Rise of the Omnimage

Nyx was running as fast as her two legs could carry her with a time acceleration speeding her up in comparison to the world around her. She could see in the shadows, thrall were waiting and in other places as what appeared to be guild members, locked in combat with the monsters.

She heard the deep thuds and cracks from explosions overhead as she ran. There even came the telltale roar of the fire stream from Phoenix. There was a resounding boom followed by an orange streak as Phoenix slammed into the building and tumbled down to the street. A dark figure with bat like wings was diving toward the clearly stunned woman with a spiked mace who was slowly picking herself up with an adrenaline charged effort.

Nyx kept running and flashed a hand out slowing the time around the black winged figure in a time deceleration. Immediately Nyx felt a huge drain on her aether as the person was clearly much stronger than she is, but it was enough.

Phoenix got up and had enough time to get her signature bow back into her hand and began firing burning arrow after burning arrow. With the dark figure slowed, three arrows landed before the person broke out of the deceleration.

Nyx was hit with a small bout of backlash from having her skill forcefully being ended. It caused her to go dizzy then stagger back a step. The figure in black ripped out the burning arrows and swipped a hand at Phoenix causing a claw of blood to appear and lash out at her. Phoenix threw up a burning shield that held, but launched her into the next building over.

The person threw back their hood and looked directly at Nyx with eyes that glowed red.

"Remain still!" Came the female voice as a power drifted over Nyx's mind. It wanted to make her feel like she wanted to do as the woman said and needed to do it in order to please this her, but all she truly felt was disgust and outrage that this creature would dare try that on her. Nyx was insensed and a black crackling lighting began to appear on her hands as the now clearly vampiric woman began moving toward her, spear of blood forming from the dead thrall that littered the Seattle street.

Nyx regained control over her temper and prepared to attack with her subpath skills. The vampiress launched her spear and it came much faster than Nyx anticipated. She couldn't even react. There was a flash of red and orange as Phoenix took the spear directly to her chest with a scream.

She immediately went pale then black. As soon as she was completely black like charcoal she fell to dust in a pile on the concrete.

Nyx and the vampiress were both stunned by the actions of the woman.

"Fool of a woman. Couldn't handle being beaten down by me, so she just kills herself." The vampiress hissed and looked at Nyx who was shaking herself out of the shock.

Nyx finished her preparation and slashed with her hand. The black lighting crackled outward in a crescent arc in front of her. The light in the world fled from the arc like it was all gray scale.

The smug arrogance on the vampiress' face vanished and was replaced by shock and fear. She fell backwards as fast as she could to avoid the arc of aether, but the top quarter of her wings fell too slowly as they were designed to catch the air. As the arc hit them they fell to dust everywhere the black aether touched then the vampiress began screaming in absolute agony and she rolled out of reflex trying to keep Nyx in sight.

Nyx, for her part, was running at the woman in front of her, but to her continued shock, she was thrown backwards by a blinding flash of blue fire. A swirl of blue into yellow and orange fire seemed to erupt from the ground and when it dissipated, standing there was a furious Phoenix, hands clenched.

"What the?" The vampiress asked through the agony seeing the woman she had most assuredly killed coming toward her.

Nyx was absolutely delighted that her trainer and quickly becoming friend was still alive. Then shocked as she moved into combat completely injury free and fresh.

The vampiress sent multiple blood spikes at Phoenix who casually dodged a few then backhanded another away from her. After the vampiress sent the spikes, she darted in with her spiked mace as Phoenix drew her dagger.

When the fight first started Phoenix was on the back foot. The vampiress was faster, stronger, and had much more aether than she did, but things were clearly different and it terrified the vampiress who immediately saw, then shortly felt the difference in power.

Phoenix caught the shaft of the spiked mace, ripping it out of the hand of vampiress' as she cut down on the woman's arms straight to the bone, rendering them useless especially when she seared the wounds. Phoenix threw the mass away then she snapped out and took her by the throat. With a step out and around with her left leg, Phoenix tripped and slammed the vampiress to the concrete which cracked and the woman in question, went completely unconscious on impact.

Nyx was rushing back in to ask so many questions of her trainer. "Stay where you are Eon! Let me get this thing restrained! Keep watch! " Shouted Phoenix when Nyx was 15 feet away.

Phoenix rolled the unconscious vampiress over and cuffed her. With the focus or her efforts now defeated, Nyx began to hear the sounds of combat everywhere begin to slow down.

"It would seem the guild is winning their fights as well." Phoenix said sitting on the chest of the unconscious woman in handcuffs with an air of nonchalance.

"Phoenix I presume?" A slender woman walked forward wearing glasses, hair in a ponytail.

"I am, and who might you be?" Phoenix responded.

"Kassie Ekart, Guild mistress of the Southwest corner of Washington." She introduced.

Phoenix got to her feet quickly.

"Forgive me Ma'am, I meant no disrespect." Phoenix said adopting a new tone and air shaking off any fatigue she might feel.

"Thinking nothing of it. I'm rather good at reading people and what they really mean." She said as she looked over at Nyx who was piecing the last name together.

"Yes, I'm his aunt. His uncle is the Warden." Kassie said to Nyx who was immediately thrown off at the extremely scary realization that this woman was a mental path user.

"Don't worry. I keep what I hear and see mostly to myself. People lie to eachother as much as they lie to themselves. If I tell people's business I hear everywhere, it would destroy interpersonal relationships as they are filled with white lies and half truths. You should see his uncle. Talks huge, but is a massive teddy bear." Kassie explained with a closed eye smile before turning back to the very confused Phoenix.

"I have obtained permission from Grandmaster Fury to take this bloodsucker and break her down mentally. We need information and it's, as you can guess, my area of expertise." Kassie said pulling her phone and offering it to Phoenix to read the official email sent from the Grandmaster.

Once Phoenix verified the authenticity of the email she nodded.

"It's official and we will comply with the orders." Phoenix said.

"I'm assuming level 5 cuffs?" Kassie asked as she snapped her fingers to a few guild members she had around her.

"Yes ma'am. This thing is at the peak of level 3 if not early level 4. Took a rebirth for me to beat her." Phoenix said with a huff.

"Nice. We will take it from here. Thank you Phoenix and thank you Eon. I wish you both well and take care of my nephew." She said as she walked off with the unconscious vampiress.

Phoenix looked at Nyx.

"You know her nephew?" She asked.

Nyx looked down then over. "Yes ma'am. He's my partner. Didn't you read his file?" Nyx replied.

"No. I just listened to Eclipse who said you guys would be a deadly duo and I just went with it. Eclipse has a talent for those things." Phoenix replied picking her bow up when she dropped it a ways back.

"Speaking of....here they come now." Phoenix said.

Nyx turned around as Eclipse and Kyrain came running up.

"You good Soph?" Eclipse asked.

"Had to use Phoenix Rebirth to beat this one." Phoenix responded.

"No kidding. Yeah, mine was equally rough. Luckily this chuckle head came in clutch." Eclipse said shoving Kyrain.

"Let's head back to the hotel and regroup. I'm almost on empty." Eclipse said and they all nodded and Kyrain opened a rift to the Embassy Suites.

"Useful." Phoenix said.

"So I've heard..." Kyrain muttered.