2017-09-28: The Contents of Their Hearts

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  • Log: The Contents of Their Hearts
  • Cast: Vorthuzahl, Rudy Roughnight, Morgan Newkirk, Cassidy Cain
  • Where: The town of Sandy Springs, somewhere between Nortune and November City
  • Date: September 28, 2017
  • Summary: This time, it is Vorthuzahl who seeks out Cassidy Cain, still wounded from her run-in with Isiris Shango'Ra, to deliver some long overdue comeuppance after she, Morgan Newkirk and Noah Hawthorne nearly killed him in Lacour. Thankfully, Morgan and Rudy Roughnight are inevitably pulled into the fight, the former just as determined to destroy him and the latter unwilling to accept any aspersions cast against someone he failed to save. In the end, however, another chance at revenge is thwarted, a bloody promise is fulfilled, and the players still don't know what the hell a dight is.

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

"I was told by a woman with a lot of cards that this was important, so I figured it was something we needed to do."

That was all Rudy stated on his request for assistance across the Badlands, and it turned into something both mundane and bizarre. It's unclear who would be willing to go with Roughnight, if anyone. Who knows, maybe they just come in for the end.

"You have some Heal Berries? I love would to give you a Nice Coat for that!"

"The nights here can get so cold, if only I had something to help. ... Wait, you have a Nice Coat? That would be great. I have this Large Cog that is kinda useless to me, but you might find someone who needs it!"

"LARGE COG? THAT WILL BE GREAT TO HAVE FOR THIS REALLY LOUD BELLTOWER THAT COST ME MOST OF MY HEARING. HAVE MY SOFT MUSIC BOX BECAUSE I CAN'T HEAR ANYMORE."

This journey lasts far longer than most people would like, Rudy seemingly having heard enough people's plights to remember who needs what. The long bout of not shooting anything is kinda surreal to Roughnight, almost reminding him of his days of Surf Village of menial labor. But finally, there comes a problem.

"I want only one thing, ~*~*Cassidy Cain's Dight!*~*~"

The claim from the crusty old man causes Rudy to look around. The small do nothing town of Sandy Springs has only one road and no one to explain what this means. Only the sound of crickets and other desert animals in the distance fill the area, the cool night air giving the boy little comfort.

Rudy holds up an item in his hand, pointing to it. "I thought you needed the Rare Fish Statue," he offers in a soft tone.

"I know, but I don't want it anymore, I want ~*~*Cassidy Cain's Dight!*~*~"

There is a small frown as Rudy points to the fish. "But you surely want the Rare Fish Statue. I mean, maybe you'll trade something for it that someone else could use. Like that Stovetop Hat you had told me about."

The Old Man gets up from his wall, where he's been leaning against the side of the Post OfficeJailTavern of Sandy Spring (a very small town). "NO! I'm willing to give you this ~*~*Special Magazine for Mature Men!*~*~ for ~*~*Cassidy Cain's Dight!*~*~"

Roughnight's lips twist slowly into a very large frown. He doesn't know who to blame for this, but Rudy will not stand for someone meddling with the Natural Order of Helping People.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

"...who the hell names their town 'Sandy Springs'..."

The question comes from a fox on a horse. A familiar to some fox on a familiar to some horse. The long eared and long limbed gunslinger ambling into town. The question angled towards his companion as he shakes his head slightly.

"I mean really. Do ya want to drink from a spring with sand in it?" He goes on, expanding on his thought as he ambles into town. "Do ya wanna take a bath with a spring with sand in it? No! I mean it gets everywhere. Ya don't want that. Its like just the worst idea in advertisin' that I can think of." Apparently he thinks on this a lot.

Or he had too much coffee.

The fox sighs as he leans back in his saddle. Looking at the tumbledown houses of the little spit on the map that calls itself Sandy Springs. "I must be really bored, Cass. Ta come all the way out here with you just cause ya left somethin' here. I mean why were ya even in this little inkspot anyway?"

A pause.

"A new scam?" A glance towards the woman with a smirk. "Lemme guess. This place was three times the size when you were here last."

Rounding the corner of what passes for the main street the fox would continue but at that moment a loud shout catches his attention.

I WANT CASSIDY CAIN'S DIGHT!

One ear twitches. A smile starts to grow. "...a dight."

The smile turns into shaking shoulder and held laughter. "You pulled a Dight Game."

The laugher is released as the fox leans over his saddle horn, trying to hold on so he doesn't just fall off right onto the sand.

"HERE?!" His laughter has reached considerable volume at this point.

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

Who the hell names their town 'Sandy Springs'.

"Dinnae ken," Cassidy tells her companion. "Probably the same kind of arseholes that names their town Shattered Hopes."

It has been a long ride from Nortune to this small sandy hamlet closer to November City than where she had ended up a few days ago, fresh injuries hidden well by what she has elected to wear today - the heat has prevented her from wearing her jacket, but a light, long-sleeved linen shirt, her vest and leather breeches do enough of the work to keep her as cool as she's able while hiding all the wounds and bruises that Isiris had inflicted on her earlier in the week. She had sent her message to Morgan in secret, to meet her within the city limits before smuggling themselves out of the war-torn country. If she had any specific reason why she sent for him instead of Jude, she doesn't say, other than the fact that she knows that Morgan had a better understanding of the country's underground trade routes than her partner does - or so she thinks. Morgan was once a slave within these borders, after all.

Though how she managed to sneak herself in, but needed help sneaking herself out, is another mystery she deigns not to enlighten Morgan about, either.

Still, the Beastman didn't ask; there is no guarantee that he would not later, but the fact that he hasn't leaves her slightly relieved.

His remarks about boredom earn him a smirk. "Well, you could have always said nae," she points out. "Besides, I ken what you're about anyway every time you come out with me. Always so bloody curious as tae what I'm up tae. If you're so bored, you ought tae cause your own trouble. Unless you're trying tae go legit." She pauses, and angles a skeptical look at him. "Are you? Trying tae go legit? Dinnae tell me you got married again. Who's the poor lass, this time?"

She's about to rib him more, until she hears the holler from across the way. Emerald eyes squint at a familiar mop of blue hair.

"What the bloody h-- "

I WANT CASSIDY CAIN'S DIGHT!

Silence.

Morgan roars with laughter. "Look, I cannae help it if people perpetually want my dight," the thief says, swinging a leg off her horse and tethers it in the nearby water trough. "It's a-- alright, you can stop laughing!"

Lips twitch in the corners with amusement. She inclines her head towards Rudy. "You going tae help your errand boy or what?"

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

As the fate of Cassidy Cain's dight becomes paramount, The Post OfficeJailTavern of Sandy Spring will never be the same again.

Mostly because it almost wholly ceases to exist as something akin to a meteor makes landfall, a bitter wave of vile destruction washing out from the place where the roof was annihilated and the floorboards send skyward. For those nearby, it will be the coming of the end of sure footing as the ground itself ripples and sand scatters outward.

The blast wave will test their mettle first, and then they will know the truth of their plight.

This is no mere happenstance landing of a fallen star, nor some technological attack launched from an elusive sky people. Instead it is a more ancient evil, one with no political aspirations or overtures of negotiation. It has come for one reason alone, and as the wave of force rips through the town, powering over buildings and spreading fire and ash, they will know that none here will ever forget the coming of a demon.

Rising from the rubble amid the screams of horses caught on fire by the wave of heat and raw destruction, his burning blade snaps into his hand with a sizzling sweep that clears what remains of the building aside. And there, amidst the epicenter of destruction, it speaks, gleaming metal reflecting the world on fire that has rippled to the far reaches of this town that does not reach very far.

