[h2][color=D23838]Annabelle Heart[/color][/h2]
[hr]

"Girl, are you-" Madison was about to say to Lyss as the girl was gonna stay behind with... that thing. She saw Kayla, she saw Agatha, she was more than certain that Izzy was in there [i]somewhere[/i]. She wanted to stay behind but that thing... that thing scared Madison. Nothing she did worked against it, and if Lyss wanted to stay here and be a hero... yet, despite how she [i]desperately[/i] tried to justify leaving, she was just lying to herself. With the Jaws around her, she flew off towards the rest of the Coven. Yet, something didn't feel right about leaving Lyss and Penny behind.

To the surprise of Meifeng, two members of the little Coven decided to hang around... for whatever reason. Lyss should know the danger that Annabelle poised, the other girl Meifeng wasn't sure about. The Agent reached down to her hip and pulled out her Glock... not that it would do her much good against [i]that[/i] thing.

Lyss' zombie horde assaulted Annabelle and Meifeng didn't get a chance to tell her how Trevor's abstraction worked. A glance was sent his way as he exhaled and hunched forward and Annabelle was unintentionally freed from his effect. Meifeng didn't scold Lyss for this because she was about to tell Trevor to cut and run. The freakish abomination stopped laughing as the screams of her victims could be heard as they writhed from inside of her hulking frame. 

It seemed that the curse was more than just a desire for flesh but she was trapping them inside of her. Meifeng wished that she could free them but, alas, the circumstances mean that she won't be of much help here. At the very best she can stall for time. The zombies were attacking her, but Annabelle slashed at them or tossed them aside as she rose up to her full form.

"Trevor," Meifeng said as he aimed his rifle at her, his hand was shaking as a bead of sweat went down into his eye. "Go."

"Aw, hell no!" Trevor said, "I ain't leavin-"

"[i]Go![/i]" Meifeng shouted at him, giving him the side eye as she said, "All you're going to do is throw your life away!"

The boy grumbled before he took off after the rest of the Coven.

Meifeng sighed as Annabelle stood to her full height and she stepped on an undead warrior that she had knocked off. "Look, I'm going to be honest here," Meifeng started, "We, most likely, stand a snowball's chance in hell against her."

Annabelle took one step forward.

"We don't have cures, so [i]at best[/i], we're gonna stall her," Maybe they [i]should[/i] have listened to the Director when she said the DENS should have kept all the cures. "You two understand that, right?"

[color=goldenrod]"No sweat,"[/color] said Penny, the initial shock of Lyss summoning an army of the dead now diminshed. She rolled her neck and bounced on her heels, loosening herself up for what might be the last fight of her life. Maybe she should've felt a little scared, but Penny knew that she wouldn't let something as trivial as dying stop her. She grinned, overflowing with adrenaline. [color=goldenrod]"I practically killed a god before. This is nothing!"[/color]

Annabelle let out a loud roar as she lunged at the crowd with her claws out.

Thanks to her second sight, Penny was able to see the path of Annabelle's attack and moved to deftly dodge out of the way as her claws made mulch out a handful of the zombies Lyss has summoned between the abomination and them. Penny barely had the time to shield her eyes from the spray of putrid flesh and bone that flew her way as Annabelle tore through them. Shit. No amount of false confidence could keep her thinking that this was nothing. Meifeng said they had to stall. Penny figured Lyss's army would be the best way to do the job—the more targets the better. In the meantime, Penny needed to keep Annabelle away from shredding the summoner.

Meifeng didn't need an abstraction to know that she should get the hell out of the way. The Liao Matriarch took off in the other direction as the creature crashed into the ground claw first. That thing's roar etched itself into her mind as Meifeng looked at her SUV and used her metal powers to take apart a nearby car... creating several massive lances.

[color=goldenrod]"Oh c'mon! How ya gonna kill Saul if ya can't even hit me?"[/color] taunted Penny, uncertain if Annabelle could even comprehend language anymore. She blasted a few coins at the monster, knowing they wouldn't even tickle her but hoping they'd be annoying enough to draw her attention away from Lyss. At the same time Penny backed up outside of what she hoped was Annabelle's striking range, ready to continue her game of chicken with the deadly abomination. 

