(Replied on last one)

{Jack let go of his revolver as Armin kicked him. Falling down, he grabs Armin and pulls him down with him. Knife still in hand, he stabs at Armin's neck. As the explosion goes off, the bus comes to a grinding halt. The explosives destroyed the axel.}

Armin leaned back as much as he could, so the blade only cut slightly into his neck. He suddenly found the revolver in his grasp. He pressed it against the shoulder of Jack's knife arm and fired, looking to disable that arm.

{The gun clicked. It was out of ammo.}

Jack: "You're out of luck, scum sucker."

{Jack pulls out a stake, however, he finds his arm held down. Barnabas was stepping on his arm.}

Barnabas: "Best buddies forever!"

Armin tossed the revolver aside, throwing a wary glance at the stake. He pulled himself away from Jack and stood up, kicking Jack in the head. 'Here, Barnabas. You can play with him for a bit.'

He turned his attention to the people Dianne was grappling with. Not wanting to accidentally get impaled on her pike, he threw a projectile strike into their midst.

{With a happy chuckle, Barnabas starts Mauling Jack. At Dianne's feet were four dead people. She had two guys grabbing her legs and two guys grabbing her arms and pike. She slams one into the wall, breaking the glass, but they stubbornly hang on. She had stakes and knives stuck between her armor plates where they tried to stab her. Armin's slash nearly cut the arm off the one on her left leg. He screamed and fell back, causing Dianne to throw them all off.}

Dianne: "Thanks, hon."

{She proceeds to stab and brutalize everyone in front of her.}

Keeping out of the reach of Dianne's weapon, Armin lifted his gaze. He surveyed the broken down bus and the courtroom behind them, trying to determine their situation, how people people were left and what state they were in.

{Sam and Sarah were being held at gunpoint by Jerry and the judge. Half the jury were dead, the other half injured. Many of Jerry's family were dead, with a handful surrendering to Dianne. Dianne orders Barnabas to stop mauling Jack, dragging his bloody form off the bus.}

Dianne: "Armin, you're hurt! Ryder!"

'Someone should call an ambulance...' said Armin, seeing the remnants of the jury.

He then looked over at Dianne. 'What?' he said in a surprised tone. As the adrenaline started to wear off, he became aware of a throbbing, tearing pain in his gut. The bullet was still lodged inside. Wincing, he suddenly looked unsteady.

Dianne: "Sh!t."

{Dashing forward, she grabs him before he could fall.}

Dianne: "Armin, sit down. Barnabas, take the pike. RYDER!!"

{Her call for Ryder was tinged with panic.}

'I'ss fine, I'm'a vampiiire...' Armin muttered, slumping in her grip.

'I'm here, I'm here...' Ryder climbed into the bus and walked down it to reach them. 'Woah, big guy... OK, my car's outside, I can take him to Pythia. Are you coming, Dianne?' He seemed just as worried by her panicked yells as by Armin's condition.

Dianne: "Just take him, quick as you can. I'll secure this area then make my own way over."

{Picking him up, she heads straight for Ryder's car. She smelled of blood, with knives and stakes lodged between her armor plates. However, she didn't seem at all encumbered by this.}

Ryder opened the back door so she could get Armin inside. He himself climbed into the front and started the engine.

Armin weakly grabbed at Dianne as she carried him towards the car. 'Hey! You can't just stay here and leave me!' he said, seeming vexed that she wasn't coming with them.

Dianne: "Armin, I need to see this through. Once I make sure no one else is coming, I promise I'll be right there with you. You're seriously hurt. You're going to Pythia immediately, ok?"

Armin might have tried to argue, but a wave of pain hit him at that moment and he groaned, tensing up.

'OK... fine...'

{Dianne gently places him in the car, closing the door.}

Dianne: "Please hurry, Ryder. Get him to Pythia."

{She then begins to walk back to the courthouse, pulling out the knives and stakes as she went, discarding them. Most came away with blood, but none went very deep.}

Ryder sped off, barely staying within the speed limit.

'You and Dianne, you're always getting roughed up, huh?' he remarked, to which Armin didn't respond.

When he arrived at Pythia's house minutes later, he stopped the car, pulled Armin out and briskly carried him up to the door.

{Pythia opened the door, sighing.}

Pythia: "Somehow, I knew this would happen. Bring him in, quickly now!"