"Yes. Yessssss, feel your defeat, hanging on every cinder cast to the sky! Know your reckoning, for failing to destroy me when you had the chance! I know your heart, corsetted curse upon the world, a fleshling mired in her failure.. a failure to protect her males, CREATURES MEANT ONLY T- ahh... I see you have replaced one of your manlets. Tell me, did the other die screaming in your arms? IF NOT, I WILL MAKE SURE THIS ONE DOES!!"

No matter what that wave of destruction did to them, Vorthuzahl, the Silver Knight of Destruction, marches on Rudy Roughnight, apparently intent on crushing Cassidy's newest manlet into a fine, fleshy paste.


GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Repulsor Blast!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Repulsor Blast!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Repulsor Blast!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker>  Rudy Roughnight has posed.

Rudy looks toward the sound of the shouting man and woman, but before he can ID them, the songs of war loom from above. The whistle of the coming doom rises and the brown eyes of Rudy look up in unison with the man who dare break the Trading Miniquest. The cracked voice of the dight seeker gives a broken "What th-" before he is grabbed by Rudy and held behind him. The other arm is thrown up protectively as the blue haired boy merely stands his ground, slowly sliding backward a few feet in the wake of the violent arrival. While Roughnight is singed slightly, dirtied, and battered, it seems superficial for the most part. The man is let go, who swiftly begins to run away.

Unaware that the woman in question is close by with Morgan, the silent hero gives a scowl. "I don't know who you are or what you mean, but-"

The gloved hand of Rudy lashes out with powerful uppercut, the only way he can hit the head of the creature without leaping. While Roughnight has no actual fighting skill, his unnatural strength seems to make up the difference.

"- You talk too much." Normally, Rudy would give a 'stop this or you'll pay', but considering this seems to be an attacking Metal Demon, Rudy just goes to what feels right to him when dealing with these beings: fighting. It's like it's in his blood.

GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with Rudy is Cross!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
GS: Morgan Newkirk critically Guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Repulsor Blast for 20 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Rudy Roughnight's Rudy is Cross for 54 hit points!
DC: MISS! Cassidy Cain completely evades Repulsor Blast from Vorthuzahl!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

"Help? Oh no, I wanna see how this plays out..." Morgan calls back towards Cass as he fights to calm his mirth. He manages some semblence of control as he slowly pulls himself upright again. A smirk showing on his face as he turns to deliver some other quick quip about dights towards the confidence woman.

But then one ear twitches.

There is a whistling sound, a familiar. Unwelcome. Worrisome that it followed him all the way out here.

"Incoming!" He shouts as he slides off his horse, just in time as the beast bolts as the building that stood at the center of town explodes. Debris go flying but with an almost casual flick of his ARM the chucks aimed towards him catch against deployed shields to spiral away behind and away from the fox.

The dust clears and he hears that voice...

"...ah hellfire." Yup. Thats a familiar metal form standing there trying to make paste of Rudy. "For the love of...what the hell did ya do ta him to cause him to come after us all the way out here!? Does he want yer dights too?"

Even as he speaks though he's moving, the pistol in his left hand speaking out as he snaps shots off towards the beast. Trying to divert its attention from Rudy.

...who seems to be having no problems punching metal demons in the damn face.

Though slowly there is a vicious grin that pulls onto his face as he smirks back towards Cassidy. "And I take it back. This ain't gonna be a boring trip after all." A pause. "Lets see if we can make ya a dagger out of his damn legs."

GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Ace High!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl takes a solid hit from Morgan Newkirk's Ace High for 98 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

And thus, Vorthuzahl the Metal Demon comes crashing from the Photosphere and back into the world, destroying Sandy Springs' Sheriff's office. The shockwave is enough to blow Cassidy off her feet, to land on the dirt amidst sudden screams and the distressed neighing of her borrowed horse. Injuries that have yet to be wholly healed break open underneath hidden bandages, her hat tumbling off her head and pale gold hair spilling from its confines. For a moment she doesn't move, teeth grinding together in pain.

But getting knocked off balance proves to be a boon, for a familiar shot of deadly light sails clean past her, to slam into the storefront of a convenience store and reducing it into a ball of fire.

"For fook's sa-- "

Know your reckoning, for failing to destroy me when you had the chance!

Her expression flattens immediately. She only knows of one creature who talks that way.

Biting back a groan, she slowly pushes herself back up and on her feet, straightening up and casting her eyes towards Morgan and, beyond him, the streams of people already packing their wagons and pushing their belongings on the carts, brows furrowing once. For a small town in the middle of nowhere, they sure have their evacuation procedures down pat.

I know your heart, corsetted curse upon the world--

Dusting off her trousers, the blonde thief finally turns to Vor. Her lips split in a cutting smile, emerald eyes and their gold fragments narrowing faintly as another opportunity to rid the world of this one presents itself. Suddenly, her injuries might as well be non-existent as everything within her ignites with the blackest of killing intentions, filling her bloodstream like rushing poison.

"He says the sweetest things," she asides to Morgan, hooking her fingers into the small of her back and the engraved revolver stowed there.

-- a failure to protect her males, CREATURES MEANT--

"CREATURES MEANT ONLY TO DIE!" said in unison and finished with a dramatic boom and flourish, adopting a striking mirror of the Metal Demon's precise pitch and inflection. "WAH HAH HAH HAH HAH!" After a pause: "How is that? Did I get you accurate? Y'ken, just in case I decide tae rejuvenate my stage career and some broke-arsed playwright hires me tae play you in the story of your undoubtedly tumultuous life. Dinnae worry, luv. I promise tae do your goat-swiving, fat-kidneyed, beef-witted, flap-dragon canker-blossom self justice."

There is a quiet ping of metal, before a small canister is tossed towards Vor. The grenade explodes before it even hits the ground.

Let's see if we can make ya a dagger out of his damn legs.

"And turn his heart intae a paperweight," she tells him, moving to stand by his side, the revolver out and the chamber click-click-clicking into place. Her mouth presses against cold steel, imprinting it with warmth and wickedness as lips turn up into a wider smile.

"I like my odds."

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with Blame It On My Youth!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Cassidy Cain's Blame It On My Youth for 19 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

The crimson embers of Vorthuzahl's eyes shift downward to the manlet, watching his bastion against that wave of destruction with certain interest. Usually those faced with such a terror would do what the man Rudy had saved is doing - run for their very lives. But he knows all to well the loyalty The Corsetted One emboldens in these flimsy meat shields these humans call... what was the word? Ah, yessss...

Friend.

That uppercut earns an instant respect from the Demon, a bold move in a desperate time. It also earns his attention as that fist connects and seems to dislodge it's faceplate, jarring it sidelong and tilting Vorthuzahl's head sharply to one side. Rudy will save that man he had been talking to, who retreats far away, and distract him from Morgan's presence as the fox man pelts him with fire that he cannot prepare for. Bullets rain in and the first two settle like rain against the armor, going up in a puff of smoke, while the rest barrel through, powering into his middle and walking up towards his left shoulder, spilling molten metal to the ground. The beast shifts, raises an arm to guard against the onslaught, and then Cassidy is there, bringing her wit to bear.

Slowly the arm drops.

The mockery piles on.

Then an arm snaps out to bat that grenade away, sending it spiraling into a water trough that promptly explodes into splinters, some of which rain back in the monster's direction to provide searing pain that is all but ignored in the face of Cassidy's biting disrespect.

I like my odds.

"I don't like his."

They will all feel it. All know it, deep in their souls and against open patches of skin. A pull from beyond, a darkening of the sky. Others have seen his gathered ruin, pulled from an abyss of energy few can tap, but always requiring blood of his enemies to fuel it. Today, he fuels it with pure hatred alone. The storm rolls in all at once, a dark, biting thing of equal parts sand and locusts, a thing from the end times, and in it's harrowing midst, Vorthuzahl is a red bastion of terrible energy, flickering out of existence -

- To appear behind Rudy Roughnight and deliver unto him THE HOUR OF DEVASTATION!

