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Binadorm was glad that everything was ready to go because he was itching to get started on this adventure. "Hey Ward you mind if I ride with you normally I run to get around so I don't have a vehicle." With that he just "shrugged" himself into his running posture which involved him assuming all fours and jogging around. After demonstrating how he ran he "shrugged" himself back into a standing posture and continued "Problem is I can't keep up with vehicles for long.

OOC: I could only explain the complicated action of him switching between an all fours posture to standing and vice versa as a sort of shrug which moved his shoulder blades into the proper position needed his hind legs also lock and unlock to allow an all fours posture Thus making it possible to switch between the two postures without the need of magic I see this process sort of like how a person might pop out a shoulder blade from its socket and pop it back in except in this case the bone pops into a different place than the first and this doesn't hurt as much as when a human might do it to a Treinis it would feel comparable to a human cracking his knuckles

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Law caught his breath and wiped the dust off of his shoulders and duster trench coat. He had not seen Wardonis in some time, and he had to admit his rather abrasive greeting startled the outlaw.

Law Holstered his guns and took a swig of whiskey emptying the contents of the bottle. Law sighed as he tilted the bottle upside down and shook it dry. There wasn't a drop left.

"Bone dry. Gunna need a few more rounds to hang with you again Wardonis you crazy bastard you! I will show you teddy bear if you do that again. It would seem like this whole party is almost like some kind of reunion. Good to see you again hombre."

Law cracked his neck slowly and stretched his back. While reaching for a cigarette in his coat pocket, the outlaw stuck two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Within moments, galloping could be heard. A solid black Stallion dragging a fence post in the sand dashed towards Law and and began to nuzzle him affectionately.

"Dammit. I forgot that I had tied you up at the Bar. They are not going to be happy about that," Law said as he untied the horse from the debris that was previously being dragged asunder.

The horse had a glistening jet black coat and red Irises. His breath was warm, and his expressions countenance looked kind. His expressions emanated loyalty, but out of everyone in the crowd, his sights were set on his Master, Law.

"You can keep your vehicles," Law said while mounting his steed. "Here is the true way to travel. You might be faster, but you can't have a comrade in some steel and tires, ain't that right Cerberus?"

Law had acquired this rare horse in a card game when the steed was just a colt. The horse was born with a birth defect: red eyes and touches of dementia. Though the owner originally thought Cerberus was mentally retarded, the horse has inexplicably saved Law several times from harm. Law fully believes Cerberus has the ability to see things the normal eye cannot. Whether or not it is the distant future or things not of this world, Law cannot be sure. Law feels attached to Cerberus as if there is a mental link between the two kindred spirits, even if he doesn't want to admit it.

Cerberus turned to Malachi and mischievously blew hot air from his nostrils into his hair. The horse seemed aware of Binadorm and Wardonis, but he payed them no mind.

"Sorry about that boss man. He doesn't do well with others. He will get used to you though."

“Sure thing Kitty.” Ward said giving the feline a friendly slap on the back that nearly took him from his feet. Walking over and climbing into the big truck he started the engine. It violently rumbled to life spraying huge black jets of smoke from the exhaust pipes. Still with the door open, he looked back to Malachi “this baby’s amphibious too” he was forced to shout over the sound of the engine. He used the knob to crank the window down and reached over to repeat the process on the passenger side before pulling up the pin to unlock the passenger door. “Kitty I’ve got a space behind the seats here just toss your stuff back there. I keep all of mine in the trunks behind the cab” he said closing the driver side door. Ward watched as Binadorm climbed in and saw him smile at how comfortable the leather seats are.

Ward noticed Cora and her reaction to Law and he thought to himself; “now there is a gloomy glum, I’m going to have to work on her” he smiled to himself as he shouted across the cab to Binadorm “So! What ya been up to lately I haven’t seen you in ages”. He shifted the 8 speed, 6 wheel drive into gear and pulled up behind Malachi, the truck rumbling so loudly Malachi could feel the vibrations shaking the skin from his bones 20 feet away.

Cora's eyes remained on the motorcycle as Malachi began to talk to her.
"Yeh, a beaut," she mumbled in agreement. At his offer, she cocked an eyebrow and smirked.
"Sure thing, angel boy." Cora spun her hat around backwards. "Hope you don't mind ridin' b*tch!" She winked at the Archai.
Cora's teasing was interrupted by Law's horse, Cerberus. The horse was beautiful, but it's red eyes were slightly unsettling. Cora paid it no mind, though. It was Law's horse, afterall, and Law seemed to like attention. It had taken Cora no time to see this, and she had just as quickly decided she wouldn't give him what he wanted.

