(Continued from Part 1)


It all happened in less then a single second. Yet at the same time it seemed like an eternity from Kefka's point of view. How he sensed it remains unknown, but the MagiTek surging through his body gave him the warning. As the souls of all the Espers that were killed to create him screamed in his mind. His face immediately twists into one of bottomless fear, hatred ... and delight. He has only felt this once before. It was at the top of his tower ...
Now however he twists towards the racing bullet in inhuman speed. Flaring his arms he invokes his power creating a shield of ice in front of him ... Sadly however it is not enough to stop the bullet. It shatters the ice in a loud brilliant spectacle of dancing shards, and the bullet penetrates his skin drilling itself into his flesh, tearing and ripping everything in it's path. He is thrown back and his head is smashed into the hard cobblestone. He clenches his fists and presses them against his abdomen where the bullet hit, but blood gushes out between his fingers in an alarming rate ... But yet, He laughs.

         ...He laughs...

And the laugh is drowned by something that sounds like twenty people roaring in anger at the same time, as the meaty *thwack* of a rolled-up newspaper against a side of beef echoes across the street. A large, dark hand has planted itself firmly onto the roof and followed is a looming monster in black that lands on the surface with a crunch. "...Nnnnggh--Kefka...!"

The fingersnap shot of the rifle above isn't enough to make anyone turn their heads until it hits Kefka. The witnesses, at first, stand there in disbelief but it only takes another heartbeat before everyone springs into action. "Alarm, alarm!" one commander shouts into his communicator as every unit lingering in the town starts moving in. Those skilled in the use of materia, as the commanders are, move in to assist Kefka with their orbs in hand while the less important foot soldiers scan the area for the source of the attack. They're running around like an agitated ant's nest. In the dark, however, such efforts are useless at the moment. But things should turn out okay for ShinRa once they pinpoint the location of the assassin.

Vincent watches Kefka for signs of the shot taken. He does not look toward Irvine, nor does he keep track of the sharpshooter. Crouched low against the rooftop, his eyes flicker briefly. Part of his attention remains on Kefka. Other parts, seeking, waiting for the soldier's reactions. The madman's reactions. The madman's reactions are taken calmly. Vincent hefts the shotgun he carries, meaning to aim toward Kefka himself. But as the monster appears, his attention is swiftly diverted to the observation of this new threat. No shot is fired. "Selphie." he says shortly, just enough over the sudden noise. Three buildings away. "Go assist Irvine and Kail affect a retreat." Vincent turns his attention back to Kefka. Yes, he /will/ attempt to take a second shot. However, his weapon is not silenced. It'll make quite a noise when fired, if Kefka is still out in the open. More than one assassin? Certainly plenty of confusion, with troops looking for accesses to /two/ sets of rooftops.

He hopes.

And the assassin is fully aware that he's in trouble. But, he expected this... sort of.

Turning six shades of pale, Irvine slowly lifts his head as the shot takes off like the kiss of death, whistling silently through the air thanks to the silencer on the high powered sniper rifle. Blue eyes widening, the only thought that registers as the insane clownman -rushes- toward the bullet is 'gods above, below and imbetw--' and the target is hit, though not where he originally had aimed for. Somehow the madman -knew- the bullet was on its way and in some bizarre deja vu scenario attempted to repeated the Sorceress' method of protection while -running- at the very thing that was attempting to take his life. He -is- mad.
Of course, the would be assassin now has better things to worry about, namely the *thing* that's just leapt onto the roof with enough force to make the shingles shudder. So much for taking a second shot at Kefka, which Irvine would've if he had the chance. "Scatter." This is said rather then shouted, mostly for Kail's benefit. No need to alert everyone else. Not that it's unavoidable, that *thing* is doing the job rather nicely. Taking a brief moment to aim at Ouroboros, he takes a quick, silent shot at the creature, hoping to draw his attention away from Kail.

Kail starts to move away, hugging the rooftops, when he gets an idea...and pulls out the machine gun (believe me, he had a system worked out for all this stuff) hanging on his belt over his behind, drops it to the ground, and kicks it towards Selphie...and draws a large sword from his back...a Shinra-issue buster sword. He leaps up in the air with a shout and swings viciously...the troops below can easily recognize the voice as that of one of the soldiers who they laughed at two days ago, the subordinate of the one who talked back to the mad clown. Is this...a Shinra rebellion?

