[Richard McGuiness] "Woohoo! Fifty chapters! We're already more than half of our original story!"

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "Aren't we in the middle of a fight scene?"

[Richard McGuiness] "Oh shit! I totally forgot! I did kinda tap into my private reserves a little while ago and may be a dat bit completely hammered."

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "Shit-faced drunk."

[Richard McGuiness] "Sex-starved monkey."

Stan leaped backwards as bullets danced across his armor, sparking all around the room he was in and blinding him. He dodged to the side and leaped forward with his lance out, ready to impale someone with the end.

Dion charged him and deflected the spear with his right arm. Raising his left, he punched the knight in the unguarded face.

The knight buckled under the blow as the armor around his neck was completely obliterated from the sheer shockwave, blasting away from the point of impact. He dug his heels in and flew back at him, swinging with his right fist.

Dion retaliated with his opposite fist again, their fists connecting. The Titan's completely shattered the knight's fist, turning Stan's hand into a mass of exploding gore and bone. This continued down to the elbow that shattered in several locations, the shoulder joint repeating this pattern. That one punch had turned his entire arm into liquid, rendering it completely unusable.

Stan grunted and kicked him away, his right arm hanging uselessly by his side. He dropped his lance, now unable to use it effectively in his fight with only one hand.

"Damn, you all were serious," complimented the knight.

He reached behind his back and tapped a magical rune on the middle of his spinal cord. A huge sheath appeared wrapped around his waist, digistructed from the rune just like an SDU.

He drew the sword in the sheath, a huge zweihander at least six feet in length. It was colored black and dripped black from some unknown compound that looked suspiciously poisonous. He braced the sword against the ground and closed his eyes.

Instantly, a huge black cloud began to wrap around from his feet seemingly from nowhere. All the magical runes along his body began to glow instantly, turning a luminescent violet color that illuminated the room. The gas moved along his body, staining his armor completely black and making it drip the same liquid as the sword.

When it reached his face, it created another helmet around his skin made of solid metal. It was similar to his original helmet, but now had shadows over its faceplate, preventing anyone from glimpsing what was underneath.

"Oh shit," muttered Saprus taking a step backwards, his eyes wide. "I know what that stuff is."

"What is it?" asked Alan Fitzgerald raising his bayonets.

"Plaque III, one of the most poisonous substances known to man. While my Plaque IX is like an acid, Plaque III is the equivalent to fatal adrenaline. It accelerates all the bodily functions until the person literally disintegrates since they age so fast. However, subjects administered with it in small doses developed strength and speed so great it seemed unreal, their bodies in a constant adrenaline rush state."

He gritted his teeth behind his mask. "And apparently, Stan the Planet-Slayer was one of the test subjects. Just like how my wife tested Plaque IX, Stan tested Plaque III. That sword must administer it to his body, preventing him from killing those around him unless its out."

Stan looked up at them, his useless arm still hanging by his side. He roared at them, swinging his sword onto his shoulder as if to keep it from falling to the ground. Then he charged forward, still keeping his sword onto his shoulder.

Dion fired a beam at him but that didn't even slow the knight down. Stan swung in a huge arc, splashing Plaque III across the floor.

The Titan dodged and kept shooting him frantically, trying to stop him. This was the literal equivalent to shooting BB guns at a freight train, as the knight took the beams without even blinking. He just stood there, his body rigid.

Then he leaped into the air and somersaulted like an acrobat, his sword ready to swing down like a guillotine.

Dion took the sword to the shoulder and stared at the wound in shock. The poison flew into his body, causing him to see everything so fast he could barely process it. He hurriedly tried to fight back, but Stan repeated his somersault maneuver and hit him two more times.

Alan ran in and began swinging at him with his bayonets, taking off small bits of his armor on the chest and back.

Stan spun and hit both of them as he leaped backwards, landing on his feet a good ten meters away. Then he braced his sword against his shoulder, flying forward on a river of Plaque III below his feet.

