ic Incursion: God Squad

[Vahnyu]

If Meatheral possessed his eyeballs at his current state, they'd have widened beyond measure. Going up against the Titan and the 3 monstrocities it spawned was worrisome enough on its own. Having them fuse together to form this hideous Hydra, a most terrible dragon on its own right, upped the ante so considerably high, that a small error would cost them their lives. Already, he noted, Set was getting ripped appart by the unholy beast's necro-energy. Arrowhawk's exploding arrow came too soon, too big, he reasoned, seeing the beast recoiling in pain. Meatheral had no doubt that if the archer caught the attention of the dragon, his flesh would be stripped from his bone in a flash instant. Whereas my position is any better... Meatheral thought somberly, his fear ever present. If these heads start multiplying, we'll all be toast....

 

Well... nothing for it. Better I be the one that grabs its attention than Arrowhawk. Steeling his courage, the rocky form of Meatheral made a jump to the titanic dragon, once again bringing a hamerous blow down his foe's head, or one of its heads thereof. However, the Hydra seemed unaffected by his best attack. "You've gotta be joking..." he accidentally left the words betray his incredulity. Struggling to maintain balance, he grabbed one of its metalic necks, and attempted to ride on top of its largest head. Using the momentum from this stunt, he once again jumped, and this time, tried to concentrate his double hammer punch on the Hydra's forehead, putting the entire 288 lbs of his weight behind the blow. This time, Meatheral got a good feedback from it, and he could see that it left a crack at the spot he made the blow.

[KnightDisciple]

OOC: I am rewinding as it were for just a couple lines, since turn order trumped drama. Which is fair! Anyways.

 

Sun Walker gave a slight smile as Typhon whined about his demigod status (or lack thereof).

 

"Deity proper or not my honored ancestor is in no way an ordinary mortal, and neither am-"

 

And then Set yelled his warning and energy began pouring forth, and the scion of the Monkey King began pushing away even as he spoke.

 

"Oh bot-"

 

And then there was just dust and explosions, before there was roaring, and smashing, and beams of energy flying everywhere. The other heroes were all but swarming the beast, clawing it, punching it, and flinging explosives at it. And then, from one side, as the dust settled, a voice was heard that seemed, finally, to have some emotion.

 

Anger. And maybe a bit of righteous indignation.

 

"Not only was that rude, it was uncivilized, uncalled for..."

 

Sun Walker stands tall, defiant, no more than a couple of scratches and scorch marks on his flawless, hairy body to show the effects of that explosion he had been at ground zero for. Truly his ancestor's prodigious good fortune was with him. Also, he appeared quite mad, and was moving into a stance that seemed odd for one so far back from the action.

 

"You murdered the person whose body you stole. You've erased any chance of them coming back. This crime, and all your other crimes, are unforgiveable."

 

And then he was off like a racecar, dashing across the sands at incredible speed, kicking up two small contrails behind himself before he was airborne just as he reached the great blasphemy of a monster. His leap took him into the air, high enough to reach the three roaring heads of corpse and steel and terrible magic.

 

To the first head, he delivered a pair of punches to the underside of the neck, cracking metal and bone.

His tail lashed out and for a moment wrapped around the third head's neck, giving him the leverage to deliver a powerful double kick to the largest, middle head, right on its terrible snout.

Using the momentum he had left, he swung out by his tail, using that swing to deliver a quick, crushing grasp to the third neck before releasing it and going into the most graceful free-fall anyone there had ever seen.

 

A single tuck-and-roll later, he was crouched in a low stance, arms held out to his sides, tail lashing angrily and extended to nearly its full length, eyes narrowed, and mouth actually parted in a slight snarl (that was somehow, bizarrely, still at least marginally polite) that displayed his small fangs. It was clear in this moment that Sun Walker was truly displeased with Typhon. The way all of his hair bristled as he gazed upon the Titan was proof enough of that, even aside from all of his other body language.

[Raveled]

Miras gritted her teeth, covering her head as the backwash of magical energy completely flattened her own little illusion. She blinked back after-images, turning to see...

