995/Sarracenia attempts taking Caverns again!

Sarracenia attempts taking Caverns again!
Date of Scene:	02 August 2015
Location:	Caverns of Prophecy
Synopsis:	Sarracenia once again tries to find out the identity of her hero!
Cast of Characters:	Sarracenia, 172, 628

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Sarracenia has posed:
     Another day, another cold icy storm atop the mountains. And...another attack by the Confederates! Alarms are sounded as three huge wooden airships fly in overhead. They look like old world sailing ships, but where sails would be there are huge spinning propellers. And like old world sailing ships, these cruisers are bristling with cannons. But, that is not the main threat. The real threat is the woman that leaps off the side of the lead ship and plummets down like a rocket toward the entrance at the top of the mountain. She is dressed in a thick winter dress, complete with fur-rimmed hood. Atop that hood rests a large tiara, and in her hands is a hammer that looks like some huge monkey should be carrying it. She is actually standing on the head as she plummets, and apparently the hammer protects her from the impact, which knocks the nearby Union personnel off their feet.

     "Alright, you Union meddlers! Clear out! I have to find out if Flinty and I are meant to be!!" With that, the woman starts trying to force her way down into the cavern, swinging that huge hammer in a strangely elegant dance that will no doubt leave the regular troops flattened in no time.

     Meanwhile, ropes are decending from the overhead ships, and sliding down those ropes are plant people of the pirahna plant variety. They carry long spears, and are just as bundled up as their princess, ready to defend her against attackers. They start massing at the entrance to prepare their defense. It is only a matter of time until the Union elites respond...

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura herself has been in the Caverns of Prophecy most of the day. She's been sat by the shore of the pool, her Cards arrayed out in front of her like tarot cards being used for divination. The images in the pool are gathering in front of her, but they seem indistinct. Keroberos, in small form, is currently trying to instruct her.

    But then... an attack! Sakura jumps to her feet, waving her hand to gather up her cards - which float telekinetically to her hand. Sakura flips up her hood, and begins to race for the entrance, Kero hot on her heels.

    Sakura is currently dressed in warm, comfortable clothes - including a vest with a lot of pockets, and a fur-trimmed version of her Hashshashin cloak. It's pink. She is likely to run into Sarracenia quite quickly!

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon, meanwhile, has /not/ been at the Caverns for any time at all. He's actually be in class all day, and was getting a late lunch when Sakura put out the call for help. He's got nothing else to do, and it sounds like a lot of the Union guys are wounded after fighting some berserker guy, so... hey, why not? This is a thing Kamon is suited for.

What looks an awful lot like a big yellow bird is racing up the steps on one side of the mountain. The chocobo navigates the windy, icy steps without issue, leaping up bends in the cliff-hewn stairs when it's faster and leaning into the biting wind. On its back is Kamon, clinging to saddle and bird. His only concession to the cold is that his coat is actually zipped up; it looks like he's used to extreme climates.

He is not sure what he's gonna do about those airships. Maybe if he had Kyra along, she could cast Float or something...

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sakura does indeed encounter Sarracenia quickly! The princess meets her about half-way between the pool and the entrance. She blinks in surprise, then smiles. "Aw. What a cutie! What are you doing down here, little one? Did you come to find out who your betrothed is as well?" she asks, clearly not thinking Sakura is the Union elite standing between her and victory. She even goes so far as to approach Sakura and give her a little pat on the head. "Try to stay out of the way. Wouldn't want you getting hurt." she says, resting her hammer over her shoulder and continuing down the cavern.

     Meanwhile, Kamon and his charging mount find that there is a veritable army between them and the cavern. And each one has a long spear held at an angle in a tactic obviously designed to take out mounted troops. Will he stop? Or charge in? Either way, he is likely to get swarmed by pirahna plants.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura doesn't really react much as Sarracenia walks up and pats her on the hand. She half-forms the motion to draw her Hidden Blade, but decides against it. Instead, she lets Sarracenia walk on past her.

    "Loop," the Magical Girl intones, as she drops one of her Cards to the floor and taps it with the tip of her wand. Suddenly, the air in front of Sarracenia shimmers - and she can see Sakura, facing her, from a long way off! If she turns, she'll still see the back of Sakura. How bizarre.

