The Twelve

[wkz]

"If you want to be honorable, we can join them..." Theodarus started, carefully putting an ear to the door. "But in this mass-melee, honor goes out of the window. I suggest we wait until we can confirm there's a clear winner out there.

"At the very least, we can chase off the injured winners, and claim their prize of at least two badges.... Its definately NOT honorable, but its a sound plan...."

[Molokidan]

"Good idea." Negi said, sitting cross-legging on the ground, next to the door. "We've had our fair share of bloodshed for the time being, anyway."

And so, the two bounty hunters waited. Due to their earlier fiasco involving the mechanical annoyance, they did not have to wait long until they heard the commotion outside dissipate into nothing more than the moans of the wounded.

Negi peeked outside the door again, and then turned back to Theodarus. "There's no one left standing." he said. "Come on."

Negi and Theo stepped outside, to face about 9 or 10 bodies lined up down the hallway. A few of them were still alive, breathing heavily or moaning in pain, but the bulk of them were knocked out or dead. Blood and chips of rubble littered the hallways.

"Wonder who got away from this alive. . ." Negi said, kicking around some dust. "Seems like it was pretty vicious."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/8/04 6:27 am

[JoshuaDurron]

Seeing that it didn't look like the lady was interested in the badges just yet, Fwupo decided he would attempt to claim them, provided he could do it without being seen...

[FF Fanatic 80]

Were any of the combatants of the psychic variety, they likely picked up on the long string of curses inside Adarl's head. He had misjudged his opponent's concentration, and his face now payed the price. The half-drow rolled back away from the man, trying to get back to his feet and avoid being skewered.

There must be some flaw in his fighting style, I must find it before I end up dangling from a spire... Adarl thought to himself, going back to a defensive posture.

[Molokidan]

Fwupo crept over to the corpses. Indeed, he found, after sticking a hand inside the first's one jacket, that the badges were still there.

Grinning, he pulled the badge away. . .

When suddenly, the corpse grabbed onto his arm. Its eyes flew open, red with some demonic force. It was clear that the things had been dead. . .and then were someone reanimated.

Fwupo suddenly felt another clammy hand on his leg. To put it bluntly. . .this was not good.

The woman stood back, grinning.

****

Adarl stared at his opponent. The man was standing, still crouched on the ground, his brown robes clinging to his body. He didn't seem to have any other items on him besides the robe, and didn't look as if he was that muscular in the first place. If Adarl could somehow get into close range with him, it probably would not be too hard to take him down. It was just getting there that was the problem. . .

Meanwhile, the man stood up, and moved to the right wall and put his hands on it. A ripple went through it, rising up to the ceiling, and a fast pace. . .

[Molokidan]

"Thanks." Christopher says. "But no. . .I can't see what the plants see. . .I can't even totally control them properly. They come out of me when I am in dangerous situations, and otherwise, I can't really tell them what I want them to do."

He turned back to Zachary, motioning him to move into the shield.

They peered through the vines, down the hallway. "There's a lot going on down there." Christopher said.

Zachary peered through, and he could see a mob just a few steps away from the vines. He recognized a few of the men from last night, but couldn't remember any of their names. It looked pretty violent.

It seemed to be the archer with the ponytail, the man with the blonde afro, and the green-haired man with the chain gun, who was lying in the corner, hurt.

In front of them was a huge man with ebony skin, standing at least seven feet tall. He was wearing only jeans, exhibiting his monstrous muscles. It seemed to be him vs. them, and he was grinning.

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/8/04 11:07 pm

[The Great Nevareh]

"You've got some neat moves. Can you always tell what's happening around corners and through walls? If so, then you should lead the way. I'd only bumble around blindly and probably get us killed."

[Molokidan]

Negi eyed Theodarus slightly. "What are you talking about, man?" he said, turning back to inspect the corpes. "I thought we had an alliance deal for now."

Negi bent back down to the corpses, and then came back up. "I can't find any badges." he said. "Either these guys ate them, or they were all taken. I'm noticing a pattern with all these bodies, though. . ." Negi said, thinking. "It seems like all these guys were stabbed by the same kind of blade."

