Last time on YAHMUX This-Is-Totally-Not-Resident-Evil-No-Rly: The TP: Cloud had received a package by a man, and was paid in advance to deliver it to a certain address at a certain date. That date is a couple days away, just yet. Unfortunately for Cloud, there are Other Forces at work here, namely the DFA and the Bureau. Both want the package, so each sent members to retrieve it, but so far... things aren't going so well. With a protracted fight between members of the courier service, DFA agents, and the Bureau's own Strike Team, the fighting has thus far ended, and changed into a chase through the streets of Midgard City. Cloud, on his motorbike, races up the street. After a minute or two of incantations and being delayed by Eve, Vahn has transformed into a giant demon dog creature, and begun to give chase up the street. The others, now that the fighting has stopped, are left to do as they would... The singular problem in this chase is that Vahn is slower than a speeding motorbike. The bonus, however, is that Vahn can move in three dimensions, which mitigates the lack of comparable speed somewhat. He's also not as prone to being unable to correct his path as a person on a bike or in a car is, such as the tight corners and obsticles that Cloud is now throwing in his path. Charging on up to the freeway entrance, Cloud makes his daring and skillful move in order to close off the opening. If Vahn were on a bike or in a car, he'd probably be boned. But as it is, Vahn simply pauses for but a moment, and then leaps up and over the narrowly-avoided car crash, landing with a heavy shaking of the on-ramp, claws digging into the asphalt enough to leave another huge series of scars on the road. Tearing up the ramp, Vahn attempts to close the gap between he and Cloud in one more quick jump, leaping from the ramp, to the side of the freeway's sound barriers, and then leaping from the sound barrier, down onto Cloud, intent on simply crushing the ex-Soldier under his weight. Fortunately for Eve, she can't really see all the chaos and confusion Squall has to navigate through until it's already past. She doesn't have to freak out about how incredibly dangerous this chase is. Then again, she throws herself into danger often enough... she might just find this a bit of a rush. Seeing as she can't really help Squall navigate now, Eve's forced to look at other things. Things such as the smaller racing bike that's managing to catch up to them. She leans closer to Squall's ear, speaking in a voice no doubt too quiet for the speed they're travelling. "Behind us." she says, following the likely-unheard words with a hand in Squall's sightline with a finger pointing behind them. Then she has to grab on again from another rapid driving maneuver. Her head's turned back though. If she can't help Squall drive, she'll be rearguard. She considers launching a feather bullet strike at the bike and rider when it closes, but immediately dismisses the thought. At the speed they're going, any attack like that will likely cause the rider to be thrown... and it'd likely be fatal. She's just not that nasty. No, she'll be willing to slow the bike down. She'd be fine with hurting the rider too... but she'll do nothing that'd seriously injure, or damage the bike, for fear it'd cause a fatal crash. Squall quashes the instinct to turn and look at what-- or who-- Eve's pointing out, instead focusing ahead at the nascent pileup clogging the streets in the wake of the two up ahead. He still has no idea who was on whose side, and didn't catch Armstrong when he declared his allegiance to the DFA: as such, he has no idea whether he's supposed to aid or attack the rider coming up from behind. "Enemy?" he asks tersely, not daring to take his attention too far from navigating the mess Cloud and Vahn leave in their wake. "She after Cloud?" And after whatever he's transporting, which apparently really /really/ needs to be delivered. The tone of Eve's voice and the fact that she's actually taking the time to point out the rider's presence, however, doesn't provide reassurance that the person behind them means anything good. Ensuring Eve's arms are clamped firmly around his chest-- securing her to him so that he doesn't accidentally throw her with any rapid and unexpected moves-- he abruptly cuts his speed: after first making sure there's nothing in the path directly behind him. Notably, once Eve got on the bike, he removed his blade from his back so he could unsheath it quickly without taking her head off: it's secured at his waist. He draws the weapon now as he draws near Savoi, awaiting any indication from either her or Eve as to whether he'll need to use it. Shit-- Vahn! He better be able to keep up with that on of a bitch, or else at this rate, things are going to go totally south. However, she'll admit that she's impressed-- outside of reading the reports and seeing a photograph or two of his transformed state, she's never actually seen Vahn use his ability to fuse... So, with a bit and blot of blood chilling against the bridge of her nose as she speeds down the road, she catches sight of Squall and Eve riding upon the same bike. Assaulting them close up would be suicidal; Eve's distance would more than make sure of that. Plus, she has no idea if the gun section of that ridicilous weapon that the dark-haired man