Re: Broken Wings: Main Thread

[Thorgron]

Watching his intended target, Dressler's mind was hard at work. The man, Phoenix stood unaware of his impending collision. But a turn of his head lead to him catching site of the hurtling monstrosity. A duck and a roll brought half of the fiery men rolling in sync with him. Cute, he was a one man dance team. The other 15 or so came flying up at Dressler. The copepod neural structure went hard at work, allowing him to adequately process the incoming threat.

Tucking himself together tightly, the layer of limpet teeth covering his body would conjoin into a thick solid orb. Just in time as eh felt the first wave of explosions rock against the durable structure. The inflammable limpet teeth along with the enhanced thermophile physiology in all of his cells served him well on the onslaught. Though the outer layer may have been blazing hot, inside he was resting comfortable at a thousand degrees thanks to his insulation.

By the time the last clone crashed against him, Dressler's body landed with a loud thud into the relatively soft earth. The ground beneath him scorchied on impact from his still very hot exterior. Separating the limpet teeth back to their original configuration but keeping the added thickness Dressler rose on two monstrous legs to find his opponent.

Standing no more than a few feet away was his prey. Dressler licked around the area where his lips would normally be with a sickeningly long tongue. The excitement built in him, this prey did not want to go down easily. Struggle against me Phoenix! the voice emitting from his mouth was horse and hollow, like angry bees buzzing in their hive. Watching Phoenix's clones merge into a towering inferno, made Dressler's heart jump with excitement. The hunt makes the kill all the more satisfying.

Once more recoiling back on his legs, his feet would dig hard into the ground. Rapidly a mycelium structure would form beneath him, snaking its way through the soil and embedding itself in the root structures of nearby plants. By the time the wall was upon him, Dressler had a100 foot diameter mycelium substrate beneath the soil of their battlefield.

As the inferno pushed onward towards him, Dressler's body receded into the mycelium beneath, spreading its reaches even further. Incorporating the tremor sensitivity of a star nosed mole across his now hidden fungal body, he got a clear sense of the world above the substrate. Words from Phoenix rang out, giving away his location on the surface above.

Moving his center of mass beneath the feet of his opponent, Dressler would form a more human appearance once more beneath the soil. For a head he took on the trap-jaw ant, with jaws open at 90 degree angles from all four corners of the head. For the body, he took the same as earlier, armor and flea legs and all.

And with the trap set, so to speak, he sprung. The massive elephant proportioned ant jaws crashing through the soil and most probably around Phoenix 2,300 times faster than the human eyes can blink. The acceleration of their closing was so fast in fact that it pushed force downwards on Dressler's body like a rocket suddenly turning on. But with his flea legs he would simultaneously spring upwards beneath Phoenix, detaching himself from the mycelium and attempting to not only crush him in his massive jaws but to carry him up in to the air with him.

[Chellizard]

The sudden pulse of strange energy sent a jolt into her palms and up her arms. Usually she could shake things like this off, but it was something she had never felt before. It left her feeling a little numb. Not to mention, she was literally tossed backward. Her wings were the only reason she didn't crash into a tree.

Parachuting, her wings cupped the wind, keeping her from propelling quickly backward. She caught herself and landed, glancing toward Lucius through the windshield. She caught his eyes and noticed as he turned toward someone in the passenger seat.

It wasn't until it was too late that she had realized what was happening. A very dark smoke erupted around of her, almost instantly sending her to her knees. It was hard to breathe. She had been gasping before hand, panting quite hard from the shock she had received only moments prior.

As she sunk to her knees, she could feel her airway closing. She gasped, stuttered, and then retched. Her whole body convulsed, vomit spilling all over the grassy ground below her.

She was mostly out of view, seeing as the car towered over her hunched figure.

"What... was... in..." She tried to talk, her voice hoarse as she leaned over and threw up again. She took in a sharp, wheezy breath as she attempted to stand.

As she was moving to her feet, a playing card was thrown at her, hitting her square in the chest. The sudden shock sent her backward, her body falling limp.

She crashed into a tree, leaving an indention of her body.

"I..." tears were welling up in her eyes. Had she gotten in over her head? Was this really going to be her life forever? Eclipse... always being out shined by everyone around of her.

She closed her eyes.

"No!" she thought to herself, her chest filling with determination.

She thought of Andrew. She thought of Sean, and of Zell. She thought of A.I. back at base, and Darren too. She thought of Bliss, Bonnie, Kyrie, and Yui! And even Robot Yui!

She thought of John. She thought of Chelle, Nathaniel, her parents...

"I will not give up! Not this easily!"

The more people she thought about, the more her core began to open up.

A bright glowing light started to emit from her chest, getting brighter and brighter as she stayed stuck against the tree. She coughed a few more times and then fell forward, plummeting toward the ground. She was about fifteen feet up a tree a few moments ago. As she impacted with the ground, a miniature crater formed under her weight. It was odd that such a small girl could make such a dent.

Rising to her feet, she looked toward Lucius with one of her hands outstretched toward him.

"You..." she began, taking a few menacing steps forward.

"... I will not let you put out my light!"

Tyuki's voice had a sort of echo to it now, her eyes glowing bright white. Her hair was also stark white now, too. Her healing powers were activated, working away the allergen inside of her lungs before it got to her blood stream.

[Andrew]

Proud of his agility Andrew cracked his knuckles waiting for the next attack.
He pressed his black button on his dog tags through his shirt.
"A.I. Record everything from here on out." the hero whispered.
He knew something would happen. This thing was fast. It landed close to him. "Woah. Tough time getting a prom date looking like that eh?" Andrew leaped back quickly.
In an instant, an abomination came crashing through the soil beneath his feet.

"How is he so fast?" Andrew was just able to turn his body before the teeth made their way slicing up his arm with minor wounds.

"Jesus Christ."
The cuts weren't deep but lord did he feel the pain.
Andrew's movement sent him tumbling and rolling about 10 feet after the initial hit, and he dropped his staff.
"Not fond of prom jokes. Got it." He spoke favoring his arm a little.

He then felt the mutagen in his body.
"What the hell is this feeling?"
He felt like his insides were on fire.
He dropped to both knees, holding his stomach.
His eyes glowed a magnificent white. Golden flames shot from his mouth.

The pain began to subside. As he looked down at where cuts once were on his arm, he noticed they were completely healed.
He was certain Tyuki was the one who healed him so he turned to her direction for an instance.

