Lashana. Lashana, wake up. Lashana!!
"Ack!" Limbs askew, the form on the bed bolted upright at the yell, her right hand missing the edge of the bed by mere inches as she tried to catch herself before toppling to the floor with a groan. "Oooh, ow..... Ugh, yes, L-Sama?"
You sleep like the dead, girl.
Lashana grimaced and rubbed at the new bump on her head as she sat up and looked at the Goddess that was standing at the foot of the bed. "Thanks. ....I think," she muttered as she gingerly pulled herself to her feet and rearranged her tank top and shorts. Her Bonded, she noted, was still sleeping. Probably due to the fact that L-Sama was altering the time/space quotient again so that he wouldn't even know they were speaking. "What's up? Besides me?"
L-Sama studied the Elf calmly as the sorceress moved to get dressed, obviously anticipating why the Goddess was paying her a visit. I need you to go to San Francisco. There are matters there that must be dealt with.
"In San Fran?" Surprised, the Elf turned away from rummaging through her closet for an outfit and eyed L-Sama out of the corner of her eye. "Why? What's in San Fran that's got your attention? And which San Fran? There's only, like, an infinite amount of different dimensions to go through."
I'm afraid it's my mistake. One of my Mazoku broke through the dimensional barriers, and now he's loose in a city of humans. I'm sure you know of the dimension, however. It's the Marvel dimension of the year nineteen ninety seven. It's around February at the moment, I believe. So dress warmly. As for your target.... The Goddess rose a hand and lightly touched the surface of the mirror that was hanging above the dresser, watching calmly as the surface of it morphed until it was acting as one of her viewing portals, displaying an image of the Mazoku she was sending her Knight after. I'm afraid he may give you some trouble. He's a shape-shifter you see, and prone to violence and mischief. He craves the pain of others, be it physical or emotional. I don't need to tell you how easy he will be able to sate himself in a city of humans.
"But if it's the Marvel universe, then why hasn't anyone done anything?" the Elf wondered as she hopped into her comfortable soft leather pants and buttoned a shimmering dark blue blouse on, returning to her closet to pull out a mid-thigh length black leather jacket and a silver scarf. "I mean, things like that don't go unheeded in that universe."
Perhaps not in the copy of New York, but in San Francisco.... there is only one who patrols those streets, and he is not the most stable one around.
Lashana frowned and tapped a fingernail against her chin. "'He'? Uhh.... lesse, Marvel, ninety seven, San Fran...." She trailed off and paled before giving L-Sama a pleading look. "Oh hell no. Not Venom."
He is one of your favourites.
"To read about! Not deal with!"
You haven't a choice now. Evade him if you wish, it matters not, so long as you find the Mazoku and capture him. As she spoke, L-Sama held out her hand and gathered golden light to her palm, focusing on the energy for a moment before it solidified into a palm-sized golden amulet decorated with onyx stones. When you defeat him, merely touch this to him. He will return to a energy state and be absorbed into the amulet.
"Great," the Elf muttered as she took the amulet from her and slipped it into the inside pocket of her jacket before going to pull on her favourite black leather hiking boots. Planning for the worst, she made sure to grab the gun holster that was hanging from a hook on the wall, pausing to check the thirty-five millimetre magnum before shrugging into said holster. "This might take a bit longer than usual. You know I can't go around using magick where people can see me."
I am aware of that. You have five days before I will be forced to cleanse that entire dimension in order to keep the Mazoku from turning humans into it's minions and overtaking the world. A slight smile spread over the Goddess' lips as she looked upon the one she had chosen as her Avatar. Do me proud, my Knight.
"Yes ma'am," Lashana smirked, mock saluting the Goddess as she headed for the door. "One quick morning coffee and I'll be on my way! Just don't 'cleanse that universe without warning me first, kay?"
L-Sama inclined her head, a full smile now gracing her lips. Alright. I will give you a warning of three hours. Sufficient?
"Yup! Thanks!" Waving goodbye, Lashana ducked out of the room and tiptoed down the hallway, very aware that it was only three in the morning as she navigated her way through the hallways and stairs, trying to keep as silent as possible.
::Mommy?::
"Nuts." Go back to sleep Akhor. I'm on official Avatar business, she thought to the small dragon that was telepathically speaking to her, knowing that he would automatically search her mind for a response. Unfortunately, the littlest of the three dragons was also the most stubborn, hence the fact that when she snuck into the kitchen to get herself a cup of coffee, she found the small white dragon perched on the coffee maker, golden eyes bright with interest. You are not coming with me.
