[center][u][b]Part 2 of the Ongoing Collab Between Lost, Skai, and Sage[/u][/b][/center] ---- Arianna paced in front of Kisheto, biting her lip nervously out of habit. She glanced up at the top floor, where Iktomi had disappeared. Her mind had been cleared of most of the thoughts, giving her a little leeway towards hearing her own a little better. As a telepathic, it was hard to be able to have your own thoughts when surrounded by people. She wasn't worried about Iktomi, moreso anticipating whether she would get to meet the Golden Mercenaries or not. Perhaps she could ask Kisheto about them, since he was a part of the movement? She turned to look at him, then stopped her pacing and ran a hand through her hair. She would ask him after he got medical attention, unless he magically healed himself before. How could the kage live within Kisheto without presenting itself? How could Kisheto not feel the presence of another soul binded with his own? She could, and it was still a strange sensation compared to the other twenty years of having only her soul inside of her. Kisheto chuckled softly after coughing once more. He then raised a brow and sat up right, shrugging as he felt no pain. He turned to Arianna and titled his his head to the side, "W-wait, so... why did you follow that needle freak? You whoop ass too? Cuz, really, this isn't a place for someone so..." he squinted, holding his tongue as he feared sounding sexist, "... fragile." Arianna turned to look at him, taking a deep breath. "I may look fragile, but I've taken down hosts much stronger than you. Usually I just use their weaknesses against them, but when that's not enough, I always have my rapier." She gestured to it. As she did so, Kisheto chuckled, "Wh-what? Did you just call me a..." he then began laughing while clutching the spot where his wound used to be involuntarily. "I'm not a ho! YOU'RE a ho!" he said half-laughing childishly, his cheeks pressed up against his eyes. Arianna frowned lightly, furrowing her brows in concern. "You've lost too much blood. Either your kage is mute, or you're just denying what has happened to you. It's odd that you don't remember binding with your kage." Kisheto's laughter faded and he shook his head, "Nah, I've got blo- Oh shit, um, I didn't mean to call you a... yeah. Sorry bout that." He said, looking down and shaking his head at his inappropriate comment. "Heh, yah save me and I call yah a ho. Pardon my manners, yo. But yeah, I'm no ho and I have no memory of binding with a cod gay. Sorry, yo." He chuckled once more, rubbing the back of his head as he contemplated whether or not he had, in fact, lost too much blood. Arianna chuckled, watching him. "I think you have lost too much blood." She sighed softly and sat down next to him, watching the other side of the mall where the battle raged on. "You have a kage within you, Kisheto. I'm afraid you're a "freak", too." Kisheto looked at Arianna and smiled mockingly, "Wow, so first I'm a ho, now I'm a freak?" he chuckled and looked at the other side of the mall as she did. "Nah I'm playin. But trust me, yo. I have no kage. I've been here for a year, I would know if I had a monster inside my body, y'know? Uh... no offense. Heard some of 'em are nice, too." As he spoke, his voice reflected a certain tint of jealousy, as if he felt overly "normal" in comparison to the girl he spoke to. Arianna glanced over at him, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lip. "It all depends on the kage, and how it affects the person. I've seen hosts with kamikages go mad with power, and then I've seen hosts with onikages suppress the urges and whispers in their minds to live a half-normal life. Either way, we all want out of Sovereign." Kisheto smiled and nodded, "Yup, yup. Don't worry, yo. We'll get out. Hell, I'll break us out myself if I gotta, with or without mutant powers," he chuckled softly as he finished his sentence, but felt his eyelids grow heavy. He shook his head to ward off the fatigue but he couldn't deny it - he was beyond tired, and the wave of fatigue had hit him unexpectedly. At the same time, however, his wounds were completely healed, and the sounds of three bullets hitting the ground woke him up from a microsleep once more. He sighed and eventually gave in, his head slumping against the wall behind him as his vision went to black. "Just watch me.... yo...." Arianna's eyes widened, standing up as she looked down at the three bullets. His ability was astonishing, and she wondered how this power could go so unnoticed. Gingerly, she reached down and picked one up, feeling it to make sure it was real. It was definitely dented where it had connected with bone, and a little cracked, but there wasn't much blood or bits of bone on it. She let the bullet drop to the ground and sighed softly. These kages never ceased to amaze her. ---- "NO! IT WON'T WORK! NEVER!" Robert yelled as his arm failed to move. He had been pressed backwards by a great ton, as Iktomi's attacks prevented him from charging in and pushing too offensively. At the same time, Ishigo's sneaky offense kept him focused on defense, and Julian would function as the primary distraction. Robert growled and raised his right leg, quickly coating it in the black steel before thrusting it towards the ground. However, the second he did this, Ishigo shot forward from behind his shadow - a position he had worked for so long to obtain. With a quick pulling motion, he created a thick vine-like shape out of the rest of Robert's shadow and sent it spiraling around his leg. Using every ounce of his strength, he pulled, and spun around, tightening the grip around his leg and holding it above the ground by mere inches. "Ugh.... GET HIM!" Ishigo yelled between grit teeth. As he yelled this, the remaining Golden Mercenaries fired their rifles at him, which he easily deflected by transofrming the targeted vital areas into the impenetrable metal. Ishigo noticed this and grunted one last time. With a tremendous strain, he let go of the vine for a split second and then pulled an squeezed with all his might until the shadow completely coiled to the point of collapsing within itself. With a loud splatter and scream, Robert fell to the ground, having lost his entire right leg, which was crushed to nothingness in a mere second. Right at that second, Julian rematerialized from above and fell onto Robert's kneeling body, slamming his foot down upon his head. Robert's head slammed against the ground as well, and Julian immediately shot backwards in a trail of smoke, leaving the man trembling on the ground. Iktomi grunted as he pushed himself back onto his feet. For the first time he was feeling the drain on his spirit from all of his strenous activities. [i]'Damn this is not good. I need to get stronger....I NEED MORE.'[/i] His eyes tracked the quick movements of both Ishigo and Julian pummeling Robert to the best of their abilities, demolishing the gang leader before they sent him into the wall. Iktomi clenched his fist, forcing the threads all around to gather together before spinning together into a lance. Iktomi slowly walked towards the now prone Robert, cradling his right hand against his chest as the pain turned to numbness. "You are pathetic Robert. How could a man like you ever have caught my team. It is time for me to send you away from this world." Slashing his hand down Iktomi sent the lance straight towards the eye of Robert, as his metal exoskelton had yet to break down. Robert couldn't even raise an arm in defense after the abuse he had taken at the hands of the Mercs and Iktomi. He could only widen his eyes before his life was extinguished. Closing the rest of the distance between himself and the now dead Robert, Iktomi dropped to his knees. Absorbing the spirit of the gang leader, Iktomi moved to the side and rested against the wall beside the man. [i]'Ari I may need assistance getting back to the platform. I am on the fourth floor; just follow the carnage.'[/i]