Whilst Irvine is firing, and Ouroboros is sprinting...so the powerful sniper-rifle bullet strikes him with a *PAF* in the right shoulder, throwing a tiny cloud of dust in the air as he nears and slings the massive hand into the space where Kail and Irvine had been just seconds before, plunging a violently exploratory fist into the roof hard enough to break a hole in the attic inside. Pulling a handful of plaster and shingles out of the pumpkin-sized cutout and standing straight, the freak turns to locate Kail and/or Irvine. As he does so, the half-dollar-sized hole in his shoulder begins to slowly close up, hiding the brilliant white metal underneath, a reminder of some undiscovered persona....

Hands covering her mouth as she quietly watches, waiting for the bullet, for -something-... And when it happens, she just watches, wide-eyed, though happy enough that the bullet connected! She surpresses a 'whoo!' for the moment, as she furher watches... --damn, it wasn't fatal. As the Guards below scatter about, she's distracted, however. A big noise, and a rar!. Bad, very, very, BAD. Gasping over to the huge thing, she -- "...?" To Vincent, as he instructs her, she -almost- protests. Nodding quickly, obediently, she tightens her 'belt' of a jacket, before dashing, ducked, to the edge of the building -- takes a deep breath, looking down between the buildings -- thankfully, they're not very far apart. Just a small alley way inbetween. So! With a slight running start, Selphie hop!s to the building next to the one Vincent occupies, pauses to get her balance, and runs to do the same until she reaches Irvine, Kail, and the monster. Oi! She feels like she's in an action movie. Skidd!ing to a halt just before the machine gun, Selphie stares at it, then at the monster. Cool! Making sure Irvine's shotgun stays strapped to her back, she bends down to snag the gun. >_> Whew.

The commander continues to scream 'Alarm, alarm' his voice echoing out over the entire town. The Troops are however trained ShinRa soldiers so the ongoing chaos slowly emerges into order as the situation becomes cleared. Even though most haven't really grasped the sudden situation, some pull out their machine guns and buster swords and starts to rush up to the perimeter searching for the intruder, even though they don't have the assassins exact location, they are many and searching fast.

Kefka snaps his eyes open ... his pupils are disturbingly narrow. As the Materia wielding commanders make their way to Kefka in order to help him they stop approaching as they almost reach him. Laughing weakly it slowly converts itself into piercing shriek, echoing across the battlefield "hate ... hate ... hate HATE! ... HATE!--!!!HATE!!!" Kefka rises from the ground, his pale limbs shake sickly as the immerse blood loss takes it's toll upon him, yet somehow he manages to stand, how is a mystery though. His mad eyes are wide and crazed, only seeking one thing. Even though he doesn't really check first what's there now he knows what direction the bullet came from. His hands begin to shimmer in that same red/orange glow he used when torching the paper plane. This time however the spell is a tad more powerful. Snapping his arms towards the direction the bullet came a large cascade of fire and brimstone flare towards the source of the bullet with alarming speed.

Several of the commanders dispatch messages out onto their built in comm links as Kefka is shot... They send them to the current Commander of this mission below Kefka. The Commander... in the far distance... recieves these transmissions and relays them onward with added messaged. Amazingly powerful rockets engage apon the creatures back... A /ROAR/ resounding from the direction of where Balamb once stood. Proud Clod... is on his way...

Vincent takes aim and fires on Kefka, bracing the shotgun against his left arm for quick stability. The intention is not to kill, though that wouldn't be so bad - it's to distract now, to afford confusion to those down below. As there is no way that he would be able to help those on the receiving end of that spell Kefka flung to the winds, he shoves such concerns out of his mind, leaving Selphie, Kail and Irvine to retreat, to aid one another, in order. Vincent's own actions after the shot is fired to move /for/ cover, not favoring more attention than is strictly nescessary his way.

Diving aside as Ouroboros swings and heavily damages the rooftop, Irvine winces actually thinking about the poor owners of the building. It's not like they're fighting at the ShinRa corporation like before, when he didn't care that they'd ripped off the roof of the building. He rolls, scrambling to stay out of the *thing's* grasp and somehow manage not to slide right off the roof either. That would be bad. Looking up just in time to see the bullet wound close by itself, the gunman suddenly realizes that the rifle isn't gonna do jack against this thing. Crap. *sigh* What he'd give to have a handful of dark ammo... or hell, pulse.

