The cave was still and quiet.

Jacer body was still. In the settling chaos he felt like nothing more than a living statue among the scene that showed clear signs of a life or death struggle. His memory reflecting over his failings while the cave’s cold temperature tried to pin him into place like a delicate butterfly, his over caution preventing him any sort of escape from this nightmare. If wasn’t for the fact he was just fighting for his life moments ago and his worries were just starting, he might’ve been proud. His mind was inwardly debating on his options. Deep in his heart was an unsettling sensation because he knew if he pulled away too soon and without absolute proof this fucker was dead, he could end up cutting his life span down to seconds. The thought was an unpopular notion compared to the years he aimed to live.

Was relaxing his guard worth the risk for both him and Dom?

Dom… at thinking of the name, Jacer's brown colored irises shifted to his peripheral vision for a moment. He could easily glimpse his step brother sitting in the cleared space about thirty feet in diameter. The fourteen year old was shivering and terrified, his figure was just five feet from where the struggle had ended. His blonde hair almost blended into the white around them, matted by the streak of blood and dirt down his face side. Dominik’s arms propped his torso upright, his blue eyes stared in complete shock at the monster his brother had become. His younger brother's left arm was bleeding from the cut underneath and staining the rips in the coat keeping him warm. It was obvious he was infected. Both of them knew it, and the sands of time ticked down to see what Jacer would do.

Inside, Jacer was debating on his choices. If he shall continue the duties he was saddled as an older brother or take the easiest and most obvious way out. It was a question the magnus dreaded answering the most.

The faint ache started in his extended right arm and at his half bent waist, bring his focus to the current matter. His hand rested near the blade base and his figure hunched over the Enslaved at his feet, the thing now bleeding out its mercury life. Every few moments his warm breath misted from his lips into the cold air and showed he was still alive. The frost nipped at his exposed skin above his collar, his face set in a blank expression, while the rest of the parka wrapped about his frame. Besides the heat from rapid activity, it was the only thing that kept him from freezing and did not hinder his movements. His coat’s bottom half reached down to his waist, stopping around where his utility belt was tracing the waist band. Several of the smaller pockets were flipped open to reveal the magazines remaining. His pants were cleaned of any dirt and grim thanks to him being shoved into the snow a few times, his thick boots wet from having to wade through the snow up to a foot deep.

Little red scratches and bleeding wounds were already mending rapidly, restoring him back to his original state. However, his muscles still registered the burn from his earlier activity and his chest heaving slightly.

He was using Ebium’s Pride to balance, a five foot by ten inches guan dao, with his right hand comfortable resting under the blade's base. The other was on the end about two hand widths from the middle, nearest the spiked end, while he used to pinn the corpse to the ground. The blade’s edge had buried itself into the chest cavity and pushed the metal casing inward, severing where the "heart" should be in half. To any organic being, this was a clearly a death blow.

Too bad, Jacer thought, this creature was no longer organic. Making that assumption almost got him killed last time, and it was a mistake he intended not to make again just to extend his existence even in this hell for a little bit longer.

Paranoia seeping into his instinct, Jacer began to rattle off his remaining supply for his Phoenix Mark V almost instinctively. His Nix, as he nicknamed it, was a specialized handgun with some pretty handy features: a DNA lock suited for him and Dom’s use, targeting laser pointer, and the capability to fire off MASS rounds without them exploding in the clip. MASS was short for Magik Activated Specialized Shots which in short were normal bullet rounds infused with his magik and sorted into four types: Ice, Splicer, Shocker, and Tracker.

Currently he had used a complete set of normal magazines and several Spicer rounds that had pelleted the metallic humanoid’s figure into scrap metal, making the surface appear like it had been hit by buckshot instead. This meant he had a fully loaded normal magazine of twenty bullets and the second with only nine left. Four MASS magazines, each with their own assignment of round types. First magazine he recalled had two splicer rounds left, causing him to recount the exact combination in each one. One held ten untouched Ice rounds, the second was a mix of five Trackers and Shockers, and finally last held four Ice and six Shockers.

It all amused him a bit. Originally he had been on a scouting task so he came prepared for human trouble and less for Ensalved, something he regretted. He had let another minute tick by before he dared to move. Jacer slowly brought his outstretched left leg forward, adjusting his balance to his right to compensate for his movement, then pressed his uplifted foot firmly into the Enslave’s shoulder. It didn’t move when he started to slid his left hand forward on the glowing guan dao. Jacer inhaled and started to tighten his fingers for grip then jerk it free. It made a protesting screech. He flinched at his being so close as his ears twitched at the high pitch sound. To ease the pain and complete his task, the man shut off his hearing for a moment letting it return to normal until he was done.

