[i]Vance nodded back at Victoria, before turning towards the shed. His right hand ignited in green flames, although he purposefully hid this from Victoria with his torso. She would still know the flames were there, on his hand, but at least she couldn't see them. Using his left hand, Vance creaked the door open. Inside the shed was... no floor. Instead, a massive pit replaced the floor; the bottom of the pit could not be seen. There was a spiral staircase in the center of the shed, and a small path leading from the doorway to the staircase.[/i] "... hope you don't have acrophobia," [i]Vance called out to Victoria, before cautiously making his way down the staircase.[/i]

[i]Victoria quietly sighed, closing her eyes underneath her helmet for a moment as if she was previously tensed up. Clenching her Bolter still, she followed Vance quietly, stepping upon each stair and taking a second or two before she took another step forwards within the spiral. In truth, she absolutely hated it, though she held back and conserved that anger.[/i]

[i]After what felt like hours of walking, their feet finally struck flat ground. The ground was made of stone, riddled with various puddles. It was pitch dark; there was absolutely no sources of light within the room. Vance ignited his right arm in flames once more, providing a small amount of light... and on the ground were the corpses of dead, cannibalized humans–more accurately, Contractees. They had pieces of flesh torn off them, blood drying their torn clothes, and bones showing from underneath eaten or rotten skin... and they piled upon the ground, swarming the floor with dead bodies.[/i]

[i]Victoria had seen plenty of gory, disgusting things that would disturb the minds of many: torn-apart victims of an Ork brigade, the remains of fellow Sisters and Astartes scattered about the battlefield, after being sliced open and defiled by Slaanesh daemons, and especially after the assault on The Aeternus..[/i] [i]One could say that she reacted well, studying the bodies before silently motioning for Vance to keep going through the sickening area. Whatever had done this - Contractee or not - was too dangerous to be kept alive.[/i]

[i]Vance raised his ignited arm up high, looking upwards; they were inside a massive cavern, its roof extending up at least a hundred feet. Just then was a loud sound... that of something feasting upon flesh. It was a savage, animalistic sound, almost feral. Vance lowered his ignited hand, using the flame as a flashlight as he slowly walked towards the sound. Eventually, the green light of his fire would shine upon the source of the noise; something, hunched over in a crouched position, facing away from them. As it stood, candles began rapidly lighting all around the cavern to lighten it up, however it was still dim. The [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/b7/39/5f/b7395f96b4efc9ab78124722f2ef2145.jpg]thing[/url] turned around, standing at its full height of ten feet. Clutched tightly in its right hand was the corpse of a dead child... its head entirely bitten off. Bloodstains at the side of the thing's mouth were suggestive as to where the head had gone. A health bar appeared above the thing's head, include its HP and name; 100% with 5 bars, and "Kalahan, the Cannibal".[/i]

[i]Victoria felt it coming.[/i] [i]The memories. Smoke and ash flooding her view, mangled screams of fellow Sisters and the followers of Nurgle screeching within the distance. She stepped over the shredded bodies of those who stood next to her, who called for their line of defense to be held..[/i] [i]They were retreating. The battle was lost, with the remainder of the daemons tearing through the Sisters. As Victoria took one last look upon the small settlement, she found her eyes upon a giant Greater Daemon - a Great Unclean One, cackling as pus and blood issued from it's body as it dove down to consume and devour more of her-[/i] "[i]DIE, FIEND[/i]!" [i]Victoria suddenly yelled, returning to reality after the flashback as she pressed onwards to the cannibal. She raised her Bolter, unloading round after round into the monster's right leg, around it's knee area - specifically, ten rounds were fired, in total.[/i]

[i]As the bullets were pounded into the cannibal's leg, they exploded with brutal force; the thing staggered backwards slightly, its HP dropping to 90%; in other words, half of his first HP bar. The cannibal reared back, raising its right arm as though preparing for a crushing blow. But as the beast brought the attack down towards Victoria, it seemed to use some sort of ability with its left hand... three, yard-long stalagmites were hurled at Victoria from the opposite direction. Vance was caught off guard by Victoria's sudden entrance to the fight; he quickly infused his left arm with black electricity, forming a shape similar to a Sunlight Spear; only black. With that, he hurled the spear towards the beast; the lightning strike was powerful enough to stagger the beast's melee feint, however there were still three stalagmites flying at the Sororitas. Its HP dropped to 85% from the bolt, or 1/4th of its first HP bar.[/i] ((8500 MP))

