Siege of Darkshire - Underground [PvP - Great]

[Kelly MacAryn]

This is the intro/setup post. The fight has not started yet.

There was a moment, as Illidan's army made its final approach, rumbling through the mud and parting the mist, where events seemed detached. The scene hung suspended, as though reality were holding its breath. 

Then, everything seemed to happen at once, snapping abruptly into stark, vivid contrast.  

Kelly's psychic senses screamed as the massed ranks of ghouls, monsters and wraiths collided with the vanguard of Darkshire's military might. His quarterstaff moved in a blur. In those first confused moments, the traveler broke a werewolf's knee with a swift, low kick, drove his staff into the eye of a screaming set of bones, whipped the other end of his weapon up into a decrepit vampire's groin, and, acting on pure reflex, telekinetically thrust the sword of the dying soldier standing beside him up under the chin of a very surprised ogre. It was a hell of a way to discover that his psychokinetic range had increased, but now was not the time to consider the implications. 

Darkshire's lines had bowed inward with the impact of the initial charge, but at a glance - which was all Kelly could afford in the brief moment before more monsters closed in to replace those he'd felled - they seemed to be holding.The psychic allowed a thin smile to emerge from hiding as a Zergling rushed him, fangs snapping and scythes slashing, only to catch a concentrated psychokinetic bolt in its throat.

Over the next two minutes, there was little further opportunity to track what was happening on the rest of the field. Kelly fought like a machine, moving his staff with near-robotic precision. Half-lost in the rhythm of combat, the psychic saw his enemies as collections of weapons and targets more than individual creatures. Weapons he stopped or avoided. Targets he smashed, either with his staff, his boots, or his burgeoning psychic force. The remnants of the unit he'd been placed with, twelve of the original twenty troops, were mentally flagged as priority assets -  Kelly protected them whenever he could, taking advantage of his staff's reach and his psychic abilities to meddle in parts of the melee where he wouldn't otherwise have been able to help. 

Suddenly a rumble, different from the thunder, overtook the field, sending ripples through the mud. The battle didn't pause, but the intensity diminished as the eyes of both armies were drawn to the walls of Darkshire, where plumes of smoke were rising. In one stony flank, a gaping wound yawned, lit by the crimson glow of small fires.

Deflecting a wild blow from a hulking undead armed with a rusty blade, the traveler frowned as he charged a psychic bolt and blew off the creature's kneecap, crushing its skull with the end of his staff as it fell. 

Sometimes I hate being right. But how did they do it? A sleeper-cell? A trojan horse among the refugees? Did they sneak a detachment around behind the city, bypass the main force and plant explosives?

Even if the embattled psychic strategist had been expecting an answer, what happened next would have come as a surprise. 

Not twenty feet to Kelly's right, a section of the battlefield dropped away, the muddy ground disintegrating, sending monsters and soldiers alike spilling down into a dark, hollow space.  Then, it happened again. And again, further along, the subsiding ground proceeding in the direction of the breach. He immediately grasped the implications. 

A tunnel? They dug an actual tunnel? You've got to be kidding! 

There was a decision to be made, here. The existence of a tunnel entirely changed the strategic map - in fact, it had the potential to render the admittedly quite dramatic battle being fought all around him little more than a distraction, even if the breach in the walls could be held. 

Kelly engaged his neural throttle, increasing his formidable brain's processing speed, and the world around him seemed to slow down, giving him time to act, and to think. He identified the enemies harassing the nearest five Darkshire troopers, and cleared a space around himself, crushing the throats of slow-motion ogres, the skulls of nigh-frozen zombies, and breaking a naga's neck in the scant moments before the world caught up with him and his perception of events snapped back to normal. Then, with a little space in which to work, he fired off several quick force-bolts, no stronger than well-thrown punches, but both distracting and well-aimed enough to give his allies the openings they needed to finish their monstrous foes.

Kelly moved closer, yelling for them to form up on his position, and to their own mild surprise, they did. Their captain had been killed already, and the traveler had the voice of Command. 

"What's going on?" one of the soldiers called over the din of battle, slashing repeatedly at a wraith until it finally lost cohesion and washed away in the rain. 

"There's a tunnel over there, under the field." the psychic said, calling to mind the names of those present, and finding that he only actually knew four - one was from another part of the vanguard, and it had only been important that he meet the people in his actual unit.  "Someone needs to lock it down. Harker" - he glanced at a short, spry-looking woman in half-plate and studded leather armor who had already lost an eye - "get word to command. The breach in the wall is so urgent and obvious that they may have missed this. You other four are with me. We're going down there."

***

Kelly and his little group of soldiers - a stocky middle-aged man named Mason, a younger fellow named Butcher, an athletic, shaven-headed woman called Rothchilde, and the stranger, who identified himself as Corporal Wesley Bewilderforce-Tooms -  slid down the walls of the partial-cave in, and struck out into the gloom. They were accompanied by a group of troops from another unit that had seen what they were doing and grasped the urgency their task. 

The inside of the tunnel was extremely dim, and smelled of soil and rot. Perhaps surprisingly, it was no darker than the stormy night outside, lit by the glow of the fires of battle streaming in with the rain through the collapsed sections of the ceiling. As his eyes grew further accustomed to the gloom, the Prime could see that although the floor was rocky and uneven, churned by the passage of dozens of monstrous feet, and the earthen walls were angular, formed of compressed soil and stone. 

This wasn't done using shovels, and it wasn't done by an animal. 

He ran a hand along the wall, feeling the striations where something moving in a spiral had left a series of regular grooves as it passed. 

Some kind of tunneling machine?  

Kelly frowned, and strained his ears. It was hard to hear over the horrendous din of battle above them, but he thought he could detect the rumble and wheedling whine of a large machine. 

Maybe six hundred yards? Certainly not much further than the walls. If they're still running a drill, then the tunnel isn't finished - and if we can reverse the machine, we can back it up and use it as a barricade. 

He waved his troops forward - and almost immediately gestured for them to halt. There was a dirty, black-haired man dressed in work-clothes sprawled on the floor of the tunnel - a man with a shotgun in a holster across his back, and a  chainsaw in place of his right hand. Judging by the tiny patch of sky directly above him, it looked like he'd fallen through the ceiling.

Hm. No armor, and that hand is extremely odd. His clothing is wrong for the moors... A Prime?

Sadly, time was of the essence. If the man was a Prime, he'd be fine one way or the other, and if he wasn't, he was safer down here than up there. Kelly was about to wave his troops onward once more when he was surprised by a loud groan.

"UUUuuuuuuhg. What hit me?" asked the man who fell.

"The floor," said Kelly, getting right to business. "My name is Kelly MacAryn. I'm a Prime, with the Darkshire militia. You're in a tunnel, under the battlefield. Are you on our side?" 

The man pushed himself up on his hands and knees, shaking the cobwebs from his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I am. The name's Ash Williams - Defender of Darkshire. You might have heard of me?" 

Kelly looked at his troops - and was encouraged by some enthusiastic nods. "I've heard of him," said Rothschilde.  "He's a Prime too, though he's supposed to be a bit of an ass - but he's stood on the wall. He saved lives. Having him along would be a big help."

"Hey, lady," said Ash, standing up and brushing the dirt off the front of his shirt, "There's no need for name-calling. I just happen to have an appreciation for the finer things in life is all - myself, for instance." 

He squinted at Rothchilde. "And you. You know, I don't usually go for bald chicks, but you kinda make it work. So, ah, after all this is over -"

"That's quite enough," said Kelly, his tone patient but permitting no argument. "We don't have time for this. The enemy is running some kind of tunneling machine, and if Darkshire is going to win this battle without serious damage to the city's interior, we have to intercept them. Are you coming?" 

Ash hefted his chainsaw and grinned savagely. "An urgent mission that will determine the fate of the entire town? Kelly-boy, I wouldn't miss it for the world." 

***

For the first couple-of-hundred meters, progress was difficult, but steady. The uneven floor and low light made footing tricky for the less sure-footed soldiers, and several times hideous, eyeless monsters burst from the walls, barely foreseen by Kelly, and subsequently cut to ribbons by the the soldiers' blades or Ash's chainsaw. 

The chainsaw made the psychic nervous. It was a vicious weapon, yes, and the other Prime used it with more skill than Kelly would have thought possible for such an unwieldy blade- but it was loud. Possibly even loud enough to be heard over the sound of a giant drill. 

Even so, it wasn't until their small military detachment had reached the point where the tunnel undercut the walls of the city that the problems really began. The explosions that had blown open Darkshire's walls had caused a near-total cave in, leaving only a small passage, barely wide enough for three men to walk abreast, held open by massive chunks of collapsed foundation. Ash and Kelly led the way through the the crooked passageway of shattered rock, their troops filing in behind them, until eventually they emerged again into a wider passage - and beheld the enemy. 

