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

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

 

 

The Jiangshi opened his eyes, taking in a deep breath. Not of air, as his respiratory system had ceased functioning, but of Qi, the life energy that coated the earth. This old battlefield was now particularly lacking in it, with its residents having died centuries before. Even so, something still remained, the slightest hint of a land that refused to keel over and die. The subtle sweetness of the water-lilies, miraculously pulling nutrition from water long ago tainted by the dead. The bitterness of the earthworms below, voraciously consuming samurai and ashigaru alike, knowing that eventually their feast would run dry. The sharp acid of the mosquitoes, buzzing about and reproducing as if there were no tomorrow, riddled with a menagerie of diseases.

 

And yet...

 

Two more. They seemed to arrive at approximately the same time. Closing his eyes once again, gravity pulled the talisman affixed to his forehead to fall, concealing his face. The Jiangshi extended his awareness, coating the entire desolated valley in his presence. Though he could not see them with his clouded and damaged eyes, The Jiangshi could feel their presence, and know who they were. In his view, they were diametric opposites.

 

To the north was a female. She had a concerning origin, and yet was incredibly positive in spite of it. She appeared as a cloud of the white Yang Qi, bursting with hope. Even so, there was something else there. A fleck of darkness within her. Whatever the reason, she did not belong in this world, and she knew it. She enveloped herself in positive energy to go beyond this, but it was still buried deep within her. Such is the nature of the Taijitu. No entity can wholly belong to one side of the scale.

 

To the south was a male. He was concealed, or at least felt that he was such. Blanketed in his own Yin Qi, using it as a shroud. A cloak of shadow to protect himself from the world. So much darkness, in one so young. The boy was afraid. He denied tooth and nail that he was a human like the rest. He wanted to be something beyond, something separated. He isolated himself from the world, hiding in his shadow, terrified of his own vulnerability. He was just as weak as the rest, despite his own strength, and this fickle world could snuff him out just as mercilessly as it does the rest. A speck of humanity, of Yang Qi, in his sea of darkness. Before long, he relaxed his shroud, and began moving toward The Jiangshi.

 

The two intruders were so overwhelmingly unlike one another, each subconsciously wishing to be the other, rather than the reality of their own self, buried by their persona. A clash of hope and cruelty.

 

They were unbalanced.

 

They are broken.

 

Remaining absolutely motionless, The Jiangshi sat on a small cushion, at the center of the uppermost floor of his pagoda, located in the exact center of the valley. On each corner of the exterior, on every tier of the temple, a torch ignited, seemingly by an invisible force. Despite the thick fog blanketing the arena, the light of the torches would shine through, illuminating the way for the combatants.

 

I will fix them.

[Tesability Black]

~Talis-Eye's POV~

Oh sure, tell someone that knows you can get into their head that you're in their head. Top play, actual top play, Kai mentally scoffed back. The only real way to top that would be to show yourself already and stop being a pussy ass b!tch. I know you're camping somewhere in this hellhole!

Talis-Eye frowned to themselves after flinching at the verbal strikeback, also silently scolding themselves for what was admittedly a stupid move...one due to age and inexperience.

"Sister," they heard through her, prompting a few eyes to point where they last saw her...catching sight of a figure completely covered by cloth, even their head. "I know not what your business is here.  However, I must ask you to cease activity immediately.  The balance in this place is delicate.  I cannot allow you to upset it."

Balance? At this point, they extended the conversation so that Rawal could hear if not respond to it. You may wish to hear this.

"Hey, I'm not the one that decides what grounds get used as arenas, bro. I'm just a competitor like everyone else that ever got planted here," Kai stated in a calm manner, considering how she has behaved up until now, "Besides, this isn't exactly the time to tell me not to do sh!t. This geezer I'm fighting is probably plotting how to catch that W off of me as we speak, and neither of us can leave until someone catches said W."

I have no idea what is meant by 'W', but I think she means 'win', Talis-Eye added.

"So, um... ya mind helping a lil' sis out a bit? Maybe point me in the direction where that geezer's hiding at the very least?" Kai asked, not giving a damn about how unethical the prospect of two or more people ganging up on one may sound. "It'll ultimately get me out of here faster if I win the fight."

Talis-Eye felt Rawal flinch as a sudden influx of unfamiliar energy began to fill the air, faint at first, but ever increasing. The Eyebeast also found themselves flinching at least once because of it. "I must apologize, Kai, I was ignorant to the conditions of the tournament in which I urged you to partake in.  I had no idea that holy grounds would be used as a place of combat.  Please allow me to explain. You see, despite your circumstances, these grounds are holy.  By Angelic Law, no man or woman may desecrate this place.  And when this place was desecrated before, the Great Four relinquished it from man kind.  As the last of our kind, it is my sworn duty to protect this place.  To allow combat here without holy cause, is forbidden."