Theodarus was concentrating on something else, however. He had noticed earlier that there was a shadow sticking out from the end of the corridor, when it curved to the main hallway. This dorm hallway was the last of five, the final dead end, and the hallway only curved around in one direction, left, where it connected back to the main one. The shadow that had been standing there had twitched, when Theodarus had made his louder-voice comment to Negi. Finally, the owner of the shadow had come into view.

It was tall man in a black trenchcoat/cloak, with long black hair and white, pale skin. He had dark blue eyes, and a thin smile.

"It seems. . .I forgot two rats." he said, making no move to draw any weapons, and began to move down the hallway, a strange smile on his face.

Negi looked to Theodarus. "Now what."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/9/04 1:14 am

[wkz]

"Yup, it was pretty vicious all right" Theodarus said to his partner. He cautiously leaned down towards the nearest motionless body and checked it for signs of life, and for his badge.

"We'll take all the badges we can find from the dead and the unconsious, even if its more than we need... Trust me, we'll definately will need it later..." Theodarus said. Then he looked towards the heavily injured people, " And if those who are still aware wants to give up their badges too," Theodarus said in a louder voice shaped slightly with threatening overtones, " You know, to avoid injury from those seeking badges, you can do so... NOW."

[wkz]

"Negi.... what kind of blade..." Theodarus whispered as he took out the pen and charged it up. "Because even if we run, I don't think he'll let us go...."

[Molokidan]

"I'm not that smart." Negi said. "I'm just a bounty hunter, you know, not a weapons expert. The blade wounds are very thin, and no signs of struggling. It's as if they were punctured like pincushions."

Negi inched his way over to Theodarus, never moving his eyes from the man coming towards them.

"I'm sure you know what I want." The man said, a wide grin practically ripping through his face. "I will ignore my inherent urge to kill you both, on the condition that you both fork over every single badge you own." he said, licking his lips. He stopped a few steps in front of them and awaited their answer.

[FF Fanatic 80]

...those ripples... it must be his power generating the spires. Adarl thought. Now the question was... when to strike? He seemed distracted with the wall... but how many of those spires could he generate? For all the half-drow knew, he could be dodging one only to have a second come down and cleave his skull in two.

For now, Adarl split his attention between the travelling ripple and the mage, getting ready to dodge what was coming. He needed to be sure this time before trying to strike...

[Molokidan]

The ripple shot up to the top of the hallway, crawling across the ceiling.

And suddenly, Adarl figured out what was going on.

A circular piece of the ceiling seemed to form out of the ceiling itself, and suddenly dropped down, rapidly, towards Adarl's head.

Adarl, who had been watching this intently, quickly dodged to his left, and the piece smashed onto the floor. He looked up, just in time to see another one beginning to fall. He continued to dodge them, and soon it was not just one at a time, but two, and then three. . .

[JoshuaDurron]

"Zombies-kupo!" The moogle cried in surprise, hoping that Riley had heard him. He then wasted no time kicking at one of them and headbutting the other, as fast as possible. He hated the undead...

[Molokidan]

Fwupo wrestled with the zombies, giving each of them a few headbutts and kicks to the face, but it didn't seem like it was making much of a difference.

They had him in their grasp, and lifted the small moogle up. It wasn't much trouble for two, burly zombies.

They carried him over to the middle-aged woman in the suit, who was smirking. "Thank you." she said. "Now, please claim his badge."

They began digging through Fwupo's pockets, searching for his badge. . .

When suddenly, there was the sound of an E minor chord, and Fwupo saw a large axe -- no, make that a guitar -- come sailing down through the zombie's skull, sending a spray of blood all over the moogle. The zombie collapsed to the ground, its head looking like a deflated balloon.

Standing beside the zombie was Riley, his bloodstained guitar hefted over his shoulder. He swung it in a horizontal arc this time, the two sharp bottom ends of the guitar smoothly severing the second zombie's head from its body. Fwupo sailed to the ground, quickly regained his compsure and dashed over to Riley.

"Alright, necrobitch." Riley said, staring at her. "You must be. . .Margaret Thompson. A long-time bounty hunter, who makes her victims suffer long past their death. . ."

Margaret said nothing, simply smirking at the two, her hands shoved into the pockets of her suit jacket.

He turned to Fwupo. "You alright, buddy?"

