Hyrulian Hero and Lunchbox vs. Angel and nikuvillian (Factory)

[Aex]

In a bustling urban city, the sounds of people going about their daily lives is not seldom heard. In the center of the city there is a massive building, tall, big, and riddled with graffiti. It is the epitome of urban abandonment. The passersby don’t pay any attention to it anymore, for within it lies old cranes and boxes and tools.

It’s a dank place, this factory. Some say it may even be haunted, for at night, people can sometimes hear the machinery moving and the moans of deceased workers. But most of it is just superstition. However… as the sun sets in the distance and the urban cities calm down, new voices will be heard from within this Factory. The sounds of fists, the clinks and clangs of swords, the fwoosh of arrows, and the cries of battle will be all that will resonate from this factory tonight.

[nikuvillain]

Rika stood inside a big factor in the middle of the night. The moonlight radiance though the factory giving off enough light to see the whole factory bottom floor. The young girl danced along the dirty, oily floor. The machines spit more oil out ever so often. The big place was like a playground and a dance room all in one with no people to get in her way.

The young girl didn’t look much like a warrior danced around the place. The only thing that would give you that idea is the small short sword on her waist Making sure not to twirl around so much to make her dizzy but enough to feel the air swirl around her body. The young lady stopped as a gust of wind came in though the factories windows. She grabbed her dress and held it down and looked up at the top of the big place.

There a little winged Elf that flew around looking down, watching her friend that held her dress down while the wind blew. “Arika! It’s time for you to leave they will be coming soon!” the female warrior yelled, and the wind calm its self.

“Ok, Rika, have fun and don’t get to hurt,” the little elf replied, then flew out the window.

Well they should be here soon. If I read the letter right that is. The young female warrior walked over to the wall that was across from the door to the factory to wait for what‘s going to happen.

OoC: That's one of the softest, kindest battle post I ever made.

[Lunch Box]

Valkyhn looked around at the massive factory he had just walked in. The door behind him slowly closed, the only sound in the massive building. Valkyhn almost seemed relieved it was such a wide-open space. He hated cities so much. The crowded sidewalks. The bustling people. To them, it seemed normal, familiar. But to Valkyhn, it seemed chaotic. That is why Valkyhn never strayed close to a city. But this was an exception.

He fished the note he had been given from his pocket, rereading it. When he was done, he folded it up and shoved it in his pocket. He breathed in deeply, taking in the toxic fumes of the polluted city. The smell nearly made him vomit. “This world will die in the next hundred years if this keeps up,” he said under his breath. And with that, eh slowly walked forward, deep into the huge factory.

As he walked around, he viewed his surroundings. The massive cranes that stood there, collecting nothing but dust. Home to mice and spiders. The piles upon piles of boxes that lay around, its contents, never to be opened. The heavy metal works of the roof and the walls. This made Valkyhn feel angry and awe-struck at the same time. Angry because of the human’s ignorance and neglectful feelings towards the earth’s natural balance. Awe-struck due to the way the building was built. The coordination and accuracy the humans possessed, especially for such an inferior race.

As he walked around the massive structure, he replayed the events of the last few days in his head:

Valkyhn savored the taste of the rabbit’s meat in his mouth. He hadn’t feasted in days. He was lucky that he had caught the rabbit before the sun had completely bent down below the horizon to rest for another day. As the sun fell lower, the temperature dropped with it, leaving Valkyhn shivering. His small feast had warmed him up a little, but he still needed to find a warm place to sleep.

Then, Valkyhn could hear the sound of footsteps, shortly followed by heavy breathing. Valkyhn immediately transformed, standing up. He looked straight ahead, at the source of the sound. With barely any noise at all, he drew his sword, ready to attack if he needed to. Suddenly, a man stepped out from behind a tree, brushing off his pants. “Ugh,” he said, to no one in particular. “How can people like place like these?”

Valkyhn jumped into the air, landing right beside the man, startling him. “And how can people like you like those big cities?” replied Valkyhn, smiling.

“Oh dear! You surprised me! Are you by any chance, Valkyhn?”

Valkyhn stared at him, not showing emotion. Although on the inside, he was confused. “What’s it to you?”

“Ah, so you are Valkyhn. They told me about your sharp tongue.” Valkyhn grumbled.

“Why are you here and what do you want with me?”

“Ah, straight to the point, I see.”

“Exactly. Get to the point!” Valkyhn was irritated.

