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Sunstrike squinted at the dragon with something close to panic underneath the surface. He'd not understood the words but the sniff kind of indicated enough.

"Don't get any funny ideas, I know she's cute dragon-wise...but far as I know, she's not in heat...or looking for company."

That being said, he scrambled up onto the giant form, then helped pull Rage the rest of the way.

"You look like s**t Rage."

Here was was, riding the most painful mechanical bull-like thing and still holding on. Given the intensity the rooks thrashing was causing the Devil's face to grind, smush, smash, and bash against its solid back. Kain could taste a sweetened iron, the blood leaking from his nose, busted brow and split lip, perhaps not giving him pretty points but definitely gave the fire user intimidation points. Though, he didn't suppose 'Ooga Booga' would work on the shade tank.

Finally his grip was lost from the sweat the lined his arms and Kain was thrown from his hold. Red lines marked his arms where he held onto himself, nails tearing through his own flesh. Sweat and specks of blood flecked out from him as he spun away from Rooky.

Getting another mouthful of dirt when he hit the ground, leaving a small crater from his broken fall, Kain found himself sitting on his rump and hunched over his legs. To his left he heard the radiant voice that seemed to be the source of his enemies' plight.

Taking an unbloodied part of his arm he wiped the dirt from his face and took a breath.

"Piece o'cake."

"Huuh. Huuh. Huuh. Nnghh..."

Something was wrong. The shades were moving. Everyone had disappeared from sight- Victor and his entourage had slipped into the gap through space itself, though it wasn't difficult to suppose where they had headed. With its purpose served the gateway seemed to have decided that its part had been played- the mouth was closing. On the other hand, the shades were drawing away from it.

He glanced after the rooks making way. They were leaving, and for some reason, it didn't seem like they were even coming after the people they'd been impeding before. Instead they were just trailing off toward some woman. She didn't seem to be doing anything to defend herself, or have a way to, but she was somehow or other drawing them after her. The effect, the fact that she was causing them to slow didn't come clear in his mind, but he certainly understood she was making herself decoy by some kind of magic. Kael had completely missed her showing up, but all the same, he had an opening, he had a path, a way to follow, if he hurried...

The meta- Kael had put six inches of steel into that shade's "skull," but the man wasn't up and at 'em quite yet, scant surprise after that.

Yupa- Kael vaguely recognized him, though it wasn't his own eyes he saw the man in his memories through. He wasn't doing anything. No, he needed help. The guy was certainly potent though, there was no way this would keep him down too long, much less with the others to back him up.

The kid- Kael didn't think he looked like much of a fighter, but at least he'd put down the shades quickly enough temporarily. He could buy plenty of time for everyone. Only he was retreating.

Rage and Sun- no, they were swooping right through, instead of lending assistance they were evacuating everyone on that big lizard of his. It made sense to clear them out rather than relying on these to be the only shades to show up, even if Kael knew there wouldn't be more. These weren't meant to kill them. They weren't interfering, and they were on the wrong side.

He could still see the gate, and some where through it, one fierce little bird who had just been finding her wings was being holed away, and with her quite possibly all the rest of the world. If he hurried, he was sure he could clear that hole...


A choking sound near a sob tore his throat, and Kael forced himself forward, sprinting with all his speed and strength.


With a jolt, Rain would have one last hard impact with the earth, and the rook holding him would seem suddenly stilled.

Or at least, it's arm from the elbow down was.

Heavy armored armored boots dug into the soft soil and roots and mess of the forest floor, forcing his run, half stumble after trying to lay out a heavy enough two handed blow to remove the hefty shade's limb, even at one of it's weaker points, into a slide. With little more than a hint of grace, he managed to stop quickly.
Kael spun as soon as he had his footing, red eyes- the only hint visible of the face behind the visor- locking on the siren's face for a part of a second, and then his back was to her, spreading his feet wide and leveling his sword.

Kael would have better luck to just cut up the rooks from behind, almost for sure, but more unfamiliar with magic than any average Gaian, at the glance he'd been allowed he could tell she was doing something to draw the shades off, but took their slowed motion for arrogance or caution, not forced sluggishness.
Perhaps he had more the visage of the heroic knight this way, guarding the lady, absolutely radiating determination and fury- though maybe not all at the attackers. He, however, looked as far from that hero as ever, inornate armor splattered with mud and shadow matter, his plain steel sword showing wear from contending with the shade's naturally tough flesh, and the deep dent in his chestplate- the swordsman or knight, however the armored figure was to be taken, was breathing in short, seized breaths, shoulders and chest rising and falling rapidly in attempt to prevent himself from being left helpless in a coughing fit brought on by the exertion in combination with the tight pressure on his chest.

That didn't seem to intimidate him though.


He'd given up a chance to save Teira, maybe to save everything, for this, for his inability to leave knowing he'd left them in such imminent risk of dying. A chance he wasn't sure if anyone would manage to right before it was too late.

And if that was the cost, there was no way in hell he was going to let whatever remained of the shades lay so much as a finger on them.

((Three left, actually, if I haven't misinterpretted anyone's posts; the listing two pages is updated at each of my posts. ))

WHUMP!

All at once, Rain's very bumpy ride came to an end. The target of release of the Rook's aggression, he took many beatings. The Rook had even gone through his own Pawns to get to the singing woman.

The world was spinning as Rain would simply lay there, trying to piece things together. Why wasn't anyone he expected here? Where was Maximos? Where was Lazenca? Where was Sunstrike? Where was Silver? The only one he expected to see and did, was Rage, but he was occupied fighting a freakin' dragon. Lazenca was here, but ran away.