[The Great Nevareh]

"Wow that looks violent. If I had time, I'd get out a spellbook and try to work some ritual magic on him, but that probably won't work- Don't think he'd stand still while I chanted at him for five minutes. I think I'll try out one of my newer tricks on him, but first I think I'll ask him something. Here, take this in case this doesn't work." Zachary takes out his badge and hands it to Christopher, then turns to face the ebony man.
Zachary tromps down the hall, his armored limbs clinking as his footfalls land. He looks brightly at the ebony man from a very safe distance and calls out to him:
"Hey! What'cha bench? 1500 or so?"
In the meantime, he begins making the calculations that he'd had so little chance to make in order to pull off one of his more precise tricks.

[JoshuaDurron]

"Fine-kupo..." The moogle scrambled to his feet, not entirely sure what Riley had said, but pretty sure he had an inkling of what was going on. "The dead should stay dead-kupo, and maybe it's time you joined them-kupo..."

No one should be forced to do something against their will, even if they are dead...

Fwupo tucked his wrists up against his waist and stood lightly on one foot, looking vaugely like the karate kid. He then began stalking slowly forward on the balls of his feet, his head low to his chest and his elbows protruding outwards, looking much like a chocobo running in slow motion. Since his back was to Riley, he couldn't see him talking, and he certainly couldn't hear him...

And any chance of his being stopped physically became vanishingly small as Fwupo began charging forward at full tilt, zigging and zagging, until he attacked Margaret- with his elbow. He then degenerated into a barrage of knees, kicks, and viscious elbow lunges that ended with a headbutt, all aiming to knock the older lady down in any way possible...

[Molokidan]

X________________________
| | | | |
| | Z | |
A | | F |
| | | | T

(OOC: Just a map to show where everyone is at. the "X" is the stairway to the next floor, and the letters show where each player and their respective groups are in each hallway.)


Christopher stood back in shock, at his partner's sudden moves. Not only had he given up his own badge, but he had stomped off in the direction of the carnage. . .

Meanwhile, Zachary moved up to the fray, and poised his question. The ebony-skinned man stared at him, grinning, his large canines poking through his lips. "Looks like I gotta another one to trash." he laughed.

The green-haired man was lying slumped against the side of the wall, his chain gun on the ground, and what looked to be various burn wounds on his arms.

Kamome turned around suddenly, to face Zachary. "Y. . .you." he said. "I need your help. You were bunking with Christopher, right? I need one of you to go get help immediate-"

"Hey now!" the man moved up, clenching a huge fist around Kamome's neck. "You ain't trying to start more trouble, are you? I already thought we talked this over?" he said, lifting Kamome high into the air. The archer's arms slumped, and he gritted his teeth in pain.

Ari, the man with the blonde afro and listless face, turned to look at Zachary. "I do not care whether or not you fight." he said. "However, I will tell you -- this man is a Dark Zodiac."

"That's right." the man said, flexing his left bicep, which held a tattoo of a faceless horse. "The name's Bruce Wernhart - 8th member of the Dark Zodiacs."

****

Fwupo moved forward quickly, his unusual stance getting strange looks from his partner as well as his enemy. He slammed Margaret in the stomach, and surprisingly, she went down, straight to the ground. Her face showed no expression -- and then she sighed.
With a flick of her finger, the dead men had returned to motion. The first one's head hung on barely by a flap of skin, while the other's had been completely severed by Riley's attack. They moved closer, and were soon caught up in Fwupo's barrage, getting punched, kicked, and headbutted once again by the moogle. It seemed that there was no limit to the amount of pain they could take -- they weren't feeling any of it. But Fwupo wasn't paying attention, and continued spinning around, crushing them.

"FWUPO!" Riley shouted, standing uselessly behind, trying to communicate to his teammate. "This is going nowhere!" He hit another note on his guitar, trying to get ahold of SOMEONE'S attention.

****

Averyl beamed as Theodarus spoke, saying nothing.

Negi looked to Theodarus suddenly, and then stepped forward to Averyl. "Here." he said, taking a badge that Theo recognized to be the deceased kobold's. "I don't care what you do with that guy, but here's my badge. Take it and let me go." He said, raising it towards Averyl.

"Interesting." Averyl smiled, though his eyes were on the writing pad. "That's a very interesting weapon." he said. "Do you plan to use it on me?"

