[center][h2][color=turquoise]The Cereal Killer[/color][/h2]
[@BCTheEntity][@Lugubrious][/center]

The cap'n's eyes shot open cartoonishly wide as his honeytrap shot had been intercepted and destroyed before even reaching the twins by some unseen force. This had to be one of the stands at work. Probably not the brother's, since the journal only mentioned that it countered other stand attacks, which meant it had to be the sister's. She had indeed just pointed directly at him, and that meant he was about to have a very bad time indeed. [color=turquoise]"Bori bori grapeshot!"[/color] he called out, flinging up enough hard cereal pellets in front of his raft to form a thin barrier to intercept any stand-rockets. A number of explosions disturbed the water, tossing his raft to and fro on the newly formed waves. The largest rocket, unseen by Runch, made it through the barrier. What would have been a direct hit on the pirate instead ended up hitting his raft thanks to the rocking waves, so instead of blowing up in a fiery explosion, his only means of transportation was blown apart in a fiery explosion.

[color=turquoise]"GAH!"[/color] he cried out, waving his arms and legs frantically as though he were trying to fly. No, not again. His jet technique could propel him in quick bursts, and flying had proven critical against Motley Crue, but it was incredibly clumsy. This inviso-rocket lady would blow him out of the air in an instant. Instead he would have to stick to his element: the sea. [color=turquoise]"Bori bori pillar!"[/color]

A fraction of a second before making contact with the water's surface, Runch thrust both palms directly downward. Out emerged a large square platform, giving him about 2 meters of solid surface to land on. It extended downward until hitting the ground beneath the flood waters, securing his life. At least that's how he had intended things to go, but it had appeared that his vampiric companion had his own ideas on how to help save Runch's life. That ripple power Motley possessed forced the water to jut upward in a hard cushioned pillar. The two pillars collided, Motley's water pillar having a stronger force behind it, which ultimately sent the pirate captain flying even higher and farther up! [color=turquoise]"Waaaah! Mister Cruuue! Stop helping meeee!"[/color]

At least his situation had tossed him quite clear of the falling church tower! And come to think of it, he was flying-er, falling with style-directly toward the twins! Once he recomposed himself in the air, Runch called upon his powers again, placing the heel of each palm together, hands facing down toward his opponents in a very kamehamehadoken stance. [color=turquoise]"Bori bori firehose, full nozzel: Hellberry recipe!"[/color] As he fell toward his foes, the cap'n did his best to reign fire down upon them with his exploding cereal. The reasoning for this tactic was twofold. Part one, he needed a constant stream of something destructive to intercept any invisible rockets heading his way, and part two because these opponents had already proven to require some measure of more extreme force to be subdued.

[hr][hr]

[center][h2][color=darkviolet]The Murder[/color][/h2]
[@Roughdragon1][@Lugubrious][/center]

Samuel Raven observed the mage's minions do battle with the strange creatures encountered in the alleyway. Short though the fight was, it had been a brutal affair, resulting in the deaths of many minions. Despite the body count, the mage didn't appear to be bothered at all by the loss of his thralls. Sam surmised this likely meant they were either easily replaceable, or recovered in a short period of time to be resummoned. In any case, he felt this was not yet the time to reveal his presence, for a great many dangers still lurked in the corners of this bizarre cityscape. No, laying low remained the best course of action. Should any more creatures seek to do battle, best to let the mage handle the heavy lifting. If the man struggled, then Sam would jump in. If the man appeared weakened after a skirmish, then Sam could introduce himself with minimal risk of danger from the summoner. Now was not that time.

The stealthy magician tailed his target expertly. He could have marked this man with his Needs Must, but doing so always took some energy. He wouldn't consider it unless he were in danger of losing the summoner, which wasn't a problem thus far. If anything, following his mark had grown easier over time. The roads and streets of the city grew dirtier, trashier, and more dilapidated. This gave him far more hiding places, and so he could close the distance fairly well whilst remaining silent. 

Eventually the two came upon a bridge leading to a small island. Samuel remained a safe distance behind whilst the man he followed examined a sign reading, "Welcome to the Village." Well, not exactly the most creative of names, but at least it was a frame of reference. More importantly, Samuel could see how the mage interacted with the natives, and based on that he could gauge danger and threat levels. As long as the area remained safe enough, this could be a prime opportunity to gather information as to his whereabouts. That's when Samuel saw a piece of street art on a fire station nearby. The creature reminded him of a previous adventure in the mountains, before he had told his friends what he really was. A bipedal beast with antlers, it was reminiscent of the wendigo they had faced off against. The severe injuries he had suffered back then returned fresh in his memory. He'd almost died because he refused to use his powers where others could discover him. That had been rather foolish.