Xastristan, meet the Void [EVENT. Combat, some mature scenes]

The TV flickered, power cutting in an out as the city blocks power began to fail. Pictures, broken recordings kept playing. On a loop. Continuous. Endless. Something that would always keep playing until control had been taken once more. This recording was sent out more than... How long it truly was remained unknown to many. Some considered it mere hours ago that the hell began, but some others claimed weeks. But, in reality, it was merely three days ago, and the flickering and broken sentences kept repeating. The message being sent out, played over and over again.

"This is a state emergency... Everyone who is able to, help the weak get to the safe houses. Repeated, everyone who is able, guide people to the safe houses. Get the people off the streets. Your safety is our top priori-"

The words faded as the side of the building was ripped apart, adding it's rubble to the rest of the destruction which lay around them. At its centre, an old and abandoned house lay. The ruins would add to the giant fires which stretched up into the sky. Embers flickered and burnt in the sky, lighting it up like glow flies. Dozens of central city blocks which use to be tall and proud buildings, were instead laying on the ground, stripped bare from what they use to be. Holes, claw markings... The beginnings of turning this great city into a giant wasteland, something which wouldn't be recognised anymore. A howl ripped through the sky, a manic laugh coming from the new source of chaos.

What the news reports and transmissions left out...

Was that they couldn't stop it.

Not even with their machinery.

Nothing could stop it.

It's claws slammed into a building, the howl tearing from its throat in a cackled laughter. Two dozen soldiers, military units, defended the escaping citizens by using their guns against it. It laughed, it's tail lashing around to strike half a dozen men away, their bodies smeared against the ground. Shields came up in front of it, blocking the weapons which they used. Nothing was able to get through those damn shields, and the government began to panic.

The feed of the destruction of their city was live through security cameras, and they erupted in an argument. Some approving the use of nuclear weaponry. Others declining it, saying there were too many innocents around. Others countered that it would save the world from the beast. But, alas, even in their time of trial, they would never agree, always bickering with one another.

Insanity called upon its powers again, flicking its hand as it opened a portal. Turning to it, it grinned at the scattering people which it saw through them. With a partial laugh, it would dive through the portal, it's claws beginning their arc down and across several cars. They were thrown high, and would land against the masses if they didn't move into the free space around them. Panic stricken, they wouldn't move on their own. One would land in the centre of the masses, two near the left and five on the right.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD REMEMBER! THE FEAR OF MY WRATH, WRITHE ON THE GROUND WITH TERROR AND ALLOW YOURSELVES TO JOIN THE CRIMSON RIVERS OF MY DOMAIN!" It shouted, grinning manically. Following up its previous attack, Insanity would use its tail, slamming against the base of a small building to their right. A small eruption of stone and bricks would blind them, followed by the building collapsing on top of them.

If these attacks weren't tended to, Insanity estimated the death toll increasing by at least a few hundred...

It smirked. This was how life should be.

But little did the beast know, just over a dozen souls would stand up to it and defy it, try to stop the beast in its tracks. Their orders would be clear, help people get out of there.

Then subdue the monster.

( REFUGE GROUP A. You are up for posting! I think it's clear what you need to do. Remember, work as a team, the masses are very stubborn. (And maybe your characters are too, but whatever!)

You have 3 days :)

Health: 98%
Sanity: 0%
Total death toll: 200 )

People were running, terrified. They must have been the ones who either hadn't listened or couldn't go. Today was the third day, wasn't it? He was almost certain, although it was a bit of a pain to keep track of the time. Arik had been out when all of this happened, his laptop still a comforting weight in his jacket pocket. The only thing that wasn't comfortable was the fact that he'd barely been able to contact the others. There were times when he could make other voices through transmission, but it might be useless now. He kept trying, if he knew they were alive that'd be great, but if he knew where they would that'd be better. One less weight would be taken off of his shoulders. One out of about a dozen.

The boy mentally chuckled, most people ran away from danger, but the three of them were going into it. It had been a while before Arik had made the decision to go and help anyone still left in this, but he had done it for two reasons. The first one was that if he was still in contact with Yuuki and the rest of Dragon Storm, it wouldn't be a surprise to him if they were assigned to help out in this. And the second reason, to find anyone else he could. When he was heading in he was lucky enough to have found two people to accompany him, even if he wasn't that fond of socializing. The first one was easier, but the second took a bit of convincing. Honestly, he can't remember why he needed to convince anyone to join them but, the more the merrier.

Arik wondered if the reason it was taking all of these people so long to get out if it was because there was so many. Xasatristan was a big country, and the cities were no smaller. These could just be people who have been traveling for days and haven't made it out from the heart yet. At least the swarms were dwindling, but that could also be from the monster's help too. Arik's head turned as a static tv in a window store started to play a message. "This is... emergency... weak get to... safe houses...everyone who is able... houses. Get... streets. Your-" The messages were getting more broken, either from the smoke beginning to block the signal or the tv flickering off, probably with the lack of electricity beginning to flow. He was surprised anything still worked.

It didn't matter though, that message had been playing for the last few days and he had memorized practically all of it. They had to keep going, as long as the monster couldn't get to those who were running they should be fine. He was more concerned about those who were trapped or hurt, those who couldn't get anywhere. The sky was dark and it was hard to see, but he keep going forward. Luckily, most of the smoke rose into the air, so they were only left with the soot on the ground, but it still wasn't going to be good for their lungs. He let out a small cough. Most likely, any coughing was going to get worse as they continued, possibly with some lifelong health conditions, but at least it'd be for the good of the people.

A crackle came through the air and Arik looked up with a grim face. There were shots in the background- there had been for the last three days. People were trying to stop it, and by the looks of it weren't succeeding. He doubted he'd be able to do anything to help, and wondered if Dragon Storm would be able to do anything either. Maybe it was the spirit of the planet biting back at the humans, cursing them for what they had done to it's once beautiful planet. Or maybe it was the opposite. Destruction still lingered in the distance, and they were going to have to get closer to actually help anyone, if there was anyone left to help.

"Keep an eye out and call out if you've found someone." That was all he said as he began to listen through all the sounds. Even if they just helped a few, it'd be a few more that would have a chance at surviving. Once they searched through here, they'd have to go in further and hope they wouldn't be spotted by whatever that thing was.

He had been hearing the same noises for three days, nonstop.  Leif had begun mimicking the safety notice after a few hours, but now he was just getting sick of it.  Every time it began to repeat, he made another wish, hoping that it would eventually stop.  "You know, I think that everyone knows about what's going on by now, why haven't they turned it off?"  Looking behind himself, he saw Quby struggling to keep up with the small group.  Leif rolled his eyes and looked back to his comrades, hoping that they would be okay if they waited for him to go run and get the small robot.  Without even knowing what he was doing, he found himself running to Quby and picking it up.  Quby was surprisingly heavy for its size, but Leif had gotten used to it after a while of carrying it around everywhere.

