The Path of Ashes [Solomon, Valerie, Open]

"Absolute FILTH!" Came the hollows' booming shriek as Solomon charged towards it! The creature's wings spreading wide as it's tail slashed in and swiped! Aiming to cut into Solomon's frame. It's body still steaming from the cero it had unleashed moments before, only for that axe of his to slam into it's frame. It's whole body jarred from the strike as it bit into the mass of it's bulk. tearing up and cracking through it's mask. The Hollows body TENSED! The sudden danger of it's damaged mask catching it's attention. That bellowing voice breaking out into a scream as the following strike came down.

It wasn't able to charge an attack in time. And that crescent ring of energy pierced down and sheared it's body in half, wing and tail torn frrom the rest of its body, the entirety of it's frame shuddering before crashing down into the ground below, blood cascading down along it's downed frame, all as it began to writhe! It was downed, but not killed just yet!


The Winged Serpent was recovering, prying itself up from the ground, that spear of gold still lodged within it's chest as it hissed out. Tail coiling along that length as it attempted to pry the weapon free. It was in that moment that Valerie shot in, appearing like a mirage above the beast with a hand cocked back. Bright gold cracks tracing along her arm before striking the end of that spear, sending out a loud cracking noise as that spear was promptly driven through the beast, blowing out it's spine and causing a burst of blood to erupt from it's mouth as the spear shot through the other end and buried itself into the sand.

Valerie charged in, her fist cocked back. Getting to see the creature's big eyes dart in hr direction just before her fist connected with it's mask. Cracks spidered across it's head before blood gushed from the seams, caving in the beast's head with that powerful strike as the beast crumpled into the ground. A hot, heavy sigh escaping her as she wiped her brow, flexing her fingers a little, making sure nothing was broken before she cast a look in Solomon's direction. Curious to see if he'd need any help finishing off his target.

A sigh escaped her as she watched the Vandenreich officer finishing off the hollow. The Humvee that they had originally been riding in was driving it's way over. With a quick glance around she gestured for Solomon to head toward the Humvee, and she herself vanished with a burst of speed, speeding her way to the spot and stopping a short ways away, giving them a bit of space to slow to a stop as she waited for Solomon to show up before hopping into the back and smirking to the blonde.

"Not bad Kiddo. You got some hefty moves. Cmon. Let's catch up with the Caravan. We have another couple miles before they reach Site B. Once we get there we'll be resting a bit before making the trip back. Second Squad will be escorting the next group. And then it'll be our turn again." She noted with a calm smile.

A soft snort at that, flashing Sol a grin before giving him a playful little punch to the shoulder. "Alright enough flattery out of you. Focus up." She chuckled, clicking her Radio before speaking into the mic at her shoulder. "Red One and White Three, Roadblocks are down. Reform the line and keep your eyes forward" She reported, the line of the caravan slowly straightening back out as they picked up speed to catch up with the rest of the Caravan. Not very hard given the larger transport vehicles weren't that fast.

The question caused Valerie to raise a brow, but she kept her eyes about them as she answered. "Been in it for ages. Always wanted to help people. Trained to be a police officer at one point. but didn't have the discipline to be all professional. So I joined Scaffold. That was a while ago, once Four fired up, I found myself with a lot more work than I expected. Lotta bad stuff happens. But nothin I hate more than those who wanna prey on people already suffering. Folks have a lot more focus. You can look at the bigger picture. But people like me can't. We can't help but go out of our way to protect the people on the ground. While you guys save the world, we try to save as many innocents as we can. Save you guys the trouble of having to do everything at once." She noted casually enough.

Valerie raised a brow ever so slightly and stared at Solomon for a moment, before promptly breaking out into a loud chuckle, smiling from ear to ear as she gave Solomon a hearty pat on the back. "Well listen to you~ A rank and file member of the Vandenreich making all sorts of promises. I appreciate the sentiment, it's cute." She chuckled, sighing softly before waving a hand. "But you don't go worrying about us. We may not have the most resources or the latest tech. But we make due. Take a look at this caravan. We have to make so many trips just to move all the refugees out of danger. But truth be told. It's also something of a blessing. We don't draw much attention with big machines, and travelling in small groups takes a bit more, but it makes our moves harder to notice. So there's pros and cons to doing things the way we do. That said, We'll certainly appreciate what help you can offer." She noted, pausing for just a moment before looking over both of their shoulders.

Her gaze strayed past the landscape behind them. To the one spot that was the cause of all this in the first place. Toward the maw that had opened up in the earth, from which so much death and destruction had spewed. As if the earth itself was retaliating against humans. It was almost poetic, and some part of her couldn't help but wonder. All the same, she smiled. "But don't forget what your real job is. If you really want to help? Do your best to find out what's down that thing. So long as monsters keep coming out of it, these people will never be safe. No mater how far they run and hide. I appreciate the help between operations. But when the time comes, don't forget where you'll really be needed. You have a job I could never do."

Valerie was pleased at the repsonse that Solomon gave. But even MORE than that, she appreciated the look of contemplation on the kid's face as he seemed to reconsider his own words. Heh, it was cute. Always these kiddos and their eager hearts. But she was glad that this one was sensible enough to know good advice when he heard it. Turning to look at the road ahead of them. She wondered vaguely if they would hit any other obstructions. It was possible, but if all went well, they'd be at Point B before Long, and a bit of time to rest up. Maybe she'd convince the kid to have some chow with her, pick his brain a little. She always WAS a bit curious about those Vandenreich folks. The city of lights sounded like an interesting place. Perhaps she'd have to visit once all this cooled down.

IF it all cooled down.

"Heh. Dont' worry about giving your word there bud. That's the kinda stuff you say before a goodbye. And Trust me, I'm pretty sure we're gonna be seein a lot of eachother Sport." She noted with a smirk, lightly tousling the young man's hair before turning her attention back to the road. And the long trip to their destination.