driving actually fires bullets-- you never know, in this line of work. Cursing her luck, her left hand lowers to her leg and snaps up the pistol from the holster, using her dominant hand to pivot the bike toward the right as she, too, decelerates-- while she wants to keep ahead of the traffic and not go slamming into things (or have cars slam into her), getting right up into the range of that blade or the blonde girl? No thanks. Getting them out of the way would take precedence-- best way to do this would be to take out their rear tire and watch the hilarity. So, displaying a great deal of balance, her arm lifts and aims low. This clearly designates her as 'bad', now. Honestly, Cloud hadn't really expected his troubles to be over by pulling a stunt like that. Why? Because this wasn't the first time he'd been involved in a high-speed, death defying highway chase, and for some God-unknown reason stuff like that -never- worked. But he still tried anyways. At least, he had expected that the demonic canine would somehow be able to follow him, what he -hadn't- expected was the dark shadow now cast over him. The blonde swordsman didn't need to look up to know what this meant. Fortunately experience has been a good teacher to the would-be SOLDIER and he doesn't lose his wits at the thought of a several ton-weighing demon dog slamming down on him with the full force of that weight added to Earth's gravitational pull. At the very least, everyone decided to knock down his door at an opportune time of day and rush hour hasn't begun on the freeway as of year, leaving things relatively open. Thus, the blonde guns the accelerator and swerves several lanes to the right, one hand turning as the other swings his sword out at the falling form of Vahn and re-sheathing it in a relatively fluid motion. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Cloud wonders how the DFA will cover this one up. Vahn - or rather the huge, pure black canine figure that can't really be lumped in with wolf OR dog, not to mention the markings in its fur and the chains wrapped around it - had a simple plan. It was a good plan, too. Leap up onto the sound barrier, then leap from it, onto Cloud, landing on him. Unfortunately, the non-Soldier had other ideas. Being no stranger to combat, the young man guns his bike, leaving nothing for the hellhound to fall on other than the asphalt of the road, and so he does. Very loudly, and with a heavy impact that sends a passing car swerving a good deal, managing to regain control enough to pull off to the side, not really realizing what the hell just happened. The asphalt doesn't fare so well - it gets cracked, scared, and ultimately caved in in four places, where Vahn's paws land. But, oddly enough, Vahn doesn't immediately turn to begin following Cloud again. Looking closely, they might be able to see a very dark fluid mixed in with the destruction of the road - blood, no doubt. The wound is difficult to see, but the area above Vahn's right foreleg had been cut. The direct consequences of this being seen as Vahn loses support on that side, and suddenly collapses on the highway. Which gives enough time for cars to come barreling down the highway, making a turn that obscures vision of the large demon dog lying on the road... and having just enough time to slam on the brakes. Some of the heavier cars skid right into Vahn's side, forcing the boy - demon - dog... whatever he is now to roll over, looking almost like a playful motion, except with more growling and snarling, a noise loud enough to be heard even at the bottom of the onramp. Vahn, at this time, has to struggle to stand back up, swiping a claw at another car, the driver of which was too busy talking on his cellphone to notice the giant black dog on the road, sending the car spinning into the center divide. Watching the black-clad biker and her gun, Eve considers. The rider seems to have no qualms about firing on their bike, while Eve deliberately chose not to do the same back. She could fire feather bullets... but no. Eve can't do that. She could defend the bike's tires, but not while clinging to Squall's back. A single bump would send her flying if she was looking back and using her arms to shield. No, too difficult. But she does have another option. Going flying... literally. Glancing forward when a huge smashing sound erupts, Eve sees where the giant dog went airborne. It's a chance, if she's quick. She can't effectively defend Squall, and all she's doing is keeping him from being as maneuverable as he needs to be to defend himself properly. A lot of thought, but it only takes the genius girl a moment to come to the right conclusion. Not bothering to answer Squall's questions of her, she sums it up with a few very brief words. "Tires. Good luck." she says, already visualizing the transformation she needs to make. Removing her hands from around Squall's chest, Eve reaches up to his shoulder instead, as if putting a reassuring hand there. But no. She uses that shoulded to lift herself, then deliberately pushes off. The speed of Squall's bike makes for a great launching pad, and her helmet dissolves, expanding and reforming into a pair of large angel-like wings sprouting from her shoulderblades. From a ballistic path she bursts into full flight, the agility and unpredictability of her flying form