Just as he glanced, he saw a smoke being sent into her lungs. That's when he smelt it. Grape. "No!" he screamed.
He shoved his hands into the dirt and sent fire roaring and erupting all around him. He then sent his most powerful and ferocious flame at this heinous creature.
"NOT HER! THAT'S MY WORLD!"

He made a mad dash for her. He didn't care about the fight. He saw her stumbling around after she pulled herself out of the tree. "Just hang on Tyuki." As he was closing in he could hear her talking.
She sounded so confident.

He lost touch with everything for a split second.
Visions of his parents flooded his head. Visions of fallen comrades. Was it his destiny to actually die here today? Things seemed so grim. She was the spark of hope that woke him up.
She was his muse. She was beautiful.
"Tyuki we need to get you out of here." he stood behind her. Looking Lucius in the face.
"You think poisoning people is fun Alba? Wait till I knock your pretty little teeth out."

[Red]

A chill went down Lucius' spine, the cold seeming to get to him. After all the metal armor did little to insulate him from it, but perhaps if he would have taken that into account before he would have wore more under it. Regardless, the minor chill was nothing, just an annoyance more then anything else. The early morning sun lit the sky with a dull grey, which contrasted the fire and energy in a way that made the color jump out at you. The calmness in the beautiful field around them was unreal, not a sound could be heard but from the people there, and not a saturated color seen besides what they caused. It would have been nice if not for the thick tension in the air.

Tyuki went down, but the young woman powered through impressively. Lucius nearly thought that woman had lied to him, but sighed mentally in relief once he saw the clear signs. She was just determined, she was using something, a desire to live perhaps? or maybe it was not her own life, but someone else's she needed to stay for. Regardless, Phoenix broke off from the Doctor before Lucius could move in to finish her off, but this was not an issue in the slightest.

"Fun? No. But seeing you squirm, seeing that look in your eyes, the fear. That is absolute bliss." Lucius said, then telepathically activated his Selective Pulse Generator. It's influence would move outwards in all directions rapidly and with visible force, but it's energy would not rip through everything it came into contact with like a normal telekinetic pulse. No, it was all selectively focused on one within the pulse, Phoenix. The only way to evade being thrown back would to not be in the pulse's range, and he was. He could run, but that would just give Lucius the thing he wanted: Phoenix gone long enough for the Doctor to pin him again.

Phoenix would find himself launched with enough force to send even him flying dozens of meters toward the tree heavy forest, and in Dressler's general direction. Tyuki and Lucius, as well as the car and every blade of grass however, would be completely unaffected by the pulse that moved over them. After this likely played out, Lucius would raise his hand and fire out a barrage of electric energy at Tyuki. A place holder attack, but he wasn't done playing yet. He didn't want to end the fun by dosing her so soon.

[Thorgron]

The sweet blood of his opponent clung in a slick streak to Dressler's mandibles. As he rose into the air, propelled my the force from his jump, a drool covered tongue stretched fromm within the his ant jowls and lapped up the thick red liquid. Mmmmm he buzzed out in satisfaction as he consumed the last of Phoenix's blood from his mandibles. But there was something different about the genes he was consuming. They had mutated, changed from moments ago when he had laid eyes on the man. I taste the change in your blood. he croaked at the man laying on the ground. Then his head would revert once more to its more human-ape looking form, still covered in layers of natural armor. From his back would sprout two pairs of massive albatross wings, catching the wind from his jump and pulling him further upwards. As he rose, he witnessed his opponent burst into flames and send a massive blast towards him. Flapping harder he rose ever faster.

The battlefield below quickly fell out of view as Dressler pierced above the veil of the clouds. Heat from the blast reached him, even up here, scorching feathers on his wings and disintegrating the cloud cover behind him . Hovering uneasily on hot wings for a moment, he would once more undergo a change. Where his hands had been, now two thick clubs formed. The limpet teeth coating the maulers pointed outward, growing incredibly sharp. Over the rest of his body however, the fibers of the limpet teeth straightened and layer down against one another giving him a highly aerodynamic and smooth outline. Inside his elbows a much larger version of the lock and release mechanism of a mantis shrimp formed. Tensing the muscles of the mechanism, his arms tucked tight against his body. Finally his wings would change mid-flap from those of an albatross to a peregrine falcon. Immediately they would tuck against all fifteen hundred pounds of his form and send him rocketing downwards.

The clouds above the battlefield parted with a boom as Dressler's body broke through them. His eyes immediately fell upon Phoenix, Eclipse and Lucius. Lucius it seemed had released something against the woman, forcing Phoenix into a panic. That must have been his plan. Moving ever faster, he watched as a wave of force crashed over his opponent and sent him careening into the nearby forest. Unfurling his wings, Dressler's body heaved in a tight turn, lifting his head from pointing at the ground, to pointing at the now hurtling Phoenix. Pointing the wings now in the direction of the wave, he carried himself even faster towards his destination. He was like an eagle pouncing on his prey and his eyes widened in anticipation as he came upon his target. Spewing Highform mutagen in a thick jet from his mouth he simultaneously unleashed all of the stored energy in his arms, his masive smashers hurtling towards Phoenix. Once released they would come at hero with such power and speed that an expansion fan would form around them sending a sonic boom crashing through the forest. Dressler himself was somewhat shocked at the shear force, even he with his copepod neural configuration he was unable to see the punches as they rocketed towards the man that he hoped to crush.

[Chellizard]

The femme stood taller now. It was like a fire was lit inside her soul, and there was nothing to put it out now. She was burning brighter than the sun itself.

"... Phoenix..." She started, feeling his fire behind of her.

She was so close to snapping. And his sudden need to rescue her made her cross over that final line. Step on that last nerve. She had had it!

"I AM NOT WEAK! I AM... STRONG!" She shouted, her wings ruffling in anger.

"I am not some damsel!" saying her last few words, Lucius had directed an attack at Andrew, sending his body hurtling backward into the forest. She didn't even feel it coming! She was sure she should have been blasted back by the force as well, but something told her there was some voodoo up Lucius' sleeves.

She stared at the man for two split seconds, and with sheer willpower, turned on her heels and took off.

Her wings pulled her after Andrew, and it was just in time. She could feel the slight shift in the gravity around of her as more pressure came rushing down onto her. There was a force directly above her, coming straight down for Andrew. She was not going to let that happen.

She came to his aid for once, her form turning in a brilliant flash of white.

