[hider=Desperation][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/i60t4Yi.png[/img][/center] [b][u]Vandrell: Hawthorne Manor: Courtyard[/u][/b] [b]“Who… dared…”[/b] As Lucifer’s arms pushed his body up from the steaming crater his landing had created, his body was suddenly thrust back into it, as a large, powerful, heavy weight collided with him, impacting directly atop his right wing and impaling through the wing’s membrane and imbedding itself into the cracked ground. At last, Lucifer felt something, and a small grimace creased his pained features. A breath later, and he took the measure of the attack, his chest heaving up and down, up and down, before he then started to push himself back up. [b]“Who…”[/b] Lucifer spat venom. [b]“Who did that?”[/b] A flick of his wrist, and the spike’s chain was severed with five razor sharp cuts. He stumbled up to his feet, and then stretched his left hand out, over his shoulder, to his wing and the implement stabbed within. His left hand ripped the spike free. His face slowly turned and focused… on Trent and Dylan… [b]“So. You two wish to be the next to die?”[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/fQWT986.png[/img] “Bring it on, motherfucker!!” Trent automatically dashed forwards, charging towards Lucifer on foot as his hand threw his board to the ground. Circling about, it stopped inches before hitting the ground, righting itself perfectly straight as it then pulsed and glowed with Trent’s magical energies. The youth jumped on the board, and it accelerated forwards with impeccable speed, bursting straight towards Lucifer. But the Lord’s reactions were quicker. Trent was snatched in midair, caught within the vampire’s icy cold, suffocating grip. His board was dislodged from his feet and sent clattering into the miniature crater. “Hack! Ack! Agg!” Trent sputtered and coughed. Dylan’s eyes widened in surprise and fear. Even if he didn’t know Trent, having only met him moments ago, he couldn’t stand by and watch this man, this Guilder, a member of the Pride be left at Lucifer’s mercy! He had to do something! But what?! [b]“You will finally make yourself useful, boy! Ahahaha! AHAHAHA! ...! ...! ...!”[/b] Lucifer’s golden orbs shimmered brilliantly, before glowing ever brighter yet. And Trent… the life in the youth’s eyes began to fade. His struggling and thrashing against his unbelievably powerful opponent was to no avail. His kicking and punching was futile, and now that stopped, his arms and legs falling uselessly at their sides, as the life was literally stolen away from him. And as for Lucifer… the hole that had been ripped within his right wing started to close and seal. “No!!” Dylan shouted. [b]“Be quiet.”[/b] Lucifer peered over Trent’s body, and then launched the chained spike back towards Dylan. At the same time, Trent body was cast aside, thrown high into the air, and landing in a crumpled heap at Selan’s feet. [b]“Is this the best that all of you have got?”[/b] Lucifer bellowed, turning around, his gaze circling across the battlefield. Overhead, the storm that Marcus had quelled and held at bay started to rush back, and rain lashed against the Manor, rippling in the pools of blood left at Marcus and Don’s side. [b]“I expected better. But then I shouldn’t be so surprised… that girl you all follow, Estelle, was just as pathetically weak.”[/b] “Rarrrhhh!” [img]http://i.imgur.com/R0dMlyP.png[/img] The air was buffeted by the sound of an erratic typewriter stealing Lucifer’s next attention. Craning his neck, he spotted a startling sight. The Pride’s youngest and arguably weakest member, Trixie, was attacking him with her twin uzis centred directly on him. Despite how futile the effort was, she did not run, did not stop. She wouldn’t let any of her friends be hurt anymore. Even if she couldn’t hurt him, she simply couldn’t stand by and watch her friends fall one by one! She couldn’t! [b]“Ha… ...! ...! You’re brave at least, I’ll give you that. Or stupid. Such young innocence… Abraxis will enjoy devouring you!”[/b] Lucifer’s body vanished yet again, reappearing a second later after having crossed the difference in-between them, right in front of Trixie. His right hand raised overhead, the sinister tips of his claws diving down, aimed right at the eyes closed, squealing prankster, when suddenly…! “Yieee, Trixie!” The prankster was scooped out of the way by a fast person moving on all fours, tail shaking back and forth behind. [i]“Careful, careful, careful!!”[/i] [img]http://i.imgur.com/JO4B0vT.png[/img] Nikki’s feet bounced up and down as she sped as quickly as she could muster from Lucifer. The annoyed Lord turned, not ready to allow his prey to scarper quite so quick. Both of his arms crossed over his chest, ready to unleash another cross shaped attack. His arms began to descend- And Lucifer was met with a new, fresh attack. Two simultaneous blows, a powerful blunt impact to the back of his head whilst a sharp cut sliced across his abdomen. Celeste and Julius were fighting together. [img]http://i.imgur.com/COh55ZM.