something of a defense against being shot. She figures it's possible the rider behind might fire on her... a risk she'll accept. Because if she's attacked, that frees Squall to go on ahead. Either way, one of them at least can continue the pursuit. Like the dog, Eve doesn't have to stick to the road's surface. Bypassing the onramp entirely, and given the high speed she's moving, she has a good possibility of catching up before the dog starts moving again, or at least of being able to fly faster than that dog for long enough to catch up and land on its shoulders. She can't fly long - about a minute at most - but that ought to be plenty of time given the speed boost from Squall. So no, she's not after Cloud. She's after his tires instead. A glance in the mirror affirms this well enough. He swerves right out of his path, cutting to the right between two cars and decelerating slightly. She's got something of an edge on him in her long-ranged weapon, as his gunblade can't fire projectiles, and he has a feeling she won't want him to get close. Well, that doesn't stop him from trying to. Ducking low, he uses the cars of the lane between them for cover: attempting to line up with Savoi without remaining in her sight. As best he can, he /does/ try not to overly jeopardize civilians, though the cynical part of him comments that at this point, it's probably chaotic enough that civilian casualty is inevitable. He waits until an opening between cars appears, and then swings the bike hard left through it: swiping at Savoi in a flat-bladed attempt to disarm. Bullets ricochet off bumpers, ping against the asphalt in sparks, and a few people end up with the trunk of their car with a newly broken tail light-- but no matter. Squall and Eve are still her targets, and all she needs to do is catch that exposed tire. Even getting them to swerve just right will do, send them flying off the curb or slamming into another vehicle and inertia and gravity will take care of the rest. Savoi is quite surprised as Eve suddenly has wings burst out of her back and she vaults into the air. This kid isn't making her life easy. But to take her attention away from Squall would be dangerous and unnessicary-- she's busy chasing after them, and this man has a big sword and not afraid to use it. Her fingers spindle tighter around the throttle as her resolve is once again made solid, watching and waiting for her chance to squeeze off another bullet at Squall's bike. He comes in mean and quick-- her gun swings around at him and starts to pull the trigger, but the flat of the blade swats hard against her gloved hand, sending the pistol jerking back and out of her grasp, bouncing end over end and clattering all over the street whipping by behind them. Not to be completely deterred, however, Savoi in turn attempts to edge her bike closer to Squall-- and grab at the young gunblader's arm. If she can't -shoot- him off the bike, maybe she can -pull- him off the bike? So, after catching sight of the ... thing... pursuing Cloud's spiky ass, and /then/ managing to lose sight of the direction which they'd taken, Jake had concluded that maybe more firepower was needed here. (Plus, she just really wanted to play. --so, yes, maybe her housemates lives were on the line, too, but--this would help, right? Of course.) Which might explain why she hasn't been seen since the brouhaha left the Delivery Service, except that naturally she didn't bother to explain herself to the only one she could have caught up with (see: short, sullen, and emo). Just zipped away, breaking more than a few speeding laws. Hard to say what laws she'd be breaking now, since 'flying' isn't generally mentioned. Getting to the mansion, getting Tony's word, and getting the suit on really hadn't taken as much time as she'd thought it would. And the greatest part about it? Jet boots + locating and tracking abilities. Finding Cloud and a demonic- looking dog proved much easier, especially with the huge building-up-tangle knotting up on the freeway, and keeping a lock on them, as well. "Time to go," she murmurs to herself, and dives downward. To the cars below, there's just a 'whoosh' and a dark, steely form zipping by overhead. To Vahn, he gets a slightly better look, as the ironclad humanoid is heading straight for him, intending to simply barrel into him with bruising force and carry him up into the sky. Cloud: 1 Demonic Dog: 0 A temporary victory, surely, but Cloud would take what he could get with these kinds of stakes involved. Vahn receives only the briefest glances back, not for his own safety as much as looking to see what the effect on traffic is. Wincing, the would-be SOLDIER can only hope that no one is hurt too badly in the ensuing pile-up the beat's unceremonious entrance onto the highway is sure cause. As if that wasn't bad enough, something -else- seemed to be joining in on things too. Cloud didn't have enough time to see what it was, although something did seem familiar about the blazing red streak before it slammed into his demonic pursuer. The arrival of Eve as well with...um...angel wings (She's really persistant for a kid, huh?) is more than enough of the incentive Cloud already had to put as much distance between him and his unwanted followers as possible. He turns the accelerator until it won't go any further, weaving his way between