[sub][h3][center]T H E   P R O M I S E[/center][/h3][/sub][hr]

It hurt.

It had been a long time since he had experienced pain like this. It was a wet, crunchy feeling that was distinctly uncomfortable. Feeling shards of one’s sternum being damaged would do that to you.

Blood of different viscosities and shades of red flowed from the wound, and that was perhaps the biggest shame of all. He could [i]feel[/i] himself becoming weaker from the strike. He was still alright, though. His internals were... kinda messy? Mixed around, having stuff that’s unrecognizable, but the standard organs were still hanging around. His unnatural and abnormal setup had spared him being fatally injured. 

Death Head looked down at her and shifted his weight backwards. If he had flesh to make expressions, Death Head would probably be grimacing and royally pissed off. The giant grabbed Natalie by her face and by her arm and tore her from his body. He screeched again, unconsciously pulling at her blood once more. At such close range, Natalie would undoubtedly feel him literally tugging the life force out of her body.

He wasn’t as physically strong as her, but she was small and light. He pulled her up in the air by he head and drove her into the concrete face first. He released her for but a moment, only to wail on her body once with a closed fist, finishing by grabbing Natalie by her hair and throwing her away from him. He did not let up for a moment, charging in the direction he had thrown her. His simple mind deciding that he would kill her.

Or die trying.

[hr]

The sprinklers were not something Salamandra was unused to. Her heat usually generated fire, which in turn meant smoke, which set off the sprinklers. You get the idea- so those didn’t particularly bother her. What did surprise her though, was the smoke that the girl had thrown right into her face. Most of the time she could get used to it, and simply burn it out before it even reached her if she was burning hot enough, but this had come out of seemingly nowhere. This girl had no problems with fighting naked as the day she was born. Salamandra could respect that.

Her foot came down, but Lynn had shifted to take advantage of Salamandra’s disorientation. Her eyes stung, and as she rubbed at them she left herself wide open for Lynn’s sucker-punch to the groin.

“Sonnova bitch!” She shouted, stumbling back a few paces, her hands instinctively losing their heat and pressing on her groin. She herself wad not above punching below the belt, but that didn’t make her feel any less slighted when it happened to her. Pain addled, frustrated, and with her pride damaged, Salamandra swore she was going to make this bitch suffer before she died. She turned, her own eyes going stark white as they had before. “C’mere!”

Salamandra half stumbled, half lunged forward, grabbing Lynn by what was left of her clothing and her shoulders, and pulled her in while also driving her forehead towards Lynn’s nose.

[sub][h3][center]Archie[/center][/h3][/sub][hr]

Archie’s heart was beating incredibly fast now. But it had not just speed, but power too. It pounded hard against his chest as it swelled in size to support his rapidly growing body. It was as if a war drum had taken the organ’s place, the intensity was so high it was audible.

[i] “Archie, if you can hear me, go for Salamandra—glowing hands. Her hands are glowing. Or the skull—blood-headed guy outside. He’s big,”[/i]

Archie could feel Keaton’s heat next to him. He could smell her fear. In a brief moment of perfect clarity, something profoundly sad entered his eyes, his head cocking to one side as he met Keaton’s gaze. And then there was only pain, and an icy-cold rage that sent his jowls curling in a snarl and a growl through his chest. But his eyes? They stayed the same, holding Keaton’s stare for a few more seconds until they shifted into the milky luminescence of the beast.

There was water falling on him. It felt good, soothing even. It was cool, which eased his newly formed but sore muscles. It reminded him of rain. The sound of rain against the deck of the boat had always been his favorite sound growing up. His back arched upwards as his muscles contracted further, spasming his body like he was having a seizure. Archie fell onto one side, rolling onto his stomach and in his rapid and jerky motions he managed to kick himself into the kitchen.

The smell of smoke and piss and blood filled his sense senses. The smells were familiar, all but two that is. Like dry heat, like chemical and machinery, like ink and graphite. The great being couldn’t place them, but it knew they weren’t outright harmful. The other two smelt of napalm and blood.

[i]”Glowing hands. Skull.”[/i]

It would be moments now before the process was complete. The guttural, primordial growls emanating from the kitchen were already reverberating through the entire restaurant.