighting over the same body. Of course, Sonny/Summer seemed fairly calm, compared to the angry spirits Ogong had seen.

Speaking of whom, Summer seemed much more friendly and chirpy than Sonny, even though he still had a harsh sense of humor. Ogong processed what Summer had just said. That made sense. Back home, Master Barley had told Ogong about the dual nature of the universe, how every force in the universe was constantly pressing against and being pressed upon by an opposite force. The fact that the chaos and friction of storms was literally fighting the calmness of the sun was a literal manifestation of that yin-yang balance.

Ogong knew that this wasn’t his world anymore. He knew as soon as he fell in that fountain, but this time he really felt it. He could still cast magic, but there was something holding him back, but at the same time making it very easy. There was no sign that he would see any of his friends.

Ogong began to cry.

He thought about how he was just a kid. This wasn’t fair to him. How he was supposed to survive out here was a mystery to him. Whoever this Omni was had no concern for him, that was for sure.

But Ogong wasn’t sad. This was just a new adventure for him. But he had just now fought until exhaustion had taken his body and then kept fighting. He let a tectonic force rock through his body several times. His organs had felt the unbridled force of the abstract concept of a projectile.

It was to Ogong’s great comfort that he was not crying because he was sad, but because he was tired and they had won.

Jim flicked a switch on the dashboard of the car. This was the second self-powered cart that Ogong had seen, and after all that had happened just now, he wasn’t so surprised when some sort of twangy music started playing from the machine. It wasn’t too far from some of the summoning magic that one could cast. Most people usually assumed that the devices that were summoned through magic were always strange-looking because of their arcane nature. Now he realized they were just summoning from another dimension, a dimension where science and technology had quickly advanced the whole world. I mean, they made small boxes that could tell you where people were, machines that pumped cold air, and cars that moved by themselves.

But Ogong was over it. In fact, he was just sitting in the back-seat, trying to press against the door opposite from Sonny’s side of the car, mind cooling down from the soul-shattering amount of magic he had to cast.

The twangy music continued to play as the armor-less Jim drove through the desert, one elbow leaning on the door. Somehow, he had sustained a few cuts and bruises, despite having been encased in armor that had basically just outlasted a giant pyramid. Summer, of course, was nursing Sonny’s wounds. And Ogong was wiping the blood pouring from his nose while he tried not to open the scrapes and cuts on his arms. For once, all three of them were silent for the ride.

What a trio they were. Ogong licked his lips before speaking.

“Are we there yet?”