Day 2 Evening

[The Spirit]

"Go on Heroes! There is very little left for you to do. Some of you have fallen but I'm sure the rest of you can succeed this quest! Those named Ruby and Weiss have already returned to the Omniverse and are alright. The rest of you shall be rewarded."

-------------

Okor finished looking around the destroyed city, it's crumbling remnants seeming to fall apart at any second. The Plague Marine turned to see a floating purple figure, cruelly smiling at the Marine. Odor's hate fueled up inside him and he confronted the purple apparition.

"Smiling one why do you insist on torturing us so!" The apparition merely smiled at the Marine before speaking.

"Your essence is MINE!" The apparitions boney finger pointed at the Marine. What the apparition didn't expect was a fist full of brass knuckles knocking it back, spraying a dash of blood on the ground. The apparition's smile turned into a frown before it raised it's finger.

"Your death shall be painful." The apparition hissed at the Plague Marine. Okor just scoffed before answering. "You may very well try." The apparition made a fist and Okor slammed to the ground, every muscle weighing a ton. He began to feel nothing at the bottom of his feet. He began to realize, his feet were no longer there. The rest of his body turning into crumbles and he could all but lay there as the apparition used his magic.

"Is that the best you got." Okor mocked the Spirit as he disintegrated into dust.

Okor- DEAD
All rows above 5 have been dropped off forever
Break is now complete, you may send in your PM's. All PM's sent during break are neglected.

[Clownpiece]

Somerled had expected, and braced himself, for many different things that could have happened or been spoken during the inevitable conversation between himself and Amaterasu following the battle. Simple things, feelings of anger or betrayal, or even full on actions, such as exterminating him. The ground literally starting to disintegrate beneath their very feet was so far out of left field that the monster couldn’t do anything but sort of stare for a moment. Fortunately, his comrade's response was much more apt, preventing the monster from standing there incredulously until he was consumed by it. Letting out an incredibly dignified scream, the great kami grabbed hold of the other burnt human and took off running like a madman.

Knowing better than to stick around and be swallowed up by the abyss, Somerled followed in the sun goddess’ footsteps, and began his own frenzied sprinting. Even with the world falling apart around him however, the monster just couldn't drum up the adrenaline to tune out his headache. With no worried expression to override his grimace, and his movements almost casual, he followed behind the rest of the group. They were all much faster than he was, he just couldn't keep up. He swore, if he died by the fucking ground opening up beneath him just because he couldn't run fast enough, he was going to make it pay. How exactly he would manage that was a decision for another time.

Thankfully, the need to make that decision would never come, and the group made it to more sturdy ground with time to spare, for the most part. While the monster and the two roasted humans were on safe land, Amaterasu herself was sort of hanging over the very edge. Not entirely sure how she managed that, Somerled quickly stepped over to where the great kami held on, doing her damnedest to not fall with only one good arm. All this effort in such a short time was starting to take its toll. The pain in his head trying to tear him a new one, the storm spirit knelt on the cliff next to the sun goddess.

“If you’re just gonna fall off cliffs like this,” he started, trying to keep the near-migraine out of his voice. Leaning over, he grabbed hold of her arm, one hand closing around her arm and the other around her hand. “Then I might just stick around.” His sentence finished off with a small grunt as he lifted Amaterasu back to safety. Once he was certain she was far enough away from the cliff and wasn’t going to trip and fall off in some stupid display of terrible luck, he released his grip on her arm.

New questions and issues arose with that little incident. When a relic was found, then the ground itself would be swallowed up by reality. And while he normally would have trusted the great kami to look after herself perfectly fine, her injury was concerning. That would be a massive disadvantage in combat. Especially since, if he were to fuck off and try for vengeance, her only two companions would be the dying humans.

She is the great kami, however. She could hold her own. If she were to be overwhelmed, however, the mere thought of which caused Somerled’s blood to simmer, then they’d face his wrath.

“Alright then!” he said, false smile on his face. For now, he'd trust that she could look over herself. “We’ll meet back at the temple. Trek safe. I’ll be heading south, if you need to find me for whatever reason.” He offered a quick farewell and good luck, bowing deeply in reverence. The monster straightened back up, spun around, and began his walk.

[Minato Namikaze]

Continued from the Morning thread

It was quiet, too quiet some might say, considering that this place was supposed to be a battleground. He'd been trained on the field of battle, fought in wars, killed other shinobi to save his comrades and his village. The change was welcomed by the veteran shinobi. 'A veteran... and only at the age of twenty four…' He sighed.

'What?' Kakashi responded, thinking that Minato had been talking to him.

'Nothing.' Minato responded hastily.

'Well be quiet, we don't want to scare the animal away.' Kakashi asserted.

He was right. Minato had, after getting caught amidst his thoughts, forgotten that they were hunting for food, and this time it wasn't just some sort of small animal or edible berries. No, this time they were tracking and hunting something much larger, like an angry cow or bore. Maybe a bear even. Minato began to salivate a little as he pictured the two eating something large and tasty for once.

Minato looked to Kakashi, unable to feel anything but pride in his subordinate. Minato knew how to track, and could efficiently track any animal and human alike, if he needed to. But Kakashi's Anbu Black-Ops training made him the ideal candidate for the job. Minato was good but, he had to admit, Kakashi's training ability was better.

'Minato-sensei, stop.' Kakashi said as his hand acted like a barrier, halting Minato in his tracks. He looked away from the silver haired man, and to a cave opening. The stones around it had claw marks identical to the ones that they had found on their way into the woods. 'I think this is it.' The masked man whispered cautiously as to not give away their presence. 'What gave you that Idea?' Minato responded, a hint of sarcasm in his smirk as Kakashi stared at him, disapproval in his eyes as the two ninja entered the cave. The cavern smelled of damp dirt and rotting meat, whatever lived here had been hoarding it's kill. 'Do you smell that?' Minato inquired softly. Kakashi responded with a nod as they ventured deeper into the cave.

It was mostly dark, but what little light did make it inside was enough to, dimly, light their way as the shuffled through dirt and stone. It wasn't long before they discovered that the cave wasn't very large. They had only traveled a total of, roughly, twenty five meters before hitting the cavern's end.

'Hey Kakashi…' Minato said, cringing a little as the words came out of his mouth.

'What?' His companion's reply was soft and quiet.

'Please stop breathing on my neck.' Minato requested as he took a few steps around the figure and back into the small amount of light that had made it that far into the tunnel.

'I'm not…' Kakashi replied as his hand landed on Minato's shoulder. The blonde haired man turned to see his protege standing behind him, the shocked look on the man's face told Minato that something was amiss. Minato looked back into the cave, the bulky figure of a large animal on all fours stood in front of him. The beast trudged slowly towards the two, causing both ninja to step backwards as it stepped forwards.

A bear. Well, some sort of weird, spiny, demon bear to be exact. It's body was riddled with large areas of missing fur, It's skin was oddly red and raw, It's teeth were elongated and dripping with a mixture of what looked like saliva and dried blood. On top of that, it's body had spine-like bone protrusions growing from it, and It's breath smelled of death and decay, not much seemed to survive this animal.

'Hey Kakashi…' Minato whispered.

'Yeah?' The silver haired man responded.

'Maybe we should fight this thing outside of the cave.' The golden haired shinobi breathed as the two men made a dash for the cave's entrance.

