Run! The Gauntlet! (IC)

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus felt something. What, though, he couldn't exactly be certain. He was certainly aware that he wasn't alone with Gauntlet, and the scruffy head of the young girl made him pause. The red eyes erased any thought that she was entirely incapable of defending herself, but that didn't mean he was about to let Gauntlet go after her. He was going to have to make a stand. Here and now, it had to end.

The golem slowing down allowed him plenty of time to catch up.

"Aww. Poor tin man. Can't 'tame' me so he's going after little girls... and you've got the nerve to call me weak? I didn't know the soul of a Spanish warrior could be such a coward." The space around him illuminated as both his hands ignited, activating the Flame Rune as it appeared across the back of each hand. [b]"I'll end you and that sewing circle you call a cult once and for all."

Arc was still vaguely aware of the dog that had been following him, fairly certain Rene was watching through its eyes. Despite its presence, he was very much alone in the wilderness fighting something that could possibly be out of his league alone. It wasn't his only option--running away certainly was on the table. The Beast Rune, however, wouldn't let him back down, and for once he was inclined to back its instinctive draw to confrontation. It was obvious that there were others with similar powers to his. That was a little surprising, and he wanted to know how and why. No better way than to eliminate the mutual threat.

[Supercape]

Meanwhile...

Rene say by the shattered door of Parkhurst hotel, half wondering who was going to repair that. If need be, he had the money of course. Hopefully someone else had some handy carpentry and masonry spell.

His beret was slightly askew and his eyes were closed. He could feel the dog's mind, and the little runt had been dutifully running alongside Marcus.

"What's this!" he blurted, and his eyes opened wide.

Another beast rune? something that had been drawn to the brawl between Marcus and the Iron, chained, rune of Gauntlet. And something wild and strong enough to dsitract Gauntlet from his initial prize. Oh, the cult was going to be rubbing its hands at this...he thought to himself. Marcus had ended up being the bait for the bigger fish!

He was too old, and too fatigued, to do much about it, he conceded. He just hoped Marcus had his wits about him and did not let the Beast Rune command him...

Back in Wharton Forest...

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus was still very much aware of the presence of the girl. He sort of had to be; he couldn't be sure what she would do. The worst thing that could happen was that she'd get in his way; barring that, he didn't want to risk accidentally doing something that would cause her even accidental harm. Teeth bared, he snarled and catapulted himself forward, the Flame Rune burning across the back of both hands hissing violently as they focused the flames on Arcturus's claws.

He didn't waste any words, rushing forward and taking a broad, vicious swipe at the golem's chestplate, fully intending to tear right through him.

[Supercape]

GM

Marcus was a skilled fighter, better than the slower Gauntlet, but the Iron Shell's arms caught the bear - more by luck than judgement - and pushed his claws away.

"You are a pale shadow of her..." it groaned, and started to lumber towards the girl.

The young girl snarled at them both.

"Stay away!" she spat, as she dropped to all fours. Her arms and legs seemed to bend and twist, rippling with sinew and bone, until finally she leapt away, running like a gazelle, into the forest depths.

"Impressive..." came the iron grating of Gauntlet, as it continued to hurtle into the forest.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus chased after, inwardly annoyed at being ignored. Of course, he knew why... and he had a fairly good idea of how to fix it.

Outwardly, he only paused for a second, closing his eyes as he tapped more deeply into the Beast Rune. It pulsed in his ears like a heartbeat when he concentrated hard enough, and the pace gradually increased as he mentally reached out to his inherent magical powers. His eyes snapped open, a violent and angry red glow in them as he shot forward, taking a hard and vicious swing at the back of Gauntlet's legs, unaided by the elemental magic he was using before.

[Supercape]

GM

The pure power of the blow, tainted and augmented by the unfettered rage of the Beast Rune, would have splintered normal steel. Gauntlet sank to one knee, his iron skin dented and deformed with the mark of a claw.

"Now you see the power. The power of the beast. Only unleashed is it strong, and only chained can one use it..." it rasped.

The ragged teenager spat at both Gauntlet and Marcus. It was plain to all three that each of them were part and parcel, connected in some way to the Rune. In Gauntlet's case, chained and frenzied by the metal cage of the cult. Marcus, trying to balance the forces of rage and control, and the girl...the girl was wild, chaotic, and totally unleashed.

However unbound she was, she seemed to choose Gauntlet as her target for retaliation. Her form grew more animal, hair, muscles, and claws rippling over her body to create some mad anthomorphic beast. The thing then pounced with uncanny speed, straight onto the shoulders and head of Gauntlet, balancing their and sending those sinewed claws straight to his helm.

Fast she was, but wild and unskilled. Gauntlet on the other hand, was slow but smelted with the experience of the warlike conquestidors. He grabbed her arms as they descended and held them with his superior forged strength.

[GranspearZX]

The girl's change wasn't lost on him, and he found her actions incredibly reckless--coming from him, that was certainly saying something. With her in the way, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to attack Gauntlet--but then, instinct took over.

