Rose groaned, the cumulative batterings of the day really beginning to take their toll. Get up, get up, she urged her body. This is no time to lie down!
Painfully, she got to her feet, the world around her still a cacophony of noise and chaos. The cosplayer was fighting just a few metres away in the road … where was Ashe?
A cough from behind her sounded, causing Rose to jump and spin around. She breathed a sigh of relief to see the other girl on the ground, a little roughed up but obviously alive. “Ashe!” she called, running over.
“Rose!” The longer-haired girl looked up and took the extended hand of her companion, getting to her feet. Suddenly she stiffened and jabbed a finger. “Behind you!”
Rose spun, and was met face-to-face with a group of the creatures. She immediately took a step back. “The hell? The ones I was fighting didn’t have giant claws!” It wasn’t just that. They were bigger, with sharper teeth, and their skin had darkened into a greeny-black which, combined with their manky, boil-covered appearance, left the girl feeling more than a little horrified.
“Oh, that’s … my bad,” murmured Ashe, looking sheepish. “I tried to take them out with the water from that tower. I didn’t know water made them transform!” The pair took a step back as the creatures took a step forward. “What about you, did you make that building collapse?”
“Nah, one of the goblins was a suicide bomber,” stated Rose matter-of-factly.
A hissing, rattling scream rang out. The goblins were apparently tired of listening to the girls’ banter, as they were now brandishing their very long claws. Rose was distractedly wondering whether she had enough energy left to form another attack, when a voice rang out.
“Enough!”
All in the vicinity froze, turning to look at the originator of the sound: Uzumaki. The samurai was walking towards them, katana unsheathed. Rose looked at it, and in irrational panic her first instinct was to run. Then she remembered that the black-haired man was on their team. Somehow, that didn’t comfort her. There was a dark, foreboding feeling emanating from the warrior, as though just below the surface was a bestial animal, waiting to burst forth and kill.
“Let this be a lesson, kids,” said Uzumaki.
Not a second later, Rose’s paranoia was justified as the samurai lunged forward, cutting a swathe through the goblins between them. All the two girls could do was duck as limbs went flying and bodies were diced in a dizzying spectacle of violence. Rose was in awe at his skill and power. This guy was no pretender – he was a warrior of the same calibur as her own parents. He was the real fucking deal.
And all at once, he had stopped, and was standing in the street, eyes closed as though taking in the sweet serenity of it all. Is this guy fucking crazy? Rose wondered. Dumb question. Of course he is.
In his temporary moment of calm, one of the goblins saw fit to sneak up on the warrior. Ashe called out – “Uzumaki!” – just a second too late. The claw raked across the chest of the samurai, pushing him backwards into the waiting sea of goblins, who were eager to get revenge for their fallen comrades and didn’t mind trampling on their corpses to do so. They enveloped the man in a gigantic pile of gnashing teeth and spidery limbs, this apparently being their idea of organised tactics.
Is Uzumaki a common name? Rose had time to wonder, before her senses forced her to forget the question and focus on the fight. Channelling ki up into her aching limbs, the girl threw her arms forward, letting them extend beyond their natural length. Her fists connected with two of the goblins who’d jumped on Uzumaki, throwing them off and freeing the warrior’s sword arm. In a flash, the katana had cut through the air, and just a moment later the man was free. Around him lay the corpses of his aggravators, looks of pained, stupid surprise still plastered on their faces.
Ashe was looking at the other girl with an expression of bewilderment. “You can do that, too?”
“Huh?” Rose looked at her still-elongated arms, and it suddenly clicked. “Oh! Yeah.” Her appendages snapped back to normal length, and she raised a concerned eyebrow. “You don’t think it’s weird, do you?”
“YOU TWO!” interrupted the shout of Uzumaki. “FOR THE LAST TIME, SAVE IT UNTIL YOU’RE HOME!”
“Say it don’t … spray it,” Rose muttered weakly, not wanting to show subservience to the older warrior, but with his bloody massacre of the goblins still fresh in her memory.
Another scream rang out, and the young girl’s eyes traced it to its origin: one of the goblins, standing behind the others, his sharp nails pointing at the humans. It looked as though he’d painted a white stripe across his back, though for what inane purpose Rose did not know. Apparently the other creatures were more impressed than her, as they’d taken it as some sign of leadership and were following the striped one’s orders. A large group of them now encircled the trio, who were as they started, back-to-back in the street.
A grin crossed Rose’s lips. “Duck down, guys, I’ll handle this.”
Uzumaki turned a raised eyebrow in the girl’s direction. “Is this another bright idea that’s going to bring us one step closer to death?”
“Trust me,” hissed the teenager. “This is a secret technique I’ve been working on.” Hurriedly she began to gather the last reservoirs of her ki, and at the same time, she twisted her body anti-clockwise. And kept on twisting. Rose never liked this part – it didn’t hurt her, thanks to her body’s natural flexibility, but looking like a screwed-up rubber band wasn’t exactly the coolest thing. But that’s what the next part was for.
As the goblins raced forward, she roared. “BUUZUMAKI WHIRLPOOL!” And with that, she unleashed the built-up energy in her body, her elongated arms whipping around with deadly speed like a helicopter’s rotors. The creatures were thrown backwards in sync, landing against the walls of adjacent buildings and in trashcans, screeching and grumbling. Rose stood in the middle of the now-clear road, her arms returning to normal length, and smirked. “Yeeeaaaah,” she said.
And then she collapsed.
