[center] [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 9: 45/90[/color] [color=fff200]Karin Level 5: 41/50[/color] Location: Seiran Tunnels Word Count: 1051 Points Gained: 2 New EXP Balance--- [color=f49ac2]Sakura Level 9: 47/90[/color] [indent][color=fff200]Karin Level 5: 43/50 [/color][/indent] [/center] Sakura grunted as she was knocked away, sent scattering through rocks and debris, separated from her team. That was a heavy hit by itself, and Sakura had already been worn down by the previous fights. Sakura’s overwhelming storm of emotions were all wiped away by the reality check of the massive Other rearing its entire body to bring it down just on little old her, over and over again. [color=f49ac2]”Peach!”[/color] She cried out in dismay, crossing her arms in front of her. She blocked the first slam, resulting in the sound of breaking glass and blue flash as her guard broke completely. The slams after that were free to hit her, and Sakura was cratered into the ground like she had been during the Orphan fight. Sakura briefly lost consciousness. That was when Luka and Raz got it off her. Sakura gasped for breath and coughed, practically surrounded in her own personal dust cloud. Visibility for and of her was low to none. If it wasn’t for her ability Round Two, she would be unconscious, like Karin had been when she got slammed by a giant monster. Instead she just lay there, totally dazed. Over the course of her recovery, her left arm began to bleed, a lot, as well as a cut on her forehead, and some blood trickled from her lips. Maybe she was tougher than she gave herself credit for, but she had still just been totally crushed several times. Some of her ribs were cracked, she had internal bruising, a concussion, and her left arm was broken from her blocking attempt. While her allies were distracted by the beast, Sakura quietly lay down, struggling to keep her eyes open. Karin was just trying to keep up with creature, striking its extended limbs and legs whenever an opportunity prevented itself. But the Other was massive. Karin was trying to make it work. It was hard, but if things stayed at this pace, they would win. The Other knew this of course and changed up its strategy. Plunging its ribbons into the ground, it made to impale every last hero on the scene. Several struck Sakura before she could stand up. There was a yellow spark and Sakura spat up some more blood. It hurt, more than getting stabbed like that usually would, because she was running on fumes. ‘That’s not good,’ she thought, using her good hand to ‘catch’ the blood before most of it could spatter against the ground, like that would do anything. Sakura was pale, her hands shaking. Soon after that, the creature kicked up such a huge amount of dust that anyone that wanted to help Sakura would lose track of her. But at the very least, the wounded street fighter figured that the Other couldn’t see her, either. Karin avoided the ribbons on her own and attached herself to the ceiling as the dust engulfed the area. Then she swung over to the wall, grabbing onto a craggy outcropping. Squinting against the dust, she tried to listen carefully to where the ribbons were coming from, so she could avoid them and locate the source. Meanwhile, Sakura, clutching her battered arm, staggered away from the noises of conflict. Her mind was still hazed. She hadn’t noticed any healers. All she could think about was Peach. She didn’t…get it. Where was everyone? Sakura squinted in the dust. Out of the thick, dusty haze rushed a humanoid figure, darkly dressed. For a moment this didn't register with Sakura as anything strange; after all, her enemies here weren't people -or weren't anymore, anyway- and given what she'd just been through, a helping hand from an ally whether new or old wasn't just appreciated, but deserved. It left the street fighter in utter shock, then, when the person charged not just to her, but past her, and clipped her shoulder on the way. A fresh lance of pain shot through Sakura's system, making her see stars, and when they stopped dancing through her vision she'd fallen to the ground. Only after a moment did she twist to confront whoever it was who struck her with an anguished, indignant glare. The runner turned too, and the moment Sakura laid eyes on her she realized that this was no friend of hers. Feminine in stature, she wore a full-body [url=https://i.imgur.com/OtRUdN7.png]suit[/url] of black and red that struck Sakura as achingly familiar. She'd seen it before, she knew, and recently. But when...? The unknown woman froze for a moment, as if she'd seen something she recognized as well, after getting a closer look. She held out one hand, her index and middle fingers extended, to shoot an imaginary finger gun at Sakura. After the recoil she raised the same two fingers to give a mocking salute, then, with her sniper rifle held tight in her other hand, turned to take off running. She sprinted into the tunnel Team Goldlewis came from and was gone. The concussed fighter tried to move. Two more spikes emerged from the earth and stuck into her lower bare back, arching it and lifting her off the ground, until only her arms, feet, shoulders and head were touching the earth. They stabbed her fairly deep, but weren’t strong enough to do more than lift her. The ranged attack wasn't strong enough to impale her completely and finish her off. [color=f49ac2][i]”Ugh..!”[/i][/color] The stars filled her vision again, and this time they did not recede. They got brighter and brighter until all she could see was white. She squeezed her eyes shut and grit her teeth. When the spikes retracted, Sakura was flat against the ground. She couldn’t go on. [color=f49ac2][i]”Unh…”[/i][/color] With a defeated moan, Sakura resigned herself to unconsciousness. Karin, still low-vision because of the dust, was playing on the defensive until it all cleared down. She would leap and swing away from any ribbons coming her way as soon as she heard them, if they could even reach her on the walls. Reluctant to make any reckless moves of offense, she played it save. There was no reason to get squashed trying to avoid some relatively minor piercing damage. She tried not to worry too much about Sakura, wherever she was, and focused on defending herself. Running around shouting her friend's name wasn’t going to help anyone.