OOC Note: Seeing as it's extremely frustrating to post this up in parts...I'm going to just go ahead and put it up...and also put a note on where you should
pretend to seperate them. Just a note, though. xD
His life had been uneventful.
Who, you ask, had a life that was very uneventful? Someone that played ‘The World’ most definitely wasn’t a person who thought his life like that. Yet there was, actually, one or two people who thought their lives in ‘The World’ were a bit uneventful as the days’ events went by, almost the same as ever except a few trips to the dungeon here and there. More importantly, Seir was someone with a bit of an uneventful life where he had been lured into so many projects and gotten his character messed up multiple times. Life seemed at peace; a dull peace at that, one he wanted to get out of.
His life in ‘The World’ was a long one. He stood at a reasonably high level, only to see that people were still growing along with him, making him seem like a puny person. Unless he decided to skip classes and work extra hard on his level, he wasn’t going to be changing his job any time soon. He had started out like every other weakling and then inched his way up in levels, coming up usually with a smile on his face. He went on a short hiatus due to life and such, but then came back to it, only to find that his character had been somehow hacked. He didn’t give up then, but rather started anew and went along, going through most of the same dungeons and grabbing most of his items in order to come back to where he was before. It wasn’t that bad for a player, but it got worse. Worse wasn’t a whole lot, but it was enough.
Again, Seir was forced to leave the game and the same tangle of events happened. He didn’t work as hard this time and found that it helped a bit; the person who was playing with him was obviously not somebody in search of a low level player. Eventually, he came up to a level that he enjoyed very much. Yet, even after so many days of avoiding the idiots, he came upon a group and sunk in, only to find himself being sucked down a toilet drain that never ended. Seir the Blademaster had joined a group of players that deliberately hacked people’s files and tried deliberately to annoy the heck out of CC Corporation. He didn’t see this until he had totally sunk in, and when he promised he’d stick with something, he couldn’t turn back. Sure, most people could, but he wasn’t a person to say no at any point in time if it meant having meaning in ‘The World’.
Now there he was, standing at the face of a dungeon, his spear in his right hand and his left hand digging into his pocket. Another man, a Long Arm, stood at his side in a straight position. They had agreed to keep watch today for the group of players; they were messing with something and really, really,
really didn’t want to be doing something messy in the midst of Mac Anu, where all the players were. Instead, they had come to a seemingly desolate dungeon and placed two low level guards in the front to keep watch and shoo people away from their area. If the Knights came, they were out, but if anybody else came, they were most certainly going to block it off.
The real thing that happened in his day that made it exciting was the spotting of two black figures approaching them. They wore long cloaks and had their hoods entirely on, leaving any hopes of seeing their facial expressions gone. Both men immediately got up, curious, but still ready to guard the entrance. Seir was in front, his blade at his side, looking completely harmless, a proud expression on his face, one that would soon be eliminated from his face. The two figures stopped in front of the boy who stood almost five inches down from them. He snorted.
“What do you want? This dungeon is under surveillance. Get out of here,” he said, throwing his hands up in the shoo kind of motion. The figures didn’t move. “Can’t you hear what I just said, get out of here,” he called again, throwing his hands up in the air and trying his best to shoo them away.
“This is under surveillance, get out-“ the Long Arm next to him argued, but they didn’t have any time to move as the black figures moved forward with unmatched speed, slamming their knees into their chests and elbowing them in the spine. One of them, obviously the large of the two, swung his axe and split one of the man’s head open while the other crammed his foot into Seir’s head.
The two weren’t dead, but rather knocked out for a moment. The smaller one (by mere inches) had obviously done a poorer job, but it would give them enough time to clear the mission. Both pulled off their hoods and unclipped the cloaks before throwing them over the men. It was getting a bit cloudy around there, likely to rain. The two could only hope that it would cover up their victims and give them enough time… Both checked their equipment and then, the two were off, moving into the depths of the dungeon and leaving the two bodies behind. [/2nd Post]
The dungeon was dark, not a crack managing to open up enough in order to shine some light into the darkness. Two men arrived through the door, both of which who were prepared for what was to come in the dungeon. The two looked, if you compared them from side to side, like a teacher and a student, yet in a different kind of way. They were an inch away from being the same height and both were pretty close in level. One’s skill was much greater than one, which was immediately obvious, and there was one thing that made them different, the most obvious: one carried an axe while the other carried nothing but some fist guards (you were surprised at that, right? You expected more?).
Shenmock cracked his knuckles.
”This place seems so empty,” he muttered. His breath reverberated from the mask and came back to his mouth, making his character sweat in the already-humid dungeon. Sure, it didn’t make a difference, but he didn’t want to be sweating in the midst of battle; that would make the enemy a bit too confident about things, thus making it a lot harder.
Kai walked forward, his bare feet silent with each step. Without boots, there was no familiar
click! There was just silence in the room, followed by a few rats squeaking as they scurried about trying to find shelter before they were stepped on by players.