Zerglings, with dog-like faces and scythes for arms, werewolves, a few wraiths - and many, many zombies, all marched behind a massive, streamlined vehicle with a drill on one end, mounted on treads and piloted by a hooded figure. It was almost fifty meters beyond the walls already, chewing merrily through the soil below Darkshire's foundations. 

Ash reached for his chainsaw's ripcord, but Kelly stopped him with a hand on his wrist. He pointed to the soldiers emerging from the tunnel behind them and mouthed, "Wait." Ash smiled, nodded, and winked. 

They waited. Mason, Butcher, Rothschilde, Tooms, and six others made it out before they were noticed. It started with a wraith, some unknown spectral sense detecting the presence of the living. The shade sent up a cry of a alarm, and soon Zerg, werewolves, and vampiric abominations broke ranks and surged toward the new arrivals, sending confused zombies stumbling as they passed.

Ash stepped forward and pulled the ripcord. His chainsaw-hand roared.

Kelly's iron-shod staff flashed as he set his guard. 

"Form a beach-head!" called the psychic, voice ringing with the compelling certainty that he would be obeyed, "Defend the tunnel until the rest of our troops are through!" 

A Zerg came at Ash. He sidestepped, severed it's spine with a power-tool roar and a whiff of diesel, and took out a werewolf on the backswing. Kelly charged a psychic force-bolt and blew the wraith into ethereal whisps, and waded into the advancing horde with his staff, breaking knees and shoulders, crushing throats and cracking skulls. Behind them, the soldiers of Darkshire formed tight ranks, bolstered by their allies who continued to emerge from the opening in the rubble. Not that many more would be coming, but the knowledge that there were more coming gave them hope. 

On the far end of the tunnel, the drill slowed its advance, shifting down into a lower gear as the driver stood, practically trembling with outraged dignity. A high-pitched voice echoed across the chamber, audible even over the continuing grind and roar of Ash's chainsaw. 

"Fools!" it proclaimed, turning with a flourish and summoning a ram-headed staff to its hand, the weapon leaping from where it leaned against the dashboard of its owner's vile machine. "Who dares to challenge SKELETOR?!" 

And with that, this fight has been officially set-up! The next post is Skeletor's, and it is officially the first post of the fight, and the start of the timer. After that, the call-system is in effect. 

[Skeletor]

Skeletor eyed the two warriors that had broken through his forces to stop him. They were clearly primes, no others in Darkshire would be foolish enough to enter heated battle with so little armor. Skeletor gave a cry of outrage as eldritch power began to build within his Havoc Staff. “So… you two actually believe you stand a chance against my power? I am almost impressed…” Skeletor leapt off the drill to land with a thud in the tunnel proper. His cloak swept down around him, only to be cast off as the Warlock prepared for battle.  His two opponents stood, one brandishing a chainsaw-hand evocative of his minion Trapjaw, the other remaining extremely still, watching him with deep blue eyes. “Don’t think it will help that there are two of you! I haven’t been…”

Skeletor’s taunting was cut off by the revving of a motor, and he jerked to a battle ready stance as Ash raised the whirring blade towards him. “Listen Bonehead! Maybe somewhere’s in that speech of yours is a cure for that ugly mug… Oh wait, never mind! I got it right HERE!” the guy with the gun gave a shout and charged, chainsaw-hand poised for a swift decapitation.

He never reached his foe though, as Skeletor extended his Havoc staff, releasing its pent-up energy in a blast that sent Ash staggering backwards trying to catch his feet on the roughhewn floor of the tunnel. Skeletor had barely begun to laugh before he himself was sent reeling from a powerful psychokinetic bolt. Kelly had also used that banter as time to prepare it would seem.

Skeletor turned as MacAryn closed wordlessly. A volley of staff blows were quickly traded, Kelly’s more combat-oriented weapon landed several curt blows before Skeletor managed to catch him in the side with a large arc. The tactician grunted as the ram head collided with his ribcage, and Skeletor shunted him backwards with magic. Kelly slammed against the wall of the tunnel with a grunt. “Sometimes style is more important than substance, Fool!” the Warlock taunted.

Skeletor’s glory was again interrupted as a shotgun blast tore into his back. He dropped to one knee, then whirled around in fury. A second shot hit him full in the face, knocking his head backwards from the force. “This is my BOOMSTICK, ugly.” Ash said with a grin, “Best plastic surgeon around.” The time traveler came forward with an overhead swing of the chainsaw hand, but Skeletor managed the clarity to roll sideways and Ash couldn’t control his momentum enough to alter the slash. Skeletor pointed a finger, releasing a point-blank bolt to strike Ash in the side of the head, and got back to his feet with a groan.

Skeletor backpedaled, charging his staff once more, Kelly was back up, and his adversaries paused near each other, ready to react to any attack Skeletor made. “He can’t focus on both of us,” the traveler barked at his companion, “We need to coordinate our attacks, don’t give him a window to respond.” Ash nodded, and hefted his chainsaw-hand. The two primes charged their undead foe in unison.

“Attacking together are we?” Skeletor scoffed as he gave what little ground he could in the cramped tunnel. “Let’s heat things up a notch, NyeHeeHeeHee!” the Warlock pointed his Havoc staff and a yellow beam shot towards his attackers, tracing along the ground and passing directly between the charging primes.

“Nice miss, Creep!” Ash started to shout, but was interrupted as Kelly pushed him away, then threw himself backwards as the line erupted into flames. Ash stumbled, cursing as he tried to keep balance despite his arm’s weight. Kelly jumped back to his feet as Skeletor closed, Havoc staff abandoned in favor of a pair of wicked blades. The Traveler’s eyes narrowed and he dropped into a ready pose.

At first, Skeletor seemed unable to land a blow. Kelly fingers moved with unnatural precision, his quarter staff dancing between him and his opponent. He couldn’t match Skeletor’s raw strength, but the traveler continued to defy his foe, deflecting each sword swipe and landing several sharp jabs when he saw openings. Skeletor grew increasingly frustrated, especially as Kelly remained silent throughout the exchange. The traveler remained intent, focused, until finally his concentration broke.

There was a distinctive shift in the battle, Skeletor’s two blades started to take the advantage and Kelly’s fighting became much more defensive. The Warlock gave a cry of triumph as he forced his foe’s staff down with one blade and slid the other over, raking it across Kelly’s torso. The man gave a cry and Skeletor was shunted backwards by psychokinetic force. “Careful, that might get infected if you stay down here in the mud! NyeeHeeHee!” Skeletor cackled before charging shoulder first into him, sending him sprawling.

“Hey, Kelly! Get down!” echoed a shout from across the fiery barrier. Another scatter of shotgun pellets spit through the flames, piercing Skeletor’s arm. “You shouldn’t announce your position like that, Bonehead!” came Ash’s taunt from the other side.

Skeletor growled and moved towards his attacker, combining the two blades together to hold in his uninjured arm. Kelly was taking the slash well, but was still slow getting up, Skeletor needed to deal with the other problem. The wall of flames separated to let him pass and Skeletor leaped through with the Twinsword held in both hands. Ash was ready, chainsaw swinging in with an impressive arc. Skeletor misjudged his landing on the uneven floor and his sword barely caught the chainsaw, its whirring blade screeching off the metal. Skeletor’s good arm strained against the heavier weapon as he snuck another bolt of magical energy into Ash’s face, distracting him. Using the opening Skeletor backhanded his foe, causing him to stumble on the uneven tracks that covered the floor.

Skeletor laughed as the flames of his wall died away. “Watch yourself, you Hedge-trimming Fop! The floor here can get a bit… Groovy! NyeHeeHeeHeeHee!”  

995 words according to MS word.
Skeletor used havoc staff, energy projection, twinsword, and wall of flame.
Ash used chainsaw hand and BOOMSTICK
Kelly used Soliton blast, traveler's staff, and combat acceleration
Sorry for the wait all! Let's ROCK! 

[Kelly MacAryn]

With purple ichor congealing around the gash in his chest, Kelly hoisted himself to his feet and took stock of the situation. His wound was deep, but it hadn't compromised his unnaturally resilient body's mechanical integrity. As long as he was careful not to take too many more hits like that one, it wasn't going to be a problem. Skeletor, on the other hand, was down an arm, so overall the psychic still considered the advantage to lie with him and his chainsaw-wielding ally.

More importantly, he'd learned something about his opponent.

Whenever he scores a decisive blow, he stops to deliver one of those punishing one-liners. Who is he used to fighting that he thinks he can get away with that?

