[02] City Sector FIGHT

[DA 2009]

CITY SECTOR FIGHT

(1) Vincent vs. Kaden

(2) Tempo vs. Sophia

(3) Mal Nova vs. Ashe

(4) Tamsin vs. NPC Pierre

[Shun]

Streets blurred from underneath, allowing the wind to shift through his hair; naturally rushing past his ears with every stride--while he bounced across rooftops with the speed of a mustang and the finesse of a flea. His humming had ceased, ending just as swiftly as it began. Allowing ample time for his thoughts to form, then run rampant in the same way they always had. Just a bit more scrambled when affected by a catalyst of some sort...like now.

Vincent's eyes narrowed as he found himself in deep contemplation. The time for a decision was now. Would he continue to pursue the foes he'd yet to see or would he take his own preservation into consideration? The first choice was one that tempted the brawler the most...the second one made more sense though. In making his decision the hybrid thought back to the words of an old wiseman. "Fuck it," he murmured, choosing to simply rid himself of the issue. Now all that was left was getting there.

A sudden halt of his legs gave way to a new, more crucial dilemma. "Where the hell is it?" He questioned, a hand covering his eyes, running down his face as he knew all too well that no matter how badly he wanted it, his question wouldn't be answered. With that, inhalation served as mental preparation and by the time he'd allow any air to escape his lungs, his feet were on the asphalt below -- a jump without the use of his legs; one of those ‘just because I can’ things. His pace had significantly slowed but it was agreed it would save the warrior’s energy, plus it allowed for him to take in the view better.

Perhaps he’d bump into another, finally be allowed to fulfill his purpose in this…Dante’s Abyss. A ‘game’ the likes of which he never would’ve imagined. Different from the game he’d had come to know but still exciting the same. Vincent even wondered about his role in it all. Being left stranded on an island and sent to kill, being paid for it. Curious if that excluded his eligibility for the first prize. Curious as to why this Dukes character had selected collars to be his trinkets. The furyan’s mind went off in tangents, it surprises him still that he can keep up with it.

Vincent was like an animal in the literal sense, on the hunt by command of another, donning a collar and a title as Dukes’ wild card. In the midst of it all he managed to salvage his composure, finding the patience to await an opportunity that doubt attempted to tell him would never appear. Then as if on cue, his patience had been rewarded.

From a distance he noticed movement; vanishing almost instantly in an attempt to keep the element of surprise. He needed to assess the situation, this was all he could focus on after re-appearing in an alley near-by. The ex-soldier readied his rifle, peeking through its scope like he’d done so many times before, leaning his right shoulder to the wall for support. At first glance it was already decided, his victim was chosen then marked. A male from the trio, busy chit-chatting with both the women by his side as they made their way deeper into the city, closer to Vin. Now all that was needed was a plan of action, more a scheme to provoke separation than anything. A smirk formed as he commenced brainstorming, then evolved into a sinister grin. “I think I got suttin...”

He turned off the safety, followed by using the cocking mechanism to insure the rifle’s readiness. Then without warning he ripped off a sleeve from his shirt, twisting it up with lightning speed, just not as fast as lightning…obviously. Vincent slipped the rag through his trigger guard, then with a finger over the cloth, pulled the trigger, unleashing ki. At first a single shot escaped, soon after ki unloaded in rapid succession--while his free hand and his teeth tied a knot from the cloth.

The brawler then leapt in the air, tossing the rifle to the ground with the hopes of it being an adequate distraction. Teleportation allowed him to escape unscathed as his plan unfolded. Buildings took damage, everything within range did as the rifle continued to discharge, reaching closer to its limit with every second that passed.

It was to the roof again at first, he sprinted with bursts of teleportation. Taking it back to ground level after deciding the block over was a better bet. He was past them in no time, then behind them in less. As the shots died down, destruction was left in their wake. Debris and dirt had built up to form a cloud. His diversion had proven better than he’d planned.

Mid-air the furyan appeared before the blonde, flipping backwards with a kick to his chin. Kaden's head snapped up and he stumbled about. Vincent landed in a crouch -- ignoring the reaction of his comrades, only catching his name from their shouts -- and had to admit, he was impressed the guy hadn’t fallen. Vincent couldn't help but smile at the fact his limits were soon to be tested. On command, a salvo of ki was released from both of his arms in the direction of each female. Whether they had taken damage or not he was unsure, only one thing was certain though. Enough room had been made. A stasis field engaged with a whirring sound similar to that of a lightsaber and with that it was time to go to work.

[Mal Nova]

"Fool!" Barked the accusation aimed at his direction from somewhere around him.

Maleficus stirred, looking to and fro, but quickly discerned that he couldn't see anything. He looked down, putting his hands beneath him in attempt to push himself up to his feet, not feeling any materialized surface beneath him. Panic and confusion began to swell deep within his cranium as tried to understand the implications of what it all meant. Had his optical and physical senories gone array? Perhaps, while he drifted into his metatation sleep, he had let his guard down, and the bunker had been infiltrated without their knowledge?

And where was Tamsin, he wondered. He called out to the Maid, but only got an arrogant 'Heh' in reply, and he could envision the smirk creeping across the unseen foe.

The Namek paused, listening for any movement that he might pick up with his extra sensitive ears.

"Shouldn't you wonder if she had something to do with this", Came the question, a bit of curiosity and intrugue seeping from his lips.

Maleficus reeled back on his heels at the accusation and assumption. She never would have done anything like that, he was positive of it! Wasn't he? He thought back, remembering the deep strained breaths she had released while causing him even the slightest pain. It wasn't one of ecstasy, but of remorse and pain that she was causing him hurt. She had patched him up the best she could, so why would she have betrayed him? She had had the perfect moment at the that time to take him out, her blade so perfectly close to many vital areas. But she hadn't and he wouldn't fathom the idea.

"No matter how much you believe it's impossible and unlikely, or improbable, it is in all fact, a chance." As the voice spoke, the darkness, or nothingness rather, that had originally been there began to alter itself, and turned to a vast ocean of gray. The speaker, and Maleficus himself, became visible, starting as silhouettes, then taking features and color. Nova recognized the foe, as not a foe but as Retane, and scolded himself for not catching the onto the vocal sounds of his own father.

'You're in Dante's Abyss? But I didn't see you in the line!" The Imperfect Namekian nearly fell over at the thought of facing his father in combat and hoped to god he was being toyed with.

"Not fast to catching on that this isn't actually the Material Plane are you, Maleficus Nova?" The Smiling visage of te dual scimitar weilding Elvish warrior stepped from the shadows. Enroshia had a knack to address him by his full name, purposely even. Nova's wide eyed glance told that he knew he stood no chance against the two if he had to fight them. The Elven warrior saw the terror in his eyes and waved his hand, "You're telepathically linked to Retane, and he learned you had entered the game. You let you mind drift into a laxed state, so we, or he rather sensed his chance and entered it as so. I just tagged along for the ride."

The Imperfect Namek still seemed on guard, as he regarded the words. If this was the Abyss and it was his father, he'd, as Retane had stated that anythng was possible, remove him from the tournament with out a bit of warning. But why was he still here? And what exactly was going on? Enro's explanation seemed plausible, and more realistic, but The jade warrior wasn't sure. "Why are you here then", he said at length, directing the question in both their directions.

"To see how much the Abyss has affected you", Retane answered bluntly. "And to tell you that you are not me, and should just give up trying to be now!"