”It might seem like that, but I’m sure that we’ll find multiple players in this dungeon. I’m not sure if they’ll be separated, but most likely, we’ll be able to get information from Sen or even one of the people we encounter.” He crossed his arms and stopped at the entrance to the next room, looking at the gravel outline before staring off into the darkness.
The boy stepped by his side and crossed his arms, watching the entrance to the first room. Kai was the first to walk in, followed closely by Shenmock, leaving nothing behind but a desolate room.
Again, the next room was empty. It was a rectangular sort of room with multiple doors leading in different directions around the dungeon. This was obviously one of the dungeons which hold several different rooms and if they made one wrong turn, they could easily find themselves caught in a monster fight. The Fist Fighter turned his head to the right while Kai turned his head to the left. Again, they were at a loss of words. A Fairy’s Orb would most definitely not help them at all, due to the fact that they were searching for somebody, not searching for some monster portals or the entrance to the second floor.
The young Fist Fighter used one anyways, seeing as they couldn’t just go wandering around to empty rooms. An orb surrounded him and then disappearing before displaying a full-blown map for both of them. There were a few monster portals left, but could be easily avoided if they were trying to get to the second floor. Then again, some couldn’t, seeing as they wanted to check each and every one of the rooms thoroughly. Kai, too, stared at the digital map for a second, too, and then nodded straight in the direction of the passageway across from them.
”We’ll go straight,” he said in his deep, gruff voice before moving forward, Shenmock moving off behind him, lurking in the middle of the shadow lain across the dungeon floor. The two tried to shake the feeling off, but both felt it: were they even on the first floor? For all they knew, they could be on the third floor hacking away while they traversed the first floor and found nothing. If that was the case, they’d never find them in time! Kai, of course, was the first to shake off that feeling, and then Shenmock soon followed, shaking it out of his mind and following the Heavy Axe into the next room, which they knew to be an empty, T-shaped room.
Vines were tangled about, moving off to the side and wrapping around each other before disappearing between cracks in the side, yet no light managed to find its way into the dungeon. It was still extremely dark and only a few torches on the sides lit their way. There were the basic skeletons in there, but there was something else that the boy really hadn’t seen before: symbols on the walls. The first time he saw it, he had thought it as something some ‘Indians of The World’ had drawn or something like that, but now, it looked more like elemental symbols. Kai was probably too busy thinking about what they’d do once they got there. It all depended on if there were one or five people in each room. Really, they didn’t know unless they somehow could hack into the field, which they couldn’t. The two stood at the end of the hallway, staring off in both directions before deciding to turn left, as it was the general direction of the second floor and the other room was just a tangle of rooms leading up to nothing. Even idiots didn’t deliberately corner themselves.
This time, though, Kai held a hand out to stop him before walking in. The boy stood there for a moment, running a hand through his brown hair before moving on in after him, despite how he had stopped him a moment before. Once he arrived, he found that the Heavy Axe had stopped and was now staring at two men who were headed to the right. One carried a long and deadly looking spear while the other had his blade sheathed. The two stopped at the sight of the tall men before them. The boy pressed a palm to his side and let his other hand fall, watching them with sudden disinterest. The two men were basic players and yet they were supposed to be hackers, or associates with them.
The Long Arm was the first to react, immediately pointing the tip of his spear at both of them and giving the two men a dark glare. Blonde, curly hair ran around his body, followed by a regular blue jacket with long, crimson pants. He didn’t have any boots on, like the two of them, and had a confident expression on his face like he could take on both of them. The Fist Fighter really didn’t want to kill the guy, as he looked like a confident young lad, but was replaced with sudden anxiety at the sight of the blademaster following with an ugly look on his face as if they were flies trying to annoy them.
“So, they’ve sent some men after us, I presume. Yet…” The Long Arm ended his sentence and spun around, his spear being carried around so it managed to cut off one of his partner’s black hairs. “You go no further. I don’t care what you do, what kind of people hired you, but…” The man started to dash forward on light feet, his spear dragging close behind him as he went. “This is a free game and we can do anything we want with it,” he hissed, obvious venom in his tone.
The boy was slightly taken aback from it, but held his ground. He pulled up his Yawara in defense and watched the man as he aimed for him in particular. He gave a quick jump, launching himself off the ground before pulling the spear forward. The boy slid to the right, focusing his strength into his knees for a moment as he crouched down and grabbed the spear, all in one quick motion, no moment wasted. He shoved a bare foot, letting the spear point dig into the ground, but nothing more. A moment later, an axe banged against his head, making him fall back, blood flowing from his nose and down to his mouth. With two people trained for the job, it seemed easy to handle the simplest of men, all in one single strike.
