3c.) Dragon

Even before that, Valeria had left, back to the shack, perhaps to everyone's surprise but Jikkon.

Muteki yawned, sitting up, bleary eyes. He ran his normal hand through his hair, straightening out a rather nasty nearly-a-knot out of his hair. He struggled to his feet against the wanton calls of his nice, soft rock-pillow, and looked around.

Spotting Jikon already up at the edge of camp, he walked over to him, stifling a yawn. "Good morning, there!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

Jikon glanced over at the boy. At first he'd seen some usefulness in his new found joy and peace-a-heart. Now, that fixed grin was getting on his nerves.

"Good morning," he observed, looking back toward the volcano as he waited for the rest of the group to wake and ready themselves.

"How did you sleep?" asked Muteki, hopeful friendliness incarnate.

"I didn't." Jikon didn't bother to look at him this time.

Sensing that not all people were at their best in the morning, Muteki took a step away from Jikon, and sat down, also gazing toward the volcano.

It had been a while since he'd seen graphics like these.

Salem yawned, blearily looking around. His first and immediate concern was addressed as he saw Valeria was gone. Grumbling he went over to wake Lallium with a swift kick to the buttocks. Lallium rolled over, seemingly unaffected and dreaming, and Salem sighed.

"Now I'm stuck with Sleepy..." He looked at Muteki and Jikon. "Happy, Grumpy..." He moved on to Erick and Exemplar. "Dopey... and I guess you can be Sneezy. Great, we're two dwarves short of a full set." He hopped on Lallium and the youth finally yawned and blinked a few times, awakening. "Come on Sleepy, breakfast time. Where's the milk?"

Lallium gave Salem a quizzical yet tired expression. "Milk spoils... why would I bring that here?"

"No milk!?"

"Nope... I have some purple stuff. I think it's gatorade... or maybe melted Jello."

The group at the base of the volcano would feel a tremor, small at first, but quickly increasing in power, as the ground shook, and smoke began to billow visciously out of the fiery mountain, the very edges of it beginning to glow red with heat...

It seemed much more than coincidence that this occurrence would be happenning just as the group landed there... however, for one reason or another, in a few seconds, this volcano was going to blow.

Lallium looked excited for a moment. "Wow, a real volcano erupting right next to us! I never thought I'd see one so close! Wait... A VOLCANO'S ERUPTING RIGHT NEXT TO US! Save the the women! Save the children! SAVE THE PURPLE STUFF!" Lallium began running in circles.

"I thought we decided it was jello."

"SAVE THE JELLO!"

"Our only choice is to make a sacrifice to the volcano gods!" Salem pointed towards Exemplar and took a bland tone. "I vote we use him."

Lallium sighed while he was running, and while his eyes were closed to do so tripped and fell on Muteki. He looked at Jikon while was falling.

"Save me chupacabra! I promise I'll give you a goat later!"

Now it was Salem's turn to sigh. "Seriously he's not a chupa-thingy..."

Exemplar immediately began using her fabrication ability to tunnel through the earth, building an overhang over the hole as she did.

Before the lava got to them at least she would have a method of survival for a few people. If the others helped, they could be very safe indeed with plenty of time to spar.

Erick sighed. "Doesn't seem like we have very good timing."

He wasn't entirely sighing due to the volcano. He was also rather downcast and embarrassed by Lallium. ~Why us?~

Muteki took a quick step back as Lallium fell toward him, letting the frenzied lad land solidly on the ground.

Jikon sighed, focusing. Muteki felt the change in his watch, and accordingly focused on it.

"What are you going to do?" he asked.

Jikon smiled. "You'll see." he said, just as he reached B.

The banshee tensed powerful leg muscles and leaped forward, a little bit ahead of the overhand. He focused, and the air around him turned black, specked with unhealthy shades of red and yellow. A yellowish gas formed around his hands. Tensing his muscles again, Jikon set to work.