Her wings expanded and spread out, forming a sort of blanket to wash over Andrew, coating him and shielding him from any danger. She was going to be his shield. She was going to be his sword. She was done being the one that needed someone else to protect her.

It was her time to shine.

It was her time to stop being eclipsed by everyone else!

As Dressler's grotesque form came down and the large bulbous smashers came for Tyuki, she had just gotten over Andrew, her gloves having been peeled off of her hands. She was not going to hold back any more. It wasn't fair that these Rise members could just blast people back on command, and it have no effect on her.

It felt oddly sexist.

She narrowed her eyes, preparing for impact. It was only milliseconds, but with her mental preparations, her whole body leaned into Dressler's punch.

The initial shockwave that was calculated prior - as in, if Dressler had hit Andrew - it would have maybe forced a few trees to bend and lose a few branches. But no.

Tyuki's sheer power meeting with Dresslers forced fully grown oak trees to snap and fall, breaking at their bases - and even ripping up at the roots. The shock wave was so massive, it forced a wide ring to form around of them, buckling several adult oak trees.

Standing, unaffected, was a shocked Tyuki. Her whole body was buzzing with adrenaline. The sudden feeling of being able to push her own limits felt amazing.

Finally, she spoke.

"For Christs sake, Phoenix... I am not a weakling. I am the SUN! I don't bend to anyone any more - and I sure as hell am not gonna be put into a position where I need to be rescued - it's my turn to save you." She then glared at Dressler and slowly pulled her fists back from his massive smashers.

"You're ugly, and I bet your mama doesn't even love you." She then pushed her feet off of the ground and threw herself into Dressler, a fury of fists coming with it.

She punched, hard, and in rapid succession. One. After. The. Other.

"I!" she punched at his head.

"Am not!" two punches now.

"GOING TO BE!" she was now punching with each syllable, her anger rising with her voice - it echoed around of the mountains, along with each hard 'thwap' of each of her punches.

"IN YOUR SHADOW ANY LONGER!" her punches should have been bloodied by now, but no. Unless Dressler was bleeding by now, there was no blood. Maybe she had cracked his armor. Maybe. But, she was still going, her knuckles barely scratched. Her suit, however, had likely suffered massive damage.

Each punch she gave to Dressler was leading him back toward Lucius, and away from Phoenix. She wanted to give Andrew ample time to formulate a plan of attack on Dressler - to have the upper hand.

Hopefully her heroic prowess would give Andrew the chance he needed.

[Andrew]

Immediately Andrew could hear the tone in Tyuki's voice shift. This wasn't a tone he had ever heard. She was actually pissed at him.

"Tyuki, I."
She exclaimed how she felt. She was done being a princess in a castle waiting to be rescued. Andrew never saw her as that.
You see Andrew always saw Tyuki as strong. Powerful. Kind.
However, much like anyone who loves you. They don't even wish for a bee to sting you. "All I ever wanted to do was keep you safe. I didn't mean to offend yo-."

Boom. Lucius's device went off sending an unsuspecting Phoenix flying into the air and hurdling backwards.
"Aw. This might hurt." he spoke bracing himself for whatever he would be launched into. As he closed his eyes and prepared for the worst he felt himself being pulled out of thin air.
Dressler buzzing right by him.
"What?"

It was Tyuki. She had saved him. "So this is what she meant."
As they made their way back to the ground. Phoenix felt her wings cover him. "What the hell is going on?"

He could hear the anger in her voice resonating. An apology from him right now would be useless. That's when what felt like the earth exploding from her fist happened.
The shock wave was so powerful blood began to drip from his mouth, left eye, and nose.
All he could feel was pain mixed with disappointment.
The worst kind at that, self disappointment.

Every fiber in his body rang with injury. "How hard did she hit him?"
She walked closer to the man, and began to whale on on him.
Andrew felt embarrassed.
He couldn't see Lucius's face but he knew he would be grinning.
Andrew went from embarrassment to straight fury. He was done with this. "For six year I fought. Your stupid group comes along trying to upset the balance I sacrificed a portion of my life for?"

Andrew stood up slowly, feeling the effects of what Tyuki unleashed.
"Well Lucius! Are you happy? Is this what you wanted? To have innocent people die? I was wrong. You are absolutely the devil."

He walked towards the bastard with nothing but rage in his eyes. "You know what. All you've been able to do is poison a woman who had nothing to do with your hatred of me. I get it. I made you look like a fool in Vegas. You didn't really help your cause to be honest."

He continued walking. Fire surrounded both arms. His injuries still not healing. "You like cards right? Well when you play your hand, you should put on your poker face. Life doesn't just deal out aces. You have to bluff sometimes. You're all too familiar with this. You haven't been yourself since Isabella."

Andrew let fire erupt in a circle between the devil and the saint.
"I promised you some broken teeth."

Andrew cracked his knuckles.
"Well I will deliver on my end. Believe that."
Andrew stepped out of the fire, letting it completely surround Lucius like a prison.
Blood dripping from all places, Andrew charged at the beast that called himself a doctor. He leaped and swung a kick that was so mighty that even the mountains around them all would rumble.
He followed up by throwing a flurry of punches. He was so angry he couldn't even tell if he was hitting his target.
"This world can be so ungrateful!" He spoke. His face now resembling a crimson mask. He dropped to one knee for a moment before leaping and giving a flying knee. Next he followed up with a fire blast that would scorch even the heavens.

"LETS SEE WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW YOU ABOMINATION!"

[Red]

Lucius couldn't help but laugh, as A typical of a villain it was. It was truly funny to him, how Phoenix tried so desperately to swing some manner of speech. It was nothing but grasping, Lucius had heard it all already. Did Phoenix really think a little anger in his eyes was going to change anything? That a jab at Lucius' fiance was going to shake him? Or even the 'you're evil' broken record? None of it mattered. Lucius was going to win today, he was going to make Phoenix suffer.

Tyuki went after Dressler, causing a shock wave on impact. To avoid it Lucius simply activated Roots and rose above the ground, the wave being unable to move him. After that, he landed back on the ground and deactivated the gadget. It was clear Phoenix was about to try to tag team Dressler, despite just threatening again to knock Lucius' teeth out. What a confused little thing he was. A fire cage erupted around Lucius, it's heat being felt through his armor. Did Phoenix think this would hold him?