As he caught back up to the group, Leif looked at the teen who had recruited him to help look for survivors.  He seemed cute enough, but he never got to know his name or how old he was.  He was definitely somewhere under twenty and over fifteen, but it was difficult to tell.  Shaking the thoughts from his head, the blonde looked around, hoping to find someone to help.  Leif rarely thought about the wellbeing of other people, but when things were this bad, he knew that he had to, and tightened up his act.  He wasn't cracking jokes like usual or flirting with anyone the group had come across.

It was incredibly hard to keep pretending that he was fine.  In truth, he had never walked this much at one time in his entire life, and the smoke and soot wasn't helping.  Looking at his surroundings, he couldn't see anything that looked living, but just to be sure, he held Quby up in front of him and asked, "Can you try and hack into one of the satellites overhead?  I need you to do a thermal scan of the city, preferably around our area.  Can you do that?"  "Why?  So I can see all of the recently deceased bodies rotting in the city?" Sad-one said.  "No silly!  It's so he can find the people who are alive nearby!" the other half answered.  Leif glared at Quby and scolded it, "You need to be more hopeful about this whole catastrophe.  I know that half of you was programmed to be sad, but I really don't need that kind of negativity right now, so be tell me if there are any bodies nearby and then be quiet for a while."

Quby's eyes began to flash as it attempted to find any nearby life forms.  After about a minute, Quby stopped flashing and it's eye turned red.  "There's nobody here except for us," Sad-one reported.  Glad-one began to speak up, "There is some good news though!  There's a massive heat source only a little bit away from us!"  Leif sighed and asked, "Can you try to identify it?  I already know that it's that...  Monster thing...  But what species is it?"  Quby's eyes began flashing once again as it searched for any record of a beast similar to the one that was destroying the city.  Almost instantly, the small robot's eyes turned red for a second and said, "It's not in any database.  We don't know what it is."  Leif sighed and looked at Arik and Jhonen, obviously exhausted from the whole ordeal.  He had no idea what to do, or how to help, and all that he could do was follow the other two around aimlessly as they wandered the streets.

Cwn's paws glided over the pavement, collecting the souls of the lost into himself. A mental sigh came out of him, the catastrophe had already taken part of the district that held his favorite bar. The Lore had collected two hundred souls, the beast slaughtering the humans rising in pace.

It had only been three days.

Lorne was already out of the city, thankfully. Jhonen almost vomited at the thought of him being in this mess. His leg was still giving him troubles, and they hadn't sat down to do the trial of surgery yet. It was odd when the Black Dog locked thoughts with his other half, the lines blurring between the two souls.

A scream caused his gallop to halt, ears pricked and nose twitching. Two women, one child. Scrambling down the rubble, Cwn let out a great howl to summon the forms of his pack- their necrotic sources easily filled from the dead around them. Together, they dug carefully into the ruined remains of a building- seeking a way to not pop the pocket of air the group had around them. It took a good few minutes before he could lift the door, carefully using his teeth to do so. Shadows left him partially, giving him a human-esque appearance to reach down past the shifted remains of the building.

"Get out before it collapses!"

Jho's voice was harsh, mangled by the canine-growth of his jaw. The women were too scared to stay there, and took the chance of his hand. The one with the child was dazed slightly, showing minor signs of concussion. Carefully pulling her out, he took a bottle of water from his knapsack. He had to look away as he gave it, swallowing back disgust at the sight of the clear liquid. Cwn was trembling from it...

"Go south. You want to avoid any major roads. If someone needs help, give it to them."

The women just stood, confused. Sighing, he took his great bestial form again, snarling at them. This caused them to hasten, of course.

Sighing, the Black Dog shook his head. How stupid could humanity truly be?... Turning, he looked at the two men wandering the streets. One of them was a bartender he'd seen more than a handful of times with Lorne, singing his heart away to his lover in a drunken standing. The other was.. Well. Cwn couldn't clearly see his face, but whatever smell was on him had his hackles raised.

Padding towards them, he checked to see if any wounds marred them. Nothing out of the ordinary was seen, even by the five members of his pack. Swallowing back pride, he took the half-form again, looking between the two.

"Do either of you need out of the city?"

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý howled in glee as the building and cars came crashing down on its victims, their cries and screams of terror silencing once and for all. Crimson ran through the streets, under the collapsed building, and it's sadistic smirk twisted further to show its pleasure with the outcome. However, the dozen and a half men were still repositioning. They dared to even try to get a better vantage point than what they already had? I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý turned, it's white hide flickering in the dim light. Raising its head, the ears suddenly flickered to a new sound. It looked to the unusual flying thing that reminded it of dragonflies, and it twisted its head to show its curiosity. That was until it heard a shout, and both the men and the helicopter began to shower it with bullets.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý felt a dozen or so collide with its shoulder before it howled, ripping up the shields to protect itself. It's claws glowed with darkness, before it launched itself towards the sky. With one quick swipe, it cleaved the helicopter in two, the halves thrown against the other soldiers which were there. It was a damn bloody mess, but I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý chuckled lightly. It was much more enjoyable to see them all dressed in red robes over whatever else they wore.

That's the last time I let my curiosity get to me... it thought in anger, it's mind twisting to recall the images of the blood soaked bodies, the corpses thrown against the streets. That's what it craved. That's what it needed.

It's smile widened.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's form withdrew from the bloodbath of corpses, vowing to dance and shower in the blood later. While they laid there, crushed to oblivion, it wasn't aware that around six people still lived within a hundred feet of it. But it didn't care, why would it? The fun was gone and done with! Surely there was more to be held out there. Especially now that it wasn't restricted...

It's hand rose, a black portal opening up to an older section which it hadn't exactly been in over the last few days. With its manic and unatturally bright green eyes glowing in anticipation for the next kill, it went through the portal. Upon going through, it fell around three feet, the impact of its paws against the ground slightly shaking the ground within twenty feet of it. There were two city blocks behind it, before it opened out into the ruins that it was creating. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý cast its gaze across the city, a growl building in its chest. This place was far more populated than its last visit here, the survivors of the first attack having gathered and gone to help people evacuate the buildings. Streets crawled with the infernal humans, and it's maw twisted into a snarl, it's ever present smile still lingering.

Anything in the rubble or buildings behind it, I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý wouldn't recognise or see. Nor was it aware of any potential safe houses nearby.

"Is this the best you cowering beings can do? Don't you know how much better it would be to allow yourself to fall victim to my methods? I'll just tear you apart and have you as decorations, no big deal!"

It's unearthly howl tore through the air, sending the people into a panic. This time, there were no soldiers nearby to have clear shots at Insantiy, their forms having gone through the buildings to aid in the evacuations. With its glowing black claws, the beast used them to carve a hole into the ground, before using its feet to pull it up and kick the giant boulder forward in the same action. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý figured that being creative with its methods of murder wouldn't hurt, and the boulder was as large as the street was wide.