[The Spirit]

CHALLENGE
CYBER DEMON VS. RYNER, COLONEL, SMITH, ENZO, JAK, ORIHIME, SASUKE, VICTOR

All participants cannot post unless it is a reply to the challenge.
Guardian difficulty- 6

[Ada Wong]

It was a nice day out. A steady thrum of insects buzzed in the air, sweet-smelling wildflowers nestled close in the scarce patches of sunlight. Great towering hulks of trees, riddled all over with dark grooves and climbing vines, fanned their branches out and prevented the heat of the day from sweltering across the inner atmosphere of the jungle. That Warlock guy, you really had to hand it to him— he sure knew how to spruce up a prison.

A tiny mudbug puttered about in the damp of the forest floor, decaying vegetative matter serving as the perfect place for it to shape a snug little home from the loamy, enriched dirt. It dug headfirst into the soil, hairy little legs wriggling about as several crinkly leaves were overturned by an unforeseen, transiently light breeze.

Many others just like it did the very same, burrowing in between mushrooms, veiny tree roots, and even the half-eaten carcass of a dead bird. The bird's feathers, soft like flower petals and just as pliant, were swept across the scattered undergrowth and mud in pint-sized tufts of fuzzy yellow.

High above the ground and nestled into the sturdy curve of a branch that would present a gut-wrenchingly sickening drop if he were to fall, Crowley snoozed as the shallow noonday light intermittently broke through the forest canopy. A few bright yellow feathers were stuck to the underside of his chin in a false goatee. With each soft snore they tickled at his throat, prompting the jumble of limbs and perilously balanced sunglasses to sigh and twist into increasingly gymnastic positions athwart the tree limb.

What sounded like a fog horn intermingled with a curious combination of wub-dizzling pealed out with an outstanding shriek, shattering the demon’s peaceful afternoon nap. With a yelp and a sleep-mangled shout, Crowley tumbled from his perch and fell roughly three stories towards the forest floor.

Blargh. Crowley thought viciously as he fell, narrowing his bleary eyes at the firearm still snugly tucked at his elbow.

His body braced to hit the ground; Crowley wasn’t expecting to land with anything short of a good splatter. In fact, he figured that his head would likely crack like an egg in the next handful of skipping seconds, sunny-side up. It was about time that he met with some horrible fate.

It occurred to him that he had been falling for quite a while— more than enough time for his centuries-long life to flash before his eyes, which had yet to happen. No, rather than be subjected to the agonizing phantom pain of falling in a comet trail of threadbare feathers and singed grace, a rather unexpected memory came to mind with startling clarity.

An afternoon in the park. Frost-chilled weather, his breath fogging in the air. Good company, too— a bookish fellow with well-groomed hands and a figurative, partially literal halo of uprightness weaving about his head. Crowley was wont to point it out, but resisted the temptation.

They had been standing around in comfortable silence when a little duck waddled over towards them, nosing with its rounded bill towards the ground. The pond had frosted over with little spider webs of ice, it was no wonder at all to them that it might be hungry. Poor sucker.

“Watch this,” Crowley said with a wicked grin. Aziraphale let out a long-suffering sigh, the very amount of telling off he would reserve for later easily visible in the chilly weather, but observed nonetheless as the demon cinched his fingers together. The demon clicked his tongue coaxingly at the duck, waggling his fingers around until the fowl’s glittering eyes focused on him.

Cute little wagging tail feathers followed after it as it wobbled on webbed feet towards him, its beady eyes small and dark. The waterfowl quacked hopefully at him, or rather his hand, hoping for a scrap of bread crust or a nice plastic.

The demon opened the palm of his hand with all the mystery and inconceivability of an expert magician, a light flourish of his hand revealing that it was, in all truth, empty. Apparently confounded by this, the duck let out a flabbergasted quack, its head canting to the left and to the right as it attempted to puzzle this particular mystery out.

Crowley snickered.

“You’re incorrigible,” Aziraphale huffed, but Crowley could still spy the beginnings of a smile quirking at the corners of his mouth. And then—

Something— a sliver of flapping, thin fabric, sealed tight around his throat, effectively snapping him back to the choke-hold of reality. His jaws and the back of his skull cracked loudly as the roar of the ocean rushed in his ears, his hands tugging ineffectually at the slippery band of cloth stringing him up amongst grasping branches and distant, mercurial glimpses of sky. For but a moment he thrashed about wildly, legs crooked and swinging as he attempted to free himself, and then in a rippling tear of seams and frayed ends he plummeted the remaining couple of feet to hit the ground with a heavy thump.

A few seconds skittered by as the demon simply laid there, breathing heavily and staring up at the tattered remnants of his tie wrapped tight around a twiggy branch. The tree it was attached to, he noticed, was pale as a stag’s rack, the very color of bone and remarkably familiar to him. His fingers idly traced the sore, weltering bruise now speckling around his neck.

Then, face twisted into a markedly sour look, Crowley shoved himself into a sitting position and glared at the bass-driven weapon. The gun had the sheer audacity to beep at him. Like a tiny little Italian car careening around precariously narrow side streets. Beep!

“I didn’t know you moonlighted as an alarm clock,” he quipped as he unsteadily wobbled to his feet. It felt like a dozen bed-springs were coiled up in his lower back, ready to let loose a zing of pain at any moment if he made a wrong move.

Beep!

Not deeming this audacious retort worthy of a response, Crowley unpleasantly stretched his limbs before setting off at a jumbled, clumsy step. Every footstep felt jarring, as if he were only walking across a child’s trampoline and hadn’t just fallen from the tree he had spent most of the morning in.

There was a cool little gurgling stream nearby and Crowley reckoned that the littered remains of the little yellow bird he had snatched up the night before would do nicely for a midday meal. Boy, how that tiny bird had sang!

The lacquered lenses of his shades slanted and gleamed as Crowley seated himself on a rock beside the trickling flow of burbling, rock-bedded water. He idly gnawed on a few remaining bones with some scant meat still clinging to them, relishing in the clear air and periwinkle blue sky. Scattered earthy tones intermingled with plumes of fragrant daylight fell through the cover of leaves, turning the overgrown grass the color of a fresh harvest of wheat tinged with orangey-yellow pizzazz.

“Huh. I suppose I did sleep in a little later than expected,” Crowley admitted as an aside to the dark-hued firearm, getting a brief flicker of bluish internal light and a curt boop for his trouble. “Aw, don’t be like that.”

He sighed heavily, brushing a smear of dried dirt from his knee as he stood. In the running waters of the stream he noticed a fluttering particle of yellow clinging to his chin and with an irate, jerky movement the remnants of his latest meal were all but gone.

His shoes left slippery, sliding tracks in the riverbank as he went along, clusters of leaves and stringy grass shifting pensively underfoot. Crowley shrugged his jacket up until the collar settled snug against the nape of his neck, feeling mildly exposed while rambling through the wooded shadows and boggy steppes with a bunch of homicidal maniacs capering about. He had come to appreciate the fact that he hadn’t run into anyone yet, though he suspected that might change soon enough.

Another thing that Crowley had started to really admire about this place was the reliability with which the scenery changed around him. The varying temperatures and climates mixed easily, flowing into one another in this glorious, strait-lacedly normal pattern that was of some comfort to him. It really was too bad that, when searching for the snow-capped mountains he had intended to skirt around the day before, Crowley was greeted by the sight of a whole share of nothing.

Standing upon a high precipice of rock, Crowley pursed his lips as he regarded the gaping abyss where the rocky stretch of mountainous region had once been. He turned, a few pebbles grounding underfoot, and squinted against a pale glimmering of sunlight to make sure that nothing else had abruptly vanished. Alas, all he could see were the frothy tops of trees and a few loosely-sketched buildings, most likely abandoned and inhabited by all kinds of nasty beasts.

