The Rockaverse

Syra shook her head seeing their true enemy reveal himself. She dodged the Earthhound's attack as its "paw" tore through a building, leveling it to the ground. "Fighting a Phoenix wasn't exactly on my list of things to do today..." She sighed, fingers tightening around the hilt of her weapon. Her mind wandered back to her time in the war, while she had been young, she fought as hard as the rest of her ragtag team. She'd killed a few Phoenix that fought under Oblivion's banner but none that could control an entire town of people. This Phoenix, who worked for the Witch-of-the-Wastes was on a different level; if he was this powerful, who could say how powerful the Witch was. "So, uh, plan?" She called out to her companions while she climbed her way up an outside staircase that had at one time allowed access to a second story apartment but now lead to a perfect vantage point for Syra to jump on the Earthhound's back.

"Alright you sonovabitch, let's finish this!" She called out to Divon, raising the dagger as she steadied herself on the ever-shifting back of the Earthhound.


***

"Well, well, Onyx may be right about her after all," Azure said with a small smile as she watched the battle unfold from a safe distance. She'd be ordered to follow Syra, but not to interfere in her affairs, Onyx was clear about allowing the girl to lead them to the ammunition for the Cannon that had no place on this world. Syra had to come into her own before Azure would be allowed to give her any further instruction unless of course, her life was in absolute peril, though, Azure hoped, her new friends would help keep Syra alive.

The earthhound didn't take kindly to Syra's attempts to bull-ride it, and hands quickly began to emerge from the muck to grasp at her ankles, attempting to drag her down into the center of the conglomeration, where Horik was similarly contained.

Divon, at the same time, watched M'Kama and his sword closely. None of the others really posed a threat, but that sword... He could tell it was Phoenix-related, but something told him he shouldn't touch it.

Spinning his finger around in a circle, Divon summoned a disc about six inches across of razor sharp wind, and flicked it at M'Kama, the wind blast stretching from the disc into a razor line that could cut through steel.

Ash was briefly dazed, having been knocked to the ground by Horik in an attempt to save him. He looked behind himself just in time to watch Horik crumple to the ground and become swallowed by the beast. There was a quick glance back to the man who identified himself as Divon. "You're going to pay for that with your blood..." He muttered this as he stood back up, but in just a few more moments Ash saw their enemy summoning some kind of Phoenix power, and it appeared to be aimed at M'Kama.

The Captain dashed forward without a second thought, the disc hurtling towards the strange Voodoo man. There was a hard thud as Ash slammed into the body of the other man, plummeting them both towards the ground.

The disc of wind just barely grazed Ash as the man tackled M'Kama, but even that slight touch left a razor slice along his skin. The rest of the disc collided with the ground and left a long slash in the road.

Divon, meanwhile, had already prepared another disc, which he hurled, once again, at Ash and M'Kama.

"Another one," M'Kama grimaced, picking himself up from the ground quickly. He slammed his sword into the ground, as several rows of molten stone rose up to take the brunt of the impact before it reached M'Kama or Ash. "Do not concern yourself with me," M'Kama informed the offworlder. "Help take out that man and we can move on from this trifle," he pointed at Divon.

Horik felt her heart racing as pressure came from all around her. She couldn't see and the juices that made her slip further down only increased her panic. Her hands clawed at the squishy yet firm walls but she couldn't dig her nails in to get a good grip. Horik found it more and more difficult to breathe and her heartbeat filled her lungs. She tried to scream but ended up choking on her own spit. Gasps of air and choking coughs only served to irritate her throat and bile raced forward.

Horik was dying from fear.

~*~

Low rumblings emanated from the worm. The endless looping did not do well for its senses but it felt itself coating itself in secretion once more. From its head, white mucus spurted out once more and suddenly, the curves straightened. It flew through the air into a building and the building crumbled. Low rumblings and the ground shook ever so slightly.

Then it was moving. It bolted through the streets and as it came upon the scene once more. It came from behind Divpon and shooted out its white mucus, hoping it would land and harden to immobilize the threat.

The mucus collided with an invisible air shield that surrounded Divon, sticking to the wind. Divon turned, surprised and grimaced.

"What a troublesome pest," Divon muttered, raising his other hand. The earthhound, in response, pounced on the worm, raising its head as fire began building in its throat. It was apparent the earthhound was about to "breathe" fire on the worm.

Divon turned back to M'Kama and Ash, and cast aside his air shield due to the mucus blocking his vision.

"Troublesome indeed," Divon repeated, raising both hands and spinning his fingers, more discs beginning to prepare.

Ash nodded and gave a thumbs up to M'Kama. When the sound of a crash caught their ears, The Captain quickly pulled out his pistols again, making a speedy reload as the worm charged back towards them, spitting at Divon, but only to be tackled by the hound after. Fire seemed to be building in it's throat, strange that these beings all had such varied powers.

Luckily, Ash managed to be a little quicker building his own fire. He raised both pistols, firing one shot with his left blindly towards Divon, and the other towards the hound. The bullet found its mark on the hound, puncturing its neck and sending it into a slight stumble, loosening it's grip on the worm.

"Our friends appear to have been preoccupied old chum!" Ash called out to M'Kama. "I believe we would do well to re-grant them their freedoms, but perhaps carefully." He hinted, making it clear to both M'Kama and himself that they needed to be careful when taking this creature out.