His partner the Blademaster didn’t have quite as much courage as he did, so thus, he sprinted off, sure that with his partner trapped he wouldn’t stand a chance now that he had witnessed the pure strength of the two…though to them, it was more just good teamwork that could be done with anybody just as long as they knew what strength they could use. The Long Arm wheezed for a moment and tried to get up, but only found a bare foot set near his neck, just below it. The Fist Fighter turned a head to the Heavy Axe, a bit at a loss of what to do with him. They could easily kill him…wait, that was really the easiest idea, as they wouldn’t have to deal with him escaping and helping the others to escape or something. Kai seemed to be thinking the same thing and without any hesitancy, the boy pressed harder and let his foot slide to his neck. The man coughed for a moment and tried to say anything, but all he could do was try to breathe as air started to stop flowing through his lungs.
Kai hefted his axe once and let it slide across his body, making a long gash before he pulled it back. Without another glance to Shenmock or the Long Arm, he brought it forward, letting it dig into his chest and crack multiple bones that came in its way. He ripped it out of the way, staring at the spot at where it had been once and then swung again, ending the man’s life. The man let out a groan and started to fade. The boy let his gloved hand fall to his eyes and slid across the eyelids, letting them close before the man faded, seemingly a bit at peace.
A gray aura started to rise and so the man dematerialized, leaving them alone in the room once again, but knowing that the enemy was going to be prepared for what was coming. The Fist Fighter made a move to sprint after the Blademaster, but the Heavy Axe grabbed his shoulder and slowly shook his head.
”He’s likely already a few doors ahead of us, so it’s pointless. Come, and be prepared. There’s sure to be more of them waiting in the oncoming hallways. If we can continue what we did last time, we can easily eliminate them.” The man turned his head, cocking his side to his side and giving him what Shenmock liked to call the ‘eagle look’ or something along the lines of that.
All the Fist Fighter did was nod, avoiding the gaze as the two moved off into the door that the Blademaster had previously disappeared through. The room that they were in was a long hallway, leading to the second floor. They already knew that they were going to be going down into the second floor, and after the man left, also knew that the men were likely to be down there waiting for them. If they were caught in an ambush, they might just be doomed, but if they were able to get on their guard in time, they’d be able to take them out. Not with ease, but with the power that Kai had taught the Fist Fighter to use correctly and effectively.
The two walked, again, in silence across the dirt floor. The only thing they could really hear was their steady breathing rate, not fast, not slow, but steady, showing a bit of ease. Shenmock walked down the stairs first, his hands crossed over each other as he did so. He disappeared into the darkness, yet Kai was hesitant to follow. The Heavy Axe turned for a moment and stared off into the room for a moment, listening for any signs of movement. He could’ve sworn he heard something… The man shook his head slowly and moved off down the stairs behind his partner, a bit curious as to what he had heard and also all the more eager to get it over with.
This time, they didn’t use a Fairy’s Orb to light their way, as they knew this was it; this was going to be the floor in which every hacker would be lurking about ready to strike. They were obviously not going to use their skills, as it would take too much time to, so it made it a little less dangerous, but still, these were hackers and any hacker was a good player. The Fist Fighter arrived, closely followed by Kai, who seemed a bit troubled when he walked in, yet the feeling wore off almost immediately. He didn’t bother to ask, but only walked forward through the short hallway in the direction of the next passageway.
It was slow, but they finally came to another room with two men in it, each holding broadswords that looked like they could tear the heck out of him if they wanted to. The men stood at the ready, their blades drawn back in a ready position, ready to fight whoever came by. They looked chilled at the sudden appearance of two men, but otherwise, they had the nicest looks on their face…not really. The two men gritted their teeth at the sight of them and then grew a bit easy about the situation. It was only two people, each a class and each having the same kind of power that they had. It seemed easy enough to handle, right?
Both men leapt forward, charging, their blades held in the same position, ready to strike. It was the stupidest way to start a fight like that. They had gotten themselves in a position where they couldn’t get caught alone, but still, coming at that kind of position was too obvious. Kai had his axe prepared as the first man charged and swung at him sideways. The man coming at the Fist Fighter followed a moment later, giving off the same swing. It was like they were deliberately mirroring each other’s movements. Shenmock hit the ground immediately, stomach first, and then rolled off to the side as the man brought it down into the ground. The boy, now in the same position on his stomach, did a bit of the ‘worm’ and got up to aim an uppercut attack.
The man, of course, thought it was easy enough to dodge and deliberately stumbled back, yet the fist still connected with the edge of his chin and sent him staggering back. The magic behind that trick was something that Kai would obviously like. He was leaning all of his body weight into it and if he hadn’t noticed before, the boy had been much closer than he thought. Immediately, the boy grabbed his collar and kneed him in the chest before throwing him back and lunging forward, his fist already smashing into his face.
