DOOMSDAY, DOOMSDAY, GETTIN' DEAD ON DOOMSDAY

[bullet_dance]

Who: oneofsaya and you!
What: The big battle.
When: June 18th, afternoon.
Where: Anywhere.
Summary: Kusanagi has decided to go on a freaking rampage and will KILL YOU ALL. So, uh. I think it's a good time to make like Ike and fight for your friends.
Rating: M (for death and violence!)

Comments

Way later into the fight - also, placeholdery like hell 8D;

[semper_cogitans]

[Since the end of the experiment, Robert has been... disturbed. The two days or so of reprieve he'd gotten had served to help him out, but only to some extent.

Still, he's sure that he's not so insane that what he's hearing and seeing in Luceti when he finally emerges from his building again isn't some kind of horrible nightmare.

... It looks like war.

Terror spikes through him, making him shake uncontrollably as he beholds the violence - fighting everywhere, and blood and panicked cries and the acrid stench of burning flesh - and in the middle of it all, some blonde figure clad in metal.

... What is going on...?

Against his better judgment, Robert wanders closer to the pandemonium, trembling all the while. Are his friends out there? Is this some kind of Third Party warrior breaching the barrier? He has no way to tell, and that's the worst part.]

[wears_a_torc]

[Knuckles had heard the sound of fighting he could he not have the whole village was under attack and a mass of faces that Knuckles didn't know and hadn't cared to know rushed past him some in panic away from the fighting and some towards like Knuckles himself. But it wasn't until he found the source of the attack that he found a face he recognised.]

Professor Hastings?! [But before Knuckles could wonder why the professor was in the middle of this mess. Or why he was just standing there while he about to get attacked. Another man took the attack for him.] No!

[Knuckles ran towards the scene. He didn't think there was anything he could to do for the other man, and he tried not to dwell on that thought, he couldn't afford to dwell on it. But he could help the Professor.]

[oneofsaya]

[Knuckles had made it just in time... well. He was a little too late, but still early enough to distract Kusanagi from going any further than she had already gone. Her eyes gleam over to him as the blades carelessly tear themselves away from Giles.]

Threat detected. Target classification: [...wat] subspecies of beastkin.

[Nevermind the dying man at her feet.]

Last tag from me on this end

[consultmybooks]

[The one in his chest doesn't tear itself away without a fight - well, as much of a fight as Giles can manage when he's dying painfully. He tries to hold it back. He fails, but he tries, and the swords were the only thing still holding him upright. The former Watcher collapses bonelessly against the ground once they're removed, bleeding copiously.

His body is already feeling impossibly heavy, but he manages to lift his head enough to stare at the red blur that is Knuckles with eyes that never got the chance to fully heal.]

Get him... [He takes a breath, a painful, shallow, rattling breath.]

...get h-him away...

...please...

[His fatally wounded body takes that moment to forcibly remind his panicking mind that talking should be at the very bottom of his list of priorities right now. Any further plea is cut off by more coughing, coughs that make him vomit blood and mix with the occasional strangled moan of pain.

It's all over but the crying. There's nothing anyone can do for him now.]

Sorry for any slowness D:

[semper_cogitans]

[The image of Giles' body, torn and bleeding, shaking at their feet in front of the Godslayer, is burned into Robert's mind as if by a searing-hot brand. His gray eyes are wide with staring, senseless panic - only the tiniest shred of rational thought remains under the layer of complete basal terror that threatens to overwhelm him. It's the closest Robert has ever come to total insanity.

The only things that ground him are the voices. Giles' voice, begging; Knuckles' voice, a panicked shrill cry; Kusanagi's deadpan tone. He thinks - maybe hallucinates is a better term - that he can hear the cries of Frederic and Helios as well, somewhere, but he isn't paying enough attention. What little of his sanity that is remaining is dedicated toward complete and utter self-reproach.

He has never seen a sapient die. And now there is one dying right in front of him - because of him. His friend. The friend that died at the blades of a monster to protect him.

That had been Robert's death to take. He was supposed to protect Giles, for once - to

Pffft, you're talking to the queen of slow here ^^;;

[wears_a_torc]

[Knuckles stopped short when the woman spoke. He might have corrected her target Classification, but his attention was caught by the her victims. The echidna's hands curling into tight fists at the sight of the dying man begging for the life of another. He didn't know his name. He couldn't save him. Bit he could give him his last request at least.]

I will. I promise.

[Knuckles turned to the murderer then, placing himself between her and Robert. But he had no words to for her. His words were for the Professor.]

It still might be you if you don't get out of here.

I'm probably the king of it :|; At least lately

[semper_cogitans]

[Robert half-turns to Knuckles, his expression empty of anything except blind panic. But he forces himself to at least clutch his remaining fragments of logic and drag them to the surface of his churning psyche.