When his blade pulled completely out, the corpse shuddered then slumped on its back completely dead. Jacer was sent back a few steps because of the strength required to jerk it loose. His weapon hang loosely at his side while dripping the darken silver blood upon the grey rock. He moved his dark haired head to examine it briefly then flicked as much as he could off onto the body, his thick figure turning on heel toward his younger brother.

While each step was casually eating the distance between them, Jacer’s thoughts fell on how different they looked and how easily people were surprised they were brothers. The older man had dark hair cropped short on the sides and slightly wavy over top, his hairline parted on the left side on his head top. A slight shadow of a goatee was showing around his mouth and chin, making Jacer's soft features look much more mature compared to his twenty-four years in age.

A foot from his sibling, Jacer came to an abrupt stop and bent down on one knee to retrieve something. His arm stretched out and fingers dug against the stone while he scooped up the gun he had lost. The Enslaved had disarmed him during the fight forcing him to use his melee weapon. When placing his gun into the holster, his other hand had flipped his weapon over his tilted head and heard it click to the military grade magnetic clips on his back. Several of them were attached to a thick strap placed diagonally across his back. This kept his guan dao in place when not in use, making it easy to draw in milliseconds.

Normally Jacer would've powered down his senses but his nerves were so jittery, he felt more comfortable keeping them on. He even switched on his hearing again should his final kill shot had not been enough to finish the creature. His sober expression broke when he rose to his feet, ignoring the last rains of his ache, then bent over to give Dom a hand up. The fourteen year old's boot made a scuffing sound across the surface in his aid up.

"Talk quietly, I got the cat ears on," Jacer jested, referring to his enhanced ability, his right index finger pointed to his right ear.

It was obvious, of course, due to the magik molded on the outer edge and seemed to curve outward from his head. It give them a slight catty appearance at the side though this wasn't the only altercation in his looks. The bottom of his face and and eyes showed similar features, giving him a slight mismatch appearance, adding canine and hawk respectively. They enabled his own senses to mimic these particular animals without physically creating the organs that he lacked and permanently changing him completely. If any attempt were made to cut them off, the blade would go right through unhinged or affecting the senses.

Not hearing a word from Dom, Jacer paused long enough to spot Gizi scramble from his hiding spot among the pillars. The little genetic spliced cripple bobbed from deep snow bank to another, the winged otter nearly being smothered by white snow each time his face skimmed the surface. Jacer’s sight lingered on where the original dove like wings had been. He could only guess they had been lost to an unknown accident. Now they had been replaced with a poorer and more steampunk version on the back, the gears grinding slightly with each radical twitch. It didn't seem to dampen the little critter's spirit in the least. If anything, Gizi seemed blissfully ignorant of his loss.

Letting his brother's pet close the distance, Jacer continued. "Now..."

Whack!

"Shit Jacer, that hurt!" Dom blurted when Jacer thumped him upside the back of his head, the youth's hands pulled to rub away the hurt. He bend it enough to avoid Jacer's eye contact though that didn't stop the magnus from fuming or flinching at the sound.

"First off..watch your mouth. Next... what the hell were you thinking?!? And following me here of all places!” Jacer snapped with a quiet yet assertive tone.

He didn’t want to make his ears hurt again while he chewed out Dom, his face twisted up in a hard glare. Dom wasn’t paying attention as the teen’s arm fell to his side. His other arm cradled his wounded one, eyes staring away in guilt. Jacer still hoped there might be a chance his younger sibling wasn’t infect, his simple denial entering his mind, but his common sense dampened his hopeful spirit. Their conversation was quickly interrupted when the otter plowed into Dom’s legs. Immediately the kid tumbled into Jacer’s side causing the magnus to snap his right arm out and wrap about his brother’s middle, stopping Dom from stumbling into the hard ground.

A sound, soft and uninviting, caused Jacer’s cat eat to dart to the side where it adjusted to hear it better. It caught his attention causing his head to turn and try to locate the source’s. The whole time his gut getting a nasty sensation something was about to happen. His eyes still flickering about the scene to seek out someone who shouldn’t be there, he pushed Dom quickly back to his feet. While both males were ignoring the otter, it seemed Gizi had also sense their unwanted guest and was getting rather antsy, his short figure starting to retreat to the other side of the boys and toward the light.