He teleported out of it, and right by the cluster that was the Tyuki/Dressler/Phoenix fight. Getting Andrew away from them wasn't going to be easy as his SPG was still charging, so he had to improvise.  He activated the overdrive function on his Quantum Cycle, appearing in three places at once which just so happened to be each side of the fight, then fired out a Whirlwind stick into the ground of each spot. He then deactivated the cycle and stopped by the stick behind Phoenix, activating Roots once again just as the sticks started to pull in everything around them. He of course was unaffected, but what would likely happen here is Tyuki and Dressler would be pulled by the sticks behind them, and Phoenix by the one Lucius was standing by. There was little chance they could resist given the force of a category seven tornado pulling them in, so until it stopped in ten seconds or so they were going to get wrenched toward the sticks.

"The world can be so ungrateful? That's your big battle cry? You really are a narcissist, aren't you?" Lucius would say once Phoenix likely got close to him. Tyuki and Dressler were likely going to continued fighting, but Lucius wasn't going to have Phoenix joining.

"Even when she tells you not to, you go and try to save her. I've heard stories about guys that just don't take a hint, but i never believed it could be this bad." Lucius said, preparing for Phoenix to attack. If he ran away back to the Dressler/Tyuki fight, well then he looked like a coward. No, the most likely thing for him to do was charge or use a fire attack, both of which Red was prepared for. There was of course the possibility he would get creative, use his staff or something, but Lucius was confident he could stand up against that as well.

"Well, I'm waiting, come knock my teeth out."

[Thorgron]

The attack had not gone as planned. Instead of feeling the crunch of breaking flesh and bone beneath his fist, he was met with a blinding light and an equally devastating punch. His fist still extended, he could feel the blast from the colliding force fly over his body in waves. When his vision had cleared, standing beneath him was not his target but instead Eclipse. Immediately his eyes went to evaluating her own genetics Ah he mused internally as she crouched back on her legs it seems her strength and ability to take a punch are right on par with his. She's fast too.

Then she came rocketing at him, not unexpected of course as he watched her leap from her spot on the ground, an attempted insult slung at the same time as her fist. Seeing the incoming onslaught, Dressler hurriedly increased the width of his limpet teeth armor and reinforced the inside of his skull like a ram's.

Swing away dear, let's see what you can do he taunted. He was excited to see just what she was capable of when pitted against his defenses.

With the first punch, his head ripped to the side. The second sent him staggering backwards.

Spawning eight thick spider legs, coated in his limpet teeth armor, he stabilized himself against the onslaught. With every punch he felt more confident in his chances in this fight. But with his head rocking from side to side at dizzying speeds he had somewhat lost track of his surroundings.

That was what landed him in trouble. As he lifted his head from one of Tyuki's punches his vision was suddenly flooded with feet and fists. Phoenix's kick sent Dressler's neck snapping backwards, but the punch from Tyuki was the real kicker. Planting square into his jaw a sickening pop could be heard as the layer of limpet teeth armor cracked up to his jaw and down through his neck. Their combined assault had managed to knock him off of his feet , onto his back, and through his armor. As a scorching blast of flame washed over his body, a rage boiled inside of him to match the intense heat of the fire.

In an instant, his body disappeared into the mycelium substrate below. To Tyuki, Phoenix and maybe even Red, all that would appear to be left of Dr. Dressler would be a patch of earth charred beyond all recognition.

But as Lucius' whirlwind devices likely sucked his opponents to their respective locations, a grotesque mass formed beneath their feet. The ground beneath them all would rumble as though the earth itself were trembling beneath Dressler's anger. He had taken his task far too lightly, assumed that inferior strength would be enough to take on this challenge. But they had cracked through a layer of his armor, damaged his facade. That would not be accepted.

Rock and dirt would split and separate at the center of the three whirlwinds as he collected more and more mass to himself. The exact extent of his reach now was uncertain even to him, but it was massive. And at the height of the quaking, an arm, larger than Dressler's entire body had just been rose forth from the earth. His usual armor coated the grotesque arm, split in areas by bulging muscular flesh. As the arm writhed about stories above the other three, the muscles rippled and pulsed from between his armored scales.

You, are no sun. a demonically deep voice bellowed from deep underground. The massive arm heaved forward towards Tyuki, likely pinning her beneath its immense weight. Bending, the elbow lurched upwards, unearthing a gargantuan shoulder and head. Likewise covered in multiple feet of layered limpet teeth, Dressler turned towards his now much smaller adversary.

You, are Icarus. his head now in view, thick streams of spit and mutagen shot forth from his spike filled mouth, each tooth the size of a person. With another heave, the second arm ripped a small cavern into the earth as it swung around to his other side. Pushing down, the earth once more quaked , both from the force crushing down and the mass rising up.

His torso extended along as he lunged himself forward from the chasm below. It seemed to never end as a series of monstrous centipede like legs heaved his elongated body upwards. Now above ground, Dressler's snake-like body coiled all 90 some feet of itself, the size of a large blue whale, around stabilizing his towering torso. From the outside a change could be seen as his muscle structure mutated into that of a dung beetle, able to move over 1200 times its own body weight. Considering his monstrous size, and armored down girth, that was an astounding amount of weight.

Leaning himself upwards, his right hand clutched around the soil and Tyuki, creating a crater where his hand had been. A cracking noise would rip through the area as a second set of long muscular arms formed around the middle of his ribs.

And you've flown far too close to the sun. Slamming one of his other arms into the one holding Tyuki he squeezed with astounding force. Twisting his fingers around, her wings would squeezed out from between his knuckles. With the other set of arms, he reached around, clutching one of her wings in each of his massive hands.

I fear your wings are going to melt. Leaking Highform mutagen between the hands grasping her wings, he would pull with a mighty jerk. A pop cracked from between his hands as Tyuki's wings dislocated. Feathers sheered from the limp and possibly broken structures as he removed his hands. Giving one last squeeze to her torso, he would lift his hand above his head and hurl Tyuki with all his might straight at Phoenix.

You have seen nothing of the abomination! he roared, the leaves of the remaining trees shaking from the sound. His chest then bulged into a massive spinneret looking structure. From his back a pair of beetle wings would sprout over a growing sacks of fluid. Then with a squeeze they would release their deadly payload. A jet larger and far more powerful than a fire hose would fire hundreds of gallons of a mixture of bombardier beetle spray and highform mutagen in a tight continuous stream towards Phoenix and wherever he may choose to go. It would more than likely drown out even the most intense flames The Phoenix could throw at him. The stuff was a natural irritant to the eyes and respiratory system, able to kill larger predators for the bombardier beetle. Dressler was more than excited to see the devastation he could cause with it on this kind of scale.

