Dark harvest (Open)

The only thing Sal could do was watch as Arawn stepped up to the plate, proving again that Courage trumped strength any day of the week. The guy was outnumbered and he was injured and he still didn't stop, his sword and scabbard taking on all comers.

Sal tried to get up but his arms shook and he was back down again. It occured to him that if he had thought ahead he might have conserved enough strength to finish the fight. Thinking ahead, yeah...right.

Sal could barely lift his head but he heard voices, ones he didn't recognize and forced himself into a brief upright position. He fell back down again and let the images sink into his brain. Was that....?

"Arawn....am i hallucinating or is that a talking tree and a guy in a top hat your talking too?" He had to check, if he was hallucinating then he'd be dead soon anyway.

"Well since you're seeing the same thing it can't be a hallucination." he muttered back to Sal. The other man noted Sal moving.
"Aucun non." he said snapping his fingers. "You shouldn't sleep this is an important matter." With the snap of his fingers the four branches darted at the large man. Entwining themselves upon his arms and legs they easily lifted the large man from the ground spread eagle. The branches turned and faced the man. "Beaucoup mieux." he said with a smile and examined the warrior. Arawn took a single step and several branches grabbed his feet. As he raised his blade to chop them away piece of black oak snared his wrist and arms. The man grinned again, "Don't worry you're next my ducky."
With that he stepped forward to look closer at the captured prey. With his hand he felt the larger man's body. "Well built he is, We do like them strong." The man raised an index finger and then twirled it, the branches turned Sal around. The eyed the weakened warrior from the back "Very well built."

He twirled his finger once more, and the branches complied by turning Sal once again.
"But his face! Âne. More the pity." he said walking over to the captive Arawn. The branches twisted and moved until he too was spread out for display. "A better face, but too skinny." he sighed. The branches turned him around, and Arawn felt a hand pinch his butt. He his own surprise he let out a yelp. "Si joli!" he laughed. Arawn's dread started to rise more than when the small creatures had surrounded them.
"Master Doyen....." the branch creature spoke. The man sighed.
"Yes, yes. We must kill them, can't have any witnesses." he brushed some invisible dust from his shoulder as he leaned backwards. Before he could fall branches too the shape of a black throne. "Now we need but think of a method."

"Oh good.." Sal replied dryly and gave a sigh when he was hoisted into the air like a rag doll.

He wasn't quite sure what to make of top hat guy, or the random inspection of his person. The fact he couldn't fight back didn't seem to worry him either, he had an ace in the hole prepared.

"You think this ones bad, you should see the other one..." Sal smiled weakly at first and then the primal energies of Abaddon soaked into his body, pumping through him like an electric charge, coursing from his body with flickers of black energy.

The smile grew wide, manic, as the blazing white Omega symbol burned upon his face and then the black living metal coursed from it, spreading across his body like a tidal wave, covering him completely in less than a second.

The neon green, pupiless, eyes locked onto the well dressed man before them, the silver fanged, lip less, smile like that of a skeleton completing the demonic and psychotic effect of his transformation.

The black talons on each hand flexed in their restraints and then from the wrists and ankles, under the earthen shackles, perfect rings of three inch ebony spikes fired outwards and ripped the branches asunder.

Sal landed lightly on the ground and tilted his head to one side. "Is this one any better do you reckon?" The words weren't spoken but instead sent forth from Sal's mind like a form of Teleptahy, arriving in their skulls like a foreign thought.

One clawed hand reached up and his Zanpakuto ripped itself from its moorings and flew to his grip. Sal brought the sword to his side and looked to Arawn.

"Have i mentioned that i'm not a fan of the French?"

