Assassinatrix

@rosso:

@feral_nova:

@rosso: @feral_nova: Weakness detected! >:D

@feral_nova: @rosso:

@rosso: @feral_nova: So, which of you will I need to take the stone from...? >;P

@apex_predator87: @grimmwald: @the_silkworm:

She had been trained to expect the unexpected. A battle was pure chaos, and every participant added an exponential number of variables to a violent equation. All one can do in such chaos is to ensure that iron-clad control was exercised over the self, so that the unexpected could be swiftly assessed and adapted to.

That being said, seeing her improvisational ally get dragged from the fray by what seemed to be some manner of vengeful spirit was definitely at the extreme far end of "unexpected." Still, if this gave her pause, she hoped it would similarly affect their attacker, who had been focused on Apex. The flurry of fury she had unleashed against the consummate warrior was all the assassin needed to see to determine that staying out of arm's reach was unquestionably the way to maximize survivability in this encounter.

Moving almost too quickly for the eye to follow her hands whipped three of her five throwing blades at Fury in rapid succession, one at center-of-mass and the others at each leg. If any of them hit, the delayed-onset toxin they were coated in would begin to go to work, igniting tiny rivers of fire throughout the musculature. Not willing to leave this to chance, as this foe demonstrated toughness on par with her skill, she accentuated her sentence with a short-radius incendiary flung at Fury's feet.

@grimmwald: I plan to have something up by this evening, if all goes to plan.

@grimmwald: @apex_predator87: @the_silkworm:

Centuria's eyes narrowed as the vehicle upon which she was perched slowed, next to an oddly-attired individual. She briefly wondered whether her impromptu ally recognized the stranger, whether as friend, foe, or simply a source of information. Her expression hardened into a scowl beneath her mask as Apex spoke, however.

"Your a sitting duck out here. Need a lift?"

The reality of her situation hit her: she had aligned herself with a self-styled heroine. While her temporary partner may have had impressive fighting skills and resources, she also seemed bound to go out of her way to help others. This was going to slow down her mission considerably. "A dozen civilians will die for each one you delay our mission for," she protested. "If this one doesn't have any useful information, we should just-"

Her attacker made no sound, offered no warning. It was only battlefield instincts and reflexes honed the same razor-edge of her blades that saved her, allowing her to dodge backwards and narrowly avoid what would likely have been an instantly fatal thrust. Though she managed to avoid having her internal organs ventilated, however, this did not allow her amply time to mount an effective counter to the headbutt, and she grunted as the attacker's skull knocked her backwards and off of the vehicle.

It was at this point that her sadistic training kicked it. Always be on the attack, even when on the defensive, even when in retreat. As she fell off the rear of Apex's ride, one hand slid into a fold of her uniform and withdrew a packet of the airborne toxin she routinely carried, flinging it against the car's armored side and causing it to burst open, allowing the billowing powder within to quickly spread into a ten-foot area of intense irritation, and hopefully distracting her attacker enough to give allow the Ephemeran to regain her footing.

@grimmwald: @apex_predator87:

Even with the element of surprise on her side, victory was far from a sure thing. The Orochi, while caught off-guard by her appearance, were seasoned and well-trained warriors and assassins, and it did not take them long to realize what had happened and respond appropriately. Centuria would have liked her odds against any one of them (no mere human could hope to match skill with an Ephemeran master assassin, after all), even unskilled enemies could bring down an expert target, given numbers, and these enemies were not unskilled, by any metric.

What sealed the deal was secret weapon evidently possessed by her impromptu ally, a remote vehicle that had a considerable amount of offensive punch on its own. Its ordnance seemed to be largely non-lethal, which was not to Centuria's liking (one never left a breathing enemy behind, as incapacitation often tended to be a temporary status), but it did give them some breathing space for communication, at least.

"Need a lift or are you going to try and kill me too?"

The Ephemeran shook her masked head as she wiped her blades clean and replaced them in their sheaths. "You are not my target, but if you seek the one who is the cause of all this, then yes, I will accompany you." She smoothly swung herself up and onto the vehicle, finding a place where she could get a firm hold. She was not fond of traveling in enclosed spaces unless strictly necessary; she found that tended to limit her ability to make an unexpected escape. "Do you know who the target is or where they can be found?"

@phantomshell: @grimmwald:

The city bled, this night. It screamed in pain, fear, and fury.

And she cared not at all for it.

From her vantage point, high above the fray, he cloaking shield hiding her from any prying eyes, the Imperium's chief assassin viewed the carnage below with detached indifference. Even if life had meant anything to her, this planet and its inhabitants did not. She knew nothing of the politics and ideology that drove this violence, and she had no interest in learning of it. Only one thing mattered, and that was her mission.

Deep within her mind, her connection to the Ancient One burned, like a low-grade fever. Something had stirred the powerful alien entity's consciousness, likely the very energy that drove the conflict below, and that she could feel brushing up against her mental defenses. If she cared not for what motivated this conflict, she was intrigued by what powered it, a sentiment that was obviously shared by the one who had given her this mission.

Before she could complete her task, though, she needed an entry point, a means of picking up her quarry's trail. She considered finding an isolated attacker, and incapacitating them for interrogation, but there was no evidence that groundlings would have any inkling of the grander strategy and who was behind it. No, she needed something far more...

There.

A lone fighter (@apex_predator87:), possessed of a consummate skill far beyond any she had yet seen on this world, held her own against a small army of attackers. Her foes could not match her prowess, but sometimes quantity was possessed of a quality all its own. The assassins who ringed her could not match her individually, but by working in unison, they sought to bring her down as a wolf pack would a powerful bull. They obviously considered her a high-priority target, which meant that she may be able to lead her to the target. Even if this wasn't the case, she would at least be useful for drawing aggression.

Swiftly and silently, she leaped down, using ledges and fire escapes to facilitate her path to the fray below. As she dropped into the midst of the melee, she deactivated her invisibility cloak, her blades already rasping free of their sheaths and singing a song of blood and death as they wove a wall of extraterrestrial steel around her, attempting to break the human blockade around Apex.