    Sakura then turns to face Sarracenia, with a bright smile. "Awww. You don't remember me, princess? That's too bad." She fans her cards in her hand, like a card player. "...Let's see if I can make myself more memorable this time."

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon spots the spear-wielding piranha plants. His eyes widen at the spear wall, and the scenario immediately plays through his head: his chocobo, charging forward, slams into the wall. He's hit by a half-dozen spears, pulled from the saddle. If he doesn't die immediately, he'll be seriously wounded, and disadvantaged enough that the fight's outcome is certain. He can't fight those plant-monsters with his sword; it's a practice blade, dull and useless for this kind of battle.

He'll have to improvise.

Kamon and his chocobo stop. There is a long ledge between him, his chocobo and the piranha plant spearmen, a narrow crossing that he can make on the bird but that he wouldn't want to if he didn't have to. He's out of spear-reach, not making any moves to approach them.

"Hey!" he calls. "Can you understand me? Would you clear out of here, please? I don't want to hurt you guys, and you're blocking the path!"

How... considerate...?

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia seems pretty confused when she can see Sakura from both directions at once. "...what is going on?" she says, then blinks as Sakura insinuates that Sarra should know her. She tries to think...has she met this girl? Cards...a wand...it...does seem a bit familiar, but...nope. "You are my opponent? Aren't you a little young for combat?" The princess shakes her head, then hefts her hammer and points it at Sakura. "Don't think I'll go easy on you just because you are cute!" she says, then smirks. "Any who stand in the way of my dreams will be crushed."

     But, the princess doesn't charge. She reaches into her purse and pulls out...a bob-omb! "Here, play with this!" Sarra says before throwing it right at Sakura. Even if it doesn't hit, the explosion on impact is sure to hurt a little.

     Kamon's speech seems to confuse the pirahna plants. They tilt their heads in unison, then start to mumble amongst themselves. Then, one steps forward, wearing actual armor and what closely resembles a Spanish conquistador helmet. "We are Princess Sarracenia's personal guard. Stay clear, and we will not harm you." he says in a gravelly voice. The others keep their spears raised, ready to attack at a moment's notice.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Explosions! Sakura darts back, but she's still caught in the blast wave, getting knocked clean off her feet and bouncing across the ground - before scrambling back up... and dashing off away from the spoiled princess.

    Which, thanks to the Loop, just means she's coming up from behind her. Sakura leaps up, spinning her wand around in one revolution, before shouting out a cry of "POWER!" and bringing the wand down like a hammer, aimed right at Sarracenia's head. The wand is surrounded by a pink glow that seems to multiply the impact several times over!

    "Aren't you a little old to be entertaining rescue romance fantasies?" she retorts!

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Progress! The plants are intelligent, which... actually, that's /more/ of a problem to Kamon. He winces a little bit. It might be the biting wind; it might be the situation.

"Is the Princess the one attacking this mountain?" Kamon calls. "I don't want to hurt her, either, but I told someone I'd help them stop a raid. So if that's you guys..." Kamon looks around while he speaks. There's a twisted, bare tree branch sticking out of a crevice next to him. He takes hold of it with one hand, wrenching it free. It's an awkward kind of club, but it's a club nonetheless.

    EQUIP: Branch

"I just need to get by and help her out," he says, still speaking loudly enough to be heard. "I'm going to count to three, and then I'm going to go through!" The chocobo scrapes the ground with one foot. "I'd appreciate it if you moved by then!" Is he seriously doing this? Is he seriously telling the /spearmen/ that he's going to /ride them down/ on the count of three!

"One!"

Yes.

"Two!"

Yes he is.

"Three!"

The chocobo suddenly spreads its wings and rushes forward. It gets six strides before it jumps, leaping above the ice surface and the piranha plants. There's no way it can clear them and the spears; it's going to fall directly into them, and get impaled on the wall of weapons along with its rider.

Except Kamon isn't on top of it anymore. When the chocobo goes up, Kamon rolls down. He rolls out of the saddle and snatches something off of it with his free hand, clutching the mana-lens in his free hand. The chocobo-shaped projection dissipates as it hits the spears and the line, vanishing in a fizz of green and blue shards and sparks. Kamon has reached the front line by that point, moving forward while the spears go up. The club is held in both hands, that old, frozen lump of wood clutched like a talisman.

