Golden Gate Empire: Dreams of Grandeur [IC | PG-16]

[Dad]

Jungle Boogie

 

Ife's punch was absorbed into a mass of soft, malleable shadow.  The shadow was so powerful that dispersed the shockwave across itself and nullified the impact of Ife's punch.  As he withdrew his fist and landed on the ground, Ife smiled.  "Young man.  That was impressive," he admitted.  

 

"You know, I've gotta ask.  Why the Tiger tattoo?  I mean...I think a lion would be more your style huh?  Mane's gotta cost extra ink.  I totally understand."  

 

Ife chuckled as Louis' question tickled his heart.  "My little girl always loved tigers.  She was the reason I made my decision to take the path of the tiger and not the path of the lion.  Of course, once you choose a path," Ife said, looking over his shoulder.  "You cannot go back.  And so, Yara and I will be bonded forever.  Isn't that right, my friend?" Ife called over his shoulder.

 

Yara was hit with a gust of cold air that momentarily stunned her.  Then, an unsightly creature she had never laid eyes on before sneaked up on her and began to gnaw at Yara's back.  Yara snapped at Basabth but was unable to reach the shadow minion with her head.  She shook her body vigorously and eventually flung the creature from her back.  She shook her big head, snarling and roaring at Bethany accusingly.  She pounced towards Bethany, unaware of the large icicle being formed above.

 

"Yara!  Protect!" Ife commanded, turning around as Yara pounced.  In mid-bounce, Yara vanished from sight and a golden wisp of energy returned from Yara's previous location nearest Bethany, back to Ife's arm.  The tattoo of Yara on his arm glowed full in color and depth once more, and Yara was removed from the battlefield.  "She is both the ultimate defense and the ultimate offense," the general said as he curled his bicep to flex Yara's tattoo.  "We do everything together.  So," Ife said turning back to face Louis.

 

"Will you show me how well you work together with your comrade?" Ife asked, referring to Basabth.  "It is clear he is a product of your own.  I wish to learn just how powerful you are."

 

His right arm glowed again and Ife stood with his back to Bethany and his eyes on Louis.  He was waiting for something.

 

---

 

Doubt

 

Choros was pincered.  Mango's block, Angelica's laser-enhanced weapon, and Lace's soul empowered attacks were too much for a single angel.  In a single fell swoop, the lone Choros was run through and slain.  Still, the guarding angels around the Godstone did not vanish.  Their barrier did not waver.  The light it emitted did not flicker or crackle.  The remaining angels never drew their swords from the ground.  This meant two things for the contestants:

 

They could now determine that the third and fallen angel was not the original Choros which summoned forth copies of itself from inside the Godstone.  Second, they could deduce that Choros was indeed alive, and was keeping the barrier around the Godstone from falling.

 

The rubble which fell from the mountainside touched the barrier over the Godstone at last.  Each rock that touched the glowing blue shield caused it to hum with power.  And each rock that touched the shield appeared to vanish into nothingness.  Each time an outside force acted upon the shield, the sound of its hum grew higher in pitch.  As the mountainside quieted, only the humming of the shield around the Godstone filled the valley.  What happened next would be determined only by Angelica, Lace, and Mango.

 

They had two choices:

 

The contestants could attack the shield and try to break it.  This would require learning exactly what happens to whatever comes into direct contact with the holy shield.

 

Their second option was to simply continue their battle and wait.  Perhaps nothing would come of Choros' frozen stance around the Godstone.  But if something did become of the angel's actions and he was simply biding his time against his enemies, there was no telling what would happen.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Bethany's attack had done what she intended. Causing the tiger to not be able to pounce on her and giving her time to get back to her feet.

She hadn't expected to see that...creature attacking the tiger. Was it on her side? Was it on the other guy's side? Was he on her side?

 

No, she couldn't think like that. She had seen enough of people to know that when something like this much money was on the line she can't assume anyone is on her side. The thing with Lace made her wonder but if she let her guard down anyone here could kill her.

 

And then the tiger vanished, seemingly because Ife wanted to face Louis with his full strength. Which left Bethany...safe relatively. Perhaps she should grab some popcorn and watch.

 

She certainly didn't want to attack, even if Ife's back was to her, he was far too confident. Usually one would think it foolish to turn your back on an enemy but this guy was the leader of a group of savage soldiers. There was no way he survived this long being stupid.

 

So she didn't attack. Instead she began to form more ice spears in the air. One after another. While those two fought she would build her armory. If anyone tried to get her into the fight they'd be turned into a pincushion.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"A fake huh?"

 

Dismissing her laser blade, Angelica stared at the fallen angel before her. The ones around the stone was still standing, and that would mean that she would still need to pick up the real ones from them now too. It's a pain, but the fact that the fake was able to be downed this fast in the first place was a decent enough motivation for her to go on.

 

"I'm not a fan of being a sitting duck in whatever this angelic funk is planning. I'll go try breaking through his shield, and see what comes of it. Even if it's a trap, springing it early would be better than not knowing anything anyway."

 

Turning her aim towards the godstone's direction, Angela went on to charge her laser and fired it soon after in a concentrated intensity towards the barrier itself. Shangri-la continuously fed the laser with power, and Angela was aiming for having the laser be up for the longest time with the maximum output she could have it up.

 

---

[Hälō]

Exhaling, Lace allowed her crackling blue aura to dissipate, causing the massive pressure around her to fade as well. Saving energy was a must, meaning that it would be smart only use that technique in small bursts.

 

Watching Angelica take aim towards the barrier surrounding the stone, Lace ran towards Beowulf. Plucking the large blade up from the ground, Lace twirled on to her shoulder whilst returning her straight sword to it's scabbard on her hip.  

 

"That's it..." She whispered to herself as the light form Angelica's energy began to fill the valley. "Give it everything you've got."

 

When Angelica fired her laser, Lace was ready. Crouching down low to the ground in a runner's stance, she prepared herself for high speed moment, be to dash in and cleave apart the everything inside the barrier or protect Angelica from the angel's possible counter attack. 

[Mr. Hyde]

 

 "My little girl always loved tigers.  She was the reason I made my decision to take the path of the tiger and not the path of the lion.  Of course, once you choose a path  You cannot go back.  And so, Yara and I will be bonded forever.  Isn't that right, my friend?"