The beast followed the original boulder and, if nothing tried to stop it, the beast would dive into any side streets, it's claws glowing brightly to massacre anyone who tried to flee down them. It's incredible speed would surprise the people around it, catching them off guard.

It would be then that the soldiers open fired at the beast, aiming for kill shots.

If nothing were to happen, I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would be able to slay the population around it, with two new wounds. One to its hind leg, the other to its already damaged shoulder, it's speed making it hard to aim properly. However, it would use the shields to protect itself, but it would be the last time it could for a while.

( REFUGE GROUP 3. You guys are up. Save as many as you can.

Health 97%
Sanity: 0%
TDC: 419 )

....This is... Everyone... to...safe...

Static filled what sounded like a radio nearby that was badly tuned. It was the same familiar message over and over again. He wanted it to stop, but he could hardly move. There was no pain. It was like the body he was in was no longer his. Small heavy masses thud and clattered around him, rolling off into the darkness. Aside from which, he could hear screaming. Someone yelling commands, others crying in fear, and a few sobs.

Sly forced open his eyes. He was inside an office of a fallen skyscraper, where everything was almost off and piling to one side. One of the rooted walls of a cubical held him in place, and as he slowly recovered his ability to move, he winced at how painful they were. They were not injured by any means, but were leaning in an awkward position for quite some time now. Outside, his vision a huge blurring mess, he thought he saw it. A large beast of white, clinging in a strange manner on the broken window frame, peering out into the world.

Lexia!

Sly tried to call her name, but his voice was lost and nothing but a raspy croak escaped. He outstretched his hand. Too late. The beast sprung itself away. A few tiny rocks would have landed on him. Again he felt nothing. Even as he looked down, the rocks were never there. Then he realised, this was just a flashback of 2 days ago, the familiar black smoke and red hellish atmosphere outside returning to him.

His head started to spin again, and he collapsed onto the floor once more, with nothing but this cursed radio tying him into reality.

He immediately had a dream. But it was incredibly difficult to make out. His vision, just like a television in need of adjusting the antenna, looked like it had partial static. He could see two figures standing in a very bright location. One of them... was the beast. And the other... it was too large to make out. He could only see what looked like a snout, mouthing some words to it. He could not hear anything from them, not even how the beast replied. Only just the radio message as it continued to play over them.

...Repeat... everyone who...peo... Get.... streets... safe.....

Then everything went white again.

A huge rumble startled him awake once more. Immediately followed by a hoard of people screaming and gunfire. There was the whirling of a helicopter, but then it was followed by a metallic slice, like someone forcefully drawing a blade, and then the whirling went out of control. It crashed somewhere, the impact enough to rock this entire floor.

Sly gasped for breath, letting his eyes adjust to the world once more. He was back in the present, at least that was what he thought. Below him, his chin rested on a red puddle. Slowly he forced himself up, the headache hitting him hard as he rested his back against the leaning wall. The blood from his head, down his eye and cheek, had long charred. Was he really knocked out for two days?

His attention was to the radio. It was coming from somewhere in that collected pile of chairs, desks and bodies that he did not bother trying to fish out and turn off. Sly took a few short breaths before checking his transceiver. There was still signal, but reception was terrible. Perhaps it was due to the fumes. Sly scrolled the list quickly, his vision blurring again, until he could make out the name 'Yuuki'.

She did not pick up.

It was worth a try. He pocketed the device and checked if he still had his timepiece. It was definitely in his possession. He tried to recall what he was doing here. To evacuate everyone inside this building. He came a little too late and the beast sent the whole thing toppling onto another like it was a domino. The safehouse. He needed to get to the safehouse and check if everyone was okay!

Groaning, he stood on his feet, finding whatever he could to lean on due to the tilted floor. There was no one else around him showing any signs of life. If he recalled, he forced himself to team up with someone who recalled was fighting Lexia at the time she... was acting strange. Sly wondered where he went. But heck, why should he care at this time? Having climbed up to the broken frame, he saw a number of people running in the streets below him, the road littered with crashed cars and failed roadblocks by the police, with some cars still flickering red and blue lights. He got a front view seat of a rather distant skyscraper collapsing in on itself and disappear behind the flames, the tremor going straight into his chest as he stiffened at the sight.

To his right, he saw it. The white beast. Lexia! That was Lexia. And in her hands, a large boulder. As he processed this, she immediately threw it towards the fleeing citizens, the huge object rolling and crushing the fallen soldiers.

Damn it! He hissed, forging Mirage in his hand. Sly doubted he could climb down in time to save them himself, and so resorted to grabbing the blade by the pommel and flicking it forward. The blade spun towards the boulder, emitting a gentle hum as the wind passed by the elegant blade, until Mirage was rooted into the ground right before the boulder. With a high pitched tune, the blade glowed, and emitted a potent blue aura, forming a large wall of sorts. The boulder would then collide with it and bounce off, rolling a few metres back towards I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý before remaining stationary.

Everyone! Sly's head throbbed and he hissed, taking a brief moment to recover. Head to the Falcone-Quel street intersection and find the shopping mall there! Head inside and go to the lower levels, there is a safehouse there. Move! The citizens looked to one another, but wasted little time before they hurried off again. This time, they were more collected and telling each other to hurry. Sly huffed a sigh, keeping an eye on them until the street was deserted. He slowly climbed down from the building, dropping onto a car below before rolling onto the concrete road.

There, he limped towards Mirage, looking up at the beast before him. Lex! Can you hear me? It's me, Sly! I know you are in there. He wrapped his fingers over the blade before pulling it close to him, in case the beast got the better of her and attack...

--

Health: 90%
Pieces: 0% + 20% (boulder block) + 5% (capacitor)

Mirage Capacitor x 1 (safehouse)
Mirage amplifier x 2 (safehouse)
Mirage blade

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý back peddled as the giant rock was sent reeling backwards, straight towards its feet. A snarl of anger came from it, it's eyes narrowing. Before, none of its attacks had been defended from, let alone have them rebound against something else. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý howled, using its tail to throw the boulder away and straight into a building. There would be hell to pay! Black seeped from its maw, it's green eyes filled with hatred as some stupid man called out to it. Lex? The beast sneered, silently observing with bloodlust as the other man transformed, placing a hand on the other male next to him...

Both were after the same thing. A cruel expression glinted in its eyes, the eyes bright with enjoyment as it knew what the next words it would say would cause. The very thought of the hell and confusion that it would create sent shivers down its spine as it lowered its head to their level, it's hate for them stopping it's fun burning deep in its eyes.

"She's dead. "

A second after it had said these words, the hate for them would overwhelm the sense of enjoyment it received from their impending torment. It froze for a few moments, it's face looking to Sly. He had it. That bastard had it. It's face twisted into an unholy expression, a howl of fury and anger tearing free from its maw, "YOU THEIF! You disgusting, four limbed mess of a creation! You half blooded mongrel! How DARE YOU TAKE IT!" In fury, the claws tore a secondary section of the ground up, using its paw to slam it down across them. It's tail lashed across, flicking cars airborne to take them down against Sly.

