[center][h2]A Fight With a Monster[/h2]
Collab between Xodus and Konan[/center]


A loud roar echoed throughout the building, loud enough to shatter windows and splinter wood, the creature's expression also warped into something primal. The massive Chimera glared at Lawrence, the flashbang that was aimed at it's head barely left it dazed. 

"You have to try harder...little alchemist," the creature spoke in a guttural accent while licking it's teeth. It's human like eyes scrutinizing each of the Asylums present, weighing them, considering which to feast on first. 

"I think you angered it," Angel spoke with an indifferent shrug, though where as one moment he was in front of the Asylums as if a beacon of defense, now he stood behind SenDep and the Banshees. Each body an obstacle to cross to reach the notorious Lost Number, the 'Lazy Asylum'. 

"As far as plans go, that was terrible," Angel crowed while seated on a couch, far back. His fingers tapping the frame of his spectacles in a slow monotonous rythym. "Oh look, he is charging again," Angel didn't need to point for the others to notice the Crocodile sub-human start to dash towards Lawrence in all his primal fury. 

Lawrence smiled grimly. Despite whatever Angel said, his plan was working. While the beast was focused on him, it allowed the other Asylums to come up with a way to beat it. Well, the ones who were helping. He shot a dark glare at Angel as he backpeddled away from the Chimera. He made a dropping motion as he muttered under his breath. As the Chimera passed over the spot he was moments before, a loud creaking noise came from the floor, as if it were caving in.

Olivia, in the meantime ran over to the couch where Angel was sitting, and more importantly, the table in front of the man. "You using this? No? Okay, thanks." She said as she swiped all the contents off the table, uncaring of where any of the discarded alcohol went. She sang under her breath as she used Thorne as a stylus on the wooden top, drawing a large sigil.

Before the Chimera could reach close enough to Lawrence the floor suddenly appeared to give way, the creature howling its agitation as it plummeted a floor down with most of the floor crashing ontop of it in a cloud of rubble and smoke. 

"Nasty things Chimeras, you kids have probably read the theory behind them," Angel continued tapping the frame of his glasses while observing Olivia. "Quite a feat to makeone, and a damnable offense," he spoke with a grimace. "Human transmutation, there is a reason it is considered forbidden and tabboo. You change yourself to the cellular level, rewriting your genetic structure.....becoming something monstrous. A permanent hell in your own skin." As the Lost Number spoke his fingers slowly balled into a fist, his eyebrows narrowed as if recalling seomthing. "Not much chance stopping it with such B rate alchemy," he shrugged once more and as if on que the creature leapt up once more. 

An animalistic laugh escaped the creature's lips as it's tail whipped about slashing the floor and furniture in it's path. "More....MORE!" 

Olivia glared at Angel. "Well, maybe if you spoke less and-" She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Lawrence! Close your channel!" She shouted to her partner.

[i]Can't. You're my ears.[/i]

"Well I don't need your frustration, cool it down!"

Olivia's sigil was done. She grabbed the center of the table and pulled. The surface shrunk as she pulled a rod from the center. The table continued to shrink until Olivia had a hammer the size of a quarter staff. The weight wasn't right, but it would work. 

"Poking a crocodile with a stick....brilliant!" 

"I'm making due with what I have, okay?" Oliva glared at Angel, this time with her own anger. 

Angel quickly raised his arms in a mock surrender, a coy smile on his face. "Did you know when you splice yourself alchemically with something else, you gain their properties, enhanced by alchemy of course?" The man continued, the smile never leaving his face. "Not all properties are helpful, crocodiles can't generate body heat.....must hate the cold eh?" 

Olivia gripped her hammer tighter as she considered smacking him with the butt end of it. She glared at Angel before she slumped slightly and smiled. "Oh, you are terrible. Has anybody told you that?" 

"Everyday, except the words are a bit explicit." 

"I don't doubt it." With that said, Olivia dropped her newly made hammer and called out to Lawrence.

"Keep it busy just a bit longer."