Malachi laughed as he got on the cycle, motioning for her to follow suit. "I'm afraid, m'lady, that is not happening anytime soon," he chuckled as he moved the bike into position. With everyone in or on a vehicle, the Archai smirked at the thought of what awaited them, and giving the signal started off. There were no roads ahead of them, only dirt, sand, spiders, and possibly death. But at the outset, they were all smiling, all ready to follow the path and possibly die in pursuit of a lost treasure. Sure, they might all have their own reasons for hunting the Lost Righteous, but at present, it was the one cohesive bond between all of them. The thought made Malachi smile as they started off across the hard, cracked ground of the desert.

All around them, the remnants of the Archai made themselves known, and as they went, Malachi couldn't help but grin. In the distance, strange figures chased one another across the horizon. They were serpentine in nature, with horns and spikes cutting across their backs and heads. These were the fabled mud-dragons, and were best avoided at all costs. Since the disappearance of their masters, they had become feral and hunted relentlessly the travelers of the waste. Every so often, they passed lone pillars or what appeared to be temples... Once hubs of activity in the days of the ancients, now they stood as silent tombs in which the great spiders built their webs. More often than not, these were built into the sides of the sporadic plateaus and cliffs that dotted the rocky countryside on either side of the small caravan. It was a long time before they hit any real trouble...

"Oh nothing much recently I've been acting as a guide to people in the Wastes and before that I spent some time being a mercenary" Binadorm shouted over the roaring of the engine to Wardonis "So what have you been up to since the last time we were in cahoots?"

“I haven’t been too busy Kitty, If memory serves we last fought together at that abandoned temple north of Brookhaven about 7 months back, remember; we fought that Argarian trader and his misfit team of mercs who were trying to force the town to pay them for protection from themselves.” Ward grinned,” we taught em a thing or two. I still don’t know what happened to that trader, I tracked him for about a month after he ran and then the trail went cold, either he grew smart or he caught a knife in the gut from someone he was trying to double cross.”
Ward was silent for a moment as the truck rumbled along behind the horse and the motorcycle. “After a couple of months of trying to find him I eventually gave up and decided to head home and see my father, he’s been really torn apart since my ma died, but I think seeing me was the kick he needed to let his grief go. I’ve been on the road now for about a week and I wasn’t specifically headed anywhere glad I ran into you guys out here, hmm, I’m curious how do you know Teddy Bear?”

"Ah me and Law did some merc jobs for a while" Leaning back in the seat Binadorm continued "Yeah we were always getting into trouble like the one time we went after this one guy Traif. There was a sizable bounty on his head so we went after him and when we found him we found him well prepared for us." Binadorm chuckled at the memory and continued "Poor guy didn't prepare well enough especially when one of the people are one of the sharpest shooters while the other is a ferocious panther. HAH sure taught him to fear us."

"Law and I, you mean?" Ward chuckeld to himself. "So what about Cora is that Malachi's friend?"

"No I don't think they have any previous connection but then again I just met him myself so I can't be sure" Binadorm just shrugged at his lack of explanation "Malachi is kin though so that is more than enough for me to join him... besides my claws are itching for some excitement and this adventure just screams it" Binadorm finished this statement with a wide grin

Law took the moment of idle conversation to analyze the crew. This much was true: he had been accustomed to solo jobs with the occasional team-up with Binadorm and Wardonis, so naturally Law was a bit antsy to see all of the components that made the team in one place. Though even with a split reward, if they truly found the Lost Righteous, no matter the size of the "pot" the rewards would be worth lying the cards down.

Law payed no mind to Binardorm, he had been in a few tight spots with this battle buddy, and he had no quarrel being in yet another. In fact, Law was a tad relieved. Out of all of the crazed, psychotic, murdering atrocities walking the Killing Fields, Binadorm just happened to be there to answer Malachi's call. If it were not for the long and perilous journey of hunting Voodoo Brown, Law would never have entered the humble bar and cashed in on this new and potentially lucrative contract. Law had a history with this warrior, and the outlaw was itching to be back in the game with his old partner.

