A Battle To Think About

[IOwnedYou]

Rakarashi sunk down in pain from Lazus' stinging attack.
"God damn it..." Rakarashi said. Slowly, Rakarashi was going for his gun to shoot Lazus. Rakarashi dropped his hand away from his gun. Rakarashi thought about it.
No. I should think this through first... Rakarashi was starting to form a plan in his mind.

[serraskai]

Ezekiel let his hands relax, his notes sink under his sight to reveal before him the strange jester. A snake's grin crossed him, matching the jester's own.

"Well hello there." Ezekiel spoke slowly, deliberately, careful not to anger his opponent. He had read once that this thing had killed a rather powerful enemy without so much as touching him, and while Ezekiel knew mere fragments of his future there was only a vague reference in the book to a "fourth wall" which could alter his destiny slightly or drastically, depending on who he was around. This man, this.... jester, was more a god than he, more a god than perhaps even those who actually claimed the title. How very fascinating this was.

"I must admit I know oh so little about you, good man." Ezekiel said. "But I want nothing of your battle aside from whatever data I can gather."

[Kismet]

Lazus drew himself up and sat crossed legged in the air in front of the strange man, grinning coyly. A book! This man actually had a book, and all sorts of papers and letters and words. Words within words. How ironic. How interesting. Lazus wondered what reality had been scrawled upon those pages, what ideas lay hidden within this man. “Even so, you seem to have me at a disadvantage sir! I know nothing of you.” His grin widened, revealing surprisingly sharp teeth.

“Do you too posses the power of words? Does reality falter and bend at your command?” Lazus’ fingers began twitching in excitement. His opponent remind down on the street, his vision and aim blocked by the balcony he now sat above. He could wait.

[Kismet]

Apparently, he really could wait. And not in the sense Lazus had meant either. He had not anticipated such a brutal stop in ideas, of words. To think that he could be thusly paralyzed! What a bittersweet blow, what an ironic spit in the face. Bound by silence. He had feared, had raged against being restrained by the words of another, but now, he was restrained by their absence. What a sick joke it was, to be parasitically dependent on that which you hated most. What a vicious world of double edged contradictions this place was, a paradoxical spider’s nest of venomous entrapment.

But I will be neither parasitic worm nor helpless fly in this place. No, that will not be my fate. Even if I must become the God ascendant serpent, bearer of the poisoned fruit. Even if I must perpetuate this world of words, words not my own, it shall be my hands that craft the cage, pull the strings, command the puppet! I am slave to no one, and certainly not to your empty words!

Without another word to the strange magician, Lazus rocketed into the sky, arcing through the night with hate sharpened razor precision. His opponent had not moved from his hiding position in the shadows. Obviously. Landing with horrific force, Lazus slammed down on a manhole cover in the middle of the street, hitting the edge to flip it into the air. Rushing up to meet it, he grasped its rusted edges in his hands and began to spin. Around and around he went, the centrifugal force whipping the heavy disk higher and higher, faster and faster. With a blood curdling shriek of rage, he released it, aiming straight for his immobile foe. “I WILL NOT BE CHAINED BY YOUR SILENCE!” he screamed, his pale face livid.

The manhole cover flashed through the air, spinning in its flight like a mad Frisbee of death. With a sickening crack, it slammed into his opponent’s shins, breaking his bones like twigs and slamming him to the ground. “A parasite is bound to keep its host alive!” Lazus bellowed, descending slowly to the ground, still spinning like a top. As he touched down, he slowly ground to a stop, the ground dragging against his feet. “And I will not be some sickly little worm! My words will be the death of ANYONE I CHOOSE.”

[IOwnedYou]

A loud scream was heard throughout the city, along with a blood curdling crack.
"You damn puppet. You'll pay dearly," Rakarashi whipped out his magnum and shot mulitple bullets. One was aimed at Lazus' hat, two more to each side and two above and below Lazus.
"What I intend to do here you probably already know. You're going to be destroyed you atrocious puppet!"

[Serras-Kai]

Well what a great and terrible thing to occur here. Ezekiel's interest in the puppet Lazus was likewise returned by Lazus himself, directed back at the originator. Glorious.