"Mon Dieu!" the man exclaimed as the Sal's dark tendrils cut himself free. "Now he looks even more ugly, if that were possible." He turned his head and spit on the ground as if getting some awful taste out of his mouth. Arawn was amazed by this strange transformation. Never had he heard of such a technique. Silently he wondered why the man hadn't used it before now."Definitely not worth keeping him around." The Frenchman spoke. He snapped his fingers and the branch man bowed deep. Still suspended in the air Arawn could feel the rumble from the ground and the vibration traveling through the branches that held him. The branches that made up the throne shifted and moved. Within seconds the seat had sprouted two large arms complete with fingers. The hands flexed and balled themselves into fists. Before the massive hands could swing forth the ground erupted beneath Sal. A multitude of branches shaped into spikes. They rose from each side to impale the newly transformed warrior. The left arm rose and brought the fist down like hammer from above.

The black liquid shimmered across Sal's body, seemingly drawing all light to it and capturing it within. The green eyes didn't shift from the Frenchman, even as his accomplice bowed and the throne grew its new appendages.

He readied himself and then the ground shattered beneath him and he had less than a heartbeat to respond. He focused his will upon the living metal and threw jumped into the air, pulling his knees up and gripping them with his arms. The ebony suit fired hundreds of thin strands into the air, about seven inches from his body, and rapidly the ends of each expanded into a disc shape until it met another and another and in less than a millisecond Sal was cocooned within a perfect sphere of black.

The tips of the wooden spikes shattered against the impromptu shield and natures fist thundered off the top of it, the damage however, remained to be seen. Only the surface of the sphere rippled slightly from the impacts giving the illusion of a black sea, the lights around it being distorted by the tiny waves.

Sal's counter was unexpected. The mundane defensive structure suddenly erupted into a studded ball of death. The surface of it thrusting out long blades that ploughed through the air at speed towards the Frenchman, his accomplice and the Throne. One blade shot towards Arawn and as it reached him it split down the middle and each half cut the Shinigami's bonds before turning and following their brethren towards their foes.

Arawn flinched as the liquid metal came at him. Which made him further unprepared when they cut him free. He dropped to the ground with a thud face first and quickly rolled over and backwards. He looked up as the bladed assault fired at their opponent. There was another rumble from the ground around them. The blades ripped through the wooden attendant, he made no motion to move. The french man didn't move either. The massive fist moved to intercept the attack. They fared just as well against the metal as the attendant had, but only at first. Despite the attendant they were much thicker. The branches eventually ended the metal's advance. Although they couldn't see him now, Arawn could hear a soft laugh.
"Such a display, we love it!" A river of branches shot up from the ground. Side by side they rose by the hundreds thickly woven together making a think wall ten feet long and seven feet high. "Shall you survive this?" The wall then sprouted spikes ready to skewer all that stood in front of it. And then the sun crested the horizon.

"Is it that time already!?" he heard the man shout. The sky had long since lightened, as the orange rays dispelled the last of the darkness. It was dawn, a new day had started. "Yggdrasil! We must depart!"
"But Master Doyen!" creature's voice came from the very wood in front of them. "We should dispose of them before we leave."
"Non, non." the man said clicking his tongue. "It would spoil the beautiful day to bloody our hands. We leave such matters for the night."
"As you wish, My Lord." The ground shook as the wall lowered.
"Rêves doux, duckies!" he shouted over the rumbling sound.
Once it had completely sank back into the ground the french man was nowhere to be seen. The branches that had covered the buildings was gone as well leaving only holes where they had broken the pavement.

The wall of wooden death rose like a Vampires worst nightmare and Sal had to wonder if he could survive it. He had never tried a combination of Abaddon and Claidheamh Mor. He had no idea what would happen, perhaps it would kill him but...fire trumped wood, everyone knew that so he prepared himself to unleash the flames within his blade.

It transpired that he didn't need to. The sun began to peek over the horizon and in typical French fashion Top hat announced their retreat. Sal didn't get a chance to halt that plan as the ground shook and the peculiar gentleman said his good byes. They were gone when the wall finally vanished.

The liquid skin retracted back into the white mask and then it to submerged itself into Sal's face and he fell to his knees. Abaddons powers would not regenerate his own and without that flow of dark energies he was as drained as he was beforehand.

"What....the...fuck...Arawn..." He said falling back onto his ass and rested his head on his bent knees.