Cora was female. That was the first thing Law noticed, and she was not too terrible to look at to boot. She resonated fierce independence and strong intellect with mannerisms that caused Law to compare her to a desert flower (with many barbs and thorns.) If it were not a personal vow of his to stay away from "battle buddies," he would have started hitting on her from the word go. Though being slightly charismatic, Law could feel her eyes did not necessarily rest on him with kindness, he just smirked and allowed the sea of his mind to flow else where.

Malachi: here was a man Law couldn't figure out. The man acted like a boy in his thoughts, but there was something about his eyes. They told a story; a story Law could not understand just yet, but he intended to one day. Law could sense kindness, and Malachi was drenched in it. Law had no problem fighting along side the warrior, but he secretly wondered if he could hold his own (or even ride that tricked out ride of his.)

Despite the interesting interaction Ward and Law shared a few moments prior, Ward and Law did share a friendship. The outlaw had a mission or two with Ward and he would not admit it to save his life, but he had developed a bond of trust with him. It really developed into a friendship when Ward witnessed Law giving a small orphan a teddy bear, hence the bazaar nickname for such a ruffian like Law. The outlaw may have presented tough love in several situations, but Law was happy to have him on this endeavor.

Secretly, Law felt that he must have achieved some level of popularity. How else can one person encounter this many people whom with he had fought along side with before? "Everybody loves some Law," he muttered under his breath with a smile.

As Law dived deeper into the realm of his own thought he developed a strange sense of placement in his gut that he couldn't shake. All of the participating bodies were not like the typical hardened husk that inhabited the Killing Fields. All of them were unique in their own way. Law was probably the only one who called such an unforgiving terrain like the Killing Fields home. Perhaps there was really something to this mission. Could they really find something as notorious as the Lost Righteous? Following a small smirk, a notion was conceived in the outlaw that presented new feelings about the crew and the mission, but it was just a temporary flow of thought; probably the last remnants of his drunken endeavors playing their last card on the table that was Law's psyche.

"The desert wind has a way of bringing the strangest of people together," Law whispered. "Let's just hope it doesn't tare us apart, right pal?"

Law patted his loyal horse on the head. "We are probably going to need some of that retard strength you got in you for this one bud."

Something caught Laws attention and directed it towards several sand dunes resting behind them. At a glance, nothing was amiss, but Law had a gut feeling, call it killer's instinct, that someone was watching them.

"Malachi, my feathers are rustling over here amigo. We best get our collective asses moving if we are gunna make it through the killing fields by sundown. I know the locals, and they don't really stop to check for friendlies after nightfall, if you catch my meaning."

Malachi chuckled when he heard Law's admonition, and nodded his agreement. Although he knew that it would take longer than a single day to cross the Killing Fields- it had taken him nearly a week's worth of riding to make it here to Havensword, and they were only heading deeper into the wilderness of that questionable field. Something in his blood, however, welcomed the trip and as he started his bike, he could feel it begin to boil. A few flashes of memory overtook him for a moment as they started off and he looked around.

Oddly, he found that he remembered this place, but not as it now stood. The Archai quickly took the lead in the little convoy and rode with Cora behind him. He had been careful to give her the option of holding the small bar or his middle- what she did was up to her, because whatever she might think, Malachi was, above all, a gentleman. As they rode, though, the plateaus and cliffs became almost familiar, but as though he were seeing them in some distant dream. The dunes turned to grassy knolls, the ancient ruins that dotted the harsh landscape became gorgeous pillared temples and plantations. Something stirred within Malachi as she he shook hsi head, unsure of what to make of it.

Soon, they had left Havensword far behind, and he was happily riding, careful to avoid paths that would slow up Ward's truck. But like Law, he couldn't help but feel that they were being watched...

And then he saw them. Keeping pace with them was a pack of Fell-Shadow. The strange canines were an unwelcome sight, because where there were a few, there were always a few more, and a few more after that, and they were vicious, strange things to handle. Their faces were almost skull-like, revealing bits of bone where the flesh had simply, it would seem, begun to fall off. Indeed, they looked like dogs that had been interred and left to rot... alive. Beneath their feet, black whisps of fog or smoke circled the ground, giving them an otherworldly appearance that was unwelcome, to say the least. It wasn't much surprise to Malachi when first one, then another and another suddenly disappeared in a puff of that same black fog.

What did catch him by surprise was the fact that they reappeared not a few feet from himself and Law, making sure to avoid the truck for the time being. Viciously, they snapped at his heels and tried to jump onto the cycle to take him or Cora out for lunch, causing the Archai to weave dangerously across the hard sand, leaning first one way then another to avoid their attacks.