Digging at incredible speeds, each clawed hand making a shape strangely similar to a shovel, Jikon began to dig a deep, deep trench around the overhang as a first line of defense. The gas in his hands and his aura caused the earth to deteriorate to nothing in his hands, letting him continue digging without pausing to throw out the dirt or worry about where it was piling up.

Within a few minutes, there would be a wide, deep trench between the volcanoe and the overhand that would channel the lava away. That was the second of two threats avoided.

The only thing left to worry would would be the choking smoke and ash that might be coming. Exemplar seemed determined to stay, however, and Jikon himself had never worried about breathing. This left Salem to sort out some way to keep the air coming.

Though it couldn't be seen well at the base, the top of this volcano was filled with rock, that blocked the top of the lava's main exit, which is why the volcano seemed to sweat lava out of every vent. Several seconds later, the top blew, an incredible array of lava and mineral soaring out of the volcano, rather than flowing: a truly dangerous explosion, unlike those that can literally be 'outwalked'.

Like hail, small-sized insegnious rock began to pour down from the sky at a constant pace, which would be a nuiscance and incredibly painful for anyone outside of cover, which would include the digging Jikkon. In addition to this, small hardening bits of lava were raining, more visible than the rocks against the sky.

These two were merely the constant threats... from the top, heading towards the overhang, was a large, flaming molten rock sent from the volcano itself... it almost seemed aimed...

Lallium looked at Salem, still stading with his hands behind his head and whistling a merry tune while fiery death rained down around him.

"Shouldn't you... help?"

Salem shrugged. "They've got it handled."

"And what about the giant flaming rock?"

"Eh... I'm sure it's just gas."

"..."

Salem sighed. "Fine. But I spoil you ya know."

Salem began to run towards the rock as Lallium focused. Salem turned into C form in a burst of ice and shot off towards the rock.

"Puppeteer Dance."

Salem ket the strgins from all his fingers connect with static electricty, and then swung the collective blade mass at the rock. While it was doubtful it would destroy it, it should easily be enough force to knock it a good way of course... as long as it wasn't a Dacre or some sort of magic flying rock of doom. In that case Salem intended to start freezing the object with Freezing Mist and then destroy it from there.

Exemplar's hands rose, two guns forming in her hands.

She began firing extra low powered shots, her hands weaving this way and that, a staccato beat of movements.

Her reason soon became apparent. She was shooting down or deflecting any rocks large enough to harm the group, apart from the large aimed one.

She accomplished this by forming a sensor in front of her left eye that analyzed the ballistic trajectories of incoming rocks, highlighting any that needed to be shot, and color coded as to the level of power needed to shoot each.

If unable to block all incoming rocks, she would target those that would inflict the most damage.

As long as nobody ran around like a chicken with their head cut off and the rock shower didn't intensify much, they'd be fine. Apart from the aimed rock.

Though not severely damaged, everyone in Exemplar's and Salem's group would feel a few things: a severe increase in temperature around them, and quite a few blisters as the smaller rocks made it through, gliding hot against the skin for a brief moment. Not lethal, it would still create an incredibly painful minute for everyone, except possibly Exemplar.

After that minute, a stream of blue fire shot out of the top of the volcano, as a rather large DaCre began to spread its wings, which, when opened, ripped through the rock and expanded the top part of the volcano. About a fourth of the size of the mountain, slightly smaller, this still massive red dragon burst out of the crater, its black nails and yellow eyes, as well as two short black horns, attributed to its magnificent and terrifying pose. Roaring, it took notice of the group, and began to advance...

The trench completed, Jikon leaped out onto the ground. His body was virtually unscathed as the size of incoming missiles were greatly diminished by his aura, and the wounds caused by the minor missiles healing over almost instantly.

The banshee looked up at the dragon, experiencing a brief moment of uncertainty. Even with his aura, an extended hit from that breath would leave him...

... inconvenienced.