The man roared out in rage as he hit the ground. The boy was a little too fast for him, as he was a Fist Fighter, and Fist Fighter’s were meant for speed. Sure, he hadn’t done a load of damage, but he sure had done a lot. There was a
clang! as Kai’s axe connected with the other man’s and then axe tore into flesh as the eagle slid his axe under his guard. It was clear the two had the advantage in this situation, compared to the power of the two heavy blades. The boy stretched his arms and looked to the heavy blade that was now standing up, his blade hefted on his shoulder. He grunted as if it was really nothing too bad and then charged once again, trying his best to cleave the Fist Fighter in two.
The man let the blade slide off his shoulder a bit, his grip tightening as he dove forward and swung his blade around in a spinning motion. Shenmock ducked, his brown hair coming back behind him as the man came by and hit the ground. Crimson spattered the gravel down below and he was left to look at blood leaking out of his arm. A spell instantly came and replaced it, though, leaving him fully charged once again. The man growled and sprinted at him once again, his next charge on its way. To victory or to his demise was the question.
The man took a steadier approach this time, his legs moving at a slower rate and his blade slowly being pulled into position for what would be his next move in the path to victory or demise. The boy stood motionless, his fingers tingling with excitement for what was yet to come at him. It was only a moment too late until he found out what was coming. The man started and pretended to bring his blade up, but instead spun around in a clear circle and used the momentum to bring his blade in the other direction. It was a good move, but still, the blade hadn’t gained enough to do too much damage. The boy rose his hands, letting the blade sink into the armguards and then slide to his Yawara. The man gritted his teeth as he pulled the blade back and spun once again, the blade coming forward in the direction of his head but only managing to create a slight wind to the boy.
It was only a matter of time before Kai’s fight ended, as it seemed that the Heavy Axe was clearly taking the guy out with ease. He had done this before, and plus, he was such a high level that it was just so…easy. His opponent was getting more and more impatient with the boy’s moves. Each time he swung at him, he’d either block or dodge, yet that last block had been close and he had lost a small chunk of hit points for how hard it came at him. He had managed to hit him twice in all and now, after a minute, he was hoping to finish the battle off once and for all with a few hard-earned moves. They weren’t hard-earned, per say, but in his opinion, if he could touch the guy, he knew he had the slightest chance of finishing him off, though it wasn’t very likely.
The man let out a battle roar and charged forward, alerting his partner’s attention a bit. The man sprinted as hard as he could, coming up to the boy fast and swinging his blade around like a maniac, hoping to get at least
one hit on him. Sure, the blade hit him and clanged with his armguards multiple times, but Shenmock wasn’t just about to let some guy kill him like that. The man finally roared once again and brought it down on the ground, the blade managing to cut at the boy’s foot. He panted and looked up at the eagle, only to find a bare foot jammed in between his eyes. He was sent back and then, a moment later, skulls surrounded him and he was engulfed by a spell, never to be seen again by the Heavy Blade and Fist Fighter. He grinned under the mask at the sight of the man’s corpse and looked to Kai, who was meanwhile jamming an axe into a man’s face.
The man hit the ground, his face literally split in half from the strike, motionless in pain. The Heavy Axe leaned down on the ground and let his eyelids close before he got back up and faced Shenmock. The two were silent, knowing that the fight wasn’t over and they were clearly not done with the dungeon at the moment. They didn’t speak for a moment and then Kai moved past the corpse and to the door to the right, his axe being hefted on his back. He held up a hand and motioned for him to come, and so the two walked into the room, prepared to face their fate. [/2nd Post]
”You actually did very well back there. I’m glad you used my teachings a bit, too,” Kai said as the two walked down yet another hallway in the twisted dungeon. They could’ve gone the wrong way, sure, but it wasn’t too big of a deal; they doubted they’d leave now that they knew someone was here…or maybe they knew common sense just as well as they did. The man ran a gloved hand through his hair and laughed hardily as Shenmock tried to swipe it away.
”You could’ve taken more advantage of the guy, as I saw many openings for him, but still, you did well enough.” He relaxed as they came upon the next room.
”Though I’m sure you could’ve gotten a bit more practice without that spell of yours.” The boy could totally see his expression right now: a tongue stuck out, his eyes all childish and play like…
”Yeah, well…” Shenmock put a hand on his hip and tilted his head as they stopped before the opening.
”The guy underestimated the two of us, likely thinking we were just ordinary players that were want-to-be assassins or something. Sure, we’re not exactly fully-fledged and the strongest of the bunch, but still, I think the guy could’ve estimated a bit more for people who were trying to infiltrate a base…or whatever you’d call this place.” He threw his hands up in the air just to emphasize what he said.
”Still, I feel that…I did well,” he said, cocking his head.
Kai started into the darkness.
