[indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/CY84i9T.png[/img]
[hider=Mood Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnOZea4Zgbc[/youtube][/hider][/center][right][h1][color=7B81B3]Kenshiro[/color][/h1][/right][right][sub][hr][color=7B81B3]Mentions: [color=ffffff]Emily G. Reed, Kari Wilson, Carol Doyle,[/color] [color=F08080]Evelynn Serenelight][/color]|[/color] [color=7B81B3]Direct Dialogue: [color=ffffff]Maya Choi/[@FernStone][/color] |[/color] [color=7B81B3]Location: [color=ffffff]Kari's House[/color][/color] [/sub][/right][hr]
[/indent]
Ken listened to what Lynn had to say as best he could. If Kari was still alive, and Lynn was telling the truth about the future she saw, then things were only going to get more complicated here. But Maya Choi wasn't someone to be easily played with, and Ken knew it wasn't going to be easy shaking her to get to Carol. He could outpace her easily, but the motivating factor was Evelynn's safety now.

If she knew Kari was alive, maybe she'd be able to help find their favorite girl. Would she leave him for her? He couldn't know. Maybe she had her hand in all of this, and it wouldn't even matter. For now, he had two goals: Beat Maya Choi's ass, and live long enough to see Kari again. 
They already blew up her house. There were probably a couple of otherworldly rocks in the explosion that survived, but all the feathers. All the little things. All gone.

It sent Ken into a battle trance just thinking about it. Sound and sand meant nothing in the long run when you spent your time in a vacuum sealed bubble, but magical sound was different. It didn't need air to travel, it didn't need a medium to exist in. It simply penetrated every single defensive layer short of his Emotional Field.

Lynn had said to go for Carol, but as the zombies rolled in and Maya managed to force him out of the pocket they met in, damage control became top priority. If Maya was paying attention to him, it meant she wasn't watching Lynn.
[h3][color=7B81B3][b]“Go, now! Anyone who can run, run!”[/b][/color][/h3]
He took advantage of being blasted by Maya's amplifiers, feeling his guts and other soft parts recoiling from the acoustic reverberations as his voice echoed across the battlefield.

Carol, Carol… What the [i]fuck[/i] was happening? He couldn't keep track, all he knew was that things weren't good, and he had to cover. Or did he?
Maya was like a glue he couldn't shake. He didn't want her rushing back to Lynn, or worse fucking with someone like Stormy who was clearly trying to get the Hulking Dead taken care of. 

Fuck it. They had zombies, he had toads. The two combatants' movements had kicked up a lot of errant dirt and stone, and Ken had slowly collected them in his field as they danced about. Once he had enough, he swung them forward and shifted their momentum with false weight that launched the pile like a blunderbuss payload. Even if it didn't hit Maya, the nightmare of having a hundred or so supersonic rocks traveling at her would be a real audio treat.

In the distraction, Ken went for a pouch on his hip and pulled out several slips of warm green paper. Dollar bills: Real federal currency that was about to be defiled in the most glorious way. Freshly washed, Ken stuffed the paper into his mouth as he channeled a great deal of Gold Lux. He felt the curse mark on his back react, contracting and waiting as if it was going to be one of those times again… 
But he needed coverage. Or needed Maya distracted. Something had to give.

As the money moistened in his mouth, he could feel it burning up on his tongue. Maya attacked again, and all he could do was accept it as his body rattled from the pressure.
But he spit the wet wad out onto the ground, and it was no longer money. An otherworldly toad barked out into the air and took a couple hops before a huff of golden smoke filled the air. Maya was now surrounded.

Ten figures, standing roughly the same height as Clancy, golden eyes peering out from beneath various hats and masks. A single sonorous ribbit vibrated the ground around them.
Ten Bullfrog Mercenaries with bladed weapons gleaming instantly scattered across the battlefield in mighty hops. A few went for Lynn, to keep her protected. The bulk went for Carol, mindful of Clancy as they bound into combat with furious ribbits and equally furious weapon strikes.

And then Ken noticed the blood. It was his, no doubt from his ears, and a potent sign that this wasn't going anywhere. He'd have to get close and break her off a stronger piece. Ken's body surged forward with tremendous speed, the noise only getting worse until he had to stop again. It wasn't like he wanted to, of course, the body simply reacted to this kind of pain. It was involuntary.
But he was close. Close enough to suck the atmosphere away from her too as the pressure around them swapped. All at once, he tried to rip her from the ground.. 