Binadorm on seeing the pack of Fell-Shadow snapping at Malachi and Cora unfastened himself from his seat and began to "shrug" himself into all fours posture. After assuming his posture he leaped from the truck at full speed toward the Fell-Shadow. When Binadorm was within 10 feet of the foul beast he tensed his hind-legs and sprang onto the beast with his claws extended and clamped his jaw on the back of the neck and began thrashing his head back and forth in an attempt to break it all the while raking the Fell-Shadow with his hind legs

Despite having a strange canine leaking dark mist from its body and jumping through black fog to get from place to place, Malachi did not lose his cool. One pounced high in the air after snapping at the Archai's heels, but was greeted only with two rounds piercing through their skull which stopped them "dead" in midair. As the body fell to the ground with a lifeless thud, Malachi looked back to see Cerberus and Law with his two smoking colt .45s. With a wink, Law smiled and threw out the butt of his cigarette and placed his bandanna back over his nose.

"You must be a dog person! They seem to really like you!" shouted the outlaw.

Seeing the attack Ward smiled to himself, it was time for a little fun. When Binadorm leaped from the truck it only briefly surprised him and after it past Ward took on a spirit of challenge. “Alright Kitty” he said to himself ”I see you, now watch me”. Ward depressed the clutch and pulled the gear shift down into a hidden gear. The motor roared in response as all 6 wheels were engaged with a twist on the clutch a high pitch whining was momentarily heard and the engine began to turn faster, fire exploded out of the exhaust pipes as the truck screamed ahead.

Ward steered strait through the middle of the pack, most blinked away or dodged the incoming truck, but Ward felt the satisfying crunch as the truck plowed over nearly a half dozen. Ward turn the truck at high speed to make a 2nd pass, nearly lifting 1 side of the wheels off the ground in the turn. On this pass Ward only managed to hit one. The Fell-Shadow were smart and learned quick. Suddenly with a puff of smoke 1 appeared in the cab with him and leapt for him, He back handed it keeping his other hand on the wheel. He used his strength and the fine toothed grooves on the back of his bracer to pin the things head against the center seat. Distracted by the one in the cab, Ward nearly ran over MalachI and Binadorm but they managed to avoid him and he felt another bump as he hit a Fell-Shadow that didn’t move out of the way fast enough. Turning his wrist he managed to grab the thing by the throat, its jaws snapping at him less than a foot away and with a single mighty squeeze broke its neck. He carelessly tossed the body out the window nearly hitting Law, Cerberus trampled the dead beast As Ward managed to retake control of the Truck.

Despite the stress of the situation, Malachi laughed as he watched one after another of the Fell-shadow fall at the hands of his companions. Were he alone, he would be more worried, but these were hardened adventurers, and they barely batted an eyelash in the face of the dozen or so that still remained. After Ward's slightly unorthodox attack, however, they had opted to leave him alone for the time being- they teleported farther and farther away from the truck as they went- and closer to himself, Binadorm and Law, snapping at their heels, hands and heads, in addition to attempting to group around Cerberus and spook the beast into throwing his rider. Indeed, these were intelligent creatures.

The pack split up between the three most exposed members of the group and stayed on them mercilessly. They snapped, snuck, and poofed, until the group was beginning to wonder how much longer they could hold them, off. Finally, Malachi tired of simply swerving. If they kept up like this, someone was bound to lose their heads, and it was only a little past 2. Cora saw him flick a switch on the right handlebar and the cycle shuddered as it went into cruise control. The Archai pulled a blade from a flat compartment on the side of the cycle and tossed it from left to right hand and back. As he whipped around, taking control of the bike again, his indigo eyes widened in shock as he suddenly swerved to avoid colliding with a sizable rock, jutting out of the landscape.

It was narrowly missed, and the sound of grating metal screeched into their ears as the bike scraped it. Despite driving with only his right hand now, Malachi managed to keep the cycle steady and swerved unerringly to avoid further damage to his bike. However, the Fell-shadow were not as impressed as some others might have been, and charged at him now from the sides, cornering him between them.