"YOU BROKE INTO IT! YOU ARE THE ONE WHO DESTROYED MY SLUMBER!" It screamed, eyes glinting in hatred. "YOU ARE NO BETTER THAN HIM, YOU INVADING BIRD FREAK! OH HOW I WILL ENJOY DANCING ON BOTH OF YOUR BLOOD FILLED GRAVES! I will make you drown in the liquid you call your Lifestream! You horrible creations! You miserable things!" As it howled and threw its insults, it's feet would be ready to spring back, and the walls and portals willing to open in a split second to protect itself against any of their opposing ranged attacks.

The darkness in its mind stirred, and it's anger grew even more fierce. Damn these idiots for waking it up...

( REFUGE GROUP 3, I need ya to post again.

Health: 97%
Sanity: 1%
TDC: 419 )

For a moment he thought he got into her. If that meant stopping the beast from even moving for a bit. Still, it was perhaps the first time he saw this monster howling with anger. On the first day, all he could hear was the sickening laughter as it darted from one place to another, slipping off from his sights. The boulder went further than it did, and the monster decided to launch it off into a building, long vacated. Still, as if the building was not stable enough and barely standing on a single pillar of a foundation, one boulder was enough to force a last groan before the whole structure topple over onto the next street. The monster moved a little closer, the grin much wider than before as Sly took a step back. He was aware that the birdman was right next to him, but against a beast capable of levelling an entire city without a sweat, it was not something the two would want to really fight.

Especially if what they were standing against, was really Lexia. Sly felt his hand tremble, his teeth clenching as he tried to steady himself. So they stopped the beast momentarily. But now what? Kill it? How could they? That was still Lexia! Even so, they could not let the monster escape. There was a moment of debrief before everyone was dispatched with whatever goals they had. This was the very reason why Sly avoided the primary attacking group. He could not bear the pain of Lexia dying in that form, as he stood there helpless and just watching her cry.

The monster won out and said the mere two words to make him stiffen. That was not true! He refused to believe it. There had to be a way to bring her back.

Before he could ponder further, the beast immediately reverted to the anger it felt not long before. Its wide green eyes pierced into Sly's, calling him a thief. Immediately the beast slammed its claws down, Sly reacting to jump away and gain some distance form it, a good 10 metres. Looking back, he was met with a rain of vehicles, flicked in in the air by the tail and heading towards him. His shield needed to recharge, and he did not have enough pieces for a dome shield. Keeping his blade close, he would jump aside, a blade out to parry the side of the vehicle before rebounding away from its path. Another was heading directly at him, and he positioned the blade across his chest in front of him, bracing to block. Upon collision, the heavy mass quickly overwhelmed, and Sly slipped and fell on his back, the blade still in his hand as the vehicle was about to crush him. Sly manipulated some of the pieces within Mirage, shifting the blade into a curve to one side, before quickly slamming and rooting it to the ground beside him, using it as leverage to keep the vehicle up before rolling out of the way.

Disturbed its slumber as well? At first, he was confused as he searched his memories when he had taken something of value. The Temporal Ruins. Was this beast there? But when did it-?

The chipped stone. It was sitting next to the hourglass. He had wondered where it went but figured it was just junk. Did it turn into that armbrace Lexia suddenly got? So it was you all along! You were the one who gave her void magic, and in return you were tormenting her. As he was about to dissipate Mirage and reform it in his hand, he suddenly felt a little numb. It was only for a split second, like his mind was completely relaxed. No. Not just relaxed. There was nothing. Not even fear. He placed a hand on his head, rubbing the charred blood off him as he tried to shake it off. For a moment there, he thought he could sense her...

Let her go! He roared, charging forward. He managed only 3 steps before his bad leg shook and he collapsed onto the blood puddles, getting it every all over him. Sly clutched his leg, hissing, then turned to the beast, blade ready in case it tried to attack him when he was down.

--

Health: 90%
Pieces: 25% +20% (car deflect) + 20% (car block) + 5% (Capacitor)

Structures active:

Mirage Capacitor x 1
Mirage Amplifier x 2
Mirage blade

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's maw twisted into further anger, it's eyes narrowing against Sly. That damn human abused the hourglasses power, using it as it was nothing. And, after manipulating its power flawlessly, he managed to create a shield which would block the attacks I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý sent towards him. It growled lowly... "At the cost of me lending my power... You. Humanity. Both are responsible for assigning me to my own certain death. So it's fair I return the favour to your stupid race! I wish we NEVER AIDED YOU!" I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý grinned as he collapsed after a mere three steps. How pathetic. Its host liked something so weak? It's hulking form would have taken the last few steps forward to bring down against Sly, if it wasn't for his partner.

Lightning, four spears launched from his hands. It growled, the second officially formed wall coming into existence. The shield stretched far and wide, slightly taller and longer than the beast. If the energy didn't divide and attempt to arc around, then it would simply vanish through into the void. The perfect balance of nothing and everything, utter chaos.

Pure beauty.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý stepped through the portal, the qualities identical to Lexia's own shields. It smirked at the thunderbird, it's manic eyes dancing in amusement. Before they turned sadistic once more. "Don't you call me such a name again, you filthy bird man. Call me by the name given to me eons ago. Before life existed on this planet. Call me I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý, you ignorant bird brain! I am NOT LEXIA." It snarled, snapping lightly at the electric user, the black power around its maw having the energy flare. Intensify. Beginning to peak.

It's eyes returned to the Sly person, who was still down, pitifully holding the blade towards it. His hand was partially shaking. Fear. Fear and anxiety, doubt and anger, the smells which I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý had craved for so long to see dance in their eyes once more. It allowed a smile, ignoring the bird man, but any attacks which Ced would make wouldn't alter the outcome of its next move. "I hope you passed on your goodbyes to her while you still could!!" It roared, before raising its claws, the voids silent flames dancing from them. They began their decent, aiming to cleave through Sly's throat and end the thiefs life there and then. Not even its shield would stand...

NO!

The claws strike would miss Sly's form, a flash of pain going through the beasts eyes as the claws sunk into the pavement next to his face. Dread curled in its mind for just a moment, which caused it to miss its mark. It snarled lowly at the man, but it's ears flicked backwards. Two more humans... Or were they humanoids? They came closer, travelling via foot. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý gave a snarl to Sly, it's paws pushing it away from him. It ran from the two of them, making it to around 130 feet from the two of them before it came into eyesight of the others.

Its maw turned towards them, fury dancing in its eyes. Its claws dug into the ground, stabilising itself. Before its maw opened, before a black beam poured forth. It unfurled to its full length in a matter of moments, reaching around three hundred feet in front of it. The beam was 5 feet wide, and sheered through the buildings that came into contact with. Steel. Concrete. Everything fell to the beam. It would last several seconds, and if I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý turned its head, if would be incredibly slow to move. However, it's direction was aimed at the two coming closer to it, the next potential challengers.