{Pythia leads Ryder to a table in the middle of the room. Summoning torrents of water, she gets to work removing the bullet and cleaning the wounds.}

By that point, the adrenaline had completely worn off and Armin was in a lot of pain, tensing and gripping the edges of the table. However, he remained still and let Pythia tend to him.

Ryder lingered in the doorway. He himself was bleeding sluggishly from a bullet graze across his arm, but it wasn't deep and he was ignoring it.

{Meanwhile, Dianne re-enters the courthouse. All the assailants had been apprehended and were handcuffed in the corner. Jerry was looking a bit stressed out in the corner, rubbing his face. Before Dianne could approach him, Judge Halbarad approached her.}

Hon. Halbarad: "Hey, miss. Thanks for stopping those criminals. You going to be alright? You're bleeding a bit."

Dianne: "I'll be fine. Nothing serious. Excuse me."

{Walking past him, she approaches Jerry.}

Dianne: "Jerry...I....I'm sorry..."

Jerry: "Don't apologize...you did what you had to do...They didn't give you a choice..."

Pythia: "Almost done, Armin, almost..."

{After removing the bullet and cleaning his wounds, Pythia begins to heal him. His wounds disappeared in seconds.}

Pythia: "All better. But, your shirt is ruined."

Armin gingerly sat up. The pain was gone, but he still felt a little weak and tired. 'Eh... better than ruining another jacket... Thanks.'

'Pythia, hey, could you heal this real quick?' Ryder asked, indicating the cut on his arm. 'Nothing serious.'

Pythia: "Of course, Ryder. Come here."

{Running her hand over the wound, she heals it instantly.}

Pythia: "So, I take it Dianne's ok?"

Ryder shrugged. 'I think so. She acted like she was OK, and she did have heavy armour. She stayed behind to make sure the fighting's over, told me to bring Armin to you.'

'I hope Jerry's family are proud of themselves,' Armin grunted. 'Half the jury are dead, and half of /them/ are dead. And they call /us/ the dangerous ones...'

Pythia: "Oh my...What happened?"

'Weeell... we were watching the Garvey family's trial... and then suddenly one of the Tussock brothers smashed a bus through the courtroom,' said Armin.

'Then they tried to get the Garveys to escape with them. Everyone started fighting. It got chaotic,' said Ryder.

'But I think we won in the end,' said Armin, smirking slightly with satisfaction.

{Dianne patted Jerry's shoulder before walking over to the prisoners. She briefly wondered if Fred was around.}

Sam: "You'll pay for this, Dianne. Killing my family."

Dianne: "It was self defense and you know it. You think I wanted to do that? They didn't give me a choice."

Sam: "Eye for an eye, they say...Eye for an eye...I'd keep that dragonette close if I were you..."

{Dianne was in the middle of walking away, but when he said that, she stopped. Turning around, she walks back, taking off her helmet.}

Dianne: "What did you just say?"

Pythia: "Oh, my. Was anyone else hurt?"

Sam: "This isn't over, Dianne. Not by a long shot. You, Armin, the healer, the brat, we're going to get you all. Every-"

{He was cut off when Dianne Smashed the side of his head with her helmet. She proceeds to pick him up and start beating cr@p out of the old man. If Frederick's people don't intervene, she will beat him to death.}

Just then, Fred walked into the courthouse, with a sniper rifle slung over his back and a pistol in his hand. He strode over to Dianne, though wisely kept out of her range.

'Dianne! Stop that!' he rapped out.

'Some of the jury were injured,' said Armin. 'And Jack Tussock... And probably all of the family members who weren't killed... And Dianne had knives sticking out of her armour, but she seemed OK.'

{Dianne looked over at Frederick with a hateful scowl. Tossing a bloody and beaten old man to the floor, she stomps out.}

Hon. Halbarad: "Frederick. Well, he did just threaten her family so..."

{He shrugs.}

Hon. Halbarad: "I would have done the same thing in her place."

Pythia: "Maybe I should go over there, then...but who will watch Esme?"

Fred stood beside Sam, though not to protect him. He gave the old man a dark look, then addressed Judge Halbarad.

'Your Honour. I'm here on behalf of King Cadwaladar, who has just been informed of these tragic events. In light of what happened, he has ordered the execution of Sam and Sarah Garvey and Jack Tussock. When he hears of Sam's horrific threats upon Dianne's family, there will be no swaying his decision.'

'We can stay here and watch her, if you want to go,' said Armin. 'Dianne might be on her way here too.'

