King Me

A Bard's Defense

The Titans fought with the king of pride and his lieutenant for nearly an hour. The city which was previously in ruins, was now little more than smoking ruins. The outskirts had remained decently untouched, and that's where our party resided, minus Faust. Yancey had watched the entire battle, staring at a screen that displayed a ravaged pride king. "The tough one is still standing," Yancey announced, despite the fact the rest of the group was also watching. Well, except Bard, who had swapped seats with Tank, and was producing a rumbling snore from the back. 

As per the usual, Aurelia sneered at Yancey, "What an astute observation! Perhaps if I'd been wanting for a set of damned eyes, I could have made use of it,"

"I was just saying," Yancey protested,

Aurelia had probably seen this coming. Yancey knew just how brilliant the snotty redhead was, and was smart enough herself to know further insults were brewing within that brilliant mind, "Well, sweetheart, use a touch of foresight, and hope that it leads you towards remaining silent when next you think to give voice."

Yancey was ready to snap, face turning as red as Aurelia's hair, when movement on the hologram caught her attention. Faust had stepped out of the shambles of a nearby building, and was walking slowly towards Pride. Yancey almost announced the new development but halted herself. Aurelia still saw her open her mouth, and released a snarky chuckle, "Yes, like that. You may be blunt as a rock, but it appears you can learn."

Yancey just ignored her, attention focused on the screen where Faust, still missing an arm, came to stop in front of the decrepit Pride King. Pride spoke, "Your battle with my kings was known to me. You are impressive, Doctor Faust. We could have had a grand battle."

Faust responded with his scythe, letting it enter in Pride's chest, the top portion jutting out of it's head like a horn. Just like that, team one had been defeated. And then, Faust's purple energy seeped out from his body, pulling through the air towards the scythe's blade, melding through it into the Pride King's body. The white creature dissipated, transforming into purple energy itself, indistinguishable from the muck that billowed from Faust. And then, with one quick pulse, the plumes of energy vanished into the blade.

"What the hells he up too?" Conner asked,

"It appears he's absorbing them. Perhaps carcass can recharge him to some extent," Aurelia replied, watching with equal befuddlement. But Faust wasn't done.

He struck the staff end of his Scythe down into the ground, and more of his iconic purple energy leaked out from his body, this time in masses that covered the area. The energy again pulled in towards the scythe, turning into a dark purple, before exploding outward like tentacles. They snagged into the bodies of the deceased titans, lifting them airborne, dissolving them into purple energy, absorbing into the blade. And still Faust wasn't done. Now, countless tendrils spiked out, diving into the hole from which he'd amassed the dead bodies he'd used to create his beast. The tendrils angled down into it, down, down into the depths of the gaping pit. They pulled up countless insectile bodies, some rotten and disintegrating, some fresh. They all became purple energy, absorbing down into Faust's scythe, and with his work complete, he collapsed. 

"Damn, we must retrieve him," Aurelia announced, turning to Mr. Sato. "Take us to him and make haste. If the next team gets the jump on us while we're out in the open, we will be easy targets." She held her own chin for a moment at this thought. "Find a shopping district building, and drop me off with Conner and Yancey. Take Adoltiln with you,"

Yancey noticed Faust's scythe moving autonomously in the hologram. First, just a subtle twitch, and then without warning, it stood, blade towards the sky. Purple energy bubbled out from it, taking on the shape of a four-legged creature. Skin and bone began to form, and Yancey realized before it was finished, that she was looking at a massive white horse. It reached its head down to the unconscious Faust, nipping him by the shirt, and with a twist of its neck, heaved him across its back. It took off at a gallop, clopping away through the annihilated streets with uncanny ease.