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There was another with Red. She did not need to think of their name to grab their attention. From the moment she had touched the tablet on Deus Ex, they had been together. One werewolf, one weapon. Their relationship was a complex one, a secret affair that was just between the two of them. For them, conversations were held in an instant. Ideas, thoughts, words -- they had worked and trained together from sunrise to sunset in Halloween and in the Human World, adapting until they could act in unison as one.

But now they had one body between them, one that boasted the best and worst of their respective selves. The long tail of the behemoth lashed as a new thought was brought to their attention, shared, discussed, executed.



"No longer," she rumbled in a dual-toned part-Red, part-stranger voice. She kept her eyes on the students, the glow intensifying as she spotted Caelius. "Do you see? How eager they are to kill?" The Hunter's shockwave attack rolled through over her paw. She picked it up and shook it out. Perhaps being large did have its advantages, even if it made her an easier target. A spark seemed to shoot through her glowing glyphs as she continued to stare at the Hunter, her breath coming out in a hiss as the weapon changed into a being --

And then the being was gone. If she could smile, Red would have smirked at the seemingly helpless Death Hunter. For now, she settled for looking down at him with her chin held high.

The students below her were still speaking, still demanding answers from her. It was becoming difficult to hear them over the growl of irritation rising in her throat. At last she angled her head down and snapped at them in irritation. "There is no time you clueless scarelings! Every moment you spend talking is another moment that the enemy --"



The behemoth's head snapped up as Bix shouted his rallying cry. Red's skeletal jaws opened to roar right back at him, her fur bristling. The attacks had begun; there was no time for patience to explain. To answer. To apologize.

But would they even listen

The behemoth snarled as the pieces of meat smacked her jaw. She snarled, snapping at Damien. "CUB! This is no time for games!" Damien distracted her; she was oblivious to the huntress Madison that climbed her ruined legs, the smoking wounds dull to all sensation. The boney spikes on her back also offered no sensation.



In front of her, Leon took advantage of the situation by swinging his chainsaw at her. The chainsaw rattled off of her massive skull, causing sparks of blue-fire to scatter off of it. Red wasted no time in snapping at the weapon. She bit the weapon as a wolf bites a member of their pack on the nose to put them in their place, shocking the weapon with a burst of cold. The weapon retreats into its desummoned mode!



Red raised her head up, seeking to get it out of range when --



A strangle sound torn violently between a shriek and a wail came from her throat as she reared up, intensifying as Jerry's attack hit it in the torso. She began to flap her wings, tossing her head back and forth. Madison was shaken off. Whether her swords were shaken off or pulled out with the huntress did not matter; one hand rose to sweep across the wound, fingers running across the deep gouge that remained behind. A sense of deja vu settled in as the blue fire within Red flared up, burning freely across her forehead.



The loud voice did not rumble in their chest or cause the canyon walls to shake; it was the sound of a voice heard only in their minds.



The voice was tense, smug. It, no, he knew he was correct. This was the voice that was heard with Red's, a deep masculine voice that was rough. Had it been audible, it would have hurt to listen to him. Would it have been more pleasant if he spoke quieter?

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The quiet voice of Red, soft compared to the other. It sounded like a sigh, colored by the motion of wanting to slump the shoulders.

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A fact, not an accusation.

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Acknowledgment.

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Interrupted.

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A snap of white wolf jaws, a growl. Bristling fur.

There was a pause, lasting as long as a blink.

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Curious, a tilt of the head. An attempt to make conversation, to change the topic.

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Eyes closed, a glance to one side. Defeat.

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Another pause. One's imagination could feel a gentle bump, a brush that indicated that one was now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with another person. It was warm; they were here for you.

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Even though it felt like a minute, the thoughts flashed through everyone's mind in an instant. The creature bowed her head, the glow dimming.

The whistling hunter axe hurled by Ennéa spun as it sliced through the air, spinning end over end before slamming into the behemoth's face. The beast roared not in pain.

But rather in pure fury.

There was a visible change to the creature; the way it held its head and moved. There was a raw power at work here, multiplied as she, no, it held its wings up, curling forwards for intimidation and to increase the volume of its already loud voice.

"YOUR TIME IS ENDING," it, no, he now boomed. There was no trace of Red in its voice. Would she have looked on with approval? Or would she have given in to her despair and turned her back on them, hands clasped to her face?

"I WILL FINISH THIS. I WILL SAVE THEM. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY; LET ME SHOW YOU."

Was he speaking to the Hunters? Or was he addressing Red?

The behemoth began to flap its wings, its eyes moving from the crowd before it to the white light of new arrivals. A nod went to them; he will save them too. He would save them all.