“I have been sent to this place,” as he said this, he looked around the forest, disgust on his face. “to give this to you.” He pulled an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Valkyhn. Valkyhn quickly grabbed it, looking at the front. In sharp, cursive writing was his name. Valkyhn tore the envelope open, revealing a folded piece of paper. On it, a letter addressed to Valkyhn in the same writing.

Valkyhn read it, reread it, and finally read it again. When he was finished, he folded it and shoved it in his pocket. “Who sent you here?” he asked the man in front of him.

“I have been sworn to secrecy. That is information I cannot say.”

“And what if I decline?”

“Then you shall be killed.” The man said this with no emotion in his voice at all. As if, he was just telling Valkyhn something he saw on the news a few days ago. “Follow the instructions on the card. At the location on the letter is where you shall meet your opponent and your partner.”

Valkyhn stared at the man, completely silent.

“And seeing as you have no more questions, I bid you farewell.” He bowed towards Valkyhn, turned, and walked away, cursing under his breath about the filthy trees and the bug infested forest.

Valkyhn had reached the end of a staircase. Looking down, he found himself two stories up. He felt a little queasy. Valkyhn had never liked heights that much. Then, he suddenly heard footsteps around a corner in front of him. Slowly, he drew his sword, adopting a battle-ready stance. He walked around the corner, peeking his head around. What met his eyes shocked him. In front of a big, flat space was a woman dancing. Valkyhn walked around the corner, staring at the woman. Valkyhn walked to the middle of the wall behinds him, never taking his eyes off of her. Valkyhn noticed a small short sword on her waist.

It was a few minutes before the dancing lady noticed Valkyhn. Suddenly, she stopped, embarrassed. “Who are you?” she demanded.

“What’s it to you?”

The woman noticed the sword, gleaming in the bright moonlight. “So, you were given a letter too, eh?”

OoC: Sorry, I'm too lazy to post what the letter read. i'll leave that up to HH or Angel. Let us pwn!

[Angel]

Deep within the factory decrepit walls, sparks danced in the air momentarily before they met the cold harshness of the ground. The sound of a blow touch cut through the silence, searing the ears of the small rodents that lingered in the derelict building. Rogue, however, found the noise to be quite pleasant. Hearing metal upon metal always did give him that peculiar feeling human beings called joy. Turning his attention back to his work, the mechanical being tried again to flex his left hand. It didn’t budge.

Cursing his luck, the robot focused his visor back on the rather large opening on his arm. Letting his fingers extend into the hole, Rogue winced slightly as he was met with a shock. Ignoring the power surge from the shock, the robot pulled several strands of brightly colored wires together. With a flick, his index finger twisted them together. In an instant, his hand started to flex repeatedly.

Now that’s better.

Grabbing a small shard of chrome silver metal from the floor next to him, Rogue slotted it into placed above the opening, which fitted perfectly. Moments later, the L. I probes melded it back into place. Flexing his arm once more to make sure that it wouldn’t malfunction, the mechanical being turned round. In place directly behind him, a giant tube that was dark blue took up most of the floor. It a hummed, low and ominous, as if knowing what was about to come. This was the factories power generator, although when Rogue had found it, it had been pretty banged up. But, thanks to the robots’ extensive knowledge, he had managed to fix it up with little effort. Once it had been restored to near perfect condition, he had immediately infused himself with it in order to boost what little power he had left.

But now that he was repaired, Rogue had no need of the generator. Grasping one end of the tube, the robot pulled. The pistons in his arms did their job, and moments later the sound of metal tearing filled the factory. The generator came loose, and Rogue hefted it above his head.

Now, what to do with it?

As if something deep within him had heard the small command, the robot’s vision immediately became a haze of different blues and blacks. But situated near the center of his vision, two red and yellow blobs took up residence. Thermal imagery was showing him intruders of the building, and he had just the idea to get them to scamper. Grunting with the effort, the mechanical being threw the generator. Years ago, when the building had still been in use, the walls might have been able to withstand the impact. But after decades of neglect, they were crumbling, filled with cobwebs and dust. They crumbled as soon as the generator touched them.

[Halcyon Hero]

Altra watched the two confront each other, each with a scarlet piece of paper in their hands. Even hanging upside down from the ceiling, the ninja could read the nervousness and anticipation on their faces, their emotions hovering around them like a blue haze; the haze of emotions that precedes a life or death battle. Reaching inside his trench coat, Altra pulled out his own letter, a match for the ones below.

