[b]Lily vs Smiler Round 3[/b]
Still smiling, and not very hurt. 

Her attack would have caved in the ribcage of any human, crushing the lungs and heart. And this thing was [i]still[/i] going? Still able to stand up in spite of such a grievous injury. 

She was more angry than shocked. Why couldn't it just stay down? Leave this world, give its soul to her, and bring her one step closer to getting her wish? She struggled to stand, the pain in her thigh intense even after the healing draught, and wiped the tears from her eyes, bringing the rising monstrosity back into clear view. That smile infuriated her. It was wicked, malignant, and reminded her all too much of the bastard Endolans. So sure of themselves. So self-righteous and arrogant. She grit her teeth and snarled, their eyes meeting through the falling dust- and smokecloud. 

It ground Its swords together, creating a loud, grating noise. His other pair of hands were blessedly empty, his rifle lost when Lily blasted him back. "So, Kitty... Your best shot, was it?" He chuckled. A wet, ugly sound. "Not enough. Gonna stick your tail between your legs, now?" 

Lily dared not look away. She could see the other gun in his belt, and knew that he was almost as fast as she was. If she gave him the chance, he could shoot her again. "I have no intentions of running," she muttered to herself and flicked one of her tails. An orb of fire was flung seemingly from the tip, rocketing towards her enemy. He sidestepped and it blew up a cloud of dust beside him where it landed. 

"Come now, little girl. You have done better. Show me your fiiire!" 

[i]If that is what he wants.[/i] Her tails started moving behind her; a slow ebb and flow, and with it appeared several orbs of cobalt flame around her. Her tails whipped forward and sent the orbs on their way, like a deadly wall of fire. 

It danced to the side again, avoiding most and- Lily's eyes widened. His maw opened to fill his entire face, and [i]swallowed[/i] what few flames would have hit him, leaving no damage or injury on him. The rest exploded beside him, throwing up more dust which was starting to obscure him and his surroundings. 

She hadn't the time to contemplate how or what, when his maw opened and regurgitated flame, throwing the same blue fire back at her. Fast as it was, it was no bullet. She sidestepped deftly, which turned into a stumble as she put weight on her injured leg. The report of a gun followed, and she felt the whoosh of air as it passed by where her head had been a fraction of a second ago. She wasted no time and turned her stumble into a roll, then bit her tongue and [i]pushed[/i] through the pain, bursting into a run towards cover. 

Two more gunshots followed her, both missing by mere inches, before being interrupted by the sound of metal against flesh, and the stomping feet of a giant, mechanized shark. 

[hr]

"Thanks for the dust-cover, boss!" Brucie shouted, already following up on his initial strike. The creep lay sprawled not far from him, jaw broken from where he had hit him first. Creeper scrambled to his feet and lashed out with the swords, which went ignored as Brucie threw another haymaker. It only graced him—damn guy was as quick as Fox-Boss!—but it was enough to force him back, out of immediate range. Nevertheless, Brucie grinned, feeling the thrill of the fight. 

Lily's dustcloud and explosions had given him the perfect opportunity to approach both unseen and unheard, timing his steps with the sounds of her explosions, and finally with the gunfire of the creep. And now he was finally part of the fight. He didn't even feel the two cuts in his chest, and didn't care if it was from his unique alterations or just the sheer excitement of getting to [i]punch[/i] someone again. 

He let out a sound somewhere between a roar and a laugh and jumped forward, bringing down both clawed hands in a hammerblow. Creeper tried to divert it, but the weight and power behind it was too much. The blow clipped him on the bead and forced one of the swords out of his hand. 

"Sooo. Brought a big friiend, did shee?" The dude commented, dancing around Brucie's next punch. 

"Shut up and fight!" Brucie exclaims, continuing his assault with increasing ferocity. Most swings are dodged, but some scored glancing blows and left cuts bleeding blood far darker than it should be. 

Behind him, he dimly heard the sound of footsteps. The annoyingly fast thing before him seemed to have noticed as well, as his head briefly jerked that way, the huge grin on his face widening. This gave Brucie the opportunity he needed. So he lunged, biting down on the Creeper's shoulder, fangs sinking deep and eliciting a loud screech of pain. Brucie wrenched at his shoulder and arm, feeling the flesh give under his jaws. 

