Zak
The thunderous shattering of reality being torn rumbled through the thicket as the skies filled with a rain of golden meteors, nearly startling Zak off the branch he stood upon.
"...Well that bodes well..." As the distant impacts shook the ground and a mist of vaporized water began to fill the atmosphere, Zak pulled off his jacket, tossing it over his shoulder before looking to Harley after she had directed him toward the flaming islands above. He paused for a moment before scoffing, blowing a sharp puff of smoke at the patterned girl.
"Ye mean the precious treasure is some bloody sniper?" He asked, looking on as the dense red mist slowly encroached on them, filling the forest with heat and a chocking steam as the raging inferno of a fire shined out in the not to far distance.
"Did I stutter?" Harley said right back, eyes flashing in irritation. Her gaze trailed from the idiotic Angel to the sky lighting up above. The sight of those meteors curled her expression into one of non-tolerance. Well then, things were going well.
"I'd tell you to go investigate those meteors if you're so scared one of one sniper, but oh wait, they're already gone. Your own slowness just cost you a fortune. Oh, but there's still time to go pick off one of the snipers. I reccomend the British chap who fancies himself the pride and joy of High Queen Eos herself. Because that's always fun." "Ugh..." An apathetic sigh escaped Zak, tossing the butt of his joint into the approaching haze.
"Ah hate havin ta have a plan...." As the red mist finally overtook them, Zak recoiled behind his shirt sleeve, coughing as the harsh sting of the demonic properties of the smog filled his throat and nostrils.
"Point me in a direction checkers. Ah'll go ahead an' give ye the benefit o' the doubt this time." With subtle pain nagging at his senses, and his vision all but completely obstructed, the fiery haired angel decided to put his fate in the hands of this mysterious girl. Perhaps not the smartest thing to do, but certain circumstances required dire decisions on the spot. Harley wasted no time in tugging on Zak's sleeve and pointing him to the west; whether he chose to fly above the mist or endure it was up to him.
"So it turns out there's someone else on the field that might catch your interest. A big old Demon with the body of a Machina. Probably stole it. You can either gun it for him in the direction I pointed or keep on trying for that sniper," she said, seemingly unaffected by the gas. In fact, it looked as if the mist was passing through her as if she was a phantom.
"Good luck now. Oh, and hope you don't die on the way!" Wincing from the pain, Zak peeled open his eyes and looked where Harley directed him.
"Good enough for me..." Dropping backwards off the tree branch, Zak flipped through the tinted air and landed on the ground below, stumbling slightly as he braced against a near by tree for balance. Flames more brilliant than those that raged on every horizon spewed from Zak's back, spreading into a pair of fiery wings. Rocks and dust scattered out across the ground as the red haired angel took off into the air in a massive wing beat, splitting through the red fog, surrounding himself in flames as he gained speed. Finally, he broke through the smoggy surface of the mist, raising into air that wasn't as severely effected.
He stayed midair, exactly above where Harley had roughly directed him, waiting for several moments and observing the tainted lands below. The once lush and vibrant lands masses that surrounded Archadia had become a toxic wasteland stained with red and corpses. The sight was a sorrowful one. It might have been a nice fishing spot if it wasn't for the destructive conflicts wrought on by the three factions for no real reason. Zak contemplated this for a moment, along with wondering what was to be achieved by all this. What purpose did their benevolent leader have for sending them here? Suddenly Zak's thought were interrupted as he heard the familiar crack of a rifle rattle out from below.
"Profound thinkin' time over!" Bright light escaped Zak's body as he clapped his hands together, letting his jacket fall into the mist below, disappearing into the thick haze as it cascaded down. The brimming light spread out from the angels body, splitting off into several flaming masses. Each took shape, seven in all. Three winged hounds, two small oddly shaped humanoids, a moderately sized winged serpent, and a large oval golem looking creature, all quickly formed in a matter of a few seconds. Their features were vague hidden in the silhouette of the flames that made up their bodies. They all dropped down into the haze, accompanied swiftly by Zak who shot between them and downward toward the gunfire. Gaining momentum quickly, Zak surpassed his creations and zipped through the air in a ball of flames, sharing an appearance with the meteors that struck earlier.
Flames dropped out of the skies, landing in a scattered pattern as the seven fiery creatures made landfall. Fire rippled against the ground as they became amorphous upon contact, but they quickly regained their shape, swiftly grouping and running toward the gunshots. Heat wafted off the flaming entities as they roiled against the backdrop of crimson fog, splitting through the thicket leaving serpentine trails of flames behind.
Bits of wood and debris exploded into the air in a direct path through the forest as the shooting star that was Zak's flaming form drew close to the ground, busting through trees along the way. The mechanical sniper, Marquise would likely hear the roaring sound if he didn't see the bright image of the flame engulfed angel rocketing right for him. Within seconds, a swath of ground and charred trees was cleared away feet from the sniper, blown out by the force of the angel crashing near him. Rocks, cinders, and chunks of Archadian soil were sent flying at Marquise. Finally the smoke cleared, revealing the stern faced Zak who stood up from the small man sized crater he had made upon impact. There was a moment of silence from the angel before he finally looked toward the mechanical sniper who had been fleeing into the woods.
"Oi!" Shouted Zak in an irate tone toward the sniper. He accompanied the shout with a brief and deft motion filled with spite; him kicking a rock off the ground into his hand and tossing it at the robot.
"Ye shouldn't throw things!" He repeated the motion and threw a second rock, this one a bit smaller.
"That includes bullets ye bloody tin can! Doesn't feel so nice does it?!" Stars glistened brilliantly in the distant cosmos above the sandy wasteland of the mysterious barren nowhere in which Miyu currently found herself. Among the shining astral bodies above, splitting through the darkness like a swarm of fireflies, was a flurry of streaking lights. At first it looked no different than a meteor shower, lighting up the sky with sparse strings of white and gold. However as the moments passes and they arched across the sky, the sight grew, as if approaching the ground. Pretty soon it was obvious that this was in fact what they were doing, lighting up the dark night sky as they rapidly grew closer. The dull rumble of the meteors pushing the atmosphere out of their way began to bellow out over the wasteland as the shower of light rocketed toward the the sandy surface of the land.
Sounds reverberated through the cockpit of Daimyo forebodingly as one of the falling streaks of light passed closely overhead, tearing through the air in a ball of gold, blue, and white flames like nothing of the mortal world. The object continued onward, shaking the ground as it neared landfall until it finally wracked the earth with a deafening crash. The impact sent tremors rattling across the terrain as a geyser of smoke and sand shot up into the air filling the surrounding area with a small smog of dust and debris. Sparks of static electricity arched through the cloud like fine bolts of lightning as the dust slowly settled.
It didn't take too long for the air to clear up, leaving in place of the vision obstructing cloud, a large crater shaped hole which extended out for several yards. At the center of the crater, nestled snugly within the hardened sand solidified from the heat, was a misleadingly small, oval sphere like object. It was a blend of black and chrome, patterned with a sparse array of blinking lights and released low repetitive chirping noises. The object was similar in shape to a large dinosaur egg, and about the same size, sitting at about two feet tall. A faint cloud of steam subtly wafted off the sphere as it cooled from the heat of entering the atmosphere. With the dust finally settled and the rest of the shooting star like objects passing over the face of the planet like nothing out of the ordinary, the strange object was left to sit silently among the dunes a few minutes away from the
Traitor Angel.