"Hold on, Cora," he warned, and before she could really react, he slammed on the brake and the bike started to skid. Malachi used this to his advantage and turned into the spin-out to turn the bike around, essentially making a hasty u-turn so that he could charge back at the oncoming Shadows. Using their disorientation to his advantage, he swung the blade first to the left, taking the head off one. Another leapt at him, head-on, jaws snapping viciously. The Archai tilted his weight so that the bike leaned very close to the ground and with a cut of the blade, the thing lost its balance, rolling to the ground just in time to become roadkill beneath Ward's tires.

The couple that were left veered off as though to run away. Malachi brought the bike to a stop and watched, narrowing his eyes in dark anticipation- he half expected them to come back.

Binadorm was performing a dance of ferocity with the few Fell-Shadows fool enough to attempt attacking him. With ferocious swipes of his claws and powerful snaps of his jaws he latched onto one and with it stil in his mouth he threw it at the other one only to see it dissapear in smoke. Barely had that happened than he felt a form jump on his back and bite down on him. With a pained yowl he shook himself in an attempt to dislodge his unwelcome guest but the beast had his jaws on him squarely. Seeing that he couldn't shake the beast that way he uttered a few terse words steeped in pain and slapped the beast with a flame enshrouded paw which caught the beast aflame. With a yelp of mixed pain and surprise the beast let go of Binadorm and fell away rolling in an attempt to put out the flames. As soon as the pressure of the Fell-shadows jaws loosened Binadorm spun towards it and pounced not willing to let it escape and with a satisfying crunch his jaws broke the neck of the foul beast who had thought to get away with biting him.

Cora was enjoying the ride so far. It had been a while since she had been on a bike. True, the scenery could have been better, but Cora didn't let that bother her. She felt comfortable enough to keep only a loose grip on Malachi's hips. She zoned out, enjoying the breeze on her face and the rumble of the motorcycle, and drifted off into her own little world.
But her little trip didn't last long. A flicker of movement among the dunes brought her attention back to reality. Something was running parallel to the group. Cora squinted, trying to make out the strange figures. Were they. . .dogs? No, something about them wasn't quite right. Suddenly, the little pack of creatures disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"What th-" Before Cora could finish, the creatures reappear right beside the motorcycle.
"Holy hell!" Cora kicked out reflexively as one of the creatures leaped towards her and Malachi. Her boot connected with its nose with just enough force to change it's trajectory. What were these things? They looked like dogs, but they're bones were partially exposed. They were rotting?
The pack kept coming. Disappearing and reappearing all around them. Cora tightened her grip on the motorcycle with her legs and moved in sync with the bike as Malachi swerved to avoid the odd canines.
Her rifle wouldn't be much use. Sitting so close to Malachi, Cora wouldn't be able to easily switch from side to side to shoot. So, she opted for plan B. Cora reached down to her boot just as one of the creatures lunged for the bike. Sure that the creature would meet it's target, Cora braced for impact. But it never came. Two reports sounded and the creature lifelessly slumped back into the sands. Cora glanced back and noted Law grinning, holding his two revolvers. With a quick nod in his direction, she retrieved her Airweight from her boot and sat back up.
With one hand still holding on to Malachi, Cora carefully started taking down her share of adversaries.
"Ha!" she exclaimed as her first shot took down one of the creatures hassling Cerberus. She laughed to herself as she witnessed Ward's unique way of handling the situation. Binadorm's technique was by far the most unpleasant to watch but still very effective. Cora turned her attention away from the big cat. She continued taking down the canines one at a time, tossing the gun from one hand to the other in order to cover both sides.
Not paying attention to where they were going or to what Malachi was doing, Cora was surprised and almost lost her gun as the motorcycle scraped up against a huge rock. She gripped the Archai with both hands as he steadied the bike. His warning to "hold on" was a waste of breath. Cora didn't let go as Malachi skidded through a U-turn and started back towards their pursuers. She noticed for the first time that he was now wielding a blade. He hacked his way back through the pack, dispersing what few managed to survive.
When the bike came to a stop, Cora released her grip on Malachi and unclenched her jaw.
"What. . .were those?" was all she managed to say.

Ward looked around and noticed that the shadows were dropping away, not running; but regrouping. That was their way they’d fight to the death despite the odds. In an attempt to lull us into a false sense of security to ambush us in a few minutes. He pulled the truck to a stop, but kept the engine running, He wasn’t sure if any of the others knew what was coming but he knew they wouldn’t be able to do it on the move like with the initial attack. The Fel-Shadows were very intelligent and learned quickly.

