Stoking the Fire

"...S-sir, just give me anozer chance! I will ensure all will die here!"
"Very well. The girl is weak, so begin with her."

It seemed the anitdote was working much faster than she thought. Well she assumed it was an antitode seeing as she had come back to consciousness. But now she was hearing things, she tried to open her orange orbs, only to feel them as incredibly heavy.

A minor inconvenience, she was not going to die. She needed to see this new voice, and she needed to protect the right people, even if she was weak right now. Yukiko finally forced her eyes open to see the back of Caen defending her, which made her smile gratefully.

"...C-caen, its alright..." The violet feline half whispered. "I can... defend myself, you dont need to get hurt for me."

She stood up slowly, still feeling pretty heavy, but nonetheless up and able to move if the need be.
"If you think I'm just going to let you kill me, you have made a terrible mistake in your judgement..."

She could feel the authority the green male was blasting out from his person. He was definitely not one to take lightly, and that large weapon he had strapped to him was not a toy. Yukiko needed to get serious, and fast. No more trying to talk things out.

Before anyone could comprehend what was going on, Yukiko closed her eyes and exhaled silently. A strange air formed around her, not icy, more something along the lines of a mental air. Then, without warning Yukiko opened her eyes to show they were now a dull brown colour, empty of emotion. 

"You want to kill everyone? I'd like to see you try, you coward!" Yukikos voice slowly increased in volume and anger as she bared her sharp teeth. She flicked her right wrist and a small sheet of ice appeared almost like an icy shield. Her other hand became encased in ice once again, only this time more foreboding and dangerous. 

It was time for feelings to be put aside. 'I only hope this is the right thing...' Yukikos consciousness whispered inside her head, only to be completely ignored by her own, shut off mind.

Mae narrowed her eyes at the wolf’s response, glaring at him as her tail twitched angrily. She watched him, looking for any sly moves, but to the mink’s surprise, he seemed to actually be helping the girl.

Hearing a male voice shout, Mae turned to see the red hedgehog running towards them, apparently none too pleased with the wolf’s antics. And of course, said wolf was quick to blame her for his own stupidity.

The hedgehog pointed at her, and she cocked a brow. “Pfft, well excuuuse me. Maybe you should,” but the wolf spoke up before she could finish. About to roll her eyes at the whole thing, a new voice caught her attention.

It was another hedgehog. He spoke to the wolf (whose name was apparently Wilhelm) in a tone the mink could only describe as “condescending snot”. Mae didn’t know any of these people, but she did know one thing: that red hedgehog did not like this new guy. And from what she was seeing, neither did she.

Wilhelm ensured his boss that he was ready and willing to commit several murders, confirming Mae’s theory that he was, in fact, a nut.

Of course, the red Mobian told her to run. She replied with a smirk, “pfft, fat chance, guy. It’s just getting interesting!” That, and her cousin was still holed behind some tree with his Chao.

Plus, she may have felt a tiny bit of guilt over what happened to the snow leopard. Looking to the other female, her brow furrowed, and a flash of a concerned frown tugged on her lips. It disappeared shortly after, however.

The feline was standing to her feet and talking. In fact, she was taking a battle stance, ready to fight.

Mae’s grin returned. As much as she hated having to be all stealthy, she shuffled back towards the trees, ready to dart into the shadows and ambush.

There was a guy with a freaking battleaxe, for god’s sake. And unlike the other two, she couldn’t shoot fire and ice out of her face. Mae’s arrogance didn’t allow her to realize she was outmatched. She was confident she could help take these two freaks out, but she did have enough sense to know she couldn’t do it directly.
((Happy belated Easter everyone, hope you all had a nice one ))

Caen gritted his teeth in irritation at the mink, before he raised his voice to her "this isn't a joke! I don't know who you are, but you will not stand a chance against this man!"
Alastor laughed, before also speaking to the mink "you would do well to listen to the boy. Do not worry, I will not harm you if you leave now. I am not a monster, after all."

