Not that I remember, I get blurry flashes of last time (almost muttering before talking at normal volume, after sitting down on a hastily conjured, plain wooden chair) I don't know when that was. I s-seem to b-b-b-be unstab-b-bilized (stuttering more often as his edges start to faintly and subtly blur)
A look of concern crossed Nightshade's face. Az intended to win at any cost. She watched, horrified, as Cannonball reflexively drove his wing claws into the the bird's fragile body to protect his eyes. ********************************************************************************* Cannonball winced. He hadn't wanted to hurt Az's pet, but the undead fighter hadn't given him a choice. ********************************************************************************* On the sidelines, Rain had just finished healing Navaja in time to see the bird fall. "Oh, dear. This isn't good."
The bird leaked its own formaldehyde as he attempted to flap himself off of the wings. ~~~~~~ Azrael leapt forward at that, wincing some as he pushed off partially with his wounded leg. A swift punch to the back of Cannon's neck was what was intended. ~~~~~~~ Navaja saw this as opportunity to roll over and take a nap. ~~~~~~~ "Maybe you need to rest while the process completes itself," Dusty suggested.
Cannonball took a closer look at the bird he'd just killed. Formaldehyde. Undead, unkillable pet. Neat trick, but one that one that only worked once. His tufted ears twitched slightly, catching the faint sound of moving air as Az approached. A moment before Az struck, Cannonball positioned the bird still impaled on his wings between his neck and Azrael's hooves. The creature would take the brunt of the blow. ************************************************ "Just like a stallion," Rain muttered. "All they ever want to do is sleep after."
Azrael indeed punched the *squee!* out of Cain, landed, and yanked the bird off, tossing him up to fly back to the sky. "You're lucky he's okay with a beating. Otherwise I might be mad."
Process? N-no i-its not that. (Remembers a bit more about the last time he was fully around.) The Council is going to come back but, I'm going to stay? (Not entirely certain, but confident enough)
Cannonball chuckled. "Perish the thought." He picked up a long, jagged piece of ice and nonchalantly tossed it over his shoulder. It flew in an arc, spearing the final mammoth through its eye socket. "You ready to finish this? Shady seems to have lost her nerve." ******************************************************************* "Find a way to win." The words echoed in her head. "Find a way to win." How could she win? Cannonball was one of the toughest ponies she'd ever met. As an actor, he'd trained for all his roles by going out and actually doing the jobs his characters had. He'd been a mercenary. A fighter. A pirate. For a few weeks, he'd even been a Night Guard. His current job as the mayor of Hollow Shades had started out as practice for a political drama, but he'd been asked to take the job for real after the old mayor retired. She'd only ever seen him lose one fight, and that was to her father. The brawl between the two had very nearly destroyed the barracks. "Okay," she said to herself, "How would Dad win? How will I win?" Az would keep Cannonball busy for a few minutes. She'd hang back, and think.
"Of course I am. The real question is, old stallion, are you?" ~~~~~~ "So they're not gonna put you back to sleep this time?" Rave asked.
It's not e-exactly sleep, just non-beingness apparently. *He flickered and most of that glimmer in his eyes dimmed, and the Council once more appeared but slightly blurry before solidifying, and after nodding to each other and the Rep, vanished. Only Arch and the Rep stayed*
Arch: It is quite strange, but he was needed. The Council decided he can stick around, so to speak. We wanted to make sure that there wouldn't be any, hmm, issues with what was going on. Rep was the solution decided upon. Rep: (Staring at Architect and muttering) So, that's what he looks like? Weird...
Cannonball nodded. "Let's settle this with an old fashioned hoof fight." He aimed a brutal blow at Az's jaw. ****************************************** Nightshade studied the situation. What resources were available? Her weapons. Her skills. Her ally, Azrael. Her wings, now healed. The sky above, and the ice below. What resources did her foe have? His strength, unmatched. His toughness, unrivaled. His speed... that was his weakness. She was much faster. But how to use it? She didn't have the strength to hurt him. Az did, but he wasn't fast enough to use it to its full potential. How could they combine their strengths?
Azrael caught the hoof and immediately attempted to yank Cannon down into the gogoplata he used to put away Navaja. If a hold was applied properly, no level of strength could bust you out.
Nightshade sighed. He'd attempted the same move on her, when they first met. It didn't work on ponies with wings. Az should've remembered that. She had an idea. ********************************************************** Cannonball was pulled into the hold, and instantly used his wing claws to strike Az over and over.
Arch: really now? (glances to the Rep who slightly nods and Architect shifts his form to pony form with a flail of his pen) Better? Rep: I have no idea why he insists on using such an inefficient focus. And how do I know about that? (still extremely confused, but slowly gaining his knowledge and memory)
Azrael didn't budge right off the bat. As if on reflex, the pain was seeming to make Azrael grip tighter. Would take something drastic to get out.
Cannonball stopped stabbing. It wasn't working. It wasn't an inescapable move. He'd seen it before, and he'd seen an earth pony escape it. How had he done it...? Right. That was how. Bracing himself, he used his back hooves to launch himself into a forward roll, breaking the hold. He leaped back as Nightshade rushed in, wings glowing, striking the spot where he had been a moment before.
Azrael rolled to his hooves and turned to face Cannon. He cringed and stumbled, feeling his wounded leg take his weight. However, his leg was about a turn away from healing.
