Halloween Town

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

The vessel's form swelled and compacted, begging for release. Guns blasted and fired at his hardened muscles, but bounced off his skin as if it were hardened armor. Good, this is very good.

KA-BOOM!!

His dash was too fast for the human eye to register. Why didn't the boom of his foot warn of the incoming attack? Why didn't the splitting earth warn of the soldier's doom? No, they must have foreseen this and chosen to show their fangs of rebellion. Even when all it took was ONE finger slicing through the soldiers like butter - like a ray of light suddenly burning through the Columbian squadron. And a row of explosions to crown his assault.

"War... is a terrible thing."

His index glowed, moving to slash at more. The Columbians must have known the outcome of this struggle, yet they threw their lives wholeheartedly. This meant that the point of their attack was not to claim military victory, but something else. How troublesome. To think someone else wishes to rise above the chaos. If thas is their goal... this is a shrewd strategy.

"But we have all taken away precious things. Things that can't be brought back. Broken hopes that can't be returned to how they were. We have lived the rotten life of animals. Is it fair for an animal to howl at the grip that tears its heart?"

Of course it was. To struggle and to lash even in the jaws of death was the only way he knew to live. These soldiers must be the same. Their struggles and abandon were utter madness. As a fellow madman, Zeke would honor their loyal wishes  - and turn them into loyal chunks of coal.

[yinsukin]

Harley

Harley sighed and said,  "Thats fine in straightforward battles, but in subterfuge and assasination, its best to leave assailants alive and trace them back to their leaders.  Growing power in the shadows is their greatest strength."

Once again, she sighed, then smiled.  "Well I am still happy you came to help young lady.  When you return home, you can rest easy knowing you helped defend the monsters of this city."

Mysterous gentlemen

A tall man with a lanky build approached Harley and Edelguard.  He had curly black hair, a black suit and tie with matching black slacks.  Glowing emerald eyes stared at the two through a human mask while a pair of black gloves covered his hands.  Indeed they were hard pressed to see any inch of skin on the man.

"Forgive me my queen.  I couldn't stay inside," he said, those emerald eyes fixated on the severed remains of the body lying on the ground.  Those same eyes glared at Edelgard for the briefest moments before softening.  "I hear the threat is being dispatched."

[Bern]

Valerie

Click-

She sensed, the mechanical clicking of something else triggering the instant after she pushed the button and-

Fooooooooooooooooooooooom

The blast consumed the vehicle as well as the Vampire King, leaving only scraps behind of either of them, could it be that this devilish trap had actually succeeded in eliminating a high value target?

"So you've chosen death."

The Vampire King crawled out of a hole dozens of meters away from where the vehicle had been, her form was completely covered in dust yet appeared otherwise uninjured and in her hand was still the now soot covered radio.

She'd recognized mechanical sound for what it was and by sheer instinct honed through countless battles, she had kicked off from the APC before the blast could reach her. The leap had been so violent though that she had cratered the ground upon hitting and that's why she had to crawl out of a hole like a mole.

"Now lets see who shall answer." Her red eyes glared at the radio with more than the slightest bit of annoyance, for its sake she had to make a fool of herself.

[YOLF]

Edelgard

She had made no mistake in judgement, but when the queen before her named that kind of threat, she couldn't help but agree with the message. Saboteurs and schemers had to be torn out at the root. It didn't need to be repeated, so she laid her eyes cautiously over the arrival.

That slipping second was when the explosion occurred, and the warrior tore her gaze towards it while her ears rang even at a distance. It was the direction Sakura and the vampire king were.

Swallowing, Edelgard broke into a run, leaping like a gazelle over the fallen vegetation in the direction of the blast.

[Aiden]

The Intruders

The soldiers nearest to Zeke's malevolent charge fell first, succumbing to the terrible outcome that inevitably followed his attacks. Peaking out from a side street though, as he massacred the entire squad with their useless weaponry, a tank that had hidden itself in the tight path peeked its cannon out, engines and treads maybe being heard from the sounds of shouting, screaming, and gunfire, and opened fire at him.

That was one attack he couldn't just ignore.

-------------

The radio let out nothing but static at first, seemingly shaken by the speeds Valerie had moved at in the wake of the explosion. Or possibly just from being shaken up by the explosion, at that. The stench of burning oil and rubber and flesh wafted up, contained by Sakura's shadow wall to concentrate all around her. Soon after she could register that, it began to let out short, abortive attempts at contact.