::Aw, why not? What could it hurt?:: he argued as she forgoed the coffee machine in search of the instant coffee. ::You're seriously telling me that having a telepath around would not help you?::
She shook her head and glanced at him as she fireballed the mug to warm the coffee then spooned in some of the instant stuff. "Okay, one : your telepathy is limited to a ten block radius. And two: no."
::Please?::
"No."
::Pleeease?::
"No."
He whimpered and gave her the puppy-dog-eyes treatment, wings drooping theatrically. ::Pleeeeease?::
"N--" she paused as she saw what he was doing and mentally kicked herself. "Oh, alright, fine. But you have to promise to hide under my jacket! There's no such things as dragons where we're going!"
::No such thing as dragons?:: Ahkor shook his head sadly and preened his scales. ::Poor people, no wonder they need your help.::
That made her laugh, and she couldn't help but grin as she set her mug down and swept the little one into her arms, stroking the spot between his wings lovingly. "Yes, they're very deprived, aren't they, littling?"
::Very. Scratch a little harder, please.:: A low thrumming rumble resonated from him as he arched against her fingers, eyes heavy-lidded in pleasure as his scales registered the feeling of her nails scratching his back. ::So when do we leave?::
"As soon as I finish my coffee," she told him as she cradled him in the crook of her left arm and picked up her mug with her free hand. "Ugh, instant. I hate instant. Bleh."
Amused, the cat-sized dragon chuckled softly into her thoughts and climbed up to curl around the back of her neck, fanning her with a wing when he discovered that the leather jacket she was wearing was a winter one. ::Aren't you hot?::
"Dying," she sighed as she set the mug in the sink and wiped at her forehead with the back of her hand. "But it's winter where we're going." She did up the buttons to the jacket as she spoke, fixing the scarf so that it hid Akhor before she pulled a pair of black sunglasses out of the breast pocket and slipped them on. "Hang tight. We're headin' to San Francisco."
::Can we sight-see?:: he asked as she opened a golden portal in the middle of the kitchen and walked through it.
"Only after we're done saving the world."
::Oh, joy.::
"Hush you." Golden black light folded in on her as she stepped into the portal, and for a moment it was as if she was standing in limbo before her destination opened up before her, a cold wind washing over her as she strolled out into a deserted section of the Golden Gate park, shivering as she pulled up the collar of her jacket before pushing through a small bit of bushes to step out onto the path.
She felt Akhor shiver and move closer to her as she walked as rose a hand to pat his head as he shifted to peer through her hair, feeling his warm breath against her cheek as she walked, using her limited knowledge of the city to guide her as she headed for what she hoped was the busy downtown.
::Which San Francisco are we in?:: Akhor telepathed to her curiously as he turned his golden gaze on the seemingly empty park. Reaching out, he tuned his telepathy to a 'wideband' frequency, blinking in surprise when he sensed only a few birds and squirrels nearby. ::We're alone, by the way.::
"It's cold enough for the park to be empty," she replied as she shoved her hands deep into her pockets and squinted up at the bright afternoon sky above them. "And we're in the Marvel universe. Year nineteen ninety seven. A Mazoku got through the barriers that L-Sama put up and is running amok and looking to cause major pain to get it's warm and fuzzies."
::Lovely. Where do we start looking?::
"No clue. But I want to get downtown and onto a rooftop so I can do a little scanning of my own. I only have a week to find this wacko before L-Sama cleanses this universe."
::Cleanses?::
"Think Armageddon."
::....oh.::
"Mm. I'd rather not have to bid farewell to another universe because some idiot Mazoku got loose and tried to raise an army to destroy the world."
Akhor arched a white brow ridge at that. ::'Another'?::
"Don't ask. It was a very bad day."
::Ah. So, no flying?::
She paused for a moment, then stopped walking and seriously gave that some thought, raising a hand to tilt her sunglasses down as she looked at her surroundings, then at the sky. Slowly, a smirk spread over her lips, and after she had replaced her glasses, she gathered her magick to herself and wove her flight spell, chuckling at the wave of approval that Akhor sent to her as she gained altitude, rising above the trees and above the buildings she saw in the distance before levelling out. Well, where should we go? East or west?