Oh. Oh. Well that was a bit different, at least. Miras narrowed her eyes, wrapping herself up in a bubble of time as she considered her options. The mythical Hydra needed its neck-stumps cauterized with fire; she didn't know if smokeless fire would do the job, but it would be down to her and Mearetheal to find out.

"Typhon, we've got to talk," she called out. She raised a trail of dust as she raced around behind the multi-headed monstrosity, feeling the tingle as mystic fire raced down her arms. "It's great that you've got the kids for the day and you want to make a big impact before they go home to Echidna, but you're going about it all wrong. I mean, top points for pulling together like a family." She tossed the fireball, and swore as it passed through an empty space in a girder to disperse harmlessly in the sky. "But you're supposed to take them to a museum. Not a mausoleum."

[Gizmo]

The titanic creature roared in triplicate fury, shaking like a grizzly being plagued by stinging insects until its metallic spines stood on end. The central dragon head shouted in a voice like a volcanic eruption, deep and rumbling and burning over with hatred, "I WILL SEND YOU SCREAMING TO THE UNDERWORLD, PATHETIC GNATS! DIE DIE DIE!" Simultaneously the head to the left began intoning in a flat but insistent voice popping with the static of a worn out speaker, "CoMmUn3! c0mMuNe! Co//mUnE!" while the right head hissed in a dry death rattle, "the ssstorm comesss again the door ssswingsss both waysss the ssserpent awakensss the sssun goesss dark truth is liesss all is lossst," the three voices mixing together in a terrible, deafening riot of sound.

 

As the chaos reached a fevered pitch the lean, alien looking barrels all along the hydra's back exploded with hundreds of bursts, the wave of muzzle fire rippling from its shoulders down to its tail and launching a hail of missiles that streaked outward in every direction. The deadly payloads crashed into the sand one after another, each resulting in a tremendous detonation of its own that together bathed the entire area in a spray fire and shrapnel, super-heated sand and dislodged chunks of ruined burial sites.

[Gizmo]

Sekhmet back-flipped away from the hydra with feline agility, narrowly avoiding being struck head on by a missile larger than her entire body before being flung backward through the air by the explosion that immediately followed as it impacted with the ground instead. Tucking into a ball and covering her face with her arms, she reoriented herself midflight, touching down again on all fours and skidding to a halt before having to immediately burst back into motion to evade the next portion of the merciless salvo. She was dimly aware of the stringing pain of minor burns across the exposed portions of her shoulders and calves, muddled by the insistent soreness of overtaxed muscles, all unfamiliar sensations and ones she could afford to waste no time on now.

"HA HA, AYE, FLEE, MONGREL BI--AUGH!" The central head of the towering monstrosity of bone and scale and otherworldly metals recoiled slightly as a bolt of crimson lightning cracked downward from the heavens to strike its snout. The dark red electricity jumped over its cybernetic components but ultimately the sheer scale of the beast meant that it did no real damage besides attracting the hydra's attention.

Having been tossed backward by the consuming beams of un-light, Set lay on blackened sands, unable to stand. One of his arms was twisted at an unnatural angle and his left eye was ringed in more blood than black makeup. Propped up painfully on one hip so that he could look upward at his attacker the godling coughed up a spray of red through a shaky smirk. "T-talk $#*%, get hkk-hit, Typhon."

Head swiveling to the source of the weak taunt along with the hydra, Sekhmet pivoted on her heel and sprinted to the bloodied Heliopolian's side. By the time she reached Set her hands were already surrounded in a brilliant golden light. "Fool, playing at being a warrior," she reprimanded him with a low growl, dropping to one knee and wrapping fingers around each half of his broken arm. "Noble combat be no end for such as thee. Now be silent lest thy worsen thy injuries."

[Ecalsneerg]

Arrowhawk dashed across the sand as missiles converged on his position. He quickly dived and rolled as one crashed down near him, narrowly missing him by a few feet. But it detonated, the sudden rush of air sending the aging archer crashing down into the sand. 

