Welcome to Gaia! ::

The heavly armoured shade was now at the enterance to the little fortress the shades had built. Up to this point the work had ben un interupted for at least a day, the shades now had a small fortress with six foot walls surrouding it, with the exception of the enterance the shade was standing in.

The shades outside collecting materials were rapidly slaughtered by Ji Long and his men. But the shades inside the little fort were capable of getting into a defensive position. All and all there were twenty five shades in the fortress.



"Battle stations!" The armoured shade yelled.

Ten of the pawns climbed up on platforms behind the walls, and shot empty fists in front of them. With a blur of shadow, darkmatter bows appeared in those fists. Once again they pulled back their second hands as if they were drawing a bow. On cue dark matter arrows formed. They released and a volley of arrows shot towards Ji Long and his men.

They adjusted their aim slightly higher, pulled back, materilized dark matter, and sent a second volley towards the miners entering over the bridge. This would of course be much more inacurtate.

The bishops began to prepare spells.

The remaining pawns waited behind the armoured leader.

A giant winged beast erupted from the mouth of the Sunrise River, heading for the group of UGH soldiers making their way into the ruins. Anyone too focused on the battle amidst all the ruination would have trouble noticing the beasts presence, even though it was massive and mid-air.

It arched upward then barrel-rolled into a shallow dive, straight down at the group of UGH's advancing into the ruins as if they were mice to a hawk. The beast was careful not to prematurely open it's mouth and give away the surprise.

"What the hell is going on is that we're under attack, and if you're not with Skinner it would behoove you to help us," Flare answered quickly. She was charging her fires as she spoke, her hands beginning to glow. She had sheathed her rapier at some point.

"Even if you are with Skinner, it would behoove you to help us, because we'll kill you otherwise," Flare added, just for extra motivation. "I suggest we make for that fortress, seems we're making our stand there..."

And, waiting for Sun and Veronica to follow, she began making her way towards it.

((I assume we are continuing, assuming that Athan retreated.))

And apparently the shades were slaughtered as Athan retreated and Ji Long advanced. There were five remaining on the field; Ji Long, Sunstrike, Flare, Veronica, and Hakan.

4 on 1? Not the best of odds.

But before he really had a chance to move forward to attack, the bowstrings would twang and he'd redirect his movements to the side, into one of the buildings to seek cover. Of course, the building would be the one Flare had come out when Athan would crash into her.

The UGH soldiers however, would do the same, scattering to all sides as they went to seek cover in the ruins, where they'd be able to remain in visual sight of one another to issue silent commands, but not before letting out some AP rounds form their assault rifles in the direction of the group consisting of Sunstrike, Veronica, Flare, and Hakan. By the way they crowded together, someone was surely going to get hit. They had no time to deal with a flying beast coming down from the air.

"...She's good." Wistful tone.

It does not take a genius to figure out that Veronica would be quick to follow Flare after a wonderful recruitment speech like that. Even without that, she was not intereasted in getting killed by some random grunt or stray bullet.

Gunfire had a way of putting more spring into her step...alot of it really.

The dragon descended upon the closest soldier, opening it's mouth to release it's cargo then smashing the UGH under rubble and the beasts scaley claw, splitting the tactical group into two groups of two. The area was rocked with the impact of the beast- thick dust spraying out from undeneath the monster, kicked up from the landing. As soon as it landed, the dragon heaved to the right, swinging it's massive tail at the two soldiers on it's left side, hoping to dispatch them both at once, smashing them against the ruins.

In the same instance that the group of UGH soldiers was split in two by the dragon, while the remaining soldiers were still barely able to take aim at a new target (let alone assess the new threat), Stryphe came down upon the soldier furthest from the dragons right side.

The sickening sound of bone and flesh being torn and ripped apart signaled the simultaneous death of the other doomed UGH. The soldier had been skewered from behind and above, the blade of the halberd having entered the space between the soldiers shoulderblades and nearly cleaving the man in two. The force that Stryphe was falling at would send both Stryphe and the UGH through the wall the gunner had been firing from behind.

The end result?

One UGH crushed underfoot, another skewered and blown through a stone wall to be left with Stryphe standing on his back, holding the weapon that had instantly ended the soldiers life. The halberd weilding demon-man was already ready to deal with the one soldier left between him and the dragon.

The other two of the remaining three UGH's would have to deal with the beasts tail.

(( Disclaimer: Talk it over with me if you have any problems with this, Kraun.))