However, the thought doesn't last long as he catches a flash of light out of the corner of his eye. Hello, incoming! Diving to the side as a blast of hellish furnace fire strikes at the very spot he and Kail occupy, the cowboy manages to avoid being outright struck backwards by Kefka's lashing out. Whatever happens to Kail, he has no idea. Feeling his flesh burn, he clamps down his jaw to keep himself from screaming as he somehow performs a clumsy roll, landing on his back at the corner of the roof. Nothing like being crispified to get the adrenaline rushing, however. Forcing stung eyes open, he looks for Kail, even calling for him, "KAIL!"

Kail tries to get clear of Ouroboros' swing, and barely makes it by leaping clear. The hand catches the gun and pouch hanging on the right side of his belt, though, and he seems to split apart, pouch crashing to the ground near Ouroboros with a jingle, gun flying off to the side, skidding to a stop somewhere near Selphie and Vincent. Sprawling, he's unable to get back to his feet and looks up...ooo, pretty ligh--HOLY ****! The rain of fire drops down towards Kail and he tries to scramble away...but in the midst of his being sprawled and flung about, he isn't able to get far enough away and growls as he feels fire race across his back. Eyes closed so tightly they're nearly tearing, he rolls away, coming to a stop a foot from the roof's edge. The fire, however, hits the pouch sitting next to Ouroboros.

The pouch is half full with ammo for Kail's borrowed shotgun.

Ouroboros doesn't see the flame coming, only sees people leaping every which way like a bunch of scalded cats. Turning around, he only gets a glimpse of something bright as he puts up the giant hand in defense...and the impact of the spell forces him to step back once or twice, the flames bursting all around him in a bubble of crackling fire that soon disintegrates, leaving a...flaming Ouroboros! And as he rotates in a blind rage to find Kail and Irvine, he finds the pouch lying on the roof...and as soon as his eyes reach it, the leather is eaten through and it goes off. *BAK! CRAK! BRAK!* it starts off, but then falls into a rapid-fire burst of shot that blows peppery holes in the roof and tears the hem of Ouro's coat to tatters. Not that it's going to last much longer whilst he's in flames anyway...as the shells finish igniting, the dark deadflesh begins to close up, hiding that bright metal again.... "Fools!" he growls, the flaming psycho stomping toward the nearest person...Selphie. "You cannot stop the Son of Diablos!"

Just as soon as Selphie's bent down, picking up that Machine Gun, she hears Kefka's screeching. Sheesh! Some people are just soo~ mean. Uh, right. Glancing back and forth between the Big Ugly and the Clown, Selphie decides that the spell that's being launched is mu~uch more important. With a smallish "eep," the girl hits the deck!, covering her head with her arms. Oof! --Ouchieouchieouchie!! Letting out a chocked scream, then clamping a hand over her mouth halfway through it, Selphie just waits for the pain -- rather, the Fire, Brimstone, Sulfur, and other such ouchie-type things, to stop. And once they do, she slowly rises to her hands and knees, coughs, and then rises to her feet. OW. Okay, she hunches, one hand grasping the arm that holds the Machine Gun. Useless thing! Her eyes search for her comrades, but she's distracted -- by the ammo going off not too far away, then by the growling Big Ugly. Uh. Ruh-roh. Taking a step back at first, then deciding against it, since she's at the edge, Selphie opts to raise the Machine Gun, and let 'er rip! at Big, Flaming, and Ugly. "What-ever-!" Get 'em, Selphie.

The expression if Kefka's eyes are simply indescribable, his eyes shine with endless sadistic madness as his spell strikes, laughing out loud his voice his dark, deranged, and simply insane. "Uweehee! Burn! That's right, nurn! Burn little children, burn and perish! Uweehee!" His limbs and entire body shakes and shivers coldly of the immerse bloodloss he has suffered, yet like a thin pale zombie he makes his way trough the battlefield towards his assassins. Just as he prepares another devastating spell his surroundings explode as the shotgun blast strikes all around him, he remains pretty much unharmed, but there will be no spell no this round...

