If it's a bit short, there isn't much one can do when writing a single hero against an invasion.. heh

Besides, the piece ended up being a lead in to our first "Live roleplay," where things take more of a team on team battle feel. It works rather well for being our very first! But to focus on this one for now, Dash himself is in the heart of the first wave of the invasion.

See how that works out for him right here...

War had finally come to Seaside Town.

Sebastian Dash experienced alien invasions and upheavals in other cities around the vast expansions of distant lands. He quickly ran over what he knew to be true of the situation on his mind, as he had been trained to do in Honorburg. Not long ago, the Kingdom of KOL had sought approval of the Council of Loathing, wishing official sanction on a war with the Knob Goblins. This first involved a pair of tasks the KOKOL's finest were sent upon. A competition of sorts. Some of them set out to find a mosquito larva, while others hunted down the resurrected bonerdargon, the skeleton dragon. (selekton dagron?)

That wasn't quite enough to get what they wanted. The KOKOL had to compete head to head with Winking Judge member The Guacanator in a meatcar contest, but had no direct competition in the "impress the council" contest. Through luck, and possibly an anti Winking Judge agenda, KOKOL was able to gaunter another pair of victories, earning them the official sanction from the twelfth and final council member, known only as the Nice Sorceress. Weird.

Just as soon as the approval for the war on the Knob Goblins was given, this strange half dragon half succubus appeared on the stage, along with several known members of the Elite 7. They were flanking the Knob Goblin King himself. And after a few boasts, the Knob Goblins were attacking!

Sebastian Dash watched the flow of the battle as it began, wanting to insert himself at the most opportune location to make a difference. As it turned out, that was pretty much decided for him when he saw the Black Paladin advancing on the Council of Loathing.

Of course, the Council weren't exactly helpless. Well, most of them weren't. After all, a few had super powers, and three others were the leaders of the local guilds. Nevertheless, the Goblin King had this well planned out. He's appeared with some of his finest soldiers.

Dash knew how important these first few seconds would be to the entire campaign. He scanned the podium again, trying to spot any nasty surprises the Knob Goblins might have. The first and most dangerous threat to the Council would clearly be the Black Paladin, who already began to rush at the Elite 7. Dash rushed forward. In truth, his veteran instincts had told him this was what the enemy wanted. They'd probably put their gambling meat on the Paladin being enough of a distraction to launch one or more other attacks on the Council.

Dash rushed forward anyway, realizing the Black Knight could still do the job himself it someone didn't step in. Dash blindsided the Paladin. Dash swung "Bad beats," his trademark broadsword, with both hands grasping it and enough force to cleave a tree clean. All it did was distract the Black Paladin, and leave Dash's shoulders aching.

Before the Paladin could even turn, Dash spun his whole body in a half circle, coming around and connecting with the armored knee with the flat of Dash's blade. It had enough force, and enough surprise, to cause the Black Paladin to fall to one knee. Dash raised his boot up and kicked the helmet of the Black Paladin as hard as he could. Dash had hardly gotten his bearings from delivering the kick when Grillhamo blindsided him. Dash instinctively pulled his arms up to deflect the shot as Grillhamo swung his club in a wide arc, designed to be impossible to dodge.

The impact left Dash's arms numb. He struggled back, his sword falling from his grip and flying several feet behind him.

 
Great. Just perfect.

 
"Come on, move it!" Briggs Detree barked. On stage, King MTiger had found himself face to face with the barbaric Daisuke of the Elite Seven. Amras stood, looking somewhat conflicted. He'd brought a small but talented group of backup for this assignment, not having expected terribly much trouble at KOKOL's carnival party. First and foremost on the list were Briggs himself, and KOKOL King MTiger's personal bodyguard, the plexiglass clockwork ninja pirate zombie robot. The being was of recent and rare design, and would more than be able to hold its own against most normal enemies. Of course, the Elite 7 were no normal enemies.

There were also two members of MTiger's "cub pack" soldiers. Normal human soldiers who'd been subjected to genetic alteration testing to give them some of the characteristics of tigers. Unfortunately, most of the subjects over the years had rejected the genetic magic, or had adverse reactions to it. The program was currently on hold, but a few soldiers who'd tested it remained active. Finally, the Centaur Brothers and Krakkrox had accompanied Briggs himself on this mission. There were also the assorted guards for the Council of Loathing. Briggs knew they'd be way out of their league on this one, but duty and honor demanded they try to help King MTiger and the Council.

With Briggs leading things, they quickly charged, attempting to cut a path between the Council and the Elite 7........

Back on the stage, Dash barely avoided another club attack by Grillhamo, and grabbed Bad Beats. Dash brought the broadsword up, and found himself face to face with Amras.

"What's your role in this?!" Dash demanded, his attention taken from the remainder of the battle. After all, he'd thought of Feena's new friend Amras as an ally. To see this sudden and uncharacteristic behavior...

He heard Amras' voice- low so that only he could hear. "Forgive me." He then felt the bunny punch him hard in the breadbasket- so hard he felt like coughing up a roll.

Unexpected. Dash fell to his knees, holding his midsection. Dash wondered if there was magic enhancing the punch or if it was simple power and technique. Dash prepared for whatever was next. Surprisingly, when he looked up, Amras had vanished from Dash's immediate sight. Dash forced himself to his feet and took a quick scan of the main area. Dewey, Cheetham and Howe.. none of them were in sight. King Mtiger was engaged in a claw to claw battle with Daisuke, and holding his own for the moment. The rest of the Council looked ready for a fight, except for that Sorceress, who stood in the center of it all, as peaceful as can be, seeming immune to the chaos raging around her.

Dash watched the first wave of backup arrive upon the podium, which swayed under the unexpected weight. Only a few minutes earlier, the podium had been used by the Kingdom of KOL and the Council of Loathing to show off their grand contest. Now.. it was nothing other than a war zone in the making.

Something caught Dash out of the corner of his eye.

The other Council members were fighting back as well! More on that later, though. The big thing here is Dash, who's suddenly found himself surrounded by Daisuke, Black Knight, and Grillhamo.

Dash gritted his teeth and cursed the bad luck...