Kain... why was Kain here? He was a demon. Or was it devil? It didn't matter, they were both hellspawn. He should have been on Ra'Kar's side. Why was he helping?

Who was this knight? Where did he come from?

Who was this singing woman? What were her allegiences?

And the older, red-haired gentleman? Where did he come from?

And what about Ichigo? He knew him on sight, yet everything he had heard about the boy's potential rivaling that of Urameshi must have been a great exaggeration.

NOTHING made sense, even after he got knocked around so much. But then again... why was he here? He had tried to kill that girl. That poor girl... who only wanted... wanted to... LIVE...

KOF! KOF! KOF! Rain leaned his head to the side and coughed up rather painfully, several gouts of blood and bile mixed together. Oh god, this wasn't a good day. He had been about to laugh at the irony of the situation, but there was only more pain.

Turning his head, everything was shaking, focusing and unfocusing. He couldn't see half the group that was here before anymore. Had they retreated? ... had they died?

Kain was off on the ground somewhere; Rain could not see if the devil was faring better than him, but given a moment's thought to process the information, he would assume that he was, based on the nature of his infernal heritage. The older man that had attacked the Rook, giving the knight the chance to disarm him, was standing there, smoking a cigarette, and simply watching, so he was alright.

Then there was the knight, and the singing woman, versus three giants. One of them was knocked back, and she said something he couldn't quite make out.

Wait... three of the Rooks? That must mean...

Rain's head would whirl to the Rift. It... it was unguarded! Closing fast, it looked like, but... maybe he still had...

Yes! He could make it in time! He was fast enough! If he missed this chance, then everything... EVERYTHING might be lost!

Very shakily, Rain braced himself against the nearby tree, blood and mud both coating his face as if in a complete mockery of professional camouflage. He was battered, bruised, bloody, and broken, but hell if that would stop him now! He had to try! He owed it to Teira! He owed her that much, at least...



His mad dash to the closing Rift began, and ended, with a single step. His right leg, the one the Rook had grabbed, had shattered with the very first impact with the forest soil. The entire lower leg, calf muscle to bone, had been forcefully compacted in the grip, and one of the steel-coated shards tore itself through muscle and flesh, causing Rain to fall immediately.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHH!!" he screamed out, curling instantly into a fetal position in an attempt to clutch at his broken leg. He opened his mouth a few more times to emit some sort of pained cry, but nothing came out in the shock of the situation. He would simply lay there, curled, for several seconds.

Then, just like that, he turned back to the Rift. It was closing... closing... he wouldn't have enough time. But he had to try... didn't he?

He would spend a few moments looking back and forth between the Knight and Singer, then to the Rift, back and forth, before beginning a pained crawl across the grassy soil towards the backside of the Rooks. As he crawled, the Rift, seen over his shoulder, would close completely and wink out of existance.

exclaim
eek

'Hmm... wait...' Rain thought to himself, raising an eyebrow as the armored knight knelt down beside him. He'd heard that voice before, but it was hard to make out through the headpiece. It had been a while. Who...?

Rain coughed, turning his head to the side to spit out a tiny stream of blood to the side, away from the armored man. "Masterfully done." he would say, turning his gaze from the helm to the three croaked Rooks.

Taking the man's gauntleted hand, he would be assisted up, standing on his good left leg. He would turn to face where the Rift once was. "I'll be fine, don't worry about me. Well, no, I'll be fine later; I currently hurt in places I didn't know I had. I..." he trailed off, lifting a hand to excuse himself as he reached into his mouth, fishing around for something.

And presented a tooth, pocketing it. "Bleh, I'll need that for later, so they can re-attach it. Anyways, it doesn't matter. That girl who was taken, if you saw her, she's important. I'm unclear on the specifics, but she's the key to us unlocking the door of victory here, and the bad guys have her. We have to get up there and get her back, before its too late! We-"

And the shadow that enveloped the clearing began to face, as the island sailed off into the sky.

"Oh, for crying out... What the ********, island?! TWO MINUTES! That's all we needed!" he yelled out in the direction it floated away, gesturing with an open left hand in frustration, before swinging it around for an epic facepalm.

"Okay, stranger, that complicates things. Do we have anything fast enough that can chase a flying freakin' island? I... WE need to get Teira back."

((I believe that's everyone... I think....))

There was something desperate in the way that Rage stood, the way he spoke, the way his eyes shone. He looked almost like he was itching to get out of the forest, but something conflicted, something that very nearly snapped when Kael climbed onto the dragon's back and started snarling at him.

"Kch..."

Words and actions flooded his mind, as well - what to say, what to do, how to react. His right arm shook violently, but instead, he used it to give the dragon a gentle pat on the head, growling in a way that was not menacing, but it certainly didn't sound like human speech.

As the beast raised it's wings, gaining lift off the ground, Rage looked over his shoulder to address everyone that had joined the flight. "I'm not going to lie, this is gonna be a bumpy ride. We're going somewhere where the lot of you can relax and recuperate, if only for a short while. And try not to fall off. I don't want to go skydiving after any of you."

A few more beats and they were clearing the trees, heading northward towards Gambino. Rage looked over his shoulder at Kael. With the helmet it was difficult to tell, but there was no denying who it was. They were a team but mere hours ago... and Rage had been willing to throw all of that away. And for what...?

"I'm..."

Maybe he should try to stick to the plan for once. After all, they had a uniting goal at this point. Sort of. Maybe he still had time to make up for his own mistakes.

"... glad we agree on something for once... Kael...."

He looked forward again, saying nothing more until they reached their destination.

((Goddamit. I misread your post, Fish. If you want I can go back and edit it. Sorry.))