speeding cars, vans and tractor trailers before taking the exit for little Japan. He had the route firmly in his mind, fortunately. It wouldn't be long now....he just kinda wished he knew what the hell he was going to do when he got there. Vahn's recovery from the failed landing doesn't really take all that long, even with the cars ramming into him. Which, being that this isn't rush hour, is a lot less painful than it could be. Not that he could feel pain in this form, but still. Rising up on his feet again, he's about to turn to follow where Cloud is, when there's that... something. A metal gnat, it kind of looked like. A big one. However, Vahn has no time for gnats. He's lost ground that won't easily be made up, due to the difference in speed between he and the motorcycle. So at the same time that the metal gnat - Jake - plows into him, he's moving. Not towards Cloud, but rather just his head, snapping down with those huge teeth at a car, and just -ripping- right through the roof and side. As the jet-propelled gnat flies into his side - no doubt hurting, and perhaps even cracking a rib, from the feel of it - Vahn turns, and rather than just let himself be carried off, he whips the car around, intent on smashing the vehicle right into whatever's plowing into his side. Mind, he's not intending to just smash, he lets go of it in mid-swing, more throwing it at Jake. Assuming this were to hit, or that Jake would be forced away from him, he'd then begin to charge off down the highway again, leaping over any cars that impede his path, just barely keeping the form of the spikey-headed non-Soldier in his view. Eve isn't sure what that flying suit of armor is all about. It's captured her attention however, and her imagination as well. The warrior-child manifests swords and shields and gauntlets all the time, and while this suit of iron is clearly more techno and less archaic than a knight from a story, it's still more than close enough to spark the image in her mind. Her flight from Squall's bike is somewhat erratic at first as she moves in great swoops and darts in the hopes of avoiding a bullet. With all her nanomass save only her hair manifested as wings, she's got no armor whatsoever against guns - everything is instead poured into the wings in the hopes of gaining speed. Fortunately she's not shot at, and after a bit she levels out and just goes for straight-out speed, wings pumping at the air as she darts more falcon-like than like an angel. While her target is distracted by the techno-knight, Eve darts in. Flying in from behind, she examines her target. There's really nothing she can do to hurt it. She sees the impact the knight caused, and she can't match that. Though she might conceivably be able to kill the creature by lancing it at full aerial speed straight for the heart, there's no way she'd do that either. So instead she just lands, alighting on the beast just between its shoulderblades. The wings immediately retract. She's not at her transformation limit, still having some reserve energy, but the wings are needed elsewhere now. Nanomachines flow from the wing's tip, dissolving from there rapidly, and flow through her body to her hands and extending outward from there, forming themselves into braided ropes which close around the beast's neck and meet at its throat. Not in an attempt to choke of course. She knows there's no way she could overcome the massive neck muscles. She just wants a harness to help her hold on. When and if the giant dog catches up with Cloud, she intends to be there to do something to slow the beast down. She doesn't know WHAT exactly, but she'll at least be there if she can! Oh, hey looky, car. Even granted that the dog is as big as a van, Jake was not exactly prepared for that. As such, her reaction is not exactly the best it could have been-- besides, she's still getting used to the armor, this is her first real test with it. One arm throwing up instintively before herself to block, she nearly uses the same fist to backhand the car away-- Then, at the last minute, she sees the people in the car, and hesitates. With the result that the car plows into her, sending her tumbling backward and burying her underneath its bulk, car and Iron Man^Hiden^WKnight in Dull Steely Armor skidding across the highway until friction halts them. For a moment, the wreckage is still--then it rocks, and shifts, and slowly, the entire front end rises as Jake pushes up from beneath and staggers out. "Ow," she pronounces clearly, more for effect than from reality. She's unhurt; the armor bears more than a few scrapes, and it squeaks a little, but it's largely undamaged. "You fucker, there are /people/ in the car--" Turning to glance inside the car, she frowns, the expression hidden behind the helmet, then lowers the bumper of the car. "Who may be dead, I can't quite tell from here." They don't look in good shape, anyway. She can only hope the parademics are on their way. "Then again, I guess I can't expect more from--hey! Come back!" That, as she realizes while she's been talking, the dog-demon has already gone a fair distance away, in pursuit of Cloud--and, for that matter, the three-person tangle has gone beyond her, too. Swearing, she only pauses long enough to rip off one of the warped car doors, to allow the parademics access or the people inside to get