The Fire Rises (open)

[Marvel Universe]

Now that their shields were gone Iron Man simply fired the laser at them, their armor not made to protect against it as it'd pass straight through upon contact stunning them. But something was scratching at the back of his mind as he could hear the sound of a third generator being destroyed. Something telling him that this was all way too easy than it should have been.

[Sparda]

As Sparda approached, bounding from rooftop to rooftop towards the riot, he could feel the null generators dying off one by one. Others were assisting, it seemed, in helping quell the violence; if there were any he didn't know, he would have to be sure to thank them. The fact that they were he at all, though, was still a worry that would require some investigation when this was over.

As it stood, though, there remained some generators to hunt down. The devil found them easy to track - he simply needed to move in directions that caused the extents of his power to shrink away against his will in order to home in on them - and found a fourth hidden away in a large hotel. Ducking around looters, and swiftly knocking out those who attacked him with fleeting backhands to the backs of their heads, he sought out the generator in the building's basement and quickly set to work smashing it to pieces, punching great rends in its surfaces and tearing out its innards.

Soon, these would no longer be a problem, and even he alone would have little trouble suppressing the rioters. What was a much greater concern, though, was that as he was returning to the surface, he was jumped by a Hallowton guard with a halberd in his hands and a crazed, almost fearful look in his eyes, as if fleeing madly from some unseen danger and not caring for those in his way. Sparda ducked a swing of the guard's weapon and quickly wrenched it from his hands, knocking him cold with a strike of the shaft.

All the while, the Dark Knight had sensed an all too familiar madness clutching at the poor man's mind. It retreated as he fell unconscious, but Sparda knew it anywhere... Someone was twisting these men's minds with the Waking Nightmare.

[Ira]

"No. No." Wakanda muttered under her breath, as her saber collided with various weapons as she seemingly danced through the fight. It was typical for the Healer to talk to herself, generally saying the single word as she denied those attacking her the chance to hit her.

She turned, swinging her saber with a great deal more strength, attempting to mix her stylized Ataru (varying from the typical ataru as her own was more like a dance than flips and jumps - those weren't her style) with Vaapad. Her blade fell down, easily disarming the rioter.

However, in a flash, she came to a stand still as an explosion could be heard and a shiney new object seemingly entered the fray. Her eyes widened as she studied the red and gold suit of armor, mistaking it to be a droid. But it looked fantastic! What kind of droid was that?! It was so shiney! And it moved so gracefully too compared to other droids she had seen with a humanoid shape.

Out of the corner of her eye, she was pulled from her awe over the suit by an incoming table leg, broken off from a flipped table, being swung at her left side. She did the best she could to prepare herself for impact as there was no chance for her to be able to drop her blade to block across her body. And though the swing hit her, Wakanda remained on her feet. She'd feel it in a couple of minutes though, she was sure. The healer swung her blade, striking the rioter who had managed to get his hit in across his back, sending him to the ground.

Note to self; get distracted by shiney new impressive objects after matters had been handled.

[sebastian]

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The Persian-red singing [voice] slowly
dyes your chest the same [color]
[as if

[/color]] it's an eternally yearning
swiftly dispersing...
[Melody[/color]][/size]

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[/center]

The gaze was fixed on the window again, watching the goings on in the square. The Wild Geese and Freaks seemed to have finally started collecting themselves again; it was about time. These generators which had been mentioned... They were almost all down. He had felt their influence draining away his own abilities, so he could understand why defenders below would be having trouble. But he had ways of combat without relying in his demon abilities... The combatants should have learned how to fight well without depending so much of their powers... But it didn't really matter by this point. As long as they were getting through and remaining unharmed for the most part, it didn't matter how they fought against the riot.

It was the voice of one of her approaching guards which dragged his attention back, and his crimson gaze narrowed as they locked on the people who were being brought before the Queen. They all looked rather shifty, freaked out a bit. But then again.. That was to be expected... They had been involved in the defense of Hallowton after all; and these Generators had been set off without authorization. If there was anything the butler hated the most... It was disloyal, backstabbing creatures; human or not; who went against their superiors. So when Lori asked her question, the smirk which crossed his face spoke only too clearly of the answer. He took great pleasure in exposing human lies, particularly since he wasn't one to lie; unless under orders of course. "Yes, I have some skill in such matters, Your Majesty."



