So slow can't get it together Almost ... NO! WIND! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa darkcold no fire ...a hand? Pulling me together! "Welcome back, Char." The brightburning master has saved me! Fall to my knees in gratitude! My fire warms me.... "Oh, do stand, Char. Now that you have all recovered from your recent battle, it is time for another sally." Looking around. Kraken and Ironwood battered but proud. Ben Sidhe a slab of meat like always. Necropolis silent, also like always. Tybalt damp, annoyed. Turn back to face the master. Hope to make windbastard PAY. But afraid of him as well. "I had initially thought to let these Exarchs retreat to lick their wounds while Tybalt started training you further, but they have been hurt in their retreat. They cut the soultether I fashioned from the other half of my jester's spirit, slaying the one known as 'Dot' and cutting to the very heart of their new member. I wish them to be hurt even more before I let them regroup, for I find the taste of their pain exquisite." Cold flame licks up and down my back. To face that WIND again so soon? "Calm yourself, Char." The master looks at me, and the ember of my heart brightens! "This is not to be a battle to the finish. I merely want to, ah, kick them while they are down. You will harass them, hurt them, then withdraw if it appears you will be too badly hurt yourselves. You may have failed already today, but you are too valuable to simply discard...use this encounter to test your enemies, gain experience with your powers against a real foe. But return to me, you are of no use destroyed." Tybalt starts to speak, but is stopped by a raised hand of the master. "No, Tybalt. Let them try this on their own. I have another task for you in the meantime." Kraken bowed deeply. "You honor us, my crimson lord." "Yes, I do. Now go, and prove yourselves worthy of my attention." With that, Kraken gestured for us to follow, and we headed for the stables to acquire new mounts. Drifting ash might have been good against the flaming bitch, but if I'm going to face the blowhard again, I'm going to need a new strategy.... @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- \\ // -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ .|,Coherent Comics Presents \\ // #16 - Canis Venatis --X------------------------- E }X{ ARCHS copyright 2003 by the '|` A Superguy/LNH Tale // \\ Dvandroid (Dave Van Domelen) @>-`-,-`-,-`-,`-,-`-,-`-,-`- // \\ -'-.-'-.'-.-'-.-'-.-'-.-'-<@ Seafixer rocked back and forth on the ground, curled up in a fetal position and moaning softly. "No...you bastard...you made me kill her...." Katena grabbed him by the shoulder and shook. "Damn it, we don't have time for this!" she shouted. "They've got to know where we are now, and even if that Dark Pentad is staying down, I'm not willing to bet that they're the only resources the bad guys can send after us. We've got to get moving!" Oakthorn stepped between Kat and Floyd. "Could you be a little more heartless? We just cut up part of his soul, fer Hardy's sake!" "Calm down, everyone," Skysabre held out his hands, palms down and fingers spread in a placating gesture. "Kat may be blunt, but she's right. And I think we should at least get a block or two outside town before any response forces hit...for all we know, they're stronger inside the borders of the Darklands. Anna, Stan...help Floyd to his feet GENTLY and let's get moving. Kat, drop your defenses a little, I want a little advance warning on when Necropolis arrives. Jack, keep trying the cellphone, see if you can raise our ride." Kat stepped away from Floyd and nodded dourly. Her expression became pained as she removed her helmet, reducing the mental defenses that kept her from hearing the constant scream of the Earth at this festering sore on its spirit. "The edge of a wound always hurts the most," she muttered to herself. Floyd staggered sightlessly between the two Exarchs, continuing to mutter oaths and imprecations under his breath, alternating between the Gentle Gift of Crimson and himself as the target of his abuse. Yet for all his nonresponsiveness, he never slackened his grip on the staff Seafixer. After they'd gone a few hundred meters, Katena slammed her helmet back on and hissed. "They're coming, damn it!" She pointed northeast and fell into a defensive stance. "They also know Kat can sense Necropolis," Skysabre activated his cloudy blades. "Plan on that being a diversion! Everyone, protect Seafixer, and get ready for an attack from just about any direction!" As expected, the crude parody of a man grew out of the hard soil and dead grass a short ways to the northeast and started walking towards the road. Oakthorn was the first to spot the rest of the Dark Pentad. "Heads up! They have flying critters this time!" he shouted as he nocked an arrow and fired it into the air. A trio of screeching winged THINGS broke formation around the hail of wooden shafts that had suddenly appeared, but not before each recieved several holes in its membranous wings from Oakthorn's attack. Built for speed and not combat, they quickly landed and let off their riders before fleeing into the skies again. Kraken was shouting orders in some guttural, unholy tongue, but he was clearly displeased that his