On and on... the Mammoth Construct with the brain of a Man within soars from North. At the moment it is just a spec on the horizon with twin, dark contrails soaring behind it... but it closes ever faster... the roar of it's engines slowly growing in the Town of Balamb. It will take it time to reach the location... but the Soldiers are also around, many of them rush about, ordering crews to deal with the fires... They rush about dealing with emergencies... in short... the Balambs did succedd in one thing... causing Chaos. Proud Clod rumbles ever closer... ever nearer....

In the confusion, is it time to retreat? Kefka's own fire ironically adding to the distration... Vincent moves as swiftly as one can half crouched. Bullets flying? It /seems/ that none hit him, either because of the angle or simple luck. He moves to join his team now, shotgun in hand. Rejoin and possibly retreat. But first, to help with the situation at hand.

Ouch. That's a good word to sum up how the cowboy is feeling about now. Forcing himself up again, he searches the darkness for Kail, finding a minimal amount of light now illuminating the roof thanks to Ouroboros taking the brunt of the spell, and bursting into flames. The acrid scent of burnt flesh, brimstone and smoke fills the immediate area and he has to clap a hand over his mouth to keep from choking outright. However, the lights are dimming as the huge *thing* starts toward another shadow on the roof...

"!" "Selphie!"

Irvine's not about to let it have her without a fight. Yet, the gun is relatively useless as he remembers. Still, if he can distract it... and so, as Selphie opens fire on the thing, he takes aim with the sniper rifle, aiming for the head area, hoping it's somehow vunerable, and pulls the trigger. Thus far, he has not noticed the Proud Clod arriving, too busy concentrating on the shot.

Kail slowly gets to his feet, the skin on his back a bit dried out and crinkly, but he reaches for the buster sword dropped on the ground near him. Picking it up, he looks left and right and sees Selphie and Irvine firing at the big dark monster thing...and so takes a different tack. He screams (well, bellows) in the soldier-voice he used two days ago on Kefka, "DIE IN THE NAME OF TRUE SHINRA, USURPER!" Then, in a particularly anticlimatic move, he grabs the Buster Sword and swings back above his head, cutting himself in the arm. "Ow!" he hisses, not audible from the ground, and with a mighty heave hurls the huge blade at Kefka.
The sword tumbles through the air, leaving a faint shine and trail behind it...and slams hard into the ground not two feet from Kefka, the huge and lethal blade gleaming in the starlight.

Dripping blood.

Selphie's machine gun bullets begin to rain into Ouroboros' face, chest and stomach, blasting vague craters in the dark deadflesh the size of teacups that quickly close up and hide white metal underneath. Bits and drops of what could only be called...darkness? drip and fall on the roof around him...but for all the good it's doing, the monster might as well be made of fog--because that's pretty much the effect the physical attacks are having on him. Nearing Selphie with a roared "Kill me, girl--!", the scene degrades into a slow motion shot and the fiery Ouro rears the huge fist back, preparing to slap Selphie off the roof.... Face wounds closing up in scarless puckers, a big hole in one side of his face revealing a bright, calm, friendly blue eye set in a silvery robotic face...right before the darkness makes it a soulless evil neon red again.

*BRAK* *SPLUT*

Irvine's sniper rifle shot tears through the monster's head, throwing black gunk all over Selphie with the consistency of black pancake syrup. Creating a giant crater in Ouroboro's head that seems to be more of a rind than a skull, as now the monster's head is a brilliant robotic face, a silvery white with angelic blue eyes and a serene smile. This doesn't last long, however, as the darkness slithers out from under his collar and covers his head again to recreate the villain's bald-headed sneer.
Forgetting Selphie totally for the moment, he turns around and slings the massive hand into Irvine's chest, picking him up bodily like an action figure... "Impetuous bastard human! I'll throw you to the horizon!"

As the Sword slams down to the ground... Kefka... blood streaming from his wounds... only gives a slow, evil smile up to the one who threw the sword. Then he weakly lets out another mad cackle... before he falls to his knees, mad eyes closing... and collapses to the side. Two SOLDIERs rush up, one pulling out a small firearm and aiming it up at Kail, unleashing a few rounds of his own fire as the second lifts Kefka up easily... and rushes with him out of the scene and away... All ready the chaos is begining to focus now... the narrow window of escape is closing face. The Rumble grows louder and louder. Proud Clod... is coming.