This place is Barred, Talis-Eye heard from Rawal with a question in his words, a thought that brought concern to them. Barred places were sealed for a good reason, and being found in such an area almost-always meant an instant execution, no questions asked.

 

"And so, I will extend to you a courtesy, sister.  And to your opponent, should they be present. Surrender.  end this peacefully, without blood shed." At this point, the Eyebeast watched as the stranger finally dropped the cloth around him, a symbol emblazoned into his back. The symbol, though...that looked similar to another one that they knew, the symbol to represent the Shapers. "Should one of you lay down your arms before the other, this may be a quiet resolution.  Or," he continued, the similar symbol glowing more brightly now, as the church grounds fed him energy. "By law, I will be forced to remove you from this place.  Dead, or alive."

Which makes this offer to leave with their existence intact something that seems actually merciful in comparison. "Please, choose wisely sister.  I do not wish to sever our ties because of a man-made game."

Talis-Eye could feel Rawal looking between the pair through what they saw. How are they related? There's no way they can be siblings...and what is he?

...from what I can glean, they are this world's opposite to demons...angels.

...project my appearance over there, you're going to have to translate for me.

~Rawal's POV~

Rawal, by himself, seemed to visibly appear near the duo, hood down to fully see them. "I must apologize," he began, giving a slight bow, though not a mocking one by any means. "I'm afraid I do not know what you mean by 'Angelic' Law, but I am sad to state that my presence here is one of survival." Rawal's actual words were spoken on the wind in addition to a translated version of it for the others to understand. "If she does not surrender...it would be more merciful to eliminate me swiftly."

What are you doing?!

Getting a point across.

"Unlike your sister, I'm not even of this world, had to travel through more blackness than I ever thought existed on a strange vessel designed to exist in it in hopes to get back the life I lost before leaving. This 'tournament' is unfortunately 'win or die' for me. Otherwise, I would be perfectly willing to leave peacefully."

He was being calm as possible, though there was the trace of worry that he would end up dead because of one selfish b!tch.

...and being wholly glad that he wasn't where he was visible.

[VCR_CAT]

Jack

 

Jack didn't have much time to really address the take-over of the second dog-bot, as copies of herself dropped down behind her, moving in quickly for the attack. Jack recalled the document given to her on the location; projections with the capability to harm. Jack didn't know if that meant hard-light technology or what, but she wasn't willing to find out. A ping on her heads-up display brought up Hack's camera feed; a closer inspection of the figure it had spotted earlier confirming his opponent was trying to get the drop on her. Looks like everyone wanted a piece of Jack today. But, these hologram versions of herself gave Jack an idea.

 

Jack sent a recall back to Hack and Slash, knowing it will be a little bit before the two bots got there. Jack glanced over to confirm the direction that Hack has spotted her opponent, and smiled. Jack slung her bow over her shoulder, and fired all 6 tethers in the direction of the holograms; aimed down so that they would latch onto the floor-surface behind them. Whether the tethers actually damaged the holograms or not, or if they just passed through, Jack would find out.

 

If the tethers latched on, Jack would make sure to give both a horrible shock. Electrical disruption should be enough to shut down any energy-based construct, at least in theory. If the tethers passed through, Jack would use them to give herself a stronger forward momentum and leap right inbetween them for her escape. Either way, it should work out in her favor.

[Hälō]

Lace XIII

 

Lace sighed. She had explored the entirety of the fourth floor and had found no sign of Bethany, or any other creature for that matter. This confirmed her suspicion that they had placed them both on opposite sides of the arena...

 

"Great..." She grunted before moving towards the stone staircase that she had passed while she was surveying the area.  Her right hand rested calmly on her straight sword as she silently glided down the mosey steps whilst peering down over to the third floor landing from what she knew to be roughly fifty feet above. It seemed that the information she was given hadn't been exaggerated...

 

"They either dropped her off above or bellow me," Lace mumbled to herself. Not wanting to actually walk down the massive flight of stairs, she opted to simply sit on the banister and allow herself be pulled down by the Beowulf's weight. Sliding down to the third floor in a manner of moments, there was a slight thud as she rolled to the ground to disrupt her momentum. 

