[center][h3]Filia - Kingdom Land[/h3][/center]

At the telltale sounds of action, Filia bolted upright.  Holding on to a metal pole for support, she leaned out the window and watched as the besieged village came into view.  Scarcely had the vehicle stopped before it disgorged its occupants, all hankering to lay waste to the bloodthirsty biker gang, and Filia ran among them.  She spared no second thought for her allies, figuring that actual 'heroes' could take on thugs without her help, and sprinted for a target of her own.  On the corner of the village where the group of newcomers began their rescue, there leaned against a building a heavy-set man seemingly uncommitted to hurting the townsfolk, instead keeping watch.  When the real fight began, he reached for a massive [url=http://images.travelpod.com/tw_slides/ta00/c9b/1a4/turkish-bronze-cannon-london.jpg]cannon[/url] lying on the ground, and with enormous effort heaved it onto his shoulder.  Already panting and straining from the herculean effort, he aimed the mammoth weapon toward the heroes with one arm, shaking reaching into his pocket for a lighter.  

Filia recognized the threat immediately, pushing aside her astonishment at the superhuman feat.  She jogged toward him, Samson lengthening her hair into thick, powerful tentacles as she did, and barely had she come to resemble a schoolgirl with a huge black octopus on her head before the cannon went off.  Samson threw his tentacles forward, layering them into a cushioning barrier, and still the metal ball pushed Filia off her feet.  She hit the ground face-first, getting a mouthful of grass to promptly spit out, and struggled to rise again.  The cannonball fell into the earth with a [i]whump[/i], still smoking.  Meanwhile, her opponent dropped the cannon, wheezing.  The explosion of his hilariously impractical weapon had blown him over as well, burning his shoulder and making him go deaf in one ear.  “That's what I get for tryin' t'be impressive...” he grumbled, pulling himself upright at the same time as Filia.  Another one of the bikers ran past, pursuing a villager, and the heavy-set man caught him by the shoulder.  “Hey!”  He shouted, still deafened.  “Will ya stop goin' after the people already?  There's people come to stop us—look!  That kid over there's just shooting us!  Take whatever stuff you got an' run!  If ya kill anyone ya deserve t'be killed.”  He shoved the other mook away, who ignored him and charged toward Jax.  Swearing, the heavy-set man turned to look at Filia, now running toward him.  “Don't matter if I am a thief, I'll fight ya fair and square!  Gimme yer best shot!”

The next moment, a cluster of hairbundles all shaped like brushes, scissors, or combs all collided with his face.  Having performed a jump-in attack, Filia landed and followed up with a light punch and light kick before crouching.  She continued the chain attack with an upward sweep of her hair, then slipped her hair around her foot for a low drill kick.  The biker took all these attacks, but when Filia dropped her combo the next instant, he struck back with an double-fisted overhead.  Sensing her mistake, the schoolgirl tried to block, but her foe's attack went over her block and clocked her on the noggin.  Now stunned, Filia fell subject to a low knee, a followup low knee, and a shouldercharge that knocked her back.  No stranger to being knocked down, Filia sprang up again thanks to Samson, who then sent a ringlet spike into the ground to catch the fat biker unawares.  However dumb he looked, the cannoneer did not fall for it, instead crouching down to block before jumping in once the ringlet spike ended.  Seeing her chance, Filia called, “updo!” prompting Samson to open his mouth wide and propel her into the air.  The uppercut gouged into the biker mid-attack, throwing him down to land ponderously on the earth.

Now both breathed heavily, particularly the fat man as he drew himself up.  Filia stood, chest heaving, her hair gathered into tentacles to grab the biker and slam him around should Samson have the strength.  She scowled as ferociously as she could, though her parasite did better, and said, “G-get lost!  Your gang is f-finished!”

The biker grinned.  “Nah, I think I'm stickin' around!  The others all like pickin' on the weak, but I like fair fights!  You 'n me gonna fight until one of us drops—I don't care if I go to jail or not!”  He pulled a cigar from a pocket and pressed it against his smoldering hair.  It lit up, smoking profusely, and with little ceremony he crushed it between his palms before throwing it at Filia.  Samson brought int an overlarge bang to block the projectile, but on contact it burst into a miniature cloud of smoke, obscuring Filia's view and causing her to cough.  The fat man thundered forward in a special shoulder-charge, ready to bull his opponent down.

[b]”Hah, you got guts for a thief!  Fenris...”[/b]  Grunting in surprise, the biker's charge was interrupted as Samson unfurled into a larger and stronger version of Updo, which carried him into the air as Filia shot skyward.  While both were airborne, Filia's hair rearranged into the form of a huge wolf beneath her, with Samson's yellow eyes and toothy grin.  He clamped down on the biker, both parasite and host yelled, [b]”DRIVE!”[/b], and all three cannoned into the ground.  When the dust cleared, Filia stood above the fat biker, arms crossed and hair back to normal.  [b]”Done yet?”[/b] demanded Samson.

Dazed but not unconscious, the brute groaned.  “Ah...yeah, yeah.  Won't...move.  Dunno if I can.”  He lay still, trying to regain his breath, as Filia dashed off.  “What a day...”

[center][h3][b][color=yellow]DIO - Roanapur Bay[/color][/b][/h3]
[@gamegurugg][@invisible man][/center]

With the rather uninspiring fight concluded, a potential concern from earlier wormed its way into DIO's mind, prompting him to turn his eyes toward the sky.  For now the day remained overcast, blanketing the nonsensical City with a downy sheet of gray, but a bothersome itching sensation across every inch of the vampire's skin told him that the convenient cloud cover wouldn't be covering his weakness much longer.  A very short period of consideration later, he determined it to be the best option to retire to Hotel California and continue poring through his book.  By chance he recalled the exact degree to which Juri assisted him during the skirmish with Forneus, and bereft of much good nature DIO turned to bring this matter up to her.

Instead, he found himself offered a folder.  After giving Juri a questioning look he received the item and scanned its contents.  [color=yellow]”I suppose a little bloodshed would liven up the day.  Usually, I'm not one to go out and do dirty work myself, but having been stolen into this mad world I don't imagine my [i]modus operandi[/i] matters.  Very well, then.  Let us find some method of transport and get going.”[/color]  He observed as Juri tapped her head, seeing the restored power within her left eye.  Prior to now, he had not considered the martial artist sharing the fuel source typical to engines, and that a lack of power might excuse her inability to attack Forneus.  He shrugged, turning away, and remarked.  [color=yellow]”I have no doubts you'll pull your weight this time.”[/color]

The trip, boring as it was, passed quickly.  At the gangsters' direction, the trio passed through the outskirts of Roanapur to the docks, were ushered onto a boat, and set off.  DIO managed to survive the totally unstimulating series of events by withdrawing into contemplation aboard the ship, surfacing from his thoughts of language and English history only to heave a sigh for how little he enjoyed being on boats.  When the craft's stern touched short, the jarring impact knocked the vampire from his reverie, and without further ado DIO stretched himself and sauntered forth.  [color=yellow]”Dragon riders...”[/color] he murmured as the castle drew into view, baring his teeth as the cloud cover grew ever weaker.  [color=yellow]”I'm excited to see a creature of legend brought to life, but to return it to fiction will be even more rewarding.”[/color]