He leaned down, grasping a large molten boulder that had been sent down by the volcano. His muscles rippled as he did a small spin and hurled it at the dragon with enormous force. This would be useful for gauging the dragon's speed, or methods of defense...

..his hands, very badly scorched by the high pressure against the boulder, healed over in a matter of seconds...

Lallium looked over to Muteki. "Lame. Dragons are SUCH a cliched boss. At least Kingdom Hearts had that crazy gargoyle guy from Fantasia. Churnhisface or something. Eh it doesn't matter." He turned over to Salem. "Alright, time to show this world some originality." Lallium began focusing.

"Uh... Lallium? You're on fire."

"I know, it was a very good speech."

"No... you're actually on fire. Check your pants."

Lallium looked down and sighed. "Why does this always happen to me?"

"Chicken with it's head cut off?"

"Chicken with it's head cut off."

Lallium began running around, flailing his arms. He dove to the ground and began to roll around.

"Stop drop and roll! Stop drop and roll! Waaagh!? Why is the ground on fire too!? Run scream and panic, run scream and panic!"

Despite all of this commotion, Lallium still managed to kep focusing. Salem focused on not making the lot of them look like the Colonol's famous chicken.

"Deep fried, and extra crispy."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, keep focusing. And burning your pants. That too."

"Whatever you guy's names are! If you're afraid of being pelted and burned to death, get in this hole!" Erick called out, as he lowered himself into the hole, where he was safe. It was roomy enough and would be safe even from a lave flow due to the overhang and Jikon's trench.

Exemplar's clothes began to change, red-brown samurai armor appearing on her, slowly, part by part.

It seemed to be fairly resistant, capable of withstanding the rocks that got through her barrage.

She was still managing to store up a power slowly as she did this.

Power:15 (We've been at this for a long time longer than a normal post would be in combat.)

Lallium shrugged. "Naw... somehow everything always works out for me in these situations. Watch this."

Lallium cleared his throat and then stood with his hands extended in front of him. He began to move his legs forwards and backwards, and moonwalk up and down the area.

"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie wo-o-rld. Life in plastic, it's fantastic. You can comb my hair, or take me anywhere..."

Flaming rocks flung by, barely missing Lallium but nevertheless missing and hiting the ground around him. Lallium broke into a seires of spins.

"Come on Barbie lets go party, Ooo ooo ooo!"

Lallium stopped spinning and bowed as if proud of his achievement of not dying, and a giant flaming rock flew over the space where his head had just been to leave a large crater in the ground. Lallium yawned.

"Man.. dancing to bad music really takes it out of ya."

The dragon pushed onward, literally catching the boulder in its maw, and crushing it without second thought, bits of hot rock falling to the ground, as the dragon quickly made its way to level ground, still charging at the group.

Breathing in, it stopped its momentum for a moment, before letting forth something slightly different than its last attack: instead of focusing the fire, the dragon let it out into a wide, yellowish blaze over the area the group was in, the size of a two-story building high, and encompassing a massive area. Though not its strongest attack, it would likely force them into better cover... which would make their movements predictable...

Lallium yelped and took Erick's advice, running into the cover beside him and realizing that it was unlikely Barbie would help him now.

Salem turned into B-form in a chilling mist, rising above the fiery attack with a large flap of his wings and now considering himself in a good position to combat the massive beast.

"Torrent."

Salem held out his hand a massive orb of water appeared, waves gushing from it and spraying the area arounbd him with a powerful force; but of course this wasn't the part of the attack that was actually dangerous.

Salem held out his hand and the orb turned into a beam of water that was phasing in and out of frozen and liquid along it's length, blasting towards it's head with what would be strong enough fire; er, water-power to handle the Dragon's flame if it was on the same rank as he. If the Dragon didn't try to counter, the pressure would merely hurt a HECK of a lot, like getting hit by a monorail-based train.