::Uhh.... west? I don't know! Why are you asking me?::
Because you're the telepathic one, stupid. Shaking her head, she drew a coin and flipped it into the air, calling heads for east and tails for west. It would have worked better had she actually caught the damned quarter.
::Is it heads or tails?:: Akhor snickered as she looked down at the far away ground in exasperated dismay.
"Shut up," she growled as she turned and flew west, raising a bit of her scarf to keep her throat warm as the wind whipped at her, sending her hair flying everywhere.
::Hehe.::
I thought I told you to shut up, she sent to him, unwilling to even try to talk while she was flying in such cold air. She was afraid that if she tried to breath through her mouth that her lungs would automatically freeze solid. Gods above it's freakin' cold!
::It's not that bad.::
I'm half-Elf. As in forest Elf. Forest as in no-snow, forest. I'm a summer person. Winter is not something I like having to deal with. She swung around a bird and glanced down as horns caught her attention, blinking when she saw people staring up at her with cameras flashing. Of course. A tour bus. Just what I need. Ugh.
Knowing that this stemmed from the fact that she hadn't had her proper morning coffee, and from the universal jet-leg she was going to be going through for the next couple of days since they had left at three in the morning and arrived here at what looked like three in the afternoon. ::Why don't you land somewhere and get a cup of coffee?::
She slowed her pace at that suggestion, suddenly aware of how snappish she was starting to become. Maybe you're right, littling. Sighing, she dove down and lightly landed on the sidewalk in front of a Starbucks, ignoring the gazes from those around her as she walked in and rummaged around in her pocket for a tenspot as she approached the counter. "Give me a large black, double strong, double sweet." Blessed caffeine. I'm sorry if I snapped at you, littling. I really didn't mean to.
::I know, and you didn't. Stop worrying so much. We just got here, there's enough time to scout out the city by air before you start the real search,:: Akhor told her in a soothing tone as she accepted her coffee, paid for it, and headed out again, and he felt her wince at all the gazes that were turned on them.
Sighing, she clutched her coffee and leapt into the air, ignoring more gasps of surprise as she flew up to land on the roof. A quick glance around showed her that she'd only have to worry about pigeons, and she felt relief well up in her as she walked over to the opposite edge of the roof and sat down on the raised edge, feeling Akhor wriggle out form under her coat. "Stay close."
::I will,:: he assured her as he flew over to the adjacent ledge and peered down at the people below, curiously scanning their minds for any information that might prove useful. ::We should pick up a newspaper.::
She sipped at her coffee. "Oh?"
::Yeah. Lots of surface thoughts about some recent unsolved murders,:: he told her, golden eyes fixed on the crowd below as he shifted through numerous surfaces thoughts. ::I can't get more without really intruding on their minds.::
"Well, unsolved murders sure work with what L-Sama told me about the Mazoku," Lashana mused as she took another drink of her coffee and rose to her feet, beginning to pace as she worked out a few ideas. "She said it lives off of pain, emotional and physical, but it's not stupid. It'd know to lay low until it's gotten enough power. So...."
::So what's an easy food source? Who's easy to kill and not liable to end up on the news until the bodies are found?::
She paused and sighed, curling her hands around her mug of coffee to warm her fingers at the sudden chill that overtook her. "Street kids. The homeless. Oh dear gods, it's feeding off the homeless...." she trailed off in silent horror and stalked over to the far edge of the roof that overlooked a newsstand, studying it for a moment before she opened a portal and reached in, snatching a few newspapers and a map of the city before leaving a five dollar bill in their place. "C'mon, Akhor. Let's go find a hotel to crash in while I go over these."
::Can we get room service?:: he asked hopefully as he flew back to her and curled up under the scarf, his tail wrapping around her throat to anchor himself. ::Can we get fish? Or lobster? Huh? Can we? Can we?::
She laughed at his excited tone of voice and rose a hand to stroke his head. "We'll see, littling. We'll see."
In the end, she chose a small motel near the zoological gardens close to the ocean, preferring it's location than anything she had seen in the heart of the city. Another lure was that it was relatively inexpensive, and had many restaurants nearby, a definite plus considering that she was only planning to use the room when she needed a few hours sleep. It was certainly better than paying a huge price for a room she wouldn't be seeing much of during the week. To Akhor's disappointment, there wasn't any room service, and while she knew it could cost her a small fortune, she had instead let him loose on the small mini bar fridge, letting him gorge on chocolate bars and chips.