Kamon jumps forwards and upwards, thrusting the knobby end of the branch into the jaw of the lead piranha-legionnaire. The moment he feels it connect, he reaches out to grab the soldier by the vine-like 'neck' and drag it downwards, falling from his hop into a crouch with, presumably, the creature knocked senseless and fallen over him like entangling cover. He sweeps the club left and right, powerful swipes meant to knock them onto their butt-equivalents, where he can render them unconscious with a casual and practiced blow with the not-weapon.

His battle-cry, incidentally, is, "Sorry about this!!"

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia laughs as Sakura is blown up, then she turns to head toward the pools again.

     It is the only thing that saves her from getting her head split open. She blinks as she sees Sakura running up, and brings her hammer up just in time to parry the blow. It still shakes the princess pretty badly, but it isn't as bad as it could have been. "I am a princess! All the other princesses get to be rescued by people! What is wrong with wanting that?" she exclaims as she twirls, bringing her hammer in toward Sakura this time. "And little girls should be respectful to princesses! Do they not teach manners where you come from?"

     As Kamon informs them of the situation, the pirahna men just chuckle. And as Kamon starts counting, they form back into their lines and spears come to the ready again. "You might as well give up! You can't beat the Sundew Army!" the leader says, spear raised to stop the chocobo.

     Which...disappears? The captain and all his plant people look pretty startled by this, and it only gets worse when the captain is nailed with that branch and pulled down over Kamon. The other plants are quiet for a few moments, then...they attack! Some try to pull their captain free of Kamon, and the others try to skewer Kamon like a bug on a display board. Of course, only a few can get to him at a time, so there's only like...six or seven spears to avoid at once.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura just has time to quickly yell out "SHIELD!" as that hammer comes spinning for her. It impacts with the yellow-tinted force shield that erupt around Sakura at the precise moment it would have hit her and split her in half... and Sakura is still sent flying into the nearest wall.

    The mage bounces off the wall and lands on her feet in a stagger. "O-okay. I need to stop trying to go toe-to-toe with people who wield weapons that huge..." she mumbles to herself. "...FIREY! Keep her occupied!" Sakura cries out as she activates yet another card.

    A humanoid... creature, wreathed in flames, appears before her. Instead of legs, it just trails off into a burning tail of fire. It spreads its large, fiery wings, and charges at Sarracenia!

    Meanwhile, Sakura pulls out another card. "CLOUD!" Suddenly, thick mist fills the cavern...

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon ends up practically underneath the plant peoples' front line, keeping low but moving fast. The spears that come down at him strike him at odd angles, glancing off his coat's upper body armor and leaving shallow cuts when they actually find flesh. One of them crosses his cheek, striking some kind of scar and glancing off with the sound of metal on metal.

It does not slow him down enough to make a difference. Kamon rises, plowing into one of the spearmen near him and throwing all three-hundred-some-odd pounds of metal and flesh into its midsection. He kicks something on the ground as he goes, hooking the toe of his boot under an object near the fallen captain and flinging it into the air. When Kamon pulls back from basically body-slamming one, he catches the other object: the spear he was wielding.

    EQUIP: Sundew Longspear

Kamon takes to the spear like a fish to water. He ducks his head and swings the extremely long-hafted weapon in a wide loop, sweeping, spinning strikes lashing out at the piranha plants. When one stabs at him when his back is turned, Kamon abruptly adjusts his grip, holding it over his shoulder and flicking it backwards, point-down, shattering the haft of the incoming weapon before it can connect.

He never stops moving forward. The space to either side of him is narrow; they have to either let him pass or back up, potentially pincering him either way. It is not a good place for people with longspears to stand.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Fire?! Not fire! Fire makes hair frizzy and ruins clothes! Not to mention the BURNING PAIN! In her thick winter gear, the fire is especially effective, because it is not easy to put out. Sarracenia has to quickly strip out of her burning outer layers to keep from going up like a match stick. This leaves her in a long, more elegant dress. Which is still smoldering a little. Sarra stomps on her burning winter dress until it stops flaming, then whines, "That was my favorite winter dress! Why can't people just fight with water or something?!"

     She turns, intending to face Sakura again, but finds a cloud of fog blocking her vision. "This is no time for hide and seek, little girl." Sarra says as she steps into the fog. "You ruined my winter dress. You owe me a new one! Come out and take responsibility for it!" she says before she swings her hammer and spins around with it. And...just keeps spinning. Like a top. A top with a very heavy and dangerous hammer. If Sakura is anywhere nearby, she runs the risk of being nailed.