 

Louis wasn't expecting such a sentimental answer from the General.  However, he spat at the ground to his left in disgust.  If there was one thing he hated talking about, it was sentiments. 

 

"Yara!  Protect!" As the command was prompted, the spectral tiger had vanished, and returned to it's tattooed form wrapped around the general's arm.  Louis studied this interaction quite thoroughly.  The General was insanely strong without that imprint on his arm, so he himself was just that strong.  It didn't make any sense, but Louis wouldn't take chances on risky bets, thinking he would be weaker without 'Yara' on his arm.  Either way, those punches weren't something he wanted to mess with.  "She is both the ultimate defense and the ultimate offense.  We do everything together.  So, will you show me how well you work together with your comrade?  It is clear he is a product of your own.  I wish to learn just how powerful you are." 

 

Louis' heart began to pound.  It was practically the same style as his own ability.  Louis began to calm down however, seeing as how his ability was much more versatile than anything he had seen on either side.

 

"Basabth, to me!"  Louis commanded, mimicking the exact tone and accent as the general's.  Basabth made his way from where he had been plopped onto the ground by the sudden disappearance of the astral tiger, all the way to Basabth.  The little shadow demon coiled itself around Louis' waist, eyeing the general.  It stuck it's tongue out at him as well.  "Comparing Basabth to Aya...I feel a little insulted.  Sure you might have the upper hand in strength, but what good is strength if it comes from something with no brain."  Louis' shadow crawled up towards the shadows of the trees, linking with one of them, and slowly uprooting it from it's station.  "I guess I'll make the first move then.  Batter up!"  Louis smiled, as his shadow contracted, swinging a large tree towards the General's location, as if it were a mere paperweight.  The tree was large enough that it would also sweep Bethany up if she wasn't careful.  

[Alaina]

Throwing her punch at the creature, it had moved fast enough to evade, only for her fist to end up striking the ground. The surrounding dirt was knocked into the air, before the girl merely stood back up, unfazed by the whole thing. Looking towards the creatures before her, it seemed to simply be standing there, though the dragon girl was still annoyed by it all the same. Clenching her fist, with a low growl, the girl began to stare down the creature only for it to raise its head before...vanishing...

 

The dragon girl stood there for a second, blinking at what just happened. She was positive there was a creature there just a moment ago. And now there wasn't. The girl stood there for a second, just kind of not sure what was going on and briefly wondering if the beast just wasn't even there to begin with. Shaking her head at this, she realized that the unnatural presence of it was still in the area so maybe her eyes just weren't working properly to see it. Nodding that this was the most likely scenario, she figured that they creature was probably still standing in the same spot. However, since it proved to be nimble last time, this time the girl merely charged a brilliant blue flame like energy into her fist. With a single punch, the girl let loose a stream of blue fire towards the ground crashing into it and causing a brilliant, and large explosion to envelop the surrounding area, including herself, though she was largely unfazed by it. 

 

A moment passed after the explosion passed, and the girl seemed a bit displeased with any results being shown. Pouting a bit at this, she looked to where she felt the magical presence coming from, but was then distracted something. Something seemed to scrape against her skin from behind, not doing much in way of damage, causing the girl to turn around and see the some strange shapes that glowed. She realized that there was no real feeling of magic coming from it. But it was shiny, and shiny things were generally magical. With this theory in mind, the girl saw it fit to break each of these as well, and thus, summoning a tendril of water on her arm, the girl began to whip at the glowing shapes, attempting to break them and, were there anything glowing in her field of view, she would attempt to whip the tendril at that as well. 

[Yui]

---

"13th Phantasm... Stringless Puppet's Performance." 

 

"Take this, you bastard!"

 

"A two for one!" 

 

Really, guys? This was what Mango got for trying to save lives and get everyone out of here without any bloodshed, wasn't it? One of the Choros clones - not Choros himself, however - was struck down, and the barrier around the Godstone seemed none the worse for wear because of it. I remember one of the doctors saying one of my predecessors was more hostile. Do I have to just pretend I'm her or something? Hostility didn't seem like something Mango would go for, the more she thought about it. And speaking of hostility, both Lace and Angelica really wanted that barrier down. Mango took a moment to think about her situation before the other two attacked.

 

If the first round was any indicator of how the people living in these arenas think, Choros will probably take my blocking his attack as an act of aggression. Meaning I have to fight him or die. Ugh, fine! I'll do the killing thing! Happy now, world?

 

As Lace and Angelica targeted the barrier, Mango moved in as well, dashing for the barrier alongside Lace and coughing up a hearty wad of acid spit aimed at the barrier in front of her. She didn't think acid would likely melt it, but best to try anyway. With her luck, she'd end up winning this fight somehow and be forced into whatever round of madness was next. Mango made a mental note to absolutely defeat Choros, but throw the match after that.

---

[Tesability Black]

Under the invisibility, the collective group of creations and Shaper moved farther and father away, ever closer towards another set of minds that Talis-Eye claimed to be familiar. As the dragon human tried to do what she could to eliminate them, they were long out of range of all actions she had attempted towards them before turning towards another.

 

It would seem that your coming here was more hazardous than anticipated.

 

At least I will not be killed on sight here for Shaping like I would be back on Terrestria. Damned Trakovites and their success at making such arts now Barred.

 

Talis-Eye simply nodded at this statement as they carried themselves and Rawal to the new location ahead, the Ur-Glaahks and Wingbolts following them easily.

[Dad]

Boundaries

 

Geno huffed deeply listening to Shigeru.  "Save her?" Geno asked, not turning his head, as he watched the events of the tournament unfold.  A new enemy had appeared before Jack and the elderly man Rawal.  It was some kind of magical creature.  Geno wondered silently where R.C. had found this thing.  Every step it took, nature reacted.  This was a powerful foe for the contestants to face.  And yet, Jack stood not in fear, but in awe.  Despite not being able to see her face, Geno could tell by Jack's reaction and her body language that she was excited.  "Is that what you think?  She needs saving?" Geno joked.