He was being humble, as usual. He'd never had trouble telling human lies apart from truth. The reason? Because they made it so damn obvious when lying. It had something to do with that psychological instinct and feeling which they called a "conscience"... Something which didn't exist for a monster like himself. No matter how "good" they were at lying... There were always signs which couldn't be noticed by feeble human senses. Shifting eyes, a twitch of muscles, a trace of sweat... Those reactions could be concealed by practiced liars... But there were body reactions which were not so easily controlled, as they were unconscious movements which they physically couldn't control... Accelerating heart rate, a rise in body heat as blood flowed quicker, heavier breathing or forcefully slowed in an effort to conceal their treachery, and many other signs.

Those who were standing before the Queen now would be able to see that he was confident, and would have no trouble forcing the truth from them. Merely the malicious gleam in the burning gaze would be enough to make the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up. He looked human to them, he acted human to them, he deceived them well. But there would be that explainable sense of being in the presence of an entity far greater and stronger than they. If the reassurance they would be unable to lie wasn't enough to dissuade them, then he would simply make them, want to confess; without falling to violence if possible. And they would know he was a threat just by setting eyes on him. They thought dark creatures of their myths and lore were vile and dangerous? He'd show them vile and dangerous... Lest they test him like the foolish mortals they were...

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]________________________________
In the [stillness] of the shining sky
is your [home] of return
Beyond the [darkness[/color]][/size]

Thoughts ► "This will be fun...
Feelings ► Entertained

[/size][/justify]
Where the [moon sinks[/color]][/size]
is a narrow [path[/color]] that leads you[/size]

Muse ► Decent
Tags ► Lori
Notes ► None
Music ► The Dark Crow Smiles
Credits ► Aurion!

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/justify]
Back to the [beginning[/color]][/size]
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[/center]

[Saasha]

The mob was getting harder to handle as their panic increased. It scented the air, it filled her ears, it tingled at her skin, and it drove her harder. Her senses kicked into high alert as she let her gaze flicker to the building behind her and the feelings that were seeping off of it. Sebastian.

She ducked under a brawny arm aimed to her face and leaped- using said man's face as a spring board to launch herself higher into the air to get a better look at what was going on. Too much at once. but at least the things were getting done... for the moment. Her descend was unguided due to the fact that her power had been cut off, but it didn't matter- she was headed right where she wanted. Out side of the field. She would have the advantage. and with all but one generator gone, she playing field was much wider than it had originally been.

The moment her feet touched the earth, a sharp pain in her forearms made her head jerk down to a very welcome sight. A glow upon her pale flesh. Her seals. They had returned...

On her right, the seal on her father. On the left, the seal of his partner- her appointed grandfather. A precious sight they were... She couldn't help but pause to admire them for a moment. Even as the battle raged ahead of her. Even as a few stray mob members descended upon her, she merely looked at the seals with awe and relief. Xander had been right. They hadn't been lost. Just locked away. The curse had locked them away but now- now she supposed Anthony's healing her had reawakened them.

But it was in that moment that the wind happened to pick up and rush past her ears. Hidden deep within the earthly whispers was another sound. Her head snapped up to face the mob that was bearing down, only to watch as they fell limp mid leap. Her face was motionless... could... could it be?

A voice. One she had long missed. One she had long wanted to hear again. One she still obeyed to this day...

She lifted her head to the sky in wonder as the whisper whistled past her ears again, reassuring her, giving her instruction, and lending a clues to her puzzle. That was when it all snapped together. Anthony hadn't awoken the seals. It had been the one who had put them there. And it had been he who had taken away their power as well- and was now restoring it. And now she knew why. There was just one last step.

Jerking back to the present, a long metal knife popped from her armored gauntlet and she caught it midair. Then, in one swift, unhesitating motion, she slit her wrists. And, as the blood gushed into the wound, she felt a long sleeping power arise and tingle within the very center of her being. The blood passed over her forearms and began to gush into the two glowing spots in her flesh, filling two previously nonexistent wounds. One in each forearm. The moment the strange symbols were filled, the power was restored. Deep in her mind, she could hear the the results. She smiled. It was the only thing she did as another small wave of rioters fell past her, unconscious, and not likely to rise soon.

And so she stood, summoning Grace and agony to her hands as she stood in wait, using herself as bait for the groups to draw them out of the field of protection.

[Ayen]

“Split up.”

Stryker and Jeeves went after the rioter that went to the left, Camp after the one that went right and Maricul continued on straight ahead not slowing down an inch. Up above them on the surface the musket shot by Sharpshooter connected with the fifth and final generator present in the surrounding area in its attempt to give the advantage back to those who's powers were unholy.