While it created this attack, it would be immobile and unable to move freely. Almost as if it were a free opening...

( Attacking group 2, you guys are up for a shot against I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý. Be VERY AWARE of the beam.

Sly, I also require you to post once again before you get a break.

Health: 97%
Sanity: 4%
TDC: 419
Core stability: 61% )

When Hisashi had heard the situation, at first he thought that Kurisu was running rampant again, so he came rushing to try and collect her. However this was not the case. The being that had caused all of this destruction was a huge, white creature of some sort. Regardless, he had to do something.

The sites and sounds of the world around him were far too familiar and brought up many harsh memories. There was panic everywhere. many buildings were collapsed or on fire, and men, women, and children alike were running towards the safe houses as fast as they could. Sounds of guns, helicopters, screaming children, and far off explosions all mixed together to create a symphony of agony. This was the second time he had witnessed the apparent end of the world, but this time things would be different. This time, he'd do things right.

Over all the panic came a harsh an inhuman sounding voice. It mentioned something about someone called Lexia and how a certain "we" had helped humanity eons ago. Something fishy was going on, and the answer could be just what they needed in order to fix this situation.

Before he could get too close to the white creature, it turned it's head and opened it's wide mouth, causing a black beam to make it's way though he city and toward them. Hisashi dived to the side as fast as he could and tumbled down into the ditch that layed beside the road. When the beam had passed him, he continued onward, hoping the ditch might provide him some cover.

As he got closer he noticed that there were a few other people near the creature who seemed to be engaged with it. He was worried for the one who was sprawled out on the floor, seemingly injured, and so hasted his running. When he made it over to where he was, he stood in front of the man laying on the floor to protect him from any attack that may be coming. He wished he could give him the medical attention he needed, but he unfortunately didn't know anything about medicine. "Do any of you know anything at all about this beast?"

Needless to say, Aiko was scared.

That thing is huge! Her blue eyes widened. How many people have died?! Anyone I know? She thought of everyone she had met in this city. Xylthain. Alex. Nightingale. Were they dead? Will Aiko ever lay eyes on them again?

And how long until I join the dead?

Aiko didn't want to sit idly in the Base like a coward. She turned a teen recently, and although she could still be seen as a child, she wanted to be like everyone else in Dragonstorm. Strong like Draligon. Smart like Arik. I want to save lives and help people. The Neko kept repeating those thoughts as she fled from her home towards the city where hell was beginning to flourish. Sting was in hand. Aiko hadn't learned anything just yet about sword fighting, but it was worth a shot.

She was too focused on her thoughts of fear to notice the black beam at first. But then she saw a familiar flash of white; a labcoat. Hisashi! He's here, too! But... Why's he ducking? She tumbled into the ditch by accident, but that saved her life. But was she speaking too soon?

Aiko's ears were flattened to her head as she looked in Hisashi's direction. She had never fought before; she needed orders. Orders from someone who knows what they're doing. The cat crawled through the ditch quickly to avoid the beam. She called out, "Hisashi! Tell me what to do!"

((Sorry for short post.)

The leg was not injured or anything, but rather strained after lying at an angle for two days. He gave it a light stroke, trying to get the blood flow as well as soothe his pain. Looking up, the monster had its eyes set on him. As if trying to see Lexia behind those giant beads, all he could see was his own reflection. Behind, the air cracked and immediately bolts of lightning seared through it and heading to the monster. With barely any effort in its expression, it popped a huge black wall, covering almost its entire size. The javelins struck, but there was no impact. They just phased through, disappearing into the darkness. Then there was nothing.

That was Lexia's ability. At least, after she had taken the chipped stone. No. That was not hers. It was this demon's. Sly shuffled back, trying to find something he could use as leverage to get back. It was too late, for this beast's head suddenly popped out of that wall, casually stepping through it like it was nothing. The monster would then snap at the birdman, insisting to be called I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý. He did not care what the beast said. That was Lexia's body.

Then its attention went to Sly. Sly quickly raised the blade to it, unable to control a bit of fear coursing through his arm as it trembled slightly. Raising its claw and coating it with strange black fire, Sly squeezed against the blade's hilt, forcing it to hum and glow once more. Just as it would descend, he conjured another shield. The two met, but even the sight cleaved whatever stern shield he had paced and dread poured into him. Eyes widening, he saw what was left of his shield. The claw sliced through it like tissue, cutting through the aura and leaving behind the red of destruction. The edges of the aura was set on black fire, and spread across it until the shield was burned away.

Then... it missed.

Striking the ground near him, Sly closed his eyes and braced, rocks and dust flying across him and scarring his face. That same dread still took hold inside him. His breath cracking, he covered his head with his arm, sneaking a look up at the beast. It's eyes shook a little, despite having that large grin. However, it was perhaps the furthest it would go at dropping that grotesque smile. Sly stiffened, unsure what to do. Or what the beast's intentions were. His shield, gone. At this point, he was incredibly vulnerable. He could only beg that the birdman would help him. Get this thing away from him.

With a snarl, I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý leaped away. The fear dissipated from Sly, and warmth washed his mind as he could think with a clearer head. Lex! He would call out, but by the time he got his voice out, the beast had distanced itself too far from them.

Then it was quiet, with just the two. Sly looked down at the ground, balling his hands into fists. What was that all about? Why did the beast spare him? At least, that was what he thought. There was no mistaking it. He sensed Lexia at that moment, her feeling of dread. Was it because she knew he was going to...

We can still save her, Sly said to the birdman. I sensed her for a moment. I did not know how, but I know. Still, he could not divert from what his purpose was. He had to get everyone out of the city. Even if they knew Lexia was still here, how could they ever bring her back? Sly fished for his transceiver, only to see that it had cracked and the blue screen it used to have turned completely black - devoid of any power. After slamming the power button a few times without success, Sly tossed the device aside.

Then, a man in white came running towards them. Hisashi. Sly huffed a sigh, relieved a little, though he hoped he had a working transceiver of sorts. Hisashi was part of the attack group, if Sly recalled. He placed a hand against the bonnet of the car and pushed himself back up on his feet, just as he asked them a question. Aside from that thing taking over Lex's body? Not much. But I think I got a reaction from her. She is still alive in that thing! At least I hope. Then he felt his heart starting to sink. Not that he could command the attack group, but he surely did not want them to harm Lexia, even if she was... not what she used to be. Thinking about it made his eyes stung, and he squeezed his eyes shut. Just... just... do whatever you can to save her.

--

Health: 90%
Pieces: 70% + 5% (Capacitor)

Structures:
Mirage Capacitor x 1
Mirage Amplifier x 2
Mirage blade

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý saw the two forms suddenly drop beneath the ground. Slowly, the beam would move as I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý carved a path with it to collapse the ground above them. It smirked as it saw the first person ascend from the ground, unscathed by the rocks which had fallen into the ditch. As they knelt down, they spoke with Sly. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý heard another voice call out from the ditch, but it smirked.