In a blink, he is gone, whirling into Morgan's personal space and lashing out with a searing, devious cut meant to provide him with some measure of protection against the fox man's next strike, two steps taking him towards Cassidy to sweep low, intending to remove her dightly legs and leave her crippled enough to watch as HER MANLETS PERISH.

GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Searing Riposte!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Searing Riposte!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.
GS: BACKBLAST!! Rudy Roughnight can't escape from Vorthuzahl's attack! He takes 95 damage!
DC: MISS! Cassidy Cain completely evades Searing Riposte from Vorthuzahl!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Searing Riposte for 98 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

Rudy's attention flickers toward Morgan and Cass as they offer their assault, the young outcast blinks. While he knows of Cassidy, he hasn't seen her fighting ability so he isn't sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing that she's here. Well, considering who she is, might be a bad thing either way, but at least it's an ally. Keeping to his usual silent self, the boy merely offers them a nod before looking back toward Vorthuzahl-

- Who isn't there.

As the being of death and destruction makes his summons, Rudy instinctually rolls forward. The sand and locusts comes up, but Rudy is able to pull up a piece of wreckage just in the nick of time, his shocking thin muscle straining to lift the fallen section wall to shield himself from the brunt of the attack. When the sand dies down, the wall crumbles, having been worn down by the fierce attack. Part of Rudy realizes what he is dealing with and gives a soft exhale as he tries to compose himself once more.

While it's brief, the momentary repost means that the silent soldier watches as the Metal Demon suddenly appears at Newkirk and Cain's position. Teeth grit at the powerful teleportation or sheer speed, either of them difficult matters to attend with. Never the less, Rudy levels his own weapon in response.

The weapon, the Hand Cannon, might catch the attention of Vorthuzahl. Its age is old, timed to the Metal Demon War and perhaps, designed for this very purpose: to fight those fearsome warriors of liquid steel. The half-revolver, half-rifle fires a single round, but the size of the bullet is rather large and the speed impressive. The kickback from the gun must be substantial, but Rudy doesn't even flinch, merely beginning to remove the conventional cylinder of bullets to replace it with a far deadlier payload if he can manage it.

GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with So It Begins!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Rudy Roughnight's So It Begins for 11 hit points! GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

"Yup, he's just as fast as I remember." Morgan's comment comes as soon as Vor's boundless energy takes the metal demon all up into the foxes personal space. The cross block with his ARMored arm is just a touch slow and he is lifted off his feet by the force of the blow, rolling with it as he lands to try to mitigate some of the blow.

But really. He doesn't need ribs. Right? Right.

Though when he comes up to his feet, skidding across the debris strewn street there is a smirk on his face.

"Gotcha."

Should Vor look down? There is a brightly blinking shaped charge attached to his arm. Ment to blow a good chunk off of it. If not the entire appendage.

Apparently he doesn't always play fair.

...who are we kidding he never plays fair.

"Ya know Cass, I don't think he has a big enough heart to make a paperweight. Maybe you should use his fat head instead?" He calls back lightly as his ARM starts to spin up, the energy revving to prepare for the next series of attacks.


GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Shieldbreaker!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Morgan Newkirk's Shieldbreaker for 96 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

I don't like his.

"Would nae underestimate him, luv," Cassidy tells Vor with a broadening grin that doesn't touch her eyes; if anything else, the vibrant color only deepens to a darker green, a shade not unlike a forest in the evening. "From what I remember, his name's Roughly Allnight. You simply dinnae get a moniker like that without a few violent notches on a goalpost."

This would not be the first time she has gotten Rudy's name wrong. Must be because they were never formally introduced. She then gives Rudy that same, knife-like smile.

The air changes; it makes her hackles rise, though she has enough composure, or sheer acting ability, to keep that off her expression even as her easy footing switches subtly, to plant astride as the hulking metal knight vanishes from view. Her gaze remains forward, where he has disappeared. Not that it makes much difference, to her. She does not need to see to kill.

She smells him first before she sees him; that earlier explosion against the Sheriff's Office and the stench of molten steel, ozone and gunpowder register and she's already moving. White-hot shards of pain make themselves known to her, her body screaming at the tortured wake of half-healed injuries, but she moves like lightning regardless, twisting and sidestepping the swipe of Vorthuzahl's blade, the tip of it missing her by inches. It appears, to a novice with the sword, a very lucky dodge.

To blademasters, however, her footwork will tell a very different story.

She gives her companions' attacks a wide berth; Rudy rushes forward with every intent to injure, and Morgan applies something from her usual playbook. There's a sudden laugh. "Wonder who taught you that trick?" she tells the fox-man gamely, just as it explodes, smoke billowing out from where the charge had been set off. She dives into the smokescreen then, lifting a leg to kick a rock, to not just tell her where Vorthuzahl is within the sudden haze with the unmistakeable ping of metal, but also in an attempt to fool him into thinking she's approaching one way when she goes, instead, for the other side.

Her twist brings her towards the Metal Demon's flank. The muzzle of her revolver jams close into the eye-slits of the intimidating helm.

"Now you see me," she tells him, and while her smile remains, those eyes are alight with emerald-and-gold fire, ignited by pure, relentless malice.

She pulls the trigger repeatedly, attempting to empty the chamber into his face.

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with Now Is The Hour!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Cassidy Cain's Now Is The Hour for 82 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Morgan just starts laughing. "ROUGHLY ALLNIGHT! Oh god, you'll never live this down Rudy!"

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

Somewhere behind the demon, a sound from it's past echoes in the eternity of it's mind. If Rudy had brought some other weapon to bare, with some other telltale sign of it's construction and age, the Demon may not have cared. But it knows this weapon, understands it's bite from it's sound alone, and with a sudden turn of his simmering blade, the great bastard sword intercepts that round and sends it into a ricochet that utterly obliterates the town's welcome sign, which had proudly withstood the onslaught a couple hundred years of wear and tear, including this here demon (and Rudy) until now!

This means the creature cannot notice Morgan's counter until it is far to late, his beady eyes almost squinting at the blinking think on his arm. Like a cat that's stepped on a piece of tape, he shakes the arm with pure indignant rage, right up until the moment that it nearly incinerates in the blinding blast that spews burning metal across the sand. When the explosion clears from their eyes a howl of rage splits the air, and Vorthuzahl spits vile words in Morgan's direction. "YOU HAVE NOTHING."

It shakes free all of the armor and muscle from that arm, a horrifying, skeletal remain all that's left, smoking and glowing with internal power as that hand grinds into a squelching, hissing fist, proving he still has use of it.

It is then that Cassidy's dance begins, moving through black smoke to set up her shot, the clang of a rock against his metal hide the only warning he has when that barrel comes into view. The skeletal hand rises, but there's little there to block that savage attack, the tilt of his head alone saving his eyes but removing half of the armor from the side of his head and forcing him to stagger away, but it does not stay staggered for long. It is forever the nature of this creature that attacking it makes it stronger, and burning energy spills from between it's armored plates and races down that now skeletal arm, that hand dropping from where it's now exposed, jagged face is a smoldering ruin, to bring his sword up into an en guard position that lasts a brief moment.

They will all know then, the taste of his RELENTLESS ASSAULT.

"Ply your words as if they were weapons that mattered, grow your ego in the mire of what is to come! KNOW THAT YOUR DOOM COMES FOR YOU THIS DAY, AND THAT I WILL REMEMBER THE NAME ROUGHLY ALLNIGHT, IF ONLY TO INSCRIBE IT ON HIS TOMB!"

The stiffens as the creature rebounds between them all, a searing whirlwind of blades that cut with unnerring determination, for it matters now who he injures or fells, only that they each live long enough to see the others suffer!!

GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Relentless Assault!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Relentless Assault!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Relentless Assault!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.
GS: Rudy Roughnight critically Guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Relentless Assault for 31 hit points!
GS: Cassidy Cain takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Relentless Assault for 150 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Relentless Assault for 86 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Even as that sword rushes towards him Morgan nods slowly. "Yup. That name is still funny the second time."

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

The creature blocks the attack, showing that his preference is for speed. Rudy narrows his eyes, understanding that it's on him to make the next shots count. The cartridge is slide into place with the young man staying his distance while Morgan plants the charge. Once it goes off and Cain does her point blank assault, Rudy closes the gap, only to realize too late that the beast of a warrior likely prefers such things.

The blades begin their storm, Rudy pulling out his bowie knife to block and counter some of the attacks. But he's no Jack and a few of the attacks strike against the young man and soon the bowie itself shatters. But it seems Rudy is standing up to Vorthuzahl with as much skill as his older peers.

"It's Rudy Roughnight," the outcast attempts to correct both life of the party pistol wielder and the furious fox, but the soft response is lost in the wages of war and certainly under the Metal Demon's rage filled shouting. But it's okay, Rudy has other ways of expressing himself when upset.

The left forearm of Rudy begins to glow as he spins the ARM about in his hand. When it's finally leveled toward the Metal Demon, it unleashes itself with the power a full rocket launcher. It's a small weapon, but clearly capable of packing quite the punch. Unless someone dodges and blocks and then well, Rudy will have Yet Another Thing To Be Silently Angry About.

GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with Boosted Shell!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be amused at life. This is one of those times.

The storm of sharp objects tears into the fox as Vor's rage is vented at the focuses of his anger. Morgan's blood paints the sands red as he is driven back by the assault. His coat tearing under the attack. He nearly looses one ear as he staggers backwards, more to regain his footing than to gain distance.

The Demon is too fast to run from after all.

On the other hand, why run when you can just morph up a new weapon.

Which is what the Fox does.

"Low!" He calls out, mostly towards Cassidy as he swings his ARM into position. A call developed over the years of occasionally fighting together telling her to go high. Trying to give her the opening as the blue energy of his ARM swirls out and then solidifies into a nasty looking double-barrel shotgun. Brutal. Ugly. A blunt little weapon that doesn't see action all the time, but times like this might call for it.

It roars out, the blast aimed to kneecap the towering Demon as the recoil of the blast feeds into the shields that swirl out of Morgan's odd arm to try to. You know. Keep him alive.

Though he can't keep from grinning.

"You hear that Allnight! Everyone is gonna know your name!"

GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Rudy Roughnight's Boosted Shell for 76 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Blazer Gauntlet!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: CRITICAL! Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Morgan Newkirk's Blazer Gauntlet for 29 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

This is how Cassidy Cain will eventually get Morgan Newkirk killed; her antics in the battlefield will distract her allies from becoming all too effective, proof positive that any level of association with the woman is guaranteed to be a double-edged blade.

Her expression is indescribable when the town's 'Welcome to Sandy Springs!' sign takes a few new holes before finally collapsing from its signposts out of strain, leaving it to read '_el__ _o ____ __p_i_gs!' instead, as opposite of a warm welcome as surely as the desert heat. "Astounding," she remarks to the Metal Demon, apropos of nothing. "You really do ruin everything."

It's Rudy Roughnight.

There is a pause, and green eyes finally find the blue-haired young man. She stares at him incredulously.

"Roughnight?" Cassidy repeats, those silver shots of pure hatred suddenly giving way to the beginings of a laugh. "Really?!"

And Vorthuzahl is suddenly there, all blades and speed. She is sent flying, blood leaving her in liquid streamers. She lands on the dusty ground, rolling violently sideways, but like a cat, she uses her momentum to stagger back up, swaying once only to collapse down on one knee, arms banding around her middle as she grits her teeth. Red spreads over her shirt, though the crimson color of it manages to hide it enough that it doesn't look macabre, or serious.

Low!, Morgan cries in warning. She knows what it means.

He does aim low, swinging his shot towards the Metal Demon. Already crouched, she takes off to follow the deadly streak Morgan has unleashed. She dashes forward, lightning made woman, speed hampered by her injuries, but that has never stopped her before. Besides, she only looks like she's going to hit him head on. Her eyes are forward, anticipating the swing of his sword.

Now.

She leaps, clearing the blade, landing on the other side of the ground and keeps going. A foot braces on the side of the nearest building's wall, followed by another step, and another in rapid succession, climbing higher and higher before suddenly pushing off it and launching off battered wood in an aerial twist...

...and unleashes a sudden flurry of blades, to rain on his now-exposed head, each slim projectile tipped with green mist - potent poison to clot and thicken blood, and use the heat of battle to push the deadly blockages into life-giving arteries.

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with Anything Goes!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Cassidy Cain's Anything Goes for 38 hit points!
GS: Cripple! Statuses applied to Vorthuzahl!

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

The sound of Rudy's weapon splits the air, but this time is different, and this time Vorthuzahl knows from experience he cannot deflect such a momentous blast with his blade, instead stepping into sudden, bituminous detonation that wholly sears through the demon's chest, spilling fire out his back and staggering him back a step in a stunning mess of fire, metal, and burning blood. So too, does it force a roar from the creature, and finally, it spits words at him in it's rage.

"YES!" it agrees with Morgan! "THEY WILL KNOW YOUR NAME! ROUGHLY THE HAREM MANLET TO THE SIDE-SPEAKING CORSET WITCH, FRIEND TO THE FOX-EARED FISTLING- " Morgan's attack plows into his legs, but Vorthuzahl dips his sword enough to block some of it, still staggering him, but not removing his legs as intended. More of his blood leaks to the ground, but the demon struggles to his feet, swatting the man's shotgun aside as he staggers close, his skeletal hand doing little to damage that weapon made of energy, and Morgan's attack, while not enough to fell him certainly put him in line for Cassidy's followup.

The silver Knight sees it coming out of the corner of his eye, and his blade sails, just as she sails too, right over it.

It almost does not feel the slashing dance of blades, so infused with pain and rage, and though his bubbling flesh has regrown enough armor to soak the blow, it does not stop that insidious, vile substance from getting stuck beneath.

Moments pass, and the creature finds it's limbs do not cooperate, forced to it's knees, they will all sense it - an opening!

It is a false harbringer of the demon's downfall, and they will know it the moment a pulse of energy sends armor shattering from his form, expelling clotted blood in a hailstorm of solid metal that is followed by pure, ruthless retribution. To the Fox Man it was tricked into agreeing with, it wades forward, blade following in behind that pushed aside weapon of his for a strike meant to cleave through armor and taste raw flesh! Morgan will have little time to see Vorthuzahl's ruined face looming, for his form flicker and he is upon Rudy and Cassidy with a simmering cascade of cuts that they will feel before the blade even gets close, the energy reversing momentum, drawing at their lifeforce to feed the blade's hungry master!

"GIVE TO ME ALL THAT YOU ARE AND PREPARE TO DIE SCREAMING!"

GS: Vorthuzahl has activated a Force Action!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Enfilading Strike!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Invigorating Ruin!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Invigorating Ruin!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.
GS: Rudy Roughnight guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Invigorating Ruin for 100 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl drains Rudy Roughnight! Vorthuzahl gains 100 temporary hit points!
GS: Cassidy Cain takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Invigorating Ruin for 165 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl drains Cassidy Cain! Vorthuzahl gains 214 temporary hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Enfilading Strike for 151 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

The two people fighting with him mock his name playfully. Rudy Roughnight does not respond. He attempted to correct, they had fun about it, and well, Rudy has other things to worry about at the moment rather than people calling him Allnight. The two work in concert, which seems as if it will be what turns the tides. Rudy doesn't act at this time, merely changing out his cartridges as the two cut and shoot to wear the larger foe down. However, the Metal Demon unleashes his assault of his own blood, one that catches even the seemingly war-hardened boy by surprise. The 'bullets' dig until Rudy, causing crimson stains to form on his white shirt and a few trails of blood to run down his arm as he protected his face from the powerful blow.