 

"Look at her.  Look at her, Yamauchi.  Does a girl with her level of pride, care, and confidence look like she needs saving?" Geo thought back to how he and Rachel ended up becoming the best of friends.  He had tried to save Rachel.  But she was the one who saved Geno.  "You don't need to save Jack.  You need to let her walk down this path all her own.  Because only she can travel it.  You get in her way, and you'll end up creating a fork in the road.  She'll have to choose.  Don't do that to her."

 

---

 

Reality Make-Up

 

Each attack that made contact with Choros's barrier caused it to hum in an increasingly higher pitch.  First came Angelica's laser.  A powerful beam indeed.  It rippled against Choros's barrier, disappearing into the cyan blue field as though it was trying to reach the bottom of the world's oceans.  Then came Mango's sludge.  While it was not as powerful as Angelica's laser, it too sank into Choros's barrier before vanishing as the barrier hummed more loudly.  Lace too was guilty of effecting the shield, though indirectly.  Her aura alone was enough to continually cause Choro's barrier to increase its pitch.

 

Then, when Choros could do no more, he and his cloned brethren raised their swords and stood.  The barrier dispersed into a whisp of cyan energy, dividing itself in half before being absorbed into either angel's sword.  Their swords now glowed with the same cyan energy in which Choros's barrier had before, each weapon humming loudly.

 

Both angels pointed their weapons outward towards either cliffside around the Godstone.  In a slow, wide-arching horizontal strike, they drew behind themselves, and then again in the opposite direction, covering three hundred and sixty degrees around either angel.  In a magnificent display of cyan light, a shockwave of pure, holy energy erupted from the center of the tiny gap between either angel.  A dome of energy pushed outwards from their location, encompassing the entirety of the battlefield.  

 

Each contestant was blown away, spreading outwards and being thrown back to the wall of the cliffs which surrounded them.  

 

Angelica's circuits were short-circuited temporarily, causing her system to require an emergency reboot.  To make matters worse, her laser would be on a lengthy cooldown for now.

 

Lace would find her soul damaged due to coming into contact with unavoidable holy power.  The memories of each soul had become scrambled and Lace would struggle to maintain control and stability for a short period of time.

 

Mango had lost her right forearm, and the holy energy badly burned the surface of her skin.  She would be much slower for a brief period.

 

Finally, one of the Choros angels vanished into light particles, having used up much of Choros' magic.  The real Choros was revealed, and he would not be able to create more copies of himself for the duration of his fight.  He would have to now rely solely on his basic magics and his combat prowess.  This forced him to choose a target.  And his target was Lace.  

 

He strolled towards the many-souled woman, surprised at her endurance.  "You have survived for many lifetimes," the angel remarked, peering into each of the individual souls in Lace's host.  "I will release you from your torment."  Choros raised his holy weapon as it became engulfed in Gabriel's flame.  "Rest eternally," he commanded, as he brought down his sword toward Lace.

 

---

 

Mortal Kombat

 

Ife was surprised at Louis' strength; impressed even!  As the boy uprooted a great tree from the Congo Forest floor, he swung it towards the General with ease, like a baseball bat.  

 

"Yes!  Show me your strengths!" Ife said excitedly.  He threw his arms across his chest in the shape of an "x" as the tree drew closer.  When it was inches from his face, Ife curled his fingers tightly and swiped his hands outward with a mighty push and pull combination.  He severed the large tree in half, sending splinters into the air.  Landing back on the ground, General Ife picked up one half of the broken tree with a single hand.  He pointed at Louis and grinned.  

 

"I have seen American television.  Is this how baseball players throw?" Ife asked.  Turning and tucking his shoulder while raising his knee, the general unleashed a mighty throw and hurled the broken tree-half forward at Louis.  It hummed through the air and partially obstructed Louis' vision.  "I have seen American basketball players as well.  They like to dunk!" General Ife called out, suddenly appearing above Louis with the second half of the broken tree in his hands.  The General swung the other half of the broken tree down at Louis, utilizing a pincer attack.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Bethany tensed up as Louis made his attack. That kind of strength...what was she supposed to do against that? What WERE those shadows and what couldn't they do? She was weighing her options as the tree came her way...until Ife shattered it. Just....shattered it. Well at least that meant she wasn't about to get the world's biggest splinter.

 

But it also meant that Ife was incredibly strong himself. Yet, more good news for the girl, he was focused on her opponent. It seemed that keeping to herself was working...for now. She knew she'd have to do something soon but the breather was refreshing.

 

Well, not exactly a breather. She was using energy, just not in the usual way. She already had half a dozen icicle spears in the air above her. She took a deep, shuddering, breath and, as she let it out it plumed in a visual representation of the cold she was feeling. She had to keep going. More. Always more.

 

Bethany slowly backed up away from the two and began creating more icicles.

[VCR_CAT]

Jack

 

As the projections made by Hack and Slash made their attack against the dragon girl, they turned out to be, predictably, very ineffective. Of course, they accomplished their mission of grabbing the dragon girl's attention. A small whip of water was formed, and the moment it struck the projections they would shatter into small, quickly disappearing clouds of little lights and sparkles. To keep goading the dragon on, Hack and Slash moved closer into position and would generate more projections, each shot down immediately just like the last.

 

"Just a little more," Jack muttered, the hard-light string of her bow taut as she waited for the right opportunity. "Gotchya."

 

And with two more projections shot down, that was it. Where the dragon girl was now she faced Jack from her position in the trees at a distance. With her shot lined up, Jack loosed her arrow aimed at the dragon's eye as Hack and Slash flew away to return to their master.

 

 

Golden Gate Hotel - Bar

 

"Save her?" Geno asked, his eyes glued to the screens. "Is that what you think? She needs saving?" Shigeru's gaze didn't falter for a second. "Look at her. Look at her, Yamauchi. Does a girl with her level of pride, care, and confidence look like she needs saving? You don't need to save Jack. You need to let her walk down this path all her own. Because only she can travel it. You get in her way, and you'll end up creating a fork in the road. She'll have to choose. Don't do that to her."

 

Shigeru paused as he took another drink. "Believe me, I know first hand what she is capable of. You, too, know what she is capable of." He turned and faced Geno, looking him dead in the eye. "I bet you anything I am the one she hates most, the reason she fights to bring people like me down. You seen what she is capable of, so I ask you this: why do you think I am here, now, alive?" He paused to take another drink. "It is not because I made it too hard to kill me. It is not because she is incapable. Yes, I am here to save her, but not from this tournament, not from dragons or machines. I am here to save her from herself."