 

"And if every floor is really as big as the papers said, It will take forever for us to meet if we're both scanning each one we land on." Her brow furrowed in thought. "Not to mention the possibility that we could end up being on the same floor and not even know it..." 

 

Lace grimaced at the thought of having to look for Bethany on every floor. It would be much easier to simply draw out the other girl with a disturbance. It only took her a moment to maul over the idea, before recalling what the arena's bio had said about the third floor...

 

"Undead, huh?" With a smirk, she turned and began walking back up the steps to the fourth floor. Halting her advance halfway up the massive stair case, she looked out into the darkness of the third floor and set her sights on the chandeliers that hung from the ceiling.

 

"Magnum Locust..." She whispered the name of her technique with a smirk as she lifted her straight blade from her belt and held it at shoulder level. In two fluid movements, she swiped the blade at the air, causing two razor sharp crescents of energy to fly forward and slice through the chains of the chandeliers. 

 

The deathly silence of the cathedral was now breached by several loud slams as the chandeliers hit the ground. Hopefully this was enough to attract the attention of both Bethany, and the creatures that lurked nearby. "And now we wait." Lace scoffed whilst she crouched herself low against the stairs. If all went well, she'd be able to observe what her opponent was capable of, as well as catch her Bethany off guard whilst she was dealing with the undead. Glancing up to the forth floor landing, she readied herself to strike if Bethany came running down from above. 

 

 

 

 

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

 
"I must apologize, Kai, I was ignorant to the conditions of the tournament in which I urged you to partake in. I had no idea that holy grounds would be used as a place of combat," Choros told Kai, "Please allow me to explain. You see, despite your circumstances, these grounds are holy. By Angelic Law, no man or woman may desecrate this place. And when this place was desecrated before, the Great Four relinquished it from man kind. As the last of our kind, it is my sworn duty to protect this place."

 

Unsurprisingly, Kai switched off for a moment when Choros explained how the holy grounds were... well, holy.  She was never really interested in any kind of history lesson. Or maths lesson. Or English lesson. Or anything one would actually learn from school. Although now that she thought of it, that document in the manila folder never mentioned anything about Kai and Rawal duking it out on holy grounds... either that or Kai glossed over such a mentioning like a dumbass.

"To allow combat here without holy cause, is forbidden. And so, I will extend to you a courtesy, sister. And to your opponent, should they be present."

 

"Could you not just make this a holy cause?" asked Kai, who then immediately regretted asking such a stupid question, "No wait, you probably can't... cause something something Angelic Law... something. Gah, Angelic Law's so dumb. Why the hell was Mom never around to teach me this sheet?"

 

Kai kicked the dirt in front of her as Choros set up a holy symbol and drew power from the grounds around him. As he was gathering strength, Choros looked away for a moment, looking as though he'd pinpointed where Rawal was hiding. If only Kai had such luck.

 

"Surrender. End this peacefully, without blood shed. Should one of you lay down your arms before the other, this may be a quiet resolution. Or... by law, I will be forced to remove you from this place. Dead, or alive," ultimatum given, Choros then turned back directly to Kai again, taking a few steps back from her, "Please, choose wisely sister. I do not wish to sever our ties because of a man-made game."

 

"That's easy for you to say; I never gotten a name after all this time," Kai shrugged her shoulders as she said this, before pretending to ponder her choice. Truth be told, she already made her mind up a while ago, and she'd be damned if she were to bail on an arena just because of some holy mumbo jumbo forbidding her to fight through whatever technicality. However, by delaying her response, Kai was hoping she'd give the impression of having thought long and hard.

 

"Hmm... yeah alright, as long as the geezer surrenders first, I'll..." she was about to say, before Rawal projected himself over to where the other two were

"I must apologize," he began, giving a slight bow, though not a mocking one by any means; though Kai flipped him off anyway, "I'm afraid I do not know what you mean by 'Angelic' Law, but I am sad to state that my presence here is one of survival. If she does not surrender... it would be more merciful to eliminate me swiftly. Unlike your sister, I'm not even of this world. Had to travel through more blackness than I ever thought existed on a strange vessel designed to exist in it in hopes to get back the life I lost before leaving. This 'tournament' is unfortunately 'win or die' for me. Otherwise, I would be perfectly willing to leave peacefully."

 

Of course the old man wouldn't throw in the towel. That would be far too easy on Kai, especially considering how far she and the others had come already. Still, it was enough to dismay the nephilim nonetheless. While the projection was still present, Kai double-checked her ammunition supply, before giving her response.