Painfully, she got to her feet, the world around her still a cacophony of noise and chaos. The cosplayer was fighting just a few metres away in the road … where was Ashe?
A cough from behind her sounded, causing Rose to jump and spin around. She breathed a sigh of relief to see the other girl on the ground, a little roughed up but obviously alive. “Ashe!” she called, running over.
“Rose!” The longer-haired girl looked up and took the extended hand of her companion, getting to her feet. Suddenly she stiffened and jabbed a finger. “Behind you!”
Rose spun, and was met face-to-face with a group of the creatures. She immediately took a step back. “The hell? The ones I was fighting didn’t have giant claws!” It wasn’t just that. They were bigger, with sharper teeth, and their skin had darkened into a greeny-black which, combined with their manky, boil-covered appearance, left the girl feeling more than a little horrified.
“Oh, that’s … my bad,” murmured Ashe, looking sheepish. “I tried to take them out with the water from that tower. I didn’t know water made them transform!” The pair took a step back as the creatures took a step forward. “What about you, did you make that building collapse?”
“Nah, one of the goblins was a suicide bomber,” stated Rose matter-of-factly.
A hissing, rattling scream rang out. The goblins were apparently tired of listening to the girls’ banter, as they were now brandishing their very long claws. Rose was distractedly wondering whether she had enough energy left to form another attack, when a voice rang out.
“Enough!”
All in the vicinity froze, turning to look at the originator of the sound: Uzumaki. The samurai was walking towards them, katana unsheathed. Rose looked at it, and in irrational panic her first instinct was to run. Then she remembered that the black-haired man was on their team. Somehow, that didn’t comfort her. There was a dark, foreboding feeling emanating from the warrior, as though just below the surface was a bestial animal, waiting to burst forth and kill.
“Let this be a lesson, kids,” said Uzumaki.
Not a second later, Rose’s paranoia was justified as the samurai lunged forward, cutting a swathe through the goblins between them. All the two girls could do was duck as limbs went flying and bodies were diced in a dizzying spectacle of violence. Rose was in awe at his skill and power. This guy was no pretender – he was a warrior of the same calibur as her own parents. He was the real fucking deal.
And all at once, he had stopped, and was standing in the street, eyes closed as though taking in the sweet serenity of it all. Is this guy fucking crazy? Rose wondered. Dumb question. Of course he is.
In his temporary moment of calm, one of the goblins saw fit to sneak up on the warrior. Ashe called out – “Uzumaki!” – just a second too late. The claw raked across the chest of the samurai, pushing him backwards into the waiting sea of goblins, who were eager to get revenge for their fallen comrades and didn’t mind trampling on their corpses to do so. They enveloped the man in a gigantic pile of gnashing teeth and spidery limbs, this apparently being their idea of organised tactics.
Is Uzumaki a common name? Rose had time to wonder, before her senses forced her to forget the question and focus on the fight. Channelling ki up into her aching limbs, the girl threw her arms forward, letting them extend beyond their natural length. Her fists connected with two of the goblins who’d jumped on Uzumaki, throwing them off and freeing the warrior’s sword arm. In a flash, the katana had cut through the air, and just a moment later the man was free. Around him lay the corpses of his aggravators, looks of pained, stupid surprise still plastered on their faces.
Ashe was looking at the other girl with an expression of bewilderment. “You can do that, too?”
“Huh?” Rose looked at her still-elongated arms, and it suddenly clicked. “Oh! Yeah.” Her appendages snapped back to normal length, and she raised a concerned eyebrow. “You don’t think it’s weird, do you?”
“YOU TWO!” interrupted the shout of Uzumaki. “FOR THE LAST TIME, SAVE IT UNTIL YOU’RE HOME!”
“Say it don’t … spray it,” Rose muttered weakly, not wanting to show subservience to the older warrior, but with his bloody massacre of the goblins still fresh in her memory.
Another scream rang out, and the young girl’s eyes traced it to its origin: one of the goblins, standing behind the others, his sharp nails pointing at the humans. It looked as though he’d painted a white stripe across his back, though for what inane purpose Rose did not know. Apparently the other creatures were more impressed than her, as they’d taken it as some sign of leadership and were following the striped one’s orders. A large group of them now encircled the trio, who were as they started, back-to-back in the street.
A grin crossed Rose’s lips. “Duck down, guys, I’ll handle this.”
Uzumaki turned a raised eyebrow in the girl’s direction. “Is this another bright idea that’s going to bring us one step closer to death?”
“Trust me,” hissed the teenager. “This is a secret technique I’ve been working on.” Hurriedly she began to gather the last reservoirs of her ki, and at the same time, she twisted her body anti-clockwise. And kept on twisting. Rose never liked this part – it didn’t hurt her, thanks to her body’s natural flexibility, but looking like a screwed-up rubber band wasn’t exactly the coolest thing. But that’s what the next part was for.
As the goblins raced forward, she roared. “BUUZUMAKI WHIRLPOOL!” And with that, she unleashed the built-up energy in her body, her elongated arms whipping around with deadly speed like a helicopter’s rotors. The creatures were thrown backwards in sync, landing against the walls of adjacent buildings and in trashcans, screeching and grumbling. Rose stood in the middle of the now-clear road, her arms returning to normal length, and smirked. “Yeeeaaaah,” she said.
And then she collapsed.
![[Image: superbuuelectricityne4.jpg]](http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/3128/superbuuelectricityne4.jpg)
Bra Wrote:People are dumb, essentially.