Pine Garden

[yinsukin]

Aruna


It happened before he could even really register.  A flash of light.  On instinct, he froze up, flinched.  However.....

When he opened his eyes, he saw it.  The light, not just his light, but the light of an angel was clashing with the fake demon's darkness.  To think he would be on the other side of this light.  It was Ezekiel again.  He had dropped by to say hello.  Guess this just goes to show i'm not perfect, he thought, briefly musing to himself what it would be like to consume Lulu's telepathic powers.  This is why such indulgences are foolish.

Chains emerged from the ground where he would have landed.  Two spikes emerged from the wall for good measure, threatening to skewer his arms like kabob on a stick.  "Oh hello Zeke," he said with a grin, his demonic teeth flashing.  "I'm glad you dropped by.  You took something from me.  I want it back."

Aruna flew backwards, her mouth moving so fast it was blurry.  No words came out.  The chant had begun.  He sent a few thoughts to Lulu.  I don't know your combat skills yet but be careful when your close to him.  Oh and one more thing.  He can absorb magic.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

His foot and the blade impacted, and all of a sudden the flames vanished with a sharp explosion of sparks. The dark man was thrown back- but shockingly, the man's leg wasn't cut. Something inside his clothes kept the sword from reaching flesh at all! Yet that was not nearly as surprising as his appearance.

-!

The masked man was shocked at the speed of their - no, her retaliation. He backflipped to land, but unlike before, the chain's timing was much improved. They snapped around his limbs cruelly. And immediately, spiked slammed into his arms. But his darkness already flared, and soon Aruna's armaments melted and tore into the void. Revealed in that miasma was what could only be described as a ninja.

"A shinobi must always remain vigilant. Thou hast learned well, young student."

With a dramatic hand gesture, he bowed politely at both. Unharmed,  yet pressed back nonetheless. Then and only then did he address the other lady.

"I didn't come to fight, dummy. And goddamn it, you messed up Aruna's training. She ain't going to learn squat if you just pamper her all the time. " He chatted her up like he totally knew her. What was her name anyways again? Lizette? Lucera? Lu...Lu... hrm, no, couldn't put his finger on it. He thought he heard it once or twice, but it could just be his mind playing tricks on him. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately!

There was no possible explanation for this ridiculous getup. None in the slightest. Or was there...?

[Kotomine_Rin]

The Assaillanr

"-!" The slash and the sudden impact rattled its brain. This must be how he felt. Big brother... you were pushed against the ropes like this too, right? As the colossal body approached the floor, it slowly came to recognize the rifle pointed its way. He came to recognize death.

He refused.

"GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

The palm slammed against the Rider's face before the cyborg hit the ground, and with a desperate hurl, he threw him straight against the bullet. The impact would launch him against the wall - and the gunslinger.

Bleeding, broken eyes still tried to scan all of his surroundings. Even as his wounds cracked and spewed more viscera on the ground, his stance lowered and the cyborg panted weakly. What did he see? Just what could he have witnessed that had thrown him into such a rage? The pain of losing one's own blood. The despair of losing one's family. Even now, it still wouldn't stop hurting. It wwas clear that he had little fight left, courtesy of the two.

A beastly howl pierced the air, and the entire room shook as the titan charged at them like a monster. Its haymaker threatened to turn both into pulp, all while ripping every string in its way.

Where ARE you!? Where are you hiding? You bastard. I'll tear you apart!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

[Bern]

Lulu

"Thine strike may have taken more than a mere soul from this place. As their guardian I shan't permit it, least of all by quistonable strangers such as thyself!"  She almost felt like shaking her head at the warning Aruna had given but such an action wouldn't be appropriate now, she had to welcome their interloper first and foremost before she could move on with her work.

"Your intentions are as irrelevant as your posturing." She stepped, no stepping was for mere mortals, she floated towards him, half a feet above the floor at the pace of a casual stroll.