 

"Congratulations, you've officially turned a brother and a sister against each other... potentially. I hope you're happy, jabroni!" with that remark made, Kai returned her attention to Choros, "Do what you think you have to do; I don't even care. It was good catching up while we had the chance though, am I right? Ciao."

 

Kai sprouted her ethereal wings again and took off, making sure she was out of ranged of any of Choros' spells, and once again setting her eyes on finding the real Rawal. He'd pay for this. She was gonna hunt him down through the whole arena if she had to, and no Angelic Law was going to stop her.

 

...

 

She hated Angelic Law so much.
 

[Dad]

Sahill Cathedral

 

Though the cathedral was old, it was not without life.  The cultists that had made it their home, knew the ins and outs of the cathedral very well.  Every secret passage and dead-end corridor was familiar to them.  But not only did they know the cathedral's design, they knew its power and its very well kept secret.  And as a group of five cultists and their leader prepared a devious ritual on the lowest floor of the cathedral, the entirety of Sahill awoke with dark magic.  A powerful black aura erupted from the cathedral's cracks and floors, creeping up its walls and finding its way to the edges of the doors outside.  It left a heavy burning sensation on everything it touched, making breathing slightly more difficult and painful.

 

But the black magic aura proved to be too much, even for the Sahill Cathedral.  The upper four floors rumbled, as the cathedral rocked and its old stones began to break free.  The top four floors of the cathedral were being pulled downwards by a powerful dark magic, far greater than gravity itself.  However, it seemed living entities were unaffected by the magic.  Cultists scrambled, bursting from their hiding places and taking whatever shortcuts necessary to get to the lower floors.

 

The library on the first floor quickly became a pile of rubble, as the kitchen and dining below were crushed.  One by one, each room was consumed, and the magic was closing in around the cathedral, destroying everyone and everything in its path.

 

---

 

The Fallen Church of Jubilee

 

"I'm afraid I do not know what you mean by 'Angelic' Law, but I am sad to state that my presence here is one of survival. If she does not surrender... it would be more merciful to eliminate me swiftly. Unlike your sister, I'm not even of this world. Had to travel through more blackness than I ever thought existed on a strange vessel designed to exist in it in hopes to get back the life I lost before leaving. This 'tournament' is unfortunately 'win or die' for me. Otherwise, I would be perfectly willing to leave peacefully."

 

Choros paused as the third party made themselves known.  He was an elderly man that Choros did not know.  He had not felt this man's presence before.  And even as he look into this man's face, he could not feel a soul.  He truly was not from Earth.  But he seemed sincere in his wish for non-violence.  Perhaps a bit too sincere.

 

Choros began to part his lips, but he was interrupted by his sister.

 

"Congratulations, you've officially turned a brother and a sister against each other... potentially. I hope you're happy, jabroni!"

 

He frowned just slightly.  Kai was angry.  And now, she had become brash and reckless.

 

"Do what you think you have to do; I don't even care. It was good catching up while we had the chance though, am I right? Ciao."

 

Choros watched Kai sprout her wings, and take flight.  They had made their decision.  Kai refused to give in, but her opponent was willing to cooperate, even at the cost of his life.  Choros turned back to face the elderly man, a somber expression on the angel's face.  "Forgive me.  What I do is not out of spite.  It is my duty."

 

Choros raised a hand and stretched his palm to the air, and looked down at the gentleman before him.  "Kneel, stranger."

 

He complied, falling to a knee with his head hanging low.  Above him, a majestic blade materialized in Choros' hand.  It was an unrecognizable metal, with a guard that bore the same symbol on Choros' back.  It was lit ablaze by a holy blue flame, as Choros tightened his grip.  Slowly he lowered the blade, waving it over the man's head as he spoke.  "Go with peace, into the next, and only life.  Your sacrifice brings you great honor.  With blessing, o' stranger."

 

Choros swiftly struck, but found his blade made no mark.  Instead, it crashed into the side of one of Jubilee's columns as it phased completely through the illusion that stood before Choros.  Choros' eyes widened, as he pulled the Blade of Life from the stone, and released it back into the heavens.  It vanished, and Choros' empty hand became a balled fist.  "What trickery is this?" he asked aloud, looking around.  "Black magic?  On holy ground?"  The symbol engraved on Choros' back began to spin rapidly, before stopping in place, and glowing more brightly, pulsating much more quickly than before.  "Black magics can never be forgiven," he said, his voice deepening, and echoing over the church of Jubilee.

