[img]https://i.imgur.com/OHUGSD0.jpg[/img]
[img]https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/909715047918497815/1037211200871731300/Umbri_banner6.png[/img]

The serpent screamed. A high-pitched, far-traveled wail that accompanied a high-pressured gush of blood, coating Umbri from head to shoulder in bioluminescent crimson. The serpent’s form undulated like a wind-blown flame, and with the desperate strength of a cornered animal, it [i]wrenched[/i] its tail free from the javelin and tossed the bit of metal aside with a spiteful, earth-shattering clank.

Fire and light glowed from the serpent’s wing turbines. It spun and propelled away, disappearing through the hole it created in the blink of an eye, twin trails of embers and smoke cascading to the warehouse floor. Umbri collapsed on her ass as she watched it go. Guess it was just an animal after all. 

[b][color=DC091C]“You did it,”[/color][/b] Temujin remarked, his voice trailed with disbelief as he stared off into the hole. His blade shrunk, and the strut that housed it collapsed back into his forearm. [b][color=DC091C]“I’m… impressed,”[/color][/b] he admitted, finally turning to look at Umbri. He thought for a moment as he analyzed her vitals. Blood pressure at critical levels, heart rate inhumanly fast - he was surprised she hadn’t entered cardiac arrest yet. 

The ninja shook his head. [b][color=DC091C]“I [i]told [/i]you to stay put. All that exertion was just aggravating the poison.”[/color][/b] He stepped closer. His gaze wandered to the stinger in her hand. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t discount the value of her help. And so, with a sigh, he held out his hand. [b][color=DC091C]“Come with me, we need to get you to Shieldtown.”[/color][/b] 

Umbri’s pupils shrunk down and her breath slowed as the old pains crept back. [b][color=#A4303F]”Shield… town?”[/color][/b] She echoed as she took his hand and allowed him to help her up. [b][color=#A4303F]“Why are we going there?”[/color][/b]

[b][color=DC091C]“I know people who can help. People who spent their lives fighting these creatures,”[/color][/b] Temujin explained. [b][color=DC091C]“People I can… trust.”[/color][/b]

Umbri gave him a look. That wasn’t said with confidence. [b][color=#A4303F]"Mm…"[/color][/b] Regardless she pushed it down and leaned against him, lifting her bandaged ankle and giving it a well deserved break. She shut her eyes in relief. The fatigue from relying on her Chrome heart was catching her. [b][color=#A4303F]“Anywhere is better than here,”[/color][/b] she murmured.

Temujin leaned back by reflex… but accepted, supporting Umbri as they walked. Until…

A high-pitched shriek. The wail of a cornered animal, rattling amidst the crackle of fire and light. Temujin whipped his head towards the sound. [b][color=DC091C]“It’s still here?!”[/color][/b] Umbri tilted her head to listen, wincing.

[b][color=#A4303F]“Wherever it is, it’s dying.”[/color][/b] She said, and laid a strategic hand over his chest. [b][color=#A4303F]“Please. Let’s just go.”[/color][/b]

Temujin's gaze lingered upon her hand. The beast was far too dangerous to be left alone. Yet he barely eked out a victory with the dancer's help, and…

He looked at her face, the flutter of her eyes, the glossy quiver of her lips. The serpent could wait. She couldn't. Temujin nodded. [b][color=DC091C]"Alright, let's go."[/color][/b] Umbri smiled weakly. She wanted to laugh but she didn’t dare do anything that would bring a crease to her face. She might just survive this.

[hr]
Through the beast-burned hole, and out of the warehouse. Temujin supported Umbri every step of the way, their silhouettes stepping out of the steam-shroud. There were more shadows than lights in southern Northbridge, an arrangement that served the two well as they fled beneath corrugated roofs and broken windows.

Fire lit beneath the sky; a flash of red that burned through black-green haze. A serpentine shape twisted beneath, and its rattling cry travelled in echoes. Temujin pushed Umbri against the wall, shielding her body with his. Heat, light, and fire burned the fog away, and from within, the flame serpent fell, flailing through the sky, sparks cast from its neck. 

A thunderous crash. Rubble and dust came from above. Temujin looked up, and the green rings flashed within his eyes. There, upon the serpent’s neck, was a hulking shadow. More mountain than man, and more machine than mountain, flashes of yellow seared upon black steel. Four red dots came alive in the shadows of his mask, glowing with mechanical enmity as he dug his heels into cracked scales. He held a shield in one hand and an axe-like contraption in the other, the latter’s head snarling with blood-soaked teeth that growled and spun like a chainsaw. 