 

Shigeru watched as Jack lured the dragon girl to a position so that she could take a shot. Her tech was different, neither the suit she wore nor the bow she used was the same as the one that Shigeru had built and developed. This wasn't the first foe she had fought in this tournament with weapons and power beyond her own, and it was clear that she relied on her own cunning and skills to get her through every situation. Yet, as neither the gunshots nor the hard-light projections had any effect on the dragon, Shigeru wondered if Jack could do anything here but run.

 

"I have received her threats over the years, and I hid from them for a long time. But, she never followed through. She worked hard to bring me down, but never touched me, never came to kill me. I don't think I can convince her to do anything, but hopefully I can remove whatever it is about me that is holding her back." He paused for another drink. "Even if it is me entirely."

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

WARNING WARNING

 

SYSTEM HAD ENCOUNTERED A SUDDEN ERROR
RESTARTING IN 5...4...3...2..

 

Angelica, who aimed to attack the angels using her stealthily planted fractions, were forced back by Choros' powerful retaliation that was so strong, she was short-circuited by the backlash. And now she was there, lying on the ground unable to really move for a while as her system were being completely rebooted. By the time she was able to get up, she felt something was off as she prepared for another attack. The system that corresponded to her creation of laser had been malfunctioning badly, and it seemed to revert the upgrade she had on it before. Bad time for that to happen. But, soon her sensors realized that the remaining Choros was going to attack Lace, and feeling irked by that as it seemed that Lace was suffering the same of backlash as she did, Angelica decided on her next action.

 

"Rest eternally,"

 

"How about YOU rest eternally?"

 

As Choros brought down his blade, a disembodied arm wielding a golden blade became its adversary, and moments later it managed buy enough time for Angelica to manifest fully there, her skin blackened as her face lost most of its features. Her "super mode" so to be said, and the only reason why she was able to get there as soon as she did was because she managed to reactivate her fragments that she was aiming to use to stealthily funk over Choros earlier into a good use. With the golden blade Ohr on her hand, she stared at the angelic being before her.

 

Seeing that there was only one angel left now, Angelica formed a wide grin. Five minutes left.

 

"You angels are always incomprehensible...living with so much restriction is so lame, you know? You reminded me too much of my sisters, so I guess...go die in a fire?"

 

Plasma coated the golden blade as Angelica placed more and more of Shangri-la's power into the blade to overpower the Angel. It's fine that she'd be unable to use her beams as much as before. All that means would just be that she needed to use them at a right time.

 

Well, she still had her sword anyway.

 

---

[Alaina]

As the dragon girl had managed to break through the strange light shapes, she furrowed her brow as they kept coming into creation. Things that broke didn't generally explode into tiny light particles. They also tended to stay broken. With this in mind, the girl was absolutely sure that these light things were magical. Walking towards the light, the girl created whips made of water across her arm, and continued to swing them at them. With each swipe of her arm, the tendril struck something, breaking more of the light and egging the girl on further. With only a few more breaks, the girl had eventually managed to swat enough away that they had ceased spawning, so she thought, though curious about what they were, the girl continued to look around. It was then that something caught her eye, almost literally, as an arrow flew out from the cover of a treeline. Reacting far faster than one might expect of the powerhouse that this dragon girl was, she brought up her water tendril to try and stop it. 

 

While she was unable to actually stop the arrow, she had managed to change its course so that instead of directly at her eye ball, it merely scraped across the skin underneath the eye, creating a sound akin to metal against metal, continuing to travel along that side of her face. The girl stood motionless for a bit, unsure of what just happened, before feeling a slight stinging sensation. Bringing up her hand, she wiped at the stinging area, looking to see that her fingers were now stained red. Understanding what had just happened, the girl's fist clenched and started to glow with a brilliant blue energy. Looking in the direction of where the arrow had come from, fury evident on her face, the girl let loose a punch in that direction, sending the explosive force of energy into that area. Her fist reigniting, she continued this process two more times, not really aiming at a specific area, and instead just letting loose a torrent of force into the area. With that done the girl was unable to sense anything magical in that direction, not that she had been to begin with, and figured whatever those things were were dealt with. With that, the girl turned her attention towards the previous source of magic she had been feeling, and started to march in that direction. 

[Hälō]

"A-Angels..." Lace's eyes widened in amazement as stared at the two figures with their blades crossed only a foot above her face. "So... pretty..." XIII's voice seemed to have completely lost it's womanly edge as she marveled at the scene with the curiosity of a small child.

 

Her father had told her stories of such things but never once described any like the two that stood before her.

 

"Huh?"

 

It was then that she finally noticed the large weight in her right hand. Glancing down, Lace gasped at the sight of the broadsword that rested tightly in her grasp. Thrown into panic, the girl did her best to toss the weapon away, but found she had trouble making her body head her commands. 

 

"W-Where am I?!" Struggling to move, XIII shakily wiggled backwards as her lavender eyes darted around the battle worn arena. "Daddy!" She called out, tears forming in the corners of her eyes. The last thing she remembered was her father standing over her as she fought through another episode from her sickness...

 

Desperately Lace's mind tried to piece together the events that placed her in valley with these creatures, but each memory that came to focus only served to add to her confusion. It was as if someone had recorded some a scary action movie over her past... Yet somehow it all felt so real... Like she had actually been there doing those things.

 

 

Within Lace's artificial soul there was a place reserved for the current ego. A room of all white with a single chair in the center that would normally serve as XIII's throne. It was a simple metaphor created by 'Lace'  to aid the being in handling the stress of managing it's many existences and personalities. 

 

There sat a small girl with silver hair, blinking away the last tendrils of sleep from her large lavender eyes as she looked around in confusion.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Louis watched as the general had easily swiped away the tree he had swung.  Looking through the splintered remains, he could only sigh.  What was he supposed to do against raw strength like this?  The only thing that he could do was outwit the man.  However, it didn't seem like the best plan.  Looking to his side, he could see his actual opponent gathering a multitude of sharp icicles in the air above her.  

 

"That sneaky jabroni."  He said under his breath.  Her taking advantage of the General strictly attacking him was pissing Louis off.  He tapped his forehead, as Basabth, across the battlefield, seemed to wince.  "Hey!  Numskull...let loose a little.  This is a defcon 3 kinda situation!" 