Hon. Halbarad: "Truly? Well, I guess this trial is over."

{Picking up his gavel, Halbarad slams it against his ruined stand.}

Hon. Halbarad: "Guilty!"

Pythia: "Mmmmm...let me call her..."

{Dianne picks up quickly.}

Dianne: "Pythia, how's Armin?"

Pythia: "He's fine. What about you, are you hurt?"

Dianne: "Minor stab wounds, nothing serious. I'm on my way over."

'The King has also ordered that the other surviving Garveys are to be permanently banished from the province,' said Frederick. 'The King's guards are on their way here They will take Sam, Sarah and Jack to the jails until the execution can be arranged. The others will be immediately removed from the kingdom. Thank you for your time, Your Honour.'

Armin listened to the other end of the call attentively. 'She's alright. Good.' Though he had known she wasn't seriously hurt, he still felt relief on hearing that.

Hon. Halbarad: "Yes, of course. Give my best to the king."

Fred waited with Sam Garvey to make sure he didn't try to escape. After a few minutes, a group dressed in the light armour and royal uniforms of the guards strode in and began to take the family members away. As they did, Fred slipped out of the building, looking grimly satisfied.

Dianne: "Pythia, put Armin on the phone."

Pythia: "She wants to talk to you."

{Pythia passes the phone to Armin.}

Dianne: "Armin, how are you feeling?"

'...Tired,' said Armin after a moment's consideration. 'Otherwise, fine... Despite everything, that was a great fight. I think I needed that.' He grinned slightly.

Dianne: "Right, because getting shot and stabbed is everyone's idea of a good time."

{She says, rolling her eyes.}

Dianne: "Next time, I'm making you wear armor."

'Hey, if we have a fight and nobody I care about gets seriously hurt, that's a good fight in my book,' Armin replied. 'I didn't even feel it until afterwards.'

Dianne: "Well, I am happy you're ok."

{Just then, she comes through the door, hanging up.}

Dianne: "Alright, Pythia , patch me up, then we'll be on our way."

As soon as Dianne came in, Armin got to his feet, pleased to see her even though he felt a little unsteady.

'So, did anything interesting happen while I wasn't there?' he asked.

{Dianne proceeds to remove her armor as she speaks. Her underlying garments were stained with blood.}

Dianne: "Well, Sam Garvey threatened everyone in this building and I almost beat him to death. Then, Frederick said that the king had ordered the execution of Sam, Sarah, and Jack, with the others being banished."

'Everyone in this building? Including Esme? Damn.' Armin took a moment to process this. //He openly threatened her family and she didn't immediately slaughter him? She must be getting better at controlling her anger.//

'...I bet the king thinks you'll kill him if he doesn't get rid of the people trying to harm you,' said Armin. 'He must've heard that they attacked us, and got scared.'

Dianne: "Probably. Glad he's actually stepping in, however."

{Pythia shakes her head disapprovingly as she tends to Dianne's wounds.}

Pythia: "I just don't understand. Who could possibly have the heart to harm an innocent child?"

'He's a maniac,' said Armin. 'He acts like we're the monsters, but he's the one who kills and threatens innocent people. And he doesn't have any reason; he just /wants/ to.'

Dianne: "He is old...maybe his brain's coming apart?"

Pythia: "Mental illness would explain a lot..."

Dianne: "None of this can be easy on Jerry...I had to kill half his people right in front of him....They didn't give me a choice..."

'They were attacking us, along with that Tussock guy,' said Armin shortly. 'Of course we didn't have a choice. I know it's hard on Jerry, but that doesn't change anything.'

{Dianne just sighs and stands. Having finished, Pythia starts cleaning up.}

Dianne: "Now's not the time to think about this...Let's get Esme, get food, and go. There's a fish joint a few blocks from here I've bee; meaning to try."

Armin was quite happy to put the grim subject of Jerry's family aside. 'A fish place? Great, let's go. Ryder, would you mind driving us there?'

'Sure,' said Ryder. 'Go get Esme and I'll be waiting for you all in the car.'

Dianne: "Just throw my armor in trunk, yeah?"

{Heading upstairs, Dianne walks to Pythia's room to retrieve Esme.}

Ryder and Armin took Dianne's armour into the car while they waited. Armin's sword was already there. He grimaced slightly when he saw the blood on the back seat.

'Yeah, sorry about your car...'