out, if they're in any shape to do so, before kicking on the jet boots again. With a scream of superheated air, she arrows down the highway. And yes, she's still lugging the car door. It's just unfortunate that her gift can't operate through the metal of the gauntlets. But it'll still do as a makeshift thrown weapon. Lots of jaggy bits. Which she intends to let the dog feel, as she brings the door back to one side and hurls it forward, intended to hit Vahn just as he prepares to leap over a car. Another glance in the mirror reveals the faintest shaped of dark, canine thing tailing him, the words 'OBJECTS IN MIRROR CLOSER THEN THEY MAY APPEAR' printed at the bottom reminding Cloud not to get too comfortable withing being ahead of the game, turning the accelerator and continuing his wild ride into Little Japan. Really, the would-be SOLDIER has no idea what's going on. He doesn't know what's in the package, he doesn't know why the DFA wants it, he doesn't know why these other people want it, and he's gone and gotten people who have nothing do with it mixed up into the whole thing, like Squall and Jake. He was just supposed to be a courier. Delivering damn -packages- was the one thing he'd had that remained relatively simple and free of worry. Not anymore. He can only hope he'll find some kind of an answer when he gets to where this package is supposed to go. The address, fortunately, is an easy one to pick out. He doesn't take the time to properly park his bike, ignores the looks of bystanders who immediately begin to edge away, some almost running, from the sight of the Final Buster. Hurriedly he pulls the package out of the rucksack at the rear of the bike and walks up to the door, knocking first and then ringing the bell, anxiously looking over his shoulder for the approach of his demonic pursuer. Thinking about it, this seemed far too nonchalant, didn't it? Just imagine these people's surprise. First, there's a giant, black dog wrapped in chains standing in the freeway, after just trying to crush a man wielding a sword on a motorcycle. They crash into the dog, sending him sprawling, and then the two men in the car, on their way to a favorite bar, get their car rather managled by the dog. The man in the passenger seat gets the worst of it, really. His shoulder is lanced by Vahn's fang, his leg is crunched and fractured, his neck suffers some real bad compaction as his head is forced into a bad angle due to Vahn's chomping down on the car. The driver suffers far less serious injuries, though he just happens to be the one that's on the side of impact against Jake, getting a piece of steel door rammed into his side. While both out, and no doubt will die if they don't receive medical attention, and fast, they are at least alive when Jake flies off to meet with Vahn again, this time equipped with a door. As for Vahn himself, he didn't stick around to hear the metal gnat's lecture, no. Why would he? Though he didn't get a good look - was too busy mostly flailing around with the car in his mouth - he was assuming that'd be the end of whoever it was. So, he tore off down the highway again. Surprisingly, though it's no doubt he'd feel Eve landing on his back, and that he'd feel the braid loop around his neck, he doesn't do anything about it, so intent on catching up with Cloud. And really, what could he do? Not a damn thing. Unless he didn't care about Cloud. But considering he's playing leap frog on top of cars, the sound barrier, the road divide, and just... well, anything, in order to make an effort to catch up, it's probably a sure thing he does. And just as he's about to clear one last car, something jagged, made of metal and glass, totally rips into his hindquarter. As if thrown by a automatic baseball pitcher set on 'Owfux'. The demon dog's landing is thusly all manner of screwed up, giving a wild yowl as it flies through the air, barely catching itself on its left side legs, but those being not enough to support its weight, it collapses, and skids a fair distance over the surface of the asphalt, tipping on its side as it does, sending a shower of sparks up from the jagged chains digging into the ground. It probably tosses Eve around, and possibly off Vahn if she isn't holding on tightly enough, but fortunately he doesn't roll -over-, on top of her, just onto his side. Strangely, despite the interferance, unless Jake does some follow up, all Vahn will do is get up, shake himself off like a dog that just went bathing (again, probably not hard enough to knock Eve off, but still a wild ride), and then leap from the asphalt, to the sound barrier, down the two stories to the street below, and begin to follow Cloud again. Vahn knows where Cloud is going now... For the house was actually where it all started. It's a quaint little thing in Little Japan. On a quiet street near some apartment buildings. There's several walls surrounding a one story house with a garage attached to it. The house is dark, and looks abandoned. And also a place for the neighborhood kids to work over, given the grafitti. It was the house Vahn was first sent to to look for the research notes of the Virus, and got interrupted by Trish. The door is kicked in, actually, and lying down flat, knocked clean off its hinges. If he were to look, Cloud could probably find two shell casings lying around in