All around him, battle raged. The Darkshire troops were outnumbered, but the varied composition of Skeletor's forces was proving to be a disadvantage – without clear instructions from their master, the zombies were getting in the way of the more intellectually gifted monstrosities, preventing them from making effective use of their superior forces. Both sides were avoiding the Primes. So far, it was anyone's fight.

Refocusing on his opponent, Kelly watched as Ash went down – and began to charge a psychokinetic bolt, his nerves buzzing as power gathered in his right hand, waiting for the skull-faced villain to pause for a snide-remark. An opportunistically minded wolf-man tried to take advantage of the wounded strategist's apparent distraction, only to catch the iron tip of the traveler's quarterstaff under its chin.

Skeletor cackled, and Kelly fired, feeling stray vectors ruffle his ponytail as the force he'd gathered left him in a rush, spinning towards his target as a little fish-eye globe.

I have to remember to marshal my energies carefully. If I exhaust myself again, its over.

The powerful blast took the reveling blue-skinned revenant full in the back, sending him sprawling beside the very man he'd just mocked. Seeing their commander at a disadvantage, several of the more intelligent monsters, vampires and lesser demons, interposed themselves between the psychic and the other two Primes. Kelly rushed them, staff whirling, eyes shining beneath his brow like a pair of tiny blue gemstones, biding and ancient in the depths of forgotten caves.

Ash got his feet under him before the archfiend did, rising to a crouch and revving his chainsaw. One side of the blue-collar hero's face was rapidly turning purple where Skeletor's last blow had struck home, but he smiled through the pain.

“Looks like you're the one who should watch his footing, ugly!”

Oh, fucknuggets. He does it too!

Skeletor rolled, bringing his sword up just in time to intercept the gasoline-powered blade of Ash's unorthodox weapon. The whirling chain shrieked as it ground against the edge of the twin sword, showering both combatants in stinging orange sparks.

It was an eye-catching sight. Sadly, the psychic didn't have the time to appreciate it, nor to press the advantage. Two of the creatures facing him had gone down easily enough, knees and throats smashed, but the last was of the same hominid-chiropteran breed as the monster he had killed outside of Darkshire's walls on the morning of his arrival in the city. Even as he'd crippled its allies, it had already scored a vicious slash across Kelly's back, too fast to evade even with the advanced psychic warning provided by his haunt.

I guess now both sides match. But I'm not a stumbling wreck this time. I can handle this.

He deflected several lightning-fast blows, splitting his attention to gather psychic force as he mounted his defense, then cut to the chase and felled the beast with a single blast to the chest, shattering its hollow rib-cage. With the path finally clear, the traveler closed in on the clashing primes, intending to finish Skeletor off while the fiend was thoroughly distracted.

Sadly, it wasn't to be. Just as the strength of Skeletor's one good arm began to fail him, the chainsaw pressing inexorably down towards the master of evil's deaths-head face, he reached out with his magic. The villain's mystical grip snatched up one of the many zombies milling about, and hurled it at his arcanely armed antagonist.

Ash's roaring blade began to bite into the flesh of a shoulder, drawing a cry of shock and horrified disbelief from the would-be conqueror, further crippling his bad arm – and then two-hundred-odd pounds of shambling horror collided with the chosen champion of housewares! Both man and ballistic undead were sent sprawling in the very same moment that help arrived.

Skeletor rose to a crouch, and began to say something – presumably another halfway-clever quip - but Kelly didn't give him time. The psychic worked his staff like the precision armature of a mad machine, raining down blows upon the wounded warlord. Skeletor deflected frantically as he was pushed back, wielding his sword with skill born of equal parts desperation and long practice.

“Dolt!” the skull-faced scoundrel panted, “Don't you know it's rude to interrupt!”

But Kelly wasn't listening.

One more really good shot to his bad arm, and I think I can break it. His weapon is slower than mine, and he's wielding it one-handed, but he's stronger than me. A lot stronger. He's off-balance though....

Abruptly, the traveler changed the rhythm of his attack, slacking off just enough to let Skeletor start to push back.

“Nyeeh! I have you now, you bumbling oaf!” the warlord cried.

Kelly remained silent and focused on his defense, letting his opponent build momentum – and then he struck.

The Overlord of Evil thrust with the twin sword, and the traveler stepped towards the villain's bad side, catching the back of the blade with his staff and using its momentum and weight to drive it down. Not wasting a moment, Kelly whipped his weapon across, pulling with one hand and pushing with the other in a vicious counter-motion that sent the staff screaming squarely into his foe's wounded shoulder.

Skeletor howled.  

997 Words according to Wordcounter.net, 1000 even according to Openoffice. 

Kelly used Soliton Blast twice (3-second charge on Skeletor and 2-second charge on the nameless grunt)
Kelly used Traveler's Staff
Kelly's Survival power is already putting in work

Skeletor used Basic Telekinesis
Skeletor used The Twin sword

Ash used Chainsaw Hand.

[Ash Williams]

"Grr..get off of me you creep!" grunted Ash stuggling underneath the undead Darkshire's fallen soldier on top of him trying to bite his face off as the zombie tries to lean close and keeps biting air as Ash gives resistance.

Kelly and Skeletor still dueled out farther away from Ash due to getting hit by a flying levitating zombie which did made him slide a two yards on the soft dirt ground. The chainsaw revs up as Ash activates it to defend himself from the hungry brainless animated corpse. His focus remains on his chainsaw but does give off pressure for the decaying gory face that half was showing part of the skull and the other still had rotten flesh with parts of it hanging by a thread. The undead's hands grasped and try to force Ash's arms to the ground. He concentrates so hard to rely on his strength to break free from being bound. Using his upper strength, Ash does at least start to move his right arm further up towards the body of the zombie. Drool can be felt as his head moves closer towards his face.

"Hey ugly, heads up!" said Ash while gritting his teeth while sweating and uses his final push to decapitate the zombie, slicing threw the neck which was badly decayed and easy to cut.

The head comes off and lands next to Ash with it sitting on it's neck still trying to bite at Ash and hissing. He pushes over the decapitated corpse on top of him and gets ups from the ground. His clothing was partially dirty from the dirt due to how many times he's been knocked down and especially his face had some too.

Skeletor was in pain from how much his wounded arm was taken but still didn't fall to defeat as he still attempts to fight off Kelly with his twin swords. He tries to go on the offense attempting to make slashes towards the traveler. For Kelly, he was sure trying to remain focus on the defensive side to block the blades and step back from the violent strikes that Skeletor made. Growling comes from Skeletor getting frustrated with Kelly. How much the back stepping Kelly did to evade Skeletor, the overlord of evil traps him at a dead end round wall area.

"I have you now, fool! Never underestimate me for I am Skeletor: the master of evil!" gloated Skeletor with the twin sword upthrust with his good arm and swipes down upon Kelly but the traveler attempts to block the sword raising his traveler staff in both hands. They both struggle in strength while both had their trade of pain during this fight.

BOOM!

A loud noise comes from behind Skeletor and gets hit from some of the pellets that impacted him from Ash standing six yards away with his double barrel shotgun in his left hand raise towards them. Kelly didn't get hit by Ash's shot due to Skeletor being a human shield. This makes Skeletor bring his sword away and kneel for a second which gave the opportunity for Kelly to make a offensive move. He hits Skeletor across the face with his traveler's staff in a swiping motion with his right hand. Skeletor is forced to face away from the amount of force but turns back while clutching his sword and strikes below for his legs and manages to slash one of them while Kelly tries to move back further, hitting against the wall but gets a minor but painful cuts in his shins.

"You should try to look out below next time! NyeeHeeHee!" cackled Skeletor at the sight of Kelly's injury.

Before Skeletor could do anything, he gets shot from behind again by Ash. He turns around frustratingly to see Ash standing there. Smoke was coming out of the barrels and was blown away from his mouth with the gun pointing up towards the ceiling.

"Yo bonehead..." said Ash reloading his shotgun then rolling it with left hand and raises his chainsaw hand smoking with exhaust from the amount of revving.

"Let's boogie!" continued Ash putting his gun up back and the holster.

His hands hold the heavy chainsaw prosthetic to get ready for a close combat situation with Skeletor cackling while running with his remaining strength towards Ash then they clash once more with orange sparks being made from the chainsaw blade sawing against Skeletor's steel blade. Kelly can see part of his skin from his slightly torn from the slit with a bit of blood coming out but manages to deal with the pain. In front of him, he can see once again the prime tries have save his back from distracting Skeletor at least.

Quote:

781 words is what wordcounter.net is telling me.

Ash used Chainsaw Hand
Ash used Boomstick

Skeletor used The Twin Sword

Kelly used Traveler's staff
Kelly Survival Power is still being used.