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/10/04 6:40 am

[The Great Nevareh]

"Interesting and yet completely irrelevant. You didn't answer my question and stop hiding behind people you defeated. How much ya bench? A strapping fellow such as yourself probably has strength to spare, wouldn't you say? I'm just mildly curious, is all."
Zachary is, of course, keeping his distance from the Zodiac, knowing full well what it means. Yet he smiles, anyway.
4 Thaums per pound he can lift ought to be enough, unless he's got a magic immunity, which is wholly improbable unless he's not a native of this plane. Or... with all that muscle, he doubtlessly has lots and lots of passages in his arteries. How much weight could his heart take?
"Of course, since you defeated an entire group by yourself, I have no doubts that I would be utterly powerless to stop you. But, why would I want to, really? You've knocked down three people, you only need two other badges aside from your own to get beyond the exhibition. So, I'm just curious, really, as to how strong you are so I can properly quake with fear and hope you leave so I can scavenge remaining badges for my own use."
Keep talking, buy time, got to make this work, 4x times the hypotenuse to the cross on the floor... this won't be easy if I avoid hurting the others.

Edited by: The Great Nevareh at: 11/9/04 11:30 pm

[wkz]

"Pincushions eh? Thanks.... every bit helps" Theodarus said to his ally, rising up from the dead body he had searched.

"Heh," Theodarus said to the new opponent "Fat chance you'll let us go after only the badges. You have been hiding behind that corner waiting for new victims, and given that every single body here does not have badges, you have more than you'll ever need."

"I know what you want all right..." Theodarus took out his writing pad, the pen still charging in his hand, "New victims..."

[Molokidan]

Bruce snorted. "You've got some mouth on you, kid." he said, tightening his grip on Kamome. "For the record, though, 250kg. Anyway, I can tell you're planning something bad for me. And you know what? To give you the advantage, I won't even attack you. You can go ahead and use it on me. Just believe this. . .no matter how painful it is. . .I'll be able to survive the five milliseconds it will take to crush this man's neck here. Then again, if you're totally cool about killing innocent people, no sweat, eh?"

Kamome moved his eyeballs straight to Zachary, giving him a frightened look, as his face turned purple.

Ari continued to stare at Zachary.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to everyone, thick green vines crept along the hallway from the south end. . .

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/10/04 1:39 am

[FF Fanatic 80]

...this...is...not...good... Adarl though, in between dodging the growing number of spires. He had to get close to strike, but with the speed the man created the spires, the odds of that working seemed unlikely. The man was fast enough to keep up with any movements the half-drow made it seemed. It would take something drastic and unexpected to catch the man unaware...

...and an idea occured to him. It was very risky, for if it failed, Adarl would be defenselss and nearly helpless. If it was successful however, the man would be quite shocked before his passing.

Watching for the right opening, Adarl brings his blade up as he dodges about the hallway. Then, when the moment seems right, he hurls the large bastard sword with all his might, right for the man's chest.

[The Great Nevareh]

Zachary sets himself up for a speech, to be spat off in the tone that teachers reserve for stringing a class along, catching a student's attention at each switch of inflection and turn of phrase, with an entirely passive, friendly face.
"Five Milliseconds? Wow! With your bare hand? Interesting! How did you practice getting such a strong grip? Squeezing rocks or somesuch? To be honest, though, that whole 'I'm not killing him, you are' thing is such a stupid way of phrasing things. That would only be meaningful if you were a soulless inanimate object without the vaguest semblance of motivation that can only act by my manipulation, and that is clearly not the case. If you kill him, you kill him, and I had nothing to do with it. Besides, how do you know I'm planning anything? I could just be extraordinarily stupid. Or, maybe I already do have you in my power, and you, by merely answering my question, have fallen prey to my skills. If that's the case, though, how do you know? Or I could be the person who mysteriously killed those one hundred soldiers from that army through shady and skillful manipulation of unseen blades, since they didn't even put up a fight, just died like the useless dogs that they were. Though, to be honest, the only crux that's preventing any action right now is your holding that man up instead of engaging an opponent- I might not be making a move out of my sense of fair play. After all, would it be honorable of me to engage you while your attention is diverted? I could, perhaps, be a church agent sent to kill you, specifically, without reservation for the lives of others, indiscriminately wielding my holy fire against all against whom I've been sent and whomever else is in the viscinity. Or I could just be a psychopath with really no regard for human life who crushed his roommate into a paste against the wall for a quick badge, and the delicious smell of rotting flesh is even now permeating my room, waiting for me to return to its alluring embrace. You seem to be putting a lot of weight on my caring if that man lives or dies when the possibilities of it being otherwise are so likely that it's stupid to assume otherwise. This is a tournament, isn't it? And if you kill him, isn't that one less person for me to worry about? But you could also be right. Perhaps the reason I'm not acting is because you're holding the lives of others too close to yourself for me to act in the brutal fashion I'd need to to incapacitate you. Such interesting things, words, eh? Though for some reason I doubt you're a man of much eloquence. No offense, of course."