the grass. In any case, this house is definitely abandoned, and there is no one here. High upon the doggie's back, Eve barely settles into place before it takes off. It's not even all that hard to ride really. The back is broad enough she could probably stay on just by clinging to the coarse fur. Well, at least she could do so if she hadn't been injured earlier. Her arm's bruised though, possibly even worse than bruised, and the pain's something she needs to consider. Eve's a valiant little warrior, but she's also a samll child. Tougher than most children perhaps, but hardly invulnerable and unfeeling. Fortunately, Eve really doesn't have to try to hang on. It's not that she expects to fall... more that she fears the dog-demon finally taking notice of her. The braided rope of hers loops around the demon's neck, but Eve doesn't simply hold the rope as some sort of harness. The rope is a literal part of her as well, integral to her arms. She can't let go of the rope, not unless she deliberately transforms it again. It can't come off now unless it's snapped or she chooses to release it. And a lucky thing too... the demon-dog doesn't make it easy for her considering the bounding path it takes to catch up. The strain starts to get to Eve, the constant pull and thrash aggravating the injury she'd already received. And yet her only intent is to hang on and to finish this ride. To see it to the end and to try somehow to help Cloud. She promised to try to slow Vahn down, and so far she hasn't had any success. THAT, more than the constant yank and pull, hurts. As the strain increases, Eve shifts some of her nanites internally. Pain can be ignored. Trauma... less so. She can immobilize the arm however, take the strain off the flesh and bone by encasing the arm in a thin casing of nano-armor. It's only a theory, but she has nothing better to do while riding. Doing so certainly can't hurt... unless those nanomachines are later needed elsewhere. If she had been clinging to the dog through her own strength, she'd surely be sent flying when it gets struck down. Without her nanomachines she'd no doubt be cast free when it shook off the blow. But Eve is indeed no normal child. Tenaciously she remains attached to the demon-dog's neck, though it's all she can do not to scream. She lets out a muffled shriek during the worst of it, though whether of pain or terror it's not clear... but she remains. Perhaps not the brightest of ideas considering Vahn's next step of dropping a jarring two stories, but she's stubborn. And so at the end of the journey, she's still there. Shaken, somewhat battered, probably having just endured the ride of her short lifetime... she still isn't quite ready to give up. Though giving up, rolling off to find somewhere to curl up and weep... she's far closer to doing so than she'd ever want to admit to anyone. Still clinging to Vahn's neck, Eve's utterly at a loss for what to do next. It's sheer stubborn pride holding her here at this point. That and duty... and caring what happens to Cloud. Squall is indeed surprised by Savoi's strength-- which is more than he'd expected from a female of her build-- but then again, Squall's own strength isn't entirely what is natural for a young man of his age and size. Her hold is firm up until she breaks it of her own volition, peeling away to the left: but his momentum ensures that he just keeps on going past the car in question. Which is good; had he not, he himself would have been decorating its front bumper. When she appears again in his sight, it's with another gun. Sighing a mental curse, he narrows his eyes and focuses briefly on the carnage up ahead: assessing the situation. Casting a glance back at Savoi, then another back up at the receding entanglement following Cloud, Squall makes a quick decision. Putting on speed, he cuts through the snarling traffic in an erratic and evasive pattern: one whose ultimate goal is to keep up with Cloud and follow him to his destination. His other goal is to lose Savoi along the way, taking advantage of the massive chaos. The strength born from months and years of critical adjustment, chemical treatments, and god knows what other black science to pollute a common human being into what she is today. Savoi resigns the grip and dodges to one side, she rides ahead hard and looks for her second shot. Instead, Squall slingshots ahead. Savoi grits her teeth in her helmet, snarling angrily at the young man as he darts ahead. Her eyes narrow and her hands grip the handlebars firmly, accelerating toward the chaos ahead in the middle of the streets. With Little Japan at hand during this trip, Squall may just lose her-- in as far as the common street pursuit. What about the sidewalk? The student fires a couple of crisp shots toward the fleeing Squall as he accelerates through the narrow gap provided to him for what seems like only a scant few precious moments-- precious moments that she doesn't have. With a jumping and jolting bump as the bike screeches from asphalt to concrete, people scream and scatter as she takes a moment to slow down, realign herself, and gun the bike right down the pedestrian row. This was such a fucking mess. Emma is going to kill her. Jake would clench a fist in quick victory, but there's precious little time for that--especially given the speed at which the giant