The arm isn't lowered in the wake of the attack, however, as it glows blue once again. The ARM spins about, soon leaving itself right for Vorthuzahl.

"I was named after the man who raised me. He was a great man," he shares with a voice barely above a whisper, as if speaking to himself more than those gathered. The triggered is pulled and this time, a powerful round of a high caliber launches out of the weapon. In another weapon, it's meant to be for a sniper rifle, but with Rudy's strength, skill, and unique weapon, it's clear he can manage it for short or mid-range battles as well. After the attack, Rudy tosses, Cassidy something. It's healing items for her to use in order to keep her going.

"We need to press on!" the boy states, his voice becoming a shout for the first time for this night. Depending on how the fight turns out, might just be his last time too.

GS: Rudy Roughnight used Mystic on Cassidy Cain! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has activated a Force Action!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with Snipe Bullet!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Rudy Roughnight's Snipe Bullet for 23 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Just not fast enough.

Morgan's shields shatter under the assault of blades. Blue light scattering around him as the blade drives though the energy fields and into the foxes flesh. The blade's point slams into his shoulder the thin coat offering litter resistance as the Demon drives the weapon all the way though.

Blood drips down the back of his coat now, the long sword pierced though. Then before the fox can even react it is ripped away and he staggers, just hardly remaining on his feet.

His left arm damaged, tail and ears drooping slightly, still the fox grits his teath in a wicked grin. "Only one kind of screamin' I like to do, and you defintally ain't the type to make me do that. I like the whole 'side-speaking corset witch' though." A side glace at Cassidy then as he smirks slightly. "You should get that monogramed on some towels."

There is pain in his gaze, but its mixed with a battle madness. A wild disgreagard for life and limb. Recklessness at its very purest form.

"Sharpe?" Now he's speaking to people who arn't even there!? He must be bad off.

A mile away, on a dune out in the desert. A rabbit-eared beastman with a rifle as tall as he is and a cowboy hat sights down the barrel of his gun. "You've looked better, boss."

"Drop this fool would ya?"

The crack of the rifle is far enough away that it'll reach their ears after the bullet does. But the bullet, expertly aimed by Morgan's sniper friend, angles right for Vor's neck.

GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Shieldbreaker!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Morgan Newkirk's Shieldbreaker for 109 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

Surprise registers in her eyes at Rudy's answer. That Roughnight?

And in the midst of the first part of Vorthuzahl's ranting...

"...dinnae ken if it's just me, Morgan," Cassidy tells him, unlatching the chamber of her revolver and letting the shells fall on the ground, filling the holes with more enhanced rounds before snapping it back in place with a flick of a wrist. "But methinks he's a wee too hung up on my corset for me tae be comfortable with it. Maybe he wants one of his own?"

Raising her voice, she directs her next comment to the Metal Demon. "There's nae any shame in that, luv!" she says, her other hand lifting to brush the air with a Fabulous Snap. "Everybody wants a trim figure, though with the size of your hips you might want tae consider a petticoat tae go with it!"

At Morgan's remarks, she turns her head and sees the pain in his eyes, but the smile remains. Significant differences define the two of them, so much so that it's a miracle that they get along as well as they do. But in this moment, there is common ground to be had, and before she can say anything...

The Metal Demon moves; gone one moment, and in the midst of them in the next. "MORGA-- !"

Pain explodes in her senses, rattles her teeth and cracks her bones. She twists in the air as she's thrown, arcs of crimson at her wake. She drops like a stone, bouncing off hard ground and rolling into a stop. Injuries, from Kislev, open underneath carefully applied bandages, soaking through. It takes everything in her not to cry out, and curl up in a tight ball.

We need to press on!, she hears dimly, from the blue-haired boy. She knows he is right. It is the way she has been taught, to remain on her feet as much as she can. Because it could mean the difference between living and dying.

She lifts her head as she forces her body to move, to roll on her knees. Nearby, she hears Morgan's words, but they're garbled, distorted by the white noise clouding her brain.

GIVE TO ME ALL THAT YOU ARE AND DIE SCREAMING!!

Somewhere in the distance, Sharpe lines up his shot and fires. She watches it tear through the ether, sees that blade swing upwards in an attempt to block it. Her mind shifts gears, plotting to position herself in the most likely direction he'll be blown back by the sniper's round.

It could be because of everything she has endured, of everything that the Badlands remind her of; staying here, breathing the stale, dry air of a place she hates more than almost any other place on Filgaia. She remembers the argument with Morgan in the tent, how he watched his precious Guildhall get assaulted from all sides, months and maybe years of hard work, to achieve a better life from what he had before. Her conscious thoughts drift back further, to the moment she reached out to let her fingers find Noah's dark hair, as he looked down on his tumbler, unwilling to dwell on the destruction that he tried to help prevent...and ultimately failed in doing so.

Jude, and the week he spent dying.

Whatever Rudy casts on her, she doesn't know, but the pump of healing magic and anger that she almost never lets herself feel thread white-hot filaments of adrenaline inside her, the mesh twisting her insides and fueling every part of her to suddenly lunge for Vor, striking at the very moment that she finds the opportunity. Her hand is on her blade, no longer than a knife, unsheathing it in a silver arc as she angles herself towards his blindspot, where she anticipates he'll push back. There's no way she could reach on time. She is only human. She is not fast enough.

Or couldn't she?

The blade suddenly unfolds, segments of fine metal decompressing and tightening together to transform into a longsword, strange sigils activating along the middle of the crossguard, the position of her body deliberate and certain. The art she uses is old, ancient, predating the Day of the Collapse - there is no hope of her present company ever recognizing it, but it is rare to find practitioners on the surface, and brutally, unyieldingly telling of her origins. Close enough now, she unleashes a single, brutal strike, aimed to sever the Metal Demon's spine through his armor, through blood and muscle...and ultimately his heart, if she manages to hit.

"You first," she hisses, syllables underscored with pain, heat, and the pulse of every single facet in her willing him to die.

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with The Best Is Yet To Come!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Cassidy Cain's The Best Is Yet To Come for 95 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

There is a moment where it thinks it has finally felled them low, but it is forced to stop and take stock of the resilience of the fleshlings once more, whirling to set himself upon the object of his ire: Cassidy Cain. Or he would have, if not for the sudden, pinpoint shot of The Roughnight Sniper, who fire a round that hits his most precious of body parts: One of the antennae-like tines that stick up from his helmet!

The air grows cold and still and quiet, even the fires around them seem to die down as one skeletal fist curls and Vorthuzahl, scourge of the Burning Sands, turns to face Rudy.

"Roughling Allnight-scum. YOUR FATHER WILL NEVER KNOW YOUR FAILURES, FOR SOON NONE WILL BE HERE TO WITNESS YOUR DEMISE!"

The shot rings out, echoing in the dead space left in the wake of Vorthuzahl's proclamation.

It brings confusion, because the impact is not immediate, but certainly comes with the utmost destruction, the round entering one side of Vorthuzahl's neck and exiting the other, nearly taking out what must be his burning spinal column. Indeed, Morgan proves a prophet, for Vorthuzahl does drop, falling to one knee and one hand, the other jamming his sword to the ground to call upon a wave of power. It is not until he rises that he sees Cassidy there, waiting for him, her dagger unfurling into something familiar.

In all this time, not a swordman among them, and now this.

Her comments fall away, for finally, a chance at someone who might meet him in the Old Way, honorable, determined. Blood spills down his frame, and it is no way to begin a duel. And so his blade alights with draining energy, and he lashes out at Rudy, intent on stealing his lifeforce to fuel his battle with Cassidy.