Well, duh, Selphie. Bullets aren't working, so stop firing! But she doesn't, for one reason or another, side-stepping, so as not to fall off the building. c_c That'd suck. -Finally-, once she hears Irvine yell her name, she stops firing. Looking immediately to the cowboy, the girl tosses the gun down, snagging her nunchakus from their place in her make-shift belt. And as she glances back to Ouro, there's a largish fist swinging at her. Like a good Damsel in Distress, she doesn't jump away, or dodge, or do anything intelligent. Instead, she just goes wide-eyed at the situation, then holds her arms -- and consequently, nunchakus -- up in front of her, arms crossed, eyes shut. The first shine of a blue eye is lost, as she prepares for the blow, and then... Hey, she doesn't feel anything smacking her. Opening her eyes just in time to be greeted by Icky Slimy Gunk, the sight of the monster's head basically being blown off rather sends the girl reeling backwards, whereupon she falls on her rear, not an inch away from the ledge. Gurk. And like a bad highway accident, she can't turn her gaze away from the carnage right away, and... Another face? Blue eyes, a smile... She's hallucinating, she must be. Shaking her head, Selphie opens her eyes once more to be greeted by Irvine-being-attacked. Gack. Glaring now, despite the nice face below the Evile, Selphie uses her grounded position as an advantage -- she hopes. The Big Ugly's a guy, right?
And all guys hurt when they're hit where the sun don't shine, right?
Here's hopin', as Selphie reels her nunchakus back like a golf club, and swing!s upwards, hoping to connect with the monster's groin. o_- "Violence is BAD!"

As the Sword slams down to the ground... Kefka... blood streaming from his wounds... only gives a slow, evil smile up to the one who threw the sword. Then he weakly lets out another mad cackle... before he falls to his knees, mad eyes closing... and collapses to the side. Two SOLDIERs rush up, one pulling out a small firearm and aiming it up at Kail, unleashing a few rounds of his own fire as the second lifts Kefka up easily... and rushes with him out of the scene and away... All ready the chaos is begining to focus now... the narrow window of escape is closing face. The Rumble grows louder and louder. Proud Clod... is coming. His form is growing in size and the contrails rumble though the air after him... The Behemoth of ShinRa Might will be here soon... time to get the hell out of Dodge.

As things are, Vincent reaches Kail first, "Get back to the wall." he orders the cadet sharply - not out of irritation for Kail's actions, but because the situation calls for abruptness. Vincent's eyes are for Selphie, for Irvine. Though not a sniper rifle by a longshot, the weapon in Vincent's own hands is raised, aiming high where Selphie is low and Irvine is shielded by the creature's bulk. A headshot does seem to have some effect. Even if it's just to distract the creature. So, Vincent pulls the trigger, once he has a clear line for the target.

(Hey look, the attack screen has the little arrow next to it. Select: SHOT. Er, Normal Ammo's all he's got unfortunately.)

Yee-haw, it worked! Uh... yeah, it distracted that *thing* from smacking Selphie off the roof, but unfortunately the gunman finds himself snatched up into the air by the torso. The grip crushing, his body jerked with the sudden motion, and everything suddenly going disorienting as his feet are literally lifted off the ground, Irvine has to fight back the urge to panic, though he does grunt aloud. Luckily years of SeeD training comes to the surface and he manages to hold onto the rifle as Ouroboros's grip closes around him. Of course, to the gunman, he's convinced this is *the end* as in, the great black cloud of death is gonna close over him at any second.
So this is the end huh? Well... if you gotta go, may as well go with style. Dying to something this huge isn't that bad, is it? At least they won't say he got killed by a grat... Yet, from the corner of his gaze he catches sight of Selphie, hey... didn't he promise her he'd come back in once peice? Anger begins to bubble to the surface. Yes, yes he did and he'll be damned before he breaks a promise to the love of his life.
Something snaps then, something deep in the core of his psyche and the urge to -LIVE- suddenly becomes his sole focus. The rifle is lifted and fired repeatedly in rapid succession. His motions are a blur, far faster then anyone has seen the gunman in action before. And he's not about to stop until the damn thing lets go of him.

... Or he runs outta ammo.