Syra fought to keep her footing as the muck and various hands tried to drag her into the Earthhound. She resisted the urge to stab wildly into the "Creature" these people were innocent, used to further this man's agenda. She felt her blood begin to boil, she knew what it was like to be used, looked at as just a thing. These people meant nothing to Divon, and she couldn't stand to see these people used in such a way, and for what? She had to know.

As she tried to make her move, the strange Worm shot its mucus at Divon, to which the Earthhound retaliated and pounced, sending Syra into the air, and crashing onto the hard earth below. "fuck..." She gasped, pulling herself to her feet. The sound of gunshots rang out, Ash had bought the worm some time, and subsequently, her some time to catch her breath.

"What now?" she stammered, the pain slowly creeping up her back. She held her dagger tight as she walked toward the two men that she now trusted more than anyone she'd trusted in a while. "What's your plan?" She asked M'Kama.

M'Kama scratched his chin as he observed the situation, before sighing and glancing over at the group woth an expression that resembled disappointment. He looked over to Syra and simply smiled, "I'm the plan." He planted his sword in the ground. "Now stand back."

M'Kama was launched into the air, a small locket of lava erupting beneath him to launch the chunk of Earth he was standing on far enough to propel him towards Divon.

He swung his sword once, shooting four globules of magma at each of his limbs, before rearing his arm back to impale the Phoenix on his blade.

Divon desperately swung the air blades at the magma, but all it managed to do was make the magma splatter. Without his air shield, Divon could not block the magma from striking his limbs and body, and he yelled in pain before M'Kama's sword stuck through him. Divon felt an instant of white hot pain before his body burst into flames and just as quickly turned to ash, drifting away on the wind.

Instantly, the earthhound collapsed, the townsfolk and Horik falling to the ground in a muddy mess, but alive. The wind surrounding the town dissipated. The ensuing silence seemed deafening.

***

Otis blinked his eyes awake and shook his head. The last thing he remembered was the shopkeeper placing his hand over Otis' mouth and then nothing but darkness. Otis could see a ladder leading up from the cellar and climbed it, stumbling out of the destroyed shop and looking around with a confused expression on his face.

"W-what happened?" he stammered, seeing the results of the battle around him.

Arubak and his two cohorts walked out of the remnatns of the ruined house, the warlord sporting an irritable look on his face as he wiped grime and mud off of his coat. "Sorry 'bout the lack of assistance. We were caught up in our own mess with these damn hounds. We get a lead on that sonuvabitch yet?"

"You all are ill prepared," M'Kama answered Otis, sighing as he sheathed his sword. "Collect yourselves," M'Kama informed the others. "Once you do we should discuss anything we've learned of this Dante. I have an inkling of an idea of where our prey may lie."

Gonadus' shiny eyes shot through the blackness at M'kama.

Ash looked on in shock, having witnessed Divon burn to nothingness from M'Kama's blade. It was definitely not how he expected this all to end, but as the hounds and other monsters collapsed to the ground, he felt an ease come over him. And annoyance. He was rather hoping to get more out of this battle, but alas, next time...

The Captain walked over to where the hound that swallowed Horik was, the girl now laying on the ground once more. He knelt down, placing a hand on her shoulder to see if she was alright. Horik coughed up a bit of mud, and confirmed that she was indeed still living. Syra also appeared to be in good health, and a moment later Otis's voice could be heard calling out.

Ash was about to respond, but M'Kama's words (possibly patronizing ones?) cut him off. The Captain frowned for a second, before turning back to Otis with a smile. "Had a bit of a scuffle with the locals my boy, but all has been taken care of. M'Kama here saw to that." He indicated pointing to the man.

Looking over to Arubak now, Ash gave a slight shrug. "Haven't learned anything new since we got cut off. Glad to see we're both in one piece. And by the looks of it, so is everyone else." The Captain looked over to M'Kama again after he had spoken. "If I may interject, I do believe 'prey' might not be the best choice of word for our target. I think it's rather important he remain alive so as to give us the information we seek. I find that dead men are rather difficult to engage in conversation with, much as we may try."

Syra watched in awe as M'Kama ended the battle ridding the town of the Earthhound. The townsfolk seemed to be okay, but none were moving any time soon. Their town was in disarray, and she couldn't help but feel bad for them all. While grateful they all survived, they had a lot of rebuilding to do. She shook her head, sad she was unable to do anything more for these people. She knew they needed to move on, to find the Witch of the Waste.

Once Ash had removed his hand, Horik began to move. Violently. She coughed up even more mud and her breaths came in gasps and small, startled sobs. The pressure was gone but Horik still looked around. Her eyes searched desperately but the found no walls or constricts around her. Just air and sand beneath her feet. She dug her nails into the sand and quieted herself as the others talked.

The worm bellowed loudly.

M'Kama pulled three cards from his pack, peering at them as he faced the desert before them. "Dusk lions let their prey go more often then they kill," he responded to Ashe. "The purpose of a hunt is often the thrill. As you well know..."

M'Kama pointed towards the dunes. "I was able to glean something. The one we seek was at a point of desperation. A blend of bad luck and stubborn superstition led him into desperation and that led him to our Waste Witch. He no longer resides in this town, therefore he has one refuge left...the outskirts. If the dward spoke truly..." he frowned, his eyes glancing towards the peering eyes of the dward in hiding.

"We've not much time to waste...we head there now, in the dead of night and put an end to many mysteries..." M'Kama stated, not waiting for the others before he strode off towards their last given destination.