Paula fired a shotgun at his head, instantly stopping him in his tread. He then leaped to the side to dodge the next one, seemingly adjusting to her strategy.

Dion vomited as he saw everything twice as fast as he should've, dizziness and nausea settling in quickly. It was like the worst high you could imagine. He could still feel the pain and it felt even worse than normal, now feeling double the normal amount of agony that he should've.

Saprus ran over and hurriedly pulled out one of his syringes. Plunging it into the Titan's neck, he injected the medicine into him.

Dion finally felt some coordination come back into his body, the room having stopped spinning around him. He shook his head, trying to clear his brain of the drug.

"Thankfully, all Hyperion Plaques have the same cure," explained Saprus. "I got a few more, but not enough. We need to kill him now."

Aurai walked towards them, her leg now sufficiently healed back to normal. "I can distract him. None of you have any kiting abilities, but I do. If you hit him while he's distracted, you may be able to kill him."

Dion grunted. "I don't like the idea of you getting involved in this, but it's not time to be picky. Stay away from harm okay?"

"You're still a butthead," snapped the Siren defensively, turning away while blushing intensely.

He chuckled. "Of course."

Aurai began twirling her first two fingers on her right hand, the Phasetwist already appearing around her hand. Throwing it away from her, the tornado birthed to life and snaked across the room towards the knight.

Stan grunted as he tried to fight off the harsh winds, succeeding in at least staying on the ground, but not able to move from his spot.

Saprus fired a bolt of Plaque IX into the storm, hitting the knight in his right leg. The disease overwhelmed the poison oozing from his body and ate through the armor as if it was paper.

The knight ripped the chunks of dissolving armor off his body, ridding him of the disease, when bullets quickly hit the tender flesh beneath the armor. He collapsed onto his other leg, his right leg now a dead weight on his body.

"He's crippled! Kill him!" roared Alan activating his Evil Angel form.

They all fully unloaded their guns, using their various abilities to augment their strength. Bullets were as thick as rain in a hurricane through the room, sparking and filling the room with their percussions.

"Bang!" snapped Paula with wide hysterical eyes firing her Mad Art enhanced assault rifle.

"You won't escape," spat Saprus calmly.

"Up yours asshole!" shouted Dion firing two Maliwan SMGs in his fists.

Someone threw a grenade and released a huge cloud of smoke, blinding them and hiding him from their sight.

"Cease fire!" ordered Saprus sternly. "Don't waste ammo. He could still be alive."

The smoke slowly cleared out from the room, revealing a stunning sight. Stan the Planet-Slayer was standing, his stance solid. The helmet that had grown over his head was now gone, apparently blown off in the subsequent slaughter they had thrown down on him. His arm and leg were still useless, crushed and shot beyond belief, but they were perfectly still as he stood in his battle stance with his sword out. It was impossible to believe, it defied reasoning after all.

"How…how is he even standing?" questioned Alan. "That leg is torn to shit and back."

Then they noticed something. His face was blank, his eyes vacant. He was barely breathing, his chest slightly rising only for the faintest of breaths.

Saprus sighed, almost out of pity. "He's unconscious. Nothing but willpower is keeping him up. He's so willing to follow his orders, that even crippling injuries do not stop him."

He glanced at the knight sadly. "Mr. Vangorium has brainwashed you well…you sad little pawn."

Suddenly Stan widened his eyes, apparently no longer unconscious. He roared in anger as a huge gust flew from his body, blasting them into walls and other debris. All the magical seals along his body activated, including several over his actual skin.

"You are wrong!" snapped the knight enraged, glaring right at Saprus. "You don't understand!"

He sprinted towards them, his shattered leg supporting his weight fully. On closer inspection, it was revealed that the magical runes over that body part had interwoven into a spider web around it to make an exoskeleton that supported it for him to use. His arm had done the same, enabling him to two-hand his sword.