opening gambit had failed to take the Exarchs by surprise. "Forgeheart, keep Necropolis back! Oakthorn, try to stun Ben Sidhe before she can start screaming! Katena, you take Ironwood...I'll blow Char away and then keep Kraken busy! Jack, keep an eye on Seafixer!" Skysabre ordered. Wasting no time, Forgeheart slammed her hammer on the frozen ground, splitting it open and sending up a line of spattering magma between her and Necropolis. The unliving embodiment of the city recoiled, as if it was more afraid of damage while not on its own soil. A gleaming arrow shot towards Ben Sidhe, but was swatted aside by a tentacle. "Damn!" Kraken spat as the tentacle went limp. His oath was almost inaudible, however, as Ben Sidhe started her wail. Even Katena seemed disoriented by the sound, despite being fashioned of stone. Staggering back, Skysaber summoned up a howling wind, making it impossible to hear anything. He still felt mildly ill...the wail must have a mystic component that didn't depend on hearing, he realized...but it was something he could work around. Then he noticed Char slowly stalking towards him. The ashen figure had remained solid, and the wind was making him glow like the heart of a furnace, a coal fanned into flame by the bellows. Char's mouth moved, but Skysabre couldn't make out what was being said. Skysabre's eye was caught by a flicker of green, and he saw Ben Sidhe stagger, her throat transfixed by a short shaft of verdant light. He hoped Oakthorn had merely stunned the mentally enslaved mercenary, but for now it was enough to know he could stop the gale. "...won't blow away THIS time, assclown!" Char finished smugly as he closed the gap between himself and Skysabre. Skysabre quickly assessed the situation. Kraken and Ironwood had bracketed Kat, although Kraken was more of a threat with his acrid tentacles. Forgeheart had managed to explode Necropolis's body and was now running around the field smashing new bodies as they started to form. Oakthorn was putting a few more green bolts into Ben Sidhe, taking her firmly out of the fight. And Seafixer was slowly getting to his feet with Jack's help. Skysabre grinned like a wolf and tensed himself as if to attack. Char chuckled and reached out a burning hand. Which Skysabre leapt over, landing thirty meters away and slicing into the mass of tentacles that was Kraken. The apparent leader of the Dark Pentad howled in pain as the blades of pure force bit deep. Acidic blood splashed in all directions as Kraken thrashed, but Skysabre managed to avoid its touch. It was almost as if the Exarchs (save for Seafixer) were acting with one mind at this point. In the momentary distraction caused by the spray of deadly ichor, both Katena and Oakthorn acted. Katena bulled into Ironwood, ignoring the razor ribbons the transformed squirrel hurled at her and knocking them both to the ground. The weight of Katena's stone body landed atop Ironwood, stunning her and knocking the wind from her lungs. Oakthorn sent a hail of arrows into Char. Most vaporized on contact, but enough slammed into the ashen man to disrupt his cohesion. Dancing back from Kraken, Skysabre sent a gale burst at Char, further breaking him up. Char wailed in fear, staggering away and trying desperately to pull himself together. Kraken suddenly exploded into a torrent of acid limbs, forcing Skysabre back and threatening to smother Katena and Oakthorn. "N-no you don't!" Seafixer pointed his staff at the riot of black flesh. It extended like a beam of light made from iron, slamming into Kraken and shoving the monstrosity away. Even with Jack helping support it, the staff then slammed down to the ground with a dull clang. Kraken howled something in that guttural dark tongue and the flying mounts swooped back down. Shrinking back to a manageable size, Kraken leapt onto one and flew east. Char managed to get to his own mount and followed Kraken. Necropolis simply vanished, his latest attempt at a body falling to pieces before Forgeheart could smash it. Kat held up the stunned Ironwood and smiled. "Got one." "Two," Jack corrected, lifting the paralyzed Ben Sidhe in his arms. "Now, if we can just free their minds, the rest will follow...." WILL THE REST FOLLOW, OR ARE WE JUST BEING SHALLOW? WILL THE GENTLE GIFT OF CRIMSON BE SO FORGIVING AT THIS LATEST FAILURE? CAN THE EXARCHS MAKE IT BACK TO BASE WITHOUT GETTING ATTACKED AGAIN? HOW MUCH ANGST CAN FLOYD GENERATE? Answers to at least one of these questions, on the next...SUPERGUY! ============================================================================ Author's Notes: The opening scene was originally going to be simple exposition, but I decided to play with Char a bit, ripping off e.e.cummings (not for the first time in my writings) to express the transition from scattered ashes to a whole being (in fact, his thoughts continue to get clearer and the tense shifts after I've switched to regular prose, as you can see). The "Hardy" that Oakthorn refers to is Paul Hardy, writer of the Legion of Occult Heroes as mentioned last episode. The Writers in the Looniverse are much like Superguy Authors in that they are seen as gods or godlike beings by the characters, and Hardy would certainly be one to swear by when talking about heartlessness and pain. }->