It hadn't been pretty, not in the least. What should have been a routine mission, a glorified supply run to an outer camp surrounded by untold miles of snow and ice, had turned into a bloodbath that had left an entire camp dead. It didn't much matter, perhaps the powers that be back home would appreciate that Shugtil, and Jacer, as well as the rest had downed an entire Enslaved congregation. The man ran his fingers through his stock silver hair, the gloved fabric feeling nice against what parts of his scalp it touched.

He paused in his tracks for a moment, letting his cybernetically enhanced irises zoom back in on the camp, with its smoke billowing in the breeze from what deceased bodies they had elected to burn instead of let rot in the newly fashioned ghost town. They had, of course, taken what supplies they could carry and they were now being watched over by Elicka, Kerry, and the often misunderstood Magnus, Chamberlain. Shugtil, himself, had fallen back when it was apparent that whatever Jacer had went to do was taking far too long to be completed.

The orders he had given the orders were fairly simple, to continue on to the rendezvous point, where Shugtil and Jacer would meet up with them, if not before, within a day. The three guarding their loot could handle themselves, and Jacer and Shugtil were among the strongest, so they could as well.

That was an hour ago.

Forty-five minutes prior, he had spotted a strange grouping heading off towards the west, and thought it pertinent to follow. That was the direction Jacer took when he left, and despite the man's gifted skills with his brand of magic, taking on that many figures would be difficult. And so, he did. Forty-four minutes later, he stood at the entrance to a cave, deep and cavernous - dark and forboding. His hand immediately went to one of the two nine-millimeter pistols strapped to his hip with specialized magnetic plates, an idea he got from Jacer.

With a clock, he ejected the magazine from his chosen weapon, and examined the load within. He was missing two bullets, but still had enough in the magazine to put ten holes in someone if need be. The bullets therein were unique, they were longer than average because they were built on earthen model rocket ships, which detached portions of itself every so often as it launched. The back end of the bullets were really nanobots, designed to leave a trail between Shug and the target to set up his magic. The bullet in front was normal, it would put a hole in anything it could penetrate.

With a sigh, the former Japageos turned Ebium resident headed into the cave. Small, dust-like particles danced around his person - his nanobots ready to be dispersed in the Magnus' chosen way - the Art of the String.

The sounds of a scuffle brought him deep into the cave, where the ending of the aforementioned battle was taking place. Jacer and another had been the survivors, yet that may have changed soon. With his magnified eyes, he could see the tell-tale signs of the unnamed figure turning. Something had gotten to him.

From his ledge, the military grade body suit wearing figure leaped and landed with a small thud on the ground below. His body suit absorbed the impact and dispersed it around his body to dissipate the fall damage to nothing. The kinetic energy was made moot, the latest innovation in the armor of the Magnus. It was designed to take punishment without damage to the wearer, but being a prototype, it was prone to its own failings. All the more reason one didn't want to take a shot to the chest.

"Jacer...," he called, his eyes turning towards the Magnus and then back to the figure next to him. "He's turning." His voice was cold, almost emotionless as he approached the pair. His right hand was raised, gun aimed towards the center mass of the one known as Dom, though Shugtil had no idea that was his name.

For whatever reason Jacer couldn't, wouldn't, or just didn't see that his companion was becoming one of those they needed to kill - an Enslaved.

The nanonbots around him fell back into his skin, they were not yet needed - surely Jacer would see that this was the best course of action. Thirty feet out, he was well within the kill range of his 9x19 millimeter Parabellum EX, a newer variety with the same effectiveness, as well as out of the way of most countermeasures, unless Jacer took the initiative to defend his new companion.

Jacer’s ears flickered in annoyance as they turned toward Shugtil, taking in the magnus’ words and casting them aside. He couldn’t accept they were true or consider them right now. It was too soon as his mind kicked into defense mode and started to examine the distance, mentally guessing at about ten yards give or take a foot, between him and Shugtil. A gap too far to cover in a short time and likely not before their unwanted guest shot Dom then turned the gun upon him. A suicide attempt even for Jacer to try which made the odds worse when he considered the difference in their combative styles.

He edged his body to get between his brother and Shugtil’s aim. His left hand pulled up and reached to replace his right arm, pushing his brother behind him. Thankfully Dominick was silently allowing him to handle this as his hand was resting just in front and over his brother’s heart to hold the kid back. He spoke out to the silver haired magnus with a disarming smirk during his attempt to block the shot’s aim. “I’m handling this, Shugtil. Just go back with the others and I’ll be there shortly. Please...”