”Glad to hear that you’re finally being positive,” he whispered behind him as he disappeared into the passageway. The boy was tempted to shake a fist at him and yell some retort back, but instead, he stretched and walked in behind him, not too afraid of what would happen to the two next, whether it be to face the big boss or to be facing yet another few idiots who would only prove a bit difficult for the two. Yet the boy had this strange feeling that this wasn’t going to be anything ordinary, but rather something new…strange feelings were always so mysterious…
When they walked in, they were surprised at what they saw. Entirely surprised. They had ran smack into the midst of the whole group. There was at least ten people there, their weapons out and ready. The strange thing, though, was that they were at the back of the room, at least thirty yards from their current position and all staring, though not moving. The two didn’t fidget, but rather gave them a stare as if they’d been expecting this. If they were to fight ten people at once, so be it, but if there was something behind this, they’d just have to wait and find out. Kai pulled his axe out and hefted it on his shoulder while Shenmock dug his hands into his pockets, his fingers sliding across his Yawara, ready to go whenever the Heavy Axe gave the signal. The men cleared out, though, and revealed a man that was about as tall as Kai and had two daggers on each side.
The man wore a black trench coat along with a dark gray shirt under it, followed up by asphalt pants that ran down all the way to his dark boots. The man had a bit of a dark skin tone and bore the look of a wise man, yet also had a deep booming voice when he spoke.
”Ah, so these are the men I’ve heard so much about in the last few minutes. Hmm, well, we’ve got you trapped at the moment, so I’d suggest doing as you are told unless you enjoy long deaths.” The man crossed his arms and almost immediately, two men were behind them, their bodies sealing the passageway back to the room they had just been in. The man took a few long strides forward before stretching, revealing more sets of blades.
”I feel like having some entertainment today. How about a tournament?” It was a completely random idea and they were both a bit shocked at the idea, but in the end, they refused to reveal their emotions, rather standing stock-still. They didn’t answer, though, which made the man a bit angry with them. They weren’t going to go as low as fighting in a tournament in front of them.
”Answer now or we’ll attack you,” he said, his voice booming throughout the room and making the men shake a bit.
”Just a simple tournament, nothing more. I’ll explain rules later.” He shuffled forward, his hands under his trench coat, likely holding the blades’ handles tightly.
Kai finally took the initiative and nodded his head, though he refused to say a word. The man grinned at the two of them and stopped, spreading his arms about as if he was welcoming a great many people to a party.
”Well, thank you for answering. It’s as simple as this. You two fight your way through my ranks…if both of you win your individual battles, you might just be able to complete what you set out for.” A few men started to protest at what he had proposed, but the man only held up a hand.
”Silence! We start now.” He jabbed a finger at two of the men who had argued: a whipmaster and a blademaster, yet not the one they had encountered minutes before. He threw a finger at both of them and then watched as the two separated and looked at their foes.
It seemed he was up against a whipmaster first. It was strange for the two to be accepting such a thing like a game, but it was the only way they had a chance at capturing the man without casualties that would slow them down once they finally got to him. Not like this was any better, but they at least had some time to relax in between battles. Kai and Shenmock took a few steps to each side before readying themselves for the battle. The whipmaster in front of him had short, crimson hair that spiked up a little. The man had a few freckles, along with the clothes that you’d see some pirate wear…strange choice, but of course, people had their preferences. He didn’t pay attention to Kai’s battle, as the slightest turn of his head and the whipmaster would strike.
So, tactics here: he was fighting a whipmaster, who had a twelve-foot long whip that could reach him from a ways. He, on the other hand, could only reach a foot in length, so it’d be troublesome. They both had weaknesses: Shenmock couldn’t get too far away and his opponent couldn’t get too close, as the boy would completely tackle him if he did. The fight started once the man called out the words and the whipmaster moved a bit to the right of the Fist Fighter. The boy copied his movements, his legs dancing across the floor until he slid to a stop in front of him. The whipmaster slid forward on a boot, yet the boy was careful not to go anywhere near his opponent, as two feet closer would spell certain doom for him. So, he could always charge forward recklessly and hope to gain a hit, or he could always try to avoid some attacks before seeing a clearer opening.
He could already hear the clash of steel on Kai’s part, yet the two hadn’t started. The whipmaster, bored at waiting to find an opening, sprinted forward, his whip pulled back and coming forward, slithering through the air like a deadly snake ready to bite him. The boy ducked immediately, the whip grazing off his spiked air and lashing against the ground a few feet to his side. The boy rolled forward and started in a sprint, as he knew that the whip would be useless at a four or five foot radius. The man immediately started back stepping, yet it was hardly efficient enough to avoid the boy. The man pulled his whip back and made an attempt to wrap it around him, but when it started to curl around, there went his first mistake.
The Fist Fighter grabbed it.
What he did was simple. He grabbed onto it just as it started to wrap around, and pulled forward, making the man fly forward, his face pure fear at the sight of the eagle’s knee coming in to smash his face. He let out a groan and was sent staggering back from the attack, only to meet a flying kick to the face. The Fist Fighter knew that he wasn’t going to get second chances, so he might as well take the chances he got so he could use them to his advantage. The man got upright, his whip twirling around him and swinging out again like a snake. The end whacked against his body armor and sent a vibration through his whole body. His hit points depleted a bit at the impact of it, but not too much. These things weren’t meant to be strong; they were meant to be fast and furious, yet he’d have to have some really good offensive skills to use it very effectively.