 

"Whoah really?  It's been a while since a defcon 3 kinda thing!"  Basabth laughed, as he stood on all fours.  His body started to contort, as pieces of white mineral substance akin to his skull started to sprout from his body.  Basabth's body became quite larger, and his face became more fierce.  It was as if he had taken the form of some large, shadowy fox.  "Time to rock..."  The demon said, in a much deeper voice.  From the other side of the plain, Louis looked to see the General taking a pitcher's pose.  

 

"I have seen American television.  Is this how baseball players throw?"  Ife threw a chunk of splintered tree at him, as fast as he could.  Louis spat at the ground, pissed off even more that the General had used his last attack against him.  "I have seen American basketball players as well.  They like to dunk!"  As if he would know anyway...he was French...and he didn't much care for sports.  Now checkers...that was a game!  As Louis put up a defensive shielding in front of him, he saw the General come down on him with another splinter.  Was this his attempt at some sort of pincer attack?  Regardless, Louis stopped with the half orb, and instead started to encase himself in a full on shadow orb.  Hopefully, it would prove hard enough to thwart Ife's attempts at cracking his shield. 

 

"Time to roll."  Louis snickered.  From the other side of the plain, Basabth had closed the distance in an instant.  The demon lunged for the General, who was still in midair by this point, with his large claws pointed outwards.  Basabth relayed his trajectory towards Louis, who in turn snaked a shadow to the direct spot where Basabth intended to crush the General.  In the place of the shadow, Louis constructed many sharp spikes that erected straight towards the sky in all sorts of angles.  

[Dad]

Metal and Flesh

 

The dragon-maiden's terror had -- for the most part -- gone undeterred.  She tore those who opposed her to chunks of meat like the mere fleshbags that they were.  Magic did not impede her and only served to fuel her destructive rampage.  All but one fled at the sight of dragon-maiden for fear of their lives.  Alone, Jack stood in awe of the creature's remarkable strength.  Even so, she challenged the dragon-maiden in a show of bravado.  Around the world, her popularity rose as she stood head-on against a mighty foe.

 

Rawal had vanished from sight, his position unknown to even the satellite array which broadcasted the Golden Gate Secret Cup.  With a flicker, the satellite feed changed to an infrared review, reviewing Rawal's location only to the audience who had no way of interacting with other contestants.  

 

But now in the heat of Jack's big moment against her enemy, there came a disturbance from the forest.  A clinging of metal would catch Jack's ear and a winding whir would put her on her toes.  Stomping over the forest floor was Bullet, still wielding his enormous chain gun.  Revving up the empty barrel, Bullet lowered the gun and aimed it down the Congo Bay as his eyes landed on the back of Jack's suit.  The barrel spun as Bullet commanded, and despite being completely empty, began to fire hundreds of large rounds in a wide arc from east to west in an attempt to take down both Jack and the dragon maiden.

 

As Bullet swept the battlefield, trees were felled at the might of his weapon.  Animals scattered, less they are turned into more than shredded meat.  And for those creatures who were unlucky enough to be caught in the cross fire, their bodies were left with more than just holes.  As the bullets penetrated the carcass of a now-deceased hippopotamus, it left singed, purple, burnt wounds.  The flesh continued to dissolve long after the bullet exited the hippo, indicating that these were no ordinary bullets.  They were made specifically for the enemy in front of Bullet, right now.

 

---

 

Resolve

 

"You reminded me too much of my sisters, so I guess...go die in a fire?"

 

"Fire?" Choros breathed, as he turned towards Angelica, a pause in his attack.  The android raised a sharp weapon before him and brought it down at his center of mass.  Choros attack shifted in an instant, his blade guarding against Angelica's own as it became lit ablaze.  Choros' eyes changed from an empty white into a deep, burnt orange as the stared into the eyes of the android.  "You are a machine given life," Choros said as he defended against Angelica with a single hand.  

 

"An empty vessel.  Yet you fight for a reason I cannot see.  Will you tell me why as we dance in Gabriel's Flame?" Choros asked.  With Lace temporarily dazed and Mango being unresponsive, Choros had only one opponent:  Angelica.  He kicked the android away, forcing her back.  With a wide swing of his sword, the edges of the arena were set on fire by Gabriel's Flame.  "A holy flame.  It will incinerate any unholy sentient creature it touches."

 

Choros looked over his shoulder at Lace and Mango, then turned back to Angelica.  Out of the corner of the Android's eye, if she looked closely, she would be able to analyze the flame.  Its composition would be unknown, but she would be able to see the flame slowly curling inward towards herself and Choros.  The fire was moving, eating away at the edges of the "valley" which encompassed the Godstone.  Soon, it would touch Lace and Mango.  And then, it would touch her.

 

Choros held his blade out once more and charged Angelica.

 

---

 

Served Cold

 

Ife was tackled in mid-air as the shadow that accompanied Louis decided to take him head-on.  Louis laid a trap in wait for Ife, but a battle of strength was not something he would lose.  As Ife and Basabath spiraled in mid-air, Ife pushed his tattooed arm closer to the enemy's jaw and gripped it tightly.  Exerting as much pressure as possible at once, Ife shoved Basabath by his head and exerted his own momentum to flip their positions, placing Basabth's back toward the ground.  Ife snatched his arm free from Basabth before driving the shadow monster to the ground with an empowered punch.  It was unlikely that the enemy suffered a blow to anything other than their pride, but Ife was not satisfied with the reply he had been given by Louis.

 

He spat on the ground and kicked dirt at Basabth's face.  "Disappointing."  

 

Ife turned around and placed his back to Louis and his pet.  "You!  Girl!" Ife said, marveled at the icicles Bethany had created.  "What can you do?  This one was a warm-up," Ife announced, with a thumb over his shoulder at Louis and Basabath.  "Show me the coldness of your heart.  The warrior that lives within you."

 

Ife crouched and tucked his legs tightly behind him as he directed himself toward Bethany.  He exploded from the ground and drew a right fist which he aimed for the girl's face.