While saying this, Zachary does some math in his head and figures out a course of action, though it would require some serious concentration to pull off. If he retrieves Kamome, however, he won't gain any ground- his enemy will still have two people that he can crush at his whim.

Edited by: The Great Nevareh at: 11/10/04 1:49 pm

[JoshuaDurron]

Fwupo gave a soft *hmph* as he danced carefully backward from his undead opponents. He took a moment to get back to Riley, then said, perhaps a little loud due to his ear pads, "Live and let live, kupo? I think we'll need easier prey to deal with for now-kupo..."

He shot a last glare down the hall at Margaret. "Keep your distance necro-bastich-kupo. We'll settle this later-kupo."

[Molokidan]

(OOC: Dude, Dave. That is an awesome move. You have to name this skill immediately and use it from it now on!)

Adarl rolled away from the falling ceiling, and then tossed his bastard sword straight as his assailant. It sailed through the air like a huge dagger, and the man didn't even know what hit him. He gasped at Adarl, unsure what to make of this sudden turn of events, and then the sword pierced him straight through his chest, sending him down to the ground.

Adarl, now safe from any more spires, moved over and removed his sword from the corpse, sending a stream of blood squirting out from the man's gaping wound. The man groaned, apparently on the brink between consciousness and unconsciousness, having half of his chest cavity ripped wide open.

The drow sighed, and began to bend down to look for the badge he had killed a man to get, when suddenly, two scythes went whizzing by his head. He fell backwards and looked around suddenly, prepared to see another contestant who had been waiting for this moment to attack, but instead, saw two floating scythes.

One lodged itself under the soft part of the man's chin, the other one in his groinal area, and began to slide him across the floor to the front of the passageway, at a surprising speed. The man screamed in pain as he was shuffled across the floor by the curved blades, at a surprising speed. Adarl simply watched, stupefied. A few seconds later, the man's body skidded to a stop, right at the feet of Winslow Bordeaux.

Adarl watched as one scythe ripped through the man's garments, soon coming out with the badge pierced at the tip of its blade. The second scythe then finished the job, shredding the man to pieces as he screamed his last.

Winslow had to have noticed Adarl, but he was still paying to attention to the winded drow. The scythes were sent off again, whizzing down the hallway looking for more bodies to scavenge.

Adarl, turning his eyes away from Winslow, also noticed that the number of bodies that had been up when he came out here had dropped a considerable amount since his game of dodgeball with the tunneling man. Now, ahead of him, there was only Ginn, continuing to fight with a large man who had a bottom like a snake, and then finally, Winslow, standing at the end with his arms crossed, looking very pleased with himself.

****

Margaret rose up from the ground in a perfect 90-degree arc, coming to her feet and staring Fwupo deep in the eyes. Still, she said nothing. The corpses stood next to her, bleeding for more an innumberable amount of places.

Riley backed up a little bit, and stared down the passageway. The man with red hair who had been there earlier was now at the end of the passageway, fighting the only remaining man in the hallway. The place was littered with corpses. "Hey. . ." he said to Fwupo. "I don't know what she's going to do. . .but if we aren't going to fight her, we should get the hell out of here, don't you think?"

****

Bruce stared at Zachary with dark eyes and a blank expression on his face. He gripped Kamome just hard enough to keep the man alive, but still in an enourmous amount of pain.