 

He rolled to one side, not quick enough to dodge shards of metal and rubble hitting him, only managing to deflect them into hitting him in the back, where his armour was thicker and had a cloak and quiver atop it. He could only see stars as he felt rents torn into his torso, superheated sand rolling him along and along in a wave, to come to a stop, motionless and unseeing on the ground.

[Vahnyu]

"Wha-?" The torrent of missiles the Anti-Hydra launched took Meatheral by surprise. Three missiles smashed straight into his head, while twelve more exploded in his rocky sternum, and fourteen overturned and blasted him in his back. "SHI-OHHGRAHFF#$!" While he was more startled than actually hurt, his earthen body reverberated, and a crunching sound was heard. More importantly though, the barrage of missiles and explosions prevented Meatheral from acting in time, and before he realised it, Arrowhawk was getting pelted as well. "ARROWHAWK! NOOO!" CRAP! I was affraid of that. I should have hit the Hydra harder than that, made a bigger impact, get its undivided attention...

 

As he was managing to regain his bearrings, the crack in the Anti-Hydra's exterior came into Meatheral's view again. That's right... we can hurt it... and if we can do this much, by applying more force, in the same spot, then... "HEY! MIRAS! SUN WALKER!" Once more jumping in the air, Meatheral shouted at the two other heroes, as Sekhmet was focusing on healing Set. "AIM WHERE I'M GOING TO LAND! WE'RE GONNA TEAR HIM A NEW ONE!" At that point, Meatheral started descending, once again putting his entire force behind this strike. His goal? To land a powerful blow on the Anti-Hydra's Forehead, on the exact place he'd created a crack with his previous blow. The Gigantic Earth Form of Meatheral was once again about to land on the fused Titan's main head.

[KnightDisciple]

When the missiles started to fire, Sun Walker's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose. When he actually processed and understood the sheer volume of fire about to pour down on them, he began moving, bobbing and weaving through the gouts of sand, the storm of shrapnel, and the twisted orchestra of explosions. It was almost enough. Almost. But even the swift scion of Sun Wukong wasn't fast enough in this moment. He, too, was caught up in the horrible barrage of missiles.

 

The dust began to settle, and it revealed Walker crouching on the ground, his arms over his head, tail wrapped tightly around his body, and dozens of small, bleeding wounds scoring his flesh and beginning to mat down some of his prodigious hair with crimson. He seemed to be bamboozled by the concussion waves more than hurt by the explosions, but overall he was not in the worst shape among them.

 

And then Meatheral called out, rallying the heroes to try and focus all their power on the monstrous being. That shout got through the ringing in Walker's ears, and his head shook vigorously for a moment, like a dog shaking water from its back. With a single, fluid motion he stood up, his eyes taking in the whole scene, especially the angle of attack his rocky compatriot was using.

 

Without so much as a word, the demigod raced once more across the sand, and once more he went airborne. It quickly became apparent that he would arrive "on target" mere moments after Meatheral did. The way he was moving through the air, it looked as if he would land with both feet coming down, hard, right where the rocky fists would be softening up the necrotic cyborg.

[Raveled]

Miras tried to run through the hail of missile fire slamming into the desert bed. She zipped and dodged, but the rain of shrapnel was too dense and she was blasted off her feet by the many close detonations. She fell heavily, rolling down a dune and finally coming to a rest with her head ringing.

She blacked out for a heartbeat, and when she opened her eyes again her head was full of a high-pitched ringing. She rose to her feet unsteadily, looking around, making sure that the monster's assault was at least paused. Panting, Miras ran back up to the dune so she could see the battlefield. It was disastrous; Set was down and not moving, and Sekhmet was obviously trying to get the boy up again. Miras took a step forward and her foot hit something heavy. Looking down, she saw the unconscious form of the black-clad archer, an angry-looking wound on his back. Despair crushed her heart for a moment.