[Chellizard]

Her fighting next to Andrew now gave her a quick chance to focus all of her healing energy into him. As she did, her hair was no longer stark white, and her eyes went back to their normal emerald green. But, Phoenix's major wounds would now be healed.

Unfortunately, for Tyuki and Phoenix, Dressler's more intense wounds would also be healed.

It was the major downside to using her healing power as an aura effect rather than a concentrated touch.

But, that didn't make her give up. She kept throwing punching, breaking what she had just healed on the Doctor Dressler.

Her fist came around, an amazing right hook, her knuckles digging deep into Dressler's jaw. The sickening cracking sound that came only milliseconds after actually filled Tyuki with joy. And that worried her. Her heart broke a little at the sudden realization that she enjoyed causing this man pain.

Just as she had cracked into Dressler's defenses, a massive pulling force yanked her backward toward a pole stuck into the ground. She tried to fight it, using her strength to her advantage. Unfortunately, her food slipped.

As it did, she went tumbling backward, crashing into the pole and knocking it over. She cursed under her breath, annoyance rising to the surface.

"Stupid... science..." She grumbled this, picking herself up. She turned, her wings stretching and bowing in fear, but her facial expression did not change.

It was one of pure determination.

She was not going to give up. Not now.

Not after what she had said to Andrew, and what she had said to herself.

It would make her a hypocrite - a liar.

"What..?" She questioned in confusion. The massive arm being the main cause for fear. Her subconscious was ready to run away, but she fought the urge and stayed put. It was her time to shine. She couldn't run away - that's not what the sun did. It was always there, shining it's light on everyone. Even the bad guys.

The sudden shift in the ground caused her to buckle to her knees, and the massive hand found it's way to pin her with ease. She hadn't prepared herself for this.

Hell, this was the scariest thing she had been up against since Nagasaki - and that was just some rogue girl throwing band equipment.

This was some actual monster death battle stuff.

Gritting her teeth, she glanced from her pinned position toward Andrew and Lucius. She only hoped that, deep down, he would forgive her later. She was just tired of being the mockery of the Talons - the last one picked for the team, and, of course, the damsel in distress.

Her hands wrenched against the giant appendages pinning her down. She was trying her hardest to push the hand off of her. And, she would have, had she not been lifted off of the ground.

The comments that Dressler was making made her head spin. Icarus? What, did he think that she was some fool?

Bliss did, but she wasn't here!

"I'm not Icarus! The sun?! How can I fly too close to myself?!" Anger rose in the pint sized hero as she used her arms to push the appendages off of her. She just couldn't get the other hand off of her that was reaching around to grab her wings.

She squirmed and tried to flap her wings, avoiding his grip for as long as she could. And that was only a short three or so seconds. As soon as his hand grabbed hold of her wings, she knew it was over for her. She cried out in pain, her shrill cry carrying through the forest and echoing off of the mountains.

She underwent so much pain that she felt her consciousness slip. She waved in and out as her body was flung, so easily, toward Andrew. Her wings, broken and barely holding on, bent and folded around of her but in a limp fashion as she hurdled through the air.

As she made contact with Andrew, or went soaring over his head, she would drift off into a quiet dreamland, everything becoming dark around of her.

[Andrew]

Everything that can go wrong will right? At least that's what Murphy's Law says. Right about now, Murphy was all too correct.
The Talons had been ambushed, separated, and now this metahuman Andrew had never even heard of much less seen was attacking him and his teammate. It wasn't long before the arrogant son of a bitch decided to pull out his gadgets. Boy were they prepped for these heroes.

"Thanks." Andrew spoke to Tyuki cold and sarcastically. Her shock wave literally had made his insides rock. As she healed him, he grit his teeth at the site of the enemy being healed too.
As Andrew saw the devices being placed, he felt a powerful force drawing him in. It was certainly coming from the sticks Lucius planted. Angry from Tyuki's rant at him, he stared at Lucius with a large grin as he let himself get sucked towards the whirlwind stick.

Letting fire coat his arm, he held out his other and his staff re-formed in his left hand. Flying quickly at the device, Andrew smashed it to pieces upon nearing his target.
The shattering of the stick was unsatisfying. He wanted to hurt Lucius. He wanted to bring this whole organization to justice.

He stepped forward towards the bastard.
Looking at him with a tilted head he began to question him.
"Really Lucius? Lying about actual terrorists here?"
He stepped forward and shot a stream of fire directed right at his face.
"Really Lucius? Poisoning Eclipse?"
He shot three streams of fire no less than 4000 degrees.
"Really Lucius? You think you're so high and mighty that you can walk into any country and justify your ends with means?"

"You want your teeth knocked out do you?"
Andrew cocked back his right arm and leaped at the man, swinging quite hard and feeling it rattle his helm.
"I heard two pop loose." he smirked.

Right as his heroic moment happened, Dressler showed up just in time to ruin it.
Tyuki came hurdling towards him, Andrew leaped to catch her.
That's when he saw the mist coming their way.
"Shit."

Dropping back down Andrew placed Tyuki down gently and quickly.
"Work your magic Andrew"
He spun the staff with enough force to propel the mist away from Tyuki but it sent Andrew hurdling straight for it.
Instant pain.
His eyes and throat burned, he felt disoriented.
He felt pain shoot through his entire body.
He felt powerless.
Then he remembered his power.
"Try and think about how it felt"
He closed his eyes and his body began to glow. His vision returned, his insides weren't on fire anymore, and he wasn't completely dizzy. God was he sore though.

Standing up, he put his fists up and looked at Red and Dressler.
"Well. If you're gunna kill me, let's make it a damn good finish. Let me show you I'm not afraid of anything you can throw my way. Let me remind you I've seen the biggest, the toughest, and the meanest, and every single one of them have been compromised."

He stumbled back a bit still maintaining a fighter's stance.
"And you better do your damn best to remember there will always be someone like me. Ready to face giants. Tackle mountains. And stare into the face of defeat with a heart full of hope. Now why don't you two bastards do the smart thing? Let the other guy go first."

[Red]

Lucius saw Dressler be bombarded by the two heroes into nothing but a pile of ash, but he wasn't worried. On the contrary, he knew this meant Dressler was about to go off. Red knew his capabilities, and knew they had seen nothing yet. Not to mention, his scanners picked up traces of Dressler's being in the supposed rubble. Lucius continued on like nothing happened, making his taunt, and unfortunately being rewarded by some fire blasts and a swift punch to his helm after he had pulled Phoenix in.