The coins didn't even phase Annabelle for a second as she marched towards her - one could hear her faintly growling, but it was hard over all of her victim's screaming. She quickly grabbed a silver sedan and chucked it at Penny with only one hand.

Lyss, meanwhile, had gotten herself to a good distance away from Annabelle's current position. A few of her undead surrounded her to act as guards and were quickly put to work as Annabelle's flesh eaters ran for her. Lyss paid attention to every undead that perished in a fight against the soldiers and at the strength of the monster in front of them all. Her face was steel. The adrenaline rushing through her overcame any fearful thought. This was her time to prove herself. To bring the name Burns back into the mouths of the extra-normal world. She watched Annabelle chuck the sedan Penny's way and pressed her hand to the ground once more. 

A horde of undead erupted from the ground in front of Penny- enough to block the vehicle from coming close to her. The undead that weren't immediately crushed by the car crawled out from the pile and ran for Annabelle's hand. They latched onto her arm like carnivorous ants. Piece by piece they tore at the bodies that made up her wrist until it was barely holding itself together.

[color=D3D3D3] "Aim your attacks at her limbs! We'll tear this bitch down part by part until she has to crawl towards us."[/color] Lyss shouted above the chaos. She just now was starting to feel strained by the use of power, like she'd just run half a mile. She wasn't finished yet.

While they were attacking, Meifeng had completed her lance... a long construct made out of a car that coalesced into one jagged and brutal weapon. Meifeng had her hand up as she launched it at Annabelle's wrist and then she completely severed it as she cut through it. The creature loudly roared as she, with her remaining hand, cleved through the undead horde with one swipe. She quickly grabbed the javelin and chucked it in Meifeng's direction.

Meifeng put both of her hands up and reflexively caused it to stop in mid-air. Annabelle grabbed onto her severed wrist and placed it right against the stump. Annabelle planted her feet into ground as she let out a hellish screech into the air. One that was [i]louder[/i] and inhuman than the last one, one that could be heard throughout Tampa...

... It transformed any Blind who heard it into Wendigos and called them to Annabelle.

Penny clutched her ears as Annabelle howled, distant baying harmonizing with the abomination. Thanks to Lyss's interception, the sedan that surely would've squashed her instead served as a whole new stockpile of missiles. Penny reached down and brushed her fingers against the shattered bits of windshield and metal. They lifted off the ground in front of her until they were eye level and she effortlessly directed them towards Annabelle with a flick of her wrist, aiming for the creature's unwounded wrist. 

Penny was about to unleash another flurry of change when she heard a series of crashs cut through the roar of the raging fire that was consuming the beach house as well as the wailing of sirens and unrelenting car alarms. Stepping through the window of a neighboring house was a Wendigo, something Penny had only seen in recollections or heard about from her friends. Another lanky freak skulked around from behind the house, still wearing its novelty "the Grillfather" apron and carrying a large fork in its hand. Further down the road Penny saw more shapes emerging from the houses, still shrieking in response to Annabelle. 

[color=goldenrod]"Well fuck me,"[/color] muttered Penny to herself. She fired off a couple of rounds at the closest Wendigo while trying to keep Annabelle in her peripheries. As she continued to rapid fire coins like a machine gunner against the bayonet charge of the opposing army, turning the cul de sac into a No Man's Land, she shouted at Meifeng, [color=goldenrod]"I thought you had backup!?"[/color]

The sound of gunshots filled the area as Meifeng unloaded into the crowd of people that Annabelle called to them. They had to deal with Annabelle [i]and[/i] her army, which was not a good idea at the moment.

"[i]They're on the way![/i]" Meifeng shouted back, even though she was more than certain that they were gonna be dead before they got here. Yet she didn't have the heart to tell them that. However, Meifeng hopped on the nearest car's hood as she shouted, "Girls, get over here!"

Lyss blinked where she stood amongst the chaos. Had Annabelle just... reattached the hand? [i]Hell no.[/i] They were quickly running out of options. Even if they could move fast enough to completely tear Annabelle apart, the monster would probably regroup just as fast. It looked like more bodies, or body parts, were on their way now too.