From the man’s emotionless tone, Jacer knew there would be no compassion inside his soul to sway him. It was even reasonable to believe the other magnus wouldn’t trust him to deal with it in his own way. A fact the younger man didn't blame him for because he barely trusted himself to deal properly with the issue itself and it worried him. He still felt he had to try as he let his right hand fall to his side with his gun, visibly seen lingering there.

Meanwhile, his left hand had started to collect magik from his parasite then centered in his palm. It began the moment he replace his right arm with his left hand. During his plead with Shugtil and without hinting to his actions, Jacer imagined a simple shape to mold it into in the back of his mind. Continuing to visual it even when his words ended and his ears waited for a reply. The magik started to spread over Dom's heart and lungs, the best areas for a quick and guaranteed kill, where Jacer judged to be the possible targets due to Shugtil's aim. Jacer’s eyes, still covered in transparent blue magik lenses, were sharp enough to help him judge that much.

If he wasn't interrupted during the two seconds, he would have completely formed a transparent blue square that would start to glow when completes. It was roughly about an inch thick and about half a foot in both width and height. Being a wall construct, it would be able to prevent physical attacks like the bullet itself from busting through. However, if the nanite were hitching a ride then would’ve been another matter. None of his barriers were able to block both magik and physical attacks at the same time so one effect or the other would manage to get through. Depending on the relationship, it might null the result. When the shield was complete, it would be enough to block at least three bullets when he let go. It most likely would give Dom enough time to scramble away before the four shot shattered the wall.

Jacer was assuming the magazine was a full load just to be safe and preparing to alter his tactics should his plan come undone or worse.

If he managed to complete the shield, then he would immediately shoot to the left. Jacer’s body would pull away from Dom and move toward Shugtil’s right at an angle moving diagonal from his original position. In the same motion his hand gripped his gun then jerked it upward. Since it was recently holstered and not strapped in, it came out fairly easily and quickly wasting little precious time. The moment it rose horizontally and the sighting fell over the his intended target, he pulled the trigger to fire a shot at Shugtil’s left shoulder then the next one at the left leg. These shot attempts would empty his reminding magazine into the man's direction, something the man wouldn’t know because Jacer finger didn’t pump the trigger for a third shot. He wanted to cripple Shugtil, not kill him and the bastard would know it.

“I’m handling this, Shugtil. Just go back with the others and I’ll be there shortly. Please...”

Few thoughts passed through the mind of Shugtil, as his comrade spoke, and those all centered around his words versus his actions. Everyone knew Jacer to be an honorable man, one who would stick to his word when he gave it, but something was different this time. Jacer didn't have the training that Shugtil did, let alone training from two different military types, but held enough to be a threat. As he was telling Shugtil he had it covered, he was also moving himself to be the Shield against the man behind him.

Why?

Obviously, there was something connecting Jacer to the man behind him, one he would apparently risk life and limb to protect. No, this time Jacer's word wouldn't be enough to convince Shugtil to leave. With his gun still aimed, he carefully watched the men, prepared for one of them to make an offensive move.

Time ticked by slowly, each without the death of the one who was changing.

For a moement, time seemed to pause before all hell broke loose.

Jacer suddenly took off to the right, his own left. Almost immediately, Shugtil depressed the trigger twice; the short distance being ate up in less than a second. That was all he needed; Jacer had implemented a barrier around the man in the time they stood there, what a crafty solider. If he weren't committing a crime he would have a brighter future than any thought possible. The bullets, be them deflected or not, had served their purpose. His nanites quickly left a trail between where Shugtil stood and where Dom stood, laying down the first thicket of string.

His body reacted automatically, rocketing to his right, the same direction Jacer had gone. This had the effect of moving him from position when the two bullets past him by, though one had come close enough to graze the armor of his left arm. It spun him slightly, enough to throw off the shot he had aimed towards the sternum of Jacer. Hit or miss, this bullet also contained the nanites, allowing him to lay down a trail for later usage.

Shugtil paused instead of releasing another shot, waiting to see how his last shot did. It was off center, but with them moving, there was a high chance for the shot to miss and hit the cavernous wall behind them. He took the time to realize the inevitable, Jacer was at the advantage. Shug was what one would call support, the man with the long plan; Jacer could act almost instantly, Shug required time.

But time.