While he was pigging out, she was pouring over newspaper articles and marking the location of each killing on the map that she had unfolded. Her jacket lay thrown haphazardly on the double bed, the sleeves of her blouse rolled up to her elbows while her sunglasses were placed up on her head, keeping her long bangs out of her eyes. Her brow was furrowed as she read through the articles, her gut feelings getting worse and worse the more she read. There was a complete lack of pattern so far, other than the Mazoku was sticking to killing the homeless. But it wasn't staying in any one section of San Francisco, it seemed to be jumping around at random, which made her job of hunting it down much harder.
Unless there's a pattern that I just can't see, she mused as she rose a hand and pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing heavily. This is hopeless, how can I track something that's so erratic?
Akhor poked his head out of the bag of Doritos he was munching on and shook seasoning off of himself before turning to look at her, sensing her frustration. ::Maybe you should get help,:: he suggested, drawing her tired gaze as he licked his talons clean. ::There's someone that you know could help.::
"There's someone that I know would make this so much harder," she muttered as she propped her head up on a fist and stared down at the map that was laid out before her. "Besides, I don't even know where to find him. No... my best bet is to patrol the city tonight and hope that I'm in the right place at the right time."
::It's a big city.::
"I know. But I don't think there's anything else I can do," she sighed as she pushed herself to her feet and stretched stiff muscles with a groan. "I'll start at the other killing sites and hope I get lucky."
::Hope we get lucky,:: he corrected her arching a brow ridge at her pointedly. ::Or don't you think a telepathic dragon would be useful?::
"Now don't you start that, littling," she scolded him lightly as she unrolled the long sleeves of her blouse and pulled her jacket on. "You know I appreciate the help you give me. Speaking of which, where the hell are the keys?"
He chuckled and rose a claw to point at the small table she had been sitting at. ::Under the newspapers.::
"Right." A quick search proved that he was right, and as soon as she had closed her fingers around the room key, she took a moment to check her hidden items in the inside pocket of her jacket, then slid her fingers into the breast pocket of the jacket and felt the cool metal of the amulet. "Alright. Let's get this over with. Coming, Akhor?"
::Of course!:: White wings spread to their full two foot span as he leapt off the bed and flew over to her, delicately landing on her right shoulder before he settled himself along the back of her neck, tail curling around her throat. ::Don't forget your scarf.::
She rolled her eyes at his mothering tone but obediently settled the warm material on her shoulders, partially covering the small dragon as she did so. Once she was satisfied that he was well hidden, she turned to regard the empty room, then rose a hand, smiling grimly when a portal snapped open at her fingertips, glowing an eerie golden black as it swirled with light. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for a long nights work, then stepped into the mystical doorway, pulling her sunglasses back down as the glow from it momentarily blinded her.
::Sunglasses at night, huh? How daring,:: Akhor teased, chuckling when she made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. ::Ah, yes. Very ladylike.::
"I have never been accused of being a lady," she muttered in reply as she stepped out onto a rooftop, glancing behind her as the portal snapped shut. That done with, she turned and surveyed where she was, nodding in satisfaction when she walked over to the edge of the roof and looked down at the street signs, glad to see that she was at the intersection she had been hoping for. "Alright, guess it's up to lady luck now. Hang tight, Akhor, I'm taking the high road."
::Where are we anyway? This isn't downtown, is it?::
"Naw, littling. It's the seeder part of town. There was a body discovered here two days ago," she told him as she shoved her sunglasses up onto the top of her head and broke into a full run, jumping to the next roof with ease. "I'm hoping the Mazoku's still around."
::Oh joy beyond joys,:: he grimaced, poking his head out from under her hair to look at where they were going. ::Um.... since there aren't that many people about, is it okay if I take to the air?:: When she nodded, he happily wriggled his way free of the scarf and vaulted from her shoulder, crooning in pleasure as the wind washed over his extended wings. Having the ability to breathe fire was useful on cold days like these, it meant that he basically had an internal furnace to keep him warm, and he smiled as he took a breath of the cool air, inner lids shuttering down over his eyes as he looked up at the bright moon. Hmm, it's almost a full moon. I'll have to tell that to Lashana later. Maybe it's important.