His words were harsh, but true, and yet not so true. Maleficus Nova was essentially the Essence of Retane. Born wuth his knowledge and power, or Mal should have been, had it not been from the premature hacking of the egg. It had altered the successor's traits and abilities, making him Imperfect, or even Imperfect to Retane in many points. Retane, or actually a clone of himself, had ushered forth Windstorm, a favored attack of his, and sent it at his son, only to have it stopped and repelled onto the clone once before. Maleficus seemed to have pefected the manipulation of wind, far better then himself.

But when it came to the handling of darkness, Maleficus had no way of doing so. He did though, seem to make up for it by developing a way to move unseen and unheard. The two even had different lifestyles and environments from which they were raised. Retane had left his planet, hating their peace, while Nova, having the same desires for excitemtnt, had some what of a conscience. But it didn't stop the son from trying to follow in his father's footsteps.

"Affected me? Not you? Of course I'm not you! I can pick better partners then you" Accused the angered Namek, as he went on the defensive. Retane seemed to drift back into memory at the 'Pick better partners' comment.

"How many times have you thought about Retane before you entered? And how many times have you tohught about what Retane would do in this situation, after it started?" The white-maned warrior interjected, again, making Nova eat his own words.

"The Abyss can affect someone to the extent, that they lose total control of themselves. As Tapion did. As I did." Came the response of the Emerald Fiend. "If you and your 'dear friend' are the final two, will she just give up so you could win? Or will you have to fight to the death? Could you kill her?" Came the questions Nova had no answer to by Retane.

A beeping started, almost like an alarm, and they all looked about wondering what was going on. The area started to shake and it appeared to theMal that the other two knew what was going on.

"We have to go", Called Enro, as he dissipated into then air.

Retane gritted his teeth and snarled, as if trying to hand on. "You've got it deep inside you, the beast. Find it and unleash it. Lose yourself, and try to block out the affects of the Abyss. It's your best chance, but you will fall short, I assure you."

With that the Emerlad Fiend was gone, and the Namek heard his name being called. He opened his eyes and saw Tamsin, her gear being thrown on as she moved in his direction. He immediately knew that they were being warned they were about to be entered into another random forced combat, and he moved, the pain in his left shoulder coming to life, He swung his right arm over the strap of his rifle, makeshift-pack and clothing, right before he found himself staring at concrete.

He was on the outskirts of the city, sprawled out on the asphault road, his gear in tow. He pulled his feet under him, wincing as his shoulder muscles flaxed. Tamsin had quadruple stitched it, she had double cross stitched it so that the wounds, both pentrations of his left shoulder might survive a battle, but also left a second double stich, laxed of the flesh incase the first gave way. The wound could scab over and. such instead of just pouring out his violet life source as it one had.

He did his best to prepare himself for battle, and exercised the muscles without ripping the sutures, or even trying to strain them by rolling his arm in circle's trying to remove himself from the simple pain.. He expected the first set to give way in battle, but hoped she had done a good enough job not to let the second set to be ripped.

It was then that he noticed the female staring at him from afar. She had multi-colored hair along with a strange assortment of clothing. She wore black and purple for the most part, but it didn't seem to match with her complexion. He recognized the style but then again he preferred the style of his father, and quickly remembered he was topless. He quickly discerned that she had fear in eyes, but his fathers warning seemd to ahvebrought him back into a bit of reality.

He tossed his military-style, yet deep orange colored, vest on, using his left then right arm. The padding might even protect him, he thought, quickly strapping it up. He looked at the pack and threw it on as well, following the same motion as before, favoring his arm. He hoped his foe wouldn't notice and thought he was left handed. As he tried to maintain his posture as best he could. He looked down at his rifle and his cloak, his eyes looking to the cloak, specifically. It was no longer orange, as it had ben, but as black as his father's.

He paused, curious as it was, but quickly pulled it on. More padding was more padding. As he did though, he felt himself remembering his father's words. He wasn't quick to fear his knowledge, as he had been a top mention in the archives many times, but he looked at the girl, and saw that she was hardly older then his comrade. His conscience tried to argue but, he was swift into remembering his last battle with the one who had, let him live.

He felt disgraced. And he had to ponder, He had seen Vad, Tamsin, the female with Vad, a Changeling, Then the female that had spared him after getting lucky. He snarled, he wasn't going to let it happen again. He didn't know it. but his eyes darkened. then as he pulled the cowl over his head. His face went translucent with a bit of smokey aura emitting, his skull the only thnig showing. He grabbed the rifle and set it, for ease of access against his back.

He charged, using the wind and flight to dash towards the girl. She was a girl, not much older then Tamsin, and he hesitated. A moment of pause that let him fnid himself a victim, blasted by a thin rod, directly into his face. He averted direction, Taking the blast head on falling back, only to catch himself. His upper lip curled and he let a snarl issue. He noticed the shockand fear of the young girl, but had no clue to note that he looked different.

He did, however remember his fathers words to 'find the beast', and he looked on at the girl. She looked so innocent, so pure, but he thought and remembered, that she had to have been in a bunker and didn't press the big red button labeled 'Game Over'. He doubted she followed the same laws of Tamsin, and his conscience began to argue with him!

Why couldn't he get a man!

It would have been so much easier to walk away but she kept the wand aimed at him. He assumed the facade and launched an orb of energy in her direction, predicting the dodge, and used the wing to alter the direction of his own blast, slamming int the hand with the wand. The appendage flew out wide and the Imperfect Namek dug in, send blast after blast in her direction. only to follow through with a punch.

He entered and escaped through the cloud of debris, not touching the girl. She stood closer to the buildings then he though wise, but he assumed that she had some plan. She aimed the wand at him in preparation to fire, but he had taken flight, and released both blasts towards her in both directions. Thing is, she hadn't moved. He wasn't sure if it was fear or arrogance, and again let lose a growl that escaped his skull clad face.

He landed easily in front of her, and looked down, looking into her eyes, not really caring for her thoughts all of a sudden. He was entering the darkside more and more as he went, and slammed a fist into the young adults gut, just as she blasted him again with the wand.

He let loose then, an angered snarl erupting deep within, and he stood still feeling his hands extend from their boundaries. He couldn't explain it, and didn't want to explain it. He knew deep inside his father had made him do it, but he felt so able to succumb to it, and he didn't want to accept responsibility, He just let what happened, happen. He roared, like a fiend, and charged again. his hidden abilities coming to life.

He threw a punch, the young girl ready to answer with the wand, but she got hit way before she could release the blast. Her assault went streaming into the air, evaporating before it reached the night sky. She had been hit and sent backwards, the confusion and pain in her eyes showing true. He was an energy user, obviously, and before her very eyes he vanished.

[Tempo]

There was nothing but silence. Darkness enveloped him. Tempo was no longer in the game, but deep within the confines of his own mind. A vast range of emotions coursed through the boy’s body. His first fight in the Abyss had taken a toll on him physically, but maybe even more so mentally.

He peered around the destitution. While he looked to be very much alone, that wasn’t the way he felt. A faint breathing could be heard, a breathing he knew was not his. The mind can play terrible tricks on a person, but this was not one of them. Something else, something different, lurked in the shadows.

“Hello?” It was all he could muster.

Give me control.

The tiny hairs on the back of Tempo’s neck jolted upright. If death had a voice it was the one he was talking to right now. A stiff chill filled the void. The array of feelings the boy once had was reduce to one; fear.

I have waited long enough. Give me control.

“Who are you?! What do you mean control?” Tempo’s screams echoed back at him.

You are going to pretend you don’t know me. After all I have done for you!

The air was suddenly stripped from the young man’s lungs. He frantically reached into his pocket. The music would stop it. The rhythms would surge from his headphones purging away any dark thoughts or instabilities. Normally that would be the case, but this time there was nothing. The MP3 player was no longer in his pocket and his headphones were no longer nestled atop his orange hair.