[i]Victoria was forced to fall back, taking cover as the stalagmites slammed into her armor: if anything, the jagged points shattered against the ceramite, breaking through some parts yet meeting the adamantium underneath. Victoria fell back, blood pumping through her in her sudden adrenaline as she roared, backing away and bothering to fire five more rounds into the cannibal's leg. Her goal? To cripple it.[/i]

[i]The bullets slammed into the same spot, and once again exploded, tearing the leg off. Its HP dropped to 70%, halfway through its fourth health bar.... And that's when shit began. Lumps began growing on its back, before wings sprouted from its back; imagine those motherfuсkers in the beginning of the Road of Sacrifices. While it was crippled, the cannibal took flight within the cavern, and without warning dive bombed Victoria like a maniac. During this dive bomb, more stalagmites would be hurled at Victoria from an unseeable source; this time, however, two of them were made of titanium, while the rest were still stone. There were 5 total, this time. Vance used the arm that was on fire to strike a couple of the rock stalagmites before they made their way to Victoria; with each flame punch, the flames... exploded on contact, annihilating the stalagmites they struck. He managed to destroy two rock ones, making room for Victoria to attempt to dodge that way.[/i] ((7800 MP))

[i]Victoria reacted quickly, immediately throwing her Bolter to the ground and rolling to the side that Vance had cleared specifically for her - she would have to thank him later. Her mobility was not hindered by her intense armor, as Power Armor within the Warhammer universe is utter bullshit - erm, built to be agile and durable, especially suits worn by Sororitas.[/i] [i]As she rose up, she reached to draw her Power Sword, retrieving the weapon from it's sheath and brandishing it with both hands, her fingers tightly wrapped around the leather handle as she awaited the creature's approach, if it came.[/i]

[i]As Victoria had dropped her Bolter on the ground... the cannibal literally slammed into it, ending the dive bomb with a crushing blow to the weapon, rendering it useless for the remainder of the fight. (It'll be repaired afterwards, dw bby) Three remaining stalagmites stopped in midair right before striking the cannibal, and it immediately launched itself back up, out of its opponents' reach. Vance used this time to create and launch an orb of fire towards the stalagmites; the green flames managed to destroy the final rock one, however the two titanium ones remained. The two titanium stalagmites would prove annoying. They turned to face Vance and Victoria, launching themselves towards them. Meanwhile, the cannibal let out a bloodcurdling screech from above. The dead, rotting corpses around Vance and Victoria began to stir... and they rose from their eternal slumber, beginning to stagger towards the two.[/i] ((6700 MP))

[i]Victoria merely gritted her teeth as she sprinted towards the titanium spikes, her sword suddenly igniting with a vibrantly electric blue color, the blade surrounded by a field of energy that was supercharged to disrupt and destroy molecular bonds. Needless to say, she cleaved through both spikes.[/i] [i]As the undead began to rise, Victoria began to cleave through them just as quickly, drawing a Bolt Pistol and firing into their ranks furiously.[/i]

[i]Following Victoria's example, Vance ignited his other hand in flame, to began burning up the undead; however, with each fallen undead, two more would rise and smother the two in waves. Meanwhile, the cannibal raised its two arms in the air as it hovered above them; it seemed to be charging a stronger, more effective attack. While it charged its attack, the cavern began to shake. The stalagmites on the roof of the cavern began to detach, falling from over onto the two. There was enough that the two would need to focus on dodging more than killing for the tome being; this was proven as a stalagmite nearly impaled Vance through the head, had he not sidestepped just in time.[/i]

[i]Victoria had nearly yelled out in panic as the stalagmite nearly ended Vance's life, although she kept her calmed composure and realized the deadliness of the changing area. She slammed through the hordes of the undead, hacking and slashing her way madly throughout the creatures, while flipping over their bodies and being careful to not be hit.[/i]