Crowley sniffed and looked imploringly to the gun which had traveled with him thus far. “Well. I guess that little route of travel is out of the picture. Westward ho, then?”

A shaky hum stemmed through his fingers, kind of like one of those prank-y sticks of gum that give you a good electrical sting when you try to sneak a piece. The demon nodded once to himself, more than willing to take that answer and run with it.

With a lanky, unhurried stride that belied very little about how much attention Crowley truly paid his surroundings, the fallen angel and his musical weapon set off into the brush.

[Sasuke Uchiha]

A scorching warmth blanketed the terrain as Sasuke found himself back in the land of fire and brimstone. The day’s sky, overcome with a collection of smolder, ash, and hazardous sprays of lava, was slowly beginning it’s descent into twilight.

Day two, the sun was already setting, and the shinobi hadn’t seen heads or tails of any guardians. In fact, the most menacing thing he’d encountered on the island had been the wolf pack of yesterday; he could hardly count the squabbles of Victor Wolfe and Jak Mar as such. They were about as menacing as two scorned lovers, quarreling through passive aggression, about a fight neither of them remembered who had started in the first place.

Sure, Sasuke disliked working with the schizophrenic criminal of Nippur, Jak Mar, same as Victor, but…The enemy of my enemy is, the shinobi recounted, observing the small Elvin fighter… yup, definitely, a pain in my ass.

It wasn’t all bad, though. The shinobi had, once again, found himself in the presence of a strong female, capable of handling herself. This one was just as attractive as the last, however, unlike the last, she genuinely seemed to dislike violence. Almost as if she were new to it, but with the way she moved in battle, that didn’t seem to fit quite right either. Orihime puzzled the Uchiha; if she wasn’t a warrior, why had she trained like one?

Either way, the shinobi had managed to encounter and assemble quite a ragtag group of primes to aid him in his search, and though it wasn’t quite the grand militia Gilgamesh had assembled in Dante’s Abyss, Sasuke felt this group very capable of completing the task at hand. And even if they weren’t, the ninja would gladly sacrifice himself before he allowed some impotent warlock to prevent him from his vengeance. Tuecer really had nothing to worry about. He would get his freedom; it was literally tied to Sasuke’s vengeance.

The party had covered so much distance, the land had literally transformed itself, trading the lush grass beneath their feet for scorched, black earth instead. “Let’s stop here,” the shinobi began as he halted the group, “I want to scout the area and see what we are working with. Each of us take a point on a compass and scout that direction. We’ll meet back here in thirty minutes, got it?”

“Got it.” everyone agreed and like that, thirty minutes later, the four of them returned to share their findings. Jak, Orihime, and Sasuke all returned without much luck, but it was obvious by the smug expression on Victor’s face that he hadn’t been so unlucky. Just fifteen minutes to the east, Victor reported having found a group of four or more primes, currently battling some hideous, giant fiend.

“A guardian,” the ninja pondered, “well, that settles that.” The ninja slung the pack off his back and rummaged through it before withdrawing from the contents within. With a confident and ambitious expression, the shinobi held the object within the palm of his hand, “Let's see what these guardians are made of!”

[Erik Vrell]

Erik fell to the ground in a daze. He turned to see the strange man who could control the weather leaving. Even turning caused pain to shoot up Erik's spine. He was in near constant agony from being burned by the sun, but at least Link was safe. That made the pain more than worth it. Yuki was in a similar position as him, burnt all over and bleeding. Erik realised that the woman with wolf ears had torn some of her clothing to make bandages.
"I cannot thank you enough." Erik said quietly to the woman. "I chose to save Link, I had accepted death, but you helped keep Yuki alive when I couldn't. I greatly appreciate it." With those words, Erik slowly limped over to check in his ally. The young man was conscious and alive, but barely so, much like Erik himself. The psychic sat down and watched the slowly setting sun.

"You know Yuki," Erik said, a small smile creeping across his face. "It looks like I got the short end of the stick when it came to weaponry." Erik chuckled at his own joke while Yuki look slightly incredulously at the man beside him. Burnt and bruised, yet still able to laugh at his own expense?
"Hey, Erik?" Yuki said, "Aren't you upset about bleeding out?" Erik looked at the teenager as if he were some naive child.
"No Yuki, I'm not." Erik said. "We will always come back. We have infinite lives. The thing is, I didn't waste this one, my death was not in vain. Link will survive, I can feel it." Erik grinned. The psychic's optimism was somewhat comforting to the teenager. Erik watched as the sun began to meet with the horizon. Now this was something that he could die happy to, although he still had a few more hours left to live. Erik turned to the woman for a moment.
"I will follow you if there is somewhere that you need to be, if you are ok with me coming with you. I won't be here much longer anyway." Erik said, before turning back to the sunset.

[Smith]

Buried within a tomb of loose stone and rubble, Smith lay still and unmoving. Oh, he was not dead. No, he was merely... considering the battle that had just taken place. It had been quite some time since the ex-Agent had been so thoroughly outmatched in a fight. Not since the time he had been destroyed in that hallway. When Mr. Anderson had done the impossible and not only returned to life, but had completely and utterly surpassed him.

And while another might feel anger, or fear, Smith knew only curiosity. By all definitions, the beast should have been defeated. The weapon that was still gripped in his hand was most devastating and the number of direct hits the program had inflicted on the beast should have been enough to take down any manner of monster. Yet... it still lived. Not only did it live, but it had managed to brush away Smith and his allies like they were flies. Such power would certainly be useful, if he could figure out how to harness it correctly.

The feel and sound of shifting stone alerted Smith to the movement of the others, most likely Mr. Colonel. The man had been caught in the same blast as Smith, after all. It seemed time to make his appearance as well, if only to keep the strangely emotional program named Matrix calm. With, admittedly, some slight effort on his part, the man in the suit pulled himself free of the stone and looked to the others.

Immediately, they began to converse about how to handle the situation. But, there was really only one option. The beast was obviously injured. They were as well, but to leave it as is would invite another group to finish it off. It was unacceptable that their efforts be usurped by any other. While the foursome discussed their plans, Smith took the time to take care of his injuries. Once upon a time, he'd needn't have worried about such trivialities. If he died, he would merely assume a new host. But he was unplugged now, and without his army, Smith needed to be cautious with the body he had.

It seemed that the Agent had managed to avoid too much damage, though his leg would need tending too and his neck was stiff and uncooperative in movement. Still, he was a program, superior to a mortal man. Pain could be set aside, ignored completely, when your mind was merely a digital construct. That was why, when Smith unceremoniously ripped the stone shard from his leg, he made not a sound. His coat came off next, becoming a makeshift bandage for the wound, and he examined his work a moment before nodding. His leg would certainly not be the same, at least not for quite some time, but he didn't need to worry about further damaging himself any longer, so it would do.

In moments, the group of four had regained their composure and were moving towards where the cyberdemon had retreated. And shortly thereafter, they found the creature. There were no words spoken. There was no need. Matrix and Colonel moved to the right, and flesh-bag to the left, the three ready to resume their hit and run tactics on their foe. As for Smith himself... his weapon raised and, without hesitation, he fired. The creature howled as his round found a home within its hoary hide, but Smith did not flinch. His trigger finger moved again and again, the Good Samaritan roaring each time to match the beast. There would be no retreat for it this time.

[Albert Wesker]

Once more, back into the fray.

His entire body ached almost unbearably, even with his damage management systems mitigating the impairment to his functions. His chest was now caved in, sporting the rough outline of a hoof imprint gouged into the plating. His already labored breathing came in little more than sharp, ragged gasps, punctuated by the hiss of excess air escaping through his ruptured exterior. His internal readouts were a mess; awash in CRITICAL SYSTEM ERROR this, and MASSIVE SYSTEM DAMAGE that...things he already knew, that he was already well aware of.