Yukiko had stood up again, and was talking to Caen. He shook his head at her "I told you, I'm not letting you get hurt, or worse. This is my-" he was cut off when he heard Yukiko call out the wolf on his cowardice, causing the scientist to clench his fist in anger. Caen looked back at her, noticing her eyes had completely changed. She looked oddly... Calm. It was almost unnerving. He looked towards his chest, remembering the item Xavier had handed him.

"This allows me to do much more with my powers... Let's hope this'll work," Caen muttered, as he used one hand to awkwardly attempt to snap the pin on his side. It clicked, before parts of it began to spin, and a bright, golden light emerged from it. The spines on the back of the hedgehog's head seemed to glow a similar colour, and his icy blue eyes were now replaced with a piercing blood red.

Alastor smiled as he looked at the pair, seemingly ready for battle "oh, I am quaking in my boots. What is this new toy of yours, Caen, hmm? That little piece of golden tat your father constantly hid from me? Here I was thinking he was just hiding something of monetary value... Well, I may as well take that from your cold, red corpse!" He finished, holding the axe towards them both. Much like his scientific accomplice, he was still, as though waiting for the first move.

Wilhelm watched the mink disappear into the trees, as she was smiling. He pointed outwards "sir, zat mink. I do not zink she is escaping. Perhaps she plans to ambush us?"
"Then let her do so. Her mistake will be rectified. Permanently."

(dude you skipped me)

((crap, I completely forgot about you, Smook. Take your turn now, and we can skip straight to Foreva. Sorry.))

Surprised how nobody noticed him, he walked behind Caen, watching what was going on. He watched and watched, but soon got bored, so went to watch the others, but he watched for only a brief minute, since watching that disgusting scene may have scarred him.

He scratched his head, wondering how nobody noticed him, and looked to a critter sleeping. It was very strange how it was sleeping and they're not. Why were they up? Strange questions, strange isn't it? He tapped Caens shoulder and asked. "Ey, what is going on here, it's like 11 or 12, I can't tell, I didn't check the time." He looked around, and saw the night sky. It was beautiful. "Yeah, it's night already." He told him.

"Are you out looking at the-" He remembered the fight, and didn't finish what he was going to say. (It's totally fine though, mistakes happen.)

Dull eagle eyes trained on Alastor, but glanced to Wilhelm whenever he moved suddenly. Her guard was up, but she was ready to attack whenever. Were they all just going to stand around all night and have a casual chat? 

Faster than many would be able to track, Yukiko flicked her wrist to throw sharp icy needles towards the male wolf, not to harm him, but rather to try and get him out of the fight by pinning him to a nearby tree. Her true attention stayed on the axe wielding hedgehog who she felt goose bumps when she merely looked at him. He wouldn't be much of a challenge anyway, what with firing discreet projectiles towards the enemy instead of facing them himself. That part was obvious that the wolf wasn't a fighter. 

Yukiko didn't speak a word, only just kept a close eye on her enemies. Caen said he wouldn't allow her to be harmed, well she would do the same with him. 

If he got in the way however... 

She looked to the red hedgehog, only to raise an eyebrow in question at the random appearance of another hedgehog who looked to be like a lost puppy. And literally just as the sword wielder had activated an unusual pin onto himself to make a weird bright light burst from it. 

If she was in her normal mindset she would advise the newcomer to get out of the area as it was dangerous, but with her emotions in the shut off state as of this moment, she frankly couldn't care less. A creepy fake smile appeared on her face, which would unnerve anyone as it was so contrast to her ususal attitude. Something was very wrong. 

"Are you here to die tonight, child?" The violet females voice came out in a growl. "You've stumbled into a dangerous place, better watch yourself..."

All the while, Yukiko kept her ears alert to work out where exactly the other female was. 'Playing the stealth game, huh?' She thought in silent question to the mink who vanished.