When Zachary finished, Bruce let out a long sigh."Alright." he said. "You obvious have put a lot of thought into this. . ." he said, speaking in a calm voice, that showed no signs of faltering. "I can tell you're underestimating me, though. I have big muscles, and I have a big deep voice. Which means I must be a big idiot, right? I have news for you though, buddy. . ." he said. "You don't become the member of the most dangerous assassin organization in the world for no-"

Suddenly, vines wrapped around Bruce's legs. Zachary and Bruce had been so busy talking to each other, that they hadn't noticed the hallway become enveloped in green. Zander was unconscious, and Ari had of course seen it, but said nothing.

About 20 vines wrapped around Bruce's huge calves each, squeezing as tight as they possibly could. "Heh." Bruce smirked. "This is it?" He gritted his teeth, and flexed his calves, bursting the vines to shreds. From a few steps back down the hallway, Christopher let out a scream of pain. "Aw, so it isn't you, after all. . ." he said. "What's this now, five people against one? That's not very fair." The vines fell to the floor, but quickly began to regenerate, coming back to him.

Bruce sighed again. "I guess I won't be able to keep any more surprises from you guys, after all. . ." Suddenly, his legs erupted into flames. They lept onto the vines, devouring them, creeping all across the huge undergrowth that had enveloped the entire room. In a few seconds, the people in the hallway were surrounded by flames.

"AGH!" it was Christopher. He was on the ground, writhing in pain, surrounded by a circle of flames. If someone didn't help him soon, he would die of asphyxiation.

"I'll get him." Ari said, and without further ado, began dashing down the hallway.

The flames continued to pulsate from Bruce's legs, lighting the hallway up like a huge gateway to Hell. He continued to grip Kamome, staring at Zachary. "So, what's it gonna be now? I still haven't seen you pull out your magic trick."

[JoshuaDurron]

"Yeah-kupo. She's certainly got more than enough ammunition to work with right now-kupo." Fwupo quickly began backing down the hall, towards the exit, being careful to keep his eyes on as many of the corpses as possible. He was not so foolish as to stop to grab a badge this time...

[Molokidan]

Fwupo and Riley made their way down the hallway, carefully stepping over the corpses. Margaret stood in the same place at the end of the hallway, not moving a muscle.

The two musicians made their way to the entrance of their hallway, and turned to face Rall, who had just incapacitated his opponent and stolen their badge.

"There's two." he said, grinning and flipping the badge in the air before pocketing it. "How're you guys doing?" he said, looking to Fwupo and Riley. "I saw you guys at dinner, right?"

"Yeah, I remember you." Riley said. "Rall, right?"

"Yep. Riley and. . .Fwupo, was it?"

[JoshuaDurron]

"That's me-kupo," the moogle replied, shooting a distrustful glance down the hall at Margaret. "If you don't intend to stop us-kupo, could we hurry on and talk somewhere else-kupo?"

[wkz]

(OCC: note, the times I can visit this site is getting shorter and shorter, just to let you know... but then again, so is every weekend.)


"What are you doing?!" Theodarus whispered harshly, trying to direct the voice such that the opponent would not hear. "He was waiting around the corner for us, and he's going to kill no matter how many badges we give him! Keep offering the badge, but be prepared to run."

Turning his attention back to Averyl "Yup, I'll be using it on you all right." Theodarus said, considering his options. Negi had obviously given up, and this person most probably is much better at fighting, considering his cockyness. Time for plan B.

With quick flicks of the pen, he wrote two words onto his writing pad, and almost immediately threw it up into the air as high as he could make it. One of the words immediately took effect: The pad immediately flashed like the sun, and if anyone was looking, he'll be blinded.

With his eyes closed, Theodarus was not so stupid to fall for his own trap, but he knew Averyl would most likely be looking at it... mainly because the other word on the pad was targeted at him: he was compelled to look, and unless he knew, he wouldn't be able to resist.

Theodarus took this oppotunity to charge forward, writing a final word on his own hand. "Take THIS!!" he shouted as he started to swing his entire body to bring his enhanced left hand straight onto his opponent's stomach.