If his systems hadn't been so purposefully robust, he wouldn't even have had the chance to contemplate going back for a round 2 against this cyberdemon. He would have been so much scrap after the first rumble with the massive beast. And yet...

The blade of his sword whipped out, a flash of steel heralding its separation into its bladed sections. His left arm was now almost useless; he was limited to only his sword arm. He would have to make do with it. It was lucky he had always been a one-armed sword specialist, he thought, as the blade-sporting whip lashed out, striking the massive, cybernetic demon right around its throat.

The reaction was immediate, and a fierce reaction it was. Colonel was nearly pulled off his feet, and he could feel the hilt of his weapon straining against his grip. The goat-like monstrosity took one step forward, planted its hooves, and jerked its head forward, trying to wrest its neck loose from the stranglehold the navi had it in. It was all he could do to hold fast, tightening the noose, as it were.

The creature was busy with its own problems though, being hammered and harried by the other three. Smith and his almost comically-oversized gun laid down a steady stream of fire. The human, Ryner, did his best to keep the beast distracted, putting a shot from his flare gun right into the demon's eyes. Of course, that did only seem to make it mad, more than anything.

It stamped its hooves madly, an inhuman, shrieking roar of pure, maddened, animal rage going up from it as it redoubled its efforts to break free, whirling about and bringing its rocket launcher to bear. A salvo of its deadly projectiles rained down before, behind, and around the soldier navi. He was left battered and scarred, charred and scorched by the blasts, his vision filled with static and dropped to one knee.

A second hand grasped hold of the sword-whip just above the hilt, and the robust physique of the program, Matrix, hovered into view. "Bring him down!" he shouted, a simple, effective plan. And Colonel was all too happy to oblige, pouring on all the strength he had left to put forth, setting his crumpled posture defiantly against the debris-strewn ground.

System stress rising past tolerable levels. Continued activity will result in irreparable damage.

"Disable notifications....divert all system processes to combat routines." The myriad of warnings and advisories on his HUD vanished in the blink of an eye. Sparks flickered and flashed out of the countless tears and holes in his armored exterior, and there was a great grinding and whirring of servos and gears as he gave a last, final effort and pulled so hard the stress finally got to even his undamaged limb, and with a sharp, grating pop-krak, sparks flew from his shoulder.

But the cyberdemon, like a towering oak, fell backward, overbalancing, and hit the ground with a thunderous crash.

"While it's down...finish it off!"

[Victor Wolfe]

Nodding to Sasuke he started to lead his comrades towards the location of the battle, he stopped his group and examined the battle ground before them looking each of the primes up and down. There were two of the people that he had been conversing with in the temple, the vice dean of security who had apparently not had the greatest time with this event as the many wounds on his metal form showed , the institute hopeful Ryner who also had his fair share of injuries and two others who he did not recognize. It appeared that they had managed to regain some form of strategy, the demon was down but clearly not out for the count with its attempts to struggle free of the attacks from the other primes. There was a man in a suit and sunglasses "Well looks like we have a fun little party here” Victor started sprinting towards the downed demon hat in hand. His only thought “was mine, mine, mine!". He thirsted for his first kill of the event, and if he got one of the artefacts out of it then that was just another bonus.

Pausing to nod at Colonel he remarked "Looks like the cavalry is here, Good work so far" With a laugh Victor proceeded to where the demon was flailing on the ground. The other members of his group just behind and the other group of attackers starting to recover Victor decided to try a strategic attack rather than just go for a killing blow and risk instant death. "Funny that the first thing I might kill after Nippur is a demon, I am going to enjoy this far more than I should. Blame your kin for what’s about to happen fiend!" Victor laughed maniacally.

Waiting for an opportunity Victor waited patiently until with a dash he dodged the demons arm getting close and slashing down at the joint with his Hat. He did not have time to saw through as the arm came back knocking him into a nearby wall. "Damn it! If this keeps up those guys are going to take the kill, I need more power , if only I had my actual weapons I would be able to carve this fiend open" Victor noticed a tingling feeling in his fingers and his hands instinctively fell to where his daggers would normally be and a smile crept across his face. “Distract it for a bit I think I have an idea" Victor shouted to his comrades and began trying to use energy to temporarily bring his Daggers to this realm “ This had better damn well work!”

[Orihime Inoue]

The first thing she noticed was the roar, ear-splitting it was bovine-like and animalistic. Due to the unnatural shriek, she envisioned wetting herself in fear while she stood frozen like the perfect bait. Outside the imaginations of her mind, the next thing she heard was the loud and industrial sound of charging footsteps. Orihime could have never been prepared for what was to happen next.

This cybernetic goblin was the thing of nightmares, having legs like a beast and towering several feet above them. Appearing like something that erupted straight out of hell, the creature had skin the color of dry blood and wore a metal armor. A repulsive horned helmet sat on the beasts ugly head making him look like a monster from the underworld. It would be well-advised if we left this monster alone Orihime thought as her body began to quake with the fear.

Then the death punch tolls in the form of the star boy leading an assault onto the hellion. Time stood still, she couldn't do this, how could she do this? The young warrior stopped mid charged to turn back at the red-haired girl planted in terror.

“Come on-” where the only words before the force of a vicious attack from the guardian tossed the boy into the air.

“No.” she breathed while she closed her eyes trying to escape the reality of her possibly being the cause of harm to the young warrior. Chunks of earth, debris and fragments of bullets littered the air in front her, blinding her the ability to see the outcome from the blast. The air was a suffocated musk of dirt, sweat, gunpowder and something else? Was that brimstone?

Appearing from the cloud of dust came the warrior standing on the head of a great dragon with his arms crossed and a confident half-smile across his lips. This boy was not at all a fairy, he had to a wizard of some kind. Orihime imagined as she stood awestruck by the legends fearsome beauty as it cried out a roar of its own. On the command of its master the beast flew over Orihime, the rider winked slyly at her as he passed. This was stuff of dreams and legends, wishing that Zabajin was here with her to marvel the spectacular sight.

Seeing the boy wizard, known as Sasuke charge into battle gave her the confidence she needed to ready her hulking electric blade and follow after him.

“Here we go with these damn goats again, I swear I am eternally cursed” the energy-wielder mumbled as she prepared for her first attack. The beast was occupied by an assault from the dragon and Sauske as well as her other allies. This was her chance! No doubt the girl had the element of surprise here while the hellhound had his savage back turned to her. With her energy sword in front of her, she guided it furiously between his ribs just inches away from his spine.

Sparks flew as the pointy, razor sharp blades dug into the beats putrid flesh. Crying out an unnatural wailing, the wound reeked of burnt rotting flesh. Before Orihime could strike again she found herself flat on her face in the dirt by the sharp thrust of a backwards elbow to her temple from the demon.

An uncomfortable ringing mixed with bone-shattering pain paralyzed Orihime. “You can’t protect my people from the ground.” she heard her old friend say as she rose up from the bloodstained gravel.

[Jak Mar]

The Fight

His group had ran straight ahead of him leaving Jak to follow behind the others. As Jak tried to prevent himself from bleeding, the others were already beating down the creature just as horrifying. It was back to the daily grind as Jak let the weapons wrap themselves around his arms as the dark beast trailed in his mind.

“Come on, Jak…

There were others of course… A slightly damaged robot of sorts… a man with a suit and tie and a younger man… They had managed to knock the dangerous beast down with lots of damage.