"You're not chainin' ANYBODY," Arcturus snarled. It felt like a barrier had suddenly shattered in his mind; outwardly, he stopped cold and the Earth Rune flared to life across the back of his right hand with a deep green glow. Lines of eldritch power trailed up his arm and surrounded the Beast Rune as he catapulted forward. Rock and stone surrounded his entire forearm and hand, forming a claw more vicious than his natural ones, and he tried to drive it right through Gauntlet's exposed breastplate while both his arms were occupied with the girl.

[Supercape]

GM

The mighty strike, which would have split a tree trunk, once again crushed a dent into the mighty armour of Gauntlet - War forged Iron strengthened by the Rune inside.

He swung around to Marcus.

"Constant Irritation, you...unworthy of the Rune. This creature is wild and powerful! it groaned.

The young girl struggled in Gauntlets grip, her skin and musculature changing as she tried to free herself. But the Iron Power of Gauntlet was too much for her. The Rune was strong in her, Marcus could tell, wild and powerful. But she was still only a teenage girl.

"And ready for the cult!" continued Gauntlet.

"Desist your insignificant resistance, bear...or I will rend her in two!" Gauntlet rasped, stretching out the girls arms to almost snapping point. The girl spat and writhed, and let out a growl of pain.

[GranspearZX]

"..."

Arcturus snarled, the rage swirling about the surface of his being nearly tangible. He barely managed to restrain himself as he threatened the girl; inwardly, he knew that this scenario definitely qualified as worst-case. He lowered his arms and snarled at Gauntlet, saying absolutely nothing. That didn't, however, mean that he was doing nothing.

He concentrated in silence, allowing his magic to flow to the back of his hand, forming the Shadow Rune on his palm. There was one chance, one shot at getting out of this situation... and he didn't like it.

Arcturus never liked using the Shadow Rune. Like all of the magic he was able to use, the Beast Rune often influenced it, causing him to attract the more primal nature of their power. The Shadow Rune was no different, and it reminded Marcus of why humans feared the night, even if most of them didn't really remember why. Darkness personified, in its rawest form... difficult to tame at all, and there was no using it without having it affect its user in some shape, form, or fashion.

Desperate times. Desperate measures.

[GranspearZX]

"...hiding behind a girl. Shameful."

The Beast Rune had pretty well infiltrated Arcturus's tone, and his eyes glowed with the eldritch power he was barely containing. His fists tightened, and, for a brief second, the air around him distorted with the Shadow rune's power. It flashed across the back of his hand... and then disappeared.

"Say good night, tin-man."

It only lasted a fraction of a second; in the dark of the night, Arcturus's ursine form was momentarily replaced by that of a massive black cat. In the next moment, he was well within the golem's reach, and he grabbed the girl with one free arm around her waist. Fairly certain he might regret doing so, The Shadow Rune activated again, taking both Arcturus and the girl with it, off to the east of where they'd been originally. He didn't have any worry that the canine companion that Rene had assigned to him could see his intent; he dropped the girl, hoping she didn't try to attack him. Instead, he gave her a dark and commanding look, followed by a single word.

"Run."

[Supercape]

GM

The ragged girl ran off, at an unearthly speed, her legs blurring, as she leapt and vaulted through the forest. She was mainly on two legs, but her lithe form dropped on two her arms now and again with almost equal speed and agility.

She snarled and howled as she sped off. Rene's little dog tried to keep pace with her, scrabbling along at full pace.

"I curse you" groaned Gauntlet as he turned to face Arcturus.

"But I have a greater prize now...someone who is truly wild...a pure, primal beast rune, unfettered by the weak will of humans and society...the person you should have been..."

Gauntlet even appeared to be shaking his head.

"The cult of the Rune will not let her go...we will find her, and bait her..." Said Gauntlet.

[GranspearZX]

"I guess that means I'm gonna have to stop you. Here and now."

There really was no running from this fight--Marcus finally had to admit to himself that's what he'd been doing all this time. The human, more reasoned side of him wanted to avoid confrontation, especially after realizing just how ridiculously powerful Gauntlet really was. When he finally gave in to the notion that confrontation was, in fact, the solution, the Beast Rune responded in kind, filling Arcturus with a barely contained rage. His eyes turned a brilliant shade of red in the darkness of the woods, and the tips of his ursine claws burned with various hues of orange and blue flame. He'd resigned himself to only one of the pair walking away from this fight, and to protect both his own life and that of magic users he didn't even know, he was willing to put his mind in a place from where he secretly feared he might never return.

Arcturus let out a bellowing roar that echoed through the woods as he shot forward at full speed, the power behind his legs tearing at the ground. The flames wrapped around his claws all but exploded as the Flame rune resonated with the Beast Rune, and he plowed into Gauntlet with a vicious swipe across the golem's torso.

[Supercape]

GM

Once again, the huge armour sank to its need with a thud, splintering the wood underneath in all directions. This time, the wisps of flame permeated its body, revolving around the empty armour inside and finally flaring out of the hollow black eyes of his helm. Tiny threads of smoke curled away from its articulated joints.