--
Theodarus activates 3 seperate words of power:
= "FlashBang" on the writing pad.
= "Look" (Details in Theo's thoughts:"The targeted person will Look here") on the writing pad,
= and "Explosive" on his left hand (Details in Theo's thoughts:"EXPLOSIVE PUNCH" [Insert standard Anime Hero Shout here] ), using ALL the rest of the charge stored on that pen (beyond the 5 seconds needed)
--

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=wkz@rpgww60462>wkz</A] at: 11/10/04 8:05 pm

[Molokidan]

"Oh, of course not." Rall said. "I've already got the two badges I need. If anything, I won't mind lending you guys a hand to the next floor."

The three stepped out of the passageway, staring down at the long expanse that led down to the stairwell to the second floor.

Along the passageway were entrances to the other three halls. Behind them, was the entrance to the fifth one.

The one just in front of them seemed to have the flicker of some sort of flames coming out from it. . .the other two were unvisibile from this distance.

". . .the hell?" Rall stepped forward, looking at the flames. "Holy. . ." he stepped backwards, putting his arms to block himself from the tongues of the fire. "Alright. . ." he said. "You guys need badges, right?" he said, staring back at Fwupo and Riley. "Do you want to try to head into another passageway and get some, or do you want to look around on the other floors?"

Riley shrugged, looking to Fwupo. "What do you think, buddy?"

****

(OOC: No sweat, Theo. Just make sure to tell us if you have to take an absence or anything.)


Theodarus ran up as the flashbang exploded in the sky, blinding Averyl and Negi.

Negi fell backwards, clawing at his eyes. "You idiot! What the hell!?"

Theodarus moved up to punch Averyl. His hand connected with Averyl's stomach, and he heard a sound that sounded like something between a snicker and a cough.

Theodarus's fist exploded, sending Averyl skidding backwards a few feet.

Averyl's eyes suddenly flew open, staring at Theodarus with intensity, as blood began to pour from his stomach. A huge grin appeared on his face.

Then, suddenly, straight from the wound in his stomach, an enourmously long blade flew out, and, within a couple of seconds, impaled Theodarus in his upper right chest area.

The blade somehow began shrinking from Averyl's end, pulling him closer to Theodarus. His eyes were lit up with excitement, his grin practically sawing his face in half. "More. . ." he said. "I want more of this. . ."

[Molokidan]

Adarl dashed down the hallway, not worrying about the lost badge. He came up to Winslow, who suddenly thrust his arm outwards, nearly clotheslining the running drow.

Winslow turned his head sideways. "You're Saffron's pal, aren't you?" he said. "That's why I haven't killed you yet. I don't kill my friend's friends. However. . ." he outstretched his palm in front of Adarl, smirking. "There is a fee of one badge if you want to pass this point."

Edited by: [url=http://p068.ezboard.com/brpgww60462.showUserPublicProfile?gid=molokidan>Molokidan</A]&nbsp; at: 11/10/04 10:57 pm

[FF Fanatic 80]

Adarl was not sure which surprised him more at that moment. The fact that he somehow managed to use his blade as a projectile successfully, or the fact that Winslow did not immediately tear him apart. He certainly had the capability, after the bloody display he just witnessed.

...is this your doing as well, Saffron? the half-drow thought, recalling the earlier signs that Winslow and the blonde swordsman were cohorts. Whatever the case was, a few things were certain to Adarl at that moment.

There was no way he could get that badge back from Winslow, at least not wtihout risking the same fate as the spire mage. And if he did not hurry, there would not be any badges left to take, at the rate the body count was rising. So the half-drow starts in the direction he and Saffron took earlier to get upstairs, the only route he currently knows in the building, all the while trying to keep his eye out.

(As for a tech name... the "Oh shit might as well try it!" swordchuck of doom? =P

Seriously uh... no idea what to call that =/)

[FF Fanatic 80]

So much for that route... Adarl sighs to himself. It seemed Winslow's loyalty only went so far to the blonde swordsman. This came as no surprise to the half-drow, since they barely knew one another. Adarl had no desire to give up his own badge, the only one he currently had. Truth be told, he seriously doubted he could find two badges and survive, let alone 5.

"...it seems I am in your debt then. And Saffron's, once again." he says to the scythe wielder.

Then he begins to take a few steps back, glancing at the hall behind him, then back to Winslow.

"However, I intend to continue on in this tournament... and I seriously doubt my chances if I have to 'pay' for passage."