<====}=0 – 0={====>

A pair of kunai found their way into both of Altra’s hands before the knock at his door even came. The ninja waited while the unknown man on the other side rapped on the hard wood three times, answering “enter” when the knocking had ceased. The door to Altra’s room swung wide open immediately, a tall dark man with a goatee sweeping into the room.

“Hello, participant!” he declared in a ringing voice, sketching a low bow. Still bent over, the man swung out an arm, a black envelope with silver, spidery writing clutched in his hand. Silently, Altra took the letter from the man and slit it open with a metallic finger and extracted a scarlet piece of paper. The alchemist read the letter over quickly, his eyes darting up to look at the still bowing man several times.

“So,” He said at last, folding the letter and sliding it back into the envelope. “What does this mean? What am I a participant of?”

The man with the goatee merely smiled and pointed at the envelope. “Exactly what it says.” With another little bow, the man began to back out of the room. As the door began to close, the messenger paused a moment and stuck his head back inside. “Oh, and don’t consider not showing up. If you don’t, you’ll die.” With that, the man closed the door with a click, leaving the alchemist-turned-ninja to think over what had just happened. It was going to be a long night.

<====}=0 – 0={====>

In the end, Altra had considered it best to stake out the place, and see what happened. Upon his discovery and inspection of the factory, he had even begun to wonder if the whole thing was a big façade. However, Altra climbed his way up to the ceiling and waited, hidden in the shadows of several criss-crossing beams. He had almost given up and gone on back when the girl had danced in, a small fairy hovering about her shoulders. While Altra contemplated confronting her, a young man, presumably his own age, had entered and found himself face-to-face with the girl.

While Altra watched from above, the two showed each other their letters, identical to his own. The ninja began to lean forward, preparing to drop down to the floor below, when a huge mesh of metal exploded through the wall, hitting the floor and bouncing between the scrambling people below. Dropping off of the surface of the ceiling and onto a beam, Altra leaned forward as much as he could, trying with all his might to pierce the cloud of dust, debris, and cobwebs with his eyes. Slowly, almost teasingly, the dust began to clear, revealing the outline of a huge man. For some reason, Altra immediately sensed an aura of danger and dread. He had a feeling that he was not going to like this newcomer very much.

[Lunch Box]

OoC: Woohoo! A new post in thsi forgotten battle! Let's get htis party re-started!

IC:

“Who are you?” repeated the woman, reaching for her short sword.

“Persistent, aren’t we?”

“Answer me!”

“Well, if you must know, I am Valkyhn. And you are…?”

“Rika.”

“Ahh… so you’re the one I have to fight. Now, where are the other two?”

“I have no idea. I guess we’ll just have to—“ She was interrupted as a huge mesh of metal exploded from the wall, creating a huge cloud of dust. Pieces of metal flew across, sharp as razors. Valkyhn quickly fell to the floor, instinctively covering his head. Razor sharp metal pieces slashed against his arms as he tried to pierce the dark cloud of dust and debris. Suddenly, Valkyhn could feel danger. Ominous and mysterious.

As the dust slowly cleared, a giant outline filled Valkyhn’s field of vision. The dust finally settled, allowing Valkyhn to take a good look at what was in front of him. “Oh crap!” Valkyhn immediately rolled to his side as a giant arm came crashing into the ground, inches from his face. The robot then came down with his other arm. Valkyhn continued to roll, all the while cussing. He knew that sooner or later, the robot’s arm would crush him. While Valkyhn rolled over and over, he thought of an idea. Instantly, he grabbed his sword, unsheathing it in a hurry. He then stopped rolling, waiting for the robot to attack once more.

The robot didn’t fail him. As he came down with his punch, Valkyhn blocked him with him his sword, redirecting his attack to the ground. He then immediately flipped his sword behind him, shoving it in the ground. Using the leverage of the sword, he lifted himself up in the air and flipped behind him, landing on his feet. Grabbing his sword from the ground, he adopted his battle stance. He was about to charge the robot when a scream came from his left. He twisted his head just in time to catch a foot in his face. Valkyhn flew back, blood squirting from his nose. He landed hard on the ground, rolling once and falling on his back. Slowly, he got up and looked at his attacker.

“Rika! What was that for? We get attacked by a giant robot and you take advantage of that by nearly breaking my nose?”

Rika laughed. “That robot didn’t attack us.”

Shock and stupidity came across Valkyhn’s face. “Wha?”

“It attacked you!” As if on cue, the robot came charging towards Valkyhn, arm held back, ready to punch.