"Every breath you draw is an insult to propriety. Spare me your theatrics and I may spare whatever remains of your pathetic life."

[yinsukin]

Aruna and the Gang

Aruna's body vanished.  Smell, taste, sound, sight: she was completely invisible to all senses.  The only one that would be able to track Aruna was Lulu thanks to their psychic connection.  A voice echoed through the room, seemingly coming from the sky above the roof.  "I never remember appointing you as my teacher.  You have a lot of gull showing up here after you stole what is mine," the voice said.

Aruna's arms morphed into blades.  A blade would enter his heart through his back, hoisting him off of the ground.  "I noticed you stole my dagger yet you didn't show it off in the tournament.  If your going to borrow something from your friend, I'd want it to be something you actually need.  Since you don't i'd like it back.  summon the dagger."

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

His dark eyes glowered and shimmered in front of the holy presence. So that's a genuine article huh... The demon vanished, but he smiled behind the mask. "Ah, so we're friends now. Then I'll play with you a bit."

And as the claw pierced his back, it bounced off against something hard and crystal-like. Zeke didn't even react or turn around.

"Nova."

It wasn't Zeke who spoke, but the armor. Or rather, the organism it emulated. But now, even it was burning to ash before the undead sun.

[Bern]

Lulu

"Are my eyes deceiving me?" The blonde Angel came to halt outside of the intruders direct range. She blinked again while the draft from the sun made her dress flutter enough to reveal what she was wearing underneath. Not that the Angel seemed to be paying any mind to this, she was far to distracted by the spectacle taking place before her.

"Did my Lord truly advance upon his foe with the most commonplace ploy? A trick so meager not even the most pitiful child would dance to its tune. How deep must the desperation of one man be for such travesty to occur?"

[YOLF]

Justice

He closed his mouth and stifled the groan of being hurled rather than risk biting his own tongue. Justice dismissed the elongated shadows and crackling stature of his most dreadful shape, twisting in the air. He managed to only strike Suerte at the shoulder, sending them both tumbling to the ground rather than painfully barreling away.

With a click of his teeth he strained himself to his feet before the haymaker could arrive. Already swinging his sword, now with the lethal blade extended, he cloaked himself in devastation again and aimed in messy haste at the cyborg's neck.

[yinsukin]

Aruna and the Gang

The catgirls stood wide eyed.  The fight was moving a little quicker than they were able to keep up with.  It wasn't that it was literally too fast so much as there was a lot happening faster than they were able to think and perceive.  Something came in and drop kicked their would be master, then he dissapeared and something struck his attacker.  The angel girl was now mocking him, as if it was Aruna himself who did it.

"Aaaaahhhh!" The two cat girls cried out in pain as their skin burned.  Their was a sizzling noise, as if their skin was being toasted on a cast iron pan.  A dark portal opened under them, causing them to sink into the ground, away from the battle.  They would popped out on the outside in the front yard.

Smoke bellowed from Aruna's body as a searing pain flowed through the demon's entire body.  Aruna flew backwards, using a portal teleport into the basement of the building  Forget the clean stealthy route.  That was the old way.  Spikes emerged from every inch of the walls and ceilings not occupied by Lulu.  They came at high speeds, threatening to skewer Zeke right then and there.  On contact they would suck the magic from his body, hopefully diluting the power of his magic somewhat.  Although he was unsure how effective this would be.

The endless fire grows, consuming all.

Carved from the endless void, I yearn for power!

As my body grows stronger, I find freedom!

As I find freedom, I yearn for salvation!

Light, oh so absolute in your power,

Feel the weight of everlasting darkness!

The blade of darkness materialized in Aruna's hand.  It was time to stop playing around.

[Kotomine_Rin]

ZEKE

Poor things...

Zeke didn't pass a glance to the burning catgirls. His gaze perked up with a raised brow at the Archangel drawing closer. With the armor now burnt away, she could see the smug smile he was sporting, and those lazy, tired eyes of his. It's like even when thinking of their pain and acknowledging it, he felt nothing at all. Only pity.