Jak almost watched his comrades take on the rough beast, but the dragon surprised him. Sasuke had rode in like a stranger from a fairytail as the dragon roared and hit the cyberdemon hard.

The swords had pushed his dark beast out.

It was time..

The dark beast roared as Jak held his head and horns jutted out of his head, and dark eco spouted from his body. Dark had appeared on all fours and the swords were glowing a strange purple energy instead of the usual fire on the weapons.

The demon inside took the opportunity of the beast knocked down to stab the cyberdemon where Orheime had weakened it, along with the others and new comerades. The eco warrior had combined the weapons somehow with raw dark eco energy and after he stabbed the bigger demon, he held onto the beast for dear life and pulled him back.

The demon cried out in a inhuman voice “I got him held down, Keep shooting guys!”

(God of war references)

[Enzo Matrix]

To most people, a crushing chest wound like the one he had received would take them out of the fight entirely. Matrix wasn't like most people, though. Even if he was, the fact remained that without that sword they weren't leaving this place. Some people might have called it stubbornness, but he prefered to view it as resilience. Either way, today it would pay off.

From the corner of his eye, Matrix spotted four new arrivals to the battle. He had to idea who these people were, but some of them seemed to have some sort of rapport build up with other parts of his odd clan, here. They didn't speak to him, and that was fine. Matrix already didn't like accepting help from friends, so with strangers like these it went without saying that he was just going to grit his teeth and deal with it.

The fight had deteriorated over time, like most do. Injuries and the opportunities they brought gave way to a faster, more brutal brawl. Matrix's tactics were mostly gone, and when Colonel had managed to pull the beast to the ground, Matrix had responded by being one of the ones to pounce at the exposed beast. His weapon wasn't much, but that didn't stop him from stabbing at the Cyberdemon's neck and head again. Blood, skin, and sparks flew everywhere, but they paid it little mind. This thing had to be stopped.

A rocket fired from it's absurd arm just as Jak assisted in pinning the beast down. The explosion hit a nearby rock wall, creating shrapnel and a powerful concussive blast. Matrix ignored his temporary deafness, and instead decided to target that extremity. He threw all of his body weight against the rocket launcher arm, pinning it to the ground. Though the sprite was careful to keep his head or any other body parts away from the muzzle, the monster didn't seem to want to fire in close quarters and risk damaging itself, too.

This was good news, so Matrix continued to work on holding the arm down. It took all of his weight to contain the strength of the Cyberdemon, and it still resulted in him getting bashed in the head a few times by the flailing, metallic limb. Though he was temporarily disoriented, he wasn't swayed. All he had to do was contain this arm and keep it pointed so any missiles would fire away from the group if the beast decided to fire, after all. While he had it down he pulled his knife back out and stabbed at the arm some, doing his best to do any damage at all.

The struggling arm struck him again, not in the head but instead in his shattered chest cavity. Matrix gasped for breath and rolled to his back as he let go for just a second, but quickly regained his senses and grabbed the limb again. He pulled himself up and stabbed his knife into the prone beast's gut. It was an abandonment of his previous plan, but the adrenaline was pumping and he saw the opening.

Just as quickly, Matrix regained his senses and remembered his job. He dove back to the rocket launcher with the same sense of awareness, and hopefully allowed the others to continue their assault with a little less trouble.

[Amaterasu]

"South, eh... well if you run into that green guy I wish you good luck. I need to take it easy for a bit, forage some... we'll try to get on the road. I'll see you around, Somerled. Oh, and... if we survive this or return home anyway, I'd be happy to meet you again and speak in a less... in a more relaxed situation." She was mistaking Somerled's careful approach for that the Graveyardverse was making him tense and uneasy, which of course might also factor in, and very well DID factor in for her. But she had gotten to like him as a person, and didn't want to just lose contact again after having only just met.

Helping the other two along she brought them in the general direction of the temple, while collecting roots along the way which she accumulated in her pocket. By the time they arrived she had a small amount gathered up, and though where they were wasn't the ideal place for foraging she did find enough to get something to eat for herself, and to keep the other two afloat as well. Not ideal for any of the involved parties, but what could they do. All the while along, she was on the lookout for opponents, for individuals from the temple, likely heading towards that space. She wanted not to fight nor to engage them, but... she had to do what she could to save the two others.

It had occured to her by that time that she didn't even know their names. They'd been mostly quiet, focused on trying to keep themselves from bleeding out, but it was getting worse. No, it couldn't be that way. When she came back to where she had left them, renovated their bandages (which meant sacrificing her other sleeve and completely leaving her noble appearance behind with her torn dress) and fed them she sat down and crossed her legs. An odd calmness overcame her as she realized that it was, it appeared, inevitable. But the Hero Teucer had spoken to them, across the island. They wouldn't die permanently even if they died here on the battlefields. Not that it made it any less bad.

"Listen, you two... I'll be honest. Unless we have a stroke of luck and someone heals you by chance, it... it looks rather grim for you both. But if you return to the Nexus... I hope you are harboring no hard feelings for Somerled or for me. It shouldn't have come to this, and I hate that it had to. Would you thus accept an agreement of peace between us? If we ever meet again in another life or outside of this Graveyard place, I hope it will be under better conditions, in a situation where we mustn't fight. I have no will to fight you again." Yhe took a deep breath, then spoke on. "You have both fought well, and... and you have aided your friend in a way that few could do, by sacrificing themselves. I want to bring your bodies back with me to the Hero Teucer's temple, and give them an honoring. I will go to the temple anyway, to encounter the Hero Teucer and help him pass to the afterlife after the artifacts are gathered in one place. But to honor you as is due for a proper man, for samurai as you proved yourselves to be, I need to know your names. I am Amaterasu, myself, and my friend was, as I said, Somerled." She bowed her head to them. "Would you please tell me your names, in turn?"

Translations:
Samurai: (Noble/honorable) Warrior

[Dave Strider]

It wasn't the nap he was going for, but Ryner certainly felt refreshed, despite his injuries. Had the conditions been right and the demon been defeated he would have rewarded himself with another one But those conditions were not met and once he regained consciousness it was only a matter of time before they would face the demon again.

"Well, hopefully I helped more than I feel I did, but i think I did alright with this stupid flare thing. You guys and the weapons you have did most of the work."

He only received small glanced and subtle nods from the silent group. Ryner felt like an outcast as the only one without a dead serious tone. Perhaps at any moment one of these guys could punch him in the face for his incompetence, but it seemed that they didn't mind whatever help they got, even if it was just him and his puny flare gun.

Ryner gave a few bloody coughs and felt his body ache, but it wasn't too bad. His back hurt like hell but he could still fight.

Another group arrived, to which Ryner shyly greeted, secretly glad to find some people who weren't some type of robot and showed some actual emotion. With a light-hearted chuckle he followed the others as they faced the cyber demon once more.

As they descended, Ryner thought more about his spells. Maybe, just maybe, he might be able to remember one of them. What about that lightning one? How did the chant go? What I seek is lightning? No... thunder. Then another word. what was it? Tamagotchi? Ugh. He hated not having any access to his spells. He felt useless. At least he was playing some part in aiding this Tuecer guy. Ryner gave a light sigh as he found a sliver of comfort in the fact that at least he was helping someone.

Then, a roar interrupted his thoughts as he realized he had been spaced-out for a bit too long, and the fight had already begun.

The Alpha Stigma dashed to the side as his allies began working together, seamlessly chaining their attacks as if all part of one mind. As an opening presented itself, Ryner took his chance to fire the flare gun, lighting up the cave with red light as the flare burned into the demon once more. Roar after mighty roar echoed through the cave as flashes of light, steel, and explosions shook the earth, allowing loose rocks to fall from the ceiling, rattling the primes below.

