Bonestriders may be less resilient than Warstriders,  but the foul taint of Oblivion makes them strong. The Maiden's impact did little more than skew Sun's new visor,  which it promptly corrected. The Maiden herself actually<span style="font-style: italic"> bounced</span>off the bone plating, landing in a  broken heap near Anderson. Sun paid her as much mind as a gnat.<br/><br/>The King and the Bonestrider circled each other warily, oversized lance leveled against Daiklave and Smashfist.  The Crimson King was actually afraid; this Shintai was meant to even the field in mass combat, not take down behemoths. His mote reserves were all but dry, sustained only by the sips garnered from Murder Is Meat and Hungry Wind Howling. Perhaps it was time for a change in strategy.<br/><br/>"King To Rook. Castling!" 042 looked up from it's showdown, processing the contingency code Esone-Who-Was had roared out.<br/><br/>---Acknowledged.  Preparing for combat transference.--- A flare of multicolored light erupted from the Geth's flashlight-head, blinding Hunter for the briefest of moments. In that second, The King blinked to 042 side and physically<span style="font-style: italic">threw </span>the heavy weapons platform at Sun. Midflight the Geth extracted it's megaton hammer, the piston-driven weapon primed and steaming. As Sun turned, puzzled,  to see what was going on, 042 slammed the hammer home into his face. One of the Bonestrider's eyes shattered, bluish yellow pus staining the ground at its feet. The cry of anguish that tore from the constructs dead throat was deafening. 042 took that as a signal to go to work.<br/><br/>"Well now, this is how it should be!" Hunter laughed, turning to The King with weapons primed. His rifle had been holstered in favor of twin pistols - one Soulsteel with an odd golden halo, one Orichalcum whose sheen was steely and cold. "Just you, me, and my ladies here. None of this revenge nonsense Sun spouts. Your friend punched him so hard that his voice box couldn't be fixed, you know. That coupled with you stealing Jessie just about broke his brain."<br/><br/>"Jessie?"<br/><br/>"His shotgun, young man! Really, do try to keep up."<br/><br/>"His Gun Fetishes Are None Of My Concern." Crimson intoned, leaping into action. Hunter opened up in the style of a pistol duelist, alternating shots for maximum accuracy and speed. Crimson vaulted over the spray, spinning slightly to slice through the Deathknight. Hunter danced back at the last second, the Scarlet Blade biting into asphalt.  The Deathknight was corned now, back pressed against the heaving bulk of one of the remaining Maws.<br/><br/>"Nowhere To Run." Crimson snickered, advancing menacingly. He stood ready to dodge, The Ebon Dragons Essence primed to carry him forward past another round of bullets. Nothing came. Just Hunter's mad laughter.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">NOWHERE TO HIDE.</span><br/><br/>The sky broke.<br/><br/>Down from the heavens, like some blasphemous parody of divine ascension, descended a Reaper far larger and more terrible than any on the ground. The Destroyer the Exalts had been battling was an ant in comparison. Where the Behemoth's insectile legs touched the earth, shadowlands and blights spread. A blasphemous chorus of wailing women and children thundered with deafening resonance from it's hide, sanguine lightning pouring down from the firmament in time to the screaming.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">WE ARE HARBINGER. WE SPAN THE UNIVERSE, AS COUNTLESS AS THE STARS. WE HAVE COME. YOU WILL DIE.</span><br/><br/>It was then that Crimson King Shintai chose to run out. They were all running out; Thousand Reflections Legion, Veil of Whispering Mist, Mind and Body Storm, Play the Music, Light the Lights. Only his Maws and the group's Shaping protection remained,  sustained by committed motes rather than a durational activation.<br/><br/><span style="color: #000000">Oh, for the love of the Yozi. </span>