 

He ignored the illusion at his feet now, instead turning his eyes to the sky.  His blue eyes vanished, instead being filled with solid white nothingness.  Clouds began to roll in over the battleground, and the once sunny evening became blackened by Choros'  Jubilee's grounds shook, as Choros' raised a balled fist to the sky.  His voice was loudly amplified over the church grounds, as he recited his oath.

 

"By decree, I--Choros, the angel of the cosmos--break this holy seal.  May death wash their sins away."

 

The church grounds stopped their incessant shaking, as Choros slammed his fist into the grassy mound beneath him, and rocked the area one last time.  There, he became consumed in a powerful blue light, which formed a pillar over him, and reached into the skies.  The clouds parted, and for one brief moment, it seemed as though they were clear again.  Then, without warning, the sky became filled with brilliant streaks of red of and orange, as it was soon filled with meteors of massive size.  Some were as large as the church grounds themselves.  Others were no bigger than baseballs.  But as the clouds parted, it seemed that the number of meteors increased by the second.  From one, to five, to twenty, and now fifty meteors filled the skies far above them.

 

And Choros waited.  If they died, he need not take more action.  If they lived, Choros' would make sure the user of this 'black magic' would be cleansed.

[Yui]

---

As Mango continued on through the fog of the valley, she checked behind any plant, rock, or other obstacle she could find. Her opponent had to be somewhere, right? Can't exactly be nowhere, after all. The only problem was that she had no idea where he was. There was, however, one upside to her state while she was here. Mango had heard from regular people how annoying mosquitoes were. Either they weren't bothering Mango at all, or they flew off and/or died before they could get through her sludge and to her actual scaley skin. It was a small positive, but it was something. She at least didn't have to worry about warding off mosquitoes and searching for her opponent.

 

And then, further into the battlefield, a light appeared. Mango wasn't sure of the source, but she was sure of two things. Either her opponent - the boy - was the source of it, or he'd investigate it the same as Mango was planning to. There was no bad scenario that involved going to the light. Even if it was some big scary monster, Mango could fend for herself. After all, she'd made it this far. Not just in the tournament either, but in proving she was a successful bioweapon, not that the latter was an immense source of pride to her or anything. Whatever it was, Mango could fight it off, if it was even a monster of some sort.

 

And so, Mango turned and started toward the light. She walked and walked, and then it came into view against the fog of the battlefield. A grand pagoda, old and lit by a whole bunch of torches. This was the source of the light, and Mango couldn't help but marvel at the architecture for a bit. This was her first time seeing a pagoda. I hope it's not my last either, Mango thought to herself, carefully sliding the door open with the palms of her hands and stepping inside. If she didn't find the boy in here, he'd find her. Either way, Mango planned on leaving this place with two living contestants and a victory under her belt.

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Bethany paused as she heard the clanging noises of something hitting something else several levels above her. Either this place had some serious rodent problems or the Lace girl was causing some kind of ruckus up there. Well, she supposed she had to investigate didn't she? Though she would wait a few minutes, give anything else that might react to the noise a chance to make a move, then...

 

....

 

"What the heck did that girl break?"

 

She could feel the magic, it was...much more intense than anything she had felt before. It felt wrong, as well, even more unnatural than the other magic she had encountered. And it seemed to be destroying the very building Bethany was inside of. She was certain it wouldn't be so easy as to leave through the front door. But then what was she going to do?

 

She saw the cultist run past her, and it almost amused her to note that they were ignoring the girl who had randomly dropped in on them, but she paid them no mind given that they were just trying to survive.

It would be smart to wait here. The room she was in was intact and it seemed things were converging on this floor. Lace would have to come down and, when she did, she'd be in a rush just not to be crushed. Not on the lookout for Bethany.

....But that wasn't what felt right to Bethany. She had to, first and foremost, make sure to survive this. And fighting the girl when the building was like this could easily result in one of their deaths.

 

And so, instead, Bethany tried to get a feel for the magic. Tried to sense, either magically or just with her natural senses, where the building was converging on. There had to be some safe place to go and, once she had an idea, she'd head in that direction.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

As Louis trudged on through the thick fog, he started to see the faint glow off in the distance.  As the light grew brighter, and more intense, Louis had to squint just to see.  Was that thing he was fighting capable of bio-luminescence?  Whatever it was, it was a rather good way of claiming his attention...although if there was one thing he hated more than being bored, it was light.  It felt like the light was capable of burning his fair skin.  

 

"What are you waiting for?  Go towaaaaaards the liiiiiiiiiight!"  Basabth used a spooky tone for the latter sentence.  Louis shook his head as the shadow snickered in his own little realm.  