"Damn, this thing just wont go down..."

The Alpha Stigma became worried for his allies and even himself, as more debris came down upon them. Ryner did the best he could to try to light the dimmer area with his flares. Ryner would be damned if they all died from random falling rocks. In fact, he would be damned if they died at all. Turning his attention to be more of a support role, Ryner called out sections of crumbling dirt and made his way around, being sure that none of his allies would have to worry about anything but taking out this beast.

[The Spirit]

CHALLENGE
CYBERDEMON vs. COLONEL, SMITH, MATRIX, RYNER, ORIHIME, SASUKE, VICTOR, JAK.

Being pushed even deeper into the cavern, the Cyberdemon attempted to seek refuge within its lair. Unfortunately for him the group of champions didn't give up so easily, arriving within the depths of the den the heroes were greeted with the strong smell of brimstone. A red glow colored the cavern's walls and the air gotten warmer, almost as if they stepped on hell's doorstep. The champions knew the beast was wounded and this was their best chance they had to finish it off.

Following the path down the group arrived in a much larger, circle shaped, room. They found the source of the red glow combined with heat, within the centre of the room a large pentagram was carved within the ground, around the platform a stream of lava set the occult like scene. The beast saw his victims come closer, every single one of them had their weapons at the ready. It would be the final showdown between the mighty beast and the relic hunters. Once more the demon demonstrated its raw power by roaring, shaking the cavern in which they stood. Pieces of debris fell down from the unstable looking cave. During the Cyberdemon's outcry a hellish red glow started to shroud the beast's body, growing even bigger than before. His eyes started to glow bright as it set it's sight onto its first victim. Clearly this was his trump card, a last stand, a enraged state of mind and body. It stabbed the sword deep into the ground.

The heroes stood in awe during the display of ascendency, none had ever imagined to be witness of such horrendous scene. Sasuke wasn't going to give the beast another intimidating moment and decided to boost the morale of his allies. Answering the demon's battle-shout, the ninja's dragon stretched out its neck and roared directly, both forces of nature collided in a vocal intimidation affair. Finding strength and hope having such a mythical creature by their side some of the champions charged in to finish off the archfiend once and for all.

Several of the champions powered up and were ready to go in, Jak allowed his dark side to take over, slowly changing to his demonic like alternate self he got ready to charge in. Orihime took a fighting stance, even she knew this time she was needed at the front, getting more in tune with her emotion she felt the power of omnilium flowing through her veins. Matrix wasn't holding back either, this was it, the final round with this beast, the black and gold icon on his shoulder plate changed its shape to a shield with two swords across it, whatever he did, his power increased. With their display of combined power the mighty dragon screamed once more this time the mythical creature made the cavern shake. The Cyberdemon was clearly effected by the beast's shriek and was held at bay. With a simple order from Sasuke the silver dragon inhaled deeply, it's chest getting swollen with air. Matrix noticed what was going on, holding out his hand he started to gather energy for his own attack. For a a mere two seconds the creature held its breath before exhaling a large ball of fire towards the Guardian, Matrix released his own fireball. The two flaming projectiles were dancing through the air, before colliding with the wounded guardian. A massive sea of flames was created with the two fireballs strengthening each other's destructive power.

"Now, ATTACK!" The ninja screamed, echoing throughout the chamber. With the dragon clawing it's way towards the Cyberdemon it was leading the charge. Sinking it's teeth deep within the demon's skin it forced the guardian to roar in pain once more. The champions we're circling Cyber as they started to attack it with their weapons as the dragon was keeping him busy. Sasuke's beast was viciously clawing and biting it's way to their victory. It seemed to be the end of the guardian, up until the moment the demon saw his chance, the mythical creature was inhaling to release his fire once more but got interrupted by the demon who grabbed the dragon by its throat and forcing his weapon into his mouth with great force. A blast was heard and smoke was coming out of the creatures mouth. The Demon released his grip and the dragon stumbled to the ground.

Roaring victoriously the guardian started spraying missiles in every direction as he displayed animalistic dominance over the fallen beast. One of the random projectiles came near Smith and Sasuke, both being blasted away by the nearby explosion, their reflexes protected them from getting seriously injured, it was a clear sign this had to end fast.

"This creature is getting on my nerves." Sasuke said aggravated. The ninja reached for his weapon and joined his allies in the fight for life and death. Waving his wand through the air he was sending bright yellow stars as if carried by the wind, aimed at the guardian.

Jak let loose the chains of war. Going on the offensive he created a series of attack, the dynamite kid was unstoppable, spinning, slashing into the demon's skin. Jak's action's did not go unnoticed, within the blink of an eye the fiend aimed his rocket launcher in the heroes direction. Reacting purely on instincts Jak threw one of his chained swords into the wall and pulled himself out of harm's way. Not wasting a single moment, another barrage of missiles were send after the pointy eared hero, who reacted with a display of acrobatic use of his weapon and wall walked across the lair's stone walls. Confidently Jak smiled as the others were witnessing his shining moment. Cyberdemon didn't intent to play around for another moment. Shooting one more missile he forced the Dynamite kid to evade once again, this time he was ready and caught the acrobatic speedster with his claw. Jak was letting out an agonizing scream as the grip around him grew tighter. Sasuke, Ryner and Orihime were speeding over to help their ally against evil, but their efforts were in vain. Staring down the barrel of the enormous weapon time seemed to stand still for poor Jak, for a moment he did not feel any pain, time was a concept that no longer applied to the champion, a single second seemed to last a week when staring death in the face. Returning to his normal form without realizing it. With a tear in his eye he looked at the people coming over to save him and offered them a soft smile. Orihime reached out to him a second before the missile collided with Jak's head point blank.

"NOOOOOOOOooooooo!"Orihime yelled as their friends blood was streaming through the monster's claw. Two chained swords fell to the floor. The devil threw whatever was left of Jak's mutilated body towards the group, Smith dodging the object with minimal effort and without showing any emotion at all, "Never send a human to do a machine's job."

"You monster! How dare you?!"Ryner yelled. Even though his verbal attack did not harm the creature it felt good to get it out there. Deep inside him the Alpha Sigma felt his demon side awaken, the other side of him that he was trying so hard to suppress was clawing its way up from the pit that it was cast away in.

Victor couldn't believe Jak was no more, his own life was in just as much danger. He had to take action. He took his weapon in his hand, the Guardian was now only meters away from him, looking right at him. The pressure was intense, he had to handle now. To the demon's surprise Victor vanished from sight, only to appear a few seconds later at the beast's side. The round weapon was spinning in his hand, combining the red and blue aura around the sharp blade's edge. His eyes were set on the weak spot on the guardian's leg, with a strong spin he send the odd weapon hovering through the air with great speed. The blade cut deep, deep enough to once more force the cyberdemon to take a single knee. But not without making a champion pay, he reached out with his arm towards Victor. The banisher couldn't get out, he was trapped! At the last second Victor was pushed aside by Ryner who no longer was in control of his actions, or so it would seem. Even with his demonic presence taking over he saved victor's life. Ryner got slammed into the wall and bounced toward the stream of lava below him. Reaching for the side he hit the stone edge with his chest, everything below that...landed into the boiling hot lava. The Alpha Sigma screams were filled with pure agony as the rest of his body was caught on fire. Trying his very best to claw his way out of the pool of lava he started to feel his life slipping away. With his eyes open he laid lifeless at the edge, burning away.

Smith was observing the scene from a distance, "Humans are such careless creatures."