Giles did... that... so he wouldn't die. And as much as he feels he deserves it, getting out of here would honour that aim. It would be unethical to allow otherwise.

And so he takes a halting little step in Knuckles' direction, though the last thing he wants to do is leave Giles. He's unable to speak, and standing alone is hard right now, but he knows he has to get out of here, and he's close enough now for Knuckles to grab.]

let's have a slow party |:

[oneofsaya]

[Her fallen victim continues to show signs of life, but barely. At this point, especially with the appearance of Knuckles, it isn't worth going the second mile to finish him off.

And why bother? He's already close to dead, anyway.

Kusanagi has other people to deal with.]

Proceeding to next phase. [If Knuckles doesn't act now, she will attack them.]

Party! <3

[wears_a_torc]

[Knuckles hesitates. He wanted to attack Kusanagi, to keep her distracted while Robert ran for safety. But Knuckles was pretty sure that if Robert hadn't run by now he wouldn't. At least not alone. Gritting his teeth Knuckles grabbed Robert by the arm.] Come on Professor!

[And Knuckles starts running trying to lead Robert out of the fight. He glances over his shoulder, to see if Kusanagi will come after them or not.]

Hell yeah \o/

[semper_cogitans]

[The little part of Robert's mind that is functioning wonders if he's strong enough to keep it up, but by now panic has adrenaline swimming in his blood and singing in every fibre of his muscle. Drawing breath is hard, but he squeezes his eyes shut and forces himself to move. Between the sheer terror pushing him onward and Knuckles dragging him, this is probably the fastest he's ever ran in his life.

It's still not very fast, but it just might possibly be enough to throw Kusanagi off, and with the (possible?) approach of Helios and Frederic, as well as the clamour of other battle participants, Kusanagi has a lot to deal with other than an E-level threat.]

sorry ;;

[oneofsaya]

[...oh. They're fleeing.

WELL. She can deal with Giles now, or go after these two.

...

The man at her feet is close to dead, anyway. It doesn't matter much to Kusanagi anymore. So, with that in mind...] Pursuing.

[There's no need to use her feet--it's like she's practically flying on over in pursuit of the two. Knuckles and Robert better run faster, because she's not going to give up! unless something else distracts her]

It's okay! <3

[wears_a_torc]

[Oh this is just brilliant. Knuckles looks back at Kusanagi and then looks at Robert. Yeah, just making a run for it wasn't going to work.]

Keep going, I'll distract her.

[And Knuckles let's go of Robert, turning to face Kusanagi.]

You know killing us all is pointless right? We'll just come back.

[No he doesn't expect words to stop her, but he thinks it's at least worth a shot.]

<3!

[semper_cogitans]

[In the back of his head Robert wonders if that's an entirely logical idea. Kusanagi is more than willing to murder either of them. He doesn't want to kill anybody else - not now. But how can he argue with this? He shoots a panicked look Knuckles' way, but forces himself to keep going despite how much his body and mind protest.

One thing's for certain - his running speed is a lot faster this time than it was when he was fleeing Yuber before. It's still not impressive at all, but he's actually able to keep it up despite his ragged, panicked breathing. Of course, he would be ridiculously easy for Kusanagi to catch up to - assuming she cared enough to pursue him.]

[refinedmaestro]

[Frederic had been healing a few more people and trying to defend himself along with his friends when from a short distance he sees what happened to Giles. At first, the memories of what happened to Helios flood his mind then the ones of home. But he tries to push them all aside to reach his friend while running.]

Giles!!

[consultmybooks]

[Giles is laying wherever Mu decided to leave him. His wounds are still bleeding profusely, staining the already bloody ground around him. But the blood flow is already slowing, as his his mangled, torn up heart surrenders the battle against the inevitable and stops working quite so hard to pump blood through a ruined, broken body.

Frederic will find him barely holding onto consciousness, onto life. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak - he's trying to get back up. But even as Frederic reaches him, the arm he was using to laboriously lever himself up gives out, and Giles collapses painfully back to the ground in a pool of his own blood.]

((ooc: You can double team with Helios if you want, or we can accept some timeline strangeness and finish this off solo.))

[folkloristic]

[ There might be a slightly unconcealed sob from Helios as Giles might hear him hit the ground next to his body. ] Don't! Don't m-move, please. [ There's so much pain in those few spoken words. Giles might feel the heat from a healing spell envelope him. Helios knows it's too late, they both know it's too late. But he has to try. ]

Please, you can't...just-just hold on. [ He's only fighting back those tears so he can try fruitlessly to heal those wounds. The warm blood of his friend soaking into his jeans as he sits there trying to repair some of the gruesome damage done. ]

((ooc: I'mma just threadjack this. Same ending either way. D'8))