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The employees of the Yait's insurance branch were safely in their shelter, or so they thought. The floor rumbled, then the cement base of the building cracked in two as an undead slug that had grown from the size of tractor trailer to the size of a jumbo jet. It sucked in any organic life it could find, killing everyone in the shelter and the floors above.

News copters above the scene caugth the carnage as the slug raised itself like a tower over the inner city of latent before diving back into the sewers. All that was left of the Yait's insurance branch it had attacked was a blackened hole with broken pipes extending from all sides.

Then it happened again, and again, the creature was pulling down entire building, sucking out any life inside as if it was nothing more than a juicy filling before going on to the next random target. Houses all over the inner city disappeared as the creature rose above the surface and back down again. Sometimes it would surface and dive through the air before sliding into a previously created hole. Like a slimy black dolphin jumping through the water. This thing had found a good source of nourishment, and it was growing.

Now that it had done exactly what was needed, Yarneth loosened it to do as it pleased, controling the beast from afar was requiring too much effort. The mental strain was taxing his system. So it was best to let it do as it pleased completely.

The Heavy Lifter began to feel some sort of rumbling below him, luckily it was coming from the inner city. The Lifter was heading towards the gate, not said inner city. And it would take more than a few tremors to disturb the massive machine. It would also take a lot more than a man zooming by on a motorcycle to disturb it. It was determined to get to the gate.

Joseph on the other hand was running desperately to catch up with the Lifter, and the tremors almost made him trip. Then, as luck would dictate, el motorman did nearly the same thing. Goddamnit, this just wasn't a good day for badass running. At least he caught up with the robot before he ran into a group of Shields. They seemed to be covering a choke point of some sort. God knows how nervous they would be after that first wave of attacks.

God knows what they were doing this far back, hopefully they weren't all that was left of the Calvary.

"Friendly!" Joseph shouted out to them, "The hell is going on here? And don't give me that civilian crap. I have a gun and a big robot. Those are two leading causes in not dying."

The lifter on the other hand kept going forward. It would find its enemies, and then it would crush them.

Minor undead, such as zombies and skeletons, were rather stupid creatures. As the Heavy Lifter entered the scene, a few of them immediately charged it - only to be steamrolled over by the giant robot. The golems were probably the only things that stood any chance against it. Unfortunately they were just as dumb and mindless as the undead they fought beside. One of the towering flesh golems would lumber over to the Heavy Lifter, raising meaty fists to bash down at it's upper frame.

[ Message temporarily off-line ]

"Finally."

The Knight looked down the road calmly, pale blue eyes gently reflecting the sparks coming off of that blade. Was it coincidence, or providence, that these two should come to face each other once again. The roar of the motorcycle steadily increased as the vehicle neared, as the blade neared, as the man neared. The Knight slowly pulled himself to his feet, squinting slightly so as to make out the other fellow who'd decided to hitch a ride with his fated opponent.

Scoffing eerily, for it was quite a strange thing for a man with no mouth, to grunt or cough or laugh. Not that speech wasn't a strange thing for our mouthless villain, but it seemed more, acceptable. Guttural notes were frightening things to be heard, when they were heard all around you. Though it was unlikely the men on the motorcycle could hear such things, nor have to bother with their intricacies.

Placing his right foot back, the Knight lowered his shoulders, and reared back as if to swing his sword across in a horizontal strike. And swing he did and the blade shot blue sparks out to the side, as a second blade separated from the first, spiralling low across the pavement as it flew towards the bike. The Knight would take two steps back, still holding the first blade. Pale blue eyes shining menacingly as the second blade went to cut clean through the front of the bike.

Ooo, destruction.

The slug, after being let loose from Yarneth's control, returned to the sewers through the hole that had once been an insurance office to continue feeding off the rot and death every sewer contained. It blended well with the darkness as ate through the sewers. It had attained its maximum size, but was gaining power as it consolidated it's structure. It forced its way through the sewer tunnels, breaking through sewer laws and enlarging the tunnels themselves, or leaving them to collapse.

It would not go above the surface unless it's food ran dry, or it was provoked. But now even it's movement was causing a disturbance, shaking the ground above its postion, and every time it unleased a moan the sewer lid covers of the entire city would shake violently.

The time it spent in Latent sewers depended on many factors, how long the food held out, the flow of the tide into the sewers, what other food it sensed, and how it was herded. Of course, if destroyed, there would be no need for it to leave.

Shields and undead alike were passed along, as Vahn went speeding in. Any semblance of a road was lost as he tracked along sidewalk and pathway without discretion.

The sparks from his Fang's tip continued arcing, until it seemed as if the whole blade itself would ignite into crimson flames.

Time seemed to slow down slightly, as the Knight stepped into view. Yellowed eyes widened, as memories of Strata flashed back in.

With it, the sharp sensation of pain in his abdomen reacted.

His body remembered.

He could feel the hand on his shoulder tighten; the only responce he gave was in increasing the throttle, pushing the machine past its limit. The tires were roaring, threatening to careen off course and out of control.

Leaning in a bit more, he cut his blade to the side, so the flat edge would be hovering horizontally over the ground.

The Knight swung, and at the speeds he was riding in on, avoidance was seriously at a low percentage.

But it was not impossible.

Knowing Sunstrike would take cue, Vahn leaned in violently, making the bike slide alongside the ground, tires screeching.

The blade shot forward, barely missing Vahn by milimeters, the side of his harley receiving an ugly scratch across its surface.

The bike would come sweeping the Knight's feet out from under him, considering the speed of impact, while----