Let me in, Tempo. Let me release your true potential. Its what you were made for! YOUR DESTINY!

The young boy was now floating high above emptiness. His body ascended lifelessly and his eyes were glazed over.

----

A trail of blood stained bandages and wrappers littered the bunker floor. If you followed the evidence it would bring you to a broken down Tempo, who finally managed to get some sleep after a horrible first day in the Abyss. He suddenly awoke with a horrible gasp of breath, flipping off the side of the couch in the process. Sweat slid down his forehead and dripped off the edge of his nose. His heart was nearly beating out of his chest. Suddenly his collar began to beep wildly and that never amounted to anything good.

"Beginning combat protocol."

“A fight? No. Not now.”

It couldn’t have been happening at a worse time, but Tempo was correct. It was time for him to do combat in the Abyss once more. He was abruptly ripped from his secure place inside the bunker and teleported to a desolate area in the center of the city. Across from him was his worst nightmare.

He had hoped for someone like the man he faced in the Artic. A person who had no remorse for the actions he committed, no matter how heinous they are. No, instead he stood across from a woman. A woman he had briefly met once before. Sophia. The teen couldn’t remember an unpleasant thing about the young woman before him. She reminded him somewhat of an angel. Her fair skin and hair perfectly complimented her picturesque smile. Tempo couldn’t think of hurting her, he wouldn’t.

Well I will.

An explosion of gravel and concrete soared into the city sky. Tempo uncontrollably busted through the cloud of debris coated in a dense black aura. He could see Sophia readying herself for the charging youth. He fought desperately to regain control. Much to Sophia’s confusion, Tempo managed to halt himself just a few feet away from her. He wrapped his hands around his headphones and pressed them harder against his skull. The music blared loudly in his eardrums draining out all other sounds around him.

The armor-clad priestess knew an opportunity when she saw one. No matter what her feelings toward the child may have been, this was still a game. After a brief moment of hesitance she lunged forward and planted a hard right knee directly into the boy’s midsection. Spats of saliva shot from his agape expression. The woman followed up with a jaw crushing elbow sending him flying backwards.

The limp physique landed hard after crashing through a glass window of a nearby building. Anticipation consumed the battlefield. The fight may have ended just as quickly as it started. Dust clouded the landing site making it impossible to tell if the boy was standing or even breathing. What started as a fast paced brawl turned into a waiting game.

Sophia stepped forward, as if to finish what she started, but was interrupted by an image in the smoke. Tempo stepped out from the obscurity. His arms dangled by his sides each capped with a clenched fist. The dark energy flickered wildly causing waves to course through his tattered clothing. Sophia locked eyes with the battered Tempo, only they were no longer his.

[Jesper]

It was amazing how quickly things had changed.

Sophia laughed and lowered her head, giving it a shake as she placed a hand on her forehead. Kaden was a confusing man, though she supposed that she couldn’t have blamed him for being a little…inconsistent, considering their circumstances. The healer couldn’t help but feel a little embarrassed, though, as she walked with him and the teenaged girl down the path that led away from the bunker. Truth be told, she felt a little stupid—she was starting to think that the courier had developed an interest in her, after their little chat, but in the end, he tried to sneak out like a thief in the night.

She stole a glance at him. If he hadn’t already been through so much, she would have let him have it right then and there. Sophia looked behind her shoulder—the building was fading out of sight then. She was impressed with herself for coming up with such a brilliant cover story about not wanting to be in Sage’s way, though in truth she only wanted to avoid feeling depressed and alone when morning came. Maybe there was some truth in her lie, however…the cyan-haired girl had always relied much too heavily on other people. Maybe leaving her alone actually could have done her some good.

Or leaving her with Belle could have been the worst mistake she had ever made.

In any case, it was too late to go back, even if she wanted to. She took a deep breath as she passed through the threshold of the city, marveling once again at the seam that ran along the border where pavement and dirt met. The area seemed relatively the same as when she had first been there, though she surmised that several hours had passed since then. It was still dark, but streaks of light began pushing through; daylight seemed imminent. A calm waved throughout their surroundings as the silence made Sophia shiver.

It didn’t last, however, as bolts of ki streaked in the air, raining down on the buildings around them. The trio huddled around each other, each eye turned towards the sky as they tried to spot their attacker. Sophia could barely keep track of everything that was happening around her, as was evidenced when Kaden got rocked by an unknown attacker, who had appeared mid-air from seemingly nowhere. She only got a glimpse of the assailant before he turned towards her and Ashe. Lifting his hands, he fired a volley of ki shots at them. Her eyes focused on the energy as she lifted her arms to defend herself, the attack drawing nearer…

“Beginning combat protocol…” was the last thing she heard before the device whisked her away from scene.

Oddly enough, this made the healer feel more relieved than anything else. Whoever had fired at her before she was teleported away could have snuck in a quick shot, and that would have sullied any shot she had at staying with the living. She shook her head as her eyes focused on her new area—as nice as King Kai had been to her, and as great as her afterlife experience had been, she wasn’t ready to leave. She wasn’t ready to leave…

Her thoughts screeched to a halt as her opponent appeared in front of her. The first thing her eyes were drawn to was the gigantic headphones atop a mass of bright red hair. Those coupled with the bizarre purple-themed outfit made her recognize the boy right away. As happy as she had been to see him again, she was equally as distressed—she wasn’t particularly excited about fighting another friend. Tempo seemed to share those exact sentiments, as his despairing facial expression gave him away.

However, something…changed. In the blink of an eye, the youth fired a blast of energy at her. It seemed like a forced reaction, as if he was fighting himself to do it, since the bolt fell short and exploded in the expanse of land that separated the two fighters. Sophia sank back into a defensive stance as her pupils sorted through the smoke, trying to spot his figure. The pit that had already reared its ugly head in her stomach tightened as she thought about having to fight him…she didn’t want to do it, but when it came down to it, if she had to…

Tempo popped out through the smoke, swiftly and suddenly as he dashed towards her. She tightened her fist, fighting back tears though she knew what she had to do. The healer wound back her fist as he charged, and was prepared to swing it forth before he just…stopped. He grabbed his headphones and pressed them to his head, wincing in pain as he stumbled backwards. Sophia cocked an eyebrow—he had feigned a dilemma before and nearly caught her off-guard with it. She couldn’t risk falling for that twice, so she took advantage of the brief window of opportunity by flying forward with a knee. As he bent over in pain, she followed it with a spinning backhand.

The boy grunted and flew backwards, only hitting a glass window on his way back down to an incredibly painful fall. Sophia looked down at her hands, feeling a mixture of amazement and pure horror as she pondered what she had just done. She had never sent anyone flying before, and as cool as it would have seemed, she couldn’t help but feel absolutely awful about it. Sighing, she began walking towards where he had landed, nothing on her mind but pleading with him to stop the fight.

“Oh my God,” Sophia shouted to him as she searched for his body. “Are…are you okay, Tempo? I…I really didn’t want to do that.”

A rustling sound came from within the building he had flown into. Pushing aside pieces of debris and picking glass shards out of his skin, he stepped out and stood in front of her, staring at her with blank eyes. She felt the change immediately as the dark energy that coursed through his veins emitted as a shadowy aura that surrounded his body. Sophia started to tremble at the display; it was obvious that he was no longer himself. Maybe the strain of the competition was starting to get to him. That coupled with his obviously powerful potential was a dangerous mix indeed.

It was becoming increasingly apparent that she no longer had a choice.