After hopping out of the truck he called the others and gestured for them to come to him then turning he went to the back of the driver side of the cab and worked a lever. With a noisy groan the canopy accordioned all the way to the cab leaving a flat bed. After that the bed on a hinge on the passenger side began to tilt effecting a wall. Ward climbed up onto the frame work where the bed had been laying and un fastened a 2nd layer of platform on the back side of the current wall section and pulled it out. It swung on a hinge fastened at the back of the bed and he swung it out to a right angle of the bed before dropping a steak from the end to the ground and fastening it there. He pulled on yet another lever and a 3rd and 4th sheet attached to both walls dropped to the ground. Ward had just effectively created two solid walls one only slightly longer because of the cab. He climbed up on the framework and reached into the corner fitting a small pulley with a wheel before returning to the controls and holding a button watched as a curtain of thick sheet metal raced along a track in the 2nd wall creating a suitable ceiling. All in all, even though it left two sides exposed it would do well as a defensive fortification. He then climbed back up into the cab and cut the engine.

Just as the others were reaching the fortification and he was climbing from the cab he saw the tell tale smoke, they were already returning again. Hopping down to the ground he Pulled the massive Glam from his back, its 5 foot long 1 and ½ foot wide blade flashed brilliantly in the hot sun, gripping it tightly in his right hand he reached down and pulled a great falchion off his left thigh. “Again, they come. Again they will die.” A big smile stroll onto his face. “Its time for some fun.”

Cerberus's anxious body appeared restless and spooked as he shook his head and nodded sporadically to the wispy traces of black smoke in the distance. The strange canines were returning, and judging by the ferocity of the previous pack, they were probably hungry.

Their presence in the killing fields stumped Law (granted, is not too hard to do), as he tried to make sense of it all. Why were these creatures inhabiting his desert? They are definitely not native on these harsh climates, and their hunter, pack mentality differentiated from the other scavenging inhabitants of this unforgiving terrain. The smell of soot and sulfur filled the group's nostrils while the wolves were running in the distance. it went without saying they were far too close for comfort. Law's eyes were frantically scanning their rapidly approaching enemy, and with a grunt he raised his pistols to eye level.

"They are coming in fast guys! Let's not wait for them to start the party!"

With a small whistle, Law softly kicked Cerberus'es side to move him forward. Law immediately began to open fire with his beloved firearms blindly into the pack. howls of pain were heard as only a small number of the feral assailants violently stumbled into the desert sand. The bullet shells, hot like fire, fell to the ground like rain, but the vicious monsters descended upon Law far too quickly for him to react appropriately.

The dreaded sounds of empty chambers rang in Law's ears. While cursing profusely, Law reached inside a small pocket in his duster coat and pulled two small rings of ammunition containing six rounds grouped tightly together in a circle. Measured to be the precise distance apart from each other, they were formatted to slide easily in and out of the chamber of Law's pistols. They were custom made to make reloading Burning Law and Cleansing Thunder fast and efficient, but in this case Law was not fast enough for the draw. The animals were upon him before he could blink, nipping at Cerberus'es hoofs.

Cerberus bucked wildly in a fit of fear. Despite Law's best efforts to calm his steed, Cerberus was far too spooked to be settled. During the bucking and jumping, one of the creatures managed to leap into the air and collided into Law, knocking him off his horse and onto the unforgiving ground.

His ammo rings roughly 10 meters ahead of him, Law quickly leaped to his feet with weapons drawn. Burning Law's red tinge caught the desert sun just right as the dog that knocked the outlaw to the ground now stared him down with a hungry look swimming in his eyes. Without any bullets, his guns were useless. The rest of his munition was with Cerberus, who was currently spooked the hell out.

"Take a rest friends," Law said as he quickly holstered his weapons to his side. Without a moment of hesitation, Law crouched down in a low fighting stance with his feet parallel to his shoulders. He unsheathed the black, SEAL SOG combat knife strapped to his back. Law waved it around lightly at small angles to prepare himself for the upcoming fight. The dog like creature was now being joined by other hungry dogs who shot black smog from their nostrils. Their numbers were increasing, and by the way they were baring their teeth, Law could tell they had not eaten in awhile. This was major bad news for the group.

"Alright you ugly muts," Law muttered. "Let's see if all dogs do actually go to heaven." One of the creatures leaped and knocked law to the ground. While the creature was on top of the outlaw, it snapped its teeth viciously aiming for his prey's throat as saliva was dripping on Law's forehead. Law quickly slid the knife into the lower second and third rib of the monster and twisted, separating part of the rib cage and severing vital organs. With a long and painful whelp, the dog fell lifeless and started to rapidly decay into the same black smoke that they once emanated.