     The onslaught of spears doesn't end even as Kamon starts pushing forward. But, when he closes in on them, Kamon finds there is a third option. Try to grab the crazy guy trying to take on an entire battalion. So, those pirahna plants close to Kamon, closer than their spear will allow them to strike, try to grab him so that other plants behind them can use Kamon as a pincushion for their spears. Despite his so far non-lethal attacks, they seem to have no problems with their attempts to actually harm him. And those plants that grab Kamon will try to bite him with those vicious teeth of theirs. All in all, it's a bad place to be if you are alone.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    "WATERY!" Sakura calls out, as a jet of water streams out of the cloud of... well. Out of the -cloud-. And then she gets nailed by the hammer, once again sent flying into a wall and bouncing off of it. She scrambles to her feet, and, with a gesture, calls the concealing mist to surround her body again - revealing the spirit of the Watery card, a fishlike humanoid. Who is currently glowering at Sarracenia.

    The Firey is still around, too, arms crossed. This fight just gets more and more imbalanced.

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon is in a pickle. The plant people are willing to use natural weapons when he closes. How unfair is that? He goes to all this trouble...

And he gets chomped. "Agh!" The plants start to pile in, going for exposed limbs wherever they can. Kamon can't keep them all at bay for long; one of them goes for a frontal attack, but he jabs it in the head and then practically jams the spear-haft into the jaws of another one like a dog would chew a bone. He gets hit in the back, one clamping onto his left arm and another getting his opposite leg. They draw blood. It tastes extra metallic.

"You guys -- aren't making this --" He grunts, taking hold of the spear again. He raises one hand and chops at the haft where the plant's teeth have clamped into it, breaking it off. Kamon snatches the much-shorter weapon up in his right hand, using it to clobber the one affixed to his arm. "-- easy! BREATH OF IFRIT!"

The spearpoint suddenly lights up, glowing cherry red. Heat rolls off of it. Kamon spins the shortened spear in a wide arc over his head, and then slashes it at a still-clinging plant-man. There's a sudden flare of extreme heat billowing out from him, the wave of it following his sweeping movement. The air shimmers, going from icy cold to broiling hot in an instant. And... it's strange. Friendlies might not look so friendly down here anymore. It confuses friend and foe. A mirage?!

"SHIMMERING STRIKE!"

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia is doused! The water attack only splashes her with her spinning around like a crazy folk dancer, and puts out whatever smolderings she was suffering from. "Ah! Thank you!" she says before noticing the glowering Watery creature. The princess is a bit wobbly after spinning so much, but she still sees that face. "What?! She chose to fight me! You cannot be mad at me for actually fighting her!" she protests.

     With that cloud still around, and Sarracenia still a bit dizzy, she decides on an alternate attack than spinning wildly. She rummages in her purse and pulls out...something that shouldn't fit in such a small purse. A POW block. She giggles, then holds it up in the air, where it sticks without support. Then, she leaps up underneath it three times, and on the third time, the floor bucks upward powerfully, potentially hitting Watery, Fiery, and Sakura all at the same time.

     Fire! Well, actually, these plants are only average afraid of fire. They spit it in most cases, so that isn't so bad. Sure,it burns, and a few of the plant-people go down, but that's not the worst part. The worst part is the confusion. Although they can keep it together enough not to just attack each other, they have trouble distinguishing a plant from a human at this point. But, in a crowd this big, there are going to be a few who are immune or unaffected, and those few close in on Kamon while the others sort out their confusion. The plant with the stick in his mouth chews on it very similarly to how a dog would chew now that he is confused, and practically forgets about Kamon. He probably thinks the stick is a limb of some sort.

     So, again Kamon finds several spears being driven toward his head and body, threatening to pin him down.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Firey and Watery... are foating in the air, so the POW block does literally nothing to them! Darn Flying types and their immunity to Ground...

    Sakura, meanwhile, -is- hit by the juddering ground, but mostly she just uses the newfound momentum to flip up into the air, with a cry of "Jump!" She flips through the air, arcing out of her cloud, and aiming to bring her heel down on the back of Sarracenia's head! "Oh, don't worry. She always looks like that," Sakura comments idly, while flipping over and landing on her feet, a few yards away. She's surrounded by a teal glow...

