[img]https://i.imgur.com/OHUGSD0.jpg[/img] [img]https://i.imgur.com/Kyik1j0.jpg[/img] Temujin's back was turned to Umbri. The snarl of his mask left no room for sympathy, no space for forgiveness. Her words fell on deaf ears as his silent steps brought him further and further away, until she blinked, and he disappeared into shadows. [b][color=#A4303F]"... Son of a bitch,"[/color][/b] Umbri cursed, looked around, hauled up her stuff and limped on her way. Lockdown loomed over the serpent's corpse, his hand rested upon the head of his axe. The first Thresher to invade Northbridge's shores in years… it would make for a fine trophy. He brought a finger behind his temple to activate a hidden communicator. [b][color=DCC009]"Megahertz, I'm done here. Send in my extraction."[/color] [/b] Silence. The lights didn't flicker. The winds failed to whisper. Lockdown's golden eyes gleamed straight ahead. A lithe shape leapt out of the shadows behind him. [b]ZRRRRRRRRRRRR![/b] [b][color=DC091C]"....!"[/color][/b] Green plasma clashed against metal teeth, spinning too fast and too hot to melt. The sparks that scattered were so bright they were almost blinding. [b][color=DCC009]"Well, well, well!"[/color][/b] Lockdown remarked, one hand upon his waist, his amused glint quickly obscured as black eyes rolled over gold and his fanged mask enveloped his face. [b][color=DCC009]”I know you. You’re the Rogue that’s been a thorn on our side!"[/color][/b] He remarked, his voice distorted by the speakers of his mask. [b][color=DCC009]”What was it they call you?”[/color][/b] Temujin stared him down without a word, the ninja's crossed blades grinding against Lockdown's axe. Their shoulders, elbows, and wrists shifted and turned alongside the rise and fall of their blades, each man poking for vulnerabilities between their bound blades, until- [b]ZRRRRRRR![/b] Temujin's blades fell too low. Lockdown's axe slid past his defences and crashed below his shoulder. White blood sputtered from torn flesh and severed cables. The Ninja's attempt to escape came too late, and his dangling arm fell blade-first into the earth. [b][color=DC091C]"...Ah!"[/color][/b] Temujin felt no pain. But shock was a primal feeling he recalled. He stumbled and scrambled back, white blood continuing to gush out in obscene amounts from his stump. [b][color=DCC009]"Hu hu hu,"[/color][/b] Lockdown chuckled, his posture upright, his steps as slow and casual as a stroll. He reached for the shield on his back and held his axe low, the weapon snarling as its teeth scraped and scattered sparks against the earth. [b][color=DCC009]"Done already? I'm just getting started."[/color] [/b] The ninja let out a bestial growl and dashed back into action, his stance low, his blade held close to his forearm as he jabbed - once, twice, thrice, each strike aimed at the dull gold muscles between Lockdown's armour, each hit deflected with little effort by the machine-man's swift shield. Clank! Clink! Clink! [b][color=DC091C]"Hrh! Hraagh!"[/color][/b] Temujin's desperation came alive in his voice. The ninja swiped, and slashed, and poked, again, and again, but the few hits that slipped past Lockdown's shield were easily warded by his armour. [i]WOOSH![/i] Lockdown's counterattack was a blindingly fast blur. The axe barely missed Temujin's feet as he jumped, flipped away, and flung two hot-bladed kunai. Lockdown parried them with the slap of his shield, and then held his guard as Temujin threw another- Smoke hissed and swelled upon impact. What Lockdown foresaw as a mere knife was instead a parlour trick that covered his surroundings in thick black clouds. [b][color=DCC009]"Hu hu hu… you seek to blot out my sun?"[/color][/b] Lockdown turned his gaze one way, then another. He returned his shield to his back, widened his stance, and wielded his axe in a two handed grip. His machine-vision shifted between a field of red, then green, then blue, and back to red. [i][b][color=DCC009]"...Then I'll have my battle in the shade."[/color][/b][/i] Lockdown's every step quaked the earth. Vermin scattered, rubble trembled, his jet-black eyes one with the darkness. He walked down the alleyway, white blood dripping from the head of his half-ton axe. And behind him, green-ringed eyes came alive. Distortion snuck within the smoke, stalking the machine-man with a readied blade. Lockdown looked over his shoulder. Temujin had only a microsecond of regret. Lockdown's axe flew with a trail of purple jet-flames. The weapon crashed into him, with enough force to ripple the air, sunder the earth, and shatter every inch of concrete around them. It was less a swing and more of an explosion. Clouds of dust and ash lingered in its wake. Thud. Thud. Thud. [b]Thud.[/b] Lockdown's mountain-like silhouette stepped out of the ash, his axe slung over his shoulder, white blood and debris crumbling from its teeth. Every booming footfall was accompanied by the whine and whir of hydraulics. The machine-man looked down upon the body beneath him. Sparks surged upon a pool of white blood. The crimson armour which shone so boldly were faded with dust and sundered by deep, vein-like cracks. His one good arm was torn right off its socket, with a cut so vast it bisected him above his pelvis, a flood of cables, pale blood, and machine guts spilling from the gaping wound. Temujin's snarling mask seemed trapped in a grimace, peering up at the foe which had defeated him so utterly. [b]Thud.[/b] Lockdown's black iron foot landed upon Temujin's lower half. There was a creak, and a groan, and metal and synthetic muscles alike were flattened in two seconds. The ninja maintained a stony demeanour, even as he winced inside. Static, beeps, and warnings assailed his vision from all corners, lines of warnings and code that he could summarise in two words: [b][color=DC091C][i]I'm fucked.[/i][/color][/b] [b][color=DCC009]"Now I remember,"[/color][/b] Lockdown mused, kicking aside the crumpled remains of Temujin's lower body as he approached, then dropped to a knee. [b][color=DCC009]"You're the Eyes of the Rogue. The Red Oni. Temujin."[/color][/b] He brought a massive, armoured hand to Temujin's face and turned him one way, then the other. [b][color=DCC009]"I expected more."[/color][/b] Lockdown tightened his grip. Cracks formed between the ninja's eyes. [b][color=DCC009]"...But I'll settle for a souvenir."[/color][/b] The cracks deepened, and spread, and the ninja wheezed. His vision saw more static than screen, his field of view collapsing around him. [i][b][color=DC091C]Not my face! Let go of my face![/color][/b][/i] He squirmed, and struggled, and sparks sputtered from every stump. There was nothing he could do but flop, like a fish waiting to be gutted.