[DC Comics]

The final two generators went offline and as soon as they did, a large explosion erupted in the surrounding area bringing down the surroundings buildings and ground, threatening those who were trying to calm the riots and the rioters themselves. Instead of just being put up to null the unholy beings in the area, they were a trap all along. Connected to a bomb set up in the underground tunnel by Bane. A bomb Maricul would see just seconds before it erupted sending the tunnels collapsing on her and the rest of her unit. A molten silver erupted alongside the explosion, created for the purpose of causing massive damage to even the strongest of unholy beings like the vampires and demons of the world, if not killing them altogether. One person on site would recognize it very well.

It was the same technology used to create the HHGs once used by the vampire assassin Ranka.

[Ira]

She heard it and felt its coming rush through the Force. Wakanda's eyes widened with surprise. Without missing a beat though, she flipped her saber to rest in a reverse grip in her hand and quickly attempted to pull the closest people to her through the Force. It did not matter who they were, what they were, she was going to pull as many as she could do before harm could come to them.

She did not have the chance to look at the four she managed to grab and pull to her as the healer once more called for the protective shield of the Force to form around her and those she gathered. It mattered not if they did not want to be pulled, it did not matter if they wanted to harm her at the moment. No, their protection came first for her. Then her own. Always the way it was with her. The glistening blue shield came together in an instant over Wakanda and the ones she had pulled towards her to protect them from debris as well as the explosion itself. In this protective bubble created by the Force Wakanda would remain until the explosion had passed.

[Queen Lori]

Perhaps Sebastian was too good at his job. All of the men brought to her for questioning was breaking a sweat. Trembling in the sight of the butler who's intimidating presence was something they couldn't fully understand. Sparda and Sazan made sense to them, they could feel the unnatural force in both of them. But Sebastian came across as human so they didn't understand it. They all appeared like men who had something to hide. Surely they ALL couldn't have betrayed her.
"You might want to scale it back a notch, Sebastian."
Lori was lured back to the castle window as she heard an explosion coming from outside. Running over to it in time to see the smoke and fire that now covered the area where the riots had taken place. Seeing the silver dust that drifted through the air and the buildings collapsing. The sight of it all reminding her of that horrible day a couple of months back when Vulture attacked her city and killed her mother. It was enough to make the Queen cry out in anger before turning around to face the demon butler again.
"Get the truth out of them any way you must! I want to know who set this up and who ordered them to do it!" she yelled through hot angry tears.
The Queen had finally had enough.

[Marvel Universe]

It was as he figured. The null generators were only a trap for something much worse all along and they had fallen right into it. With no time to lose Iron Man took back off into the air and flew towards Saasha who weren't far away from his own position. While Wakanda assisted civilians, Iron Man grabbed Saasha and lifted her up and over the blast radius.

"Got ya!"

Looking down to see the damage done to the area below them. Relieved to see that the castle was still in one piece. Whoever set all of this up knew their stuff. That much was for certain. The only thing left now was who, how and why?

[Sparda]

A trap?! With barely any time to do it, Sparda leapt upwards, hurling himself to a rooftop before the ground beneath his feet exploded and a volley of molten bolts of silver roared through the breach. His eyes widened, and the devil jumped back out of their way just in time. He was left standing atop the building, looking around as many others collapsed, their foundations crippled by the blast.

It was as if Vulture had struck again, but this wasn't his style...

"...and that was a HHG..." The devil's hands curled into fists to bridle his rising anger. First Isafaro, then his alternate self's demon army, then that fool summoner and his elder god mishap... now this?! Enough was enough!

He dropped back to the street, picking his way through the debris to get back to the fighting. No sooner than he did had another brainwashed guard come charging at him. This one wouldn't get close; a tendril of darkness lashed out from the dark alley to his left, whipping his feet out from beneath him, and he tumbled to the ground. Before he could collect himself, the devil was upon him. Snatching his weapon from him, Sparda grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, hoisted him up and stared into his eyes.

Whoever was making use of the Nightmare against these men was mistaken if they thought it foolproof. Sparda had long since mastered the Nightmare, having inherited it willingly from Amoura. It was almost trivial for him to probe the guard's mind and see how it had been twisted. He delved into memories, searching each and every second for any sign of what had happened to him... There came a silhouette. It was barely decipherable, a shadow in darkness itself, but it was there; a mountainous figure whose eyes, yet unseen, Sparda could feel gazing back at him.