[Kelly MacAryn]

As Skeletor disengaged, Kelly's haunt shouted a warning, psychic senses painting a stark picture of imminent danger. The traveler pivoted away from the cavern wall just in time to witness a centipede the size of his arm, chitinous black fangs dripping with venom, as it burst from the soil and into the space where his back had been a moment before. The insectoid abomination flailed around wildly before sliding out onto the cavern floor and scuttling away.

Kelly frowned, returning his focus to the battle. Skeletor's blade rang, screeching, against Ash's chainsaw-hand. It was odd - up until this point, the Overlord of Evil had been a fairly cunning opponent. Charging across the field, with his back exposed no less, seemed suspiciously ill thought-out.

The traveler adjusted his perspective, throwing the mental switch that activated his neural throttle. He raced to flank the bone-faced blackguard, sprinting through a world that moved with syrupy slowness – but he was just a moment too late.

With painful, plodding precision, Skeletor used his blade to turn the force of Ash's powerful weapon to the side, sparks fountaining almost lazily into the air as the master of menace performed much the same maneuver that Kelly had earlier. Then, with his opponent off-balance, he tensed his thighs and leapt, somersaulting over the other man's head!

The psychic skidded to a halt beside the survivalist sales-clerk, his perception of time snapping back into focus as he realized his enemy's intent.

It was a feint - he's playing for distance. With one arm down, he has a disadvantage in close-quarters...

“Out of my way you undead idiots!” Skeletor cried, shouldering his way through a large group of zombies. “Stop milling around like witless cabbages and attack these fools!”

With clear instructions at last, the rotting revenants turned and lurched towards Kelly and Ash.

The psychic smiled.

“I have a plan,” he muttered, just loud enough to be heard over the ringing of blades and the howls of unholy beasts which echoed through the dimly lit cavern.

“A plan sounds good right about now,” said Ash, his chainsaw belching a foul-smelling cloud of exhaust as it began to carve into undead flesh. “Lay it on me.”

Kelly worked his weapon while he talked, beginning to carve a path through the zombie horde.

“I've been keeping something in reserve,” he said, kicking a ghoul in the chest, sending it stumbling back, “I guarantee you it will put Skeletor's focus solely on me. While I'm doing that, I want you to circle around behind him and shoot him in his good arm. Or use the chainsaw - if you can get close enough.”

Ash nodded, and began to speak, but his reply was cut off by a sudden whump! A blast of a scorching heat overtook them as a wall of fire erupted in front of the two Primes. Walking corpses stumbled in every direction, burning like candles, casting corpse-light shadows on the battle that continued to rage just meters away.

On the other side of the blazing barrier, standing in the middle of a wide circle of flames that reached nearly to the ceiling, stood Skeletor. The archvillain had sheathed the Twin Sword, and the ram-headed Havoc Staff was in his hand once more, crackling with eldritch, alabaster energies.

“Nyehehehehee! You do-gooders put up a decent fight! But Skeletor is not beaten so easily!”

The skeletal sorcerer swept his weapon in a wide arc, power pulsing and popping across its grisly ornamentation as he unleashed a storm of magical missiles, cackling all the while.

Kelly flourished his staff, intercepting several of the glowing shots, but his attempt to defend was defeated by the sheer volume of fire. He took several solid hits across his chest, tripping over a fallen zombie as he stumbled back. The psychic fell beside Ash, who was similarly stricken.

“My power is like that of a raging storm! Perhaps you should have brought an umbrella!” Skeletor sneered.

“Go,” Kelly growled, and both men leapt to their feet. While Ash circled around the ring of fire, the psychic shifted his mindset, opening the floodgates of his somatic perceptions. Power swelled within him, swirling invisibly around the traveler like a high wind, apparent only in the sudden, ceaseless motion of his clothes and hair.

Skeletor raised his staff, preparing another attack, but the traveler dove through the infernal barrier, trailing smoke as he hit the ground, and rolled to his feet, quick-firing a sizzling orb of psychokinetic force. The powerful impact broke the sorcerer's concentration, and by the time he'd recovered, Kelly was already on him.

The psychic's staff flashed as he began his assault, the forces whispering within his veins allowing him to match his opponent's unnatural strength, and exceed his speed. Skeletor's unwieldy weapon, held in only one hand, was a poor match. After a flurry of frantic defense, Kelly struck him a ringing blow across the jaw, followed in quick succession by several crushing strikes to the ribs.

The sorcerer fired a blast from his staff. It was weak, and wild, but it broke Kelly's momentum for a moment, allowing the Eternian menace to disengage, stumbling back as the ring of flames died.

“I... am not defeated!” he gasped, raising the Havoc Staff defensively.

Kelly's mind raced as he took stock of the situation. Ash was still getting in position, distracted by a struggle with another of those bat-winged monstrosities.

The psychic shifted his grip on his staff, holding it at one end and drawing it back by his hip, like a swordsman of old preparing a draw-strike.

“Debatable,” he said, and sketched a psychokinetic machine around his body, a system of invisible levers and pullies with one very specific aim in mind.

Power exploded around him, his muscles a mere afterthought to the raw forces in play, and the staff came around and down in a screaming arc towards Skeletor's face.  

985 words according to Googledocs, 996 according to Openoffice. 

Kelly used Foresight
Kelly used Burst Movement
Kelly used Traveler's Staff
Kelly used Tier-1 Powerup: Somatic Vector-Sketch for the entire round - 2/2/2/5 > 4/4/3/5 (2 SP)
Kelly used Soliton Blast (no charge, but the powerup raised his ATK)
Kelly is using Tier-1 Super Attack: Oppositional Rotation (1 SP)
0 SP remaining. 

Skeletor used the Twin Sword
Skeletor used the Havoc Staff
Skeletor used basic Super Jumping
Skeletor used A Wall of Flames
Skeletor used A Scattering Storm
Skeletor used Energy Projection

Ash used Chainsaw Hand

Both Kelly and Ash are shrugging off those hits like bosses. Survival, yo. 

[Skeletor]

Skeletor’s eye sockets widened as his opponent took a stance that in and of itself radiated power. He doubted his havoc staff would be able to protect against such a blow at its current strength. He needed his secret weapon. Skeletor leapt backwards, releasing hold of his Havoc Staff as he reached for the Ramstone. Time seemed to slow as Kelly MacAryn brought his staff out from its ready position, leaping forward to match Skeletor’s retreat. As he fell backwards Skeletor presented the emerald talisman, the Ramstone floating a short distance between his projected fingers. “Vare Batork BARTRAM!” he intoned, activating the magic of the stone.

The talisman erupted in a blast of lime green light, the energy burgeoning forth directly into the path of Kelly’s incoming attack. There was the slightest moment of friction as the two forces collided, then the quarter staff skipped sideways off of Skeletor’s counter. There was a distinctive snap as the quarter staff, averted from Skeletor’s forehead, instead came crashing down onto his bad shoulder, sending him to the ground. Skeletor’s scream of agony was only matched by Kelly’s own as the Ramstone’s power caught him full in the face mid-landing. The already weakened floor of the tunnel buckled under the force of Kelly’s blow, and the tunnel erupted in smoke as sections of the ceiling gave way from Skeletor’s blast. Ash gave a cry and leapt behind the nearest bloated undead he could find as the energy broiled outwards, hitting both Invaders and guardians as the entire tunnel was thrown into turmoil.

Ash groaned, and heaved, sliding his lower half out from under the hulking corpse that he had taken shelter behind. The clearing smoke found the other two primes both on the ground. Skeletor’s unmoving body was crumpled in a small crater, with Kelly slumped against a nearby wall, the wall behind him smeared an ugly purple. Ash slid out from under the corpse, only to have one of his legs grabbed by a fetid meat-slab of a hand, “Gah! Personal bubble, pal! Respect my space!” Despite the chunk of ceiling protruding from its chest, the creature was still trying to get back up. All around soldiers from both sides were struggling back to their feet. His window of opportunity was closing fast. “Alright Ugly, Hands off!” Ash ordered before pulling out his Boomstick and unloading two shots point blank into the beast’s head. The massive hand went limp, and Ash made his way quickly towards the slowly stirring Warlock.

“Don’t think I’m gonna let you do that again, pal!” he shouted, revving up his chainsaw and rushing forward as Skeletor struggled onto his knees, his left shoulder clearly dislocated and arm hanging limp beside him. The Warlock looked up in surprise as Ash dashed forward, chainsaw raised above his head. “It’s time to say goodnight, Bonehead!” the S-mart savior shouted and began to swing the chainsaw down, only to be swept off his feet as an immense purple feline barreled into him at full speed.