The beast pumped the wings harder, taking off. It did not mind the incoming attacks; it did not pay anyone heed. The skeletal jaws opened, the blue fire within already rising in height and temperature. The fire it used was an abomination just like its master: it was hot and cold at the same time. It burned just as much as it froze.

Contemplation ended as the creature roared, sending blue fire onto the entire battlefield. This fire was fiercer, more dangerous than the fire that came from her flamethrower. This was more painful than the fire both Red and the mysterious voice summoned at the very beginning of this battle.

No, this fire had a purpose. If Red could not save them through fire, her weapon would save them through death.

The attack was over quickly. While it felt like it had been drawn out for hours, such a powerful attack had taken only thirty-two seconds before the creature landed, taking an additional opportunity to breathe fire onto itself.

The OOC

Those in the Couch Domain do NOT hear the former weapon's voice, nor can they hear Red's (right and center aligned text). It was only heard by those alive on the battlefield, as it was telepathic.

EVERYONE PLEASE ROLL A 12-SIDED DICE

EVERYONE must roll a 12-sided dice. Please read 'DEATH AND YOU FROM THIS POINT ON' for instructions regarding death at this point.

1: You didn't move. The fire moves too quickly. The pain is intense, and yet in a moment it's over. You are now dead. See the next quotebox for instructions.

2: As the fire heads towards you, you can feel something... strange happen. You can feel the fire as it burns you, but your HP is undamaged. It won't be until later that you find the injury: You cannot use any FEAR ability for the next THREE battles you get into. These battles must be completed with one victorious party; fleeing from battle or having an opponent flee does not count.

3: The force of the fire takes you by surprise. You are damaged for 75% of your MAXIMUM HP VALUE. (Y1: 23 dmg, Y2/Trainees: 30 dmg, Horsemen: 45 dmg)

4: You catch the fringes of the fire. The only thing you have to show for it is a thin layer of frost that coats your entire being. -2 HP damage.

5: You manage to duck behind a rock, however the rock shatters beneath the combined pressures of both hot and cold temperatures. The shards of rock explode and hit you for -5 HP damage!

6: The force of the fire takes you by surprise. You are damaged for 75% of your CURRENT HP VALUE.

7: YOU HAVE TWO OPTIONS:
xxx 1) You manage to duck behind a rock. You are injured for half of your current HP.
xxx 2) You turn and tackle somebody, knocking them down and shielding them. While you saved them, you have died in the process; see the next quotebox for death information. This may only be used for someone who has NOT ROLLED YET.

8: Somehow you managed to avoid the fire. Most of it, at least. Except you're now ON fire. Roll 1d6. You must roll a 1 or 6 to put the fire out. Every time you do not put the fire out, you suffer -3 HP damage. Thus if you must roll three times to put the fire out, your total damage is -9.

9: It hurts. This is NOT what you had in mind of being saved. Take -10 HP.

10: The fire burns with an indescribable temperature. There is a brief flash of pain, then nothing. It happened too quickly, but you are now dead. Please see next quotebox.

11: So this is what it feels like; being both burned and frozen alive at the same time. It is painful and quick, and will most likely be relived through your nightmares. You have died. Please see next quotebox.

12: You can feel yourself catch on fire, however you were wise and took cover behind a rock right when the behemoth began to fly up. At worst you have a couple of small blue fires on you which you pat out quickly. Your hand feels cold, but the area where the fires were feels warm. No damage; luck you.

DEATH AND YOU FROM THIS POINT ON

HALLOWEEN:
If you dissipate, please proceed to the Domain of Couch. Red did tell you to run; the attack (while painful) did ensure that you are now out of there in a (relatively) safer place. Unfortunately Red doesn't have any bandaids for that sense of betrayal you may or may not be feeling right now.

Remember, dissipation occurs ICly at -10 HP! Your character falls unconscious at -5. If you hit 0, you're still alive~

HUNTERS:
Old death rules still apply to you:

Quote:

HUNTERS: Upon reaching 0, your weapon's Fear shield goes down as usual. If hit beyond 0, your weapon becomes paralyzed with the Insanity. It's dark. Where are you? You can't see anything. You can't hear anything. Where is your weapon? You... You are alone for the first time in many months. Are you... dead?

If you are dead and are hit with a heal, you are brought back to life! It feels like slowly waking up, but... you're still rather... cold. It's a noticeable cold that just won't go away, and becomes more and more noticeable the more you die and wake up again.

There is NO targetting Red this round; everyone is too busy being burninated to attack!



Damage totals will be edited in at another point in time~