Ruby and Walker both paled at the sight of the countless heads squirming within Keepa's body. [color=red]"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat..."[/color] she murmured.

Keepa was less than thrilled. "Nawh...whay'd y'hafta go an do that? Y'all got no mannahs. Don'cha know ya ruin a good joke by shoutin' out tha punchline? Buh ifin its a scrappin yer lookin' foh..."

With that, he spat out the crossbow bolt and struck Walker in the shoulder. Though Walker was the one in pain, it was Ruby who cried out. She moved to help him, but Keepa blocked her path. She tripped and stumbled straight toward his gaping jaws. Eternal darkness loomed in his throat.

The head vanished in a crimson flash.

[i]Violet[/i].

Ruby clutched at her heart as a swell of relief broke over her. [i]Thank you, Violet.[/i] The feeling soon turned to panic, however, when Kite released a gut-wrenching wail behind her. The color drained from Ruby's face, and she raced to Kite's side blasting shot after shot into Keepa's head. [color=red]"NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM HIM!"[/color] she shrieked. Her head ached for mana loss with every shot. She grabbed Kite's writhing form by the arm and dragged him back down the hall, laying cover fire until her eyes became bloodshot and her nausea threatened her stomach.

When they'd got a good distance away, Ruby studied the writhing patient, eyes clouded over from her own pain. His agony likely came from the stinky stuff he was covered in. She swiped a sample into a vial and tucked it away before testing a little on her arm.

[color=red]"Criminy, this stuff is nasty."[/color] She noted the symptoms and withdrew her canteen, proceeding to methodically wash the fluid off Kite until his writhing subsided. Satisfied he would live for now, she took a moment to survey the battle and take a swig from her canteen to allay her raging headache. Something caught her eye: the first of Keepa's destroyed heads, laying in a puddle of black ichor.

[i]Aha![/i] While Walker and Violet kept Keepa occupied, Ruby collected samples of the ichor and ash into vials, stuffed the head-flap in a container (which nearly made her retch), and put everything away in her bag. Maybe they couldn't stop Keepa yet, but with these supplies, she could concoct one - if only they could just get out alive and regroup.

Walker apparently had a similar thought. He barked out, "Delaying the inevitable here! Fighting withdraw is in order. You, light launcher, how many of those do you have left?"

Ruby held up a pair of flare shells and grinned. [color=red]"I can spare two."[/color]