Soul Sync was focused on the atomic level scan of Dressler's being, so it couldn't react to the speedy punch sent toward Lucius' armored head or the blasts of fire. Fortunately the blasts were reduced to nothing but the heat of a small camp fire by the activation of Lucius' temperature pocket at it's coldest setting, making what was left of the fire easily taken care of by Lucius's armor. All that was left was the punch. He saw the the hit coming, but with his teleporter hot and without any speed to move out of the way as well as his computer system being out of focus, he was taking this one. There was insane force behind it, insane force. But, the counter force sent against it by the mask Lucius was wearing dampened the blow enough that it didn't kill him. Along with that, he was still immovable, so he stayed firmly planted in the ground. It wasn't all dealt with though, the punch still had enough force to rattle the mask to the degree it was briefly sent inward toward Lucius' mouth, knocking his two front teeth out. He let out a grunt of pain, but remained exactly where he was.

He played with the teeth in his mouth, they were thankfully knocked out cleanly and unbroken. He could easily put them back in later. While Phoenix was talking and was being drenched with poison from Dressler, the mask opened slightly and he caught his teeth, putting them in a compartment and closing his mask once again. Luckily no one would see such an embarrassing injury before he put them back in.

Lucius seemed to just be ignoring Andrew's World Of Cardboard speech as he dealt with his injury, then looked back to him with a trademark deep and electronic chuckle. They were all the same weren't they? Lucius looked at the injured body of Tyuki, looked to Dressler, and then finally to the hero who seemed to be challenging them both. What an insufferable ignoramus. He had lost already, and yet was still standing so firmly against his inevitable fate. Lucius could almost respect it if it wasn't so annoying.

That's when Daniel, the teleporter from earlier, popped in and grabbed Tyuki. He left so swiftly not even a speedster would be able to catch him. Previously he had been driving Lucius' car to the edge of the magnetic field that prevented teleporting out of it, before picking up another team member and then teleporting in to capture Tyuki and bring her back to the car. She would be swiftly sedated and thrown in the trunk, and in moments would be driven and teleported to a location not even people like the Agency could track. She would be successfully kidnapped in less then a minute.

Back at the battlefield, Lucius got into a fighting stance, making sure Phoenix saw that he had his supposed love interest. He was really enjoying this, evident by the way he circled Phoenix, slowly sidestepping with amusement in his movements. Even with a mask on you could tell the Rise head was grinning. He then charged his gauntlet with electromagnetic energy, and threw out a pulse. The cameras he had set up and likely the recording device Phoenix had from then on out would be disabled. Luckily his armor wasn't damaged enough to harm the EMP shielding it had.

"And remember that there will always be men like me. There will always be someone willing to go against what people say is right for the good of the world. You kept your promise, and i intend to keep mine. You're about to lose her, Andrew." Lucius said, pointing his sword at the Hero from his position about ten meters away. This was about to get very, very entertaining.

"I'M GOING TO TAKE HER FROM YOU! i assure you, whatever you have endured i have been through ten fold, and this i will show you. This i will give you a front row seat to so you may watch in absolute horror as your life is ripped apart! YOU WILL SEE REAL SUFFERING!" Lucius yelled. You could feel the determination in his voice, the sureness of victory, the pride. He was gloating before it was even over, that's how confident he was he would make Phoenix suffer.


"Don't worry, she'll be given back to you........ Shattered into pieces. Then we will see the real man that lives beneath that ego, beneath that mask. You think you're the world's savior, but you're just a kid that got lucky in the genes drawing. You're just a man, and men, they're sinners you know. They are all willing to do horrible things for those they love. All it takes is a bad day, and the monster will come out." Lucius said, still making his slow circle around Phoenix as he talked, sword drawn into a fencing position with his right hand behind his back in typical fashion. He then stopped just when he got to the point where he was between Dressler and Andrew, and he stiffened his stance.

"Show me your rage, show me your passion, show me your love......... I want to see the monster that lay within you, and all of us. Take it out on me, tear me apart. I want to gaze upon the man under the facade." Lucius said. He was going to let Phoenix make the first move, this time with Soul Sync completely focused on countering the pyrokinetic. The cold pocket in the area would reduce his fires effectiveness, and if Andrew even thought about getting in close he would be met with a flurry of chassis assisted slashes too fast to even see. If Phoenix went for his staff, Lucius' immovability would make it completely ineffective. The only way he was doing damage was if he closed with a highly skilled swordsman with accelerated probability perception and a computer that moved his chassis on it's own to protect him. This meant Phoenix wasn't closing without getting cut by the vibrating blade several times.

[Thorgron]

Dressler looked on in amusement as his deadly concoction coated the wannabe hero. Even as he watched the compound would be burning at his eyes and lungs, wreaking havoc on a man he was sure had seldom felt real pain. But the mutagen was good for that, taking even the strongest of men and reducing them to their weakest. That however, only worked for the physical body. The breaking of the mind of Phoenix it seemed would be left to Lucius

In an instant Tyuki was gone. Dressler even with his copepod nervous system only caught a flash of the man who took her. No detail at all met his mind, a troubling prospect. Lucius it seemed had a man capable of serious feats of speed or movement. He'd have to remain mindful of that for the future. For now though his focus needed to stay on Phoenix.

As the last of his spray washed over the man, Dressler looked to see the state that his opponent was in. To his surprise, he still stood, if a little wobbly. A closer observation would reveal that Phoenix had used his newfound ability and was even now repairing his own body. I applaud your resilience his voice boomed above the two men circling each other beneath him. But in the end, it only delays the inevitable.

Then he started in to his speech, preaching even now as he stood down certain defeat. His words, at least to Dressler, fell on deaf ears. Lucius' speech however caught his attention. This was a side of him Dressler had never seen. Passion was evident in the man and everything he did. But it was a quiet passion, silent intensity. Here and now the rage within seemed to leak forward. It was almost personal, as though Red had something to prove to this man. What could there be to prove though? They were clearly the superior creatures, it was merely a matter of asserting one's dominance. A show of force and a warning to those who would dare question their place below seemed to be the adequate response.

Yet still his rage built, Dressler could almost feel the Rise head's blood boiling. And with his sword drawn it was clear that Lucius wanted to take the man before them for himself. Seeing this, Dressler's body began to melt around him. His monstrous snakelike tail would coil in a wide arc around Phoenix and Lucius blocking them out from the rest of the world. Then each of his insect like legs that stretched across the serpentine body would sink in to the ground, connecting to the mycellium network beneath.