But Once again, Gauntlet rose, now bearing a huge dent in its chest piece. Overall, it was looking quite bent out of shape now - like a car crash. But it had lost none of its strength.

The metal shrieked this time, its joints now out of kilter and grinding against each other with a horrible shrillness. The giant hands reached out to strangle the bear...

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus batted the hands aside and ducked underneath, instinct driving him towards his wrestling practice when he was younger... and less furry. He grabbed for Gauntlet's arm with both hands, turned, and tried to use the massive golem's momentum against him to try and hurl Gauntlet over his shoulder.

The Beast rune was truly pulling from both its own experiences and Marcus's--and if he kept Gauntlet close enough, the girl and Rene's familiar would get plenty of distance between them and the golem.

[Supercape]

GM

Dented as he was, Gauntlet still weighed a ton and had lost none of his strength. His Iron form refused to move, and his grinding metal knocked aside the bear.

"Better" it wheezed, voice full of rust "but you will never overcome unless you truly embrace the rune..."

"I expected better, but now I see how you pale besides the feral creature. She is what you will never be, and so much more. There is the prize...ready to be bound to the cult of the rune...perhaps greater than us both..."

For once, Gauntlet's eyes flashed, and it exhaled rust. It seemed to have lost its arrogance - acknowledging the feral girl as something potentially greater than its metal shod prison.

Gauntelt reached out, snapping a tree branch like a twig, and hefted it overhead and two handed at Marcus, the bramch virtually disintegrating as it shattered on the floor of the forest.

[GranspearZX]

Arcturus easily retained his balance, scowling at Gauntlet. The metal monstrosity had a point. There were indeed depths to the Beast rune that he hadn't tapped, and he wasn't sure if it was because he didn't know how or subconsciously refused to do so. Either way, he hated the fact that Gauntlet had a point. For a second, it seemed like time slowed, the Beast rune pulsing in response to his willpower fighting against his frustration and confusion. The crimson in his eyes intensified as he slipped to one side, dodging the branch.

His right fist clenched as he shot forward, without thought or reason behind the action. Instinct and rage built up from a place Marcus didn't like to go very often, somewhere deep within his spirit where his anger had absolutely no reason for being--it just was. Runic symbols flashed on rapid succession against the back of his palm as he leapt at Gauntlet. He threw all his power into his attack, swinging for the fences as he leveled a swipe at Gauntlet's head.

[GranspearZX]

With Gauntlet seeming to be genuinely reeling from his last attack, he landed, and the Beast rune surged in response to Arc's aggression. He leaped up as Gauntlet staggered backward, grabbing onto a strong, low-hanging tree branch. He swung his body forward and planted both feet squarely into the golem's chest. The moment he did it, there was a green flash as the Beast rune invoked the Earth rune, adding a significant amount of force and weight behind Arcturus's swing.

[Supercape]

GM

This time, there was no stopping Arcturus. The bear's fist punched straight through the dented armour of Gauntlet. Out came a hissing noise, like, ironically, a can of pop being opened.

"I will be back..." came the hissed voice, like old rust on the breeze, weaker this time, defiant but defeated.

Then, with that steady hissing, Gauntlet's Armour seemed to crumple, like a tin can under pressure. His chest caved in first, then the arms, and legs, seemed to pop into the cavity.

The helmet was last, its red eyes blazing.

Then, the helmet caved in too, leaving a ball of crumpled metal. It rolled on the ground a bit, lolling this way and that, as if some maddened weasel was running around inside it like a mouse wheel.

Then, without further ado, it sank, straight into the earth, like butter melting on a hot stone.

[GranspearZX]

"..."

Arcturus stood there, panting heavily as Gauntlet... imploded? He wasn't sure what he was looking at, and the strangeness of the entire thing was enough to firmly snap him out of his rage. He wasn't sure what to do; technically, the golem was escaping, but there was little he could do about it without proper tools and time to trap him.

And that was exactly what was going to have to happen.

"I'll be waitin', rustbucket." Arc's body glowed for a few moments before the magic in him fully subsided, changing back into his human form. He rubbed his right arm, grimacing a little as the adrenaline wore off and the soreness of the fight and the running began to set in.

At least that girl is okay... or at least, I hope she's okay...

[Supercape]

GM

The feral girl was already deep in the forest, far from Gauntlet and Marcus.

She looked at her hands, almost in disbelief.

It had been years since she ran away, crying, from parents who could not understand her power. And since then, she had been living rough, wild, and alone. Already her family life seemed distant.

All humanity seemed distant. Something wild had grown in her. She was more at home with the animals of the forest than humans, animals she could talk to.

But now, a suit of armour and a bear had fought over her, and she had experienced fear, and she had experienced the wildness, stronger than ever.

So strong.

She turned heel, and dropped to all fours, changing into a wild beast of uncertain taxonomy. And she was off, with the speed of a hunter, into the depths of the forest once more...

~Fin~