The two didn't do anything to it. All they did was kneel down and talk, did they not realise what monstrosity stood near then? With a snarl, it would turn its back to the four of them, a sharp pain digging into its mind from the thoughts of murdering them came through. Apparently killing them didn't ring rather kindly to the other in its mind.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý curled its tail slightly, opening a portal with its hand. Its long, slender form slipped through. The portal would take the beast to another section of the city, at least a mile away from the four which just presented themselves there. This distance couldn't be covered quickly in any other way aside from stepping through the portal. The four could choose to walk it, or could choose to stay, or use some sort of transportation device to get to them. However, they wouldn't be able to pinpoint just exactly the beast had gone to.

Unless they had incredible hearing. Then they might be able to from the screams that followed as I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý appeared before them once more.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's grin would seemingly widen from their screams, before a howl would tear from its maw, its teeth glinting as its manic eyes looked to the humans around it. Shaking its head from their screams and cries, it shouted out to them.

“Do you really think that screaming in terror would help yourselves to live?” It smirked, its long tail curling around a car. It threw it forward with such a speed that it would cleave a path in the humans which ran back from the streets, knocking one another over to try and get through the masses to get further away from the beast. Gunshots rang out, and I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý felt them pierce its hide. Cursing at its inability to use the shields, I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would jump behind a tall, 50 story tall building. Crimson trailed down its white fur, and it paused for a few moments to tear out the bullets from its side.

Afterwards, it would slither into the building, activating the claws once more to slash through the pillars which held the building up.  It would take a few moments before the consequence of its actions would happen. The building would buckle, before beginning to fall down and across the masses.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would slide under the building as it fell, its speed enabling it to tear through the collapsing building. In an attempt to further drive fear into the hearts of the people, it would howl and shout in glee. What it didn’t expect was for a white haired female to defiantly stand before it, a curved scar across her face, her dull green eyes glaring at the beast.

It caused it to tilt its head, curious.

“Who the hell do you think you are? You can’t just stamp about doing whatever the fuck you want!” The female shouted, her white shirt tattered and torn, the brown gloves she wore were damaged, but she was buying the others time. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would tilt its head further. It could smell her fear... But what puzzled it more was that... Another stood against it? Did they know just who they were messing with? With a snarl, I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would raise its claws, aiming to bring it down on the female.

( Refuge group 2, you have a car going high speeds which will kill around 17 people if it’s not dealt with. If you fail to clear the people from under the falling building, a further 52 will pass. And that girl, if you leave her alone. Good luck!

Health: 95%
Sanity: 5%
TDC: 419
Core stability: 61% )

Guryon was trying to hide in a group of about 15- 19 people, he couldn't tell how much there were. Emphasis on trying to, considering he was taller than almost everyone. "Come on people get safe, you idiots, don't just panic and run into it..." He guided them away from any danger by gently pushing the group the direction away from danger, but all of a sudden a white monster, that was so thin you could see its ribs through its skin, appeared out of the blue.

Guryon was caught of guard for a second and it took him a few seconds to register the fact that there was a car hurtling at the people. He looked around for something to stop it with and realized there was nothing around to block the car with.

He thought for a much as he could. "How can I protect these people? Oh yeah, I'm strong for a reason." He forced his way out of the group of people and threw himself at the fast-flying car. Spreading his arms almost as wide as he could so he could grab as much of the car as possible, so it didn't snap into multiple pieces and fly right past him and still hit the people.

He braced himself by bending his knees, digging his feet into the ground, turning his head so it did not take full force and waited for the car to hit him. Last second Guryon realized something. "This is probably going to hurt much more than I thought." Then the car hit him.

Yuuki picked her way carefully through the collapsed rubble of the city around her. Everything was dark, so many buildings had been reduced to dust and trash, with dead bodies littered all around. The beast sure had rained quite a bit of destruction on the city, it was hard to imagine that that giant... creature had been an energetic and happy young woman. But, no... that wasn't Lexia. It was some sort of parasitic creature that resided alongside Lexia's own conciousness. Honestly, Yuuki wasn't sure how it worked, but she did not care much for it either. There were other matters that had to be taken care of first. Such as stopping the giant creature, and getting the civilians to safety. Her own team, Dragon Storm, were already spread throughout the different attacking and refuge forces. That way, Yuuki could constantly be updated about the beast's whereabouts and actions.

As Yuuki maneuvered through the wreckage, her eyes scanned the surroundings for people. There were two others in her group; a Sunesning and a Guryon, if she recalled. She wasn't sure where they went, but they had to be nearby somewhere. Yuuki's grip slithered to her waist as her palm grasped around the hilt of her pistol. Her left arm had a nasty scratch from a falling piece of debris, and she was sure that her left wrist was sprained, but it was not the worst injury she had ever experienced.

That didn't mean it still hurt. She had wrapped it up as best as she could, but it wouldn't guarantee protection until she had it checked out. A grimace on her face, she shook the pain off and continued on.

The few remaining trees were uprooted, or on fire, and throughout the quiet city, she could hear the sobbing of small children and the frightened and frantic whispers of adults.

Yuuki closed her eyes, a small sigh escaping her as she averted her eyes from the scene.


And then, the screams of terror began.

The young woman's eyes shot open as a portal opened up, revealing the large monster. Dread shot through Yuuki, her grip tightening on her pistols. It was here!? This was horrible timing, there were still so many civilians that had to be moved. Yuuki felt her breath hitch, the fear that the monster emitted clouding her mind as I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý smiled its grotesque smile, sharp fangs glinting even without light. A bloodcurling screech erupted from its jaws, and many people fell to the ground clutching their ears in pain. Even Yuuki had to wince, shying away from the horrifying sound. Military personnel were already at the scene, firing their bullets into I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's side yet achieving nothing. The creature didn't seem deterred whatsoever, simply entangling a car with its tail and throwing the car right at the crowds of terrified people, before it disappeared behind the building. Yuuki caught one last glimpse of its crimson-covered fur before her attention turned towards the car speeding towards them.

Before she could move, a 12 foot figure had already stepped in front of the car, bracing itself for the powerful impact. Guryon? Thank god the drow was there, Yuuki was not sure she could have stopped the car without at least letting a few people die, but Guryon had absorbed most of the impact, although it may have caused his own body harm.

Yuuki breathed a sigh of relief too soon, for there was a sickening crack behind her, and then there was I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý swiping through a building. At least 50 people were standing under the building in terror, barely anyone moving to run. Another voice rang clearly in Yuuki's along with I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's howl as well. A white-haired girl had challenged I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý around 15 feet away, and Yuuki wasn't sure whether to admire her courage or call her out on her stupidity. Throughout the split second Yuuki had, two options dashed through her brain. Option one was to go for the falling building and save the 50-something people underneath. The second option was to rescue the girl.

Logically speaking, Yuuki was to go for the building. After all, what was one life compared to multiple?