And then she heard Meartheral's screaming battle cry. She looked up just in time to see the monkey man's heels impact the hydra's metal head, saw a crack forming in the creature's formidable armor. Rage surged to the forefront of Miras's mind and she called forth two handfuls of blazing fire. Screaming, she thrust them both out in front of her. The flame hit the cracks and swept inside, burning the mechanical horror from within!

[Gizmo]

The weight of Meatheral's blow pounded the hydra's central head into the sand while Sun Walker's elegant accuracy split the weakened scale into an appreciable crack that oozed with the same viscous silver fluid that had been pumping through the reanimated mummies. Miras' smokeless fire followed right after and blackened draconic scales from the inside out. The left and right heads writhed in agony, shouting incoherently, "C()mMue! c0mMuN3! COMm*kzxxx*uNe!" and "end timesss come coilsss tighten ssswallowed ssswallowed all things ssswallowed". Even so, the massive beast's hind legs planted themselves in the ground, causing resounding tremors as it prepared to right itself and continue it's blistering assault.

[Gizmo]

Under Sekhmet's glowing touch Set's deeply tanned flesh took on a gentle radiance, the tender quality of which was undercut as the warrior goddess reset his broken arm with an abrupt wrenching motion and loud snap. "GHHN! Ow..."

"Show some iron," the brusque healer commanded as she yanked the shorter deity to his feet by his newly restored shoulder. "The mortals acquit themselves well but the titan seems unstoppable."

Squinting as he staggered upright, Set watched as the heroes combined their efforts to resounding effect. "Ah, aye. I should like to claim my plan be unfolding perfectly but the boot of chaos seems to be on the other foot this day. ...where is the archer?"

Sekhmet's expression turned dark as she considered the prone form in black contracting with the uniform colour of the sands even as Miras raced toward him in the moment the hydra was stunned. "His outlook be bleak."

"His daughter shall have my head," the godling groaned softly under his breath, rubbing a hand across his face only to have it come away bloody. "Eugh. Well! The champions seems to have had an inspiration. An eye for an eye, mayhaps, oh Eye of Ra?" he suggested, electricity the same colour as his blood dancing across his fingertips.

"Very well, storm god," she grunted flatly, dashing off directly toward the towering creature. A superhuman leap brought her next to Sun Walker, claws first so that her momentum sunk them into one eye of the middle head. At the same instant crimson lightning flashed from above, smelling of ozone and raw chaos magics as it struck the same orb, leaving a charred, ruined mess and raising screams of outrage in Typhon's voice.

[KnightDisciple]

Seeing the effects their combined blows had on the great beast actually gave Sun Walker a burst of hope. Yes, their foe was dire and terrible, but he was by no stretch invincible. Just the opposite; they were wounding him, breaking down his stolen and hijacked flesh and metal, slowly but surely. It wasn't a question of "could they beat him", it was only "could they beat him fast enough they would not all be left broken before it was done".

 

His shoulders squared a bit more as that thought flashed through his mind. He eyed up the creature, and then once more, he moved, quicker than any man had a right to move. But perhaps not faster than a monkey...

 

And then he was there, not at the head of the beast, but right where the necks all met. His ancestor must have been inspiring his strikes, because his blows landed with supernatural precision and power, and were all aimed at the bases of the three necks. Punches, kicks, elbows, knees, a headbutt, and even a couple of strikes with his deceptively strong tail, all of them landed in a staccato burst that cracked and broke metal and bone alike. 

[Raveled]

Miras knelt beside Arrowhawk, drawing arcane power into herself and concentrating on the archer's broken and blasted form. She hovered her hands over his back and silver clockfaces appeared in the air around her, the hands running backwards as she worked to heal the damage that Typhon's missile salvo had done to him. "Thgif eht ot mih nruter dna ydob sih wener! Efil sih dnem dna truh eht odnu." She let out a long breath as the energy passed through her hands and into the battered archer, the burns on his back closing and smoothing over. She watched him carefully, not sure if her magic would be enough to save him.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Raveled

[Ecalsneerg]

Miras was the only one near enough to hear the muffled swearing, of a length and hue which made her eldritch words seem mundane. "Goddamn," he muttered, rolling to his feet. "Getting slower in my old age." He fumbled in his quiver, the motion sending a shooting pain up his side. He pulled out an explosive arrow, took one look at it, and tossed it aside. The primer was squashed. He pulled out another one. It seemed alright.