The boy prepared his fists and watched the man as he pushed himself to his full height, still falling a few inches short of the Fist Fighter, but otherwise tall and proud that he had landed at least one hit on him. It was what most players did, unless you really did well with things. The boy didn’t show any emotion in what he did; he didn’t scream with excitement, he didn’t show overconfidence, and plus, he didn’t show that every moment scared every cell out of his body. The man grunted and started to inch forward. Shenmock mimicked his movements, only he was heading backwards rather than forwards in the direction of getting smacked by the edge of the whip.
The man finally started in that same charge, his whip lashing about faster than before. He twirled his body around, the whip swinging in every possible direction. Most of them actually caught him off guard, as the whip wasn’t straight, but rather snaked in all sorts of directions, making it impossible to interpret the move. The downside to all of this was that you weren’t as strong as the other classes, but who cared? He hadn’t really deliberated trying that class, but when you thought about it, it was the easiest way to catch the most experienced players off guard. That sure didn’t play to his advantage, though, but would’ve proved harder for Kai, as he wouldn’t be able to dodge half of these!
The whip hissed as it snaked past his back, grazing off his silver armor and making his eyes bulge for a moment, yet he showed no signs of fear to his opponent. He got up from his bent position and faced the man, who was glaring with dark, amber eyes. He had seen amber eyes before, but not quite like that. The boy motioned to take a step, only to find the whip hissing at his side once again, whacking at the side of his head and leaving him dazed for a moment. Taking this as an advantage, the whipmaster aimed for the boy’s knees, only to find air as the boy made a quick hop over them, yet it wasn’t with as much expertise as he would’ve hoped. The man spun around, letting the whip swing past him once again in the direction of the Fist Fighter, but the boy wasn’t planning to get hit again.
The eagle had suddenly come forward, his legs moving as fast as they would let him and his eyes locked on the man’s chest as he came forward, both fists pulled back, ready to drill forward into the man’s chest. He let out a breath of air as he shoved both hands forward, letting them sink into the man’s chest and send him staggering back once again. This time, he did a more efficient job on things by coming forward and grabbing the sleeves on his shirt. After grabbing the sleeves, the boy wrenched him forward and let his knee connect with the same spot in which he had punched. He threw him to the side and then, as a final act, pulled his ice-coated fist back and jammed it into his nose, sending him spinning back into the wall, dead from the impact of the skill. Sure, it had been a bit cheap to use a skill, but it was easier than doing multiple punches…and plus, you could always just murmur the skill so no one else could hear.
The boy mumbled a Repth, slurring it out as he went for no apparent reason. He looked down at his feet and listened quietly to the sound of feet moving. He looked up, crossing his arms immediately as to show that there had been no real damage done. There, at the moment after his spell, was not a scratch on him and he wasn’t shaking in the slightest bit at the challenge the whipmaster had sent crashing towards him. Kai, on the other hand, had finished seconds earlier, his axe proving too strong for the likes of a blade wielder. The man was leaning against the wall, no chair to show that he was head of the group, the only one to clap for them.
”Bravo, bravo, you two. Now, I’m guessing you don’t want to go through any more fights, but I’ll prove troublesome and put you through another.” He jabbed a finger at two men and so they came forward.
”Now, again, you’ll be alone, but if you win this…you get to fight me…and if you win.” He shrugged his shoulders.
”Then, you can set out what you planned to do.” There were two remaining men that were standing by the gate, keeping a close guard and staring with pleading eyes at the man. He shooed them away with his hands, making them all the uneasier about things.
”Go, we don’t need you. Do whatever you want, men.” The men left, though they were a bit tentative about having to leave so early. Then, they were gone from sight, leaving the two to face their opponents. He could only hope he didn’t have to deal with another whipmaster.
He wasn’t, but still, he didn’t like the fact that this time, he was facing off against a Long Arm, the first class he had chosen. Some would see this as an advantage, seeing as they already knew the mechanics of a Long Arm, but he hadn’t done all that much when he was that particular class. Using a spear, really, was fighting a few feet away from your opponent and hoping to jab him or do some kind of damage with it. It was like before; he had to get close to the man and then he’d get his chance at smashing him to pieces. The man stepped forward, his face pale white and his eyes maroon. He pulled his spear back, the edge sliding across the ground before he stepped forward in position.
The two were separated once again and now they were forced to fight yet another opponent, though whether he was going to be easier or harder was the huge question here. The man looked a bit grim at the sight of the boy facing him, yet otherwise, he was fine with the matter at hand. Then, the man yelled it out and so the two matches begin. The man, like the other one, didn’t move.