“Son of a-“ he was interrupted as the robot’s fist slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of him and sending him flying towards the wall. He slammed against it and slumped to the floor, leaving a huge dent in the metal wall. As he wheezed and gasped for breath, he noticed a black figure standing on the wall. Finally getting his breath back, he croaked, “What the? Who are you?” He pointed to the figure. “You here to kill me too?” Suddenly, the figure disappeared. Confused, Valkyhn looked around, searching for it.

While searching, he found something else. A double attack by the girl named Rika and her giant robot companion. Valkyhn sobbed, closing his eyes. “Why me?”

[Halcyon Hero]

Altra leapt down from the beam, catching the bottom and swinging himself towards the wall. The ninja hit the metal surface and immediately went into a run, sliding down to rest just above the slumped Valkyhn's head. Ignoring the young man's request for identification, Altra darted away, curving around the approaching girl and robot. The ninja leapt on top of a conveyor belt, bouncing off its surface and onto a dust-covered power generator. Valkyhn screamed as the large robotic man’s fist thudded into the walk between the scrambling werewolf’s legs. Reaching into the depths of his coat, Altra extracted two handfuls of kunai.

The ninja leapt backwards and kicked off an iron support beam, twirling high into the air above the three combatants. With a series of twists and turns, the young man expertly launched the projectiles at the two assailants, Valkyhn quickly darting behind the two for safety. The robot merely stood there, the kunai bouncing harmlessly off of his exoskeleton, while the girl weaved and darted all over, like the wind itself. Landing next to the young man in the baseball cap, Altra slipped a bottle out of his bandolier.

“So,” He said, shaking the bottle back and forth. “I suppose you are my ally in this unwilling battle?” Valkyhn stuttered a moment, obviously at a loss for the whole situation, finally nodding. “Then ready yourself.” Altra said, nodding towards the girl and robot, who were charging them. When the duo had come with throwing distance, the alchemist heaved the bottle.

The glass grenade exploded in a burst of think gray smoke, the gas quickly spreading to surround Rogue and Rika. The ninja and werewolf darted forward as one, Altra transmuting blades over each arm, while Valkyhn drew his long sword and lifted it over his head. Together, the two darted in and out of the smoke screen, their blades nicking at their opponents. Yet they had only connected a few times when an unnatural wind grabbed at the smoke and dragged it away.

“What th-?” Altra started to ask, suddenly exposed in front of the robot. Rogue’s arm lashed forward, quickly tightening around the alchemist’s throat. Altra gasped, clawing at the giant metal arm feebly. Again and again, his blades clanged uselessly off of the superior metal, not even leaving a scratch. D-damn this armor. If it wasn’t here . . . Altra’s eyes widened as the reality of his thoughts became apparent to him. Clapping his hands together, the alchemist placed them on each side of the enormous arm squeezing the life out of him.

In a flash of blue light, the arm’s exoskeleton lifted away, revealing a mass of wires and tubes. Grinning triumphantly, Altra slashed across the exposed wires savagely, the hand releasing him as its source of power faded away. Gasping as he hit the floor, Altra rolled between Rogue’s legs, clapping his hands and stripping away the armor covering the left hamstring. Altra tore at those wires too, but only yanked out a single handful before the giant twirled around and kicked him in the side, launching him across the room to slam into a crane.

Groaning, Altra looked up across the room to see the large man—hadn’t it been a robot? Did he have the power to transform?—pointing a gun at him, the barrel glowing ominously. Altra quickly scrambled to him feet and up onto the crane at his back, the beam from the gun grazing his leg. The alchemist winced at the pain, but ignored it, pressing on towards the ceiling.

[Angel]

Ooc: HH, just one thing, Rogue’s arm doesn’t fire beams, it fires bullets.

IC:

The giant mechanical monster paid no heed to the wound inflicted upon him by the alchemist. They would be melded back into place soon enough. And once the L.I probes had done working their ways into the mind of his opponent, Rogue would have his work cut out for him.

But until that happened, he would have to deal with this person the way he had been prepared to: with extreme prejudice. Taking careful aim, the Rogue locked his gaze upon the man’s left shoulder as he ascended the crane. The shot would penetrate the skin of his arm like paper, and hopefully cause him to fall. Knowing his plan was all but flawless, he fired.

The lead tipped bullet zipped through the air faster than any living eye could follow. Rogue on the other hand, was not human. To make sure his target hit, the robotic man increased the frames per second that his visor processed, until the bullet became visible, only a few feet in the air in front of him. It moved in a diagonal direction, with a semi-transparent tail tugging behind it, a sign that it had broken the sound barrier. In slow motion, it entered Altra’s left arm.