 

He took sight at the massive monstrosity, and nocked the arrow, aiming for the base of its multiple necks. "Alright. Let's hit the goddamn thing harder. I shoot, you all hit it." He glanced at the assembled magicians. "Ready?"

[Gizmo]

"Ah ha, you yet live, archer, fantastic!" Set congratulated as he finished sprinting across the uneven sands to join Arrowhawk and Miras. "Would have been an extremely awkward time for you to die upon the field of battle, truly!" The godling's attempt at a charmingly disarming smile was somewhat undercut by his own blood staining otherwise pearly white teeth. The clouds overhead became thicker and darker as he gathered power with a little more effort than he had at the beginning of the battle. Raising a hand to his mouth, he called, "Be you prepared, oh She Before Whom Evil Trembles?"

Sekhmet had shifted into her lioness form in order to use four limbs worth of claws to anchor herself to the hydra's middle head, scrambling back and forth and the dazed beast thrashed back and forth. "Rawwwr, less idle talk, more haste!" she demanded with a snarl.

[Vahnyu]

Meatheral breathed a sigh of relief. An impressive feat, considering that he lacked the lungs for it, at the moment, but nonetheless, there it was. With the Archer and the Godling safe and back on their feet, and the Anti-Hydra violently convulsing in pain, the heroes were finally seeing a clear path to victory, as hope was being restored for them. It was certainly being restored for Meatheral, who was finally starting to believe that they could win, that they could survive, that what they did mattered. Hearing the determination in Arrowhawk's voice could only further embolden him, as Meatheral replied in his granite-crunching voice "Already am, mister Arrowhawk! Just give the signal." In fact, he was already preparing for this blow, gathering his focus on the big crack him and the others had opened up, lining the perfect shot. Despite the Anti-Hydra's protesting movements, he'd managed to remain on top of her head, with little difficulty. This time, he was gonna dig into the creature, and rip it appart from the inside.

[KnightDisciple]

In the midst of the others gathering themselves for an even larger attack, Sun Walker simply continued to rain down blows on the Anti-Hydra. That moment of shining luck and favor that helped him place his blows in just the right place had passed, but skill, the thrill of a real battle, and his demigod muscles were still carrying the day. His motions were smooth and calm, but in the midst of that orderly progression of blows, the already-wild hair on top of his head was flying about wildly, and his face was now bearing a slight grin.

 

His blows still had some effect, it seemed. But while part of him wanted to just keep pummeling away, he recognized two important facts. First, if the creature suddenly lost its animating force, he was in a prime position to get crushed under its bulk. And second, perhaps more importantly, Arrowhawk had just mentioned firing an explosive of some sort at the base of its necks, which is where he was.

 

So after delivering a few more powerful blows, Walker blurred away from the creature in a burst of speed, skidding to a halt on the sand next to the ill-tempered archer. He stayed in that slight crouch, almost like the stance of a runner ready to start his race, as his tail wound itself at an angle across his torso, forming a sort of furry sash on his chest.

 

"This foe is disagreeable about ceasing hostilities."

[Raveled]

Miras breathed a sigh of relief as the archer shook the sand off himself and got back to her feet, apparently none the worse for wear. She'd have to keep an eye on him, but for now they had bigger issues at hand -- or at least really, really big issue. The monster still towered above them all, but the flurry of attacks seemed to be wearing it down. The mage eyes the horror and called forth her fire, tossing it from hand to hand uneasily. She had read Greek myths, she remembered Perseus fighting the original Hydra. Once the heads started coming off, she was more than ready to start tossing her fire at it and cauterizing the stumps.