Mae leapt up into the nearest tree. She crouched on the highest limb that was thick enough to support her weight, hidden among the leaves. Settled in her vantage point, she spotted a blotch of cyan next to the red hedgehog. Who was this, now?

Leaning forward just a bit, she squinted, trying to get a better look at the unknown Mobian. She was pretty sure he was a hedgehog, just like the other two, but she hadn’t seen him around before. He didn’t seem to be buddy-buddying with the two nutcases, either. Maybe he was friends with the snow leopard and red hedgehog?

“Are you here to die tonight, child?”

Whoa. After that comment, she guessed not.

Focusing instead on the axe-wielder, she climbed from tree to tree, trying to spot any weaknesses she could exploit.

Something brushed along her shoulder, and she whipped around, ready to swipe at whatever it was. She recognized the rounded face and mix of greens just in time to stop herself.

“Mako,” she hissed, “I nearly scratched your face off!”

The Chao’s response was to cross his arms, giving her a deadpan “cha chao”.

With a suspicion that he had just told her “as if”, she brought a finger to her lips, signaling for him to be quiet. He frowned and took a seat on her shoulder.

Her eyes set on the dark green hedgehog, she was trying to think of what she could use as a weapon against him, preferably something that would blow up in his face.

Wait. Didn’t she still have firecrackers left over from last Halloween? Yeah, she remembered; they were in the paper bag on top of the fridge. Something big might happen, though. She couldn’t risk leaving to go get them.

But Mako could.

She looked to her Chao, a wide smirk growing on her features. The suspicion on the small creature’s face seemed to be confirmed when Mae whispered in his ear. Pouting, he gave her the grumpiest, most annoyed look he could muster, but he flew off back to the house all the same.

(So do I go still?)

((well, yeah, that is the turn order.))

He looked over at Yukkiko (Hope I spelled it right). "Pardon? Is that a threat?" He tried to ask in a polite matter. He then looked at everybody else, and looked back to Caen. "Friend of yours?" He asked.

Maybe he wasn't supposed to be here, he thought. Maybe he should leave, but deep down he knew he should stay. He crossed his arms, now looking at the mink, then back Yukkiko, with a strange look on his face. His pupils focusing on Yukkikos hands, making sure an attack should not happen. He kept his distance between Yukkiko.

One of his eyelids half way down, the strange look made more of an appearance on the cyan hedgehogs face.

Caen stood as still as the green hedgehog stood before him, swords drawn and his arms outstretched, with him leaning forwards slightly. He was ready to swipe at the first provocation. Suddenly, though, Yukiko made the first move, firing icy needles towards Wilhelm.

Wilhelm, unfortunately, was not as agile as the other three combatants, and so these needles caught into his arm, pinning it to a tree. Immediately, he yelled in pain, as the sharpness mixed with the sheer chill of the ice made for a rather unpleasant sensation.

Alastor shook his head "Wilhelm, you bumbling fool! You have an arm covered in metal, yet you could not deflect such a base and simple attack? No matter, I can deal with both of them, myself."

Alastor stepped forward to attack, but before he could do so, he caught sight of a cyan hedgehog, as did Caen. Yukiko's remark almost immediately sent a chill down the red hedgehog's spine. "Yukiko..." He muttered, before looking over at this new hedgehog "while my friend was much more blunt on the matter, she is right. You will die of you don't go, now!"

After saying this, the hedgehog appeared to make a... Sarcastic quip? Caen shook his head, gritting his teeth "I don't think you realise what you've just stumbled into! Run, before I make you!"

Alastor laughed at Caen's command, lifting his axe up and resting it on his shoulder "Look at how the boy is so eager to prevent other deaths. It nearly brings a tear to my eye. Now, if we are going to fight..." Alastor's axe began to change shape, seemingly melting in his hands, before reforming as a rather sharp halberd. He swung it towards Yukiko, letting out a grunt as the weight spun around him.