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/cfXWu5X.png[/img] “Yeah, take that you stupid prick!” Celeste shouted, rearing her fist back for another magic fuelled attack. At the same time, Julius lowered his head and remained quiet, mentally chastising himself for the shallowness of his cut again. The Pride couldn’t afford for him to keep missing like this!! [b]“Amateurs!!”[/b] Lucifer yelled, his wings smacking against Celeste and forcing her to tumble head over heels backwards as his foot crunched into Julius’ chest and propelled him backwards. Lucifer vanished again. This time, to reappear high overhead, his wings beating to keep him aloft and out of range of the ground based fighting Guilders. This way, he could witness all of the prattling insects below him, and more keenly make his choice on who to play with next. So far he had encounters with all of them… bar the golden haired, red dressed cleric Amy. She became his next target. --- [b]Dannyel[/b] [img]http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag138/enrika01/Dylan2_zps27cb5f1e.png[/img] What was he doing to Trent? The boarder was snatched in mid-air by Lucifer, and though Dylan could see no signs of actual damage to the man, he soon stopped moving. And even worse…Lucifer began to heal. "No!!" Dylan shouted, only to be silenced by the enemy. Lucifer cast Trent aside and flung the chained spike back at him. Spinning round, Dylan whipped the slate clean just in time, the construct vanishing mid-throw into nothingness. "Is this the best that all of you have got? I expected better. But then I shouldn't be so surprised… that girl you all followed, Estelle, was just as pathetically weak." "Yeah?" Dylan called back, refusing to let the taunts get to him. "If we're so pathetic where's the rest of your family? Huh? We beat them!" The Pride continued to rally around the enemy, fighting and striking. Feeling exhaustion creep up on him, Dylan scampered over to the fallen Trent's side, rolling the boy over and seeing the pale skin and sickly features. Just what had he done to him? "Come on, man," Dylan begged as he gave the boarder a shake. "You gotta be alright." --- [b]Taerinn[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/VQL4rMN.png[/img] The thunderstorm looming overhead normally would have spurred an intense panic in Selan, but Lucifer's attack on Don thoroughly distracted her. She began running towards him, and was relieved to see that Amy was still keeping up with healing the injured -- although it was clear that they were all running out of stamina and time. There was hardly any time to tend to him, for something else caused her to stop in her tracks completely. "Trent, no!" Selan ran to kneel next to him. At first, she thought he had "merely" been injured, but one look at him told her that it was much more severe. He was neither moving nor breathing, and something about him just seemed... gone. The songstress, who thought of herself as a sort of occasional mentor for the young man, could hardly speak. While Dylan shook the boy's lifeless body, she stared at him, mouth agape, reaching out but hesitant and afraid to touch him. She felt responsible for him, and while she still had no idea how he (and Nikki) came to be at the manor, it felt as though she had failed him somehow. One by one, they were all beginning to fall... [img]http://i.imgur.com/q5PjiIP.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/H5KaVNz.png[/img] On the other side of the battlefield, Lisette had lost her shot; Lucifer was faster than she expected, and before she could fire her arrow, he had moved on to attack the others. Don and Trent had been taken out, and although she couldn't see them very well from where she was standing, she hoped they were alright. Who she could see, however, was Moira and Syed. Syed was lying on his back, and she was afraid that he was badly hurt as well. Jogging over in the mud, she skidded to a stop next to them. "Miss Moira, is Syed okay?" "If by okay you mean he's being a stubborn arse, then yeah." Moira huffed. "Huh...?" Lisette was clearly confused. "You're not giving up, are you?" It wasn't said in an accusatory way, but her voice had gotten softer. Syed, along with Moira and Marcus, had done a lot to try and encourage her. To see him lying on his back in the mud, with raindrops hitting his face... It was a little sad. Not to mention somewhat insane, considering the chaos going on just yards away. "No, it's not that..." Syed tried to explain. Seeing Lisette looking down at him with her big, innocent eyes, twirling an arrow around and around in her hands, uncaring of the inevitability that she would get hurt as long as she remained there. It hurt as much as the rest of his body. "It's... It's just hard, Lisette." Lisette frowned, but immediately perked up. "But weren't you the one who said 'it's hard sometimes, but that's part of the job'?" she said, recalling his pep talk back in the Woods of Weir. "You said my smile brightens up the--" A sudden flash of lightning interrupted her, causing her to grimace and pet Kapi for a moment, who was