Ubagai Wakuno kicked aside the guard crumpled down before him, blood trailing from the man’s mouth as he fell back hard onto the floor. Wakuno slightly adjusted his mask as he turned to quickly look over the spectacle in the throne room. His brothers were fiercely rattling blade and shield with the zealous guards who fought like madmen to defend their emperor. Wakuno might have found it honorable and heroic were it not a grand act of blasphemy. Bodies were strewn across the decadent chamber and blood ran in trails and formed puddles as it did out in the streets of the burning city. The numbers were even but Wakuno knew that more guards were on their way into the throne room. This was his only chance. The Emperor sat on his throat still as a statue as he watched his devout protectors shed sweat and blood for him. It momentarily reminded Wakuno of the death battles that the kings of the Mokeu would host in their strongholds for their amusement - but only in slight. The Emperor looked none to bemused but rather was as white as the moon and his face locked in a look of fear and despair as the bodies fell before him. Even from where he stood Wakuno could see a sheen of sweat across the man’s face, running like morning dew down limestone. [i]Truly a successor of Xiao Hui, vanquisher of yaoguai.[/i] Wakuno took a step towards the direction of the throne when a sudden motion in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He turned his head to see two figures standing in the breached doorway of the throne room. A towering Zauri and a female Honfokun at his side, heavily armored, and both were spattered in the blood of those they had killed. Wakuno did not recognize them as his own meaning they were interloping do-gooders or maybe Free Wardens. If the latter was it then he needed to move now. Wakuno turned back to face the throne where the Emperor sat still, Wakuno shoving past a pair of guardsmen as he broke into a fast trot towards the throne. As he passed one of his brothers dueling with another guardsman someone shouted, “He is going for the throne, he tried to kill our emperor!” “Someone stop him!” Wakuno barreled over a wounded guardsman who tried to block him, the Emperor sat frozen as he caught site of the masked man coming right for him. His knees were weak, his legs quivering, and his heart pounding. Several guards tried to make to stop Wakuno but were blocked or tackled to the ground by Wakuno’s fellows. Wakuno was closer now to the Emperor but still had to shove by a few guardsmen lingering about, mostly wounded or disarmed, slowing him down. [hr] [b]Fujiko and Yazju… A. break into sprints and try to shove through the crowd and tackle Wakuno. B. throw their weapons wildly at Wakuno’s back. C. grab a single nearby bow and arrow so that one of them can shoot Wakuno in the back. D. do nothing.[/b] [b](GM granted two choices.)[/b] [hr] [b][@POOHEAD189] and [@SouffleGirl123] choose C.[/b] [color=9e0b0f]Failed![/color] [b][@POOHEAD189] and [@SouffleGirl123] choose A.[/b] [color=9e0b0f]Failed![/color] For a split second moment Fujiko was almost taken aback by the scene of the palace. She was unsure if it was those towering walls splattered with scarlet blood or the sight of the brutal battle before her. She was very quickly snapped back to reality with the screams of guards claiming an attack on the emperor. Fujiko looked up and truly the man had an aggressor, a lean man who had a mask on his face that almost seemed to resemble a twisted version of her kind. He was skillfully plowing through the guards with only one goal in sight; the Emperor. The honfo scanned the room for some way to intervene and noted the corpse of an archer close by, an oak bow in his hand. She made her way to him and wrung it out of his cold, lifeless hand and pulled an arrow from his quiver. She swiftly aims it at the back of the attacker's chest and lets it fly. As swift as she was to attack, Wakuno was faster. Her arrow whizzed past him, not even a scratch left. In the meantime her opponent was taking even more precous steps toward the emperor. In moment of desperation she did the only thing she could think - running at the man full force. She was consumed by the crowd, tangles of arms and legs all in the way of her and her adversary. She looked over for her Zauri friend. He too was taken by the crowd. They had failed. [b]- -[/b] Wakuno closed in on the throne, Emperor Xiao Shang staring at the black clad killer as he approached. He had nowhere to run, and even if so, Xiao Shang would not break for it and leave his throne - he was no coward, even as his heart pounded and sweat poured down his face and soaked the neck of his robes he would not run crying out like a frightened child. His vision was blurring and his throat was constricting. This was it, this was where Xiao Shang would meet his end. So young and he had done so little, he would not leave this world as one of the more renowned of his line - or renowned at all. Stabbed to death on the festival of Wan Yue as his city burned, hardly worthy of his proud lineage. But so it was, ready or not this was his end. His final thought as he was grabbed by the throat and the killer’s blade glinted overhead was, [i]May the gods save the Empire.[/i] Ubagai Wakuno brought his blade down into the chest of the Emperor, the sharp blade slicing through silk and flesh, cutting deep and causing blood to come pouring. Emperor Xiao Shang’s eyes bulged, a strangled gasp escaped his throat. Another strike and more blood, yet another choked gasp, then a third strike - the blade finding the heart this time. Ubagai Wakuno’s eyes glimmered behind his mask as Emperor Xiao Shang’s eyes closed, his mouth dropping open and his entire face going lax. The killer twisted his blade around, the blade shredding open the Emperor’s heart with the confines of his ribs. Cries of despair rang up across the throne room mixed with shouts of victory, the guards all exclaiming in rage and fear even as the attackers all shouted with glee. Emperor Xiao Shang weakly tried to raise one arm but the last wisp of life ebbed from him and it dropped heavily against his thigh. With a loud grunt Ubagai Wakuno pulled free his blade and using his free hand jerked the limp body of Xiao Shang from the throne sending it tumbling down onto the hard floor. The beads from the Emperor’s hat broke free as it landed near and they skittered about, rolling and bouncing through puddled blood. Ubagai Wakuno stepped onto the seat of the throne and, holding his blood soaked weapon high, shouted coarsely, “Xiao Shang is dead!”