BLACK HOLE!

The  moment Aruna flew back he followed her with a burning dash even through the forest of spikes. A wave of his hand opened the gate to the void, but he has pierced a handful of times before the darkness fully swallowed all of them. Yet even those burned and melted away as they approached him, and shattered into burn bits the moment they touched him. Pushed back by the assault and drained of his power... made him only charge forward even harder. I'll swallow it whole!

Yet as his gauntlet shot forth to reach through the portal, it just bounced back and crushed the wall behind it. That forced him to pause for a second.

Not bad. You're pretty cute too. Now that his ninja armor was all burnt up, you could tell his sly smile as he glanced back at the Archangel smugly.

The endless fire grows, consuming all.

Carved from the endless void, I yearn for power!

As my body grows stronger, I find freedom!

As I find freedom, I yearn for salvation!

Light, oh so absolute in your power,

Feel the weight of everlasting darkness!

Much better.

And so the dark sun's flames waned and faded until what was left was their molten surroundings, now hardened again into odd shapes and formations. A dozen of so of black butterflies twirled and tore from his fingertips, flying away into the creases and shadows of the building to seek the demon.

Go on my sweet children. His thoughts whispered gently. Even among the shadows, various animals began to bubble, emerge, and sink back - wolves, crocodiles, deer, bears... a handful at best to roam about and find Aruna. Soon, they'd find and surround her.

[yinsukin]

Suerte

Suerte's shoulder rolled it to the side, making Justice's body flop behind her.  Leaping over the man, that familiar sound of cogs turning filled the air above the cyborg  A bang signaled the fired shot and the bullet that sailed into the man's skull was a blunt bullet that struck like a hammer.

"Be careful," Suerte said, "Don't do anything too reckless!"

She threw the sniper rifle into the air and pulled her guns from her holsters.  Another gear turning sound filled the air.  As she made her decent, she fired another hail of bullets.  In a stroke of pure luck, every single bullet struck a previous injury.  These bullets were designed to paralyze an opponent.  However, given how strong he was, it was likely to only slow him down.

[Bern]

Lulu

"Too slow!"

Come Forth, Oh Blades of Final Release!

It shattered, the big shiny blade besides her shattered into seven symmetrical blades, a symbolic bond from long ago. The one who is seven, and the seven who are one. As her slim arms spread out to grasp the world so did these blades in kind. But not to embrace, they had a far more somber purpose. They were the ultimate tool in her arsenal but also the final one.

Thusly they spun, faster and faster. She had been waiting and now those very same blades surrounded him in all direction, to blockade the advance of his shadows. And the sound they made was the sound that heralded the end of his shadow animals. None would escape her all seeing mind.

"STAY AWAY FROM ARUNA! Like a sledgehammer her voice smashed his mind without letting up. Every syllable was a migraine inducing blow that would split your skull open again and again. And through it all her unblinking blue eyes pierced him like frozen daggers.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Crimson eyes looked towards past the ceiling into the study where he had left them.  A demon's sensory capabilities were similar but different to a humans.  Rather than just track someone's physical features, a demon's five senses evolved to track souls.  With a soul as powerful and large as Lulu's it was impossible not to keep track of, even through these walls.  It was a massive presence that was hard to miss. 

To think that Zeke had grown so powerful.  He was practically just showing off at this point.  Even so, if the fake demon wanted to come into his home, he would at least show the basic respect.  As he stared up at her from below, he couldn't help but flash back to his brief time with Lulu.  All he had done so far is display his disgust for her kind, only accepting her so long as she provided a meal for him, yet she fought Zeke without hesitation.  Perhaps she was only considering her definition of happiness and prosperity, but she was genuinely trying to make him happy, in all aspects of his life.  He still didn't trust her, may never really be able to, but she deserved his basic respect.  A demon and angel can coexist.  Nay, a demon and angel can become friends.  Light and dark were two sides of the same coin.  His current existence was proof of that.