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Olivia shook her head and started a song. Slowly, scorchmarks formed on the floor. It would take some time bfore the sigil was ready. 

While Olivia prepared her sigil the creature had grown discontent with merely circling it's prey, the Chimera, finally, lunged once more albeit far more inteliigently this time. It's footing was more calculated as it charged while bearing its claws, slashing at Lawrence. Even the monstrosity's tail had joined the frey, whipping about mercilessly. The attacks a blur, striking from multiple positions at unimaginable speed.

Lawrence grimmaced at the increased pace of the attacks. It didn't help that the one who could possibly do something against this monster was just idly sitting by while everyone else dealt with it. With a few words here and there, Lawrence was able to keep just out of reach of the creatures attacks, but he couldn't do that for long. He glanced at the scorchmarks cralwing along the floor. With the center of this circle being the hole in the floor that led to the bomb. 

They were nearly done. All Lawrence had to do was lead it to as close to the center as it could be. He started making small gusts of cold between him and the Chimera, and a small bubble of heat appeared near the center of the circle 

Each flurry of attacks slowed as the cold did it's work, lethargy seeping into the Chimera, it's muscles cramping and eyes bloodshot from rage. Animalistic Instinct had suddenly taken over reason as the creature found itself attracted towards the location where the heat emenated from. 

There! Olivia smiled as the Chimera crossed the threshold of her sigil. With a shout, she activated the sigil. Heat was sucked out of the circle and siphoned to the area outside, leaving the center frigid.. The marks burned away as her alchemy worked. It was a huge draw, though, and Olivia collapsed into the seat next to Angel.

Lawrence had taken a seat in one of the surprisngly upright chairs outside the sigil and watched the Chimera closely.

"As far as B rate alchemy goes," Angel crowed while observing the ice encompass the howling Chimera. "That was pretty good. All in all a good team effort," even he couldn't help smirking at that last bit. 

"As far as...commentary goes...I found it a bit lacking" Olivia managed between breaths. A smile on her face.

"Now you are just being spiteful child, what's a devil that doesn't whisper?" 

"I dunnoe, a good one?" Olivia had caught her breah and smirked at Angel.

"I suppose I shall have to strive towards exellence, no promises though. It may surprise you, but I don't enjoy 'hard work'." The Lost Number chuckled, the paradox of a 'Good Devil', now that was amusing. "Ah yes, I almost forgot. We have roughly eight minutes." Though before Angel could stress on that concern a greater concern had seemed to interupt them. The prison of ice that had enveloped the Chimera had suddenly started to thaw, the pace shockingly rapid until the Chimera broke free, shards of ice raining down. 

"Eight minutes for wh-" Olivia flinched as the Chimera exploded out of its icy prison. 

"Oh..." There wasn't much more she could do. Freezing the creature was her big move. If that didn't stop it, she wasn't sure what else would. She paused as an idea occured to her. She might have enough to do just that. 

As soon as the creature had broken free, there was a strange change in the atomosphere. It wasn't physichal, no heat nor good, but a strange feeling as if the air itself had thickened, as if something poisonous had melded into it. 

"This..." Angel, who by now was standing, not behind but in front of both Olivia and Lawrence. The casual demeanour had all but disappeared as the Lost Number stood motionless, smothered in a cold and unreal serenity. Though if one would attune their senses they would see. The strange presence had not been manifested through the creature, but Angel. If Bloodlust could have been felt and tasted, then that is what flowed from the Blood Draped Angel. 

"This....is...the same...as then....," Angel continued, his tone ice cold. "It activated an alchemic drive," as Angel spoke those words, the reality should have sunk in. Every Asylum is debriefed in the taboo arts, at least the one's they are allowed to know. In regards to Chimera, one thing is certain, a fact. Chimeras cannot use their alchemic drive to cast alchemy, instead alchemy flows directly in them binding them to be the monsters they are. The ice that had been thawed, that was done through alchemy and the alchemic drive belonged to the thing. 