Too late came Kelly’s cry of warning as Ash landed forcefully, his head slamming against a fallen rock. He looked up through the spots in his vision into the snarling face of Panthor and the feline’s large yellow teeth bared. Ash struggled with the beast, straining to keep its snapping teeth away from his throat. The evil dead slayer held off the cat as best he could, gritting his teeth through the pain as the large panther tore away at him with its claws. With a grunt of effort, Ash managed to wedge the engine of his chainsaw in the beast’s mouth. The cat started to apply pressure to the machine, and metal protested, but he was no longer in danger of having his throat torn out. Ash reached around for his boomstick, but a large purple paw pinned his arm, its claws sinking into his skin. Panthor pulled its jaw free from the chainsaw, taking part of the casing with it as it reared its head back.

There was a shout and a fully-charged psychokinetic force-bolt slammed into Panthor, sending the feline tumbling in the rubble. As the battle reignited throughout the tunnel, Kelly stumbled over to Ash’s torn form. “Can you stand?” the tactician asked, looking over the cuts for any wounds of particular severity. Ash nodded, but was extremely slow to get up. “A beast that size should have torn your body to ribbons,” The traveler marveled, “How are you feeling?”

“Groovy…” Ash responded with a wet chuckle, propping himself up to spit a wad of blood onto the ground. The Traveler grinned faintly at his response, and extended a hand to help Ash to his feet. before Ash could take it however, Kelly’s head whipped around and he braced as a brilliant white energy blast crashed into him. Gritting his teeth, the traveler strained against Skeletor’s eldritch powers, focusing a Soliton blast as he weathered the warlock’s magical energy with his Vector-Sketch.

As Ash struggled to his feet, Kelly sent the Soliton bolt piercing through Skeletor’s beam of power, striking the Sorcerer and causing him to stagger backwards, disrupting his attack. Kelly gave a satisfied grunt and fell backwards, what remained of his tunic badly singed by the eldritch energies. Skeletor growled and planted his havoc staff in the shifting rubble. “You fools have no idea what you are doing, do you…” came Skeletor’s muttering as all three warriors struggled to regain their composure. “You have no clue of the power I wield!” Skeletor stared down the defenders of Darkshire, two red beads of light blossoming in his empty sockets. Kelly settled back into a fighting position, as Ash slowly staggered back to his feet “I will see you all pay for daring to challenge me,” The ram-head skull began to pulsate, its bone surface etched with glowing sigils of arcane power. Skeletor pointed the fully charged weapon at his infuriating opponents, “this is my DOOMSTICK!”

995 words according to MS word.
As per the judge's roll, both supermoves dealt full damage.
Skeletor used Energy projection, The Ramstone, Panthor and basic telekinesis.
Kelly used Soliton blast, somatic vector-sketch, foresight and survival.
Ash used Chainsaw, boomstick and still more of that sweet, sweet Survival.
NOTA BENE: I was not able to afford separate moves for Panthor's claws and teeth, so they will only be incidental weapons in strength

[Ash Williams]

A menacing expression is made by Ash’s face towards Skeletor standing almighty on top of a big piece of stone. Half of his shirt was torn which exposed his upper body that does have some bruises. Ash focuses his sight around the master of evil to find something that can help out a plan. His mind lit up with an idea due to seeing a group of stalactites hanging in the part of the cave that wasn’t affected from the devastating force of magic. The icicle-like structure hung behind Skeletor about four yards away. Ash’s face transforms from serious to smug as he turns his head at Kelly. Presently, the skeleton overlord begins to gloat about evil. For the traveler and S-mart employee start to softly speak while ignoring Skeletor’s speech.
 
“I have a plan.” stated Ash which Kelly nods in response.
 
“You see those stalactites behind our boned friend?” questioned Ash with his brow raised and his eyes pointing towards Skeletor.
 
It took half of a minute for Kelly to notice what Ash was talking about.
 
“I see what you are speaking of.” said Kelly with his eyes back on Ash.
 
“Since you are capable of using powerful magic, I was thinking maybe you can break that rock above us while I distract bonehead.” said Ash while Skeletor was still evil gloating.
 
Kelly smiles and think the plan could work but was wondering if Ash could still stand against their foe due to being beaten up previously.
 
“You sure you can take him on by yourself? You took a heavy blow recently.” wondered Kelly about him.
 
“Don’t worry, I can pull off enough time for the both of us. Just make sure you aren’t too close to the fight or our buddy here might figure out what were up to.” said Ash then turns his head back at Skeletor.
 
Kelly agrees with the plan that Ash just came up with.
 
“Are you fools even listening to me!” shouted Skeletor in frustration knowing that Ash and Kelly was ignoring his evil speech.
 
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, we can sorta hear you. In fact, you might have to say it again from how your head being so far up your ass!” shouted Ash back to the skeleton ruler.
 
“D’oh! Why you incompetent dirty tongue doer! I’ll show how to wash that mouth of yours!” cried Skeletor ready to unleash the power of his staff.
 
Ash winks back at Kelly then quickly moves forward over the rocky ruble towards Skeletor. He staggers over the uneasy crushed rocks. The havoc staff glows for about two seconds then unleashes the scattering storm upon them. Kelly moved out of the way from the attack but Ash still keeps pushing on towards Skeletor. Ash does try to avoid the barrage by moving left to right to avoid the projectiles but does get hit by at least one of the projectiles which stings him and causes the evil dead slayer to kneel down for a split second but forces himself to carry on forward.
 
Meanwhile, Kelly made his way around the battle that was happening. As he moves through the ruble, the remaining of Darkshire’s soldiers continue to fight the monstrous forces that have survived. It didn’t take long for Kelly to get into his place but soon had problems as three skeleton warriors come out from the battl. The traveler readies himself in fighting stance along with his staff. He takes on the skeleton warriors with
 
As Ash moves closer to Skeletor, the chosen one grabs his shotgun and whips it out of the holster. While having the boomstick in his left hand, he revs the chainsaw with the chain rotating rapidly and the motor roaring. When Ash got into range, he lifts his double-barrel shotgun pointing upwards toward at Skeletor. Suddenly, the trigger is pulled and a buckshot fires out from one of the barrels. The speed of the pellets is fast and spreading outwards the further they traveled towards the target.
 
Few of the pellets hit the evil overlord but didn’t did little damage. This made Skeletor growl in annoyance at Ash’s action. While the evil dead slayer was limping around the boulder, his foe keeps track were he’s heading. Skeletor unleashes his energy projection onto Ash, aiming below at him. The evil dead slayer did manage to dodge a couple but he turns towards at his foe now closer to him. His shotgun is raised up and fires the last shot in the boomstick and successfully makes another hit on Skeletor. From how close the master of evil is, he stumbles back from the force of the twelve gauge.
 
Unfortunately while Ash made his move, Skeletor emits another energy projection and hits him in the stomach. The force jerked him back as if he took a punch to the gut which makes him grunts. Before Skeletor could get his focus back on Ash, Darkshire’s newly defender moves behind the boulder with his back faced towards the Stalactites area.
 
“Hey ugly! Why not we duke it out face to face like real men or do you wanna play chicken?” said Ash trying to imitate Skeletor.
 
“Challenge accepted, pest!” shouted Skeletor above then jumps down in front of Ash and they both clash. 
 
Ash lures Skeletor over where the rock formation is hanging. While they were fighting and moving, a trail of sparks was being caused by the sturdy staff and the rotating chains colliding each other. Now, the evil dead slayer and the master of evil stand under the stalactites. Ash looks for Kelly to see if he’s in position. He notices that he is at the position and is ready. Kelly spots Ash and they both make eye contact. The traveler charges his hand and fires at the rocks above them.
 
The hit was successful and the stalactites disconnect from the ceiling. Ash retracts his chainsaw from Skeletor and dives away. Skeletor gets confused and looks up to see the rocks come crashing down.

1000 words according to Word Document and Wordcounter.net
Kelly used Solitan Blast and Traveler's staff
Skeletor used Havoc Staff, Energy Projection, and A Scattering Storm
Ash used Chainsaw, Boomstick, and having more of refreshing survival taking place.

[Kelly MacAryn]

Kelly grimaced and released his vector-sketch, unable to maintain it any longer without incurring serious internal damage. He could feel the sense of solidity and barely-restrained potential leave his weary body as the psychokinetic enhancement dissipated. 

The mass of stones hit the floor with a rumbling crash, obscuring Skeletor in a cloud of debris, and the resulting violent tremor brought on a short series of secondary collapses. Soil and stone rained down from the already-weakened ceiling, falling upon the men and monsters struggling below, and temporarily drowning the clash of weapons with the rush and roar of moving earth.