"... thirty three- ... mark, 114-" Static, again.

[SINIB]

Sakura

As soon as the car exploded, Sakura used her shadows to create a wall. Even if she couldn't stop it from hitting her mistress, she'd be able to protect any bystanders from collateral damages. She steeled her initial impulse to rush in to protect Valerie, because it would have been futile as well as against Valerie's orders. She waited for the cloud of smoke to begin clearing before she rushed in to help Valerie, surrounded by her familiars and reaching into her shadow for Sapphire.

She listened for every cracked stick, the heartbeat of any soldiers still alive. "You ok?" She asked Valerie, relieved to see her unharmed.

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

A tank is a heavily armored and armed car. A complex piece of technology that requires an inestimable amount of work from several specialists or at least robots (intricate machinery created by experts in their craft) and you need hundreds, no, thousands of hours of practice to be not a simple driver, but a pilot dedicated to the art and discipline of manning this vehicle.

Let alone driving.

Driving, one of the most dangerous activities practiced daily by millions of people, in which a single mistake can cost your life and the life of other people around you. If using a sword, a simple 1kg piece of sharp metal, make you a martial artist, how does using a tank, a deep mix of metal, plastic, electronic, over 1 ton, not make you a martial artist?


0.01 Seconds

Zeke’s thick sculpted body was surrounded by flames and coated by shadows, with the eyes of a fighting machine glowing ominously.  A threat Zeke had never faced before, an attack Zeke had never experienced! And yet, the body moved on its own as if he saw the cannon behind him in advance and avoided its aim at the last moment.

Did that weapon do that? They had heard of those things, but never actually faced one in combat.

0.07 Seconds

"ORAAAHH!!" Zeke led with an uppercut, the follow up was a flurry of strikes that tested and slammed into the tank's chassis, as his <Reaper's Eye> observed every millimeter of the machinery. You see, what was launching blow after blow was no dumb brute. While the fists struck, Zeke watched for any weak points to open this thing apart - with the sun's endless power behind every punch.

[yinsukin]

Harley

Harley's hair fluttered in the blast of wind created by the warrior's sudden departure.  She simply watched in silent awe as she departed, walking towards the streetlight she had used to arrive at the park.  Its strange, the warrior had left with a sudden urgency or perhaps concern.  There was a sort of beauty to the silent, one that begged to be studied.  Perhaps that is the real reason she unconsciously swung her body to observe, turning her back on the man before her.

A gasp escaped the hallow queen's lips.  Blood splurted from her mouth and trickled down her exposed belly.  The drops of blood blended in slightly with the orange skirt she was sporting as she looked down to see a sword driven through her chest.  The last thing she heard before she blacked out was,

"Fall to the ground, forgotten amongst the bodies you have buried."

Candlemen

The candlemen, once chasing the army stopped and began moving towards Valarie, their blank eyes showing no emotion.  The ones already in her vicinity formed a circle around her.  The flames on their heads together coated the ground she stood on with a dim orange light, casting her shadow over part of the circle.

[Bern]

Valerie

Crunch.

The radio had been crushed into pieces with a simple squeeze of her hand. "How boring." She turned her attention to Sakura and immediately brightened up. "of course, your King cannot be touched by mongrels like this. Oh and you did good too."

Pat.

Her hand gently rubbed Sakura's head. Edelgard should be back any moment now, she could feel the girl approaching.

"But.."

Then she turned around facing away from Halloween Town. "It is time to go before that annoying queen shows her ugly face, and if we stick around for too long we will be dragged into their political drama.... But more importantly, I really need to see what he is up to, I have felt his frustration mounting higher and higher since we parted and I am starting to really worry..."

[YOLF]

Edelgard

Sakura, the Forsaken warrior called, through the link of the enchanted rings, before leaping into view. Edelgard cut the rest of the way between littering shrapnel and ongoing engagements and skidded to a halt near her friend and her friend's superior.

"Assassin dealt with," she said. "The leader met me there. She was unharmed."

Halfway to taking her place at the mage's side, she stopped, squinting towards the lines of approaching pumpkin constructs.

[SINIB]

Valerie

Crunch.