Then, he started to move, curving to the side a bit and then curving to the other side. The boy did his best to mimic his every move, but it proved a bit tough for him to follow it. The path ended them up in the same position, only a lot closer to each other, likely that of ten feet. The man held up his spear with one hand and then tightened his grip around it, pulling it back around him, ready to swing at a moment’s notice. The boy didn’t move, didn’t twitch, but held a heavy glare that was likely starting to creep the man out. Eventually, though, the Long Arm made his move and lunged at him, his spear swinging forward in the direction of his neck.
On instinct, the boy ducked his head, only to find that the man’s right foot was rearing back to strike. The boy fell back and pulled his arms up in defense, letting the boot smash against the armguards. It sent a vibration through his body, and then an instant later, they were both up, the same distance away as before and ready to strike once again. So this guy knew tactics, eh? The Long Arm could anticipate his moves, so he’d just have to be…surprising when he did his? He didn’t know what to do, really, but right now, he just had to play to his advantage and get close, whatever the cost. Again, the man struck, seeing as how the Fist Fighter refused to move.
This time the man hunted for a different approach, this time raising the spear over his head and bringing it down towards the boy’s head. Immediately, the eagle pushed his body weight to the side, letting his character slide out of the way of the spear, letting it graze past his gloves. The boy took this as a chance to strike, yet he knew the man already had something in store for him. The boy spun around, letting his body flex for a moment as he went down into a crouched position and letting one foot crash into both the man’s feet. The Long Arm yelped and hit the ground. The boy elbowed him in the chest once and when his opponent tried to get back up again, he pulled his fist back and jammed it in between his eyes, making the man roar in pain as he was thrust back, surprised at how quick the boy was to react.
The Long Arm panted and looked at him, blood slowly oozing out of his nose and dripping across his dry lips. The man wiped the blood off and rubbed it off on his spear before facing the boy once again. His eyes gleamed as he charged forward once again, jabbing forward with his spear. At the sight of the boy moving quickly to the right, he twisted his body around, letting the spear slide off the ground and come into the direction of the eagle. There was a clang as he held his hands up in defense and then the eagle skidded across the ground. The man hit the ground and grinned, coming forward with sudden joy at the sight of his opponent off guard and finally down on the ground. He pulled his spear back and lunged forward, the whole thing pulled back in a way where he’d be able to tear into flesh with ease.
Yet the man didn’t hit him. The boy had actually been able to throw himself to the side and out of the way from the spear. He slid on the ground, cursing mentally to himself before getting up and off the ground, once again facing the man. He still refused to move forward and attack the man, as he knew that the first strike was always one of the most powerful things your opponent could use against you. The man growled and sprinted at him once again, his spear dragging across the ground and already being pulled up as he approached the boy. A moment passed and the man brought it up, the tip ascending so it skimmed off the beak on his mask. The man growled once again at him as the boy moved forward, taking advantage of the strike and whirling around, his knuckles crashing into his side before he twirled around again, his foot coming in the other direction and slapping him across the face, only with a foot.
He grinned under the mask at the man’s angry expression, though he would’ve feared for his life if he knew what was coming from him. The man immediately went into rage mode like the man he had faced before and swung his spear in all sorts of different directions, curving it around so it could slide under his guard and slash at him. The boy didn’t bother to look at the wounds, but rather focused on getting under his guard or maybe disarming him in some way. The eagle glided forward on light feet, ducking a bit as the spear whizzed over his head, a hair’s breadth from the tip of his head, and moved forward, his fist jamming itself into his ribs. Following up, the boy twisted around and grabbed the man’s arm with his left hand and jammed his fist into his gut with as much strength as he could muster.
The man gasped in pain before the boy flicked him and then he was on the ground, crumbled from the power of the attack. The battle had proved to be as tough as the last, if not tougher due to the fact that the man had managed to land a few more hits on him, and plus, he took more damage from them. Kai, again, had finished moments before him and so the two faced the man, Shenmock throwing a La Repth for both of them so they were prepared for what was to come. They had finished the tournament and now was the time to face the man that they had come for. The head honcho of a group that had killed both of them; they could only hope that now that they were facing him together that they could defeat him. [/3rd Post]
The man grinned at the two men and started down the three steps that were left in between them.
”Now,” he said in his deep, booming voice,
”we begin the last and final round of the tournament. You…versus…me.” He relaxed, satisfied with his speech, and pulled his blades out readily.
”I’ve analyzed your fighting style enough, but I’m sure you have some tricks up your sleeve too.” He let the trench coat slide down and twirled the blades readily around in his fingers.
”Let us begin, you two. If you manage to beat me, you can take me to whatever place you need. I’m sure that if you’re capable of beating me, I won’t resist. That’s my promise.” With that, he stepped forward and charged at them.