He swung and hit Saprus in the chest, knocking him clear across the hallway. Going right after him, he grabbed the infected and threw him into a pile of rubble. He began slamming the infected repetitively into the pile, seemingly letting his rage out in that action.

"I am not his pawn!" yelled Stan angrily. "I made a promise, and a knight never abandons his promise!"

He raised his sword, his utter rage burning in his eyes. "But how can someone like you ever understand that?!"

He swung forward, then coughed loudly and stammered in his attack. Blood poured from his mouth, the internal injuries he had suffered evident. He tried to strike his opponent, but he could not get enough strength to even move his sword.

"Plaque III has a side effect that made Hyperion abandon the product," explained Saprus calmly. "The test subjects could not use it for too long before they succumbed to the original effects, which include rapid cell necrosis. Judging by the amount of blood, I would suffice to say that your lungs are completely liquefied right now. You are merely struggling in your death throes."

Stan collapsed away from him, coughing up more blood and trying futilely to get better. He grunted and grasped the tiles beneath his fingers, his strength completely gone.

Then he smiled and looked up at Aurai, his eyes returning to their original blue color devoid of anger. "Aurai…I guess…I really am sorry for what I did."

Then he collapsed to the ground, his body slowly dissolving into data.

Group Challenge Fulfilled: Slay Stan the Planet-Slayer

Death of a Thousand Shots +200

Go for The Eye +50

Oiled Up +50

Burn the Bitch +100

One Arm Jack +50

Red Mode Dead Mode +200

Beatdown +200

Twisted (Unique Kill: Aurai) +50

Seeing Red (Unique Kill: Dion) +50

Art is a Bang (Unique Kill: Paula) +50

Diseased (Unique Kill: Saprus) +50

Evil Angel (Unique Kill: Alan) +50

Boss Encounter +1000

Total Group Points: +2100

Aurai breathed a heavy sigh, seemingly letting out some of her nerves. "We did it. He won't be coming back for us again."

"Yeah," murmured Dion quietly, something clearly bothering him.

Saprus walked over to the knight's body and grabbed a small metal token off the ground. It was a skull Badge, just like the other ones, but this one was wearing a medieval visor over its eyes and had a cross emblazoned on its forehead, making it look like a paladin.

"The Medieval Badge," murmured the infected as he read the description from his HUD. "Hmm, this is our fifth one."

He slid it into his pocket, then looked up at Aurai. "So, what now?"

They all glanced at the Siren, their nervousness present. They did come in and save her, but it was her choice if she really wanted to go back home with them or not. They would be going back to Suture after all, not to mention she may still think they were not to be trusted.

Aurai looked around at them, taking in their concern from their eyes. She had never seen such a thing before, the look a person gives to a loved one in danger. It was overwhelming and she felt some tears appear in her eyes.

"I…I…"

She began to sob, placing her head in her hands. Even then, her adorability factor had not decreased in the slightest and might've actually increased. "I want to go home! I want to see Mommy again!"

Dion hugged her tightly, his strong arms making her feel truly safe. "Of course. Let's go home."

They all walked out of the room, leaving the debris and bad memories behind with them.

[Richard McGuiness] "WAIT A MINUTE!"

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "Oh God, what is it? You're killing the mood, and that's my job."

[Richard McGuiness] "This is important! You know how we always go on about how Titans and Sirens can't touch and shit!?"

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "Yeah, so what?"

[Richard McGuiness] "Well then how can Dion and Aurai kiss? Technically that's skin on skin!"

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "You really are an idiot aren't you? When a Titan and Siren touch, they normally do react in a violent and destructive way unknowingly. But if the two of them understand and love each other, they don't react."

[Richard McGuiness] "Oh…ugh that's disgustingly romantic."

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "Take a hike macho-Bob. We got a high female demographic since we're on . They love that romantic garbage shit! Course, guys like it too they just don't admit it!"

[Richard McGuiness] "I hate it. By the way, you think we're gonna get a Dion/Aurai lemon with this couple?"

[Scotty "Roundhouse" Dale] "…no promises."