Jacer’s ears instantly cocked back to Dom’s location causing the man to overhear the boy utter a curse then fall against the ground. The bullets impacted on the wall and caught both of them, suspending them there. The scrambling sound of the boy was enough to assure Jacer he was still alive and unharmed. In a few moments the teenager’s steps were booking their way toward the light, namely in the direction where he had noted Gizi had went earlier.

the sight itself would've brought more relief to him, but he couldn’t take his attention off the battle. Not if he wanted a chance to live.

Jacer’s lips smirked slightly at the brief victory in preventing Dom’s assassination. Already an image of what the barrier might’ve looked flashed in his mind as the transparent, floating square had spiderweb cracks webbing out from where the two bullets had hit, their kinetic energy spent. The wall could capture one more before it completely shattered. He was lucky Shugtil hadn’t interrupted him or else the wall wouldn’t have held up and Dom might’ve not survived.

The thought was short lived when Shugtil turned the gun into his direction next. Aimed at his chest, Jacer instantly started to slow his pace down instinctively but continued to his left. He had his feet upon the balls, allowing him to jerk in the opposite way and control where the bullet might hit him. Originally, he had expected his bullets to miss completely which had opened him up for a heart shot. If he shifted fast enough, Jacer figured he might survive it but not without taking a hit. It would seriously cripple his reaction and engagement ability if he couldn't prevent that.

In sheer luck, one of his bullets had managed to nick Shugtil's left arm at the last moment and his aim veered to the right side of Jacer’s chest when it fired. Combining that with Jacer’s slowing pace, the bullet sliced into his coat sleeve. It ripped the fabric down to scratch the flesh drawing a hiss from the younger man. Jacer fought not to yell in pain when he felt the bullet tip cut him easily. He knew it could’ve been much worse and thankfully all it did was hurt like a bitch. He gritted his teeth, his feet coming to an abruptly stop and seemed to be smiling in his eyes for a moment. His mind already working on how to keep Shugtil’s attention on him.

Ignoring the sting in his arm, his feet stood apart and his eyes followed Shugtil’s likely still moving figure. Though he was ready to move should he need to in order to avoid another bullet at any time, his hand was still upright with the gun position to reload and pointed at his ex-ally. His reaction time was twice as fast as a human’s now since he hadn’t completely disengage the magik infusing in his natural abilities. It would take less than a second to start moving again.

Never letting go of the assumption that Shugtil was still loaded with at least a few bullets and his own was empty, Jacer’s unarmed hand reached into his left side pouch. His fingers knew exactly where the MASS magazine was and ripped it out, able to tell what exactly what was within it. Five tazers and five ice rounds, respectively placed within. His fingers tightened over the end then flipped it about to snap it in the gun quickly. At the same moment, his other hand had squeezed the handle to eject the empty one. With skill learned from being forced to learn how to wield a gun since fourteen, his fingers inserted then caught the ejected one easily. Unless he was stopped or prevented, switching them would only take about seven seconds.

Jacer's voice spoke out to Shugtil during his reload, keeping in mind the man might shoot at him any moment. "I don't want to kill you but I will if I have to."

His eyes were mindful of Shugtil's figure, actions and his location. If Jacer wasn’t interrupted, his gun adjusted his aim toward Shugtil’s leading shoulder, just an inch near the edge, and fired. He followed up with another shot at the left side of the man’s chest less then a second later unless something happened. Truthfully, he doubted his ex-ally would allow either shot to happen before reacting to prevent it. This time if the bullet even managed to nick him this time, they would discharge. It would send enough wattage to knock out three fully grown, normal men for an hour.

As he squeezed the trigger twice, his unarmed hand began to charge. The fingers still held the magazine within his grip as the hand became blue and glowed, hidden partly by his body.

Jacer's lack of military training was showing, a properly trained solider would take stock of the abilities of their comrades, even if they had turned against them - which, in thie case, Jacer would surely see that Shugtil did, at least from his point of view. A smile threatened the edges of Shugtil's face as the bullet sliced through coat and bit into the barest flesh of Jacer's arm. A single hit was all he needed for his long game to come into effect. The bullets he fired had been augmented with the releasing nanobots, which left a trail of themselves until they were spent. At this distance, Jacer had been well within range to be affected by the shot.

Shugtil's eyes could see the trail, minute as it was, connecting from the tip of the gun and heading towards Jacer. His movements would effectively carry the string around with him, unless he somehow disengaged them. It were entirely possible, as a sufficient showing of energy could override them. It'd happened before.

Shugtil was prepared though, his opponent had chosen to go the method of the gun instead of closing the gap and utilizing his considerable abilities in a close range effort.