"Careless ? He went in to protect his comrade , do you have no honor?" Sasuke asked the program, clearly not amused by the comment.

Smith turned his head and with an emotionless face he answered, "Honor ? A temporary construct of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. Only a human mind could invent something as insipid as Honor." Their conversation got interrupted debris that started to collapse on top of them.

"It's time to finish this" Colonel spoke, he moved his hand over the relic he acquired and it started to show a feint glow. With Colonel leading the charge, both Sasuke and Smith were following him. Matrix grabbed his knife and Orihime activated her sword, together they dashed forward towards the others. The guardian was near it's end, his knee was broken and couldn't get up, he was a giant sitting duck,..with a rocket launcher. Like a wild animal he started to shoot once more. Colonel was tired of that weapon causing such a ruckus. With the relic glowing brighter he got in close, with all his might he forced his weapon through the Cyber demon's upper arm, cutting off the weapon from the rest of his body. The giant lump of metal crashed onto the ground, it went paired with the beast roaring in panic. Primes were surrounding him and attempting to finish him, Matrix closed in on his head, hoping to make the finishing strike. Charging the side of the guardian's head he leapt upwards holding the small weapon with both hands, ready to force it down. The guardian had other intentions, he opened his mouth, revealing it's vicious teeth before catching the leaping champion with his mouth, forcing it's blade like teeth through Matrix. The prime coughed blood as he was hanging in the guardian's mouth, impaled.

Orihime had enough of seeing people suffer around her, rushing to her ally's aid she cut through tough skin and started to stab the near dead creature near its mouth, forcing him to open it. She finally succeeded in her attack and managed to get Matrix away from becoming a snack. Dragging the body over the ground she noticed the large trail of blood behind him, "No, not you to." The woman noticed that the victim was no longer breathing, another prime claimed by the guardian.

Cyberdemon went in for one last attack, targeting a grieving Orihime and Matrix's corpse. His claw came straight at him until a large dragonhead bit down on it. Sasuke managed to get his beast up for one more round. The Dragon was biting down hard enough to remove the claw from the Cyberdemon's body as well. Forcing the threat on its back, Sasuke created their best opening yet. The digital duo Smith and Colonel went in for the final blow. Colonel sliced his sword horizontally across the demon's throat, letting the blood flow out like the rivers of ancient Babylon. Smith made his way next to Colonel and emptied his entire clip from point blank range within the mighty beast's skull, leaving six large holes smoking in his forehead. Breathing it's last breath, the survivors finally witnessed the final moment of the mighty guardian.

Some mourned the death of the primes they lost during the bloodbath of a battle, others preferred to seek for treasure.

Smith walked up to the weapon the guardian was defending, he touched it and immediately it shrunk down to a normal sized sword. The agent felt drawn to it, it was curious but somehow, it was calling to him.

Orihime didn't notice at first, but Matrix placed his weapon in her pocket when he got dragged off by her, obviously hoping that she had more use for it.

Victor walked up to where Jak lost his life and picked up the chained swords. He spoke a few words no one could hear before returning to the group.

Sasuke stumbled upon Ryner's old flare gun, he picked it up, hoping it could be useful in the future.

Orihime looked up as she saw smith holding the demon's weapon while examining it, "Oh my god"

With his ever calm voice the agent spoke, "Smith will suffice."

[spoiler]CYBERDEMON HAS BEEN DEFEATED
Jak : Died during battle Dark Jak, Dark claws. -1SP
Victor : 10 Damage tier 1 super now you see me -1SP Obtained God of war Chains.
Ryner: Died during battle.
Sasuke: 11 Damage Silver dragon egg Obtained flare gun
Orihime : 8 Damage Orihime awakens -1SP Obtained A real knife
Colonel: 5 Damage Hero bracers used
Matrix : Died during combat T1 Offensive Super Move Fireball Used T1 Power-Up Heroic mode used -2SP
Smith : 8 Damage Obtained : Sword Relic[/spoiler]

[The Spirit]

PHASE 2

“Congratulations heroes! You only have one Relic left! Beware. There are is going to be some storms near the beaches. Beware! I believe in you.”

The ground rumbles in a faraway place. The final guardian has been awakened. The relic calls for the heroes, awaiting their blood to spill the ground.

-----------

Coldness surrounded Erik and Yuki. The darkness tickling the edges of their eyesight and the warmth of their bodies leaving along with pools of blood. The two glanced at one another once more before everything turned white and the two heroes were swiftly carried away.

YUKI- DEAD
ERIK - DEAD
All rows E and left are now dissapearing forever.
Lightning has appeared K6-8 to M6-8
The final Guardian Awakens

[Belle]

This is a joke, right? He has to be doing this deliberately.

Belle stared at Mickey as he made his proclamation, then shook her head. "Right. Wet. That's what I really need. A good-..."

She stopped. Just because her head was throbbing did not mean she got to be crude to Mickey Mouse. She swallowed the swear. If he did come from toon world, the mouse probably wouldn't even understand it. She stared at him, at that silly, goofy smile.

Nah. Couldn't be deliberate.

Belle adjusted the scarf around the wound. She hoped that she didn't bleed on it too much. All things considered, though, she was lucky. With the speed the creature had thrown her against the wall, she had been certain she wouldn't wake up again.

After cleaning up the camp and scrounging up a meager breakfast of berries, Belle relaced her shoes, and they set off. How many artifacts were left, and where were they? With the rate the island was disintegrating, it could be only a day or two before it was all over. She just had to keep it up for that long.

As they walked, Belle mulled over Yuki's lessons. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to review, and they couldn't very well stop just to let her go through the full 'kata.' Instead, Belle practiced the hand motions alone. Curl fingers. Wrap thumb. Extend arm. Thrust. Turn hips into the motion.

"Hee-ya," she whispered.

The previously-scarfed boy glanced back at her. She felt her cheeks burn, and kept the rest of her practice silent.

The hours crawled past. It was surprising how relaxing it was, repeating the motions over and over. Belle guessed maybe that was kind of the point.

It was mid-afternoon before they called another halt. Beneath the shade of a grove of trees, they found a small, isolated pond, fed by a stream that had trickled down from the mountains and exiting somewhere towards the stormy seas. Even if the island continued to exist, without the fresh melt of the snow, the watering hole would inevitably dry up.

However, that hadn't happened yet.

"See?" Mickey beamed. "What did I tell you?"

"Yeah, you sure did." Belle rolled her eyes, reaching out to ruffle the mouse's ears as she passed. Kneeling on the bank, she cupped her hands and spooned a mouthful of deliciously cool water past her lips. If only they had a bottle.

She was about to take a second sip when she caught a black blur at the corner of her vision. "Whee!" Mickey yelled as he splashed down, and Belle shielded herself as she caught some of the spray.

"Hey!"

Mickey came back up, spitting a stream of water in imitation of a fountain cherub. "Come on in!" He chirped. "The water's fine!"

Belle rolled her eyes, then looked at the Roboboy. "He's always like this, isn't he?"

"Kind of," Roboboy admitted with a half-smile.

Belle looked back. She had not had a bath since before she left her apartment, and she was coated in dirt and dried blood. "Well. Guess we might as well," she said.

She opened her mouth to ask them to turn away, then realized how silly that was, given the current company. Removing most of her clothes, she sank into the pond's cool waters. Her fingers scrubbed, wiping away the evidence of the last day's trials, flecks of red briefly clouding before they faded away.

She breathed a sigh ... Then squealed as a sudden gush of water ambushed her from behind. "Oi! Water fight's no fair! You've got giant hands."