But the dangerous air about the puppet was not just from him, but from his attacker, who didn't seem to care for anything going on. Self-preservation told him to run now, but curiosity said stay a while....

Giving his base instincts the mental shun they so rightfully deserved, Ezekiel spryly moved onto the railing of the balcony, where he gathered his notes and prepared to move his base of operations.

[Kismet]

Oh shit.

As his now crippled opponent opened fire, Lazus leapt to the side, reduced to a blur of red. He felt the resounding thud of magnum round slamming into his chest, and his movements stumbled slightly in midair, reeling from the impact. But his body remained uninjured, and in an instant he was out of his foe’s line of sight, separated by the restaurant corner.

“Now that’s some vitality!” Lazus called mockingly as he examined his undamaged chest (Just to make sure). “It’s a shame you only really started kicking on your deathbed!” He looked around, grinning, thinking of how to proceed. Both of his opponent’s legs were broken, and one of his arms. He wasn’t going anywhere. And a lack of mobility was going to be very, very bothersome for him. He briefly wondered if the femoral arteries in his legs might have been severed. If so, he’d have less than a minute before he bled to death. But he quickly dismissed the thought. It had been a non lethal autohit. It was then that he noticed the ambulance.

Rescue services, along with police and, er, escorts, were in abundant supply in Las Vegas, and naturally, all three were very good at getting around quickly. Especially in Vegas. And especially the getting around part. The ambulance, being crewed by fast responding good Samaritans, had responded with uncanny speed to the developing situation outside the restaurant. They had then fled with every other sensible person as the battle developed. Presumably, the police would not be far behind, as this was, after all, Las Vegas. And that would have been a very annoying fact, if it weren’t for one thing. Irony.

Lazus smiled a sneaky, wily, mischievous smile, and floated over to the ambulance. “You’re going to kill me, are you?” He called back over his shoulder. “I’d say things aren’t really moving in that direction, you know?” Sliding easily through the window, Lazus started the engine, grinning wildly. “In fact, I think things are moving in your direction. Very quickly. With flashing lights and sirens.” He gunned the engine and swerved back around the restaurant, bringing himself back into view of his opponent. Watching him carefully through the windshield, he nonchalantly removed his hat and placed it on his lap, safe from any stray bullets.

Sure, his opponent could blow out the tires again, maybe even blow a few holes through the engine. Neither worked well with bullets in them. But nothing was going to stop the sweet, sweet inertia of a heavily loaded Vegas ambulance going 60 miles per hour. And Lazus deeply suspected that no one with two broken legs and one broken arm was going to be getting out of its way in time either. Lazus grinned to himself. He was going to run him over with an ambulance, and then take his body to the morgue in it. He slammed down on the gas.

[IOwnedYou]

Rakarashi noticed the ambulance was aimed at him.
Fantastic.
He rolled out of the way of the ambulance and shot multiple times at the wheels and the window. He crawled slowly out of the way of the hostile vehicle with his one arm. He jammed his hand into his pocket and pulled out six bullets. He shoved them into the cylinder and locked it back in. He aimed steadily and shot two bullets, assuming the battery of the ambulance was in that area. Just to be sure, he shot his last four bullets at the area he assumed the battery was in.
An explosion He started to think, All I need is an explosion
He put his pistol down and pulled another six bullets out of his pocket. He put them in the barrel and prepared to fire.

[Serras-Kai]

And then things were interesting.

Ezekiel watched from his balcony hideaway as the two continued to duke it out in a glorious manor. Scribbling a note just before he jumped to a lower balcony, he laughed in his throat as he watched the two's battle continue.

He enjoyed this, really- watching two gladiators clash, pitting mettle against mettle, steel on steel as they tried to overpower and outwit one another. A smile arced across his face as he imagined how glorious it would be to see only one left alive, the survivor of this ordeal. But would they turn on him next?

Lazus might. The creepy jester may or may not have the capacity to do such a thing. But what of the other, his opponent? In his haste, Ezekiel had not looked for him in the book. Would he attack Crow as well?

The thought excited him, but he kept his head low and notes handy.