Arawn held his head. Everything seemed too strange for words. The opponent's behavior aside he now thought about Sal's transformation again. Again he thought it best not to think about it. The ground was full of holes from where the branches and moved. The place where the wall stood was now a deep trench. He wondered how they would have fared against those wooden spears. Perhaps Sal would have countered it in some way. Still to let them live after such a display left a strange impression. Was he so powerful they didn't matter? Or did he not really care? For that matter, who or what was he? It seemed like since meeting Sal, stranger and stranger things keep happening to him.
"I don't know." he said at length. "I really don't know."

Sal sat for a moment as he caught his breath and then cautiously tried to stand. He didn't fall back down but his legs felt like jelly as they supported his weight he made a note to never use that technique again unless there was literally no other option.

"You know," Sal began. "Every time i run into you something utterly messed up occurs."

Sal sheathed his Zanpakuto and looked around at the devastation. Already he could see the blue lights of police and ambulance approaching the city from the west side.

"Now what?"

"I guess now we look for survivors." Arawn stated as he looked a buildings. The darkness was completely gone now, the horrible night had ended. And now the sun rose to expose the extent of the nightmare. The truth behind the cocoons became clear with the rising rays of light. The buildings that had been covered by the twisting branches were covered in holes. The stone and glass looked like swiss cheese. This was no doubt the work of the very same spike that had threaten their lives just moments ago. There was little chance any normal human could have survived such an attack. He groaned as he bent over to pick up his weapon. He silently gave thanks for Sal being there to back him up. Back up? Arawn blinked. His back up! Wildly he looked about. It didn't take long for him to spot the black robed form several feet away on the beach. Dropping his weapon he ran, stumbled and rose, and made his way to the still form. After he reached the body he stopped, and stared. It didn't look like he was breathing, hesitating he grabbed the shoulder and turned the man over. His head sunk into his chest. The other man's eyes stared blankly up at him the blood barely dried on his mouth. Reaching forward he closed the shinigami's eyes. It shamed him that the had forgotten his name. Guilt. He should have been there to help him. If he had acted sooner the man would have lived. At the same time it could have been him laying here dead.

Moving from the fallen comrade he walked back up to the street. The weight of the other man's death was heavy. There were still some buildings in the distance that showed no signs of damage. Perhaps someone had survived the citywide attack.
"We should start over there." Pointing at the nearly untouched buildings. It took time to survey the ruined earth, trying to find a optimal route through the city. He hopped over the big gap and walked past an upturned car.
"This is control, can anyone read me!?" his phone crackled inside his shirt. The noise startled him. His hand dug into his pocket. "Anyone please respond!"
"This is Alpha Team, we read you!" another voice piped in. "Control we have injured. Both humans and reapers. Send support!"
Arawn pressed the button "This is Beta Team. I'm on the beach."
"What happened? We lost contact, all efforts to open portals failed."
"Not sure, control. Everything went crazy here. We were attacked by these things." Arawn listened as the other team related how they had survived the horrible night. He was too happy to hear the team wasn't completely wiped out. He turned back to Sal.
"They have some reinforcement shinigami here in an hour. I guess we can just sit and wait for them." he said.

OOC: Of course this was before I knew you were a wanted criminal >.>

There aren't any words that can take away that sickening feeling when you see a comrade die. Sal didn't offer any when he watched Arawn examine the blond Shinigami, they would have been hollow...insincere.

Sal turned his eyes away from the scene, he could practically see the guilt crash down upon him. The city was in ruins, bodies lay prone across its shattered streets and fires raged in some of its buildings.

Sal simply nodded and followed Arawn closer to the City. They stopped when the Communication came through and Sal listened intently. It was time to run again...

"I'm afraid i can't stay." Sal said swaying slightly. "We seem to be on the same path, you and I, we'll meet again."

Sal began an unsteady walk back towards the beach, the sounds of the waves drowning out everything else as he got closer. He let the water splash against his feet and waded into before he vanished beneath the blue surface.