Naturally being a cat meant Yukiko was nimble and quick on her feet. She saw the axe coming from a mile away and sprang up into the air and fired off a sort of icy spear down towards Alastor. She wasn't particularly aiming for him, more so his weapon. She grunted as she flipped in the air to gain a balance to land a few feet away almost silently. 

Her dull brown eyes floated over the green hedgehog uncaringly as her shield melted away to nothing, but only to have a similar shape to the red hedgehogs blades appear instead. She flicked her sights to the male scientist to check he wasn't planning any escaping soon before she dashed off to the right and holding her other clawed hand down to the ground as she neared the older hedgehog. A small stream of frost laid down, creating a makeshift ice rink around him as she gave off another creepy smile. 

Once she stopped again next to Caen, she shot a dark look at the cyan Mobian who had dropped in at the worst time and didn't seem to realise the severity of the situation. In the state she was in right now, she could care less about what happened to him, but still wished he hadn't appeared so soon. It was just another potential casualty after all. 

She flicked her long tail side to side as she formed a spike of ice on the end of it to help out with any blind spots that could spell trouble. She knew the ice on the ground would only serve as a small distraction for a short time, but until she knew exactly what they were up against, she was not throwing herself into the fray misinformed.

((alright, it's been nearly a week and no sign of Seraph. Either way, I'll give her until tomorrow morning before skipping her turn entirely and going straight to Smooki.))

Mae’s brow rose as she spotted of the feline’s attack, a chuckle nearly escaping her at the sight of Wilhelm stuck to the tree. Her ear twitched at the sound of raised voices, she turned her attention to the center of the clearing once more.

The cyan hedgehog was just standing there. He said something in a tone she couldn’t quite describe as sarcastic or something else, proceeding to stay in right in the way, making some bizarre face.

What was with this guy? She supposed she couldn’t talk. She’d just barged in to the situation too, after all, but at least she hadn’t just stood there!

Glancing to the green hedgehog, she hoped Mako would come back soon.

((I’m so sorry. I had a family thing come up earlier in the week and basically had no time for anything. If it happens again, just feel free to skip me after a couple days; I’d hate to hold up the rp again. Thank you for being so patient, though.))

"Ehh..." He scratched his head, sort of smiling. Well, there was a fight going on. He knew that for sure now. He had this strange feeling to strangle that cat and show her that he was capable of handling himself and was not 'here to die tonight child?'. He kept himself from getting angry and decided to stop what was going on.

He tried hastily to grab Alastors axe, but failed miserably, and just gave him a stick instead. He tried to shake Yukkiko to see if the magic stopped working, but really just stopped trying and ran into the middle of this fight. 

"STOP!" He spread his arms wide, to see if that could stop anything. It probably made him a fool, but first times for everything. "You." He pointed at Alastor. "Ehh, I'll call ya Alastor." He didn't know his name, so he just called him that. He would find out sooner or later that that was his actual name. "Cat Lady." He pointed, once again. "Icicles need to stop... For right now." He demanded. He took the icicle off of Wilhelm. "What is going on here." He asked everybody.

"This was a dumb move, right?" He asked gently, scratching his head. "Ahem..." He just did that without any idea of what he was going to say. What a fool.

Alastor had just noticed the icy spear headed towards him, and he quickly swung upwards to try to deflect the projectile. This sent his arm backwards due to the recoil. When his arm was back in position, and Alastor looked at Yukiko again, she was coming straight for him. Immediately, be jumped out of the way, only to slip on a sheet of ice. Before he could fall, he dug his halberd into the ground to regain his balance.

Caen watched the whole display, and, instead of reacting in a more serious manner, he actually... Smiled. The sheer adrenaline rush from this situation had clearly begun to thrill him, and this was something that Caen did not want to stop. He looked over at Yukiko's new weapon, before raising his eyebrow "imitation is the best form of flattery, eh?"