 

"Yeah yeah...do you think it sees the light?"  

 

"What do you mean, Lou?"  Basabth asked with a confused tone.

 

"Like...that thing...do you think it will see anything before it dies?  I'm curious."  Louis walked up to a strange Japanese temple.  It had been a while since he'd seen one of such stature, and imposition.  It was almost intimidating.  "Well this isn't foreboding in the slightest."  Louis slid the door open, and entered the pagoda.  On the other side, he noticed the monster.  They must have been led here by the same source.  He checked off bio-luminescence as a non-factor in this fight.  He stared at her....keeping this facade proper would be hard, seeing as how looking at the thing made his stomach twist and turn.

 

"Yo!"  He said raising a hand.  However, slowly behind him, his shadow moved on its own, slinking in the dark reaches of the pagoda.  It slithered it's way menacingly towards the thing opposite of him, and started to wrap itself around one of the many pillars within the room.  

[Dad]

The Administrator

 

The Jack holograms replied to their original with four tethers of their own, using two to maneuver themselves into better positioning, and the other two to pull themselves in a wide arc towards Jack.  The Jack holograms whipped around, now circling behind Jack, and preparing two double-dose shots for their original.  The Jack hologram most left of Jack fired their shots first, aiming for center mass.  The other Jack hologram held their shots and waited for Jack to make a move.  At this speed, it would be much harder for their original to dodge four arrows.  Or, so the Administrator assumed.

 

Across the facility, the Administrator flicked a switch, and rotated four dials.  Below, along the outer walls of the Network, four turrets sprang to life, their mechanical heads rotating on a dime, and honing in on Angelica.  She could hear a soft mechanical whir stir up in synchronization between the four turrets; then, after a short delay, a barrage of red-hot lasers began to rain down from above her.  Angelica had a split second decision to make.  Be shredded to death by the laser turrets, or duck inside the Network's nearby cooling tunnels.  Whichever decision she made, it would be painful either way.

 

---

 

Sahill Cathedral

 

Bethany would find her hiding space becoming rather uncomfortable, as a cold chill ran down her spine.  She sneezed, only to immediately be offered a tissue by a molding hand from behind her.  "Thank y--ACK!" she screeched, leaping outwards.  It seemed the room she was in was. . . alive.  The very walls were apart of something, and the cathedral's magic appeared to react to her presence.  The molding hand withdrew into darkness, as a more enormous hand of equally moldy proportions emerged from the same location.  It was about ten times as large as the previous hand, and it was covered in pustules and flaking grey skin.  What it was attached to was the problem.

 

The wall nearest to Bethany began to tremble, and move in a way that a wall shouldn't.  It was creepy, folding and contorting like a crude rag doll.  The walls bent into a unique shape, forming a ten foot tall husk of a monster, who's body was made up of thousands upon thousands of corpses.  It had two short but sharp black stone horns at the tip of its mishapen 'skull'.  It's arms were rather short for such an enormous thing, but each one had two black stone pincers on either hand.  It's legs were bulky and sturdy, suggesting it had great crushing power, but moved slowly.  The many eyes among the creature's body darted in different directions, all over, silently buzzing around like an angry mob.  Slowly, they all stopped, focusing on Bethany.  It growled softly, raising its two pincered claws, and prepared to slice the girl into ribbons.

 

Nearby, Lace was having her own troubles.  The cultists slowly stopped running, their fear of the collapsing Cathedral above waning as they noticed her.  Ten of them, clad in black robes with their faces hidden beneath, wielding rusty daggers, and some of them, unique fire magic.  

 

"An intruder?"

 

"In this place?"

 

"Surely, a mistake."

 

"One we take--"

 

"Very seriously."

 

"And we--"

 

"Of the Three Pronged Order--"

 

"--will show you to the border."

 

"The end of your world."

 

"The beginning of Lady Merl's."

 

Their speech was oddly patterned, as if someone or something was speaking for them.  But whatever their problem, clearly they did not want Lace to be present.  Having surrounded her very suddenly, they went on the attack, three dagger wielding cultist psychos charging at Lace, as the other's waited for their turn.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Ah, another underestimation."