Kail pants, left arm stinging from being hit with his own blade...at which point two bullets shoot past him, one grazing his shoulder, and another to his forearm. Turning desperately, the last shot catches him -- in all places, considering Selphie's last shot -- in the rear. GAAAAHHH! Eyes blazing with fury, he turns and spots his friend being grabbed by the huge...black...thing. Vincent's words barely reach his ears as the air around him seems to flare up and get hotter...he draws his tonfas and slaps them together, forming his staff, which abruptly turns to glass. With a mighty roar, Kail leaps straight up, staff swinging up. Time seems to stop for a second as he hangs there, and abruptly swings down viciously, the glassy weapon striking hard on Ouroboros' shoulder...and it shatters, shards of glass slashing across the skin. He drops back to the ground, his staff forms again and falls back into his hand...and he drops to one knee, blood dripping from his left arm. He turns towards Vincent, and with a belated, "Yes, sir," he moves for the wall gritting his teeth and waits there in case Irvine and the others need him again.

...And as Irvine begins to unload on the creature, Ouro turns around to see what the hell Selphie is talking about and gets a weapon in the crotch. A blunt one, at that...too bad this thing has no testicles. It's not like he'd feel it anyway--what with the multiple blast wounds opening up in his skin, spots of white metal that tear open with each bullet as if saying WOW...closing back just as soon. It's quite evident that the SeeD cowboy is wearing him down, though...darkness raining and splattering on the rooftop as Irvine goes nuts. Having taken all he can stand, Ouro weakly hefts Irvine to the side and gets smacked in the shoulder with a...stick? Snarling through an insane rage, the monster looks up at Selphie and trips out. "The human hit me with a stick!" The wound closes up as Ouroboros begins to recover--bent over, gripping his knees, facing Selphie--and contemplate going after Kail. (A stick, of all things!)

As soon as she attacks, Selphie finds that some of that black syrupy stuff has made it's way into her eyes, without her knowing. Sneaky stuff, it is! Anyway, retracting her nunchakus so that she can rub at her eyes, letting a little annoyed, slightly pained, noise leave her mouth. Stupid slime stuff! And as she rubrubs at her eyes, she hears Irvine's limit-break... She can just -tell-, from the speed of the shots, and all. That means he's almost done-for, and she finally opens her eyes enough in time to see Irvine thrown to the side. "Uh!" As if it would just -place- him down after he shot at it. Selphie, comedically, nodnods at Ouro, slowly. "...Yeah," she says, rubrubbing at her right eye, even as she moves to stand, "He totally did, didn't he." Here is where she abandons the use of her nunchakus, opting to pull her foot back. "And I'm," she bubbles, "Gonna kick you in the FACE!" And -here- is where she goes through with her threat -- that is, if it connects. And you can count on her continuing to kick him, if he gets gunk on her cool yellow hi-top converse...

The Soldiers continue to rush about in chaos... but it is a slowly ordering Chaos... In the distance... Proud Clod is now the size of a toy in the distance... approaching ever one. The rumble is now fully audible. Clod is coming... The SOLDIER who shot Kail lowers his weapon with a smirk... seeing the figure that is one of Kefka's assistants dealing with the battle. He then looks back and lets out a chear and rousing call. 'Clod! Proud Clod is coming!!' This is repeated by many of the other Soldiers and men who are rushing about. And indeed... Now at the end of the giant cannon... a flair of blue can be seen. The Beam Cannon is begining to charge... and once he is in range... he will fire... getting away is a good idea.

With Selphie in the way of further shooting, Vincent strives to reach Irvine, in case he needs help to his feet, "Selphie!" it's an ordering tone of voice, though most of his current aim is to get Irvine to his feet if such aid is needed, and on his way after Kail, Vincent also casts a glance at Selphie, to watch her progress. Hopefully, /she/ won't get grabbed, but... "We're leaving!" he also warns. Hurry up with your business there!

"Ooof," grunts the cowboy as Ouroboros tosses him aside like he was some kinda ragdoll. Luckily the thing was weakened or it might've tossed him right off the roof. Though he's not dead, he's definately not getting up right away either. The adreneline rush of his limit break starts to die off, leaving him exhausted on top of aching. Still, he's not giving up, he didn't just get himself freed to roll over and die, and thusly he forces himself back up to his feet, though he somewhat crouches near the ground, obviously injured. Luckily Vincent arrives to aid him in that effort and he can only nod in semi-enthusiasm toward the other gunman as he mentions -leaving-.