[b][color=DC091C]“Impossible…,”[/color][/b] Temujin hissed. A quake lingered in his whisper despite his best efforts. [b][color=DC091C]“That’s [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lexk3hekQTc]Lockdown[/url].”[/color][/b]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/Kyik1j0.jpg[/img]

The snake shook, rolled, and took back to the skies. Lockdown leapt off of it, his feet dragging across the roof as he landed. The beast reared up in defiance, bioluminescence lighting up every inch of its body. From below, Temujin and Umbri could see - one of its ear-wings had been cleaved off, a shiv of blood-drenched bone poking out in its place. 

Lockdown raised his axe, and it rested on his shoulder with a heavy [b]THUNK[/b]. The serpent spat fire from its jet-wings, its form a glowing, blurred line as it charged its armoured aggressor. He bent his knees, raised his shield, and stood his ground. Sparks and flames ignited upon impact. A shockwave erupted beneath Lockdown’s feet, cratered the concrete and blasted the railings into ash and cinders. The serpent reeled back and doubled down, casting a cone of fire against Lockdown’s bulwark that turned the black metal a glowing, red-hot colour. Yet the machine-man held firm, with only the slightest shake to his grip as he pushed back, bit. By. Bit. Even as the fire went around his shield, charred his armour, and singed his muscles… until Lockdown came close enough to backhand his shield against its jaws. [i]Hard[/i]. 

The snake was winded. Fire sputtered to embers within its mouth. Lockdown stepped forward to seize his advantage. He bashed, and struck, and [b]stabbed[/b] his shield into the creature’s neck, forcing a high-pitched shriek of pain amidst a shower of blood. The snake thrashed as the machine-man lifted it, driving the shield deeper into its gullet with every inch, its entire body flailing in alarm. 

A loud crack came, and the serpent’s blunted tail whipped towards Lockdown. His axe came alive with a furious roar, and Lockdown unleashed it with a full-bodied slam. Half-ton metal crashed upon black-scaled coils, denying the serpent’s desperate counterattack in an orgy of bone, blood, and severed flesh. A cry unlike any the serpent had summoned came forth. The serpent’s tail flopped between the alley walls and crashed a foot away from Temujin and Umbri with an earth-shaking thud. 

The serpent turned around, ripping itself out of Lockdown’s shield-stab. Its tail-less body limped through the air, cawing, spitting, whimpering. [b][color=DCC009]”Hu hu hu,”[/color][/b] a metallic chuckle came from the machine-man. A burst of fire ignited from his back as he jumped, far and high, covering the distance between them in seconds… before he fell, his axe outstretched. 

[i]ZRRRRRRRRRRRRRR![/i]

Scale, hide, and bones melted like butter beneath gnashing metal teeth. The serpent's turbine wing fell apart from its shoulder. There was no more might, pride, or amusement in the serpent's warbles. Only a naked fear, shrill and sobbing as it fell from the sky. 

Pincers extended from the bottom of Lockdown's shield, clinging to the beast with blunt teeth. The machine-man hacked and slashed, ripped and tore, cutting bits upon bits of the snake, every fin and wing, peeling flesh from the bone. He swung his half-ton axe with the ease of a knife. Lockdown had already won. This was no fight. It was violation. 

The serpent collided upon the back alleys, the last of its strength manifesting only in short, ragged breaths. Temujin and Umbri watched from the other end of the alley, the snake's tail flopping not far away with a parody of life. 

Thud. Thud. [i]Thud[/i]. 

Lockdown's steps rattled within the narrow alley walls. Smoke billowed from his charred armour, the red shifting back to black as it cooled. He strolled towards the serpent's dying maw, storing his shield upon his back as he held his axe with both hands. 

[b][color=DCC009]"Veni."[/color][/b] There was a whirr and a hiss, and Lockdown's mask retracted, exposing his all-too human grin, bloody with the taste of victory. [b][color=DCC009]"Vidi."[/color][/b] He held his axe high and back. Turbines expanded behind the haft, and purple light hissed from within them. He stared the beast in the eye, challenging it to its last breath.

[b][color=DCC009]"Vici."[/color][/b]

The earth, the walls, and even the winds shattered beneath Lockdown’s final blow. The serpent was cleaved, from head to neck to spine, snuffing whatever life remained. The glow rapidly faded from its skin, until there was more black than red, and more grey than black. 

Shadows framed every crease and line within Temujin's mask. All he could see was Lockdown. Nothing else mattered. [b][color=DC091C]”Stay here,"[/color][/b] he commanded Umbri as he shuffled away. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Lockdown, leader of JAHANNAM, out here, alone, in an alley of shadows and silence. He clenched his fist, and the struts of his blades extended with the quietest whir.