Face your giants, tackle your mountains Dressler taunted as he leaned over the circle he created, his arms touching down on the outside of the serpentine circle. But let's see what we can do about that hope. Almost instantly a membrane would stretch from Dressler's body, connecting his arms and tail into a closed organic dome. Then inside the dome, a thick haze secreted from every surface of his body. A terrifying combination of aerosolized manchineel tree sap, highform mutagen and carbon dioxide would flood into the makeshift arena from tiny mechanisms like those a fungus uses to deliver spores. Dressler was confident that Lucius would have a way to breath and filter out the toxins, but of Phoenix he was not so sure even with his ability to heal.

Take a deep breath he hissed at Phoenix from above, his head melding inside of the top of the organic dome. The air inside was becoming palpably heavier with each of Dressler's breaths as the pressure built. Outside, the membranous walls of the dome began to expand outwards from the pressure building inside. It may very well be your last.

[Chellizard]

The sudden grip of foreign hands forced her into a conscious state. She screamed out in pain, her wings being bent with no sense of care coming from the person moving her from point A to point B.

She was, previously, in the field, laying gently in the soft dew drop covered grass. Now she was in the back seat of Lucius' car, her wings haphazardly bent and folded against the leather interior. She was bleeding all over the car, and she couldn't give a single care.

She kicked and screamed, but it was muted by the vehicles secured chassis and sound proofed interior.

She looked, finally, at the person holding her still. It was a man, roughly in his twenties, and another face was leaning closer and closer to hers, smirking with an evil twist on their face.

"Let me just see who you are under that mask..." the voice said, creepily lifting a hand to slide a bit of Tyuki's hair from her face. She struggled, all of her strength gone. She had no idea where it went. She felt a sudden sharp pain in her neck, and a gasp escaped her just as her mask was lifted from her face. No longer hidden from the man in front of her, she was bare to the world.

--

Xerox gently laid her mask down and shooed Daniel to sit in the front seat. With a soft popping noise, Daniel was suddenly in the front driver seat, the windows on the car becoming tinted at the press of a button.

"She's a lot nicer looking without that mask on. Too bad she's covered in blood... and it doesn't help that Dressler completely ruined her pretty wings." Daniel said, sitting with his form turned so he could watch Xerox work.

The man that had taken off Tyuki's mask was left in the back seat with her now unconscious body. Being heavily sedated would be better for her in the long run - it meant less pain for her.

Grabbing her with one arm around of her waist, he made sure to fold her wings as properly as he could, gently laying her on her side. Her was wearing gloves, of course, not wanting to override the powers he had copied from Doctor Dressler. He had to make sure the clone of him, a xerox copy, was ready to accept and turn into Tyuki.

He hunched over Tyuki as she lay still, his back making a few sickening sounds of popping and cracking before an exact replica of himself separated from his back and was left sitting next to the unconscious girl. The real Xerox moved himself to sit in the passenger seat, his shoulders rolling and popping back into place with a satisfied sight passing through him.

"I'm actually glad she doesn't have to die. For a meta human, she's very pure..." Xerox said, his warm brown hues flicking from Daniel to his clone.

"Eh. A life can sometimes be fragile, but this girl... she's way stronger than some people I've seen. It's kind of scary. But whatever." Watching now in silence, Daniel witnessed the clone of Xerox lay his hand over Tyuki's face, gently caressing her for a few moments.

As his skin came into contact with her, the clone began to change. An exact replica of Tyuki now sat next to the unconscious one, but donning no mask. And as it should be - considering Tyuki's mask had been taken off of her.

The copy of Xerox placed the mask that actually belonged to Tyuki over his now feminine face, and looked in the mirror.

Staring back was Tyuki.

Her eyes were bright green, and full of pain to reflect how her physical body felt. It was a one hundred percent match. There was no doubt about it - even an expert coroner couldn't say that this body was not Tyuki Gold.

Luckily for Xerox, that mysterious woman had given Lucius information that they needed to pull this hoax off. Now it was time for the show.

"Let me punch one of you in the face and fight my way out. It will look much more believable." faux Tyuki said.

"Not gonna be me. Nope. It's your experiment, Xerox, so it's your face that gets to be beat up." Daniel said, shaking his head.

"But no one knows I'm here. If they see me, there's a chance one of those Talon members have half a brain and could see through this guise. Don't be an imbecile, just put on the show."

"Ugh. Fine." Daniel reluctantly moved to the back seat after teleporting the unconscious Tyuki into the trunk - which was a tight squeeze for the two of them, but he managed.

"Wait for my signal. We need to make sure Gravity Man is in place, then we can make our exit. Plus, it looks like something bad is going on out there - let's not get you too fucked up my little carbon copy." Grinning, Xerox was proud of his ability, and clapped his hands together once to accompany his excitement.

He then turned his attention to the windshield and watched, waiting for the opportune moment. As soon as he saw Gravity Man make his entrance, he gave the go ahead.

--

Tyuki kicked, screamed, and yelled as she pushed the door open. She kicked at Daniel, making sure to get as far away from his as possible. Once out of the car, she just started screaming and yelling for help.

"I'M SORRY. PHOENIX. I'M SO SORRY. HELP! I TAKE IT BACK. I TAKE IT BACK!" The facade was in play, but it was so solid there was no way to see through it. Any hero would see that a girl so beaten down would easily apologize - especially a weakling like Tyuki Gold.

[Andrew]

It was a tidal wave of emotion as Andrew Pettiglio was a sitting duck before the mighty Rise. They were out numbered, out gunned, and out thought. Lucius liked card games. If this were blackjack he'd have Jack and Ace, while Phoenix busted. Unfortunately, the hero would probably never get a second hand.

As he stood, using all of his will power to keep from crashing to the earth beneath him, he knew that this fight was done.
Andrew didn't quit. Like an oak tree in a hurricane he planted his feet and wouldn't falter. To the bitter end, he swore to a plethora of people he would stop evil. Well right now he was staring it in the face.

Slowly he walked towards Red. unafraid, almost unaware of any consequence that could occur. "You want rage do you?" he coughed, still walking ever so slowly towards the head of the organization. Andrew laughed, but not because it was funny. No, this was one of those laughs you let out when you're out of ammo on a battlefield, or out of money to pay rent. He dropped to one knee while he was pushing himself onward. Grunting as he bashed his leg off the ground, for the first time in a long time, he was feeling human. "Oh believe me you monster, I'll tackle you mountains." he spoke at Dressler.