[VCR_CAT]

Jack

BGM:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD4SG-TvbWE

 

Jack's arrow almost hit its mark, grazing the dragon girl just underneath the eye. There was a loud clang and a small spray of red, but the dragon girl's head lowered down as she brought her hand up to the wound. Jack was learning all at once that her arrows could damage the dragon, but also the sheer amount of fury that was written on the dragon girl's face.

 

"Hahaha holy sheet I'm so dead," Jack laughed to herself quietly, already leaping from the branch she was perched on to the next. In her wake was an explosive wave of sheer force, tearing through the jungle and ripping foliage to shreds. Jack continued to hysterically laugh as she jumped from tree to tree, narrowly dodging each wave of force, out of stress or excitement she could not tell. Finally, the attacks had stopped, but instead the bright cling of metal coupled with a whirring noise caught Jack's ear, and she immediately understood that it wasn't over yet. Jack started to move, and as she did so a flood of bullets and the roar of gunfire filled the jungle, effectively logging every tree and tearing up any living being that found itself in the wake of destruction. Jack had to move quickly, and used her tethers to her advantage to keep out of the gunfire. Still, even as quickly as she moved, several bullets clipped and scraped the plating of her suit, damage reports filling her HUD as bits of hardened carbon were chipped off and the suit left scarred. Jack looked out of the corner of her eye and saw the dissolving corpses of the hippos filled with purple holes. please let that only work on organic life and not my suit, she groaned inwardly as she swung through the jungle to get close to the person causing the destruction.

 

Landing on the forest floor with a loud thud, she caught sight of the culprit, hefting a large minigun with no visible ammo feed, yet bullets freely flung themselves from the barrels of his weapon. Wasting no time, Jack extended her tethers a good few feet and rushed forward, spinning her body to send her electrified whips out in the direction of the man with the gun. She needed to get in close, stay close, and remain fluid and elusive. This man was nothing special, he was just like any other SWAT team that tried to take Jack down.

 

And he'll die just like the rest.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Seems her respite was over. She had watched as Ife easily deflected the attack of the...whatever that thing was. Seriously, was what she said about being cursed by an evil god actual true? Either way Ife looked to be incredibly strong and durable. He was also incredibly after Bethany.

 

She had a dozen icicles floating above her head by now, more than she usually created, and she was prepared to use them. She didn't want to kill anyone but, having already killed one evil monster, she was prepared to kill this one too if needed.

 

And, given his berserker-like demeanor, she had a feeling she would have to.

 

"Please don't be watching this." She silently prayed of the children back home.

 

To Ife, she spoke. "I'm no warrior. My heart, I hope, isn't as cold as my body. What I am is a girl who dang well won't let a beast like you run free in a world where kids aren't protected."

 

Ife was coming for her. He'd be on her in mere moments. She didn't know if she could avoid his attack. But she didn't think she needed to. He was rushing headlong at her. All she had to do...was breath.

"I don't fight like a warrior, or a demon, or anything like that. I won't kill out of cold blood. I choose to fight with my heart. I choose to fight for the children. I choose to fight for love."

 

With that she exhaled, and six of the icicles came crashing down upon Ife. As he stepped in front of her the spears would be aiming to impale him through the arms, the shoulders, and the back. Bethany threw her arms up in case he broke through; a side-thought to try and minimize the damage if her attack failed to stop the man. A cold wind emerged from around her body, buffeting the man in front of her with its icy blast.

[Tesability Black]

To the surprise of anyone watching in the Congo, after Bethany threw up her arms to protect herself, she disappeared from view. If the camera shifted to infrared vision, however, they would see that Bethany had been pulled out of the way by an unseen hand from the charge. Approaching Bethany in the altered vision first were the winged serpents that were the Wingbolts, with one of them giving a curious chirp upon seeing her underneath the cloak of invisibility.

 

As she disappeared from view, the Wingbolts and Ur-Ghlaaks, still under the cloak of invisibility, surrounded Ife and waited for the command to strike.

 

~Rawal's POV~

 

The group that consisted of Rawal, Talis-Eye, the Ur-Glaahks and the Wingbolts had finally arrived near where the Eyebeast had felt the faintly-familiar minds, and it was just in time as well. Talis-Eye obviously felt the urge to tell them to hide and pull the girl away from the attack coming for her, and so such was witnessed underneath the invisibility.

 

Talis-Eye brought the girl, Bethany, closer to Rawal while allowing her to move on her own again once she was placed upon the ground, Rawal nodded and took a step or two towards her while seemingly unbothered by the cold, standing straight with an air of authority to him. As Rawal spoke, Bethany would likely notice that the words the elder spoke were of a foreign tongue and that a second voice similar to, but not exactly the same, as Rawal's would enter her head to translate his words a few moments later. If Bethany really wanted to, she could easily put the elder down at this close a range, but it would be wise to listen first, at the least.

 

"It has been a sunrise since we last met face-to-face, Bethany." Looking towards the figure that the other strikes were aimed at, Rawal had allowed a thinking look of worry to enter his face. "Despite the nature of this twisted contest this world views as 'entertainment', it is time we remaining combatants put things aside and focus on surviving and discovering the true reason behind this competition. I, in specific, still need to find the outsider that stole away with a duplicate of the knowledge behind my magic, an Barred act that would warrant death upon the sight of the person."
 

Looking back towards Bethany, he simply nodded before continuing, "if you fear the loss of a chance at the fortune, it is an amount that could have easily been split among all of the original contestants and still allow for comfortable lives if spent wisely. I personally only require an amount to make sure that I am considered as a 'legal' being on this world and that I can guarantee that my art does not die with me upon this world. It is a waste for only one to gain all that gold."

[Mr. Hyde]

 

Basabth and Ife tangoed in mid-air for a minute, with Ife gaining the momentous advantage somehow.  With his mouth grasped by the man's hand's, he was punched into the ground with such force, that it made Basabth bounce off of the dusty Congo floor.  Upon contact with the fist, and floor, Louis felt a sharp sting in his stomach and back.  A pain he hadn't felt before...insurmountable pain.  His knees wobbled, as he fell to the ground, still concealed by his shadowy orb.  He coughed up blood, staining his very own shadow.  He stared at it for quite a while...longer than he should have been doing in this sort of predicament.  

 

"Sorry, Louis."  He could hear Basabth's voice ringing in his head.  "I don't know how he got the upper hand."  