Right as Law jumped to his feet, another assailant came to take its predecessor's place. a gleam of light from the ammo rings caught Law's attention as the canines started to gather in closer. One jumped head on towards the outlaw, but as soon as Law committed a swing towards the creature's skull the dog vanished into the signature black smog and manifested once more behind him. Glancing behind him only for a second, Law shouted several more words of curse as he made a dive roll towards the ammo rings. One of the foul beasts grabbed his pants leg with its vicious teeth and started to drag Law backwards in the sand away from his munition. After hurling sand in the creature's eyes to temporarily incapacitate it, Law managed to stretch his arm out and grab one of the rings and quickly insert the ammo into Burning Law. Within a second, the dog who had a hold on Law's ankle had his skull shattered into fragments by a bullet.

"You stupid mother ! Try playing fetch with that you mother son of a packing piece of !"

The rest of the pack was soon upon the rest of them, and despite Wardonis' fortification, they were hard-pressed to hold them off. Despite Law's success, more lined up to take their fallen comrade's place. These were larger than the others, broader of shoulder and standing at the height and weight of Great Danes. They were the second males and females, the leaders of the pack under the Alpha male, and they wanted this two-legged thing that had taken out their leader.

While these three threateningly encircled Law, the other whelps of the pack set their sights on the rest of the group. They moved towards them, careful not to get too close just yet, waiting for one of the group to make a fatally false move. With their teeth bared, they looked like something out of a horror movie. Decaying features and wild eyes defined them, and acrid smoke sizzled as it hit the ground with a sickening hiss. The beasts looked back at their leaders, seemingly awaiting permission to attack. Their cue came when one of the males attacked Law, and they set upon the prone adventurers.

Malachi had abandoned his motorcycle for the time being and moved among the whelps, trying to keep them off himself and Cora, as well as anyone else who happened to be nearby. He didn't have time to fully answer her question, so before he moved on he told her the simplest part of the truth- that he didn't remember them. The sight of him was an oddity, to say the least. With his hat gone, his white hair blew loose in the breeze and his indigo eyes sparked dangerously as he moved among their enemies. In a flurry of movement, he deftly cut them down with his elegant scimitar, moving.

It may have been a trick of the sunlight, but the blade seemed to glow with each swing. It was a shock when they realized that it wasn't a trick. The Archai had his own sights set on the leaders, realizing that without them, the whelps would be clueless, and he mercilessly cut down his enemies. Very quickly, they realized that he was a force to be reckoned with and ceased toying with him. A group of five circled him and one took the opportunity of a turned back to jump at him. As he dodged, another tackled him, sinking claws and teeth deep into his shoulder, drawing an angry cry from the Archai as blood dripped from the puncture wound.

In one swift action, he reached behind him and gripped the decaying body, pulling it over his slim form and slinging it to the ground. With blood-stained fingers, he laid a hand on the struggling beast's form and light sprang from his palm. It spread over the creatures form, and one could see the ethereal glow crack through the thing's skin until it shattered with a white-hot implosion. Without hesitation, the Archai moved on to the next one, this time hacking at it first, and then hitting it with what appeared to be a burst of energy and light. The burst hit one Shadow, cutting through it like a laser, and scattered like white light into nearby beasts.

It was finally a peek into the forgotten secrets of the lost natives.

The lurking beast stirred. Not in two decades had it moved. Something within it warmed and activated, a fusion generator. Fuzzy images flashed across its vision, first it saw. 'Systems.... Online.... All Systems.... Nominal....' Its eyes activated, their inner blue glow brightening within their sockets. Symbols flashed across its vision, images of creatures were decaying flesh.

'Warning. Warning. Warning. Warning. Warning.' The word kept repeating in front of its eyes. 'Intruders, intruders must all be killed! Quickly! Intruders! Destroy them! Destroy the intruders! Destroy them all!'

