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[img]http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o719/EthereanFire/Fox_zpsterb1uck.png[/img]


[color=cyan]Level:[/color] 1
[color=cyan]Day/Time:[/color] Day One; Evening
[color=cyan]Location:[/color] Demon Lord’s Castle - Exterior; Forest
[color=cyan]Tags:[/color] [color=4be2a3]Naija[/color] [@DracoLunaris], ([color=7ea7d8]Garrett[/color] [@Simple Unicycle],) [color=ed1c24]Mario[/color] [@Holy Soldier]
[color=cyan]Fighting:[/color] Valkyries (cont’d.)
[color=cyan]Word Count:[/color] 1036[/center]



As the resonance of mallet-struck metal rang loudly over the forest canopy, leaves shook and wood cracked audibly in sync with a quaking thud as the environment gave way under the Demon Lord - clearly signalling his fall to the earth. Mario seemed to be performing as one would expect, which comes as no surprise given his routine experience dealing with big guys like him, but this wasn’t exactly the same. The boss before them was empowered to an unknown degree beyond his usual state (whatever that was), AND he brought backup. It was past time that the rest of the squad got in on the main battle with the red bro, but Fox would first have to shake the force he had on him before he could make his way over there to split more of the problem between them; a task which would suddenly prove more difficult.

Without warning, a violent maelstrom burst forth from a jar of arcane contents as it shattered not thirty yards ahead of him, effectively cutting him off from his taken path. His eyes widened at the very sight as he skid to an abrupt stop just outside of the twister’s effective radius, but still too close to pull away from it in a timely manner. Had he known what the lobbed vial withheld, he might have made an effort to dive under it and reflect it back, but even if he had seen it coming, it would have been impossible for him to conceive of anyone keeping weaponized weather anomalies in their front pocket; let alone intuit the use of such here. Though, in spite of Fox’s lack of practical expertise in magic and its workings, it didn’t come as much of a surprise to him, but the fact remained that he was left in a position of being unable to do much of anything about it.

Stuck between the natural force that stood in his way and the dwindled squadron of corrupted valkyries that were closing in, Fox had little to nothing in the way of clear options, and he was already struggling to resist being dragged directly into the cyclone without having to keep the fight going all the while. With that being the case, a more drastic solution was in order: to [i][b]stop[/b][/i] resisting. After sparing a quick look over his shoulder at what was coming for him, the daring pilot turned and lightly skipped backwards towards the whirlwind, stalling with his reflector as he reached the outer edge so as not to end up within its epicenter. The idea was that it would slingshot him to the other side, and even if he didn’t completely escape it, it would at least put his obstacle between him and his aggressors and force them to work through the turbulence.

As the winds carried him about, he caught the sight of what looked like a valkyrie incoming. He swiftly twisted horizontally over them as they passed and planted himself feet-first against the debris that followed, promptly drawing his weapon as he made contact. He would then realize that the person he was about to mistakenly fire at was in fact their leader, Naija, who seemed to be sporting… a pair of valkyrie wings? When did she get those… and HOW? For an amphibian who’s never even so much as learned to walk to suddenly take flight was a peculiar occurrence indeed, but it may very well have been just what he needed to circumvent his present predicament. Fox was kept stabilized by way of centrifugal force against the log Naija was towing, and as they began to wrap around the tornado, he trained his iron sights on the highest valkyrie (presumably, the one who threw the bottle) and rapidly opened fire once more.

Provided she didn’t go down after that, Fox would then follow up his blaster volley with an upward somersault kick to her chest before descending to turn his attention on her now scattered sisters. Either way, he would have to dismount the soaring lumber, as the trajectory and speed at which they were going made it slightly more than obvious that Naija had no intention of hanging on to it. Besides, it’s not as if Fox was honestly expecting a free ride to the real battle anyways. [s]Just as well that she used it as she did, for it would ideally leave him with an opportune opening to dispatch what was left of the diverted enemy units.

Fox dropped down on the rearmost valkyrie with a drill kick to the abdomen to put her on her back and under his feet. He would then spring off of her into a reverse half twist over the next one behind him and attempt catch her by her head with her own spear with the intention of throwing her downward over his head and (hopefully) disarming/killing her in the process. If he managed to succeed in doing that, he would whirl the thefted polearm to both sides in striking motion as he came back down while striking the third valkyrie, and he would advance with a rising swipe and an outward spinning slash to the fourth to place him behind her. Once he made it to the back of the line he would finish off his assault with an Illusion coupled with a thrust from the spear to strike through all of them in one move.[/s]

He would not bother to look back as he hastily made off toward Mario’s location, for it was already clear that he hadn’t time left to spare away from the main fight any longer - especially if this encounter was any indication. Fortunately, the plumber had managed to incapacitate Odin, if only for a moment, and Naija was already fast approaching to assist. Fox would have to be sure to thank her later for bailing him out, as well as commending her on her performance in the field in general, but the congratulations and expressions of gratitude would obviously have to wait until [i]after[/i] they had completed their mission. In regards to which, Fox was hoping in the back of his mind that the other teams were faring well on their ends.