The traveler took advantage of the momentary disruption in the rhythm of battle to take stock of his wounds, the brimming tides of pain translated by the unique machinery of his mind into a mere academic roll-call of injuries. Purple ichor flowed like violet sap down his rapidly-swelling face, and clung to the few remaining tatters of his shirt, sealing the fissure in his chest. 

Broken ribs, cracked orbital bone, fractured scapula, deep lacerations, massive internal bruising... 

I'm still mechanically sound. Ignore it. 

His extrasensory alarms shrieked, and the moment passed. The psychic sidestepped a blast of sizzling magic as Skeletor did his best to stride from the rubble. However, the Overlord of Evil hadn't escaped from the collapse entirely unscathed, so it came off as more of a determined limp. 

"What is wrong with you?!" Skeletor demanded, emphasizing his words with another blast of deftly-dodged magic. "You could have killed us all, you psychic simpleton!" 

Kelly smiled, spotting an opportunity.

"It would have accomplished our mission, so I would have been fine with that," he called, cold and certain above the rising clamor of shrieks and ringing blows. A zombie attempted to paw at him, and he punctuated his calculated taunt with the ringing crack of iron against a human skull. "Would you? You're trapped underground, Skeletor, and I'm willing to gnaw you to death if that's what it takes to keep you down here. Somehow I doubt you're that invested in this." 

Skeletor's advance faltered, his bony expression somehow managing to convey doubt as he fired another magical blast from his staff.

In that moment, the traveler made his move. He pushed past his fatigue, ignoring the warning spikes of mental static in order to enter a world that moved at a crawl. Subtle, slow-motion surprise, anger, and perhaps just a hint of fear rolled in slow-motion across the archvillain's calcified countenance as the psychic danced past his flickering mystic attack. The distance between them vanished in a heartbeat, annihilated by the heavy, staccato thump of Kelly's hob-nailed boots on the churned and broken floor of the tunnel. 

The unsustainable moment of neurophysical acceleration passed. The world seemed to pulse as staff rang on staff, and sparks flew. 
Kelly's arms buzzed from the impact, no longer able to match Skeletor strength on strength, but he snapped a fast roundhouse kick into his opponent's injured arm, hanging limp at the villain's side. The Eternian Conqueror growled in pain, and swung his Havoc-staff in a series of short arcs, turning his injured side away from his opponent and pressing his attack.

The psychic warrior met Skeletor's strength with superior technique, deflecting rather than blocking head-on. As they fought, the pace increased, the crack and whisper of their weapons resounding off the cave walls like gunshots and silk.  Both fighters were injured and tired, but neither gave any quarter. They struggled as though they'd been bitter enemies for years, each pressing their particular advantage to the very limits of their remaining stamina. 

Neither one of them was paying attention to Ash. 

"Hey, frightmask! Heads up!" 

From atop a mount of rubble, fire roared. A spray of buckshot tore into Skeletor's already pellet-pocked back, hitting him like a cinderblock and breaking his rhythm. 

Kelly struck hard, breathing heavy. He snapped his weapon down, buckling Skeletor's knee, then up, catching him under the chin. The crack of metal on bone mixed with the sound of clashing teeth as the psychic moved seamlessly into a punishing combination. He swatted the Havoc-staff aside and delivered a crushing blow to the pit of the magical menace's good arm, feeling the shoulder jump in its socket as his weapon sank into the joint. 

Skeletor shrieked. Kelly kicked him in the chest, heavy boots connecting solidly with Eternian muscle, shoving the sneering sorcerer directly into the path of another cacophonous blast from Ash's shotgun.  

The villain went down, and the traveler closed in, raising his staff to deliver the finishing blow - but he didn't get the chance. Lying bleeding in the dirt, Skeletor reached out with his magic and lifted a mound of earth and rocks, sending them flying towards his implacable enemy. The psychic tried to dodge, warned by his haunt, but he was thwarted by the sheer volume of flying soil. A rock the size of his head caught him in the already-damaged ribs with a sound of an oar hitting a lake full of beef, sending him spinning to the ground! 

Rising to one knee, the insidious sorcerer braced himself on his staff of power as he gloated. " Nyeeh! I wouldn't soil my hands on the likes of -"

Directly behind him, a chainsaw roared in the gloom.

BRR-VRMMMMMMMM!!!

"... Oh no." 
 

 

884 words according to wordcounter.net

Kelly's powerup has expired. He is completely out of SP.
Kelly used Foresight
Kelly used Burst Movement
Kelly used Traveler's Staff
Kelly is using Survival so hard that it probably has a legal case against him for, like, fraud or entrapment or something involving criminal exploitation. 

Stamina note: Kelly doesn't have enough energy left to charge a blast for more than 2 seconds, and he can use burst movement or combat acceleration perhaps once more each (or either one twice). 

Skeletor used Havoc Staff
Skeletor used Energy projection
Skeletor used basic telekinesis

Ash used BOOMSTICK twice
Ash is being threatening with his Chainsaw Hand

[Ash Williams]

“Time to turn you into a fillet!” grinned Ash raising his chainsaw high with both hands and pointing his blade downwards at Skeletor’s shoulder.
 
He struck the shoulder with the rotating chain and began to saw. Pain filled the overlord’s shoulder which makes him screech. Before Ash tried cutting deeper, he got elbowed in the groin area by his opponent, which made him arch forward from the force. This pushed him back and dislodged the weapon from the shoulder. Agony was on Ash’s face.
 
“Why you lousy cheap shot scumbag!” grunted Ash while the master of evil strove to get back up.
 
“Nyehehe-ow.” uttered Skeletor while still in pain and managed to get back on his feet.
 
“Now, taste my wrath parasite!” shouted Skeletor raising his hand, which started emitting a white glow then unleashed it upon Ash.
 
The evil dead slayer got hit in the face by the blast of energy. This caused him to get knocked off his feet and land on his back. Half of his face is stung from the blast. Skeletor walked up to Ash with a menacing look. Still with each step, his injured shoulder tensed in pain. Ash’s vision became kind of blurry from the overlord’s attack. With each blink, his eyes began to improve. When his eyesight got clearer, He could see Skeletor standing over him with scars and bruises from the battle.
 
Skeletor put his foot on top of Ash’s chest, pressing him down. The chosen one grit his teeth.
 
“Say goodbye to your pretty face!” roared Skeletor raising his staff above the S-mart employee's head.
 
Suddenly, Kelly leapt onto the buffed Skeleton’s back and locked the traveler’s staff around his opponent’s neck. He pulled the staff towards himself forcing skeletor to take a step back off of Ash. While Kelly got Skeletor’s attention, the evil dead slayer attempted to stand up. Both were fighting and struggling while Skeletor tried to shake off Kelly. When Ash got back on his feet, he pulled out his boomstick and reloaded it.
 
Skeletor moved his back towards a jagged rock and fell backwards making Kelly land on it. From the momentum that the overlord of evil made, he hurts the traveler with the structure which made him take his staff off the neck. Kelly slumped down with his face filled with discomfort.
 
“That will teach you a lesson not to surprise attack the master of ev-“shouted Skeletor but was interrupted by getting shot twice in the chest at close range which made him stumble back a bit.
 
Ash raised the smoking boomstick with bravery then reloaded it again. Two more shots were fired at Skeletor, making him take a couple more steps back. As Ash got closer to Skeletor, He attempted to swing the roaring chainsaw hand horizontally. It got block by the havoc staff as Skeletor intercepted the chainsaw. Both started creating sparks again due to the rotating chains scraping the hard surface. Both of their weapons angle at a position while fighting with strength. The master of evil began to beat him while he focused on the staff. Suddenly, Ash aimed the shotgun upwards under Skeletor’s jaw and pulled the trigger sending a lot of lead into his face.
 
From how close the boomstick was, this made Skeletor fly a couple feet backwards and land on his back. He was now in the same position as Ash was from before. The traveler, still wounded, caught Ash’s attention and instead of going straight for Skeletor, he ran over to Kelly instead. Ash knelt and helped his ally to stand back up. Pain didn’t stop Kelly though as they both stood up together.
 
“You ok, hotshot?” questioned Ash concerned about Kelly.
 
“Don’t worry, I’ll be alright.” Responded Kelly looking towards where Skeletor was at.
 
Chunks of rock began to levitate in the air by their foe. Ash and Kelly stood ready to continue the fight. Skeletor rose up with his havoc staff in one hand and his mind concentrating on telekinesis.
 
“That’s enough! I’ve had it with you two mortals meddling with our plan! Your friends are probably dying right now from my other powerful allies! All of you will be conquered by evil! Nyeheheheheh!!!!” yelled Skeletor at the defenders of Darkshire.
 