His speed was the first thing that Shenmock noticed, though it was obvious that most Twin Blades moved fast and quick in battle. The boy was left to wait until he struck first. He had fought enough Twin Blades to know that they had a unique fighting style, though he was sure that this guy was different compared to those he had faced before. He lunged at Kai first, laughing at the advantage he had over the Heavy Axe, but the man didn’t shake nor did he run. Instead, he pulled his axe back and let it clash with the man’s before he slid back and pulled his axe back, rearing it up so it closed in with the dagger that was coming about on what the man thought was his blind side. The man frowned at how the man retaliated against the blow and then jumped back as the man pulled his axe back and readied a strike.
This time, he turned to Shenmock for some fun. The boy was a bit chilled at how he looked at him and cocked his head, but all he did was prepare his fists for the showdown against him. The Twin Blade, like before, lunged forward, his blades flashing out and coming in a position where he’d slit his neck. The boy frowned and only saw ducking as an answer to his attack. The man grinned as he hit the ground and let his legs slide across it for a moment until he whirled on the sole of his boot and swung at Shenmock’s back. An instant later, Kai was there, his axe up and clashing with the man’s blades just in the knick of time. Immediately, the Fist Fighter turned back and looked at the man as he twirled his blades and did his best to deflect one of the heavy axe’s blows, though it was quite hard for him, as the axe usually came through the blades and landed a cut on him.
The Fist Fighter was close behind and found that Kai already had a plan for both of them that he had used twice before, only he was the one who propelled his partner into the air and plus in a more daring situation. The boy gave a quick jump and landed on the axe, holding on tight before he was off in the air, Kai having launched him with all of his might. The Twin Blade grinned in response to the former Long Arm’s attempt at getting his guard down.
”You can’t seriously expect me –“ The man was cut off abruptly as Kai roared forward and let his axe sink into his back, making the man immediately jerk up and let out a roar of pain.
The boy slid back on his feet and then came forward, his left foot coming first and hitting him right across the face before his other foot followed up with a strike to his stomach. The man gasped as the axe was wrenched out of his spine and then turned his attention to both of them, back stepping a bit in order to keep an eye on the two eagles that were already on their approach to victory. The Twin Blade looked at the two and frowned once again, seeing as the odds were against him entirely in this situation. First and foremost, he was outnumbered, two to one, and number two; they were actually trained to use each other to their advantage. One or two more combos like that would spell certain doom for him if he didn’t act up and retaliate with his strongest moves.
The Twin Blade took his own advice and charged at the two of them, surprising them both at how he just suddenly jumped forward into battle. His blades immediately sunk into the Heavy Axe’s chest armor and were wrenched out immediately. The man’s crazed eyes turned to the boy, but he didn’t get a clear view of him, due to the fact that he was already on the move. Shenmock actually managed to slide down and trip him, so the man would face plant on the ground. He crammed his elbow into his exposed back and then followed up by smashing his face in with a foot. The man was losing hit points, and fast. The boy followed up with one last light punch before Kai took the initiative and held his axe up against the back of his neck.
He didn’t bother to say any cheesy line, but rather held it there, taking deep, cool breaths and doing his best not to act like the wound had been too big. It had sure surprised him, but in the end, when you got angry, you let your guard down a little too much. The man lay there for a moment before attempting to get up. They let him get up and then stared at the man, who looked sulky after his fight.
”I stay true to my word, men. I might be a hacker, but I’m not a dirty trickster. I got caught fair and square…or in my own trap.” He held a hand up and crumbled as the point of the axe came to his shoulder and lay there for a time until they arrived safely in the servers, once again knowing that they had successfully done the mission. They were now on their way to report a success…a close success at that, but a good one.
~
The Eagle Team stood at the attention of Zen, their uniforms still on and their hands behind their backs, as if they were doing some sort of exercise. Zen sat in his chair, watching them with a steady gray eye.
”So, you cleared the mission and the suspect is now in our control. Good job, you two. It took you a while longer than I expected, but I don’t think I need to hear a whole story. Flash-mail it to me if you will, but it might not be attended to for a few days.” He frowned and crossed his legs.
”Otherwise, you can leave now that you cleared the mission.” Both nodded and filed out the door. That was hardly an army-like thing with the ‘you can leave now’, because it seemed to say that you don’t have to and it was hinting at something that neither of them really caught.
Shenmock opened the door and walked in, pulling his mask and armor off before starting to change into his usual clothes. Kai was right behind him, his armor already off and wheat in his mouth. He grinned at the boy’s sour expression at that and then dressed himself before disappearing behind golden rings. There was another day gone, another mission cleared, and some more experience behind his back. The boy could only hope that he had proven himself enough in the mission, as he knew that Kai tended to hold back his real strength…maybe, maybe not. The boy shook his head slowly and stared up at the ceiling before he, too, was engulfed in the golden rings.
Another day was over.
A new adventure was on the horizon.
~Fin