Saving that thought for later, he quickly turned on a wingtip and flew above the white haired elf that was leaping from rooftop to rooftop with an agility that was born of many, many hours of training. Keeping up with her was easily done for one with wings, and while he knew to stay close to her in case the Mazoku appeared, he wasn't above going a little bit ahead to take a look around with his superior draconic vision. Not that he was bragging or anything.
After about two hours of running around without finding even a trace of the Mazoku, however, he was singing a different tune. Wings aching, he alighted on a rooftop ventilation shaft and sighed, looking over at the Elf that skidded to a stop near him and placed her hands on her knees as she gasped for air, her breath fogging in the cold night. ::Don't you think it's time to call it a night?::
She shook her head and sent to him instead of trying to talk. Three muggings stopped and a rapist unconscious.... I'm doing my good deed for the year, she thought wryly. Besides, this place is perfect for it to hide in. Even the cops avoid this area, it can feed unchallenged here.
::Then where is it?:: he countered tiredly, wings and tail drooping as he frowned at her. ::I can't fly around all night, my wings are tired from fighting the wind currents.::
"Alright, alright," she sighed, straightening with a groan once she had caught her breath. "Curl up on my shoulder again, littling. One more hour, and I'll call it quits. I promise."
::I'll hold you to that,:: he warned her as he let her pick him up and deposit him on her right shoulder, waiting until he had settled himself before she walked to the edge of the roof and looked down at the alley below. ::What are you thinking?::
"Nothing, just testing my link to the Chaos to see if anything's around, but I can't sense anything."
::Well, L-Sama said it was a shape-shifter. Maybe it can mask itself too.::
"Oh there's a happy thought," she muttered sourly, her mood falling another notch as she leapt to the next roof, crouching there as she cocked her head to the side, frowning curiously. Slowly, she rose a hand and tucked her hair behind her right ear, listening intently as she silently rose, concentrating for the slight sound she had heard in mid jump.
::Crying,:: Akhor whispered in her thoughts. ::Someone's crying.::
Nodding in agreement, she turned and dropped down to the street, landing with enough force to crack the cement. She paused there for a moment in case her movement attracted anything, then frowned and tuned into the crying she was registering, turning this way and that until she had a fix on the sound. Fixing her hair so that her ears were hidden again, she walked forward and peered into a dark alley, opening her thoughts to Akhor as he used his superior vision to lead her towards the small form that was curled up against a garbage dumpster.
"Hello?" she called, on her full guard as she moved deeper into the dim alley, slowing when Akhor relayed that the form was a twelve year old boy. "Hey, are you alright?"
At the sound of her voice, the kid jumped to his feet and backed away from her, eyes widening when he tripped over a pile of garbage and landed heavily on his butt. "S-stay away from me!"
"Hey, easy. Easy. I'm not gonna hurt you." Keeping her voice low and soothing, she crouched in front of him and held out her right hand. "Need a hand? Oh! You're hurt!" Worried, she leaned forward and reached out to touch the deep gash on his left calf, sending a quick burst of Healing magick into him and watching through the hole in his pant leg as the flesh knitted itself.
Startled, he froze in place and stared down at his leg in shock, then rose his gaze to the woman again. Dark blue eyes regarded him worriedly from behind bright white bangs, and he couldn't help but feel a little wary of her. "A-are you one of those muties?"
"Muties? Oh, you mean mutants. Well.... I guess you could think of me that way," she shrugged. It'll certainly be easier to explain my powers if people think me a mutant. "I won't hurt you though. Does your leg feel better?"
"Uh, yeah." He swallowed nervously, slowing becoming aware that she wasn't part of the gang that had been chasing him. "T-thanks."
"No problem." Smiling warmly, she straightened and held her hand out to him again, easily pulling him to his feet when he slipped his fingers into her grasp. "Well, that's a sight better. But if you don't mind me asking, why were you crying?"
He frowned and rubbed at his eyes with his right sleeve. "I wasn't crying!"
She smiled despite herself. "Right. My mistake."
::Kids,:: Akhor grumbled.
Hush. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing out here? It can't be that safe considering the type of people I've knocked unconscious tonight."
Blinking as that sunk in, he slowly started to relax, though he didn't let his guard down. "You're not from around here, are ya?"
She grinned. "Is it that obvious?"
Slim shoulders rose and fell in a shrug. "Most people don't come here. Even less would care about those of us who live here."
"I guess I'm one of the special ones then," she mused. "Either way, you gonna answer my question?"