"That's possible?" Olivia hauled herself to her feet. 

"No, this is something different. I knew....someone.." Angel replied crypticaly, surrounded by an aura of bloodlust he raised his gaze to meet that of the Chimera. 

"You still remember?" The creature responded, while its accent remained guttral and inhuman, it's vocabulary and speech patterns were completely different. "Are you still holding a grudge about the children?" 

For a few minutes Angel merely stood motionless, his gaze fixiated at the Chimera as if looking past it and at someone else. "You both should Overdrive, or you will die." 

Olivia and Lawrence shared a glance and nodded. Lawrence started muttering and making gestures while Olivia started singing. Slowly, she raised the intesity of pain felt on the creature, and when she was done, a bubble of air shimmered around the creatures head. Lawrence flooded the bubble with deafening sound. Olivia hoped that it would work and the creature would pass out from the pain, or take a few steps backwards into the hole.

While the duo activated their Overdrive Angel merely whispered a single word, 

"Aegis"

Adhereing his command, Angel's coffin suddenly appeared before him. While the metal casket remained closed, from both its sides a compartment instantly stretched out. One of the compartments held an assortment of various weaponry and ammunitions while the other held a trench coat that appeared to writhe and ripple. 

"You will burn for what you have done, let me show you hell." Angel replied, his hand outstretched towards the writhing fabric that appeared to react to the motion and then in an instant the trenchcoat burst into seams, wrapping around the Lost Number until he finally stood draped in his gunmetal overcoat. 

Angel couldn't help but smile, relishing in the pain that wrought the creature, it's howls a symphony simply not loud enough. It was obvious the duo's overdrive was achieving results, the Chimera clawed at its own ears while its tail whipped about madly. The motion resulting in sudden bursts of air, the intensity strong enough to slice through flesh, the creature was using wind alchemy. 

The Lost Number however made sure to stand close enough to intercept any rogue wind slices before they could reach SenDep or the Banshees. His coat continuing to writhe, sharp spikes extending from the coat itself to defend against the Chimera's attacks. 

Lawrence watched as the creature writhed in pain. Even in so much pain it could still cast alchemy, which was concerning.He looked at Olivia. [i]Push on three. One...two...three![/i] 

Olivia's song changed tune and Lawrence made a pushing motion with his hands. The both of them condensed the air in front of the Chimera and forced it upon the beast. They were slowly, but surely, pushing the creature backwards, back towards the hole in the floor.

The creature howled in its primal fury, trying to lash out at anything and everything as it was slowly pushed back while blood seeped out of its ears. However right when a single step remained to plummeting back down the hole, which had already begun to radiate a glow that signified the end was nearing, the creature appeared to regain its footing. Its haunting face glaring at the two Asylums, it's eyes screaming revenge. 

"Stubborn filth," as soon as the words passed Angel's lips his coat appeared to liquify and assimilate towards his hand, the shape solidifying into that of a massive silver Javeline/spear. And with an alchemically enhanced thrust the spear found its mark, stabbing through the creature's stomach afterwhich countless silver tendrils spiked out of it, piercing the creature further. With that it fell.

"Teleport out, back to the bunker, now." Angel's urgency was further justified by the sudden tremors that had began the buildings collapse while the radiating light grew even brighter. Without waiting for Sendep Angel recalled his garment and coffin and approached the Banshees, a hand on their shoulders. 

"Now aren't you glad I made you invisible to that thing?" And with that they vanished. 

Olivia glanced around the now ruined bar and walked over to Lawrence. "I have heard rumors about Ante Mortem, but I really thought they were exaggerations." Lawrence stared at Olivia blankly. 

"Well, now you know that they aren't." 

"But that raises so many more questions. I mean, if these stories aren't false, how did they end up destroying the pyrami-"

And like that, Ouroboros was empty of Asylums, and a few seconds after that, there was no Ouroboros, the bomb eradicated it all. 

[center][h2][b]~End Of Chapter One~[/b][/h2][/center]