A dome began to for around Andrew and Red. He didn't have enough energy or speed to avoid it's clutches. He was going to be trapped like a bird in a cage. With no chance to fly.
The anger washed over him. Letting one hand come to a fist. he squeezed it with all he had, and used that anger to come back to a standing position.

He then felt the effects of the sap. His eyes were watering, throat felt like it was closing. The mutagen destroyed his durability, both inside and out. Healing wasn't an option as that was a power he just learned he had, and even at that he could barely control it. "Well Alba. Looks like you got m-"

He heard a familiar scream. A familiar voice. It was Tyuki Gold.
"No."
Fire began to surround his body. Every cell in his body. Every thought that could form in his brain. It was collecting fire. It was pushing onward to save Tyuki. He might die today, but he would be dammed if she would with him.
"Get. Off. Of. Me." he spoke his teeth gritting, almost foaming at the mouth in rage. The earth beneath his feet turning to glass. He was preparing to do something he had never done.

"Looks like I had an ace up my sleeve you bastards."

In an instant he erupted like a volcano. Fire blasting in every direction. Exploding with immeasurable force. The dome that contained him busted open. His ears rang, he couldn't hear a thing. His body was numb, and what he could feel hurt.
"I'm coming Tyuki" he spoke walking out of the makeshift prison.
He pressed onward 'till he found her body, she was fucked up. Bad..  
"I'm here Tyuki. I'm sorry for ever doubting you. You're strong. Much stronger and smarter than you get credit for."
A cough escaped his mouth, but he turned he head and blood scattered across the grass to his right.
Wiping his mouth, he turned back to look at her.
"We're a little screwed right now, but we've faced the impossible before. We've always found a way. Today will be no different."

Turning back towards Dressler and Red's direction. He stood back up.
The ringing in his ears subsiding. The fire inside him did not.
"If you can still fight then I could really use back up right now Ty. If not get as far from here as you can. And above all else. No matter what happens here. I'm the luckiest man in the world to have gotten a chance to even spend time with you. To have even loved you. To even have been loved back by you. That's a better feeling than any super power could ever give me."
he spoke with one eye half closed. Barely staying upright.

Stepping forward he put one arm up with it's palm open, while one arm favored his ribs. "Use your brain Andrew, you've got this." he thought to himself.

[Red]

Dressler had made a move, a big one. He created an arena with his own body, filling it with a large amount of toxic fumes that Lucius' tech immediately picked up. Luckily though, his mask and armor was sealed enough to prevent any contact, reinforced by the field of repulsive energy around it. He would be fine, but Andrew? Not so much.That's when Lucius saw it. The Phoenix had given up. Just a little more pressure was all that was needed...... And that's when 'Tyuki' arrived just in time. Xerox put on a great act. He should consider the stage if he ever decides to stop working for Gravitas.

Now Lucius had a bit of an issue. His cold field was still around him, making the fire a little less hot, but none the less this was a massive explosion of flames. What he ended up doing was simply sapping the thermal energy from the fire as it approached. Yes it was cooled down by the conjunction of these two things, which meant he wasn't going to be incinerated, but that didn't mean he wasn't taking damage.

He was launched quite a distance backward, his immovability device being fried on contact with the flames. His armor also took a beating, but even though the repulsive field around his armor now spat and sparked, it was still active. A armor piece on his arm however had been ripped off, revealing a nasty looking burn. He grimaced in pain, but like the determined man he was he got up and acted like nothing had happened.

He held his sword aloft, left handed of course, and looked to Phoenix and his supposedly injured girl. Lucius coughed as he chuckled, spitting up a little blood as his armor had been pushed inward briefly by the force of the explosion and had caused internal damage to his chest. His robotic voice sounded arrogant even now however.

"......Oh Phoenix, still playing hero, even now." Lucius said, stepping forward as his boots stomped the grass under his feet into the earth and broke twigs. He kept his distance, but made sure Phoenix could hear him on a conversational level.

"Apex has left you, some hero in an exosuit he brought along is near death, and your dearest love is in a similar situation. You've lost." Lucius said, now sheathing his weapon and folding his arms behind his back casually. This was almost over. The Talons would be painted as assassins, the real Tyuki would be used for Lucius' own ends, and Phoenix would think she died, just as he himself would. The Talons were done, even if they somehow returned. Rise had beat them, and that would make people never look at them the same again.

"As you lay dying, i want you to remember my face. That face is the face of the one man that actually beat you. It wasn't some world ending event that killed you this time, it was a mere man. My devices put an end to the perfect hero, put an end to the Savior of the World. You've failed, yourself and her. Even if you rise again, i still won today. The devil has broken your wings, Phoenix." Lucius said, stopping his approach now. Lucius didn't have to do anything. Rise was moving in, Gravity Man was moving in, this fight was over.

"When you watch her burn, when you feel yourself fading, maybe then you'll understand. Perhaps then you will see the world isn't black and white, that anyone can fall with the right push, from heroes to pioneering scientists. But if you want to keep lying to yourself, that's alright too. It makes your existence that much less relevant." Lucius said, knowing that Gravity Man was quickly approaching. Lucius had work to do you see. He had to paint the picture, run his little smear campaign. Not to mention finish up what he had planned for the actual Tyuki.

The cool breeze blew his robes back, making them billow in the wind. He took a deep breath, smiling the whole time under his mask. He had no need to be here any longer, this phase of the scheme had been completed. Sure, he wished he had got to Phoenix a bit more, but he still had two benefits that came from this. Tyuki, and a fuel for a scandal that would end the era of superheros patrolling the globe without supervision.

".......I believe it's time i left, i have work to do you see. Assassination attempts have a lot of paperwork involved.  Until the end, or next time." And with that, Lucius was gone in a flash of red. He had gotten to his car, and Daniel, him, and perhaps the main Xerox drove off and out of the magnetic barrier. Soon, they wouldn't even be on the same continent. He looked in the back of the car to see Tyuki Gold. She was beaten up, sedated, yet looked so peaceful and innocent...... This wasn't her fault, she was just a piece on the board. Unfortunately, there was no going back now. There was no room for compassion, not yet. You can't afford to hesitate when you are so close to a checkmate.

I'm sorry

(It is now Gravity Man's turn. Red and Tyuki have left.)

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