Before Caen could finish this thought, the cyan hedgehog had simply walked into the middle of this battle, telling all of them to stop. After this, he had tried to free Wilhelm. The canine scientist yelled at the sharp pain that came from this cyan hedgehog yanking out the needles that had gone through his arm. He lifted it away from the tree, staring at the open wound. "Deep. Vill probably need stitches. No matter, I can do zat later," he spoke to himself, before taking out some bandages and wrapping his forearm with them, to at least stop the bleeding. "At least she missed any arteries," he continued, sighing.

Alastor sighed "this child clearly has a death wish. Very well, I will grant this morbid wish of yours!" He said, jumping off of the ice and moving towards the cyan Mobian at speed. Caen, however, noticed this, and jumped in front of the Mobian, chuckling as he did so.

Regardless of the severity of the situation, Caens comment made the violet feline stick her tongue out at him in a mocking way. 

The cyan hedgehog whom she wasn't entirely certain was completely right in the head for just standing previously had begin to try and cease the fight without thinking things through. He had tried to grab on to her and shake her, but she brushed him off and continued to keep a close eye on Alastor who had rather ungracefully slipped on her trap, earning a small smirk to appear on her usually serene face. 

A hiss from where Yukiko had pinned Wilhelm to a tree sounded as she saw the green-blue hedgehog pulling out her thick needles that held him in place. She had made sure to aim for the least lethal areas on him to make sure that he was mainly just kept out of the road of their fight as he was not one for combat. A light grumble sounded from her, showing again that she was very out of character at present. Why was he trying to do something that wasn't going to work? He was only going to get himself hurt. 

Yukiko merely watched on as Caen stood in front of the cyan Mobian, preferring not to take part in protecting him as he chose to stand out against everyone. This was their fight after all, and with the female mink whom was still flitting about in the trees nearby, and the male with his chao hiding out as well, there were already two too many possible casualties than there should be. Normally this would cause her to try and stop the fight also as violence was not her forte, but with her normal emotions being closed off to better her fighting abilities, she found herself less than caring, and the spark of empathy she usually carried was gone. 

"You are going to get yourself killed out there. Haven't you seen that weapon? Haven't you seen they are brainwashed to believe this is the only answer to this farce?" The violet cat growled towards the bright coloured male. She threw a sheet of ice to form around the cyan hedgehog to act as a shield as he just strolled out there as if nothing could harm him. 

"Dammit... " she murmured to herself as she held up the icy sword to fight back against Alastor. This was very quickly becoming a nuiscance. She formed an icy claw again and launched a barrage of icy needles towards the green hedgehog lunging towards them to try and even alter his course of attack.

((been nearly a week, and no seraph again. Same as last week, I'll give her until tomorrow, but, Seraph, if you don't have the time to rp, then feel free to ask to be skipped until you do!))

((Alright, it's been six days, and still no Seraph. I haven't seen Smooki, either, so, I hope it would be alright for me to skip it back to my turn!))

A metallic clang echoed throughout the mostly quiet forest as Caen blocked the heavy attack from the green hedgehog, all with a grin on his face. Alastor raised his eyebrow at this sudden burst of strength "interesting. You have never been able to hold against one of my attacks," he said, the two metal weapons grinding against each other, causing tiny sparks to fly from them.
Caen chuckled, his expression unchanging "It's time you stopped underestimating me, oh dear uncle of mine."

As soon as Yukiko formed a barrier around the cyan hedgehog, Caen moved swiftly, sidestepping and swinging both of his swords horizontally, each blade glowing. With a smirk, Alastor stepped back, catching one of the blades, attempting to bend the metal to his will... Except he couldn't. "What manner of sorcery...?" He said, before jumping back , just as Caen's free hand swung back around, nicking Alastor on his side, causing him to yelp in pain.

