Theo heard a woman's voice somewhere, but it was distant. It was a few moments before he had registered what she said.

	"[color=ed1c24]No need to prove yourself. Take a second to heal. Leave it to us.[/color]"

	The Sundancer turned his head in time to hear the girl, a gunslinger, shout commands to bring the group together around the flaming horse. The beast charged, breaking into a streak of light in an instant, giving hardly any time to react. Theo dashed away, easily clearing the charge, but their foe's attention was locked on to the shouting girl. Theo's heart lunged at the horse's impending impact into the gunslinger, the movie of her demise playing out in his head, how it would shatter ever bone in her body, and he almost cried out for her. But she deftly spun to the side at the last minute, riddling the monster with bullets as it passed.

	"[color=ed1c24]Never got your name,[/color]" the gunslinger girl said, not missing a beat. She was completely in her element. "[color=ed1c24]I'm Saerena.[/color]"

	Something bloomed in the back of Theo's head, a spike of recognition at her name. Something from another life. Something that didn't matter anymore.

	"Call me Theo," the Sundancer said. He smiled, figuring he should try a little harder. There was no time to rest when everyone else was trying so hard. "You look really cool, you know-"

	A lightning bolt silently cut the sky in half, a streak of blue like a comet. It came from the horizon, the air humming around it, bristling with energy. The bolt slammed headlong into the side of the horse, toppling it into the ground. The flames around it disappeared as it lay, struggling to roll onto its feet.

	As the fire flickered out, the sudden heat wave dimmed. The gears in Theo's mind whirred away. [i]What the hell was that? A stunning attack? Took the flame armor off. Who shot it? Doesn't matter. An ally. I have to get it while it's down.[/i]

	The white-clad youth charged passed Saerena, robes billowing. He was a front-line fighter. The gunslinger could do best behind him while he fended the monster off. Remembering Saerena's words of instruction, he resolved to keep its attention by dancing around its flanks, keeping its dangerous charges away from his allies.

	It was a fraction of a second and Theo was before the demon. He brought his hands beside him, blade bared to the wind, and spun. His momentum carried his blade across the nape of the horse's neck, parting its mane, but he barely put a scratch in its iron-like hide.

	The horse flailed wildly. Twin horns, spires long enough to run a man through three times over, whistled through the air as they tried to find Theo's eyes. Theo weaved backward, hardly missing the attack, brought his blade up and struck the beast again to the same effect. They danced together, the horse throwing hooves, Theo stepping between them and cutting red threads in its fur.

	Theo managed to step near the demon's underbelly. He reached back, a snarl on his face, preparing a thrust into its heart. As he plunged forward, everything went white. The fire blasted outward from the horse once again, an inferno that felt like it burned his eyes out. He rolled backward on the blackened plains, stopping on all fours, eyes squeezed shut and coughing smoke from his lungs in savage bouts.

	[i]HP: 78/239[/i]

	He opened his eyes. They stung unmercifully, but at least he could see. His polished plate was blackened, and his robes were peppered with char. He looked up at the beast as it reared back once again, and as he did, he felt the relentless wave of heat emanating from its body, burning everything closeby.

	"We have to stun it!" Theo shouted into the air, fighting back coughs. "We can't get close to it like this!"