having his own flashbacks to the scary forest. "Kapi, don't worry, it's just a lot of noise and rain. You're not made of metal, so it's okay." Syed wasn't looking at the sky or even Lisette anymore, though; for that split second, the metal arrow tip in her hand glinted... --- [b]Bunanigans[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/wv6nkSY.png[/img] [img]http://i.imgur.com/T07Xw1w.png[/img] Moira's eyes widened in rage at the sight of Trent getting pretty much the life sucked out of him. She wouldn't call Trent a friend, and she had no doubt the feeling was mutual. But he was still someone she knew. Someone she had worked with before. She wasn't going to stop til either she or Lucifer was dead, she didn't even care. Although if Syed didn't pick his act up soon Moira was just going to haul his arse over there whether he liked it or not. They were wasting more time here than if she just went for it. But then Lucifer suddenly took off, high above the courtyard. The only way she could reach him now would be if she threw her sword at him, and like hell was she going to do that. She snarled. For Syed however, time almost seemed to slow as something in his mind clicked. He looked across the courtyard, to where Lucifer now hovered. His eyes then darted back to Lisette as she knelt over him, his voice laced with the upmost urgency. "Aim your arrow. Make sure to charge it, yeah?" He needed to get up. "Huh? O-okay..." Lisette stepped away from him, notching her arrow onto the string of her bow and lining up her shot. Kapi, as always remained close at her heels. He needed to do this. They were dying, and he was too damned weak to even stand up to do anything. But he couldn't give up. He was so close to doing so... but he couldn't. He took a deep breath, before rolling back onto his side, trying to push himself up again. He couldn't give up, he couldn't give up...! Not when they were all relying on him. Not when Lisette outright asked him, turned his own advice to her back on him. She was right. Waves of agony once more spread across his body. Being thrown through a wall, the fight with Frank, having his bond with Moira pulled with such force, and now this... he wasn't a tank like she was. He couldn't take this kind of abuse. He just couldn't. His body was well beyond it's limits. His mind was still going though, and he still had a bit of magical energy left. "Argh!" Electricity began to arc across his body, magnetically pulling at him and giving him that extra bit of strength. He felt like he was going to throw up then pass out from the pain, which if he were in a better state of mind would leave him worrying how bad he would be if Amy wasn't supporting him with her magic. But he couldn't afford to stop, he couldn't afford to give up. Not when so much was resting on this. Moira looked away. The way he pulled at himself with his magic made her a little uneasy. Reminded her a little of a puppet on strings. She concentrated instead of positioning herself defensively, ready to react if she needed to. Finally he managed to get back onto his feet, staggering a little before coming to a slightly swaying stop. If he went down again he knew that was probably it, though. Standing next to Lisette, he closed his eyes once more. Just focus on your breathing. Just your breathing. Nothing else. Not on Lucifer, not on how he is butchering your frie- Just your breathing. "Why won't you see us, why won't you let us know where you are?!" Breathing. "Sir! Sir! Look what I made!" Just. Breathing. "But weren't you the one who said 'it's hard sometimes, but that's part of the job'?" Breathe. And then thousands of what almost sounded like tuning forks, all clashing against one another all at once. And among all the commotion he could hear what almost sounded like an inhuman screaming, like an animal caught in a snare. That was it. No wonder he had such an affinity for it, it sounded like his thoughts often felt like. Among the clashing sounds, one in particular caught his attention. It was growing louder and louder, as though gaining in strength. "Lisette!" Electricity buzzed around his body, before he threw his hand up, throwing a bolt of it high up towards the sky. "Shoot!" Lisette held her breath, steadying her shot. She knew she had to get this right, and with Lucifer as far as he was it took some concentration. And then, she released her arrow. Simultaniously, the strengthening noise Syed heard reached it's peak, and lightning exploded out of the clouds above. And was snatched from it's path by Syed's own arc of electricity, creating an electrical bridge directly towards the mage. And in one flowing movement, he thrust his other hand towards the green streak heading directly towards Lucifer. Lightning flowed through Syed, illuminating him in a brilliant bright blue-white glow, before continuing and striking Lisette's charged arrow. Charging it further with his electricity, accelerating it to such an extent that the friction caused the arrowhead to become white-hot. The sheer amount of energy now charged in the arrow left