But, at this crucial moment, everything went wrong. Instead of blood pouring from the wound, the wound did nothing. Instead of an agonized scream, the alchemist simply winced and looked at the hole in his coat. He didn’t even let go of the crane with his left hand. And to top it off, the flat of a blade came swinging into the region that Rogue’s head occupied, knocking him off his feet.

If he had been human, the blow no doubt would’ve cracked his skull. But the android was made of stronger stuff. That wasn’t to say it didn’t have any effect. As he crashed to the floor, his sight wavered dangerously and nearly cut out. Several of his running systems jumped at the blow, sending numerous jolts of energy throughout the androids body.

“Now, time to return the favor.”

Pushing themselves into Rogue’s distorted mind, the words didn’t register for a few moments. Even if he could see and was undamaged, the robot wouldn’t have moved. Raising his weapon above him, Valkyhn stabbed down. The sword plunged into the oblivion that was Rogue’s chest. However, the attack was short lived as the weapon simply slid down the androids side, making a high pitched screeching sound before it thudded into the cement floor of the factory.

“That’s the deal with my armor, not much can pierce its dense metal,” Rogue grunted. His voice was hollow and lifeless, and from the looks of it, it made his opponent shudder. His little sentence had only served one purpose, to delay his attacker from trying to attack again. In an instant, the L.I probes righted the wrongs within him, and the mechanical being struck out with his left foot. The block of metal pushed itself rather forcefully into Valkyhn’s stomach, and sent him sprawling to the floor across from him.

[nikuvillain]

OoC: Short but it's 1:14 am here and I wanted to get one more post it.

BiC: Rika looked down at the ground as Valkyhn flew pass her. A smile when a cross her face and the wind started to pick up around her. The young girl give out a quiet laugh then said, “This should be quite fun. I will be taking over this fight Ume… Forgive me.” The girl raised her head and showed the green eye’s that was full of enjoyment. A little red tail appeared from under her dress and swung back and forth. The girl pulled her Wakizashi out of its sheath and licked the end of the blade. “Riko!”

Rika’s hand moved down the blade as it grew it length. She stopped and looked at Valkyhn get back up. “Well take you out first.” the young girl ran forward and swung her sword downwards. The man swung his sword up to stop the attack. The girl jumped back and flew up to the roof.

After reaching the roof Rika flew back down at high speed. Her tongue hanging out with her sword in front waiting to hit her enemy. Valkyhn moved out of the way and the sword hit the ground kicked up the stone the broke from the impacted. When the debris clear from where Rika land she wasn’t there. “Here swordsman I’m not going to die like that.” The man looked up above him to see her above him coved in the same debris he was in.

[Lunch Box]

Valkyhn quickly rolled to his side as Rika came down upon where he was just a second ago, her small sword would have gone straight through Valkyhn’s face. Immediately, he popped back up, facing Rika with his sword ready as she landed and instantly turned, engaging in a sword fight. Valkyhn was barely able to keep up with the girl’s speed as she swung her small sword, up and down, left and right. Forward and diagonally. Valkyhn could tell she was just as fast as him, maybe even slower, but really added to her speed was the small, light sword she carried.

Despite her great speed, Valkyhn could see flaws and openings in her attacks. He waited for Rika to wear herself out before taking advantage of it. But Rika wasn’t about to allow him. As she was coming for a strike to the left, Valkyhn came up to block it. But suddenly, she shifted her weight, changed her momentum and slanted down, striking Valkyhn across the stomach. Blood suddenly gushed out, the pain sending Valkyhn to his knees. He dropped his sword on the cold floor, bouncing up and down. Valkyhn looked up at Rika. She had her sword drawn back, ready to strike the final blow. Valkyhn accepted that he would die here. Slowly, he bent his down towards the ground, closing his eyes as tears quickly filled them.

His life flashed in his mind. His training with the Okami, the death of his mentor, coming to the BA, The Encorna. The promise he made to his mother. (OoC: You’ll learn more later on) He hated himself for not being able to keep that promise. The first tear fell down his cheek as he slowly whispered, “I’m…sorry.” He braced himself for the final strike, his last moments on this earth.

But that strike would never come. As Rika was about to come down, Valkyhn’s mysterious ally suddenly collided into her. Surprised Valkyhn looked up as they collided to the ground. He glanced to his left at the giant robot. It was running towards Valkyhn’s ally, arm cocked, ready to punch. He heard his ally moan, pushing himself up. He had his eyes closed, hand rubbing his head. The girl Rika was lying there, unconscious.