"I'd appreciate it if you not flirt with my woman," Aruna said, his voice echoing through the room.

A portal opened up at the end of one side of the room.  Gleaming like a bright star, Aruna shot across the room, sword of darkness in hand.  Although, it too gleamed with the light of the grace, threatening to cleave Zeke in twin before escaping into another portal.  The closer he got, the more his already burnt skin screamed.

"A false demon like yourself knows not how to treat a woman of her caliber.  NOW FALL!"

A dark haze flowed through the room, coating Lulu in the power of darkness.  It filled her body with power, enhancing her strength, speed and durability far beyond what it was capable just mere moments ago.

[Kotomine_Rin]

ZEKE

Hoh? - Woah! His poor brethren were slaughtered on the spot the moment they were born, shredded by blades that suddenly zipped and circled everywhere to surround him. Wait... no way! Why aren't they coming back into my world?

Lulu

"STAY AWAY FROM ARUNA! Like a sledgehammer her voice smashed his mind without letting up. Every syllable was a migraine-inducing blow that would split your skull open again and again. And through it all her unblinking blue eyes pierced him like frozen daggers.

AKH! The dark collective was pushed back by the archangel's brilliant will, cleaving the unity apart with its splendor. No, it was something else entirely - but it hurled him back all the less, forcing him to quake on one knee while clutching his head. Not....bad... Black foam bubbled from his throat, the man was now curling up in pain on the ground. Barely standing, trapped, and now suddenly illuminated by Aruna's blade. The final judgment that ripped from the ceiling, a weapon that once claimed his life. And for once, his tired dead eyes looked awake.

How long were we fighting this Aruna... did this power cause us to blackout?

His arm shot upwards, clashing with the sword of light. The hardening under his gauntlet was the only shield that saved his vessel from the fatal attack. "YOU'VE MUCH IMPROVED!! TO THINK YOU'D RESORT TO THE SAME ANSWER AS US!!" Even pushed back, his mass of shadows laughed at their bonds, dragging the vessel along as always. And just as it looked he was about to fall straight into the jail of swords, his body dropped upside down and flipped back at her with a hand on the ground, delivering a crescent kick from an utterly unorthodox position.

[Kotomine_Rin]

K-925

We didn't have a place to be in this city.

Without power, without guardians.

Every day was another day in hell.

But brother never gave up. He always fought to protect me.

When we were scouted by the Boss, he gave us a choice.

We fought for that man. We killed for that man. It didn't matter to us how many lives we trampled on as long as we lived another day.

But the children... somedays, it was too much.

The burnt bodies. The nightmares.

They said they weren't humans. They were just programmed to have those memories. But their tears... why did they feel real?

Their hands still grab at me when I sleep.

But as long as I protected my family, nothing else mattered.

I just wanted to be useful to you... brother...

"RHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Bullets hailed and bounced everywhere. Impacting against his exposed flesh, the gaps in his armor, everything. He hoisted his other arm against his skull, desperately running against the current of death. Even when his entire armor was covered in blood, he made one final dash with his arm extended to smash what was in front of him with blind abandon.

His fist smashed against Justice's reinforced skull. A strike with all his rage. His pain. His sorrow.

It smashed through the punisher's armament.

But it would be his final strike.

"Kh...ghkhrr...aghhh.." Blood splattered everywhere, spraying over the ceiling like rainfall. Justice's sword was hilt deep inside the cyborg's neck, straight into its lungs and guts. Quaking, he gargled a pool of blood messily. Yet his eyes wielded nothing but rage against Justice. No. Justice could see it. How many dying faces had he witnessed after all? How many cursed their killer? Surely too many to count.

But this one wasn't it. His rage burnt elsewhere... until he fell to his knees, the shadow of defeat looming over him. "garhh...da...mn...kh...!"