"Minnie doesn't complain," the mouse answered with a grin that was too innocent, winding up for another splash. "Blues! Come in!"

[Simon]

Once again, the sun fell down to pass the barrier between land and sky in the west. This time, the brilliant shine of the sunset illuminated yet another catastrophe in the distance; yet more of the island crumbled and evaporated, waters churning and disappearing.

Before, it had been a sight one could only imagine to witness up close. Just earlier in the day, however, Dante, sided by his two young allies, had bore witness to the event further up close. The unrelenting crack and shatter of the firm earth, the collapse of it and the sea into simply nothingness - it actually didn't prove as mystifying to watch while it presented an immediate, frightening threat. Worst of all, there seemed to be no relent in sight, as yet larger shelves of dirt and bedrock tore apart and flung themselves into the void, as if all the quakes and calamities before had been mere child's play.

So they had ran, as fast and as far away as they could manage- and then somehow even farther than that. After Desco passed on the greaves to Dante (they seemed a bit large for her or Ururu anyways), the half-devil found himself weathering the cross-county effort with minimal effort. Even more strangely, his companions shared his apparent stamina.

By the time they had finally exhausted themselves, the ragtag trio had moved practically halfway across the island, the terrifying collapse little more than a memory behind them. It was about that same time that the robust gold shine upon the relic armor completely faded away, making the greaves look plain and worn (yet that unmistakable weave of power still remained, if faint). Their tremendous sojourn had been achieved with the magic within that armor, Ururu seemed to reason- with little other explanation available, the three agreed.

---

The rest of the day had otherwise been slow and quiet. For the better, perhaps, what with all the magic, destruction, and chaos so far actively working to toss the champions around like fruit in a blender. A break to simplicity for a few hours would prove refreshing and therapeutic in those circumstances.

The young ninja had none of it- when she wasn't frequently scouting around on the alert, Ururu was probing her stolen archaic books and insisting the other two kept watch. Dante couldn't even begin to read the little-girl-shaped demon and her eldritch backpack, her being too impossibly innocent and insistently meta. That, of course, left Dante to stew in his own thoughts for a while.

Not healthy, considering the current state of his mental structure.

"Where are you going?" Ururu spoke at the Son of Sparda when he sat up and attempted to leave their campsite. She spoke without looking, in the same tone of voice a mother would use to reprimand her son for sneaking out of the house. With her childish pitch, however, Dante had none of it.

"I'm just gonna be right back-"

"Where are you going? Answer the question," the pre-teen shinobi grilled Dante intensely. The mercenary seethed through his teeth- was this kid for real? Was actually putting up with this right now?

Don't answer that, you.
Oh, come on.

"Like, five minutes away. You won't miss me."

Ururu finally looked, staring daggers into the man. "You are wearing our relic, I'll remind you." Dante rolled his eyes in absolute exasperation. Like she had even helped.

"You're too young to be my mother, kid," the nephilim waved off his companion, turning to leave again. He passed Desco, who was lounging perched on her lizard-like tail, and within a minute he was over the next hill.

---

"Hey, Dante!"

The half-blood merc flinched at the sudden attention-grabbing exclamation from Desco. After the initial shock wore off, he let loose a muted sigh at the realization. Dante had really hoping that he wouldn't end up caught like this, in such an inappropriate position. He hadn't even been given the chance to cover himself, as the violet stands of flesh clamped around the box and whipped it away.

"What?" Dante could only reply dumbly, stuck in his revealed sitting fetal position.

"Hi!"

He groaned in defeat. All the devil hunter could ask for was maybe even ten minutes of privacy, and yet Desco managed to so very frequently pry upon Dante and his nerves. What made the man so apparently attractive to the demon girl, considering she was far too young to understand anything strictly mature?

...wait. During that incident with the dumbass trickster god- had she seen Dante's devil form? Or, rather, had she actually witnessed the transformation that she could connect the dots with?

"What are you doing hiding under a box?"

"...Nothing," Dante replied, looking somewhere between fed up and brain dead. Certainly not thinking about the Hollow trying to wear down his spirit, or the bossy ninja girl and overly cheery demon girl he had inadvertently teamed up with, or the sheer ruinous spirit of this event, or even the slight possibility that maybe Kanda had lost. "Nothing at all."

Desco seemed to judge the half-blood's blankness for a moment, then accepted the answer with a giggly smile. "That's funny! Ooh, can Desco try it?"

"...what?"

"Can Desco try the box? Just like how you were doing it?"

"Uh..."

Taking the twisted expression of confusion for a 'yes', Desco manipulated Yogsothoth's purple limbs to position the cardboard contained right over her body. She sat down, curling up with her tail and her scrunched-up demonic extension, and then a decisive motion retracted the tentacles, letting the box lower over her lowered form. It took a bit of adjustment to accommodate both Desco and Yogsothoth, but soon enough the box was laying as overturned and still as when it had still been atop Dante.

Several awkward seconds ticked by, and the devil hunter's face made no sign of changing. Then, the self-proclaimed final boss announced, muffled by the cardboard, "Weird... but fun!"

Whatever.

Dante finally pulled himself to his feet, and ruminated upon other thoughts. The surrounding landscape revealed nothing of interest, just a slight plateau upon the southeast corner of the island. It was troublesome, somehow, because Dante felt as if there should be something here when there clearly wasn't. That happened to be part of the reason to get away from Ururu; he could guess that even a young ninja like her would rightfully be aggravated over whatever was meant to be in this place and yet proved to be nowhere in sight.

And then, in that moment when he stared at the illusory night sky, Dante felt it. An overwhelming aura that poured into him, as if the cover of darkness had prompted its existence. Now, he was all but certain that something appeared here, however it had been before. Without a second thought, the nephilim jogged back to where he had set up camp with Ururu.

A few minutes later, sensing the quiet, Desco peeked her head out from under the box to wonder where Dante had disappeared to.

[Orihime Inoue]

As a result from the cybernetic demon goat apocalypse, blood combined with remnants of flesh went as far as Orihime's eyes could see. Dirt and blood covered her body so much that she could not differentiate between the two of them. It did not matter, nothing did anymore. Eight strong, capable warriors and yet still some had fallen. Why did this happen? She had just saved him the night before and the vision of his tearful eyes calling out to her before death burned into her subconscious. “This is my fault.” she croaked softly while gasping for air. If the poor conflicted warrior had not met fate with the devastation of her energy pulsing blades he might still be here. It did not make sense why Jak was gone, how could she save his life and then the next instance he be dead.

This experience made her realize she really was weak without her healing powers and the fact that she did not have them today was nature's cruel poetic justice.

“I could have saved all of them” she whimpered between sobs while staring at her hands, covered in the blood of the other fallen. The pain she was feeling right now was worse than the wound from battle, it was indescribable.

Feeling faint, she dropped down to one knee, the tears collecting in a pool upon the blood-covered rock. It was only then did she feel the heavy weight of something foreign in her pocket. Reaching inside she found a knife, a seemingly ordinary knife at best. On the surface it did not look like anything spectacular, with an similar appearance of the one she had back at her apartment that she would use to open up packages and the metal pins that tie together her vegetables. “Oh no, is this really all that he had?” Orihime wondered as she glossed over the knife’s smooth surface with her blood stained hands. This man, whoever he was, he really was a hero and he perished as a hero. Even though that beast was the created out of a twisted nightmare, this man still charged the beast until the very end. She was going to use this knife as the strength she needed to carry on through the rest of this quest.

“You will not die in vain my good friends” Orihime promised while putting her keepsake back in folds of her dress. She was then interrupted by the voices of her colleague Sasuke and someone else arguing loudly.