The devil reached out to find the source of this shadow's influence. In a battle of Nightmare versus Nightmare, there were only three beings who could soundly defeat the Dark Knight - this fool was not one of them.

[Ayen]

Maricul saw the bomb and instinctively drew her little black book and sent the pages pouring out around her in a protective shield as the silver dust erupted through the air and the tunnels came crashing down. The pages branching out to the rest of her squad underground and attempted to grab the rioters running away before shooting up through the ground and reappearing on the surface over the rubble caused by the explosion. Unveiling the squad as Mari looked to the other three to see if they were okay. Once she knew they were she looked over to see if the rioters from below got caught up in her pages. Meanwhile Sharpshooter was able to jump out of the building she was in and roll across the ground as smoke and debris covered the streets, reaching the site where the rest of the unit was.

[DC Comics]

The ground which doubled as the ceiling of the underground tunnel caved in. Smoke and debris covered the area where the riots had taken place as buildings fell on their citizens. Crushing them. The luckier ones only being stuck beneath the rubble. The people Maricul had been chasing managed to reach the end of the tunnels before it collapsed and into the hands of Bane with the rest who fled. By the time the Dark Knight reached out to find the source of this attack they had already left. But the massage has been sent. This was only the beginning of what would no doubt be a very long struggle for Hallowton's future.

[Ira]

The shield remained, even during their fall. The faintly glowing blue dome seemed to flicker in and out of sight as the fall began, however, it still held. It was just unfortunate that Wakanda had failed to consider bringing the shield around entirely. Broken and sprained ankles and legs now plagued the small group she had with her; people needed to learn how to fall. Then again, not everyone happens to fall through ten levels of traffic in one go.

It was dark down here. Real dark. Wakanda raised her gaze and looked about. It was a kind of bad position to be in right now, honestly. Dropping the shield would allow her to push aside the rubble which had landed on and about the small group's shield. If she acted fast enough, she probably could get everything pushed away. But, she wasn't about to place these lives on the line for a 'probably', that just did not sit too well with her. Honestly, she had never tested using Force powers from behind the shield for the healer only made one assumption; if nothing can come in, then nothing can go out. Logical assumption, right?

She sighed softly. Looked like the waiting game would begin here then. Probably her most disliked game too.

[Saasha]

No sooner had the building fallen and the ground caved in than black shadows from the rushed into the dust and smoke without hesitation. They flooded in from the debris itself, out of the ground and even the air. Rubble and boulders seemed to melt off of the hidden and buried as the shapeless black spots, devoid of all light and seeming to suck it into their very centers, rose from their 2D forms. Soon, the living buried were pulled from their would be graves by these waist high beings. But despite their size, they pulled aside the largest of the debris in their way.

But they were not alone in their tasks. Some of the shadows seemed to melt into the stones and rubble. These invaded objects suddenly sprung to life. The stone and now exposed reinforcements around the area sprung together, not only freeing some of the more shallowly buried citizens, but also finished off the bodies of countless half lizard half stone creatures. It was these creatures that went after the more deeply trapped people, digging through the rocks with ease, not only removing the stone but eating many of the bigger chunks.

As for the molten silver that had been given off by the bomb, it was no longer an issue. Before a lot of it had hit the ground, the offensive metal had been vaporized form the inside out. Obliterated into mere atoms and dust that was swept away but a sudden, steady wind.

The beings continued their work in perfect silence to prevent as much fear as they could. It helped that they were being exceedingly gentle with the victims and that most that they pulled out were unconscious or dazed.

Saasha looked back over her shoulder to her 'rescuer' solemnly. No emotion showed in the wolf-en woman's face as she took in his armored face. She nodded in acknowledgement and in a quick, wordless 'thank you'. Stark would find something peculiar happen to his armor- rather, his arms. They would open on their own, letting the woman plummet to the ground below.

As the air rushed past her, a pair of invisible arms wrapped around her ribs, pulling upward lightly and slowing her fall. Not a lot, but just enough to slow her enough to allow her feet to hit the ground with a quiet and harmless thud. And so, once contact was made, she bolted off into the massive cave in the ground followed closely by more of the shadow creatures. While the beings began their work to unearth the few that had not been covered by Wakanda's shield, Saasha herself began to approach the shield itself. "Hey! you need some help in there?" She made sure to raise her voice a bit to be sure that she was heard.