“WATCH OUT!” yelled Valkyhn at his ally. Surprised, the ally looked at the coming robot and quickly rolled to his left as the robot’s tight fist came down upon them. With adrenaline pumped speed, Valkyhn transformed into a wolf and ran towards the robot. He leaped in the air, transforming back into a human. Quickly, he grabbed onto the robot’s arm, holding him in a vice grip. Surprised, the robot stopped his attack, which would have crushed the girl. The robot started to shake his arm in a desperate attempt to fling Valkyhn off. “Now’s your chance!” he yelled to his ally who was just standing there, looking at the two.

The ally nodded, and went into motion.

OoC: Well, this is probaly the last post, so this battle ends with a cliffhanger! I hate cliffhangers. Aw well!

[Halcyon Hero]

OoC: Its not over until Aexi sings.

BiC: Altra flew into motion, clapping his hands together. He would have to do this quickly; the demon-girl on the floor was already stirring, he hand grouping for her sword. Placing both hands on the floor, the alchemist trasmuted two giant hands of concrete. One rushed towards the robot, catching him in it's cold, hard grasp. As Valkyhn fell to the floor, the other hand, balled up in a fist, slammed into the restrained android's face, the visor and metal around it shattering.

Altra clapped his hands again, ready to pummel the android into oblivion, when his senses alerted him to immediate danger. The ninja tried to leap off to the side, but the warning came too late. A long, slender blade burst through his chest, right between the third and fourth ribs on his right side. Blood spurted from his mouth, soaking through his mask and trailing down the front of his open trench coat. The alchemist's eyes started to roll up into his head as he slid off of the blade, rushing towards the ground and eternal darkness. It was over. He was dead, or about to be.

The young man hit the ground and bounced once, the sights, sounds, smells, and feel of the world lost to him. Darkness completely overcame him, clouding his vision. Yes, he was dying.

NO!!! The mental shout startled Altra back into conciousness, for the refusal of defeat was not his own. Darkness still clouded his vision, but he was steadily becoming more aware of his surroundings. Suddenly, a pale egg-shaped blob began to materialize in the center of his vision. It was a face.

Who is that? Altra thought with confusion. It was. . . . a girl. But he didn't recognize her. Wait. . . . yes, he did. He knew her! But what was her name? Who was she? It all clicked into place in a single instant. Kika. Her name was Kika. She was his beloved, and he hers. Yes, that was right! They loved each other! She had gone missing, and he was currently searching for her, with all of his ability and heart.

No. . . .he could not die. Not yet. Not when he had failed to find the love of his life. He would not abandon her now. Not now, not ever. He had to live. He had to live, for her! She needed him! Reality came back to Altra in a rush, his eyes flying open has if blow open by hurricane winds. The ninja stumbled to his feet, surveying the course of the fight.

The android had broken free of the giant hand and was stumbling about, his broken face plate throwing off sparks as it rebuilt itself right before his eyes. The werewolf and demon-girl were dancing around each other, blades flashing. Altra spat out more blood as pain lanced through his body. He was in terrible shape. There wasn't much he could do, but he would do whatever he could.

Summoning whatever strength he had left, the Shadow Ninja Alchemist gathered the shadows of the factory to him, the darkness forming itself into a large ball between his hands. The warrior worked the darkness, molding and shaping it like dough. Gritting his teeth against the pain, Altra darted forward, leaping and running up the wall towards the ceiling and iron beams overhead.

Blood was squirting out of his body at an alarming rate, but Altra refused to even acknowledge it. Leaping off the wall, the ninja landed on a beam and swung down off the opposite side, the gum-like ball of shadows in his hand catching on it and stretching as he pulled it along to the next beam, and the next after that.

Below him, Valkyhn and Rika were still fighting furiously, oblivious to the ninja above. Rogue, however, was watching Altra curiously, his gun-arm raised. Yet, he did not shoot. He seemed puzzled, as if uncertain whether or not he should shoot the man down. Altra did not waste the opportunity. He leapt form beam to beam, the gum-like string of shadows crisscrossed across the entire ceiling.

There wasn't much time left; the alchemist could feel the shadow bomb pulsing in his hands. This would likely kill everyone involved as well as himself, but he didn't have any other choice. Besides, he would not die. He couldn't. If he had to, and he probably would, he would keep himself alive on willpower alone.