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon, in the midst of the heat haze... does not move.

He takes a few precious seconds to reorient himself, to catch his breath. He's not used to fighting this many opponents all at once. Assess the field, see who is still a threat, and then move on. A few of the spear-wielding piranha plants are still trying to go after him --

Like those. They want to pincushion him, keep him from advancing. They nearly do. Kamon weaves between them, one spear going under his arm and the other over his shoulder. A third comes from a different direction, getting behind him and grazing him again, a sudden movement all that keeps him from getting his shoulder stuck to a ten-plus-foot length of wood.

"Phoo... that was a close one!" He's kind of entangled in them. Kamon holds his improvised shortspear in one hand, the other free and clear. "So... what do you say we call it a draw?"

He waits a beat. "No? Well... alright. Hey, you guys don't have bones or anything, right...?" Kamon inhales. He moves his left hand over his shoulder, grasping the hilt of the sword sticking up there.

    EQUIP: Academy Practice Blade        
    ABILITY > ARTS OF WAR > WEAPON BREAK

He moves in a blur. The katana comes free, and the blade pares through the wooden spear-hafts like they weren't there. It's not sharp, so it's messy -- they splinter and shatter instead of splitting into two neatly-cut pieces, sending shards of wood in every direction except towards him. He frees one arm and flings himself to the side, disentangling himself and striking out with heavy blows to remove the advantage of reach from the plant-men. Kamon ends up pressing his back to the cliffside, nearly surrounded.

Then he crosses the sword and the spear. Kamon smiles slightly. "VOICE OF SYLPH!"

Kamon uncrosses the blade and spear by swiping them in either direction. The end up stopping a fraction of an inch from the rock wall behind him, another blurring motion happening ahead of him. There's a flicker of green --

"WIND SLASH!"

-- and a gale-force wind kicks up, a powerful breeze blowing /away/ from the side of the mountain, out, down and away from the precarious cliff-side stairs. Hope you like falling off-screen, guys!

Sarracenia has posed:
     The royal noggin is thoroughly rattled by that flying axe kick. Sarracenia lets out a pained cry as she is knocked forward, landing right on her face and seeing plenty of stars. It takes her a few moments to get back to her feet after that attack, and when she does she is staggering unsteadily. "...h-how does someone so small kick so hard...?" she stammers, eyeing Sakura.

     But, even that isn't going to stop the fiesty princess. She charges right at Sakura, hammer swinging in wide arcs, hoping to catch the little girl with one of them since she can't really see straight right now.

     Oh no! Our spears! Many of the piranha plants have no spears by now. Which...really doesn't bother them. What does get them is the sudden gust of wind that sends several stumbling away from the rock wall of the mountain and ends with a stereotypical falling cry. Those that remain dig their feet into the ground. Being plants, putting down roots is pretty natural to them. So, they plant themselves. Then, their mouths open, and there is a fiery glow from within their maws. A moment later, Kamon would find himself under assault by dozens of fireballs. Like a firing squad, wave after wave are shot at Kamon.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura concentrates. She brings up one hand, as one of Sarracenia's wild swings comes close to her. Time seems to slow as she moves her hand to - surprisingly gently - move the hammer aside so that the swing flies right over her head.

    Unfortunately, the backswing catches her completely by surprise, so - BOOF! Into the wall again. Her Shield shatters into shards this time, which swiftly melt away into magical lights.

    The Watery and the Firey move to protect their master, fire and water balls suddenly thrown in Sarracenia's direction as they move to the stunned Cardcaptor's side.

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Ha! Now you don't have any spears! What're you going to d-oh you breath fire. Okay. That works.

Kamon gets promptly cooked. He does not shrink to half-size and start leaping away; instead, he endures it, covering his face and using his weapons as a method of deflection. He moves along the cliff face, the rocks getting pelted with fireballs when they don't leave scorch marks on him instead. He stumbles, nearly falling, but catches himself. It's starting to get to him. He can endure a lot, but...

He flings the busted spear in mid-strike, sending the now-burning weapon flying end over end at the fireball-spewing troops. Then, he ducks and rolls, springing to his feet on the far side of one fusillade of many... and, consequently, ending up much closer to the literal firing squad.