He reached back, grabbed the last hourglass, and attempted to smash it over Maya's head.
[color=7B81B3]“Dojo!”[/color]
An extra burst of pressure from behind, he hoped, would make her struggle enough that she'd get caught in the impact.
[color=7B81B3]“You're mine!”[/color]


[indent][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/xTNKsa5.png[/img]
[hider=Mood Music][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZjoCyMaVa0[/youtube][/hider][/center][right][h1][color=f49ac2]Edict[/color][/h1][/right][right][sub][hr][color=f49ac2]Mentions: [color=ffffff]Emily G. Reed, Clancy Patrick,[/color] [color=goldenrod]Sully Mcpherson,[/color] [color=f4eb93]Britney Williams[/color]|[/color] [color=f49ac2]Direct Dialogue: [color=6644ff]Jack Hawthorne/[@Blizz][/color] |[/color] [color=f49ac2]Location:[/color] Kari’s House [/sub][/right][hr]
[/indent]Edict was scared to death by the sudden appearance of Classic Jack. Nothing like watching your prized gift go up in a useless explosion only to have someone scare the shit out of you in the middle of an active combat zone.
[color=f49ac2]“Jesus Christ! Jack!?”[/color]
At least it was someone useful. It could've been McPherson. Big body, no brain to go with it. But it was the man with the bad habit himself, teleporting about as usual.

[color=f49ac2]“I was fucking a nun, Jack, what's it matter where I was!? Catch me up!”[/color]
Edict stuck his hand out, and Jack clasped it in a shake as the Recollective power of all Adepts rushed into his mind. He got a great view from Jack's perspective, and the rundown finished with a deep breath.
[color=f49ac2]“Fucking Emily, Man… I knew things were gonna-”[/color]
Edict shuffled, getting up from his cover and starting to move toward the ice wall. 
[color=f49ac2]“Just get me over! No way they're getting Britney on my fuckin’ watch, not after all the hard work!”[/color]

Whatever hard work he meant wasn't clear, but he stared at Jack expectantly.
[color=f49ac2]“Please!”[/color]

[color=6644ff]”Stay close, and we can all get out of there alive.”[/color] In one hand, a solid black scythe appeared. Jack held the other out to Edict with a very [i]pissed off[/i] look in his eyes.

[color=6644ff]”There were easier ways for them to kill themselves.”[/color]
[color=f49ac2]“God damn ri-”[/color]
The old familiarity of the split second shunting between shadows was a feeling Edict had forgotten until then. It was always so jarring, especially reorienting at the destination. Vision was blurry, sounds muffled, but he could still cast.

There were zombies, frogs, corpses exploding, the smell of fire all around, yelling and screaming. Ken's voice echoed like a loud speaker telling everyone to run. He wasn't planning on it. Across the field, dozens and dozens of corpses shambled and clogged up pathways to get in and out of the action. 
Remembering the Stygian Snake back in the day, Zombies were always a painfully annoying byproduct of the otherwise mostly harmless Black Lux varieties. Rarely did they do more than get in the way.

He needed that now.

[color=f49ac2]“You're the Man, Jackie! Now keep out of the line of fire, and get to Britney! Keep her safe!”[/color]

His sunglasses shimmered with Pink Lux as he took a deep breath. There was a wide burst of his energy as Edict allowed the mental image of his powers to unfurl into complete openness. 
[I][color=f49ac2]Now watch, you doubters, as I show you what true Pink Lux can do![/color][/i]
The tendrils of his energy burst forth by the hundreds. Each one sunk into an individual Zombie until all the threads connected back to Edict.
[color=f49ac2]“Pink Lotus’ Guiding Principle! Power Word: Dance!”[/color]

[hider=Satan Said Dance][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74J1OJUCrH8[/youtube][/hider]

The command took a moment to spread, but once it started hitting the legion of undead, they began to halt. Their rotting limbs gained supple movement,and dexterity that wasn't their own trickled into their near worthless minds until each had only one compulsion. The obvious compulsion. 
In their various degrees of decay, the hordes began to break it down to an unheard tune. Some frantically gyrated until they came apart. Others found a rhythm, staying whole but trapped.

Edict began to run through the crowds of inactive corpses now, knowing that whatever Necromancer was in charge would be doing their best to clear his little brain bomb before they'd probably refocus on him. He had to find targets. The submachine gun was shouldered, and Edict started to rattle off shots toward a nearby melee. If they hit, the magically enhanced bullets would calculate penetration distance on their own before being compelled to fracture and separate with greater force than they normally would.

These bullets penetrate [i]and[/i] explode! It was great for Edict. Not so great for Clancy and the people he was fighting, however.