The radio had been crushed into pieces with a simple squeeze of her hand. "How boring." She turned her attention to Sakura and immediately brightened up. "of course, your King cannot be touched by mongrels like this. Oh and you did good too."

Pat.

Her hand gently rubbed Sakura's head. Edelgard should be back any moment now, she could feel the girl approaching.

"But.."

Then she turned around facing away from Halloween Town. "It is time to go before that annoying queen shows her ugly face, and if we stick around for too long we will be dragged into their political drama.... But more importantly, I really need to see what he is up to, I have felt his frustration mounting higher and higher since we parted and I am starting to really worry..."

Sakura Edelfeldt

Sakura's familars stood in a circle a good distance away from the candlemen, preventing them from closing in any closer. They would not be able to pass without a fight.

"Mm..." Sakura beamed as Valerie's fingers ruffled her hair. She nodded affirmatively. "Edel and I were only here to help you out. I don't have any stake in this fight, and I can't say I'm a fan of the defending side." She took a step back and turned to face Edelgard, smiling at the bronzed statuesque elf. "I don't have any interest in meeting up with that man right now, so I'm going to head out and explore the city for a while." She turned to glance at Valerie. "That fine? You don't need me there for anything, right?"

[Aiden]

The Intruders, with Zeke

The tank drivers attempted to pull back, the engine roaring like a dragon while the treads tore up the blacktop of the alley in reverse to get away from the monster who avoided their shot. They got about six meters before Zeke caught up with them, and then it was just a matter of him for him to leap forward with every punch, to keep up with them in their fear and their desperation, while they ground their way past the facades of the buildings next to them hoping to get away.

But each strike damaged them - the front, the treads, the cannon that threatened to hit him in the head when he jumped, it all shattered and was rendered useless. In the end all that remained inside were men... okay, some men, because the one who'd been closest to the front of the tank had been crushed and was only just barely alive after the last strike.

Knowing they could not flee with the tank, they attempted to flee without it, charging their way up the hatch while he was so focused on breaking their glorious weapon.


Intruders, without Zeke

Without the Candlemen to stop them all that remained were corpses, and those were a touch easier since they could not lob volleys of fire. The civilians suffered for the lapse in attention, as the few remaining remnants of the original attack committed to throwing their lives away doing as much damage to civilian structures and people as possible...

[Kotomine_Rin]

Zeke

If that was enough to get the ants scurrying out of their hill, they should have never bit to begin with.

"So that's where you were hiding."

Zeke dashed right in front of the tank's hatch with a slasher's expression, a burning fist ready to end it all there and then. Was it joy? No, it was impossible to tell Zeke's expression at all, only the terror from the Comumbian's eyes, reflected into an empty gaze.

Half-heartedness was something so pitiful... A fist shot forth to break them. They were going to deliver these soldiers from their pain this instant.

Harley

A gasp escaped the hallow queen's lips.  Blood spurted from her mouth and trickled down her exposed belly.  The drops of blood blended in slightly with the orange skirt she was sporting as she looked down to see a sword driven through her chest.  The last thing she heard before she blacked out was,

"Fall to the ground, forgotten amongst the bodies you have buried."

But it stopped an inch away from their faces. The vessel laid wide-eyed, and only a grin and shake of one's head to follow it up. A bitter laugh escaped their lips. The sort you'd make after realizing you've been played. They mocked themselves with no hate or spite. Yes, Zeke congratulated the enemy from the bottom of their heart.

"Hehehe... lucky devils." That was the last thing the comet told them before bursting away. To let them live... was it mercy? As the undead approached them, they'd come to realize that it was nothing of the sort. Only a dog losing interest in a toy.

He wouldn't even spare them an indifferent glance.

[yinsukin]

Candlemen

"Harley is dead," one of the candlemen said to Valarie.


Harley's body


Harley's body laid face down on the floor, back to the sky and belly to the ground.  It was unmoving, with a pool of blood growing larger underneath the body.

[Bern]

Valerie

Sakura let the others leave after waving them off, she wasn't quite finished yet and the information she'd just heard caught her attention enough to put her current plans on hold.

She darted in front of the nearest candleman and bit it into him, the poor thing's essence flooded her, and with that came all the mories related to what was going on right now. The Vampire King wasn't picky, she'd sort through them all until she was satisfied.