Morgan will find he's next in line, a shoulder-checking riposte ending in an upper cut of a slash to barrel him out of the way as he charges to meet Cassidy's attack. There is a furious flurry, his own attack meant to cut through her defense, to drive deep as he did with her fox companion, to cut to her core and steal the fight from her bones, no matter what Roughnight had done to reinforce her.

It will end with her blade wholly through him, impaling his armored form from stomach to upper back, but as his blade drives in the light in his eyes is a reflection of the adrenal rush and the heat of hatred cast in his direction.

"Nightmares do not die, fleshling, but your friends do, and you will survive to WATCH!"

GS: Vorthuzahl has activated a Force Action!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Enfilading Strike!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Invigorating Ruin!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Searing Riposte!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.
GS: Rudy Roughnight guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Invigorating Ruin for 99 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl drains Rudy Roughnight! Vorthuzahl gains 98 temporary hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Searing Riposte for 109 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl takes Cover! He gains 50 temporary hit points!
GS: CRITICAL! Cassidy Cain takes a solid hit from Vorthuzahl's Enfilading Strike for 191 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

Vorthuzalh's blade strikes true, even as the allied front attempts to throw everything they have at the Metal Demon. It digs deep into Rudy's side, causing the blood to flow. It hits something rather hard, perhaps a bone of a rib or the like, but Roughnight still takes a knee himself as the pain causes him to double over. He doesn't cry out, however, even suffering in silence. Using the barrel of his weapon to push off the ground, Rudy soon gets himself in a standing position once more. As he staggers to a fighting position, the cartridge is changed again with somewhat shaky hands. Still muscle memory allows him to do the required actions of replacing the ammo, even during these dire times. The explosive rounds placed back in, the blue glow appears a third time and the weapon spins in his hand. The ritual seems to be something Rudy always does when using his 'special shots', the only difference is there is a momentary pause as he looks for a vital place to fire.

"The man who raised me was not my father. I was there when he died. Just like I plan to be here when you die."

As Rudy offers his first combat retort with tears of pain and anger in his eyes, he fires for more than just himself, but to honor the one life he could not save.

GS: Rudy Roughnight has activated a Force Action!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with Boosted Shell!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl takes a solid hit from Rudy Roughnight's Boosted Shell for 131 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Vor comes screaming back in and the Fox is thrown backwards. New blood paints the remains of the wall he finds himself slammed against. Bright crimson staining the badlands sands. He is indeed thrown back by that charge. Leaving the lane open towards Cass, and that seems to make him more pain than his wounds.

Battle trained reflexes and old memories can see it. The thrust. The cut. That near fatal blow ment to ruin not just the woman's corset but her life as well.

The banter he had queued up dies in his throat as Vor slams past him, his vision graying out around the edges from pain and blood loss.

He maintains his feet by pure force of will at this point. Force of will and the fact that he's built tougher than he looks. His eyes blaze as his lips pull back in a snarl thats half fury and half terror.

Not for himself though.

Because Cassidy Cain was right when she yelled at him. Back after the first time they met Vor together. She knew what she was doing. What she was saying. Could feel that innate need in one Morgan Newkirk. That desire for connections, for friends and family. And the overwhelming urge to not see any more of them lost.

A lot of time at the detriment to his own self of course.

He can heal the body, but he's learned that the spirit carries scars a lot longer.

He's running before he even realises he is. His ARM flaring to life even as Rudy fires into Vor. The Vox leaping, the distance almost impossible. He can feel his wounds tear further as he uses his full strength to launch himself over Rudy's line of fire and towards Vor's back. Left hand scrabling for purchase on the Demon's shattered armor as the ARM on his right hand slams against the creature's spine.

Attached to that ARM is a brutal looking miniture siege weapon. Something built to shatter walls. The wide muzzle a yawning promise of destruction and he hammers it flush against the monster's back.

"Nightmare's don't die. But they can be forgotten."

And he triggers the weapon, the force of the recoil carring him back and away. The angle of the shell made to miss Cassidy on the other side should it pierce through.

"We ain't even gonna remember ya as nothin' more than a damn footnote."

GS: Morgan Newkirk has activated a Force Action!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Shieldbreaker!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl takes a solid hit from Morgan Newkirk's Shieldbreaker for 109 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

He thinks there is not a swordsman among them. He would be wrong.

As Noah Hawthorne surmised before; the only thing anyone truly knows about Cassidy Cain is that she is full of surprises, and there is one singularly deadly one in her hand. Ever since hitting the surface, this is only the third time she has unfurled her sword, and the first time she has ever activated it. Her eyes burn, malice and satisfaction when she catches the barest glint of astonishment on the Metal Demon's features.

Before she can draw it away, however, energy accumulates not just underneath her, but around her. She watches him steal what was Rudy's, to fuel his next strikes.

And strike he does.

Sparks and wisps of emerald-green escape her unfolded sword as he swings at her blade in almost bone-crushing force. She has no choice but to guard against it, and it nearly sends her flying; only her expert footwork keeps her aloft as she manages to parry it despite screaming muscles and pain fogging the edges of her vision. Again, and again, he pushes her back, but the art, despite her build and her tendency to move fast, is a completely different animal. It teaches patience, above all else. To dispense with all unnecessary movement until an opening presents itself.

It does, eventually. She takes a step to the side, the point of her augmented sword cleaving through his armor, the length of it shooting out of his back. It drives her close enough to see the whites of his eyes.

Nightmares do not die, fleshling...!

"Corsetted curse upon the world that I am," she breathes, lips curling up in a wild, reckless grin. "I guess that just means I'm fookin' immortal."

She pays for the remark, but she would never take it back. She simply can't help herself. The devastating blow sends her flying, tumbling and rolling on her front. The sword flies with her, as if unwilling to be parted from its reluctant mistress, landing point-first just slightly above her, but at least well within reach. Blood froths between her teeth.

But she's back on her feet, ripping the sword from the ground, because she feels the air change, the familiar snarl behind her. She knows what happens whenever Morgan sees her like this and some near-untouched part of her surges with warmth and loathing in equal measure. She doesn't know when it happened, when the Beastman had carved a Morgan-shaped niche in her life, and wedged himself inside it, unwilling to leave.

She's moving again once Rudy and Morgan have distracted him enough. The sword is brandished, thrumming with power, wisps of emerald fire leaking from its deadly edges as she moves, once again attempting to anticipate where he would retreat, but instead of standing directly right there, she slides towards his other blindside...

...and drags her blade along the ground and flicks it upwards in an attempt to blind him. She twists her body the other way after that, swinging the sword in an attempt to open his throat.

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with Before The Music Ends!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Cassidy Cain's Before The Music Ends for 91 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

The Silver Knight revels in the combat it is made for, a dance of blades that it does not know - a rarity for him, so learned in the ways of even fleshling swordsmanship that seeing something new from these creatures is a delight that cannot be described in words. But Cassidy will see it in his deformed, metal face, feel it in the way he clashes blades with her, right up until the point he slips past her defenses to both accept her blow, and deliver one of his own to send her reeling

Everything in his world falls away while he is locked in that combat, and for ignoring the emotion behind Rudy's resolve, he pays dearly. Cassidy will see the shot explode out his front, carrying a metal plate somewhere over her head. It staggers the great creature, and they can all see a hole clear through him. Were he any other monster, made of flesh or metal or both, he would be dead. Instead, somehow, he survives.

Rising.

Glowering.

Even now more of the creature's armor slides off, revealing newly formed plating beneath, and then Morgan Newkirk, with the fury of a man fighting not for his life but for that of his family, leaps upon him. Fist meets spine, and his roar echoes across the wasteland around this pitiful town, warning away all who might think to investigate the fires. Armor shatters and craters at his back, and the wound Rudy's projectile made in his back becomes a home for Morgan's fist. Driven to his knees, Cassidy's job becomes an easy thing, but just seeing her move with the blade draws him to wrench his body sidelong, dislodging that fist at his back and moving to meet that incoming blade from the swordswoman, the energy infused blade cutting through his throat and face alike, but the renewed vigor of learning her style by engaging it seems to dull his pain.