“Ready for one more round?” said Ash looking back at Kelly with confidence on his face.
 
“You bet.” Replied Kelly who had the same facial expression as Ash.

They started moving towards Skeletor but the warlock unleashed the chunks of rocks at the two. The debris came flying towards them. Ash tried to duck and move side to side while Kelly did the same thing. The psychic’s momentum became faster then Ash as he tries to out maneuver the rocks. Some of the smaller rocks pelted the heroes as they get closer. A follow up attack was made by skeletor unleashing the volley of magic blasts from his staff. Ash did a roll to dodge from more incoming fire power and got his boomstick. He fired two shots at his foe who stood five yards away. While trying to attack him, the evil dead slayer got hit by one blast which stung him. Kelly tried to out maneuver Skeletor’s attack but also got hit from two blasts. Both were on the ground after the event was done but got right back up.
 
The three now stood there in a triangle, ready to end this battle.

903 words on Word Document and wordcounter.net

Ash uses more boomstick action and his sweet chainsaw hand
Ash is using Survival to withstand the Skeletor's blasts

Kelly uses Traveler's Staff
Kelly uses Burst Movement
Kelly is using Survival to withstand the hit from the rock and blasts

Skeletor uses Havoc Staff
Skeletor uses Energy Projection
Skeletor uses A Scattering Storm
Skeletor uses Telekinesis: Basic

[Skeletor]

Skeletor could barely contain his rage as he leaned on the Havoc staff. This was not how he had envisioned his grand return to Darkshire. The armies of Stormrage had been useless, barely slowing his impetuous opponents. What good where minions if you had to deal with everything yourself? Skeletor’s arm shook, though whether from rage or simply fatigue he could not tell. He exhaled sharply, for now he would have to satisfy his rage by destroying these upstarts, if he could even manage that in this infernally weakened state…

The three half-dead warriors faced each other, none wanting to make the first reckless attack. Skeletor watched them, staff at the ready, while behind their heads he began to lift more and more of the rubble into the air. His eyes flashed red, and the chunks of earthen rock flew silently towards his foes from behind. Kelly turned and barked a warning, deflecting away several projectiles. Ash took a few hits as he turned, but managed to cleave directly through an especially large chunk of rock Skeletor had been hoping would do some damage.

“You may have seen through my plans,” Skeletor shouted at Kelly, as he charged the havoc staff, “But can you see through this?” Kelly crouched and tried to dodge as Skeletor unleashed the blast. His weakened knees were slow to respond however, and Kelly was struck with a glancing blow to the hip, knocked to the ground once more. Ash charged with chainsaw roaring, And Skeletor forced himself to backpedal as he brought another rock hurtling towards his foe. Ash sheared through this one also, but Skeletor altered the chunks’ trajectories as they flew past his foe. The severed halves struck Ash’s head, knocking him forward and off balance.

Skeletor lifted another rock as Ash got back to his feet, “You’ve really been grinding my gears, Do-gooder!” the Warlock declared, crushing the rocky earth to a gritty powder, “So let’s see how you like it! Nyeeheehee!” Skeletor flung the mixture of dirt and rock slivers directly into Ash’s chainsaw, the mix flying into the it’s exposed motor which began to sputter and choke.  Ash glanced down at the chainsaw in surprise as the motor tried to keep churning through the dust.  With a cry Skeletor pushed himself into a frenzied assault, his longer weapon allowing him to land several blows as Ash tried to parry with the awkward chainsaw.

“This was not how this was supposed to be!” Skeletor screamed in rage as he lashed out at Ash, “This is not how my triumphant return to Darkshire was supposed to happen! I had an army!” He planted a foot on Ash’s chest and heaved, causing the man to stumble over the rocky floor and fall hard. Turning, Skeletor traced a line of fire, separating Kelly from his fight with Ash. The Traveler paused, wincing as his leg almost buckled underneath him. With his current injuries, jumping through the fires again would not be so easily accomplished.

“You meddling buffoons have ruined everything!” Skeletor wailed as he swung the havoc staff, relying on adrenaline to keep the momentum of battle on his side. He knew that once he lost the edge he would not be able to regain it. “Well I will take what relish I can out of beating! You! Instead!” Each word was matched by a reckless swing of the havoc staff. Skeletor could not muster the power for anything else.

It is said that the best defense is a good offense, and Skeletor could not disagree. The retreating Ash found himself backing into the battered side of the Doom drill, its metal scored with shotgun shells and warped by the blasts both Kelly and Skeletor had been hurling with abandon. It was ruined.

Just another reminder of Skeletor’s failure here.

He swung savagely, knocking Ash’s Chainsaw out wide. Letting go of Havoc staff, Skeletor kept it in place with his magic, leaving Ash’s guard open as he drew the Twin sword. Ash tried to block with his Shotgun barrel, But Skeletor’s all-out rage pushed through, as the warlock stabbed his blade into Ash’s gut.

“Don’t get your insides in a twist!” Skeletor growled, as the last ebbs of his energy began to drain. The havoc staff clattered to the floor as Skeletor staggered back. Ash looked down in disbelief, his good hand grasping the hilt of the blade in shock. “You ugly son of a…” Ash trailed off as he leaned against the torn wreckage of the drill. Skeletor gave a defiantly exhausted cackle.

A quarterstaff caught him in the back of the knee, and Skeletor’s dazed stance buckled. A charred Kelly followed through with a sharp hit to Skeletor’s dislocated arm, and Skeletor dropped to his knees as the arm popped excruciatingly back into place.  Seizing the opportunity Ash pushed off his support and brought his dying chainsaw across to scrape a noticeable ridge across Skeletor’s face, knocking him fully to the ground. Skeletor rolled onto his back as Kelly stabbed viciously downwards, taking Skeletor in the stomach.

The Warlock seemed dazed, his eye sockets empty and jawbone unmoving. Kelly stood over the prone Skeletor, heaving deep gulps of air. He turned as Ash sank to the ground, his eyes glazing slightly. It was only the briefest of moments, the slightest concern for those who fought alongside him, but it was too much. Skeletor drew forth the Ramstone again, and pronounced the incantation. Kelly looked back in surprise as radiant green energy blasted forth, lifting him into the air. The traveler struck hard against the heavily weakened ceiling, and what remained of the tunnel came crashing down upon all three primes.

---

In one of the streets of Darkshire, an explosion of energy burst from the cobblestone, before the ground gave way, revealing what must have been a tunnel. Atelos, the Captain of Darkshire’s militia, looked down at it with a stern gaze. “Great.” He muttered, “That’s exactly what we need.”

997 words according to MS word.

Skeletor used havoc staff, energy projection, Telekinesis, wall of flames, Ramstone (SP 0/3)

Kelly used Traveller's staff, foresight, survival, (tried to use burst movement to dodge, but was too fatuiged)

Ash used chainsaw hand, BOOMSTICK, and lotsa survival.

[Skeletor]

Atelos and his personal squadron moved quickly to secure the newly opened tunnel. There had been no rush, no attacking forces that had spilled out of the open gash in the earth. He was still working though the details of Illidan’s plan of attack. The breach in the walls was unexpected, but a large number of the primes had moved to control the point, and Stormrage had not appeared to press the weak point. The Spartan was left to believe this was little more than a feint, meant to draw his attention away from the actual contest. This tunnel could have been the intended mode of attack. Although the hole he neared looked decidedly unplanned, so it seemed this stage as well was being handled. Illdian had still not made his presence known, and this alone left Atelos unsure of the battle ahead. Anyone who could rally a cadre of such evil to his banner was not one to take lightly.

Nearing the smoking crater Atelos motioned for his force spread out, though he hadn’t seen anything come out of the hole they needed to make sure the area was secure before they moved into the tunnel itself. As his men began to systematically sweep the street, bursting open doors, searching houses and Alleyways, Atelos stepped to the edge of the crater itself. The hole was large, almost 3 fathoms from edge to edge, and below he could see the broken wreckage of some metallic construction its metal reflecting the scattered torchlight that streamed down from above.

The Spartan’s attention was drawn to a nearby edge, where a hooded and blue-skinned warrior was slowly lifting himself over the ledge and into the street. With a sharp stride, Atelos placed himself directly in the invader’s path. “So you returned to face your demise.” The Spartan called, causing Skeletor’s head to jerk up wearily. The Warlock let loose an unhinged burst of laughter, staggering to his feet as he faced the Captain of Darkshire’s guards.