[i]Luckily, the stalagmites would also take out the undead; soon, they had fallen, and they could focus on dodging. A massive, ten foot long, adamantium stalagmite took form, held by both of the cannibal's hands. It was still charging its attack... and it would probably help to cancel it, whether by staggering the beast or whatever. Stalagmites continued to rain from the cavern ceiling, and Vance continued to dodge.[/i]

[i]Since Victoria was a Mary Sue heroine, she obviously had to react, unholstering one of her two Bolter Pistols and firing up at the beast five times. She fired at the stalagmite itself, knowing that the force of the explosion would do some damage.[/i]

[i]The explosion would dent the adamantine stalagmite slightly, but it remained intact and usable. The bullets the exploded upon the cannibal managed to stagger it just in time, lowering its HP to 65%. The stalagmite changed; a pole grew from its base, turning it into a spear. The beast gripped to pole, aiming the stalagmite's tip at Victoria. As the stalagmites stopped raining from the cavern ceiling, it once again dive bombed towards the Sororitas, aiming the spearhead carefully at her head. Vance generated another black lightning bolt, hurling it at the cannibal. It struck, managing to stagger it to halt its dive bomb, sending it to hover slightly above the ground. From there, it began to engage in melee combat, thrusting at Victoria with the spear no lenny please.[/i] (5600 MP)

[i]Victoria definitely had to thank Vance, later on. He was doing considerable work on the monster, and had managed to save Victoria multiple times.[/i] [i]As the spear came close, she furiously batted away at it with her energized sword, knowing that she could not match the cannibalistic titan's strength in melee. Victoria backed away, careful to not trip or be trapped within a corner.[/i]

[i]Victoria's best bet was to probably dodge the cannibal's attacks; its strength in melee was most certainly unmatchable. It performed a final strike with its spear, aiming directly at Victoria's torso, before coming to a halt. Its HP, now at 60%, was on its third health bar. And once again, its form began to change. The cannibal's wings visibly hardened... to what strength was unknown, something among the lines of vibranium or even amazonium. They also grew in size, until its wingspan was about 17 and a half feet; additionally, they curved around the cannibal's torso, forming a massive, near-indestructible cage, revealing only the cannibal's arms and face. Its spear transformed into a [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/ef/02/a1/ef02a19d8630728a0c550a7d81af9dc5.jpg]shield[/url], still adamantium with coloring. The shield's height was about eight feet; almost as tall as the cannibal itself. This shield was gripped in the beast's left hand, while its right hand drew a massive greatsword from god knows where; the greatsword might as well have been considered a massive chunk of adamantium, for its blade alone was ten feet in length, its grip two feet. And yet, the cannibal wielded it with a single hand. With terrifyingly explosive force, the leg that Victoria had managed to cripple regrew, allowing the cannibal to stand on two feet. It let out a massive roar, entering a feral battle stance.[/i]

[i]The spearhead during the final thrust found itself tearing into Victoria's side as she failed to strafe to the left, the pure force of the weapon forcing her to slide back as the weapon caved through armor, trickles of blood escaping the wound. Underneath her helm, Victoria gritted her teeth in pain, recognizing her foe's strength in combat: full-on melee wouldn't work now.[/i] [i]Yet, agility would. Victoria took to two-handing her straight sword, the power sword's energized blade gleaming with vibrant, destructive energy once again. If she could get behind the beast, or find a way to halt it's wrath, then she would be good.[/i]

[i]The cannibal raised its right arm, raising the massive sword far above its head. Then, it proceed to bring the blade downwards in a would-be crushing blow, the blade long enough to strike both Victoria and Vance at once. Vance began strafing to his left, ready to avoid the strike; he barely avoid the blow, proceeding to generate an orb of fire in his right hand. He chucked it, however the cannibal had raised its shield, dispersing the flame completely.[/i] ((4600 MP))

[i]Victoria had gotten lucky with her dodge, strafing to her right and sliding against the earth. As she rose up, she kept to the monster's right, going underneath the sword arm and slashing her sword through the wrist, with hopes to slice off the monster's hand.[/i]

Victoria's power sword would make a decently sized cut, but did not come close to cutting its hand off. Blood flowed from the cut, draining its HP to 58%. Then, it raised its sword arm, using its shield arm to two hand its massive greatsword, performing performing a terrifying heavy and fast attack downwards upon the Sister of Battle; an attacked aided heavily by gravity and the cannibal's own innate strength. Its body was exposed slightly by two handing the sword, allowing Vance to chuck another fireball. It struck its massive torso, giving the cannibal some decent burns and bringing it down to 53%. ((3600 MP....))