[Gizmo]

The head that spoke with Typhon's voice seemed to the brief pause in the heroes' attack as the calm before the storm and rallied, lifting its massive neck while the other two heads stretched and turned to orient themselves on Arrowhawk's commanding shouts. Flickering flames of un-light curled about teeth the size of trees for a terrifying moment before Meatheral's stoney fists connected with an elemental haymaker. The draconic middle head reeled backward at the force of a living landslide and the weakened scales along its sinuous neck cracked and split like tectonic plates crashing against each other.  "NRRAAAGH!"

 

The others didn't need any more invitation. Arrowhawk loosed his bowstring in the same moment Sun Walker's fists and Sekhmet's claws pried free scales broken by Meatheral's blow. The explosive arrow streaked through the air with a faint whistle lost to the booming rumble of thunder overhead as the simian martial artist and the leonine warrior leapt clear in opposite directions. The right hydra head had just enough time to track the projectile's flight as smokeless flame erupted from Miras' fingertips and crimson lightning surged downward from ink black clouds. Then the arrow struck, the wrath of a storm god igniting its payload in the fraction of a moment before its primer could and the base of the titan's necks was wreathed in flames of science and magic alike.

 

The explosion was enough to knock most of the heroes off of their feet, tumbling backward amidst a shockwave of force and winds shipping blistering sand against them. With ringing ears they staggered to their feet to squint at the great, dark silhouette of the half-metal, half-bone hydra against the sandstorm, still looming like a macabre skyscraper. As the sands settled again, however, they could see that only the torso and three of its limbs remained intact enough to be recognizable. The rest of its bulk littered the ruins in chunks of desecrated corpses, twisted silver shapes from the stars and green-black ichor.

[Vahnyu]

Meatheral's rocky form was knocked 50 feet away by the explosion. The hero was greatly exhausted, his giant form weighting heavily on him. He felt the need to breath air, fresh air, with his own meaty lungs. "FORMA REVERTI." he spoke, the chant entering his mind subconsiously from the Tetramegeton. His form then started to crumble into dust, losing his enhanced height and weight, while a smaller rocky form inside the bigger one was slowly transforming from soil and stone into flesh and bones. The flesh was quickly covered by Meatheral's costume, as if summoned by magic from a pocket mystical dimension. Completely gone was the Giant Earth Form, and in its place laid a normal human, panting and breathing heavily, his back on the sandy ground, while his fist was slowly being raised towards the sun. When it reached its maximum peak, Meatheral took a deep breath, before bursting in a celebratory shout. "YEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAA! I can't believe it. we did it. WE ACTUALLY DID IT! WE BEAT THAT GODDAMN MONSTER! WE'RE ALIVE EVERYONE! WE DID IT!!!"

[Raveled]

Launching the fireballs left Miras in a classic pitcher’s pose, which meant she was all sorts of unbalanced when the Hydra exploded. The blast wave pitched her back down the dune she had just climbed, and she landed at the bottom with a bone-jarring halt. She rolled over onto her back and watched the rising fireball tinge the clouds far above. After a few moments, she rolled onto her side and forced herself upright, feeling like her entire left side was one big bruise. This time, rather than standing up on the crest of the dune, she walked through it and out the other side.

Miras stared at the blackened corpse of Typhon and his children, until she was certain that it wasn’t going to start moving again. When she was convinced that it was dead, she moved to Meatheral, looking carefully as the young man emerged from stone and rock. “Are you feeling okay,†she asked him, trying to find any evidence that he had tangled with a bird the size of a Greyhound bus. She pulled out the half-empty water bottle she had started earlier and a fresh one, offering him the unopened water.

[KnightDisciple]

Sun had expected an explosion. He had not expected the explosion they got; his eyes widened in shock and his furry brows nearly met his hairline as the shockwave began to race out, before he hunkered down on the sand. Then dust and sand obscured everything for several moments.

 

When it began to clear, the furry martial artist was curled in a protective ball and several yards distant, looking naught but sandier than before as he slowly, cautiously peeked one eye out from behind a hand. When he saw that no immediate threat loomed, he gracefully uncurled even more, working his way to his feet and ambling over to the others, his posture a bit more easy-going than it had been during the fight.