“Did you think I would allow you to make a fool out of me, Ro-Man?” Skeletor wheezed, raising one unsteady hand to point at the Spartan, “This is my triumphant return to GLORY!” The Overlord of evil shot a trio of weak and clumsy beams which deflected off of Atelos’s bronze shield and helmet. Skeletor swayed as he shook an angry fist at Darkshire’s defender, “Curse you, Ro-Man! You will not keep me from learning the Secrets of Castle GraySkull! Their power WILL be mine! Nyeheehee-cck!”

Skeletor’s laughter died in his non-existant throat as Atelos stepped forward, Spear thrust powerfully forward, piercing Skeletor just below the ribcage and tilting up through his lung. The Master of evil looked down in shock, jawbone slackened an agape as the bronze spearhead burst through his back. Atelos leaned forward as his foe stood still in shock, “You are mistaken, Monster. This is not Castle Grayskull. THIS is Darkshire.”

Atelos placed his foot on Skeletor’s chest, pushing the dying warlock off of his spear to fall back into the hole. The Necromancer's body landed with a sick thud against the unyielding stone and metal below. Atelos turned and called the rest of his men back from their searching.“Secure the tunnel and scour the rest of that rabble. Where there’s one prime there are likely others.” With that the Defender of Darkshire turned and headed back towards the walls. There were actual threats that needed his attention.

To quote Kelly, Skeletor "is the Ded."

With the drill halted, their leading prime slain and the arrival of Atelos's reserves (even without Atelos himself taking part) Illidan's forces in the tunnel will quickly rout/get rekt.
This avenue of attack has been successfully neutralized

Skeletor will respawn in the Nexus in seven days.
 

[Kelly MacAryn]

It had largely been Skeletor's forces which had suffered when the ceiling fell in; The brave men and women who followed Kelly MacAryn down into the dark had been unable to make a successful push more than ten meters beyond the earlier, partial cave-in which marked the underground border of the town walls. Dazed, injured and battered by the final collapse, ravaged by their repeated failed attempts to smash the desperate defenders and the fallout from the battle between the three Primes, the monstrous marauders presented easy prey for Darkshire's elite forces. With spears and shining shields at the ready the Spartan commander's hand-picked troops descended upon the sinkhole like a blazing hammer, sliding down the slopes of rain-slick mud and broken cobblestones to smash the bloodthirsty abominations who had come for their city.


A single rock among the piles of soil and broken street at the edge of the collapse, dislodged by a booted foot, skittered and bounced down into the pit. It was one of many pieces of debris caught amid the clamor of the valiant charge - but this one revealed a filthy, bloody human hand. 

A finger twitched. Then another. The hand spasmed, then clenched into a fist. With a whisper of shifting soil, gasping, filthy and dazed, Ash Williams rose up out of the earth. 

"... I'm Alive. Well hot damn."

The S-Mart warrior looked around, getting his bearings. Skeletor's body lay nearby, sprawled upon the wreckage of his own machine, bony jaw gaping wide in a grotesque parody of his trademark cackle. Ash smiled in grim satisfaction. 

"Looks like laughing-boy wasn't so lucky." 


Clutching the Twin Sword that still protruded from his abdomen, broken chainsaw dangling uselessly from his other wrist, the weary fighter watched the battle unfold.  

Realizing that deliverance had arrived, a cheer went up from the armored underdogs at the far end of the passage as the reserves struck deep into the disorganized mass of monsters. Bolstered by the renewed prospect of victory, they found unsuspected strength in their exhausted bodies. The charge of Darkshire's elite was complemented by a sudden surge on the opposite flank. Confused, commanderless, and thoroughly outmaneuvered, the subterranean scoundrels were rapidly cut to ribbons by the two-pronged assault. Zombies fell in droves, less than useless without clear instructions. Lesser vampires were efficiently impaled, ogres and other dark beasts brought low by co-ordinated strikes, speared to death and stomped into the mud.  

Sitting down gingerly on the lip of the pit, feeling the cold burn of the weapon stuck in his gut, it occurred to Ash that the scene unfolding below was like watching a pair of armored jaws closing on an oversize handful of screaming, evil popcorn. He tried not to laugh.  

Behind him, he heard something stir.

"I see... you survived," croaked a voice, quiet, and unrecognizably hoarse. "Good. I wasn't certain you'd make it when the tunnel fell in, but your stamina is impressive."

Ash turned, and beheld a nightmare. 

Behind him stood a ravaged human figure. Over six feet tall, it swayed unsteadily on its feet. The apparition had just one arm, the other ending at the elbow in a ragged wound, and it was covered in blackened sludge from head to toe. Rain poured off it, dripping from an outer layer of purplish, viscous tar. The creature's hair was a single rigid mass, so full of mud and gunk that  the color was impossible to determine, and with the exception of a set of soiled-but-sturdy footwear, its clothes were rags.

Only the deep-set blue eyes were familiar. It took him a moment to place them.

"Holy hell... Kelly? Good lord, man - you look dead!"  

"Nearly," the traveler said, his blood-choked tones shockingly casual. "About half of my bones are broken. I think I'm missing an... arm, but I can't move my neck far enough to check without putting my spinal cord in an even worse position than it already is. But..." He hacked, wetting his filth-encrusted lips with his tongue, "that's not important."

Ash stood, and stared, dumbstruck. "You don't say," he said.

Below them, the sound of a one-sided rout began to give way to the rapid-fire voices of men and women with a lot to do and very little time to do it in. With the immediate enemy destroyed, Atelos' unit took command of the beleaguered defenders, seeing that the wounded were tended to, and getting those who could still fight organized and prepared to re-join the battle elsewhere. Nobody was paying attention to the two Primes.

"I do... say. This particular war is over for me. My psychokinetic abilities ... are the only thing allowing me to stand up. But my energy levels are very... low. I certainly can't fight."

The psychic apparition pointed shakily at the Defender of Darkshire with his one remaining hand. "But... you can. There's still a battle going on beyond the walls. These people need your skill."

Both men paused. The din of conflict had become so omnipresent: the rattle of swords and spears, the clatter of arrows, the roars and shrieks of monsters and the screams of the dying - it had all ceased to register. But they persisted still, echoing over the walls and resounding through the breach. The smells of fire, viscera and blood drifted on the wind, mingling with the damp scent of the moors at night. 

Ash regarded Kelly with a stoic expression. "Buddy, I don't know you've noticed, but I'm not doing so hot either. I've got a sword in my stomach!"

The psychic's face shifted under its mask of bloody grime, and he staggered closer, kneeling to inspect the wound with all the numb stiffness of an antique toy soldier. 

" Mm. ... hold still."  

"What? Why should I - AARRGHH!"

In one swift motion, Kelly yanked the Twin Sword from Ash's gut. Blood spurted from the wound, but the flow rapidly trickled away to nothing. 

The hero seethed. "What the hell did you do that for, you crazy asshole? Haven't you ever heard of internal bleeding?!" 

"It missed... the arteries. And the kidneys, remarkably enough." Said the traveler, visibly shaken by the simple effort of removing the sword. Nonetheless, he began to telekineticaly bind the wound using the remains of Ash's shirt, heedless of potential infection because of the Omnilium in the man's system. The fabric slithered and ripped, tearing itself into filthy bandages, weaving a poultice and then tightening abruptly, making the convenience-store gladiator gasp in pain. "Skeletor relied more on brute strength than... accurate placement. Besides... you're a Prime. If it had killed you... you'd be back. And dead with the sword... out, or disabled with it in, either way you'd have been no help to this city."

Ash rubbed his stomach, wincing as he tried some experimental movement. The pain was intense, a spreading, prickly chill, but he didn't feel like he was going to fall over any time soon. He gave his stricken ally an appraising glance. 

"Thanks for patching me up... but, uh, has anybody ever told you you're kind of a cold son of a bitch?"

Kelly sank to the ground, his eyes fluttering. "Probably. This isn't the time for... sentiment." 

The psychic rolled over onto his back. "I'm going to pass out now. Not dying, you understand... you may have noticed I'm very hard to kill. But I need to rest."

His eyes closed, and a sardonic smile flickered across his lips as he felt the cool, rain-soaked cobblestones against his ravaged back. He wasn't going to be able to stay awake but a few seconds more, but the traveler had one last thing to say. 

 "Nice working with you." 

 

And that's a wrap! This thread is donezo!

Kelly is out of this fight - though seriously not dead. 1 HP survivor! Whoo!

Ash got some basic - though quite risky - first-aid. No actual healing took place, obviously, but story-purposes have been served, and he had more HP left at the end of the fight than Skeletor and Kelly combined. His chainsaw is broken, but he's still got his boomstick, presumably, and a few shells left, so if he wants to help out elsewhere that could probably happen. 

It also occurs to me that if he wanted to drop the OM for it, he might claim the Twin Sword, but that's a discussion for an OOC topic...