If he wanted to make this a gunfight, then Shugtil would happily oblige. He was skilled in the art of the gun, considering it was one of the essential tools to his abilities in laying down the ground work for later effects.

Having stopped shortly after the shot, and seeing that it had bit into his opponents skin, he wasted little motion, the gun already training itself on Jacer, so that when he began easing the gun towards Shugtil, the latter's finger was already depressing the trigger. If he got the shot off in time, it would force Jacer to abandon the method he was taking, or take the shot slightly left of center mass. Shugtil was banking on the former.

The silent man of string simultaneously began priming the next stage of his plan, with his bullet firing off - leaving a trail of nanites, his magic was already clicking into the other three previously laid strings. The game was slowly shifting to his type of battle, one where he controlled where his opponent was allowed it go and where he wasn't.

Already he had laid the foundation, two bullets had been stopped short, so short strings were to be expected. One ripped through coat and flesh to lodge itself into the sturdy wall behind Jacer. Perfection. The last fired bullet, would seal the deal, so to speak. It would lay four primary lines down, keeping his opponent, a now known traitor, within a small window to move in, for fear of crossing the lines.

Jacer's hands played through the practiced movements. Seeing it performed still left him in hidden awe over how quickly he had gotten the hang of it. He could pretty much do this part blindfolded now, a talent he didn’t have years ago, and almost perfectly. Practice made perfect and this skill proved it.

He shook his thoughts at the world that caused him to hone such a talent. Even worse, it was starting to become a morbid type of funny how this war had changed him. Gone was the gentle, carefree boy he once had been. Now he was someone with blood staining his hands. Even after little more than a decade, he could feel guilt over what he had to do survive and pushed it away so easily during the heat of the moment. Like this moment. Already, he was aiming to kill an ally and another human, not some damn Enslaved.

In the past, it would’ve disturbed him at how easily he could do it. Now, it was just another useful skill for keeping the nightmares from distracting him.

Mentally he followed his natural movements during the reload. His hand jerked upward and ejected the magazine, his other hand wrapping around a MASS from behind his back. That arm jerked quickly to the front, flipping the magazine about and inserted it into the gun handle in one smooth movement. It made a loud click announcing it was secure and freeing up his other hand to snag the empty one before it dropped.

It seemed his words had fallen on deaf ears when he noticed Shugtil come to a stop and adjust his aim. Jacer’s irises zoomed in on the silver haired man and felt his spine shiver. He didn't need a scope to see Shugtil was training the weapon upon him, but he didn’t like the smirk playing at the mouth corners. It was a more concerning matter in his mind. Something screaming danger and caution in his mind. Jacer’s blood was running colder than the ice all around them in that moment, his mind concluding only thing: Shugtil's preparations were nearly done and that spelled trouble for him.

Trying not to let worry distract him, Jacer was already reacting to being shot at. His hand no longer reached for the empty magazine and instead hesitated, altering its instinct to one of thought. He let the empty clip drop to the ground below, the sound rattling in his ears upon its impact. His teeth gritted to keep his focus.

When Shugtil’s bullet aimed at his side, Jacer's attempt to return fire was stopped briefly. His right foot pulled him forward just when his left shoved from his standing position, kicking off again and heading toward Shugtil’s direction. He was prepared to alter his course into a zigzag one so his full energy wasn’t applied, having learned from his earlier experiences. His magik poured into his legs to build up his speed to the average 28-25 mph then to the 20-40 mph the longer he continued.

The bullet whizzed by his shoulder nearly glazing him and prevented him from countering during his attempt to bring himself closer, no longer desiring to play the man’s field advantage since Dom managed to get away. He would’ve attempted to stop the bullet in its tracks but even he had his limits, and without any preparation before hand, any try was merely a waste of precious energy.

He raised his gun hand then pointed to the man’s dead center torso, firing immediately. He hoped it was before Shugtil could activate his magik and fuck his whole day up.

Meanwhile, his free hand already started to collect energy, the shape undefined though it might resemble a throwing blade, and forced Shugtil to make a choice. The man could either fire again and risk getting hit by Jacer’s Tazer round-it wouldn’t penetrate it or kill him, but still likely play holy hell with the armor’s systems- or dodge and risk giving Jacer enough time to charge his magik. Trying to do both allowed Jacer to alter his actions, possibly even countering them. Unless he was stopped in his tracks, Jacer’s mind calculated he would be able to cover about over half the distance between them, bring him into Shugtil’s personal zone, within five seconds if his luck held out.