He added his claws, tearing at the thing's body, scoring hit after hit even as he received such in return. He even felt the gunshots that went into his abdomen but didn't let up. He had his prey in his jaws, and he was [i]not[/i] letting go. 

"Leet goo!" The Creeper screamed, slashing at Brucie's arms with his remaining sword but achieving nothing but scratching the metal. He thrashed and hit again and again, pummelling Brucie with everything he had. "Leet go or she'll kill us both!" 

She? Kill us? That must mean Lily. The mention of her brought to his attention the crackle of fire, and the new source of blue-ish light tinting the area around them. He grinned around the mouthful of shoulder. He knew Lily better than that. She may act grouchy and sour all the time, but he had seen her when she wasn't fighting, when she thought no one looked. He had seen her care, had seen her smile. She had treated an enemy like him with respect, and even shown him mercy when he would have shown her none. 

So he grinned, and let out a muffled laught, and then he [i]pulled.[/i] He could hear the sound of flesh tearing, bone splitting and being pulled apart, as easily as he could taste the rancid blood. 

She spit the lumb of flesh in the face of his prey, then grabbed the sword-arm mid-swing and brought his face right down to his. "She won't," he growled. 

And just as he did, the voice of Lily came from behind. "Brucie, MOVE!" And he did. He jumped backwards, just in time for the first orb of fiery death to streak forward, hitting the prone creep. It was followed by another, and then another. 

Like an elemental of fire itself, dozens upon dozens of blue flames surrounded her, coating both her tails and hair and and nearly forming a corona around her. Each orb a wound in and of itself, but together they were a death sentence. Every orb that she sent forward, the writhing sea of blue that were her tails conjured a replacement. 

And this power... This rage and ruthlessness was new. Brucie had seen her Mercy when they fought. He had seen her kindness when the dog came to them. He had even seen her regret when she faced off against the musician. There was none of this now. Only a relentless onslaught and a determination to [i]destroy.[/i] 

It was as if the revelation brought with it a sense of fatigue. He slumped and fell backwards into a sitting position, metallic arms keeping him up. 

[hr]

Lily took a deep breath, and then let it out thereby extinguishing the remaining orbs of fire surrounding her. Her tails returned to their white colour, as did her hair turn black again. Off to the side she saw Brucie sitting, looking at her. And in front of her... A blackened husk, or what remained of it. Though the explosive power of her individual Wisp was low, add a few hundred and even a durable body would be blown apart. 

She slowly stepped over to it, keeping herself straight in spite of her exhaustion, caused in equal parts by bloodloss and exertion. Much as she expected, there was little left but burnt flesh and charred pieces of plastic and metal. She couldn't even identify the phylactery. Not that it mattered. Her opponent was dead, and that was the important part. 

Leaving behind the corpse, she approached Brucie, her expression softening somewhat. "Thank you," she said slowly, tasting the words. She wasn't used to them. "You saw the cover I made and used it to your benefit. I... I'm not sure how I would've fared without your help."

Brucie just grinned. "I'm not as big an idiot as you think I am. May be a shark, but they [i]did[/i] make him as smart as a human." He cleared his throat. "Though... Think you could bring that flask? You look pretty bummed up and, I—uuh—I could use a bit of help myself," he said and looked down at himself, indicating the three, bleeding, gunshots in his lower abdomen, and tail, as well as the half dozen or so cuts across his body. 

She nodded and pushed herself upright, ignoring the pain that seemed to permeate her entire body. She, too, wouldn't mind a drink of liquid gold. It was a good thing that she had chosen to leave the flask behind, otherwise it would probably have melted in the inferno she had created. 

She returned with it moments later, finding that Brucie had already opened the faucet that had once been his water cannon. Bad as she felt, the bleeding from his wounds was severe, so she offered him the first drink. When he refused she stuffed it in his mouth instead, threatening with another electrocution should he so much as try to spit any of it out. Only when she saw his wounds start to close did she fill it again, this time draining it herself. 

"So... Creepy guy done for. What next?"

Lily sighed, then grimaced as she felt the bullet that had lodged itself in her stomach be pushed out, and finally looked up towards the ceiling of the cavern, to where the drone hovered. "Now," she said, "we wait for the pompous prick to bring me my prize for winning this round. Then we continue."