"Shiva's embrace," he hisses, voice low, practically breathless. Kamon can't keep this up forever, but he sure can try to get close. He sweeps his sword low along the ground near the piranha plants, an icy-blue glow passing over the edge. He inhales, and then exhales a shout. "HOARFROST BLADE!"

The temperature changes again. Ice erupts from the ground his sword touched, a sheet of it climbing forward and upward to engulf the rooted piranha plants and keep them in-place. It climbs the vines, threatening to solidify around them so they can't bend themselves over enough to burn their bodies free... or, you know, continue to use massed fireballs on him.

Sarracenia has posed:
     Sarracenia would probably have been impressed with Sakura's skills. If she had been clear-headed and had not caught the girl with the backswing. "Haha! Kick -me- in the head, will you? That should teach you a lesson!" she says, slamming the end of her hammer into the ground triumphantly. Just before she is hit by water and fire, singing her clothes before putting them out and leaving her shivering. Getting drenched in water in a freezing cold area is not exactly ideal. At this rate, she will be denied the knowledge of who her true love is! Again! She isn't about to just let that happen!

     Sarracenia reaches into her purse again, and tugs, then tugs again, and with a final grunt she pulls out...a large bundle of TNT. "Take this, you bad little girl!" she cries out before throwing it. It must be wired to explode on impact, because that is exactly what it does.

     Being frozen in place when already rooted isn't all that big a deal. Of course, being frozen is. The number of able-bodied plant people is dwindling by now. There are only 10 or so left who can fight effectively. And those ten are firing fireballs for all they are worth. Some use fireballs to try and thaw their frozen bretheren, and others fire on Kamon to keep him busy. But one way or another, this battle won't last much longer...

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    "SHIELD!"

    Sakura isn't blown back into a wall this time! Instead, she manages to erect a second Shield... which instantly shatters as it's hit by the explosion, the force shredding Sakura's cloak and the outer layers of her clothing. She seems to actually be injured now! Damn shield-mages, taking forever to show any sign of weakening... and then falling over practically immediately afterwards.

    Sakura is holding onto her side. "...Okay, this is starting to drag on too long," she comments to... herself? It's hard to tell, really. "Time to end it." She produces two more cards. "Drain her. DARK!"

    Sarracenia barely gets to see Sakura activate the cards, as everything turns black an instant later. Stillness and silence fills the cavern... Sarracenia can barely tell which way is up, let alone where her opponent - or her goal! - might be.

    And then she feels it. The emptiness around her -gnaws- are her, trying to fill itself up on her energy. But there's no way she can fill it up all by herself! Her energy is draining away...

    A moment later, however, the darkness vanishes, and light is restored, leaving the world slightly diminished in its wake.

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon dodges, ducks, dive, dips and... what was that last one again --

KER-FIREBALL'D

The seemingly endless supply of firepower (ha) from the piranha plant troopers is testing Kamon's resistance to getting murdered. He's getting too injured to properly dodge, instead using the not-edge of the blunt katana to parry fireballs with expert skill. He cuts them in two like they were incoming baseballs, and the two halves turn into heat and sparks and do little more than singe him.

He is not fast enough to get all of them. Kamon staggers, reeling back as the burns pile up. He's starting to feel like he's on fire from the inside. Given the amount of heat being poured into him and the actual iron in his body, that's not impossible. He labors to breathe properly, trying to find a way around this problem.

"LIONWARD SPECIAL TECHNIQUE!" he suddenly announces. Kamon flips his sword around, holding it in a manner one might a dagger or a short sword in a reverse grip. He lowers himself into a crouch, practically abuzz with energy, tight as a coiled spring.

It's his /other/ hand that whips out from under his coat and flings... something. They look like little yellow spheres. They light up, flashing and detonating the moment they get near the fire-spitting plants. The explosions look more like balloons bursting, but the ensuing lightning bolts that drop from the sky are a little more impressive.

     ITEM > Spark Bomb

"WHATEVER IT IS I JUST THREW ATTACK!!"

It doesn't really have a ring to it...

Sarracenia has posed:
     Ending it does sound good, but Sarracenia would prefer if it was not ended with her life. Not only is getting surrounded by complete darkness disorienting and scary, when you just start feeling weaker for no apparent reason other than the darkness slurping up your energy, that is downright terrifying. When the darkness lifts, Sarracenia is on her knees, panting with the effort of staying alert. "..wh-what kind of twisted little girl are you? Little girls are supposed to be sunny and sweet! Not dark and dreary and murderous!" she complains as she stumbles back to her feet, barely able to stand. Yet, still able to lift her hammer. "Since you are such a rude and improper little imp, I will just have to teach you some manners!"