[color=D3D3D3] "Where the hell is Maximillian?"[/color] Lyss shouted over the noise as she made her way towards Meifeng. She picked up a broken piece of wood from the ground, most likely from the destroyed beach house, and shoved it into the stomach of a nearby zombie.

By the time she reached Meifeng, her circle of soldiers had withered. Lyss took a deep breath, gathering more energy, before summoning a group of undead to protect the car that Meifeng and Lyss were using as a base of operations. She continued to kneel on the ground, her eyes closed as she focused. She pressed both hands against the pavement. Moments later, near Annabelle's right ankle, the ground split into a house sized crater. Out of the hole came 20 foot golem like undead. It roared against the sight of Annabelle's larger form and immediately set to tearing at her ankle.

[color=D3D3D3] "Hopefully that will keep the bitch occupied for longer."[/color] She growled.

By the time Penny had laid down enough covering fire to make it to the car, Lyss had already summoned another zombie horde to surround it. Not wanting to test her luck on anything, Penny used her second Abstraction to summon a burst of air beneath her. She jetted over top of the horde and landed on the roof of the car, catching herself with her hands and knees. She shook her head and caught her breath before she wiped the blood from her nose. Penny stood back up, her vision blurring as it returned to normal, and assessed the situation. 

[color=goldenrod]"Holy shit, dude,"[/color] uttered Penny, shocked by Lyss's golem. There wasn't much time to stand in awe, as Annabelle's Wendigos were still pouring in from the beaches and the gated communities. Penny pushed past her growing migraine to fire off coin after coin to slow their advance, although by being locked out of her second sight the shots were noticably worse. It didn't stop her. Coins buried themselves into car doors, shattered windows, and tore through Wendigos as she continued twisting and pointing like an impassioned conductor orchestrating a symphony of destruction. 

[color=goldenrod]"You got a plan, lady?"[/color] asked Penny to Meifeng over the sound of the fighting. 

"We're gonna get some distance!" Meifeng shouted over the chaos, she gazed upon the freakish monstrosity that Lyss had summoned and saw the undead monsters that she had summoned. They were protecting them against the minions, but what about the larger form of Annabelle Heart? That thing would shred them to pieces. Other than that, Meifeng had no real plan because this thing keeps pulling out new tricks and making all of her plans [i]useless.[/i] What was taking Maximilian so long? 

Annabelle almost fell into the crater created by Lyss' minion coming out of the ground, she let out a roar as she got her footing... which she didn't have for long when the undead brute grabbed at her ankle. Tearing away at it, however Annabelle raised her fists up into the air, roaring as she brought them down on top of the undead beast's head. Flattening his skull and sending fluids out in every different direction... she grabbed the minion by the shoulders before she saw the three that were in her way...

... She heaved him up and then threw him at the three.

"We gotta move!" Meifeng shouted as she grabbed onto Lyss by the forearm and then detached the car hood from the rest of the car. Penny hopped down from the roof of the car to hitch a ride before Meifeng quickly launched them to the side, out of the way as the freakish brute came barreling at them like a speeding 18-wheeler! Unfortunately, Meifeng didn't really account for balance and in her desperation at getting out of the way, she slid off of the hood of the car and hit the ground with a thud. She hissed in pain as she tried to roll back onto her feet.

Lyss flinched as she watched Annabelle crush her giant solider almost a second after she'd summoned it. Her anger that each plan was failing also diminished the second Annabelle threw the dead golem their way. [color=D3D3D3] "Fu-!"[/color] She was cut off when Meifeng grabbed her arm and propelled them away with the hood of the car. Unfortunately she didn't get a second to feel relieved. The moment Meifeng lost her balance and fell, Lyss felt the hood drop out from under her. She threw her arms up and managed to land on her feet, but the sudden impact threw her off balance. She fell forwards and threw her arms out in front of her, now finding herself on all fours on the dented hood. [color=D3D3D3] "Meifeng!! Are you alright?"[/color]

Lyss turned her head to look for her, but all she noticed were the hordes of The Hunger's minions coming their way. Half of her soldiers that had been around the car were crushed by the golem, but the rest were fighting their way to her side. She looked around her for a weapon, but there was nothing in sight. [color=D3D3D3] "No way in hell I'm dying this way,"[/color] Lyss muttered to herself. She turned and planted both hands on the ground. The zombies were getting closer. Too close. By the time she summoned more minions the horde was feet away from her. Her minions came pouring out of the earth like ants, and instantly collided with the raging flesheaters. Lyss panted. She wouldn't be able to keep summoning this many of them. Maximillian needed to show soon. 

