Embodiment: Lost and Found

Chapter 1) Swept Away

Black smoke erupted into the sky in plumes, fire cracking wood and hurling embers. A horrid stench hung in the air, the smell of the burnt wood and of flesh. Distant sirens echoed through the streets, ones not used for years, a siren normally associated with war.

Explosions and eruptions of fire were following a running figure along the rooftops as he hopped from one to the next, he was clad in a well fitted orange jumpsuit and black boots, over his chest was some hastily welded together plate armour and over his face was a carbon grey welding mask.
He moved with finesse avoiding the explosions erupting just behind his heels, shards of the roof tiles bounced off his armour and mask as he leapt once again from the roof. However as he landed he reached behind his back to a large pickaxe held there by a long strand of cloth. He gripped the handle before pivoting and raising the side of the pickaxe in front of his face.

No more than half a second later, a ball of fire erupted against the pickaxe sending sparks and flames flying around his head. He looked out, not even phased by the attack and saw a creature hovering above the streets, vaguely level with him.

It looked humanoid, no better than an average person, but its body was surrounded by thick black clouds, none of which were from the fires, but the most predominant features were the demonic traits of a pair of bat winds stemming from its back and a set of two horns protruding from its head. The figure just looked at the armoured man on the rooftop before clenching its fist and flames erupting around it. But the man just laughed and laughed hard.

"In case you haven't realised yet Lekkah, I'm immune to fire, and explosions, and lava, anything involving heat really, I just ran cause I needed the cardio." He then rested the pickaxe on his shoulder and smiled behind his mask. But what he didn't notice was the tiles at his feet slowly beginning to slide, seeing this the flying creature responded to his comment, its voice unnaturally deep and shrilling.

"Whereas that may be true Raze, I want to know, are you 'immune' to falling?" Raze widened his eyes upon hearing this and finally noticed he was slowly moving, but when he attempted to move his feet, the tiles finally gave way. Raze slipped and landed on the slipping tiles, he quickly turned and attempted to dig his pickaxe into the edge of the roof to stop his fall, only to drag half the roof down with him.

Raze listed off obscenities as he fell from the three story high building and landed with a hard clang, his armour offering no protection from the fall. He got to his feet, gradually with a long groan.

Meanwhile a young woman vaulted over a crumbling wall and took cover behind it, she was in a light leather armour with a green and brown colour scheme, a hood was covering the top of her head and two curved swords were held on her back by clips.

She Scanned the open courtyard in front of her to see Raze land hard against the ground she however kept her head down as a hulking apelike creature jumped down ahead of her, over its shoulder was a large howitzer like gun. The ape looked at Raze, then the flying creature, taking aim it fired a large metal slug upward, directly at the flying creature, but as he did, he shouted out in a voice of deep fury.

"CHOKE ON THIS YOU BASTARD!" Lekkah attempted to move via nose diving however as he turned his body to fly forward, a stream of light to hit him, a sphere of blue energy encased him and the clouds around him, the slug passed through and slammed into Lekkahs face, but immediately after a shockwave flew down the beam and launched Lekkah into the ape. Both roared at they tumbled backwards violently hitting each-other as they connected, they rolled towards the young woman who dove to the side and through a wooden wall.

The source of the beam was a humanoid machine, its limbs were bulked with armour, but its forearms and calves were encased in thick cylinders. Its chest was too thickly plated with a selection of lights and lines over its body, but its head sported a large horn like antennae protruding forward from its forehead, its eyes were nothing more than a V shaped visor directly below it.