With an oscillated roar, it reared up out of the sand dune it was buried in. The roar was long and ghostly, almost broken. It silvery sleek body gleamed in the sunlight. Its feline body was graceful yet terrifying. It was made in the likeness of a panther, but it was bigger... much bigger. Standing at 5 feet at the shoulder it was a sight to fear, to stay away from. Its mind, its computers mind send a message to its controller. It warned the controller of the intruders. It notified the controller of its plan of attack. Indeed. It would attack. It shook its metallic body free of sand. Though it emulated a big cat, it was not a cat at all. It was a robot with a single minded goal.... to kill. Not for food, not for hunger. But for intruding on it's creators territory. They were too close to it's creator's ship. Too close. It's creators thought these primitives were far too stupid to be entrusted with their technology. And thus they had created it to safeguard them.

It ran towards the intruders. They weren't far off. It ran up a sand dune to bring it within sight of the intruders. The beasts were attacking.... 'computing'... travelers. It would not attack these travelers. Its eyes scanned the battlefield, locking in on one individual that was by himself surrounded by larger beasts. The mechanical beast's oscillated roar emanated from its saber-toothed mouth once more before it charged at the beasts, bounding down the dune and crashing into the larger creatures, it crashed into one head long, and pinned it beneath its paws before clamping its saber teeth into its neck. The creature turned to ash in the vice-like grip. Then the machine turned towards the other one.....

Vaedus awoke from his sleep. His wrist computer beeped constantly in intervals of three seconds. He had been sleeping in a dead tree on one of the branches, cloaked. He uncloaked and looked at the computer. His eyes widened at what it said. He was of course the controller of the robot, and it was his job to make sure it wasn't destroyed. The wrist computer was its leash so to speak. With a quick movement the reptilian alien jumped down from the tree branch and onto the sandy ground. His powered armor whined in protest as it helped absorb the energy of the landing as Vaedus bent his knees. Pulling the IX Clatus Plasma Rifle from his back, the alien ran at a full sprint to join the battle, his armor quietly giving electrically motorized whines as his legs moved. He cloaked, not wanting to be seen, though it would take him a few minutes to get to the fight.

As combat continued full tilt and things were beginning to look frenzied Ward attempted to analyze the method of attack. At first hunger was most apparent but the single-minded nature of the attack was very unsettling to him. These are not creatures of this region, here now in the desert and creatures normally very intelligent acting without decisive action and seemingly off instinct. The more he watched the more he fought the more he realized that this is a distraction, or a test maybe; that something else is defiantly going on here and that these creatures were being controlled by someone or something.

Flashes of power distracted him and as he turned, massive glam leading and cleaving one of the hounds in two through the mouth and down the length of the body while it sailed through the air at him; he saw Malachi unleashing powerful magic at the beasts. Ward was actually more impressed at the skill with which he wielded his scimitar than the magic but it too was impressive. And then it click in his head so powerfully it made him pause in mid stride; Malachi’s magic, the mission they were on and the single-minded and seemingly suicidal attack of the hounds. Ward blinked with the realization.

The pause was a costly mistake, a fel-hound came around the side of the fortification and was running strait at him at top speed . The beasts was charging at him at nearly 60mph and with a shock Ward knew it was going to ram him. It noticed Wards awareness of it intent and blinked forward in a puff of smoke slamming into his left knee with enough force Ward almost flipped but landed on his back. Its bone forehead protected it from taking any serious injury, but the thing hadn’t been prepared for the construction of his armor and had knocked itself senseless. The armor was built well enough and its locking joints strong enough that he didn’t loose his leg, it didn’t even break but he sure as hell didn’t feel like moving at that moment and he knew better than to try. His knee was saved because of his armor but he knew it had taken a lot of damage and it was better not to move it. He groaned and opened his eyes and there right next to his face was one of Laws silly ammo rings, he reached out and a hand and grabbed it but before he could sit up and enormous metal cat lept over him and joined the attack. “Law” he shouted as he tried sit up. He threw the ammo ring to law with one hand watching the giant metal cat rip into the hounds.

Ward looked over at Kitty trying to eye any similarities but decided in the end that it wasn’t going to happen. Wards eyes went wide looking at Binadorm, the cats fur was almost black with the soot he had acquired with his tooth and claw approach. Looking down at his own armor he had to admit that he was a bit of a mess too. A snarl warned him of an incoming attack and he whipped out one of his belt knives, turning at his waist his legs splayed before him he caught the hound under its jaw whipped it over and slammed it into the ground next to him. With a twist to the knife the pup burst into thick acrid smoke. Just then he noticed a hound leaping for Cora’s back, the knife caught it in the back of the skull and the smoke of its body washed into her back and over her as his knife sailed over her shoulder inches from her ear catching another in the side but not killing it.