Kail looks a bit limpy, though he's actually trying to keep weight off his injured leg so it doesn't get tired and give out on him later. As he sees a blue light flare up in the distance, he looks back at the others as Selphie kicks the big bad thing in the schnozz. "Let's go!" he shouts, pulling out his borrowed shotgun. ...Awww, crap, all the ammo blew up! Only got that one loaded shot...well then. "FOR TRUE SHINRA! KILL THE USURPER!" he bellows again, and launches the one shot down into the chaos below, figuring if he hits or if he doesn't, hopefully they'll get his "point". That done he looks back up at the others and hopes they catch on as they escape.

Selphie's kick connects soundly with Ouroboros' nose.

*KWAANK*

The shot slows to slo-mo again, as Selphie's foot keeps flying upwards, Ouroboros leaning backwards...darkness literally peeling from his face with the effort of the whack, the monster standing up straight and looking skyward, silvery metal growing more and more obvious, the dark gunk flipping in the air like syrup....

Staggering backwards, the monster winds his way across the roof and slips off the other side almost comically. The coat flutters about him as he falls the full length (with a dramatic whistle, no doubt) and hits the ground with a *Thud*, causing the pavement to crack in a big spiderweb pattern...but the most prevalent effect is of the darkness covering whatever was underneath Ouroboros that splatters in all directions as if he'd landed on a watermelon.

It appears to be a bright, silvery robot in white clothing, blue eyes closed tight, lying in a pool of darkness...and with a pained screech, the inky blackness begins to creep swiftly back to Ouroboros(?) but doesn't cover him as it has been doing...instead it seems to seep underneath the robot's armor until there's nothing left but the new being, lying in a humanoid hole-in-the-floor.

*camera shot swirlzooms in on Ouroboros' face...closer and closer it remains, until it centers on one silvery-lidded eye...that snaps open! Exquisite neon blue light--!* "[Servant Anhanger...ruh-ruh-ruh-reporting for duh-duty!]"

Selphie's body, of course, rather remembers that she's injured about halfway through the kick. So despite the fact that she did a very good thing, and Ouro is reeling and such, Selphie will be Selphie. Foot in the air, before it can come back down to the ground, she loses her balance -- and with another 'eep,' she's on the ground, on her hands and knees. "...Ouch," says she, one eye shut -- the other watching as Ouro falls off the side... Then winces as she hears it land. "Hrmph," she says, as she registers Vincent's shout. Hey -- erk! Hurry it up, Selphie, something tells her. Rising back to her feet, pausing in her normal 'I'm gonna die soon, heal me,' pose, knees about to buckle and arms hanging in front of her, she regains her bearings. Hoookay! Whatever Kail does is his own business, she's hardly aware of it. She -is- aware, though, that she's suddenly nearer to the two gunman, obviously ready to retreat like a biznitch. Irvy's okay, so it's all good.

Proud Clod looms ever closer in the sky... the heroes have a matter of minutes to get off the roof... The Soldiers move even more co-ordtinated... the edge of the roof nearest the street begining to be peppered with shots. SOLDIERs moves swiftly though the ranks and foward, drawing swords and calling apon arcane magic. They better have an escape route planned...

They do. Run quickly, run swiftly, heading for the wall they came over. After all, most of the guards are on the /inside/ of the city. It's simply a matter of getting across the roofs /before/ Proud Clod reaches the city and is in range. Vincent will be helping Irvine, and Selphie, as best possible, if they're in need. Then again, adrenaline can be a good motivator. Hopefully, with Kail in the lead, there'll be a rope ready for the twenty feet or so to the ground.... Vincent /will/ attempt to be the last in line, making sure that his little company gets out and down. An offer of the pack is made to either Selphie or Irvine, while on the run. They're all more in need of its supplies than he is, right now.

Stopping for first aid on the run is a bad thing, but so is leaving those same supplies with the guy that's the last to leave the ship, so to speak.

Though he's far too close to his near death then he'd care to admit, Irvine shakes off Vincent's attempts to help him, racing forward on his own. He'd rather the other gunman help out Selphie if she needs it. He'll get himself out this time, thanks. At least there's no damn heligunners to slice him into swiss cheese this time. He just concentrates on running, scrambling, and getting the hell outta dodge, folks. The occasional glance over his shoulder to make sure Sefie is ok, however, lends to a less selfish air. If she's not there, he's not going any further forward.