 

As her flying bot continued to monitor Jack while the ground-bound dog continued to map the Network, it came to Angelica's attention that several constructs had started moving not too far away from her. It was hard for her to see what was actually being aimed, but remembering what had been mentioned about the place, it probably would be more turrets. Of course, it was something that Angelica couldn't take lightly. She was still recovering after the last one tore her apart, and it seemed that there were more turrets this time, listening to the vibrations sent through the metal. They're too far for her to take over, and she didn't want to take the risk of shooting them off and braving a few shots. Angelica looked around to find an opening, and around 60 feet from her, she noticed an entrance to what seemed to be the cooling system of the complex. As the turrets started firing, Angelica activated her boosters to rush west. She managed to reach the tunnel with only suffering a few deep grazes with the laser that could be easily restored.

 

Tunnels like this would be connected to a lot of places, so the first thing she did was to make another two dog drones and released them into the tunnels. While they carry the usual live feed system she needed to map out the place, she also put a self-destruct mechanism on them since she wasn't taking the risk of Jack's bots to enter the tunnel and possibly taking them over too. Meanwhile, on the surface the remaining dogbot had mapped a big chunk of the primary areas, and now Angelica ordered it to start checking on more specific rooms, while her flying bot focused on Jack still, as the other Jacks copied what she did and used their tethers too.

 

---

[Tesability Black]

~Rawal's POV~

When the illusion dissipated upon being slashed through, Rawal became slightly disoriented at the sudden shift in point of view, having to hold his stomach with one hand for a moment. "...glad I did not have to truly kneel in front of him, no Shaper kneels for another."

At this point did he look towards Talis-Eye from under the illusion, frowning upon seeing their concerned look. "What's this about 'black magic'," they verbally asked of Rawal, causing him to gain a look of confusion as he leaned away from the false Beholder.

"Black magic? What? Magic does not have colors associated with them, they are linked with their purpose instead!"

Then both jumped in their own ways, the illusion temporarily shattered around them then immediately reforged as a meteor crashed near them. Thankfully, it was a smaller one, but it already had Rawal give the creations underground the command to dig out a tunnel to safely. The pair moved instantly to a different area, making sure not to get hit by any of them. Talis-Eye, while unable to stop the heavier meteors, was at least able to redirect their paths enough to avoid them. Once in a relatively-hidden from view spot, the two Artilas from earlier poked their heads out of the ground and Rawal dove underneath the ground.

Talis-Eye stayed above to maintain visuals. "That...did not go over well," Rawal muttered to himself. "...selfish b*!tch is just like him..."

~Talis-Eye's POV~

While being as quiet as possible about it, Talis-Eye still found themselves breathing heavily while keeping from being hit by the meteors and also keeping the meteors from getting to close to clip into the invisibility illusion to also become momentarily cloaked before hitting the ground. They were actively making sure that Rawal below would not be at any point where the heavier meteors would hit to avoid getting buried underground, though the ground could shield natively against the smaller ones.

"Well, then. This looks like things are going to become interesting really quickly. Too bad I have to keep that fragile human alive..."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"Jesus, Romero called, he wants his wet dream back." Bethany muttered, and, right away, hoped her kids didn't hear that and planned on asking her what it was later.

But seriously, this thing was ridiculous. And nasty. It smelled terribly, and Bethany had smelled some bad smells in her time, so much that, even in this fairly large room, she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

 

But clearly Mr. Grabby Hands over there would follow her. It, for whatever reason, didn't like that Bethany was here and she was pretty sure it wasn't the type to talk it out.

She couldn't punch this thing, clearly, but...She didn't want to use her magic. Sure, this thing was not a person. But, she had to keep the magic to a minimum. She didn't know what would happen once she let it out even once. Her gun might do something, but, it would probably draw even more enemies down on her.

So she only had one option for now, run, and lead this thing into some sort of trap, or maybe lead it to Lace and let her deal with it.

 

Bethany eyed the moldy rug that was in the middle of the room, where the floor was sunk in a couple feet, curiously. Why was the room set up like that? There had to be some reason for it. She debated trying to check it out, but, that would have to wait until the thing in the room was gone.

 

She dove to the side as the creature tried to catch her between its pincers. "Seems like I'm in a bit of a pinch." She said. Then, pushing off against the ground, ran towards the bookshelf on the side of the room.

Sure enough the undead followed her, and she moved around to the side of the bookshelf as it approached. With a grunt she grabbed and pushed on the bookshelf and let it crash against the undead. As soon as it hit she took off towards the stairs, hoping she'd see something on the way she could use against this thing.

Looking around, Bethany scooped up the hardest thing she could see that she could throw if needed.

[Hälō]

Lace grunted in annoyance as three of the cultist charged back up towards her as she attempted distance herself from the crumbling upper floor. Luckily it seemed that this floor was secure for the time being...