He picks up his blade, resting it on his shoulder and looking back.

"Until we meet again."

Adarl then starts down the opposite direction, determined to find some other route upstairs.

...though he does make the occasional glance back toward Winslow. He dared not be that naive and trust the man completely.

[Molokidan]

Adarl began to walk off.

Winslow said nothing for a few minutes. "Damn. . .you'd better be licking Saffron's shoes if you ever see him again! If it wasn't for him. . .you'd be mincemeat on the ground right now." Winslow growled. "And I mean that, buddy. . .there's nothing holding me back except The Dog himself."

Adarl didn't understand the last part, but continued moving down the hallway. There were no more corpses here, which meant that this was the end of the games. The only people who had gotten past here were not beginners, or even intermediates -- this was the cream of the crop.

He continued up the stairwell, coming to the second floor. There was a strange barrier blocking him from continuing to the third. . .that was indeed a problem. The Y hallway leading to the food hall and medical rooms stood before him. . .there had to be another way up, somewhere. . .

[FF Fanatic 80]

...I definitely need to speak with him, that is for certain... Adarl thought, paying no real mind to the dog comment, assuming it to merely be an insult. As he looked around on the next floor, attempting to find another route, something occurs to him.

Even if I manage to find a way upstairs, and eventually the exit, it will do me no good without two more badges...

As much as he tried to avoid needless combat, it seemed he would need to do so, if he wished to proceed onward. The half-drow doubted anyone remaining would be intimidated by a blade to the throat. So he continued to keep an eye out, both for those seeking him out, and to seek someone out himself.

[Molokidan]

Adarl moved forward down the passageway, heading towards the food hall.

The place was eerily quiet, and every small shop was empty and soundless. . .but Adarl knew there were people here. He could feel it.

He moved forward carefully, eyeing all possible corners to hide behind. . .still, he felt nothing.

Suddenly, he heard the click of a gun and the voice of a man behind him. "Freeze."

[FF Fanatic 80]

...Shit.

Adarl did as the individual said, not even speaking a word. Though he was definitely thinking aloud

...I cannot lose my badge.... if I allow him to take it, my chance of surviving this will fall dramatically... yet there is not much I can do right now...

[Molokidan]

"Good. You're compliant." the man said. Adarl could feel him looking over the drow, looking at every inch of his body. "Alright, now I just want to ask you a question or two. First of all, do you have a sufficient number of badges? Or, what I really mean to say, is, do you wish to attack me to take mine?"

[The Great Nevareh]

"What makes you think I'm underestimating you at all? And what makes you think I have anything like a 'magic trick'? I might try anything based on physical prowess alone. You're making quite a few assumptions."

Well, Chris' thing didn't work, and if I'm going to keep Kamome alive, I need to get him out of that guy's hand.

"Is that pyromancy or pyrokinesis? Or, perhaps, pyromechaniostasis? I'm interested in that sort of thing, call me wierd if you must. Though I do have to wonder- why continue to hold that guy? Just toss him or something. Honestly, this entire discourse is boring me, and if you're as intelligent as you say, you should know that holding a hostage is meaningless when your opponent's mission has nothing to do with maintaining the lives of bystanders. Or, if you can promise me that you'll sit still, I'll go back to my room and grab a few pounds of explosives to throw at you. Everything's more fun with bombs."

[wkz]

"Alright!!" Theodarus thought to himself as his fist connected, sending his opponent skidding back. The guy did not fall down as intended, but with that damage he wouldn't be chasing Theodarus and Negi with any amounts of speed.

Immediately after making sure the punch had connected, Theodarus immediately started moving backwards, dropping his attention on his foe and about to shout for Negi to run.


Talk about near fatal mistakes.


At least the sharp pain that pierced into his right was not immediately fatal, but the intended escape was out of the question, especially with the weapon somehow lodged and un-removeable. Not only that, it was dragging him bodily towards his foe.

"Dammit... dammit... dammit..." Theodarus grunted, grinding the teeth in unaccustomed pain (despite his bounty-hunter history).

Yet somehow he managed to grab another of his pens from a pocket, and desperately started to charge it as much as possible... "Dammit... once you are within range, bastar..ahhh!! ...."