Kail is at the wall as they start off, however, and grabs both hooks sitting on the wall, slapping them onto the top of the wall and tugging a couple times to be sure as possible. Wincing slightly he puts Irvine's shotgun hanging from his belt and vaults off the rooftop, sliding down the side at high speed with the rope. He grimaces noticeably as his injured arm begins protesting, but gets to the middle of the rope about the same time as the others reach the top.

Anhanger rolls over and peels himself out of the pavement as the escaping SeeDs dash past, pebbles and chips raining off of him like dried mud. Looking around bewilderedly, he clears his throat (odd coming from a robot, of course) and addresses a passing Shinra soldier. Who seems to be running at top speed. "Aaagh!" cries the man, as Anhanger reaches out and halts him with a simple wrist grab that yanks the SOLDIER's feet out from under him. "[What's going on?]" asks the blue-eyed robofellow in an oddly proud, mechanized gameshow-host voice, giving the suddenly sitting soldier a quirky tilt of the head to signify his confusion. A voice fit for Mr. Police, a tone authoritative to the point of being comic. He grips the man's collar with one hand and points at Proud Clod with the other. "[What is that object I detect, there?]" *bullet ricochets off head* "[--I detect, there?]"

Selphie's not as bad off as Irvine is, of course, but she makes a mental note to junction before going on these adventures... Cough. She's really not very used to -not- having a GF to boost her physical attributes up, and it shows! Spoiled little girl. She's really not as bad off as she looks and feels, though, and only initially needs a hand, when she loses her footing. But then she's fine! --And that bag of Vincent's is taken, though she doesn't procure anything from it just yet. For now, she concentrates on -running-, and getting the hey-ell outta here. Robocop goes unnoticed, for now.

As the group vacates the roof... they make it /JUST/ in time... because the roof... Explodes. The Beam Cannon at full blast /VAPORIZES/ the top of the building even as Proud Clod flies into the the City... landing in the square with a /FOOM!/ Proud Clod... has... arrived. The SOLDIER grunts as he is tripped, looking to the blue-eyed cyborg with his own brightly glowing brown eyes. "Get off me!! NOW! And it is Proud Clod! Commander of the Garrison." The SOLDIER wrenches his legs away as a group of other SOLDIERs chase the Balambites even as the roof explodes. 'Get them! Stop them! For ShinRAAAAAAA! For the General!!!!' are shouted but they dont reach the Balambites in time... The Balambites will escape with ShinRa and one ticked off Giant Robot on their heels

Freeing up the hooks, Vincent lets the ropes drop to the ground before he follows. Close. But it's not over yet. Escape will take them away, still, they have to move to reach it.

The blue-eyed robot looks up at Proud Clod just in time to be engulfed in a mass of dust, flames, and an all-consuming fireball that races halfway up one side of Balamb, throwing crap and debris into the air as Anhanger picks himself up and outruns the destruction, running as fast as he can, nearly pushing himself as he reaches and overtakes the gas station, flaming slag blowing out of the wreckage behind him. As he steps through the archway, a hunk of metal--a shop's sign--goes flying by like a deadly frisbee and decapitates a gas pump.

The next few seconds are more like a swim in the subconscious of an atomic bomb, as the ensuing fireball forces Anhanger out of the gate and burrows him into the grassy field outside with enough force to bury him up to his neck in debris and mulch. Dazzled, the dirty figure struggles out of the ditch and retrieves the broadsword at his back. "[Scanning records... 'Proud Clod' not found. Subject Proud Clod causing mass destruction. People are ruh-ruh-running, screaming, tripping, falling, saying '#@$&' a lot! This calls for...]" Anhanger looks down at the blade in his hands for a moment, then snaps back to attention. "[...egg salad! No, d-divert programming. Run diagnostic--find combat program, close culinary application.]" And with that, he sheathes the blade and turns tail, running madly after the SeeDs. "[It's nawt IN THERE! Aaaaaah! Wait up, whoever you are!]"

Selphie manages to escape with more than half of her clothes! Whoo! So the shirt's almost totally torn to pieces, she's not showing -that- much. >_> At least she has on an undergarment, as opposed to her normal whore_outfit. Anyway, the point is, this is like any other action scene -- everyone gets hurt, the girl shows some skin, and, uh, people cuss and run. The end.

(Indeed, the end, for now.)