“There…there’s no avoiding this, is there?” she said silently, staring at him through sad eyes. Tempo responded with nothing more than a grunt, charging at her once again. This time, she could almost feel his determination as he created an orb of energy in both of his hands. Sophia’s eyes darted between each hand as she took a step back—Tempo had such an arsenal of weapons at his disposal. If she focused on one thing, he would catch her with something else. His talent with ki was too much to ignore, however. Sophia fixated her eyes on the orbs, prepared to make a move in either direction when he finally let them go. Tempo did so, though not in the way that she had hoped he would. Throwing them to her sides, the ensuing explosions forced her to either fly upward to escape and potentially get shot down, or to meet him head-on.

The force of the explosion hit her soundly, though she managed to keep her balance as she lunged forward, flexing her fingers as she reached for his throat. She had done this on multiple occasions, and though it seemed like she wanted to strangle him on the outside, her main intent was to drain enough ki for him to back off. As fingertips touched skin, she could feel the massive reservoir of energy that the young boy kept inside of him, and when her mediumship kicked in, it forced her to stumble backwards, almost to the point of falling down on her backside.

That sensation was something that she rarely felt, but she knew that somehow, someway, she had just glanced through a window of his life. She looked up at his headphones as he shook himself from his momentary stupor—she always thought that the boy had some weird music fetish, but she now understood the role it played in his life. Had the music stopped playing? Or was it simply not enough?

She didn’t have the time to think on it further as Tempo kicked at her, the heel of his shoe hitting her breastplate. The blow squeezed the air out of her lungs as she flew backwards, skidding on the ground. Sophia coughed and wheezed, the pain gnawing at her insides as she quickly scrambled to her feet. The boy’s fighting prowess was simply amazing for someone his age—his technique really complemented his raw power, which didn’t bode well for the healer at all. One kick was all it took for her to realize how difficult the fight was going to be.

“Tempo, please! Snap out of it!” she cried as he began walking towards her. Her words seemed to fall on deaf ears. He resembled a zombie at that point. “I know…I know you can fight it. Your power, you have to control it!”

Energy trickled between his fingers as he raised a hand. Tears sparkled deep within Sophia’s eyes as she tried not to cry. Tightening another fist, she prepared to attack before he could get off another shot. Even if Tempo wasn’t himself, even if it meant fighting him, Sophia couldn’t allow herself to lose.

Not if it meant never seeing her friends again.

[Kaden]

The chaos descended upon them from nowhere. And everywhere, it seemed. Explosions rained through the city as Kaden, Ashe, and Sophia brought themselves to a halt. All three of them shared a look that straddled the border between confusion and concern. Sadly, that would be the exchange between them before they were devoured in a wave of dust and debris.

As much a curse as a boon, the courier felt his attacker just before he struck. While it provided time to steel himself against an unknown assault, it instilled a sense of foreboding that Kaden had already had his fill of. The strike came quickly, catching the courier under the chin. Before he could orient himself, let alone retaliate, Kaden saw a flurry of energy erupt from his attacker, streaking towards Ashe and Sophia.

While Kaden called out to his companions in warning, it was unneeded. A familiar whirr emanated from his collar while a dome of dark blue energy spread through the sky, high above. The only thing left of Sophia and Ashe were footprints. Kaden could only assume that they had been transported to their own battles. Torn between feeling relief and concern, the courier wiped those from his mind and settled on annoyance instead.

The black-haired man before Kaden rolled his neck from one to the other, letting the nauseating crack fill the otherwise silent space between them. Whoever his attacker was, Kaden couldn’t help but think he had just come back from a trip to the gym – sweats and a cut-off t-shirt will have that effect. If his muscle tone were any indication, that might have actually been the case. Under normal circumstances, Kaden would probably have avoided getting into a fight with someone like him. Sadly, their circumstances were far removed from normal.

Before Kaden could finish a mental inventory of his opponent, he was attacked again. With a thrust of his hand, the black-haired man fired off a searing blast of energy before vaulting sideways. Kaden intercepted the ki blast with his own easily enough, but the feint had done its job. Slipping past an explosion of cerulean energy, Vincent leapt towards his target.

While such a tactic would be surprising enough to the courier, it was doubly so when his attacker chose to come at him knee-first. Fighting off the panic that threatened over-take his mind, Kaden thrust his hands outwards, allowing a sphere of energy to Flare out from his body. Caught in the courier’s sudden counter-attack, Vincent was thrown backwards.

Instead of rushing back on the attack, Vincent studied his opponent for a minute. It was an understandable response that Kaden was quickly becoming accustomed to. He was not a physically intimidating person, at that was fine with him, but his strengths were not housed in his physical prowess. To most, they went unseen, and that fact had kept Kaden alive on more than one occasion.

Taking in a deep breath, the courier watched as the world around himself faded to a monotone of grays. Light emanated from his eyes as his Sight took center-stage. Ki trickled through everything around him: the ground, the clouds in the sky, even the city’s buildings held minute traces of the world’s energy. These, however, went unnoticed. The courier had seen them before and, despite their beauty, could not tear his attention from the man standing before him.

The flows of ki that moved through Vincent seemed… erratic, almost. There was a sense of randomness to the jagged bursts of energy that coursed from one place to another, but also a sense of purposefulness. Kaden was still unsure what his Sight might be able to tell him about a person, but he liked to think there was some form of reflection in what he saw.

For a moment, as Vincent observed Kaden’s Sight, their eyes met. Kaden could see a glimmer of the frenetic, lustful fire that seemed to burn in the eyes of each Saiyan he had encountered. While upsetting, Kaden tried to push the thought out of his mind. He couldn’t claim an appreciation for Saiyans, and being thrown into battle with one had worrisome implications.

Taking in a quick breath, Kaden took a step forward and extended an arm towards his opponent. A glow surrounded his hand as energy began to gather. Reaching into the depths of his reserves, Kaden allowed the energy to explode outward, barely contained. The Salvo that was released crashed all around Vincent as he leapt backwards. While the blasts were not overly powerful, appearing en masse was cause for concern.

There was the slightest moment of hesitation in Kaden’s next strike. He wanted to tell his opponent that they didn’t have to fight. He wanted to tell him that he had no desire to continue. Unfortunately, neither of those thoughts were entirely true. Damon had displayed his ability to force people into fighting and Kaden couldn’t help but think that going all-out against someone he no connection to might prove… cathartic.

Whether Vincent sensed the hesitation, or had simply grown bored of waiting, he pushed the attack. Just as Kaden took aim, intended to fire a barrage of energy, his target disappeared. Instantly the courier’s brow furrowed. He had seen people move at incredible speeds, that was not what Vincent had done. He had simply vanished. Kaden couldn’t help but think back to Piper’s dizzying feats of acrobatics that involved the use of such teleportation.

While the courier certainly couldn’t follow instantaneous movement, he could feel where Vincent had gone. The Furyan had shot three stories into the air, looking down at his prey from a nearby rooftop. With a flick of his hand, Kaden fired off a cascade of cerulean energy. Thrusting his own hand forward, Vincent fired a blast of crimson ki. When Kaden’s energy crashed through his own attack, Vincent was forced to drastically change his plan of attack. While he had good reason to be confident in his own abilities, the courier hadn’t encountered many people who could match the raw power of his attacks.

As Kaden watched Vincent vanish once again, he realized that the gravity of his situation had lessened greatly. It seemed that every single encounter, be they combative or otherwise, had carried some deeper meaning for the blonde haired youth. There were always reasons for self reflection or overly complicated soul-searching. Not that time. There was just a guy trying to beat the shit out of him. All Kaden needed to do was fight back.

Vincent appeared on the ground only a few yards from Kaden. The courier hopped backwards, but was too slow to keep Vincent out of striking distance. The black-haired Eliminator seemed to glide across the ground as he approached. As Vincent stepped forward, he threw a wide punch. Kaden managed to duck under it, but his brief moment of triumph was undercut when he realized he had ducked almost directly into his opponent’s knee.