     Sarracenia releases the magic that holds her hammer's power in check, and there is a swirling of energy around her. The tattered parts of her clothing start to billow, as does her dress, and her hammer starts to glow with a sinister red light that slowly spreads over her body. And as it does, her eyes glaze, her mind being claimed by the desire...to SMASH!

     What follows is a powerful series of hammer blows, done in a raging, barbarian way. Just swing after swing. Up, then down. Up, then down again. Except each swing takes about a second. And leaves the ground broken and cratered beneath each blow. Assuming it doesn't crater Sakura first.

     Kamon, despite his difficulty in handling a big crowd of enemies, has driven them back! The piranha plants are scrambling back up the ropes, and to cover their escape...one of the ships moves in and opens fire on Kamon. "Princess Sarracenia! We have to get out of here!" the second in command cries out down the cavern before scrambling up a rope himself. Those plants that can't climb are retrieved by other plants who run down the mountain stairs to another ship waiting to pick them up. The way is clear for Kamon! Assuming he isn't blown away by cannon-fire.

Sakura Kinomoto (172) has posed:
    Sakura is... hit. A lot. It's not a pretty sight. Let's not go into too much detail here.

    The Firey and Watery practically -burst- into sparkles. The air shimmers - and then Sarracenia can no longer see -herself- in the distance. Which is probably a good thing. That was getting weird.

    Sakura doesn't move. She is thoroughly unconscious.

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon feels kind of accomplished. He actually didn't know if he could handle that many at once without getting burnt to a crisp. He straightens, breathing hard, looks up...

"...are those ca--"

His query is lost in the deafening KABOOM of cannonfire. The cliffside kind of disintegrates, clouds of dirt, dust and smoke thrown up as the narrow defile is practically ripped off the side of the mountain. Rocks start to tumble down the cliff. Kamon is, presumably, somewhere among them. It definitely makes evacuating easy.

But... wait. The rockslide is split. It's like there's a bit that didn't get destroyed. Is that --

     REACTION > STRIKE BACK

The smoke suddenly parts. Time seems to stand still. There is Kamon, at the eye of the storm, body battered and burned but not yet broken, his muscles straining and his face contorted in a mix between a grimace and an expression of grim defiance. There is something in his hands, just now leaving his grip. It is round, black and smooth, much larger than a bomb and too regular to be a rock.

     EQUIP: CANNONBALL

Kamon catches a cannonball and promptly uses it to return fire.

/That's/ what he'll do about these airships.

Sarracenia has posed:
     The hammer rage ends after about 10 seconds, and the magical seal on the hammer reforms. Sarracenia surveys her handiwork and...actually feels a bit bad. She didn't -want- to hurt a cute little girl. It was all this girl's fault! And, since she can barely stand, and the second in command of her attack force is calling that they need to retreat, Sarracenia huffs before turning to head toward the exit. "Stupid girl..." she says to herself as she stumbles and staggers toward the waiting airships.

     When she sees Kamon, she motions down into the cavern. "You should assist your comrade. She cannot be in good shape." she says before she grabs a passing rope attached to a passing airship. One that was not just nearly destroyed by its own cannon ball. -That- one is slowly going down, its propellers having trouble spinning. Its crew is working frantically to keep it from crashing, and they only barely succeed. Sarracenia and her airships retreat, both the princess and the airships looking battered and bruised. Not to mention all the poor pirahna plants that Kamon beat.

Kamon Lionward (628) has posed:
Kamon stands there for a minute. He breathes heavily, struggling to keep air in his lungs while everything felt like it was either on fire or freezing off. He fishes around in his coat, pulling a potion and downing it immediately. The edge comes off. He can kind of keep mobile again. At least, he isn't dying or anything.

So, he heads up the mountain. He gets to the top a minute or so later, finding Sakura in... really bad shape. Kamon goes thataway, fishing around for items. He uses a couple.

     ITEM > PHOENIX DOWN > SAKURA
     ITEM > HI-POTION > SAKURA    

And then, in what might be a fit of irony, he 'princess carries' her back down the mountain towards the nearest friendly stop on it. (Sarracenia, eat your heart out...?)