"I.... was hiding," he admitted finally. "I kinda pissed off one of the gangs and now they're after me."
"A gang. Oi, kiddo, you've stepped in it this time, haven't you? Does this 'gang' know where you live?" When he shook his head, she sighed and shook her head. "Alright, look. I can't just leave you here, so is there a safe place I can escort you too? I promise that I'll kick the arse of whoever tries to hurt you along the way."
He stared at her for a moment, then slowly nodded. "O-okay."
"Good. C'mon," Settling an arm around his shoulders, she guided him out of the alley and into the light of the street, her eyes widening when she looked down at him and discovered that bright green eyes were peering up at her from behind tousled dark brown locks. He looks so young!
::From what I can sense from him, he's been on the streets all his life. With his mother. Don't know where she is though,:: Akhor sent, his mindvoice concerned.
Right. Thanks. "So," she said out loud, smiling at the boy pleasantly. "My name's Lashana. You got one or shall I just call you 'kid'?"
"The name's, Justin," he said proudly, sending her a warning glance as he did so. "And I'm not a kid."
"My bad!" she grinned, holding up her hands defensively. "So how far is your little safe haven?"
"Ten blocks. But the gang'll get us before then," he sulked. "They always do."
Frowning, she looked down at him again and noted a healing bruise on his left cheek. "Is that who hit you?" When he nodded, she narrowed her eyes and grit her fangs together, her hands fisting at her sides as they walked. "If you see them," she growled. "Do me a favour and point them out to me."
Justin looked up at her for a moment, then lowered his gaze, shivering at the emotion he had seen in her eyes. Now fully convinced that she really wasn't going to hurt him - he had a knack of reading people - he cleared his throat and started telling her about his mother and little brother, seeing her eyes soften as she listened to him, an almost wistful smile on her face. By the time they reached the right building, he felt completely at ease with her, and a little surprised at the safety she readily offered him.
"Hey, thanks, y'know?" he muttered as she stopped by the main door and checked the area for danger. "I really appreciate this."
"It was my pleasure," Lashana smiled, taking his right hand in hers and pushing a wad of twenties into his palm. "Here. For you and your family. It's all I have on me right now, but I'll be in town for three or four more days, at the Sunset motel off the highway on Sloan avenue, room twenty-six. If you need anything in the next couple of days, come find me, okay?"
Eyes wide, he looked from the money she had given him to her. "Yeah! Thanks!"
"Good, now run," she whispered, sending a glance over her shoulder. "They're here." She turned as she spoke, shifting to the side to shield Justin from view as she cut her gaze across the group of five males that were advancing towards her. "Well, well, well. If it ain't the goon squad. Kinda glad you lot showed up, it's been a slow night."
The leader of the gang snorted and stepped forward, wielding a piece of piping like a club. "You think we're scared o' you girlie? Get real. Yer the one who's gonna make our night interestin'! Yer a good catch."
She chuckled darkly and walked forward, letting them encircle her. "This catch has a few tricks you idiots haven't seen yet!"
::Are you insane?:: Akhor telepathed. ::You can't use your full power on humans. You could kill them!::
Of course I'm not gonna use my full power on them, silly. Grinning, she rose her hands into the air and closed her eyes, murmuring under her breath. "Winds of the Corners, breath of Gaia. Gather to my hands and become my strength..." She opened her eyes as the gang began to close in on her and spread her arms out to either side of her. "Bomb di wind!"
The explosion of air shot outwards in hurricane force, literally picking up the five humans and sending them sprawling across the street. Chuckling, she shook her head and rose a hand to brush her bangs out of her eyes. "Pitiful. Telca's cat is more of a challenge."
"You want a challenge?" the leader rasped as he climbed to his feet and glared over at her. "I'll give you a challenge!"
Doubt it.
::Do tell. Try not to break too many of their bones.::
Ruin all my fun. As he charged at her, pipe club swinging, she sidestepped, let the Chaos power turn her nails into talons and literally slashed the pipe into five separate parts, smirking at his stunned look before she did a perfect roundhouse kick, slamming her boot into his stomach with enough force to once again introduce him to the opposite side of the street.