"... You're not," Meifeng hissed in pain as she forced herself up to her feet and looked at Annabelle. The undead army was clashing against Annabelle's flesh eaters, but Annabelle herself was unstoppable. They needed someone like Max to stop them... then there was a pang of guilt knowing that she didn't let these girls run off while they had the chance. Meifeng sighed as she raised her hand up into the air and little scraps of metal floated up all around the aging matriarch.

"You two!" Meifeng screamed, "Get out of here!"

Lyss shook her head, finally finding a piece of pipe from the wrecked beach house and holding it like her aluminum baseball bat. (Which was laying with her speedster somewhere among the horde.) [color=D3D3D3] "There's no way out at this point, Agent! I can't leave you behind."[/color] Lyss took a step forwards and knocked a zombie upside the head before it could tear one of her soldiers apart. It's head caved in like a smashed watermelon. Her soldier moved on to the next advancing freak, but Lyss was starting to notice her soldiers were quickly being overtaken.

Penny had messed up the timing when she tried to save herself from their crash landing, so instead of just hitting the ground she actually hit the ground, popped herself up in the air with a blast of wind, and hit the ground again. Her ego was hurt the most, but the scrapes and bruises would surely be hell tomorrow—although making it to then was looking pretty dim. Normally, she had an ace in the hole when it came to desperate escapes thanks to being close with Kimberly, but as far as Penny knew she was still stuck in a DENS detention center. She was pretty sure she had just heard her phone crack when she landed the second time, anyway. She staggered up and joined the other two. 

[color=goldenrod]"Yeah, we're not done yet. You're stuck with us,"[/color] said Penny, who wasn't keen on other people taking the heroic sacrifices or flexing their authority. Still, that yet was coming pretty fast. Lyss's line was dwindling, and Annabelle's forces were pushing. It was only a matter of time. Penny had a plan, but she would only inact it the moment Lyss's creations no longer held the line. If she acted too soon it'd shred whatever was left of their defenses. So instead she continued to make rough potshots around Lyss's zombies, the pack on her waist starting to feel real light. 

"That was [i]not[/i] a request," Meifeng hissed at the two. "I will [i]not[/i] stand here and let you two throw your lives away!"

At this point Annabelle had yelled yet again... not that it did much as anyone who could be transformed into a Wendigo was already there. However, as she roared they stopped clashing against the undead forces and ran into Annabelle - leaping into her body and contributing to her unholy mass. Suddenly, she went from being three stories tall, to four. She stood tall as a trail of steam came out of her mouth.

"... Get out of here!" Meifeng screamed.

Lyss stared up at the monstrous form in awe. How could Meifeng expect to take her on alone? She was a strong woman, for sure, but how long would she last? [color=D3D3D3] "I'll get to a safe distance, but I will [i]not[/i] leave you alone!"[/color]

So, in another effort to contribute to the fight, Lyss pressed both hands against the ground. She began to murmur a spell into the ground, black sigils appearing beneath her hands as she did so. The ground in front of and behind Annabelle began to shake. The pavement cracked and from these cracks more undead emerged. They quickly ran towards Annabelle and began to climb up her long form towards the head. Lyss stood up, breathing like she'd run a mile as she wiped blood from her nose. [color=D3D3D3] "That should distract her while you get some shots at her."[/color] 

That said, Lyss turned and began to book it down the street. She looked to the skies and desperately hoped that Max would be there soon. Annabelle roared as she tried to desperately get the undead off of her, slashing at even her own form to get them off.