The dragon merely kept its intense blace over the hole that Exemplar created, henceforth trapping everyone except Salem in a heavily enclosed space, from which escaping would be difficult. It bounded forward, angling its unimportant wing, for this situation, to take the brunt of the water attack and force the beam off to the side. Slightly painful, this dragon proceeded, intending to surround the hole, once it was in position, by standing parallel to it, curving, and wrapping its tail around the remainder of the diameter, much like a lizard.

~Show Time~

Two hypersonic chunks of metal came rocketing out the dragon's flames, approximately ten meters away from the dragon's open mouth, one aimed at each eye. With the power of the flames covering the give-away power signature of the attack before it started, along with the fact that there were no other senses that could have detected Exemplar from within the flames, meant that there was literally no way the Dragon could have sensed Exemplar barring a special ability fine tuned for this situation.

By the time the Dragon noticed something was wrong, there would be two gaping holes in it's eyes. Wounds that both bled a lot and prevented sight.

The way Exemplar had managed this was her fabrication ability and the throwing arm of Jikon.

She used her fabrication to form the same kind of ceramics used to withstand orbital reentry level temperatures. Very light due to the porousness of these ceramics, she was able to manufacture it from a carried rock quite swiftly. She had also been ranked up to B while Jikon threw her up the volcano, following the flame's path.

With the ceramic's protecting her, she had used the Dragon's own flames to provide cover for her as she was thrown through them towards the Dragon.

((If my understanding of how DaCre detect Exemplar's attack charge is incorrect, I understand I'll have to edit this post. This isn't an auto-position, as Exemplar and Jikon's post last time in the posting order were effectively used to position Exemplar here, only we did it ingame to keep it a secret from you, who wouldn't know.))

The dragon, blinded, was more enraged by the attempt than thrown off from it; giving only an enraged roar as a response, it looked down at the hole once more, sensing easy to gather data... something needed to replace its eyes...

Still surrounding the hole, a thick, blue fire thrusted out of the dragon's maw, containing a specific type of rock, concealed by the flames... this would encompass the entire hole, and would soon destroy everything within it.

As Exemplar was hurtling forward, she sharpened her protective shield and protruded two swords, one from each side, making herself resemble an oversized missile.

She added a full burst of reactionless thrust to her speed, and was by coincidence, going to strike through the brain stem while the dragon was roaring, before the breath attack.

Barring some third party, it was unlikely the dragon would survive unless it had a defensive attack, and even then significant damage might be done, as it was effectively 2 B Rank attacks, Jikon's throw and her Reactionless thrust.

Power: 15+12-10-6 = 11

Meanwhile, down below the scope of the incredibly focused breath, speeding up the mountain side in a series of leaping bounds was Jikon, nimbly leaping from the sections of rock not covered by the creeping lava.

The dragon staggerred, roared as a last impulse, and fell on its side, beginning to decay into data. As his absorbable, A-rank data began to dissipate, the volcano calmed, and, near instantly, green began to return to the ground... a serene scene was being formed...

(A-rank exp x2 evenly divided among the three)

Jikon took one last awesome leap up to the dragon's body, absorbing the data streaming away from the dragon from the outside. Exemplar was certainly draining it from the inside. That left Salem sitting at the bottom of the mountain, damage-less and absorption-less, unless he covered the entire span of the mountain in less than three or so minutes with a new found super-strength.

~Minor timeskip if no one minds.~

"Actually kind of pretty from up here." Erick noted, sitting down on a cooled rock after the hike up. Something about the death of the dragon had somehow reverted the surrounds into lush green, and cooled all the rocks.

His arms, just above the wrists, were resting just above the knees, which were bent sharper than a 90 degree angle. His right leg was angled more to the side than his left was, and his back leaned far forward.

Exemplar was back in C-Form, standing nearby, this time wearing a fairly less practical white kimono, complete with obi and ornate hairstyle, whirling about with freestyle dyed black cherry petals.