Requiem for a Rose

She grabbed a zombie with a gnarled root like tendril and squashed the life out of it. The ring of wiggling roots keeping back the undead monsters that threatened to overwhelm the small ring of safety. Every now and then, one would escape and break through the wall of death. Black Jade would twist and writhe, the green tendrils reaching out towards the invader and entangle it, wrapping around itn and rapidly consuming the poor creature.

The zombies continued their assault, the bodies slowly beginning to pile up. Changing tack, the undead assault threw skeletons at her, archers and swordsmen with sharp blades and tips. She howled in a plant like wail of pain as they began to hack away at the roots, thorns doing nothing against the metal of the weapons.

"You look like you need a boost!" Ubermensch grinned, zapping Black Jade with a super charged upgrade. She felt the power surge through her, invigorating and energising. She screamed in anger at the undead and a new wave of root like growth erupted around her. A mass of tangled knotted vines, brambles and grasping tendrils tore the remaining hordes apart, scattering the remains to the four winds.

Retracting the roots, she prowled through the battlefield occasionally absorbing anything that got too close, and shredding anything that had the audacity to attack her. It was going so well until the humongous bronze bull bellowed its challenge and thundered across the battle field towards her.

On the first pass, as the beast came past, the ground shaking under each hoof he was simply just trying to gauge her level of agility and deftness. He missed, barely, but Black Jade was able to dance to one side, her flowing mane of black-red roses down her back trailing. The bull snorted as it turned and pawed the ground. Black Jade tossed her 'hair' in distain, angering the beast and held out one hand palm upwards. She flexed her fingers together in the universal come and have a go if you think you're hard enough gesture. The bronze monstrosity reared up, the fires of war glittering off its polished hide and threw the whole of its weight forwards in a charge. Black Jade gave a lopsided evil grin and rooted herself to the ground, preparing to grab the beast by the horns.

"SMAAAAAASH!" Hollered the large green rage monster. It barrelled into the bronze bull and propelled the entire angry argument away and down an embankment. There were some teeth gratingly, filling achingly, mind numbingly, ear piercing metal squealing noises. "SMAAAAAAAAAAASH!" Roared the green skinned demon again charging off after it's next victim.

"Like! Look out plant lady!" Jaxx called from his vantage point aboard the dragon as it swooped down towards Black Jade. She had just enough time to turn her head and see the massive jaws closing around her upper torso before the dragon bit her clean in half.

*****

"Oh my god!" Katrina wailed, watching the monitors as Jade began to flat-line. "We need to do something!" She blustered with the first aid kit and looked to 'The Missus' for help. Artemis' wife was already prepared, having foreseen something like this happening and rolled towards Jade, with a syringe in her pink clawed mouth. She deftly, for a Skutter that is, jabbed Jade in the leg. The fluids rushed into her blood stream.

And did precisely nothing.

*****

The root like tendrils collapsed dead to the floor as the lower half of Black Jade slid sideways, a mixture of clear plant fluids and sticky red blood pooling on the floor around the body.

Elated at the destruction, the dragon tossed the upper torso of Black Jade in the air and ululated a roar with a huge gout of flame, cooking the body. The stench of cooking flesh and plant was only around for long enough to fall back down as the husk was swallowed by the dragon.