[color=goldenrod]"Oh come on!"[/color] bellowed Penny as she threw her arms out in front of her. It wasn't immediately clear if Penny was angry at Annabelle changing yet again, Meifeng's stubborness, or both. Regardless, her plan had been dashed when the Wendigos combined forces to form one giant asshole, which meant the "yet" had arrived. It was time to get out. Only Penny didn't do the smart thing and join Lyss in the backline. With one eye on Annabelle, Penny marched up to Meifeng, grabbed her by the wrist, and said, [color=goldenrod]"Don't be such a fucking idiot."[/color]

Penny's second sight reactivated in time to see that Meifeng was probably going to reflexively try to pull away, so she strengthed her grip and grabbed her with her other hand. She kept watch of Annabelle's movements out of her periphery, ready to launch herself and Meifeng away with a blast of air if needed at the first sign of trouble. It was time to see if this stranger was true to her word. [color=goldenrod]"You said you wouldn't stand here and let us throw our lives away. So let's [i]fucking[/i] go."[/color]

Meifeng narrowed her eyes at Penny, making sure to maintain eye contact as she thrusted her hand out of Penny's grip, stretching out her fingers at the same time. She shook her head as more metal floated in the air and became vicious and jagged blades.

"I may be old, but I can handle myself," Meifeng shook her head as she spoke. That obstinance faded fast as she spoke almost with a whisper, "If you two really are determined to die on this hill with me, then... let's go." 

Annabelle just stopped trying to flail the undead off of her and focus on the group in front of her. She slammed both of her claws into the ground as she went to all fours - so hard that she created holes in the ground and shook the earth. She roared again, probably signaling that she was about to charge. She rushed towards the trio, every time her hands hit the ground it made a boom that could not just be heard but felt. She carried herself forward like an animal, a true raging bull.

"Now girl," Meifeng said as the sharpel formed a ball... that limply dropped on the ground, "How fast can you move us!?"

[color=goldenrod]"Fast enough,"[/color] Penny said. It was a hopeful statement, and perhaps a bit of a lie. Penny had never attempted to use her borrowed Abstraction to launch both herself and another person away, but if there was anytime to make it work it would be now as Annabelle charged them. Like a matador holding a red flag, Penny would wait for the moment right before Annabelle impacted them to latch on to Meifeng and whip themselves away with a blast of air. 

"My idea is kinda crazy, I'll warn you!" Meifeng warned her as Annabelle kept charging at them. "Don't move until I give you the order, got it?"

Annabelle got closer and closer, before she opened her maw to devour the two. Exactly as Meifeng planned, she doubted that Annabelle barely had a human thought in her head at this point. That she was just raw, animalistic rage, in... this terrifying form. When she opened her jaw, Meifeng quickly launched the ball of sharp blades and knives into her mouth as far as it can go. The beast gagged as she came to a stop and Meifeng shouted.

"Move!" On cue Penny moved both Meifeng and herself out of the way as Annabelle came to a stop. When she got some distance away, Meifeng activated her trap card and had the ball of blades explode as violently as she could make it... and it caused Annabelle's head to explode in a red mist as Meifeng [i]hoped[/i] that would be the end of that abomination... however, with everything that has happened so far, she knew that she only slowed it down for a second. At least they gave themselves a second to-

Meifeng eyed the tortured souls that are apart of her hellish mass as they turned their eyes towards her in complete unison. Meifeng forgot about that tail... it launched itself at the two at extremely fast speeds. Meifeng barely had any time to respond before she felt the thing pierce through her stomach as she hunched forward. Coughing blood as she grabbed her stomach as that monster's tail hit the wall behind her. 

Penny hadn't even seen the tail coming, her senses scattered by the juggling of her abstractions that left her short of breath and with a throbbing headache. Her eyes went wide as she swallowed a scream as the woman right next to her was impaled. She could have prevented it if she had just pushed herself harder and jumped them back further. Her breath quickened. Her eyes darted back and forth wildly. She reached her hand out towards Meifeng but stopped. What the fuck could she do?

Lyss had looked back just in time to see Annabelle thrust her tail towards Penny and Meifeng. She stopped dead in her tracks, nearly tripping over herself after she witnessed the tail impale Meifeng. [color=D3D3D3] "Meifeng!!"[/color] She shouted. How could this happen? How could no one come to their rescue? Had they already been taken down by wendigos? She couldn't believe this.