The remaining four, obviously enraged at the take-out of their boss, all charged at once, and she sighed in exasperation at the sight. After all her hours of training by both Duncan and Kenshin, she could easily take them all out without breaking a sweat, which is exactly what she did. As an after-thought however, she turned to the leader and gave him her best evil grin, letting her eyes turn gold, the iris' morphing from circular to elliptical as she growled at him. "That kid and his family are under my protection," she snarled as she stalked towards him, letting her nails turn into talons as she made as if to grab him, delighting in his yelp of fear. "Come after them again, and you'll deal with me!" She flared her aura for added measure, then punched him, knocking him out in one blow. "Hehe. That was fun."
Rolling his eyes, Akhor rose his head from under the scarf and peered down at the unconscious human. ::He's gonna be having nightmares of you for a while.::
Good! Picking on kids, what an asshole. Grinning, she let her eyes and nails return to their natural appearance, then wove her flight spell and leapt into the air, turning to wave at a gaping Justin before heading for the motel, skimming the rooftops as she went.
Akhor snorted in amusement at her uplifted mood and wriggled out from under her jacket, choosing to cling to her back with his talons rather than stay hidden in the stuffiness of the scarf as she flew. All things considered, he shared her satisfaction this night. They hadn't found the Mazoku, but saving that kid, Justin, more than made up for it.
Just as he was entertaining thoughts of coaxing Lashana to get some late-night take-out, the blackness of the night came alive, tearing a roar of surprise from his throat as something slammed into the Elf's side, sending her crashing to a rooftop. Having taken to the air to avoid harm, he now turned on a wing-tip and loosed a belch of flame at the attacker, growling lowly when the light from the fire illuminated the Mazoku they were after. ::Lashana! Get up!::
Shaking her muddled thoughts back into order, Lashana staggered to her feet and instinctively dropped into a fighting stance, raising her arms in a solid block just in time to divert a powerful spell away from herself. Light and heat brightened the night as the spell was rebounded away from her, and she quickly used the Mazoku's momentary surprise to her advantage as she attacked with her own spell, her mood plummeting when the demon backhanded a powerful fireball aside as if it was child's play. This is bad. Very bad.
Another blast of fire drew her gaze to Akhor as he wheeled high above her, and she frowned when the Mazoku dodged the flames, telling her all that she needed to know. It's immune to magick, but not to physical attacks. Shit. Growling, she summoned another fireball and sent it at the roof beneath the demon's feet, seeing it's sickly yellow gaze widen in surprise as the ground exploded under it's feet. To her surprise, however, it's form shimmered for a moment, before a black eagle took it's place, long talons aiming for her face as it turned to attack her.
::Get down!!::
A white form arrowed down between them, and she paled in horror as the small dragon loosed another belch of fire at the eagle, the two doing a deadly aerial ballet in front of her. "Akhor! No!" With a snarl of rage, she lunged into the fray, pulling her sword from a portal as she attacked, using every ounce of speed that she possessed as the Mazoku transformed into a human with a katana, the two of them trading furious blows before she was knocked aside.
She twisted in mid-air and landed on her feet, the rooftop's gravel grating under her boots as she crouched and lunged again, putting her full strength into it this time as she and the Mazoku danced, trading sword slashes and quick punches and kicks. It wasn't speed that it possessed the most of, it was strength, and she found that out the hard way as it shoved her backwards, making her stumble as it backhanded her hard enough that it loosened some of her teeth, sending her sprawling. She slammed into the raised edge of the roof and kept going, her breath leaving her in a sharp cry as she landed heavily on the roof of a car, shattering it's windows. The world spun around her, and for a moment she lost full consciousness, only coming back to herself when a light form alighted on her face, warm breath washing over her face as a far away voice echoed in her thoughts.
::....-shana! Lashana!::
Groaning, she cracked open an eye and focused on golden eyes, blinking for a moment before recognition hit her. "Akhor...."
::Oh thank the Gods! You scared me half to death! Are you alright?!::
"Peachy. Just freakin' peachy." Growling, she sat up amongst the ruin of the car and looked around, her right hand still fisted around the hilt of her sword. "Where is it?! I want another go!"
::The Mazoku's gone. Just, poof, gone,:: Akhor told her, wincing as her thoughts turned homicidal for a brief instant before she regained control of her temper. ::Are you sure you're alright?::
"I'm fine. Just a little sore," she sighed, raising a hand to hug him to her as she gingerly climbed off the ruined car, limping slightly from the ache in her back. "I think you were right."
::About what?::
"I'm gonna need some help."
TBC