dog-thing moves and apparently recovers. "Command, control release repulsors, Middanka. Left gauntlet, firing mode, Middanka," she murmurs rapidly under her breath, bringing her left gauntlet up and aiming at Vahn. "Power level--" Only then, she hesitates, catching sight of the girl (of all things) clinging for dear life to the dog's back. ...was she there before? Damn, no aiming at the body, then--so she reorients for the head. "Power level four." It should be enough to distract the dog while she closes in for paw-to-gauntlet combat. "Fire." A brilliant yellow beam, edged in red, flicks out from the palm of the gauntlet, arrowing toward Vahn's jaws with enough concussive force to punch through steel an inch thick. She keeps the shot short, though, not wanting to risk it dodging and maybe bringing the girl into harm's way. Sure, the girl might be its accomplice, but why risk it if she didn't have to? Instead, she follows up with a flying (literally) tackle, one fist driving toward the dog's eye while the other grabs at an ear, boots swinging up to attempt to plant against Vahn's shoulder to give herself some leverage. "...." Well, this was unexpected. A cursory inspection indeed proves that the house is in a sorry state. The owner likely really was dead...or wasn't in Midgard anymore, at least. If he knew package delivery could get complicated like this, the blonde ex-SOLDIER would've taken out the goddamned interior decorating ad instead. A sigh capitulate the grudgingly accepted that he can't do anything about it now, and that he knew what had to be done next. Surprisingly, it doesn't take him long to mull things over before reaching his conclusion. The package had to be destroyed. Everything he saw pointed to the evidence that the owner would not be receiving this package. As a courier, this was the only option he had left under such...extenuating circumstance to preserve the client's privacy. If he was wrong, and someone showed up to claim it later...well, he'd just have to deal with it then. As it is, he doesn't like the idea of either organization getting whatever is inside this thing. However, admittedly, there's the problem of a pissed off demon dog barreling at him with ill intent. He has a plan to deal with that though...or at least, he thinks he doess. So it is that Cloud Strife walks back out of the home at the address the package was meant to be delivered to. He stands in the road, prepared to face down the foe he's been eluding up until now. No more running. It was going to end here. He'd wait for the beast to be upon him, and then he would act. It would be gamble...but everything was in a battle, wasn't it? For now, he stands his ground and waits, package clasped in left hand with the Final Buster held firmly in the other. Little Japan is a fair sized area of the city, and theoretically, Cloud could be going anywhere in it. Even just taking a longer route to get somewhere. But why get off the highway here, when clearly Cloud's bike had an advantage. There were also more people in Little Japan. Further, considering the very nature of this chase, and what they all were (not normal, in other words), Vahn could only conclude that Cloud was returning to where it all started. With Eve on his back, the demon dog crouches, leaps upwards onto the noise barrier, weight changing from the forepaws to the back, and then pushing off to fall the two stories down to the street level. It's in that transition of weight that - something- lances from the metal gnat, some distance away, and heads straight for Vahn's head. If he notices it coming, he doesn't give much of an outward sign. In fact, he doesn't seem to notice it at all, as the beam narrowly misses him - aiming for such a small target (compared with the rest of him), and one that is changing position so much makes it difficult to keep up. Even so, the shot comes scarily close, plowing through the dog's thick mane of hair, singing and burning away a few of the black strands, leaving a rather bad smell in the air, and probably giving Eve a scare, at least. As for the follow up, it's likely that as Vahn lands on the ground, the asphalt cracking soundly as he does, and then begins to tear off down the road, now using sidewalks and various other avenues to simply skip the car thing, plus the higher prevalence of buildings, that Jake's attempt to close to melee would be interrupted. It doesn't take him very long to catch up with Cloud, however, at his rate, and if he does make it, he pulls right up into the driveway, his black form blocking out any of the light from the street, the only thing really visible on his form other than the sleek streaks of blood reflecting what little light there is, being those large, blood-red eyes, staring straight at Cloud. Vahn's still, for now, merely standing in the driveway, looking at Cloud, mouth full of razor-sharp fangs hanging open, letting out breath as the thing panted from all its physical exertion that Cloud could probably smell - the smell of brimstone and sulphur, which mingles with that of burnt hair. And, of course, Eve, settled on top of his back by the shoulders, holding onto him like she were riding a horse, with that braid looped around his neck. Vahn's head dips a little, and though his mouth doesn't move, words seem to come, as if erupting from the very ground