Lyss was shaking with rage. Annabelle couldn't win. Not after Claud lost her life to get the cure. She knelt to the ground and slammed her hands down again. The ground between the headless abomination and Lyss's friends shook violently. She was summoning more soldiers, and while it drained her energy she felt her father's channeler helping her stay alive. Two more golems erupted from the Earth. One took Annabelle's tail and ripped it in two. It turned towards Meifeng after and carefully gathered her into it's arms before heading towards the direction of Lyss.

The other grabbed onto the piece still attached and tugged as hard as it could in an attempt to pull Annabelle off of her feet. Lyss was hoping it could distract Annabelle long enough to get Meifeng to safety. Annabelle roared as she turned towards the beast and swung her clenched fist at it - knocking its head off and sending it flying.

When Meifeng got close, she was barely conscious. Eyes were unfocused, she was coughing up blood as she was going pale. Fortunately, the piece that had impaled her was still attached so she wasn't bleeding out. She stammered out the words, "Just go..."

[color=goldenrod]"Shut up and keep breathing,"[/color] growled Penny as she knelt beside Meifeng, her eyes darting back and forth between the dying woman and Annabelle. 

When Annabelle was done with the giant, she turned back towards Lyss. She dug her claws into the ground as she used them to launch herself forward. Her claws were outstreched as she went in to finish Meifeng off...

[hr][center][hider=Mica Caldito - Reluctant Heroes][youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpGMIoFmkxg[/youtube][/hider][/center][hr]

... However, mid-air something crashed into her midsection and sent her flying off course. She hit the ground in a pavement destroying roll that crushed car and anything else that got in her way. She slammed her claws into the ground in an attempt to stop her roll and all the eyes on her undead frame turned to face [i]him[/i].

Maximilian Cornell.

He turned his head towards Lyss and saw that Meifeng was injured. He got here in barely the nick of time... he should have been here much faster. Maximilian shook his head, "I should have been faster," He started, "Is everyone okay?"

[color=goldenrod]"Are you fucking—no!"[/color] barked Penny, turning to gesture at Meifeng's wound. [color=goldenrod]"She's still alive, but..."[/color] But so was Annabelle. Meifeng's plan had been to buy time for her backup, and the backup was now here—but Penny was about tapped, Meifeng was dying, and she had no clue how many more bodies Lyss could yank out of the ground. [color=goldenrod]"Superman, you think you can finish that bitch?"[/color]

"I'm not sure," Maximilian said, "But damn I'm going to try."

Lyss, meanwhile, had been ready to greet the Hound when Annabelle came their way again. She stared up at Maximillian, relief and anger spreading through her. [i]It's about damn time, Maxi. What took you so long? [/i] [color=D3D3D3] "Where's the rest of the team?"[/color]

"On their way," Maximilian said. "I had to get ahead of them, and I'm glad I did when I did...." He looked down at the injured Meifeng.

However, somebody else joined the fight a little too late: flying in was Madison Brown. She landed next to Lyss as she put her hands in her pockets, looking at the unholy being that Annabelle had become. She didn't know what type of strength that Lyss, Penny, and Agent Liao had that allowed them to fight this thing so fearlessly. However, Madison felt like the fight was over.

"Hey girl," Madison said to Lyss, "I... really shouldn't have left you behind like that." She shrugged.

Lyss blinked, staring at her sister for a moment, but then her face softened. [color=D3D3D3] "You don't have to be sorry. I'm just glad you're here now."[/color] She glanced Annabelle's way. [color=D3D3D3] "Could you get Meifeng out of here?"[/color] She knelt down for the last time, and summoned one more golem to distract Annabelle. When she stood, she wiped more blood from her nose. 

"And you too," Madison said as she looked at Meifeng. "I could care less about her, I ain't leaving without you."

[color=D3D3D3] "It's all you from here, Max."[/color]

Maximilian cracked his knuckles as he faced down the monster. "This isn't going to go the way it went last time," Maximilian told her, "Get Meifeng out of here and clear the area, I'm taking the gloves off."

He stretched his shoulder as he said, 

"She's killed more than enough people."