 

"I suppose that went well. Everyone here did a marvelous job."

Edited February 27, 2015 by KnightDisciple

[Ecalsneerg]

Arrowhawk bowed his head as the explosion rippled through the air and sand, averting his eyes as the sand and debris swept past him, sending his tattered cape near perpendicular with his body. He exhaled heavily in the aftermath, looking up at the remains of Typhon. He didn't quite lower his bow, still holding it a little rigidly and a little too high to be said to have stood down.

 

He turned to everyone else. "Hold on. How do we know it's actually over? Is there any way to destroy the remains, or at least bury them too deep to reform. I don't think we should... take chances, with that thing."

[Gizmo]

"Do not over concern thyself, archer," Sekhmet told Arrowhawk, rolling the last syllable into a faint purr as she stood up from her lioness form and resumed her human guise. "The Father of all Monsters be formidable but he flaunted many grave edicts this day and his might could afford him only so long a reprieve from the consequences. He darkens the mortal plane no longer."
 
"Aye, and his shiny, star-metal friends seem not to have weathered their brush with chaos magic," Set added, gesturing to the still hunks of nanite metal strewn about, inert wreckage by all appearances. "Typhon did seem terribly sure their true master would bring about the end of days. Someone should look into that, mayhaps." The godling's words were idle musings as he cracked his back loudly and if he happened to be looking Sun Walker directly in the eye when he said 'someone' that was probably nothing more than a coincidence. Regardless, his toothy grin took in the entire group. "Fine work indeed, just as planned, ha!"
 
The show of exuberant cheer faded noticeably as his gaze fell over the ruined pieces of burnt and brittle bone lying alongside the deactivated nanobots. "...you asked why I conspired to bring each of you here," he began in a quieter voice, his boisterousness replaced by somber reflection as his grey eyes lost focus staring into the distance. "In truth my options were somewhat lacking, however... This was once Ombos, where the desert ran rich with ribbons of gold. The center of my worship. The center of my responsibility." He turned back to the assembled heroes with his back straighter than before, a stirring of something commanding and ancient in his bearing despite his injuries. "I am Set. I am master of dust and deluge, thunder and tempest." His steely, unblinking stare turned to Meatheral then on to Miras. "Timeless, my boons. Eternal, my curses. I am patron to strangers in strange lands, benefactor of dangerous surprises in the dark," he told Arrowhawk, his voice resonant and clear. In Sun Walker's direction he continued, "I am he who guarded blessed Ra on his pilgrimage through the underworld. I am he who stands against monsters."

 

His words hung in the air for a mere moment before he blinked and his stance relaxed, the spell broken. Once again a mere slip of a boy stood before them, a cocky, lopside smirk playing at his lips. "I simply preferred to keep things 'in house', if you will."

[Vahnyu]

Meatheral looked up to find Miras looking at him with worriedly. He responded to her with "Huh? Ahh, yeah, yeah, I'm... fine. Sorry 'bout that..." He was still breathing heavily from the overexertion, but his color was live and vibrant. Then, he looked at full bottle of water she offered him. "Ah, no, you don't have to worry about me, I don't think I'm thir-..." he tried to refuse her, but his parched mouth caught up with him. "-Actually, now that I think about it, I could do with a sip or two, thanks." thanking her, he took the bottle that was offered to him, opened it up, and took two small sips. After cleaning and hydrating his mouth, he started gulping the rest of the water.

 

He was further overjoyed when Sun Walker and Set gave their respective congratulatory words. It was a well fought battle, and every bit of praise felt all the sweeter for it. He was still gulping water when Set stared directly at him, though, which caused him to inhale some water directly to the lungs. He coughed a bit, and he sealed the bottle, a little less than half left. However, when Set finished talking, his curiosity was piqued by a particular phrase. "... 'In house'?... what does that... wait. Are you saying that...?"