Cassidy has unknowingly created a whole new monster.

He will give her the honor of his retaliation first, blade twisting and moving with a surprising amount of finesse that is aided by the same kind of strength Rudy possesses, mingling style and brutal savagery in an attempt to silence her from the battlefield, to disable her, and force her to watch what he will do to her friends.

Moments later, his speed is revealed in the bull-rushing, whirling cleave that he sends Morgan's way, bits of him littering the ground as he goes after the Fox-Man, once again a pit stop, and this time ending his charge in full view of them both so they can see the lancing assault he sends at Rudy, intending to skewer him...

...and put him out of his crying, manlet misery.

GS: Vorthuzahl has activated a Force Action!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Cassidy Cain with Relentless Assault!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Morgan Newkirk with Insidious Cut!
GS: Vorthuzahl has attacked Rudy Roughnight with Relentless Assault!
GS: Vorthuzahl has completed his action.
GS: Cassidy Cain has activated a Force Action!
GS: Cassidy Cain takes a glancing hit from Vorthuzahl's Relentless Assault for 72 hit points!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has activated a Force Action!
GS: Morgan Newkirk critically Guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Insidious Cut for 21 hit points!
GS: Rudy Roughnight critically Guards a hit from Vorthuzahl's Relentless Assault for 28 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl has activated a Force Action!

<Pose Tracker> Rudy Roughnight has posed.

Morgan attacks with his powerful ARM, Cassidy strikes with her seemingly magical blade. The brown eyes of Rudy watch as they fight, watch as they bleed in the attacks that follow. The Metal Demon continues his assault, one that ends with Rudy grabbing the edge of the weapon that pierces him.

While not fully skewed as Vorthuzahl had wished, Rudy is stabbed somewhat and lifted off the ground. Even as he is in the air, however, there is still that desire to fight, still that desire to win. He sees that his allies are hurt badly. He could heal them, but in his heart he knows what makes sense to do. And that's go all out.

What is likely the final cartridge change of the night takes place. Without flashy words. Those things are more the expertise of those that he fights with. There is just a simple efficiency of what he does. He knows what he needs to do and speaking seems to be a waste of time and energy. The blue glow on his arm seems to heighten, with small bolts of lightening seemingly coming from the other hand of Roughnight and going into his weapon, as if his own body was giving it power. The weapon is spun and raised, the boy only able to keep one eye open due to the pain. He does manage one simple declaration, a warning to attempt to save those with him.

"These two are under my protection. You have a problem with that, take it up with me."

In the wake of his words, a final powerful high powered bullet is fired.

GS: Rudy Roughnight has activated a Force Action!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has attacked Vorthuzahl with Snipe Bullet!
GS: Rudy Roughnight has completed his action.
GS: Vorthuzahl guards a hit from Rudy Roughnight's Snipe Bullet for 65 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

This time Morgan sees the blade. This time his armored hand comes up. The vicious strike is met by the gunslingers open hand. Ancient weapon meeting ancient weapon in a test of strength. Strength that the fox posesses a suprising amount of for someone of his character and build. He slides a few inches back but no more than that. His bloodied grin only widening. That reckless streak a mile long pushing him to be even worse than he is already.

"You heard the boyo." He drawls out. "I think thats been about enough complaining out of you tonight." Even as Vor breaks that lock to run the vicious fox raises his own ARM again.

And this time that brutal weapon speaks multiple times. The booming report echoing across the dunes and Morgan pumps round after round into Vor's shattered carapace. Teath grit against the pain, lips pulled back in a snarl. The fox is beyond more than simple quips for the moment.

Banter given way to anger. White hot wrath pouring from the barrel of his ARM. No more. No more today. No more ever again.

Thats what his expression seems to say as he advances on the Demon. Intent on shattering his very being with this volley.

...because he knows if he doesn't, he might not have anything left.

GS: Morgan Newkirk has attacked Vorthuzahl with Shieldbreaker!
GS: Morgan Newkirk has completed his action.
GS: CRITICAL! Vorthuzahl critically Guards a hit from Morgan Newkirk's Shieldbreaker for 28 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

In the thick of it, as plate continues to fall away, to twist and turn into new ones, she can't help the laugh that leaves her, no matter how much it wracks her with pain. She nearly doubles over, broken and bleeding in places, soaking through clothing meant to hide the extent of her injuries from view. "Fook me," she gasps. "Strength, speed, armor, endless regenerating ability. All the bloody advantages in the world." She lowers her head, eyes lifting up, lips pulled in a bloodied grin. "Now I really want tae kill you."

He attacks her first, because she brings this on herself - she has done nothing but antagonize the Demon since she has met him, in the smoldering ruins of Adlehyde and over the body of her nearly-dead partner. But she has always been a selfish, greedy creature, unable to abide by circumstances unless the thing she desperately wants - be it to steal, or to destroy - levies upon her the lion's share of its attention. It is dangerous, liable to cut the lifespan short of any an enterprising Drifter, but Cassidy thrives in perilous and deadly objectives. And this...this is worth going over the line for.

His blade swings and she manages to half-dodge, half-parry it, letting the blade glance off, the very tip gouging a cut into her shoulder and ripping off a strip of her sleeve, leaving it in tatters and explosing the spread of blood wicking into pale skin. She takes several light steps back, to regain her distance. Every muscle is screaming, left breathing hard, but her sword hand remains surprisingly steady. There had been a time when all she was, all she knew, was this.

These two are under my protection. You have a problem with that, take it up with me.

In spite of everything that is happening, Cassidy has the room within her to turn her head and stare at Rudy flatly. "What," she remarks, her tone too dry to sound even remotely incredulous. "Just how old are you?"

Eyes flick to the side, to watch Morgan launch an all or nothing attack. The sight of it causes a break in the haze of her bloodlust, but only for a moment. If anything, seeing him throw caution to the wind, only galvanizes it, makes it burn all the more hotly.

She waits for it, for the blade to parry Morgan's attack. She throws her grenade. A ball of fire erupts.

The blonde's rush has her skidding into the smoke, hearing the crunch of sand under heavily armored feet. Years spent in dark rooms, fending off flashing blades and faceless assailants. She doesn't need to see to kill.

Her sword whips around in an effort to plunge it deep into Vorthuzahl's side, and should it find purchase, she twists the sword in her grip, to carve it upwards in a diagonal slash, an inverse mirror to what he had done to Jude.

GS: Cassidy Cain has attacked Vorthuzahl with Now Is The Hour!
GS: Cassidy Cain has completed her action.
GS: Vorthuzahl takes a solid hit from Cassidy Cain's Now Is The Hour for 133 hit points!
GS: Vorthuzahl has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

There is a resounding BOOM from Rudy's gun that echoes through eternity, and Vorthuzahl's blade comes up, the shot shattering into an explosion that continues onward to barrel through his riddled form. Flame clings to him, dripping like water, and smoke streaks in the air behind him along with his blood, renewed it seems by what he has stolen from them all. But still, despite rage made manifest in artillery fired from that ancient weapon, The Demon Still Stands.

The block stops momentum when Morgan steps into the blow, and he makes the decision to accept pain for returning the onslaught, breaking the hold on that blade before round after round comes his way as Morgan advances. The demon is forced to backpeddle, but it is a maddening thing to see, as some shots simply go through it, his body as much hole as it is whole, and soon it shows on the demon's face.

It knows Morgan Newkirk will not be his end, not now, and readies his blade for a charge. Waves of energy pour from him. The entire ground shakes as sand begins to liquify.

It is not to be.