[i]Victoria's only real chance was to immediately strafe to her right and away from the monstrous creature, though she knew that she would not escape the wrath of the weapon's hunk of a blade, the dreadful thought spiraling within her head as her feet strafed her body to the side.[/i] [i]Then the blow came.[/i] [i]The greatsword caved in the ceramite and adamantium armor nearly immediately, the pauldron failing to deflect the massive weapon. It then met Victoria's cloth lining underneath, and proceeded to slice through the muscle and bone that held Victoria's left arm and her body.[/i] [i]The limp arm fell to the side alongside the massive blade, a muffled scream of agony escaping Victoria's helmet as she fell, scampering and pushing her body upwards as blood gushed from her stump of a left arm. Her right hand still tightened around her sword still, as she weakly rose up, grunting and letting out a pained yell as more blood splattered over the side of her armor.[/i]

Vance's green eyes widened with horror as he saw what had happened to the only friend he had that was still alive. His jaw dropped as he screamed silently, unable to find words, and was suddenly reminded of a scene....[quote][i]"JONATHON!"[/i] The scream was Vance's, when he was merely 12 years old. His hair was still its usual shaggy, black, however back then, his eyes were a crystal blue. And in front of him was another boy, also 12. He had a head of blond hair, however his eyes were closed... and a massive spike impaled his chest. The blond boy's frame was frail and skinny, likely that of a sickly child. And behind Vance, there was a Scorpion.[/quote]Vance's left hand erupted in green flame, and his right hand exploded in black electricity. It was the activation of his ultimate ability, if you will. His last resort. With explosive force, Vance propelled himself towards the cannibal, jumping to meet his opponent's face in altitude. He delivered a completely brutal series of punches; each with unstoppable force that more or less fractured both of Vance's bones and cracked the beast's skull. Even with fractured bones in his arms, Vance continued his barrage, flames scorching the beast's face and electricity coursing through its flesh and blood. Its face was eventually smashed in, and with a final "punch" (more like melee arm cannon), the cannibal was sent tumbling over, its body completely crushing the arm that had fallen off Victoria. Both the arm and the body disappeared to reveal... loot. For Victoria, the shield that the cannibal was using; however obviously scaled down to whatever size she was comfortable with. Made of adamantium, it also had a special ability; the ability to shapeshift into the greatsword that the cannibal was using, again obviously scaled down to a size Victoria was comfortable with. The thing was virtually indestructible, could shift shape in a fraction of a second, and the greatsword's blade could... literally slice through magic spells, if said spell is used as an attack. Its name? "Kalahan's Swordshield". Meanwhile, Vance was kneeling on the ground, his the bones in his arms completely broken and his energy utterly depleted; the only thing that kept him conscious was sheer willpower, for there was something he had to accomplish. He had received a spell; or more like an 'upgrade' to his pyromancy. Essentially, rainbow flames.[spoiler]Red flames = heal erethang, orange flames = something I'll figure out later when I update bio again, yellow flames = inextinguishable, forever burning, green flames = destruction of property, blue flames = destruction of lives, and purple flames = shields 'n shit.[/spoiler] Bright, scarlet flames surrounded Vance's arms, healing his broken bones as he slowly and tiredly faced Victoria. He could no longer find the energy to walk, so he crawled over to her, shakily kneeling beside her on side where her arm was torn off. He lifted Victoria's new swordshield, allowing it to shapeshift into a greatsword, and slicing his own left arm off completely. He barely even noticed the pain. And so, he slowly aligned his own arm with the area where Victoria's had been cut off, and allowed scarlet flames to surround the arm and the left half of Victoria's torso, connecting the two pieces of flesh. Her new arm changed in size to match Victoria's right arm, but its skin tone still matched Vance's. Meanwhile, scarlet flames cauterized Vance's self-induced wound. And he promptly passed out, not to awaken for 'three months', AKA Thursday, July 20th. Oh, and Victoria gets to have green fire with her new arm. Yay!