Caught square in the sternum, the force of Vincent’s blow actually lifted the courier off of his feet. As Kaden stumbled backwards, he tried desperately to maintain his balance. Vincent, meanwhile hopped back onto the balls of his feet, took aim, and leapt at his opponent. With a quick spin, Vincent threw a kick that looked as though it would take anyone’s head off.

With no other good recourse, Kaden simply let himself fall onto his ass. It didn’t look good, but it kept him conscious as he watched Vincent’s leg sail over him. As soon as he could manage, Kaden erected a barrier of energy between himself and Vincent. The latter tried to step around it, but before he could manage, the courier pulsed a burst of ki through it, forcing Vincent to stumble backwards.

Hopping up to his feet, Kaden dismissed the barrier with a wave of his hand. Stepping forward, the courier let loose with a series of energy blasts, forcing Vincent onto the defensive almost immediately. While the speed at which Kaden managed to turn things around caught his opponent off guard, the courier was unable to do serious damage. As the dust settled from Kaden’s attack, the courier took in a deep breath to settle his nerves. An unexpected calm came over him as he readied himself for his next attack.

All he needed to do was fight back.

[Tamsin]

The echo of intense scrubbing came out of the bunker bathroom as Tamsin worked hard to clean her outfit. After roughly patching up the cut on it left from her fight with an armour-clad Saiyan, she then proceeded to remove the blood stains left on it. Although the bunker held cleaning appliances, the silver-haired girl had nothing to change into that would fit her and thus was forced to do the task while still wearing the white and blue household uniform. Carefully working in order to not ruin the material, the stain slowly began to wear off from the clothing. The blood mixed with the open water from the pipe to form a crimson liquid before it seamlessly flowed into the drain.

After a long period of rigorous work, the maid finished the cleaning process. After closing the water pipe, she picked up a towel she brought with her and used it to absorb some of the moisture on her outfit. However, she was cut short as an intense beeping sound emanated from her collar and disturbed the peace in the room. It did not take the girl very long to realise what the singla meant. However, it also reminded her of something else...her master was still peacefully sleeping in his bunk.

In a fit of panic, the adolescent stormed out of the bathroom and ran through the concrete halls to reach Nova on time. Meanwhile the beeping on the collar ever intensified, counting down to the beginning of the fight. After a few more long steps, the prodigy finally reached the sleeping section where the Namekian lied still, lost deep in his subconsciousness. Grabbing the knives on her own bed and hastily placing them behind her belt while still moving, she shouted towards her employer: "MALEFICUS!!!"

The green rogue hastily woke up, his gaze appearing confused and alarming. However, he seemed to realise the situation quite hastily as he reached for his equipment. Before his maid could reach him, they were both teleported away and seperated once more.

----------

After reappearing at another location, the young prodigy confusingly looked around. She found herself amidst what appeared to be an ancient-style forum, whether genuine or a replica she could not say. The paved surface was mostly open, save the columns marking the borders of the forum and the large horseman statue standing in the middle. The nearby buildings also seemed to be of Roman or Roman-esque architecture, the tall lined pillars in the front supporting the rooftop. Everywhere else the eye saw, however, the small piece of space was encircled by modern buildings, the structures towering over the ancient brethren.

Since the dawning sun still managed to shine on the assembly place and was already moderately high in the sky, the orange illumination was strong enough for the girl to easy make out another figure standing opposite of her. But before she could get a good look at her would-be opponent, a shout came from his direction: "Mademozelle! Your beauty is divine!" In a sudden fashion, flowers began to rain down on the forum. Whether red or white or in some other colour, roses of various sorts came out of nowhere and showered the two, falling gently onto the tiles beneath their feet.

After being poured with shrubs for a few moments, Suzaku was finally able to see the person she was facing. Standing in a prominent fashion a short distance away was a young man, not beyond his late twenties. Although not very tall, his build seemed fairly wide and muscular. The blond hair on his head well complemented his sky blue eyes, perfectly white smile and fair complexion that formed his salient visage. But while his natural attributes combined themselves well, the clothing on him did not do so even remotely. Attempting several styles at once and ending up merely with an akward mesh instead, the male human wore metallic shoes, violet leotards, a red sash, the upper part of a golden suit of armour and a brownish hat with a grey feather attached to it. To add further to the already eccentric look, the man also held a sword in his hand.

The stranger continued to wear a wide grin on his face, full of hopes of making the young female swoon over him. But all Tamsin could muster was an awkward look as she began to ponder what to contemplate first: his bizarre wear, the rather excessive attempt of winning her favour, the language that would make her French teacher burst into tears or the fact that she was yet again up against an armoured foe. As she was unwilling to break the silence first, it was her fellow human that decided to speak first instead, all the while waving his sword around like a feather-duster: "Let me introduce myself. I am Pierre, champion of Earth and defender of all the universe! Many a villain have dared to challenge me, but I was able cut down each one of them and stand triumphantly over their descecrated bodies. Stand in awe of my greatness!"

Once the young man stopped blowing his own horn, the adolescent uneasily replied: "Em...I am sorry, but....I honestly have never heard of you."

"Worry not, for now you have the privilege of getting to know me personally, a dream of many young maidens such as yourself," Pierre continued completely unabated. "There are those that doubt my heroic actions. But heracy, I say! They are merely blind to the truth. They cannot see that..." The man paused for just one moment. Lifting his sword as high as he could manage, he shouted at the top of his lungs: "...I HAVE THE POWEEEEEEER!....and good looks too, I might add."

"Yes, well...." the young girl added further, apprehensively reaching for the Ki Knives in her belt. "Are you in Dante`s Abyss? Beacuse I think we are supposed to fight one another."

"No! I have to eliminate a petite little thing like you? Oh, what has this world come to, when a man must strike at such a preety face," he commented dramatically. But in the next moment, Pierre raised his shoulders in resignation and readied his sword. "Oh well, at least the pay is good. I am sorry, mon-cherry, but I must remove you from the competition. Come over here and I will painlessly cut your head off."

"What? No!" Tamsin responded as she readied to defend herself. No matter how strange her opponent was, she was determined to defeat him and return to her master as promised. But her defencive pose brought her a bit of pain, which was her body`s way of reminding her to be more careful.

"Awwww...must you really make this harder for me?" complained the blond-haired warrior. "Then you leave me with no choice, mademozelle. An guard!" With those words, he charged forth. Readying his weapon for a strike, he proclaimed: "Super special awesome sword strike of divine light!"

The move turned out to be just a regular sword swipe...which still missed wide, as the girl crouched well in time to avoid it. The maid noticed an opening, her opponent having left his flanks wide open. Holding the knives between her fingers, she pounced like a tiger and struck the side of the Eliminator`s armour. Bits and pieces flew away as a portion of the armour came off from the strike, the golden metallic parts clanging upon impact with the pavement below.

Noticing the damage, Pierre shouted in a high-pitched voice: "My....my beautiful hand-crafted armour! NO!" Anger drawing on his face, he turned around to face the girl once more: "You..you will pay for this insult! Sword slam of magnificence!"

Suzaku looked above her as the young man raised his sword to strike her with it`s blunt side. Although raising her knives to block the attack, they only managed to significantly slow it down as it struck the adolescent on the head. An aggravating pain took hold of her as she felt as if her head was about to split in half and she barely managed to remain conscious. "Flower-aromad chilling sword swipe!" stated her opponent as he readied to cut her in half. Almost instinctivly, the maid jumped forward to avoid the hit...one of her knives accidentally cutting her opponent`s thigh by a small margin in the process.

