[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/houzIW1.png[/img][/center] Ashley watched with mounting dread as her first glowing shot merely succeeded in blowing a hole in a swiftly repositioned blood barrier, while Justin’s crimson flyswatter appendages rushed upon her from either side with far greater speed than her next shot could be fired through said opening. However, only one of the appendages ultimately made contact with her, the other having been severed by one of her teammate’s attacks. The blow still hurt like hell, breaking her left arm and sending her bruised and bleeding body skidding across the hard, frog and insect-covered rooftop, but, critically, it [i]hadn’t[/i] killed her. Not only that, but she was now free from the vampire’s vile paralysis. It hurt to move, it hurt to [i]breathe[/i], but the Knight of Tomorrow didn’t care. Her desire to kill Justin was far stronger than any need to minimize her own suffering. As she struggled to stand, Ashley saw Leroux’s war pick shatter both of Justin’s legs, before another blow struck his exposed inner torso. Then another, and [i]another[/i]… But would even [i]this[/i] savage butchery be enough to destroy this fell creature? The high-tech heroine didn’t know, and she wasn’t about to simply wait to find out. Bringing her blood and guts soaked right arm up, while her left dangled uselessly at her side, the Knight of Tomorrow fired a neon green bolt into the center of the vampire’s forehead, just as Leroux’s pick cracked his skull open to reveal the gemstone that passed for his brain. The luminous bolt struck the gemstone, shattering it completely and what little remained of Justin’s body now dissolved into a pool of blood. Was this it? Was Justin truly dead? Even as Ashley fired a second shot into the crimson puddle to make sure, another question occurred to her- What had happened to all the hail? Looking up, she was surprised to see the massive form of a spectral moose looming over them, its vast antlers shielding the rooftop from the torrent of hailstones. That was also about when Ashley noticed a cat-eared young woman sitting amidst the tangle of wrecked cars. She was asking about her mother… [color=MediumSpringGreen][i]Oh, God…[/i][/color] Ashley felt her chest tighten, and her breath catch in her throat. This girl… This girl had to be Breacher’s daughter… Ashley’s heart ached. Killing a monster was one thing, but this? What could she even say? What could she even do? She wanted to hug her, wanted to take away at least some of the pain the girl would surely feel upon learning the horrible truth. Yet, in the end, she was unable to do anything. Before she or anyone else could answer, a swarm of giant locusts descended upon them. Batting as many aside with her techno-wand as she could, Ashley watched as the cat-eared girl turned and ran toward the Diver, a spectral cat facilitating her passage across to the building closest to the gargantuan behemoth. [color=MediumSpringGreen][i]That’s right… The Diver…[/i][/color] Ashley reflected, her eyes widening with understanding. [i]That[/i] had been their original objective, before Justin had reared his ugly head, and now that the vampire had been defeated, they could finally deal with it. But the time to do so was rapidly diminishing… Moving as fast as her battered body would allow, Ashley made her way to the phantasmal feline, and then across it, in an effort to get as close to the Diver as possible. She couldn’t risk wasting a melody to heal herself, not with so little mana remaining. No, she needed to save every last ounce of mystic power for one, final shot at the Diver. The Knight of Tomorrow knew there was a good chance that even her strongest attack would do little against a foe so enormous, but for the sake of thousands of innocent lives, she had to at least try… [color=MediumSpringGreen][i]I won’t let you kill anyone else![/i][/color] And so, charging up the most powerful blast she could manage as she ran, and dodging what attacks might come her way to the best of her ability, Ashley would drive her twin-pronged techno-wand into the Diver’s center of mass… And [i]fire.[/i] [hr] [center]18 | Female | GEMINI | Vision of Tomorrow Implements of Tomorrow | Wand, Shield | Arcane | Tune of Tomorrow Raiment of Tomorrow | Stride of Tomorrow Light of Tomorrow | Light | Power of Tomorrow PRO-TEK 4000 Defensive Surgery Implement | Kevlar Coat, Kevlar Padding, Clip Light [Reveal (2), Purity (4)], Damage (2), Damage X (6), Shield (4), Reflect (4), Heal (6), Major Heal (18), AoE (2), Powerful (0), Piercing (2) DAMAGE: B | SPEED: E | SENTINEL: C | 750 [Silver Touch][Powerful][Charge][Damage X] = -108 mana PHYSICAL: E | ARCANE: C | CHAOS: B | 54[/center]