a shockwave and a brilliant, green-yellow streak in it's wake... --- [b]Fox of Spades[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/9iZrspN.png[/img] He landed a hit and the world seemed bathed in red. There was only one goal in his medium’s mind and it was to tear and bite and rip and shred. Lucien let the thoughts consume him and each blow that landed just felt so right. However, in a moment’s notice Lucifer sprang up and his wings snapped outward with an incredible force. It sent his summon flying through the air and crashing into the ground with a thud. For a moment the connection wavered and Lucien was sent into a fit of coughs. “Crap,” he mumbled as he took in a sharp breath of air. The summoner felt like his lungs were on fire, but no one was backing down and he wouldn’t too! He closed his eyes, focused and regained control of the yelping bear. We will fight. He repeated the word in his head and the bear growled as if agreeing. Slowly, the creature got back onto its feet suppressing a pained yelp as it did so. During its skid across the ground it had obtained a nasty gash on its side. Lucien felt it too, but they weren’t ready to tuck tail and run yet. ”We’re the Pride, and nothing’s going to stop us!” The bear snapped his head towards the sound. Yes, they were the pride and they were going to fight till they saved the world or till they went down in a blaze. Lucien felt his hope soar though it immediately crashed the moment Don comically failed…if the situation had been different, he would have laughed, but now he couldn’t help but stare in exasperation. “Nothing defeats the Pride!!” The bear stared on teeth bared and ready to leap into the fray once more. He needed to hurry or soon the animal’s thoughts would muck up his own. "We can win this, we can win this.We can do this, we can do this." He turned to look at Trixie and nodded though for a moment…she looked just like a bite sized snack. No, we can’t eat friends, yeah? He chided and the bear grumbled sulkily before glaring through the haze. Trixie stated that she had to go and he followed, he’d back her up then get a bite out of Lucifer! He trailed close behind her and watched as she buffeted him with bullets. However, Lucifer got ready to strike and the bear watched in wide-eyed shock only to let out a grumble of relief when Nikki dashed in to save the prankster. Julius and Celeste launched their own tag-team assault only to be brushed aside and just when he was about to pounce Lucifer vanished… “Ngrrraghhh!” The bear growled before padding towards Julius and Celeste and attempting to help them back onto their feet. --- [b]Rexcalibur[/b] [img]http://i.imgur.com/yO2NSRJ.png[/img] "Let go, let go!" Trixie yelped as Nikki snatched her. She hadn't even seen her captor, barely hearing her voice, before she was snatched away to safety - but she wasn't done yet...! Only when Trixie plopped out of the nekomimi's hand did she finally see the rogue's face. She looked back to Celeste and Julius launching another attack for a moment, then returned her attention to Nikki. "You... thank you." Sniveling, tears brewed beneath her eyes. The fate Trent suffered, the fate Trixie herself was about to suffer, the fate Celeste and Julius could have suffered - it was a menagerie of torture, and she couldn't fight the fright no matter how hard she tried. But she had to keep hope. She had to keep hope. The man had said something about Estelle - something that she had deliberately cut short with her round of bullets. Supersis was gonna show up soon. She was just, she was just waiting for the right time to strike. Cuz superheroes are good at doing... Trixie watched as Lisette and Syed worked together to shoot off an electrified arrow. They still had a chance, they still had a chance. [img]http://i.imgur.com/Na1JGZp.png[/img] In the meantime a pink glow had encapsulated Amy's gem, where vapors ascended from, as if it were sizzling. A slow recovery process. But it was cut short, as soon the silent process was broken with a violent throbbing. Amy's eyes peeled open, her own heartbeat matching the rhythm of her gem's aura. Lucifer's maniacal laugh had returned. She had missed the draining process, but she watched as Trent was cast aside. It was if all life had escaped from his body. Fear choked her. The pink aura surrounding Amy and her gem quickly reverted to one of gold, as the cleric ran through another healing spell. She doubted herself, she doubted that her weak magic could fix a broken spirit, but she had to try. Just in case... In the moments following Celeste's and Julius' attack on Lucifer, with Lucien's bear charging off after the countered duo, the monstrous man had shifted locations again - she could sense it, she could hear it. But she looked not in his direction, wherever he may have been. Lightning struck, and something disturbingly bright lit up like a firework; with the surrounding smog nearly cleared away, the light emanating from the shot arrow was as bright as ever. A blinding streak taking to the dark skies. Amy prayed it would hit.[/hider]