Yuuki drew one pistol, and picked up speed until she was running close to the speed of sound in one burst towards the crumbling building. The idiots were immobile in their positions, barely budging except letting out screams of fear. Did they already give up? Well hell, Yuuki wasn't going to let them just get crushed there. Now, she needed to sift through her abilities and figure out what could help the most. Rousing fear throughout the crowd could possibly push them to move, and then Yuuki could buy more time by freezing the broken part of the building which would sap quite an amount of her strength, but it would help the civilians get out in time. Right. Action plan set out, now she just had to act on it.

She was not going to apologize for what she was going to do next. Yuuki aimed her handgun and shot the nearest person, a portly man, through his arm. He fell to his knees, clutching at his bleeding limb. His wife next to him shrieked in horror, grabbing at her husband. Wide eyes turned towards Yuuki with terror, but Yuuki did not budge. The rest of the crowd stirred, legs finally beginning to pump as they finally snapped out of their stupor and begin running.

"Let's go, let's go!" Yuuki shouted after them, shoving them away before turning to face the building. Ah shit, the building was crumbling too fast, she wouldn't be able to stop it. She dug her heels into the ground and kicked off, dust flying out from underneath her feet as she bolted towards the exit before the rubble covered her entirely. With one final upsurge, she tumbled out into open air just as the building completely crashed.

Dust and grit shot out like a wave, smearing Yuuki's face with a layer of grime. Yuuki breathed heavily, attempting to stand up on slightly shaky legs, that last boost having worn out her ability to go at the speed of sound for some time. At least she could still mildly jog. Of course, it still wasn't the worst thing; her speed would come back in due time. The civilians had also dispersed, heading towards safer grounds.

( Times well and truly up. )

The car would slam into Guryon with an incredible force, something which would have been enough to snap the bones of most normal people. However, instead of passing through him, it came to an abrupt halt. It bent, distorting the shape and frame of the vehicle. It never would be able to be used again.

The female in Cedrics arms would thank him, before requesting to be put down once more, insisting that she should help the others out. Howe do, wisely, she would ignore the comment about the silly little tavern thing. Or something. Whatever the bird man had said...

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý raised its head to let loose a vicious snarl as the girl suddenly vanished from its claws. It slammed it's fist down, howling in anger from the stupid bird like creature for stealing its food. "You choose to let them die a slow and painful death! Let them die now and enjoy the blood which streams from their veins!" The beast growled, it's chest heaving as it moved forward, away from the collapsed building. It was well aware of that annoying person who managed to not only get everyone out form the building, but managed to escape it as well.

It certainly was slipping, since...

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý growled, it's head moving to look over at the destruction which laid behind it, it's muscles aching. Growling lowly at this, the beast would look to the humans cowering in fear before it. Disgusting creatures... It walked down the street, it's strength waning. The great white head would slowly sink towards the ground, like a dog panting for water. The beast felt it's muscles tense, knots forming rapidly in its shape.

It was exhausted, and it looked up, it's vision partially blurred... But that didn't mean it's senses weren't still heightened in case something tried to hurt it.

( Sorry guys for the shorter post!! But, Attacking group 1, you guys are up! I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý hasn't done much aside from move further away from the building.

All the stats are the same as the last post! Good luck guys.)

Nebula had watched as the white beast had appeared from seemingly nowhere, although she had seen something resembling a portal where it came from. An entire skyscraper collapsed at its feet and a car flung out of the grasp of its tail. Curiously, a woman had tried to defy the creature; she asked it a question. The act was almost laughable. How foolish, or reckless must you be to do such an action? It reminded her of someone; the name couldn't be coined however.

Additionally, she noted, many people fighting against I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý seemed unwilling to actually hurt it. Perhaps they had a good heart - one that'd get them killed - or perhaps they had nostalgia. Apparently this creature had once been human, with friends and feelings.

The Glitch growled at the thought. How naive could you be, you think you could save the person that once was there? Fools. Ignoring the bitter, salty taste in her mouth, Nebula moved from the 'event horizon', her safeplace at the edge of the battlefield, and readied herself. Trust me, from personal experience, life doesn't work like that. She laughed at the thought of someone saving this creature. No, this thing needed to be killed.

A slight twinge of... anger? Jealousy? played at her. She released the bite she didn't know she had on her lips, ignoring the blood flooding her mouth. Now wasn't the time to be weak.

Nebula, Nova, whoever she was right now, charged behind the beast, her right arm outstretched in front of her, the anger inside her fuelling the fire raging through her body. Her was blood boiling; quick beats instead of a normally placid pace. From her palm came an abnormally large projectile of seething corruption, aimed directly at the back of the creature's head. Corruption of this size could disable a human for maybe a minute, and a Glitch considerably more. Of course, this projectile was minuscule compared even this creature's eye. Hopefully it was enough to stun the creature, even if for just a second. Even distracting the creature would be useful, another attacker could deal with it whilst Nebula used herself as bait - it's not like her loss would be a big one anyway.

Soft, incredibly soft tinged eyes raised their gaze to the horror around them. The collapsed building which clouds of dust still rose slowly from the rubble, the people screaming as they ran. Dust stung it's eyes, the manic eyes violent edge taken away and it shook it's head. The taste of blood in the maw of hell. Its chest heaved, exhausted from the effort this took. A confused look rose to meet Nebula, who's form suddenly decended. The facial features twisted suddenly into that of shock and horror, a realisation of what was about to happen. The sharp crack of pain coming from its head caused it to stagger, losing its footing to collapse on its side.

The people who witnessed it collapse were awestruck, hopeful for a few moments that the beast was killed. The military forces regrouped at the edge of the fleeing group, their weapons raised. Half of them had a grip as effective as holding water from their quivering hands. The others had ... Half hearted grips, but still, the terror on their faces was obvious.

"See. They don't care."

The intense green eyes replaced the calm ones once more, anger beyond belief from its throbbing head. Roaring in fury, it's maw instantly ignited with flowing black flames, ones which licked the edge of its ear. The military lost heart and scattered. It lowered its head from the howl quickly, eyes narrowed to glare at the fool who attacked it. The blow to the head sent the darkness within it into turmoil, one which would be hesitant to even try that again.

"You humans are all the same. Or humanoids. You struggle so much, you try so hard to save one another, yet you miss out on the simple bliss that is ignorance and death. Why do you not just allow me to end your sufferings peacefully? It would be so much easier this way~!" I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý spoke with a voice that cut through the air like a whip, and it ignored the silly girl who attacked him. For a few moments. The beast would create a portal behind Nebula, which would lead back to the first group of people it had encountered, two which smelt... Off. It would then attempt to rush over to Nebula with blinding speed, it's long claws aiming to grab her.

If that succeeded or not, it wouldn't change what it would do.

I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would continue the strike past the female, it's long white body suddenly appearing again at the first site of destruction. If I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý managed to carry the stroke through, it would use the momentum to try and pin Nebula. It's other claw would glow with a black light, and it struck the ground near her head once. HARD. The blow would crack through the ground, and I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý would look at the crack with curiosity.