"This power... It's amazing!" Caen said, looking at his blades, before holding his arms outwards. Much like earlier, arrows appeared around him, illuminating one by one. What was different from earlier, though, is that there was now around twenty of them, which was much higher than the limited number he was used to "Yukiko! Take Wilhelm! This bastard is mine..." He ordered, as the green hedgehog gritted his teeth.

Wilhelm, however, pointed his clawed finger towards Yukiko "you shall pay for zis vound, vith your life, girl!" His voice shaking with anger. He held out his arm, a rather different receptacle being ejected from his arm. It was opaque, and sounded as though there was powder in it. "I shall blast you to bits!" He shouted, as he chucked the device at the snow leopard.

(Thanks Red, I guess my character is standing there like an idiot. I had to deal with some things. Thanks again!)

((As I said in my previous post, you hadn't been around in almost a week, so I made the assumption you weren't coming back. Gotta keep the RP flowing, after all! Don't worry, you can jump back in after Foreva's turn!))

When the sparks began to fly everywhere from the contact between Caen and Alastor, Yukiko tried to pull the barrier around the newcomer in order to make sure he was out of the way of any incoming attacks. She wasn't in touch with her Mobanity right now, but she knew the guy couldn't get hurt for only being in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

As soon as she got the male safe, she heard Wilhelm's threat directed to her, earning nothing short of a devious smirk right back at him. 

"Try me." She growled in contrast to the upturned sides of her muzzle. The sudden projectile being thrust upon her made her immediately take action as she twisted to the side just in time for it to miss her. The item in question had struck into a tree just behind her, prompting her to have a quick glance at it to check what it was exactly. 

Yukiko narrowed her dull eyes before taking off at full speed towards Wilhelm, her sword now melting and taking shape along her arm itself as a sort of blade attached to her fur. 

The wolf depended on long range attacking, which meant he couldn't fight up close, could he? No matter, she could care less. She just wanted to get him to shut up with his constant threats that held no real promises. 

"You should have left me with that poison in my system, because now you're about to feel real pain!"

"Red thingy that looks like a hedgehog but maybe isn't a hedgehog at all! Are you alright?" He stood in a fighting stance. "Guess violence IS the answer in this case." He sighed. He stood guard to anybody who tried to attack him. "What's your name anyway, Red thingy that looks like a hedgehog but maybe isn't a hedgehog at all?" He asked.

Just as Caen was about to fire, the cyan hedgehog piped up again, causing him to growl at the sudden annoyance "my name is Caen Flare, and yes, violence is the answer against this blackhearted creature!" He replied, glancing behind him as each fiery arrow hung in the air around him, each one trained on the green hedgehog.

Alastor grinned, a laugh growing within him, bursting forth "oh, yes, I like that one. 'Red thingy', 'red thingy'. It has a ring to it, no?" He said, walking forward, his halberd changing shape, melting against his arm and clamping to it, forming sharp points at the end of his fingers. He looked around "now, is this not truly a party? All of these flickering embers surrounding me, of all people. I am truly flattered!" He pointed over to the cyan hedgehog, before speaking again "you, the blue boy. Tell me, what brings you to his side, hmm? Here is a deal you cannot refuse. Kill the boy, and I shall pay you handsomely."
"The money you pried from my father," the hedgehog retorted, his arms moving backwards a little "don't move a single inch more, or you get fried to a crisp."

----------

Wilhelm had missed, which was to be expected, he was nowhere near as fast as the snow leopard, after all. The projectile he had thrown was, in fact, a bomb, and it simply bounced off of the tree, rolling towards Yukiko. If she was within range, then the wolf would need to press a single button to blow her sky-high. He hoped and prayed that luck was on his side. If only he could distract her for just a few more moments...

"Maybe I should have. Zis is not ze way to show gratitude, you stupid girl!" Wilhelm remarked, trying to egg Yukiko on somewhat, to buy himself time as the bomb seemed to pick up speed, rolling faster.