[center][b][h2]Vael 'Virisusai[/h2][/b][/center] [hr] The damage that the fuel rod gun caused was immediate and pronounced. The sheer intensity of the heat was enough to penetrate deep into the bulb. The vines again reacted, but this time it did not seem to be a coordinated defensive response. Rather, they moved and spasmed seemingly at random for a few seconds. As the bulb served as the being’s “mind”, damaging it was like damaging an animal’s brain. Those who had been constricted by them would find it as an opening to act. Vael and Ryker had only just managed to pull Tar from beyond the blast radius. Even still, Vael’s shields flared from the heat. However, this was an opening on which they had to act. Grik had created an opening to the creature’s core, so as soon as Vael could get up off the ground, he took aim with his plasma rifle and fired straight into the wound at the top of the bulb. The plasma could now hit straight to the core of the bulb where it was vulnerable, causing yet more random thrashing among its vines.