As Pierre noticed a small trickle of blood come out of the slight cut in his tights, he yelled again in a high-pitched accent: "You...you cut me! How..." Looking at her, he attempted to smile and spoke once more in a sweet tone: "L-Let us not be too rash. I mean this is all just a game! None of this is...." Before he could finish, a gurgling noise came out of his throat and interrupted him. The young man was alarmed once more:"W...what was that?! Did you do that?"

Tamsin got back onto her feet, still trying to focus in spite of the pain that was caused by the blunt sword strike. Feeling a bit dizzy from her thrombing head, she readied herself into a defencive position. But although she was ready for anything her opponent my do, Pierre worried himself with the guggling sound his throat made every time he tried to reveal the true nature of the competition. He suddenly looked up towards the sky and shouted: "Is it you?! Are you doing this?!"

In spite of her ail, Suzaku observed her opponent with complete bewilderment. She had stopped trying to understand this person.

[Ashe]

She was shaking strongly as the apparition before her simply faded from being, his cowl covered face lingering for a moment before following, the ever present grin of the Cheshire Cat chilling her to the bone. He fingertips smoothly traced the elegant etchings along her wand shaped Ki Rifle as she held it before her, completely unsure as to the assassins whereabouts. Every second passed with nothing more than the faint howl of the wind ripping around each corner around her, as if controlled by an insideous demon in hopes of distracting her.

It worked quite well, causing her to nervously glance in each direction as the backed up against a wall of ornate brickwork. Despite what all of her senses were telling her from the ghostly howls competing for her attention, she couldn't shake the gut feeling that he was still somewhere directly before her, as if mocking her untrained mind by leaving her struggle as one entirely within the mind. Unfortunately, it was unnerving her strongly, leaving her unable to just shut out the sounds.

"Giirrrrllllll..."

Her head snapped to the side as a spectral voice seemed to call out to her. It was, in every way, entirely her imagination that she was hearing actual words being spoken to her, but that didn't stop the teenage mind from locking onto the familiar alluring beckonings. "Shut up," she whispered finally, her eyes twitching from each darkened ally to another.

"Diiieee..."

"Shut up," she growled a bit louder, pushing back even further until the abrasive brickwork was roughly cutting into her back through her clothing. Her hands clasped the wand even tighter.

"Hahaha..."

The echoes were maddening, entirely nothing more than conjurations of the wind that had seemed to animate of its own free will. "Shut up!" she suddenly screamed out, thrusting her wand forward, unable to tell exactly where the source of all the haunting echoes was. "Just come out! We don't have to do this!"

Rising wails of the wind masked the footsteps of the assassin as he slowly crept forward, rising into the air silently to further hide his approach. He clasped his hands together for a moment, a thin rod of energy shimmering into existance between then before he spread them apart with a practiced motion, fashioning a jagged spearlike shape out of the aether like material. Hidden entirely from sight, he pointing the weapon in her direction before drawing back.

To his surprise, her eyes flashed for a moment, a brilliant blue giving her a catlight appearance in the night covered street before she instinctively pointed her wand directly at him, the wand answering its masters call by flashing a brilliant blue as well before firing at the stunned warrior, leaving him to abandon his weapon as he twisted to the side, narrowly dodging the beam but returning him to the world of the seen.

She snatched her arm back in surprise, dropping her wand to the ground as she pressed her palms against the brick wall behind her. Her young mind had no idea how she had known that he had been there, nor what had instigated her strong sense that he was there, but somehow she had just known. It had been clear to her in everyway, even if for just a brief second.

The creature pushed itself to its knees and clawed hands before giving her a glare through skeletal eyes. Saying absolutely nothing, it leapt to the side, attempting to hide from sight once more with its internal powers. The winds began to howl once more.

Ashe dropped her knees to the ground quickly, fumbling around on the concrete terrain for her wand while refusing to remove her eyes from the creature that could not be tracked by sight alone. Her fingers swept wildly over the stick before returning to it, rolling it up into her palms as she rose back to her feet and immediately turned to run to her side.

To her surprise, she spun around to slam into something unseen, feeling sharp and painful claws dig into her arms suddenly as the creature once more shimmered into view from the impact, its demonic visage glaring into her soul. The girl struggled against it, but it simply lifted her into the air before it with very little effort, wordlessly beginning to hover into the air.

In a moment of sheer panic, her knee found itself embedded into the armored crotch of the creature, entirely unphasing it as it continued to climb further into the air. Her arms were locked uselessly at her side, her muscles firing wildly as she tried to fight free. The ground grew smaller as they rose higher into the night, the reaper having descended to soar away with its delicate meal.

"Ugh!" she screamed into its face with no reaction other than a brief pause from the creature before it continued.

Her mind raced, knowing that any drop from this height were likely to kill her without a large amount of luck. The ki wand was still inside of her palms but it was pressed uselessly against her side under the force of her clamped arms. They were now high enough that she could see the rooftop of one of the shorter buildings just shortly below her.

The end would be coming soon for her if he threw her from this height to the ground.

Twirling the wand in her palm with the practiced motions of a bored student with a pencil in her fingertips, she exchanged a blasting direction of the street for one of the night sky, risking dropping the wand entirely if a moment of her ever present clumsiness took notice. She forced her hand against its body while tensing her own body, leaving the creature under the impression that she was bracing herself for impact.

She was, but not that of the ground below.

The wand fired directly up towards their faces, striking it in the chest and forcing its head back as the small explosion seperated the two from their close quarters, leaving the pair both floating away from each other in the blast radius. Problematically, Ashe was the only one that would actually enter a freefall.

She threw her wild hands out quickly, catching the hard armored boot of the being as she fell below it once gravity took hold. It twisted, reacting quickly to the touch with an attempt to sink its claws in once more, but the interruption to its flight path had already happened, throwing the pair off course as she wildly swung from side to side from its leg as it fought to regain control of its inertia.

The rooftop impact sent them both tumbling along it, the skull faced creature recovering much quicker than the student. Ashe groaned as she opened her eyes to see her wand once more lying on the ground before her and she reached out quickly to snatch it up. The blast of energy from the creature hit the rooftop directly next to her hand as she pulled it back, looking in the direction of the source to find the creature hidden once more.

Bolting, she jumped up and dug her feet in, running quickly over the hardened top until she reached the rooftop door, pulling hard against it until it thankfully swung open. Ducking inside, she turned around to close it just as the creature burst into view directly before her, a collective group of ki orbs racing to her location. The door slammed close, absorbing the impact but the seismic waves sent her rolling down the stairs until she came to a stop at the bottom, each step cracking painfully into her bones.

Her breath collected with saliva and a small amount of blood before her on the tiled floor of the inside of an unknown building as the door swung wildly open at the top of the stairs.

Move Ashe, move now!

Instinct and thoughts pushed her into action, forcing the adrenalyne through her system that was necessary to survive this struggle. She reached her feet once more, rushing around the corner of the hallway that she had fallen to just before an unseen arm struck the wall where she had been, an extension of the assailant chasing her.

It was a hotel, she realized, as she saw the numerous doors to various rooms adorning the hallway. It was actually a fairly nice one that should would have appreciated if she had the time to engage in such passtimes, but for now the only thing that she could think about was survival. She snatched open a random door and pushed it as far open as she could before immediately turning and kicking open the door directly across from it.

Twisting back around, she threw herself quickly into the first door and turned the handle, softening the sound of its closure as much as possible while positioning it to be closed. She heard the door across from her slam loudly to a close and she backed slowly across the dark, taking care not to hit anything that might attract attention. She pushed herself up against one of the windows of the building and took a look outside, the beauty of the stars above hidden by the danger that immersed her.

