Navaja cut the bolt out of the air. Unfortunately, he underestimated how heavy it was, and the tip lodged itself into his eye. He stumbled back with a loud yelp, hoof covering his bloody eye. Azrael then burst up from the snow behind Navaja, pulling his hoof back for a heavy swing, his whole body charged with lightning. Cannonball would have to act now or lose his partner.
Cannonball tossed the zombie aside. It would be killed by the impact. Going into a steep dive, he flew at Az with everything he had... just as two of Nightshade's explosive bolts struck him with everything they had. Loading another volley, she shouted "Do it, Az!" as she ran to where the alarmingly unscathed Cannonball had fallen.
Azrael brought his hoof straight down on the back of Navaja's head, sending him tumbling forward a few hundred feet. Azrael noticed Navaja still awake, trying to struggle to his hooves. His response was to trot over, roll the Assassin on top and lock him in a gogoplata hold. Navaja panicked, stabbing Azrael seven times in the thigh and flank before fading, going limp. When Azrael rolled the unconscious Assassin off of him to stand, he was clearly slowed slightly by having the *squee!* stabbed out of him. He likely wouldn't take too long to recover. Navaja was out by way of Knockout.
Cannonball leapt to his hooves as Nightshade approached. His fur was a bit singed, and there were a few teeth marks, but he appeared otherwise undamaged. "Uh... Az?" Nighshade said in a concerned tone. "I don't think I hurt him. Like... at all." ********************************* Rain ran out to collect Navaja, and was soon casting magic to heal his injuries.
"Nopony is indestructible," Azrael said, walking up to Nightshade with a slight limp. The bird above gave a loud squawk, and Azrael grinned wickedly, charging his zombie spell.
Cannonball briefly considered going after the bird, but decided that hurting Az's pet would be taking things too far. He studied his targets. If Nightshade used her Draconequus transformation, she'd be the the greater threat. But she'd given no indication that she was planning to do so. That left Azrael. Almost as strong as he was, and a bit faster. There was also that pesky horn of his, able to attack him even when he was in the air. Az was the clear target. Cannonball charged.
Azrael quickly swung to smash Cannonball in the throat as he charged. As he swung, he hit the ground with his spell behind where Cannon was standing. The ground started to shake immediately. As the ice fell down, a few very large creatures made their way up from the ground. Using the absolute last of his magic, he'd resurrected three mammoths and one frost troll.
Cannonball caught the full force of Az's blow to the throat. Coughing, he recovered in time to see a mammoth charging him. A big target. Strong, but clumsy and slow. Rushing to meet the zombie creature's charge, Cannonball bit down on the mammoth's trunk and run under its body between its front legs. Dragging the trunk, he forced the enormous animal's head down into the snow, and with a mighty pull, he pulled the mammoth over on its back. Leaping on top of the creature as it struggled to regain its footing, Cannonball ended the fight with a skull-shattering blow to the head. Chest heaving, he winked at Az and Nightshade. "This is the most fun I've had in years." Nightshade responded with an explosive bolt from her crossbow.
Azrael nodded. "Reminds me of the good old days." Not another second before the troll leapt into the air, hurtling down towards Cannonball for a nasty falling claw attack.
*The form of the Representative flashed and vanished from the North Pole, amidst a small flurry of snowflakes* R: (Now once more wholly in the Bar, and referring to Maya) So, green pony, what are you called?
"Maya Heartstrings." She trotted up to him and held out her hoof. "Nice to meet you, representadude."
Nightshade's explosive bolt was flying at Cannonball. So was the troll. How convenient. Cannonball flared his wings and took to the sky just as bolt and troll collided atop the fallen mammoth. The troll was blown backwards and came back up minus an arm. Burned, blackened flesh, flowing with fetid ichor, matted the creature's wounded side. Landing in front of the wounded troll, he turned his back and bucked the troll into the air, impaling it on the tusk of one of the remaining mammoths. **************************************************************************************** Nightshade swore. "Dammit! This isn't working. We need a plan!"
Maya tilted her head. "Hmm? Never shaken before?" ~~~~~~~~~ "That was my plan," Azrael responded. "Wear him out."
Oh, so that's what I am supposed to do? (Shakes her hoof carefully, passing a bit of energy and information between them at an incredibly fast pace, including images such as a supernova, starship fleets, a few space stations, and a solar prominence, and information, such as a brief, extremely so, explanation of cold fusion, and how to harness black holes. This was all passed, and not necessarily received in a usable state, nor would it be usable by any, as far as he could tell, means that the ponies would have for a very very long time.)
"Huh..." Maya blinked in surprise. "Dude, you're pushing Type III all by yourself over here." "Type... three?" Raven questioned. "She's referencing an old scale used to measure the advancement of a society," Dusty clarified. "It would seem a lot of information got passed over."
Nightshade shook her head. "We can't outlast him. He won't stop. Everything ponies say about him... the stories, the legends, the memes... it's all true. Azrael, I'm sorry, but he's better than us." She watched as he squared off against one of the remaining mammoths, laughing as he snapped off a tusk and drove it through the zombified animal's skull. Her mind raced. He was too fast for Az to land a solid strike on. He was too tough for her to damage with quick attacks, and too strong to risk a powerful slow attack. She thought back on her training with her father. The one lesson that he had taught her above all others: There is always a way to win. Her martial arts would put her too close to Cannonball's lethal hooves. Her weapons simply weren't strong enough. Her draconequus form was too dangerous, and it would leave her exhausted. She knew there was a way to win this. There had to be. She just couldn't see it.
"No. He's not better than me." Azrael sent his bird to attack Cannon's eyes while he was distracted dealing with the mammoths. When push came to shove, he would fight dirty. "Even death couldn't stop me."
(Shaking his head.) Must be due to The Archiver's lifetime experiences. He would collect information and record it. Some probably crossed. (Confused about what had happened, as he had seen a few faint flashes of alchemical symbols)