The same blow would still carry through if Nebula wasn't pinned, and it would still crack the ground. I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý jumped from the weird person, landing around 15 feet from it. The crack extended to its feet and slightly moved form its weight. It's head lowered to sniff the interestingly soft ground. Realising what it was, it snarled. "A safe house isn't safe when I know of it!" I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý roared, raising its black paw once more to begin the downward strike into the refuge of people.

( Arik, Jhonen and Leif! Your group is up. I think you should attempt to stop or distract I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý from the safe house...
Nebula, you can also post as I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý is interacting with your character a fair bit with this post.

Updated stats.
Sanity: 2%
Health: 90% due to the head damage.

But it's mad now. Well. Mader. Have fun! And good luck!

Arik turned as someone approached them, asking if they needed to get out of the city. Normally, Arik would probably accept that in a heartbeat if he was ever in a situation like this. Instead he just shook his head, a small chuckle coming out of his mouth. "No, we're actually trying to help people, but you could help us if you'd like," Arik suggested. A sudden loud noise caused him to turn his head, and he watched as one of the tall buildings that was still standing began to fall. He frowned, concern on his face. Hopefully there weren't many people in there still, or else they'd have another big group of casualties.

A little further up the road someone shouted and the were ran to the sound, seeing someone trapped in a pile of rubble. "There's someone over here!" he shouted to the others, beginning to carefully get rid of the loose debris around them. There was dry blood on their head, and Arik guessed that was why they didn't call out earlier. He couldn't do a full check right now to see if they were knocked out or not. Quickly remembering a bottle he found earlier he took it out of his pocket, unscrewing the cap and offering it to the now uncovered person. "Here, drink." the man demanded, guessing that they would be rather dehydrated.

Soon after he had helped the other person up another loud noise occurred, although this time it was closer and a lot less pleasing. The creature he had only spotted from afar had somehow made its way a few yards away from them, on top of one of the safe houses. 'Oh no,' Arik realized, glad he hadn't sent the other person that way yet. "Someone distract it!" He yelled, knowing he was in no way able to stop it in time. Maybe one of them were closer and could do something about it. "Stay here," the dark-haired man said to the person, helping him into a sitting position before sprinting towards the house, trying to think of what he could do to stop the beast.

There were a few things he could do if he just let himself do it.

Jogging after the younger man, Leif lost his grip on Quby and dropped it.  Looking over his shoulder towards his companion, he mouthed the word "sorry," hoping that Quby would understand.  He felt bad for leaving his friend behind, but it was only a little ways.  Quby should have been able to catch up fairly quickly to Leif.

As he arrived to where the shorter man was, he cringed at sight of the blood.  Taking a deep breath, he reached forward to try and help clear some debris from around the person that Arik had just rescued, just so that he seemed like he was helping.  It felt to Leif that the shorter man in front of him was doing the most work.  He didn't know how to help people other than drowning away their worries and doubts with alcohol.

By the time that the thought had passed through his head, Quby was prodding at his leg, wanting to be picked up.  Leif reached down to pick up the robot when the man next to him yelled.  Something about a distraction?  Looking towards the direction he assumed the monster to be, he reeled back in horror.  The blonde hadn't seen it up close until now, and it was absolutely disgusting.  He could barely even look at it without wanting to vomit.

Well, he said to cause a distraction, Leif thought as he looked down at Quby.  "Please don't," Sad-one uttered.  "Ooo this is gonna be fun!" Glad-one exclaimed.  Reaching into his breast pocket, he pulled out a small device.  It looked quite old, but it was still clear that there were very intricate designs on it.  Tossing it in front of him, he closed his eyes and prayed that the other end wouldn't open too close to the creature that was attacking the safe house.

A swirling blue portal opened in front of him.  At the exact same instant, another portal opened in the middle of the street, which wasn't very far away, but it was closer to the monster than Leif was.  Kissing the top of the small robot's body, Leif stretched up with Quby in his hands, and made a motion like he was going to slam it into the ground.  Quby flew through the portal and into the air a few yards from the creature.  As it reached the peak of its flight, which was maybe around four yards high, Glad-one called out to the beast.  "Hello, friend!"  Oh god.  Of all the things it could've said.  It said that.  What was I thinking? Leif groaned as he heard Quby's greeting.

The robot fell back through the portal and Leif waited on the other side, arms stretched out, ready to catch it.  Quby flew up into the air in front of Leif just as the portal was closing.  After Quby was safely in his arms, the blonde reached down and grabbed the small artifact.  As he was shoving it back in his breast pocket, he said to the younger man beside him, "I did what you asked, but I'm starting to regret it."

Anger flooded through the Lore. The beast was nothing he had ever known, no Fae or Demon within count or memory of the ancient Black Dog.

Steeling himself, a howl ripped through his chest- the pack sprinting off at the order. Their trail would race around, earth below them becoming cracked and fragile- the five necrotic beasts yipping and barking, snapping at I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý when they went behind it. Their trails didn't falter, a constant taunt to the beast.

Cwn Anwynn, however, raced towards the man who had gone into the building. It seemed as though he were trying to rescue them, even though he looked as frail as the ones who had went in. Shifting forms slightly, Jhonen jogged into the front of the house. Even as I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý made its way over, he couldn't pause for a single moment. Hopefully the man who had thrown the robotic device at the beast, and his pack, would be enough to distract it for the time being.

Moving quickly, he entered the safe house- looking around for the alarm that would need to be in there. Finding it under a glass case, he quickly broke the protective lining before reaching in through the shards to flip the switch. The lights went crimson, and he heard quietened footsteps begin to move.

They would make it through the underground.

Shifting back into the Black Dog, Cwn bolted out the building to howl once more.

The beast seemed to take damage from Nebula's attack, but she knew that it wasn't time to celebrate. Nobody else seemed to have approached or attacked I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý, which meant that the beast would be focused entirely onto the masked figure.

And it was. Nebula was tackled from behind, the white beast lunging straight towards her with no time for reactions. Nebula was instantly snatched up in I̧̨͜n̡͡sa͏͝ņ̸͜i̧͡t͢͜ý's grasp. being thrown straight into the urban concrete of the city. She was bloodied and bruised head to toe - her armour was made to protect her from close combat blows, not to absorb shock damage. She slid her hand over her face and took the mask off - the edges were digging into her temples. Opting to just lie there aimlessly (she'd done her part; it was time for someone else's move), she was surprised when someone actually came to help her out.

Water flooded her mouth, washing out the dull, metallic taste of blood. Her ears rang, and she could barely croak out a "Thank you..." But she doubted the man could hear it.

"Stay here," she heard, once the ringing had stopped. She was put into a sitting position, before the man ran away, yelling. Her breaths were heavy and laboured, and she probably needed intense medical attention. With the amount of corruption Nebula had expelled from herself, she wouldn't be able to use any of her abilities, and she couldn't regen. So she sat down, eyes starting to droop.

[short rip.]