When the grenade sails in, the great metal beast thinks to bat it away, but it explodes just as his hand would connect, dealing little damage, but blinding him momentarily to the cunning drive of a green-tinted blade. Somewhere inside, that endless well of power falters, and they will all see it flicker.

Unfortunately, it means the power he was drawing from the ground falters to, no longer a field of power to cross swords on, but a deadly trap of quicksand.

That skeletal hand shoots up, wrapping suddenly around the confidence woman's throat, and as burning blood spills from that cracked faceplate, she will know the weight of him as he begins to drag her down towards the abyss he has created with his hubris.

"A well..ss-struck blow, but you will not kill me today. I have no doubt you have it in you, but very simply, they do not have it in them to let you die with me."

He yanks her closer, every last bit of him holding on to her throat, making sure that if they dive atop him, they will sink him faster. If they launch their ARMs at him, surely she will perish in the fallout.

He has set the gambit: To kill him, she must keep her blade energized, imbedded deep. To kill him, Morgan and Rudy will have to consign her to certain, happy oblivion.

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

He is wavering.

The last time she and the rest have defeated Vorthuzahl, Cassidy had been prevented from pressing her advantage by Noah Hawthorne, clear-minded enough to see the danger of their surroundings before sweeping her off to safety with Morgan in tow. Circumstances now are the same; sand melts around them like liquid metal, liable to trap and suffocate those who make the mistake of coming close to wade in it. Broken, bleeding, alive, though unknown as to how long, her emerald stare bores into Vorthuzahl's own and while her lips maintain the shape of her devil's grin, her stare holds none of that overt amusement. As he looks up at her, compliments her for her master stroke - the secrets of the Clear Mirror, Still Water school of swordplay still remembered despite not using it for years - he'd find it brimming with nothing but the intensity of her desire to watch him die by her own hand.

It is no ordinary thing, no human thing. The want of it is so intense that this close, and even closer still when a bony metal hand lifts, to grab her by the throat and pull her closer, Vorthuzahl would be able to taste it. She has spent a lifetime accumulating many sins, pieces of her broken off by her losses and stopgaps to her tortured mechanisms embedded there by her triumphs to keep her from imploding, she is a flawed and tainted creature, the sort that him and his lot would wish to see eradicated off the face of the planet. But this smoldering, relentless, unyielding hatred, a very rare emotion pouring from the woman in her grip, is pure to the point of crystalline, liable to destroy everything in its path...including herself.

He is choking her; she gasps for breath, all the more shortened by a sudden laugh. She pushes her face closer, until he could see the shape of the sunlit shards in her eyes, like pieces of broken golden glass scattered in fields of green.

"I promised you sommat the first time we met," she whispers, in tones that are almost darkly intimate, just as the emerald glow of her sword becomes all the brighter, energy accumulating along the dangerous length, sigils shining so brightly their finer swirls and details are lost. It starts to melt his shattered armor, the upward carving motion inching higher, and higher. "You nearly took sommat from me, that day."

One hand disengages from the hilt of her sword, unforgiving fingers plunging deep into the crevice she has cracked into him. It burns, but the more pain she feels, the more she presses on, reaching in until long digits seize around the beating engine she feels within, the glowing core she had glimpsed that day in Adlehyde.

Brutally, savagely, she yanks it out of his chest, silver blood splattering in the sands, swallowed up by their slow churning. She lifts it up, the Metal Demon's heart pulsing in her grasp, for him to see.

She doesn't seem to realize that she is still sinking with him.

<Pose Tracker> Morgan Newkirk has posed.

Morgan Newkirk prides himself on being flexible. On not being predictible when it comes to plans. On being able to adapt without anyone knowing what might come next. However sometimes, some very sepcific times, the fox is increadibily predictable.

Like right now.

The smile is easy to read on his face as he sees the power start to flicker in the Metal Swordsman's eyes. He notes the damage. The way the thing slows and stumbles. The liquid metal blood that runs like rivers down its pitted hide. Smoke snaking up from the barrel of his ARM the fox grins viciously as it starts to sink...

...only to see that one, single, skeletal claw explode from the mire and wrap itself around Cassidy Cain.

Which is where he gets predictable.

Because Vor is right about that. He isn't about to watch her die. At least not like this.

He's running even before he knows it, boots pounding sand as he closes in on the two sinking figures. His ARM ignites as he calls its power once again, the long strand of its energy lasso spooling out behind him. A flick of his wrist sends the thing sailing off to catch a pillar of rubble as he dives into the mire after them both. No hesitation, no hitch in his step. Just a headlong rush towards his own possible death.

Which seems to bother him not at all.

She rips as he dives, his left hand snaking around the conwomans waist as his right arcs up and sets that brutal shotgun's barrel right against Vor's elbow.

The weapon discharges as he pushes back. The energy blast seeking to sever the arm as he pulls the woman away from death by drowning and back towards the light.

...man. She is gonna yell at him for this he bets.

"Well," He adds as he notices her rip and tear something free. "...looks like you got your paperweight."

<Pose Tracker> Vorthuzahl has posed.

It should be the very end of him when she whispers to him that sweet nothing of vengeance wrapped in desire she could not sate in a thousand beds. It is different. More real, more important. Vorthuzahl, the one who forever got away. For Vorthuzahl, it is something else entirely. The last fleshling he held regard for was the one who killed his master. He had never thought to find another that could hate like he hated, revel in the destruction of an enemy like Vorthuzahl could.

This is his mirror, and yet, there is a difference.

There is a sound most sickly, metal and flesh like all the same as she reaches for her prize. Burning, the core of his power is pulled from him, trailing his stolen energies and hoisted high so that quicksilver falls upon them both like sad, spring raindrops at the very edge of a dying storm.

It should be his last act, to look up. To see it.

He looks down again, and his whisper meant just for her, each word finding her ear just in time. Just as they reach for her. Just as they obliterate his arm and begin to pull her away. Just as that heart stills and solidifies into a metal shard in her hand. It does not smile, for it knows nothing of smiles. It does not laugh because it knows nothing of laughter. And it does not die, because it knows nothing of death, even as it sinks beneath unforgiving sands.

The others will not hear his words, haunting his descent into that oblivion. "You s..seek to make me as empty. Like you. Silly girllll... I can grow another."

<Pose Tracker> Cassidy Cain has posed.

She suddenly finds air.

So engrossed she is in obtaining her prize that she does not realize Morgan is coming for her until it's too late; for the lasso to encircle her and he's suddenly there, the breadth and deceptive strength of him seizing her around the waist, her eyes blinded by the blast of his ARMs fire as he forcibly pulls her away from the skeletal grip and sends them flying back to the sands. Her grip is unyielding, unwilling to drop her sword, too conditioned not to, when she knows that dropping it could mean certain death, or the Metal Demon's heart that slowly ceases beating in her palm, hardening with its spiky protrusions, turning into some grisly metal gem.

They find the sand, bodies landing safely into the dunes. The impact jars her bones, renders her breath short. For a moment, she lies with Morgan in the dust, arms splayed on either side of her, greedy, grasping fingers clinging tenaciously to both objects.

The whisper sticks to the back of her mind, wicked there, never to be forgotten.

You seek to make me as empty.

Her lashes hood over her eyes.

Like you.

When Morgan turns to her, the yelling he anticipates does not come. He would find Cassidy staring up at the skies instead, fixed on some unseen thing, floating somewhere in the clouds...

...and for once, there is no smile, from a woman who never fails to laugh even while she's dying.

Her fingers curl tightly on the heart she has stolen, feeling its sharp edges bite into her skin, blood welling free from the hairline cuts.

His voice breaks the silence at last. Emerald eyes tear themselves away from the heavens to fix on the Fox-man's face. The smile returns, easy and humored.

"Ay," she murmurs, keeping her voice low to hide the pain from it. She lifts up the spiky metal gem, her new paperweight. "Would do a good job in its new life, methinks."