Esme, meanwhile, was up on the windowsill, gazing out across the streets below. The TV was on. It didn't seem like she'd caused any more damage in here.

Dianne: "Hey, sweetie. Ready to go get lunch?"

{Dianne approaches Esme and scoops her up.}

Esme squeaked happily, bumping her head against Dianne's shoulder in greeting.

Dianne: "I'm happy to see you too."

{Kissing her on the forehead, Dianne carries her downstairs.}

Dianne: "Thank you so much, Pythia. This means a lot."

Pythia: "No problem. I was happy to help."

{Dianne then walks out to the car.}

Ryder waited for them to all be buckled in, then set off. Armin eyed Esme, then shifted a little in his seat to hide the bloodstains.

As they were leaving, a group of cars were approaching Pythia's house. Some were transporting the injured jury, others were carrying injured Garveys who were due to be banished. The latter were in handcuffs and being watched closely. It seemed the king was allowing them to be healed before kicking them out.

{Dianne made sure to hold Esme's attention away from the blood stains, holding her close.}

Dianne: "Ryder, if you want something from the restaurant, just get it. It's my treat."

{Pythia looks at the approaching cars with worry.}

Pythia: "That's a lot of injured..."

'Well, if you insist. I wouldn't mind getting some dinner at this place,' said Ryder brightly.

The head guard waved dismissively. 'It's alright, Miss. We'll bring the ones with serious injuries first, and the others will wait. One at a time.'

{The restaurant in question was called Fisherman's Bounty. They were pretty new, having opened only last week.}

Pythia: "Very well, bring them in."

Ryder found a spot to park and climbed out of the car. Armin followed, leaving his sword in the back.

'I've never seen this place here...' said Armin. He then noticed a sign outside the restaurant. 'Oh, it's new. That makes sense.'

{Esme in hand, Dianne follows.}

Dianne: "I hope they don't have a stingy dress code. I didn't bring a change of clothes."

Armin shrugged. 'If they have a problem with our clothes, we'll just find a different restaurant, and they'll lose customers. No loss to us.'

Dianne: "I'm only concerned because I'm walking in here barefoot and in a blood stained tank top."

{Walking in, they were greeted by a waitress and asked if they wanted a table.}

'Yes, please. Table for... four, if that's OK,' Ryder replied.

Armin was waiting to see how the people here might react to them. Not just because of Dianne's appearance, but also because three of them were dragons - one clearly so - and another a vampire. //Well, they let us in, so I guess it's not a problem.//

Waitress: "Very well, right this way."

{The waitress leads them to a table and hands them menus.}

Once they got over there, Armin sat beside Dianne, while Ryder sat opposite them. They pursued their menus.

'Anyone see anything good?' said Armin.

Dianne: "Let's see...Mudraker filet...crab cakes, probably previously frozen...Hmm, half trout, fresh from Bloodwater. I think I'll have that."

'I already know what Mudraker tastes like. I tried some when we had to get them for potion ingredients,' said Armin. 'Kind of bland. I think I'll get the same as you. What about Esme?'

Dianne: "Let's get her the fish and chips. A salmon patty with fries. I think she'd like that. What are you going to get, Ryder?"

'Salmon fillet, with asparagas and potatoes. I haven't had salmon since I left the mountains,' said Ryder cheerily. 'Hopefully theirs is good.'

Dianne: "I hope so too. Armin is the master of fish. He will know if it's good."

Waitress: "Ready to order?"

Armin glanced up, then at the menu one more time.

'Yes, I'll have the half trout. And a glass of white wine.'

Ryder gave his order as well.

{Dianne orders for herself and Esme. The waitress walks away to get their orders. Across the way, a human family was eyeing them nervously. Dianne payed them no mind.}

Dianne: "Been getting colder lately. Glad this place is heated."

'Yeah, I never told you, but it was snowing last night,' said Armin. 'Just a little, but it must have really gotten cold. Maybe too cold, if you'd been staying at my house.'

He glanced briefly at the human family, then looked away nonchalantly.

Dianne: "Well, can't be too long before our stuff arrives. Don't worry, you won't have to stay in my museum house much longer."

'Eh, I'm kind of getting used to it...'

Ryder then spoke up casually. 'I've heard that there's probably going to be a party on Christmas Eve. Nothing solid yet, just rumours. If there is one, are you guys going?'

Dianne: "Yes, it sounds like fun. Hopefully Crowley doesn't crash it this time."

(posting new room)