 

"I-it's whatever."  Louis responded, with a staggering voice, blood still dripping from his mouth in a steady stream.  "It's been a while since either of us has gotten hurt."  He stood up, his knees still wobbling.  "But bullets didn't even hurt as much as that.  Why wasn't this guy on my radar..."  Louis opened a small hole in his shadow orb to look beyond it, seeing Ife charging the girl across the way.  She had unleashed a barrage of icicles, what he thought was a buildup for him.  But maybe this could be taken advantage of.  Louis grinned.  "Disappear Basabth."  With a nod, Basabth made his way to the spikes Louis had created before, and seemingly vanished into thin air, upon contact with the shadow.  Louis retracted that shadowy extension of himself back to the orb, only to unleash a new one towards the General.  His back was turned, not being able to witness the shadow tendril lifting off the ground, and separating into seven split blades, all ready to pierce the general straight through from different angles.  

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"An empty vessel.  Yet you fight for a reason I cannot see.  Will you tell me why as we dance in Gabriel's Flame?"

 

"Was there really anything to see? I fight because I am alive. Because I exist, not as a tool to create an artificial peace, but as an individual of my own."

 

The flames engulfed the arena, slowly inching towards the unconscious Lace and Mango. Even if it was just a normal flame, it would be worrying enough, but Angelica couldn't actually detect the composition of this flame. It seemed that it really was a supernatural, holy flame. In that case, she wouldn't have five minutes. She had to force the miracle to happen faster, before either of the two became ashes, and before her set-

 

Choros went to charge at her, blade at hand. Detaching her tassels beforehand, Angelica blocked the angel's blade with her own sword. Normally she would've used this opportunity to rain lasers at Choros, but she was conserving her energy for the miracle she was waiting for. The fact that she's not composed with the entirety of her materials now only made the issue worse - she wouldn't last longer blocking Choros before her arm broke. With her other arm, Angelica fired a concentrated but short blast towards Choros before her thrusters was activated to shift her towards the sides. The tassels she had detached earlier manifested into copies of her own sword, and with a hand signal, were all brought down at Choros, attacking him as independent drones.

How many time she had left? Should she save Lace and Mango first? But that would risk Choros hitting her while she lowered her guard. In that case, she would need to finish him off before he could kill the two. She made it sound a lot easier than how it would be in practice. Just as always.

 

"A machine given life that I am. Once an artificial angel, but it has been long since I've fallen. I did not regret anything about that though. I'd rather be this kind of creature, defiled and unholy, rather than a mindless body devoted to instill order.

 

For yourself, have you ever felt it? Desire, feelings of pride, or the feeling of anger?"

 

Angelica summoned a copy of Ohr on her left hand before rushing towards Choros again. If he wanted a dance, then a dance he shall get. One slash, two slash, that would be her motion here. Flowing like water, and not forcing herself to block Choros' attack when she could dodge if possible.

 

"Desire pushes one to move forward, for it gives us a goal to achieve." One horizontal slash. If she could keep this rhythm, it would be ideal. "Anger pushes us to overcome any obstacle we might see in the completion of that goal." Barely stopping, it was followed by a double slash using both swords. "And a sense of pride prevents us from stopping, for giving up would disgrace it. Our pride defines us. It gives us meaning. Our actions, our relations, if without a feeling of pride, then they're nothing but empty gestures.

 

I'll say it again! To live is to be proud of one's existence!" Using all of her thrusters, Angelica pushed forward with both of her swords for a full power stab with both of her swords. The image of her remaining sister flashed before her, pushing her to increase the output of her thrusters.

 

"If it's a dance you want, then that's what you'll get. Come, let's dance the last dance! Whether it's for you or for myself, I'll make sure one ends here!"

 

---

[Dad]

Unstoppable Object

 

Ife's momentum was just barely hindered.  It wasn't enough to stop him, and that would be his doom.  The cold air took Ife by surprise, but he was already completely engaged when Bethany threw up her spikes and her wall of ice.  Ife hit the wall of ice first, even before the icicles made contact with him.

 

It was a thick, heavy wall, and Ife's punch made contact with it, dead center.  The force of the impact expelled a shockwave around Ife, destroying Bethany's icicles and shattering the giant ice wall.  Though it crumbled, Ife continued going through the wall, slowed down only by his own punch.  But this was enough to seal Ife's fate.  

 

As Bethany was whisked away--unbeknownst to Ife--he came into contact with a slowing field of frost from Bethany's magic.  This slowed Ife at last, just as Louis launched a sneaky offense.  A shadow tendril which broke up into multiple different spikes was at Ife's back.  He had little to no time to act.  There was no way he could avoid the attack.  "Yara, prote--!"

 

It was too late.

 

Ife was skewered through his back, pinned against a mighty Congo tree.  His right arm, right shoulder, ribs, and both legs were gored.  His only undamaged limb was the arm with Yara's tattoo on it.  The spectral tiger emerged from Ife's arm, against his will.  He was killed on impact, the blunt force of the tree and the shock and damage from Louis' attack were enough to end Ife's life.  With a satisfied purr, Yara leaped into the distance, sparkles trailing behind her as she set off into the wind to find a new, worthy host.

 

Now, Louis, Bethany, and Rawal would have to do battle.

 

---

 

Shock and Awe

 

Jack's tethers came down upon Bullet.  For a moment, he stopped firing and even dropped his gun.  Without hesitating, Bullet reached out for Jack's tendrils and grasped them.  He was immediately electrified, but the shock appeared to have no effect on the man.  Not because he was wearing rubber, or anything of the sort.  Rather, Bullet was big and so used to extreme punishment that a shock like this did nothing to him.  Instead, Bullet yanked Jack forward and increased her momentum toward him.  As Jack fell toward Bullet, the giant, mouthless man drew back a fist which glowed a purple hue like the corpses around him.

 

If Jack listened closely, she would hear the cocking of a large gun.  Yet, she would see no gun drawn around her.  But the closer she got to Bullet, the more it would feel like she was staring down the barrel of a Rimmington.  It was a big, slow punch, but if Jack connected with it, she would probably be knocked out, if not killed.

 

---

 

Empathy, Heart, and Depth

 

"Anger.  Is that really all it takes?"