under him, the voice sounding as though two people were speaking, deep and heavy. "You can save yourself a lot of trouble if you just give me the key." Okay, that was NOT a fun ride. Not even counting the number of times her demon-mount had been shot at and struck, the sheer jouncing of the ride and the two-story plunge near the end just HURT her. Give her a nice safe roller-coaster ride of doom any time... though of course Eve's never even seen such a thing. Somehow she manages to stay on though, oweing more to being literally tied in place than to any skill as a rider or strength of diminutive arm. Seeing the iron-clad warrior take aim, she buries her own body in close, protecting herself. The shot misses the demon-dog, and she probably would have been safe enough had it struck, considering how much mass of creature was between her and the impact. Still, the near-miss of the beam probably caught some of the little blonde's own flying mane of hair, an event that convinces her it'd be best to end this ride as soon as possible. As the mount and passenger come into sight of Cloud once again, as the swordsman waits with mighty blade readied, Eve takes the opportunity. Gathering up her will and courage - whatever remains of it after the painful, jolting ride - she parts the braided rope around Vahn's mount and springs off his shoulders in a surprisingly graceful motion. Feathers once again burst from her shoulderblades; those close enough and paying enough attention can see the wings passing somehow right through her own clothing. Her leap carries her to the side, away from Vahn's jaws. The wings carry her further to the side and forward, towards Cloud but not directly at him, presenting no direct threat. The blonde 'angel' lands only a few moments later, her speed and aerial grace taking her to a good position quickly. She lands and turns in one motion, and it's here that her grace falters. Only for a moment, and only the tiniest bit, but she stumbles as she turns to face Vahn. She recovers instantly, but that stumble is there for anyone with the alertness to notice it and see how badly shaken and fatigued she already is. Eve's normally a very graceful child, in control of her entire body in a way that would cause envy in an olympic gymnast, and that literal self-mastery makes her a strong fighter even without using her power... but she's been pushed to her frail body's physical limit. Even so, she seems ready to fight. Her wings shorten and retract, flowing like liquid metal right through her dress once again, then down through her arms. The nanomass forms, slowly, into a weapon. The effect isn't nearly so fast as when she created the wings in the first place, though there's no sign whether that's a result of fatigue or a deliberate dramatic flourish. The process takes only a few seconds though, during which time Vahn speaks. The nanomass flows into a long spike, extending outwards in a thick needle almost a full six feet long then flowing outwards to thicken into a shimmering lance of silver. The shimmer solidifies, the gleam fades, leaving a perfectly functional-looking metallic footman's lance. If she'd remained on Vahn's back, if she'd used this weapon on him then, she might've been able to injure him greatly. The penetrating power of a lance makes it a perfect weapon against such a massive opponent. But of course, her aim's never been to kill. Eve glances over at Cloud almost apologetically. She doesn't say what's on her mind though... that she's sorry she couldn't slow Vahn down like she'd promised, and so she's here now to fulfill her word. As fatigued and sore as she is, that solemn vow still drives her on. Her words are instead saved for what's important. Turning back to the demon-dog, she focuses a determined gaze on him. She doesn't want to see the boy dead. However, she's seen how much damage he can take without flinching, knows there might be no other way to stop the demon-form. And she isn't about to stop Cloud or the armored knight from delivering a lethal blow. "You must see you can't win, now." she claims, her voice seemingly the strongest thing about her. "Leave now. Withdraw while you still can." she asks. She almost pleads, though her plea isn't for an end to the fight. She'll beg Cloud and the armored warrior to spare his life if she gets the chance... but only after the creature's been defeated. By a miracle Squall ekes past the gap and escapes the wasping bullets, putting on speed as he follows the trail of destruction through Little Japan. It doesn't take too much effort to follow their progress: he was not all that far behind the two of them to begin with, and the unearthly clash of Vahn's enshrouding chains is a fair indicator of his location. He spares a glance in the mirror to see where Savoi's got to. Her decision to get up on the sidewalk is noted with some consternation, and he peels off as far to the opposite side of the road he can get. Pulling onto the street that now serves as the scene of a fairly impressive standoff, Squall glances briefly behind him for Savoi: and then shifts slightly so that his weapon shields most of his vulnerable back. He can see Cloud and Eve up ahead, and though some part of him is wary about bringing Savoi straight to the scene, he has a feeling that she'd have got there anyway with or without him.