Stay here, stay calm.

She sunk down against the bed within the room and crawled around it as she heard the door of the room across from her own get violently ripped open. He'd apparently seen it as the last one moving when he had come around the corner and she could only hope that he found something to lead him to believe that she had escaped out a window or something. Reaching the side of the bed that left it between her and the door to her room, the girl's hands wrapped tightly around her knees as she tried to hold herself still to wait out the creature.

The distraction didn't hold it for long enough, however, as her own door was painfully torn from its hinges. She tried to pull herself tighter into a ball as she her the creature creeping around in the darkness behind her. A vase shattered into the ground as it overturned a nearby dresser, bathing her in fragments of material as it paused to listen for the sounds of panic.

It was at that moment that a very unlikely event happened. Her palms both sparked to life, glowing fiercely blue and illuminating the entire room. It snarled as it turned sharply in her immediate direction and drew back its fist. Ashe's eyes opened widely as she jerked her hands up, seeing the smoky blue light trails that washed out from her palms.

"No no no no!" she screamed in frustration before an idea reached her. She rolled herself to the side as the assassin swept its arm across the room, the bed suddenly throwing itself against the nearby mirror as if by an unseen limb.

Her back used a wall for support as she rose up to her full height, thrusting out both arms in front of her and willing the energy blast forward to strike her adversary and expel him from the room entirely, like the uncontrolled detonation that had happened outside of the bunker. Unfortunately for her, absolutely nothing happened. She threw both of her arms out wildly before her, the softening but still visible blue light drifting wildly around her fingertips with absolutely nothing more than a luminescent effect.

The creature's own blast hit her in the chest and threw her across the room against the window before it pounced to grab her once more. She coughed painfully as she felt herself being hoisted against the view point and it drew back a fist to strike her. Summoning all of her courage, she countered with her own untrained fist, balling up one glowing fist full of teenage flesh before aiming it directly into the darkened eyeless socket of its skull shaped mask.

Growling in range, it dropped her, reeling back as both arms covered its eye for a moment before a veil of flesh came into sight over the leering bone structure, an actual face reaching it. There had been no assistance from the energy in her palms, she realized. She had just gotten in a lucky sucker punch and had actually found an eye to blacken. As if to mock her, the pulsing energy that had made it impossible for her to hide from sight faded once more, as if extinguished without fulfilling any of its purpose.

Her potential murderer looked back at her slowly. Not good.

[DA 2009]

MAL NOVA VS. ASHE

Okay, now what, Ashe? she asked herself mentally. Thus far, she’d managed to stay alive through sheer dumb luck, and even though they said it was better to be lucky than good, she wasn’t very confident that it would last her very much longer.

Mal Nova, however, didn’t need luck; he had skill, and he knew it. After the visit from his father, he was more than eager to prove himself as Retane’s equal. As fate would have it, he went from one dumb blonde to the next…or rather, half-blonde, half…pink? The imperfect namek was still in control, so it didn’t really matter.

Ashe squeaked as Mal shoved her harder against the window.

“You can’t fly, can you?” he asked pointedly.

The girl was stunned…it speaks! She had no idea who, or what, it was, but somehow it made it all the more creepy that it was intelligent, especially since it was a green, huge, partly machine…thing. Yet, it seemed far more comfortable with her than she was of it. The thing was familiar with a human, but she wasn’t familiar with whatever the hell it was. Maybe she could use that to her advantage?

“O-of course I can!” she choked, trying to force as much bravado in her voice as possible. “I mean, HA, who doesn’t fly?”

What a bald-faced lie. Hadn’t she clutched onto him for dear life not less than ten minutes ago? He’d have to be pretty stupid to…

“No, I don’t think you can,” he said.

…damn.

He pushed her against the glass harder, so hard, that it cracked.

“I really don’t want to do this to a girl, but, this is Dante’s Abyss, and this is what I do,” Mal continued calmly.

Ashe forced a meek smile, hoping to keep him distracted just long enough so she could get the wand she’d stashed in her pocket. It was far more reliable than her attempts at controlling energy. With barely detectible motions—that of a student trying to text on a concealed cell phone in class—she slid the oddly-shaped ki rifle out of her pocket, and, using the pencil-flicking gestures earlier, repeated the same motion as before. This time, her aim was a little…angled. The blast caught the namek a grazing blow in the eye, the very same one she’d punched. He recoiled in pain, releasing her from his grip. She dropped to her feet, but her knees quickly buckled against the sudden impact. Ashe scrambled to a standing position and booted the green monster in the shin before shoving him backwards. Hastily beating a swift retreat, the teenager then flew towards the exit of the hotel.

Suddenly, Mal Nova thrust out a palm, a blast of wind sourcing from his outstretched hands. Ashe was blown up against a wall, cracking her head hard against the ceiling. She sank to the ground, feeling a warm trickle running down her face.

“Not…this time…” Mal growled, getting up. “I’m not…losing…again…”

The memory of his father’s recent image burned deeply in his brain, and his resolution was firm.

Ashe moaned, trying to collect her wits. She knew her luck would run out sooner or later, and it looked like it was going to be sooner. She looked up at it just before he was about to lunge with his claws. Mal launched forward, but was surprised when he felt a blast barrel directly into his gut, knocking him back and sending him sprawling among the destroyed furniture. Knowing this opportunity would be her last, Ashe staggered up, and ran out the door.

[DA 2009]

TEMPO VS. SOPHIA

The golem-like Tempo walked ceaselessly forward, seeing nothing but a target in front of him. Tried as he might, he couldn’t fight the power within; he’d been too overwhelmed. The music thrummed uselessly in his ears, unable to keep the beast at bay anymore.

Sophia charged up her ki absorption. Tempo seemed to be exuding an endless well of it, so if the priestess could siphon off even a little tiny bit of it, he would be that much less deadly. She didn’t want to hurt the boy, but then again, she wasn’t going let him kill her, either. Sophia sucked in a breath, and launched herself head-on at Tempo; this wasn’t going to be as easy as fighting Piper. There was nobody to tell her where to move, how to move, and Tempo wasn’t going to hold back. Just as the orange-haired boy was about to fire, Sophia ducked under his outstretched hand and grabbed him by the wrist, prepared to suck him dry.

Tempo shuddered, his head flopping to the side to look at her like a doll being forced to move. His free arm loosely jerked up to let off a quick burst of ki, but Sophia was too quick; she laced her fingers tightly around his, and began the same absorption technique, doubled up.

She looked into his empty eyes, knowing that he wasn’t going to be able to hear her words, but she felt compelled to say them anyway. “I’m sorry, Tempo. I’m so sorry,” she whispered, trying not to let her voice break.

He didn’t care. Maybe he would have, but he didn’t now. The beast within could feel its precious life source being siphoned away at an alarming rate, and that was all that mattered to it. Tempo’s head lolled forward, his chin slumping against his chest. Suddenly, his body erupted into a flare-storm of energy, expelling a pure aura of ki in every direction as Tempo brought his entire might to bear. Sophia turned her face away and squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the hot burn of his ki on her skin, but she didn’t let go. Already, she could feel his endless wealth slowly ebb away, flowing through her veins in a sickening rush.

The song on Tempo’s MP3 player switched, and although he couldn’t hear it, the words nonetheless blared through his headphones. Had he been conscious enough to hear it, he would have wondered if the song had already been in the player, or if somehow, it had been implanted just for him, for this Dante’s Abyss.