 

Choros was greeted by an incredibly fast Angelica, which even he could not anticipate.  He managed to parry her first few strikes, but Angelica had slowly begun to get an edge.  Her strikes were paired with fury that bordered on--no.  It was human.  She may have appeared to be an android, but Angelica was certainly alive.  Perhaps, somewhere in that shell of her body, she too had a soul.  Choros would have to find out on his own.

 

As Angelica's arms swarmed Choros he captured one in mid-flight and parried her cloned attack.  Swinging Gabriel's blade in an arch, Choros struck at Angelica's chassis as he swung her over his head with a single arm.  Angelica would hit the ground behind Choros before he turned around in an instant and kicked her away.  The Android's body crashed into the Godstone, causing it to hum.  

 

"Hmm," Choros mused aloud.  For just a moment, Angelica's resolve had made him forget his purpose here:  to protect the stone.  He had to keep his mission in mind.

 

"Show me," Choros said, his face slashed and his armor scuffed by Angelica's flurry.  "Show me the anger that gives your soul life."

 

Meanwhile, Gabriel's flames creeped ever closer to Lace and Mango.  In mere moments, they would be consumed.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Bethany scratched the back of her head awkwardly. She hadn't expected to be torn away from the fray like that, though she couldn't help but be relieved to not have to get punched in the face, and the words that followed, and how the words followed in the first place, were so strange to the girl. She could tell this guy didn't really want to fight. Neither did she, truth be told, but there were some issues with what he was suggestion.

 

"Listen, Rawal, uh...I'm not really interested in the 'why' about all this right now. I kinda just...need that money." She pondered the offer for a split for a grand total of five seconds before she was able to come to her conclusion. "I doubt we even could split it, dunno how they'd allow that, but even if we could...for what I want to do I'll need every last cent I can get. I don't wanna kill anyone, and I'm really gonna try not to, but I can't back away from this fight."

 

She finished her words in time to glance back and see the end of the "good" General Ife. She should feel something. A human had just died. But could he be counted as a human? Could she, if she thought such things?

 

Why was she philosophizing at a time like this? She just had to win this tournament, go home, and begin her real work.

 

Granted that meant fighting the two people who she happened to be right in the middle of. The realization startled her and she began to back away, moving into a position that would form a triangle between her, Louis, and Rawal. "So, uh, how's this gonna go down guys?" She asked, her remaining icicles slowly following her shift in position.

[Alaina]

As the girl had started to walk towards the source of magic she had felt, a loud sound could be heard ringing throughout the forest. The girl turned to see it belonged to a man wielding a large, metal...thing, that was spinning and causing small explosions from its end. Seemingly being able to rip through whatever it was pointed at, the girl had no real idea what she was looking at. While it certainly didn't register as magic, she had already seen a few unexplainable things that hadn't today, and so she wasn't about to discount this as magic either. Looking focused, the girl let out an uppercut  and following it, a geyser of water shot upwards, creating a wall between her and whatever magic was coming from the big metal cylinder. After a bit though, she heard the noise die down and wasn't quite sure why, but saw that the man had dropped his object. Seizing the opportunity, the dragon girl punched in his direction,. As she did, the first geyser had stopped, the water merely falling back to the ground, and a second geyser firing an almost unnaturally horizontal stream of water erupted from the ground and towards Bullet. 

[Yui]

---

What an attack! Those angels sure were... well, angelic. Of course, it was a lot less pleasant when the shockwave sent Mango on a direct course with the cliff walls around the arena, the impact being enough to even snap her right forearm off, not to mention the burning sensation now searing across her scaley skin. Mango, for all intents and purposes, had gone into panic mode. Perhaps it was the sudden injury, or perhaps it was how hard her head hit the cliff wall, or - most likely - it was a combination of the two. Whatever the case, Mango remained still and silent for some time, trying to gather her thoughts and assess her situation. For most of it, she couldn't even think in words. Just raw ideas.
 
thikotemitehtsisihtthgifotemitehtsisihtcinapotemitehtsisillthikotemitehtsisihtthgifotemitehtsisihtcinapotemitehtsisillthikotemitehtsisihtthgifotemitehtsisihtcinapotemitehtsisill

 

Eventually, however, she got something of a grip on herself. The typical joyous light in her eyes seemed to be extinguished as Mango glanced around, reassessing her surroundings, the people in it, and her present situation. Swiftly, coldly analyzing everything around her, more focused on what had to be killed and how to do it instead of how to get out of here alive now.

 

Combat trial: Commence. Target: Choros. Status: Alive. Allies: 2. XRT-41-E Status: Right arm unusable for combat; movements slowed; in pain. Objective: Eliminate target. Do not spare.

 

The first order of business was to get out of the way of those flames. Mango was no chemist or pyrotechnics expert, but she knew fire was bad. Not being appropriately wary of it had cost her combat trials in the past. Some people, in a panic, would probably try to climb the cliff wall or something. That wasn't going to work, especially not with just one arm. Mango instead had to opt to sidle her way along the wall, briskly, yet cautiously. Escaping was a bit closer than she would have liked, but Mango wasn't feeling any new burning sensations. Next priority: Eliminate Choros.

 

Traditional projectile attacks as Mango could provide them wouldn't be sufficient. She had to get creative. The living weapon glanced down at her maimed arm. Half of a limb won't do me any good. Let's remove the dead weight. Mango raised her left hand, and extended what remained of her right arm, before swinging her bladed fingers down to remove the half-arm entirely, taking care to catch it. She had to admit, it was painful, but sacrifices had to be made in science, and war was no different. Calling this a war is a slight exaggeration, but if I have to make that leap to do what's necessary to clear this trial, so be it. Mango held the severed stump up to her wound, which was leaking out the toxic sludge-like blood coursing through her. She made a mental note that something more corrosive would be good for her next iteration, and to tell the scientists precisely that.

 

This, however, would have to do, especially when combined with a sufficient amount of coughed-up acid to call the severed stump a half-arm-sized ball of stuff that most living creatures should never ever touch. Makeshift projectile in hand, Mango took cautious aim, looking to throw her half-arm at the Choros going after Angelica. If its attention wasn't on Mango, that meant she'd have an easier time hitting it.

 

I doubt it will be that simple. It may even take sacrificing the other two girls to kill it.

---