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Dallas was secretly happy that Erik and Ajax had agreed to let him take up the rear guard. By some coincidence, the B team was composed of everyone he thought had the highest chance of getting hurt on the mistle investigation. He knew Lysandra could handle herself, but her physical limitations would make it difficult to escape certain dangers. Desmond was another rare human who had the motivation and skill to fight the Lost and win, but his visual blindspot might be fatal. Vincent was a complete unknown, which meant there was no way to predict how he would move once the fighting started. Dallas had just met him a couple days ago and this was their first time working together. In summary, Dallas was in panic mode over this job. He was so focused on watching everyone's backs that he didn't even notice where he was going, and would sometimes trip over the odd piece of trash or rubble. 

All of a sudden a loud screeching sound could be heard in the distance, along with muffled explosions. Dallas could see the members of the scout team springing into action after making contact with a patrol of Lost. The spreading gas from Poppy's bombs was making it difficult to see everything going on, but Dallas could tell that it was a scramble. Both Poppy and Cerise were engaged. Dallas winced as he saw Poppy get sent flying by an unseen assailant. He did his best to contain himself and put his trust in Erik. That man wouldn't let anyone die as long as his sword could reach them. They had Lysandra supporting them as well. 

Dallas heard their point man Desmond call out new contacts and snapped to attention. There were all sorts of thralls filling the streets, and from the alleys and broken buildings the slumbering tentacles were also beginning to emerge. Worst of all, it looked like the Lost were being supported by several Infernals, some of whom had begun to engage the rear team. Just as Desmond started unloading into the approaching horde, Dallas saw a bright light shining amongst the Lost. Then there was pain. 

For almost a minute, Dallas lost his ability to comprehend what was going on. All his senses were jumbled up. Conscious thought ceased as his brain attempted to reboot from whatever damage he'd suddenly sustained. His sight refocused, and Dallas realized he was looking up at the sky. He'd been knocked over. He slowly spread his awareness to the rest of his body and waited for his nerves to give him the damage report. Pebbles were uncomfortably digging into Dallas's back. His ears were ringing. There was a dull pain radiating through his head, numbed by a rush of adrenaline. He could feel blood clogging his throat as well. Dallas coughed to clear his airways and carefully touched his face. [color=darkorange][i]My nose is... broken...[/i][/color] Dallas bit the pain as he calmly pushed himself into an upright position. 

Dallas sat up just in time to see Vincent chuck a car at a crowd of Lost before charging into the fray, dodging energy attacks from the same infernal that had knocked him out. Dallas's heart started beating rapidly at the thought of Vincent fighting so many enemies by himself. Dallas did his best to shake off the pain. He grabbed his fallen great axe and stood up. The injury hurt, but it wasn't something that would affect his ability to fight.

[color=darkorange][i]Come on Vincent, don't just go by yourself...![/i][/color] Dallas wiped the blood off his face and started moving. He quickly took note of Desmond and Lysandra's situation. Normally they would be his first concern, but it looked like Vincent had earned them some breathing room with his frenzied assault. As long as Dallas carried the momentum, Lysandra would have enough time to recall her drones and bolster the rear. 

Dallas avoided Desmond's cone of fire and began mowing through the thralls like a battering ram, trying to catch up to his ally. It was a mud fight. He used the shaft of his oversized axe to push and shove, deflect the predictable attacks of the Lost, and knock them off balance. The moment he had any space, he was chopping enemies down with huge horizontal swipes. The centrifugal force of his heavy weapon had a devastating effect on any Lost that Dallas could manage to hit. Limbs and torsos were flying and it looked like Dallas had managed to momentarily break their disorganized formation.

Out of nowhere, a tentacle howled as it broke through a window up above. Dallas had only a second to notice before the weight of its body sent him crashing into the asphalt once more. Misfortune struck as his left arm crunched underneath the combined body weight of himself and the creature that had ambushed him. It would hurt later, but right now he barely felt it. His hands let go of his axe and it went flying out of his reach. In a split second, Dallas twisted his body so that he could face the tentacle beast grappling him. He could feel his skin tear as he knocked its claws aside and pushed against it with his leg and his one good arm. Dallas's eyes glowed like fire. With a powerful push he sent it flying against the building it had emerged from. The Lost beast left an imprint where it had impacted the concrete, but it wasn't dead just yet. In fact, it was already maneuvering for another attack. To top things off, the nearby thralls were beginning to close in once again. 

Dallas retrieved his axe and hefted it over his shoulder just in time to avoid a spear thrown at him. He was plenty strong enough to swing his axe one handed, but its cumbersome size meant that using it to block was extremely unwieldy without both hands. All he could do was dodge. Dallas could sense that Vincent was getting farther away, and he had no way of knowing if his friend was okay. Another thrall came at him with a bayonet. Dallas sidestepped it and smashed his knee into its midsection, sending it reeling. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled, and Dallas ducked down just before the tentacle managed to leap onto his back. There was too much to react to right now. His frustration was building to the limit. He should have paired up with Desmond or Ajax before trying to go after Vincent, but now he was the one who needed rescuing. He already knew how ironic it was to chastise Vincent for going alone. 

Dallas momentarily thought of Poppy's icy stare drilling into him as he successfully bisected one of the tentacle's limbs.