White walls surround us
No light will touch your face again
Rain taps the window
As we sleep among the dead

Tempo’s leg reared up and he struck his knee directly into the center of Sophia’s breastplate, again and again. Still the priestess would not yield, no matter how much pain he inflicted. It was as if the strikes to her heart reflected the emotional torment she felt.

Days go on forever
But I have not left your side
We can chase the dark together

Deep inside, Tempo fought against the monster within, trying to wrest control from the beast. He could feel its hold on him weakening as his energy slowly faded away.

If you go then so will I

The aura began to die down, and Sophia returned her gaze to Tempo’s face. She remembered what it felt like to die, and she wanted to make it as pleasant as possible for the poor boy; it wasn’t his fault. In a way, even with all of her friends nearby, she’d died alone, and she didn’t want him to be alone. The priestess stared into his eyes as he writhed and struggled against her grip.

“It’ll only hurt for a moment,” she assured sadly.

There is nothing left of you
I can see it in your eyes
Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last good-bye

The monster finally faded away, and Tempo returned to his own flesh and body. He looked around, as if he didn’t know what was going on.

“You should have let me in,” the monster growled, its voice fading into nothing.

He stared at Sophia, and, wild-eyed, struggled against her grasp, but she didn’t let go. He tried hard, as hard as he could, but by now, he was far too weak. Maybe it was Alexander’s attack that slowed him down, or maybe he just needed to control himself a little better. His head grew light and dizzy, like he was losing too much blood, but no wound on his flesh seeped the life fluid.

I keep holding on to you
But I can’t bring you back to life
Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last good-bye

Tempo’s eyelids fluttered as he struggled to keep them open. Sophia’s face never left his, and although it was breaking her heart to drain him dry, she forced a smile on her face, the smile she smiled for everyone else, even if it was a lie to what she really felt.

Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last good-bye

The boy dropped weakly to his knees, and Sophia crouched down with him, prepared not to leave his side. At last, his eyes closed, and the woman could feel the last drops of energy leaving him.

Sing the anthem of the angels
And say the last good-bye

Although set for continuous play, the MP3 shut off as the final notes of the song ended.

[DA 2009]

VINCENT VS. KADEN

Maybe this was exactly what Kaden needed; although he didn’t really want to kill anyone, at least it wasn’t anybody he knew, and it was somebody who had no problem fighting him. The courier could finally blow off a little steam from forcibly beating a defenseless girl to a bloody pulp.

Vincent rolled away into a crouch, coming up and bringing his ki rifle to level with Kaden’s position. The courier sent another salvo of blasts to counteract with the live energy rounds fired from the weapon. They collided in the middle, exploding with a vibrant flash. Vincent immediately teleported away from the resounding fallout, whilst Kaden could only twist his body to the side to protect himself with his shoulder. Something flickered in his brain, and he looked up to the top of a car, where the eliminator crouched. The courier dove out of the line of fire just as a burst of rifle bullets checkered the ground on which he had just stood. As he got to his feet once more, his gaze returned to the car, but Vincent was already gone.

Yet all around him, he could hear—and feel—Vincent’s taunting laughter. Kaden brought up a hand and charged up a bolt of cerulean energy in his palm in preparation for the next assault. Even the eliminator’s mockery could not disturb the level of calm that had washed over the blond-haired boy. He simply breathed evenly, using his ki sense to ferret out his opponent; while the eliminator was able to teleport, he most certainly couldn’t hide…not from Kaden.

Vincent’s next assault came from behind, and the red-eyed youth whirled around, bringing up his hand to stop the ki shell from penetrating his skull. Unfortunately, he cut it a little too close, and the concussive force erupted in his face.

-----

Damon watched the bout, seeing his eliminator in action. Both were performing admirably; he loved the part where Vincent just jumped in for the ambush without even waiting for the combat protocol to being. The host could see he’d hired the right person. A grin crept along his face. It was entirely unprofessional, what he was about to do, and he had absolutely no reason to do it other than the fact that Kaden had insulted him in a rather childish tantrum.

“Engage the manual override,” Dukes instructed.

“What the hell, Damon?” Audric threw his arms up. “He’s fighting, what more do you want from the man? He’s doing pretty damn well too!”

“Just…do it,” Damon ordered.

-----

Kaden groaned as he got up from the blast. Just before he managed to rise from his knees, he felt his body freeze.

-----

“Let’s see how you like it on the receiving end.”

-----

Vincent calmly strode up from the smoke, having received his new orders. He saw Kaden, kneeling on the concrete, struggling to move but unable to do so. The furyian holstered his weapon, and cracked his knuckles. He gripped the courier by the jacket and lifted him slightly upwards.

“Sorry,” the eliminator shrugged. “It’s just business.”

With that, he slammed his fist into Kaden’s face. Vincent punched him over and over again, until the courier resembled something like Ashe did in the last fight. Just as Vincent was about to finish the job, however, he stopped, a confused look on his face. He put a hand up to his ear.

“What? Are you kidding me? I’m just about to win!” he griped. Reluctantly, he shoved Kaden away. “You won’t be so lucky next time.”

Vincent walked off into the city, leaving the courier lying on the ground, just like Kaden had left Ashe.

-----

“Oh, and by the way Vincent, you lose,” Damon added.

“I WHAT?!” came the crackling reply over the microphone.

“You lose because I cheated,” Dukes answered simply. “He would have eventually beaten you in the end. Don’t worry, my friend, you’re still getting paid, and you’re still in the tournament.”

He reached over Audric, and despite the supervisor’s protests, flicked off the microphone. Dukes didn’t give a damn what those board members thought; this was his game, and he’d run it how he damn well pleased.

[DA 2009]

TAMSIN VS. PIERRE

“It appears as though I am…speechless in your beauty!” Pierre finished in his horribly fake French accent. He tapped his throat a few more times. For some reason, he was unable to say, “this is not real” or “this is just a game.” Perhaps it was that meddling Dukes fellow who hired him. No matter, Pierre thought. He would simply sweep the maid off her feet and all would be well again. The armored eliminator reached behind him and pulled a rose from nowhere, smelling its sweet fragrance. “Ah, parting is such sweet sorrow. Perhaps we may settle this another way, no?”

He flashed his smile again and wiggled his eyebrows.

Tamsin didn’t quite catch the meaning (she thought she did), but nonetheless game him a look of complete disgust.

“I will make it…the greatest night of your life!” he proclaimed, raising his sword to the heavens. “I will take you in my arms, and we will…”

Tamsin flung a knife in his direction, causing him to let out a short cry before he stumbled out of its path. However, even this very obvious gesture of hostility was not enough to dissuade the strange man.

“Ah-HA! Playing coy, eh? I do love a good chase!” Pierre laughed as he regained his composure. “Such fire! Such passion! It reminds me of myself, when I…”

The maid threw another knife, that one missing as well. Pierre’s face filled with fear, but he quickly masked it over with another confident expression.

“I know! I’ll sing you a ballad! Oh beautiful maiden, with silver hair, when she gazed upon my handsome face, she was unable to resist my chaaaarrrrm,” he crooned.

The girl charged, unable to stand him any longer.

Pierre halted his song, and stood at the ready. “En guarde!”

She threw a single punch, but that punch was all it took. She hit him square on the nose, and he stumbled backwards into a column, falling flat on his ass. He hit the pillar so hard, that a chunk of loose stone fell from the structure it was supporting and konked the eliminator right on the head. He managed one last silly smile and a short giggle before he collapsed face first into the dirt.

Tamsin could absolutely not believe this man had managed to make it into the Abyss. She stared at him for a moment, wondering if he could possibly be for real. When minutes passed and the faux Frenchman didn’t get up, she collected her knives, and simply waited for the barrier to lift, completely bewildered by the entire experience.