 

Ducking under a swipe from the first of the trio, she quickly swung her fist into the center of his chest, sending the man rolling down the stairs and into one of others that had chosen to hang back. "They're just human..." She noted as she smacked the second of the cultists to the side with a backhanded strike, before promptly kicking him over the railing to fall victim of the fifty foot drop.

 

Before she knew it, two more cloaked men had joined the brawl from either end of the staircase as the remaining two figures on both sides began chanting in preparation for some kind of spell. Grabbing the last man that remained from the first group, she pulled him in close just before one of his allies could plunge their dagger into her chest; causing him to take the hit for her. Lace's human shield screamed in agony, but was soon silenced when the girl drew her broadsword and cleaved through both men in a wide slash.

 

Swiping Beowulf to the side to clean its blade, she placed her hand on her straight sword before spinning around. "Magnum Locust!" She called as she drew her blade and slashed the space in front of her. The crescent of energy was hastily dodged by the cultist nearest to her flank, but consequently free to slice into the two men on the stairs above him. With their lower bodies now severed from their midsection, the pair groaned in pain as they went into shock on the cold stone stairs.

 

"And then there was three!" Lace's tiny voice called down towards the three remaining cultist as she returned both blades to their scabbards. Her taunt was answered by two large fireballs that were set loose from under the robes of the men who had been chanting. The fireballs flew true, but when they met their target her image seemed to flicker before vanishing...

 

Before the cultists could process what had happened, their attention was stolen by a cry from the man in front of them. Confused, they watched as his corps fell to the feet of Lace, who was now standing a mere two steps ahead of them with her straight sword partially drawn. Panicking, one of the two remaining men reached for something in his robes, but was promptly cut down in a flash of steel.

 

With no intention of giving her final enemy a chance to react, Lace sent the man tumbling down the remaining stairs with a quick roundhouse kick. He landed with a crash, and as the man groaned from the pain of several broken bones he shakily reached for his a dagger, only to have his hand impaled by Lace's straight sword.

 

"You're going to tell me exactly what's happening, and who this Lady Merl is..." Lace's tone was ice cold as she addressed the cultist. This was her chance to get some information...

 

He struggled with his hand beneath the blade, trying to bare the pain. "Lady Merl. . . Lady Merl. The end of your little world," The cultist cackled, snarkily, ignoring the question.

 

"Opps, I forgot to say please..." Lace growled before twisting the blade and reaching down to rip off his hood. Though interrogation wasn't her favorite thing in the world to do, she had enough training to be good at it.

 

The cultist wailed in pain, his face exposed. The man's skin was grey, and his eyes sunken and dead. This man was nearly a corpse. His flesh was dry and tight on his face, and he looked to be lacking blood. The wound in his hand barely trickled, but he felt every inch of the sword in his hand.

 

 

Still trying to play it tough, he raised his bald head to Lace. "Please, oh please, won't you spare this girl? Until the world. Lady Merl, lady Merl! She'll slither and dance on your graves, divine. For the ritual will be complete, just in time."

 

Laced sighed. It was always a pain dealing these religious nuts. "Well you won't be there to see it if you don't start talking..." As she spoke the girl grabbed the back of his head and shifted so that she was sitting on his back. "I won't kill you. You'd probably want me to do that..." She continued by slamming his face down into the floor. "But I can break every bone I can thinking of, then leave you here to rot alone for a few hours. Sound fun?"

 

 

With broken tooth and bleeding sores, he wheezed a bit more. Managing a stifled, forced laugh with his face pressed to stone, the last remaining Cultist's eyes darted rapidly around, as if he were looking for something.

 

No. Looking at something. "If it's death you seek, there's plenty more. Mi'Lady's chambers on the final floor. Where blood is spilled and magic grows. What rises from the darkness, only Lady Merl knows!"

 

Lace felt the man tremble beneath her grip, and suddenly, his legs began to shake. First his left, and then his right. She could hear the bones snapping in them. Was he breaking his own legs? How?

 

"A SECRET I HOLD! A SECRET I'VE TOLD! A SECRET BOUND TO LADY MERL, WOE! SUFFERING HER CALL! BECKONING HER CRY! BETRAY HER SECRET, AND I MUST DIE!"

 

His legs began to contort and twist as if he were being folded into a pretzel. His bones snapped and protruded from his body. The Cultist screamed in agony, as his arms began to do the same.

 

"LADY MERL AWAKES! LADY MERL AWAKES! TAKING ON A FORM ONLY SHE CAN TAKE! HER POWER IS GREAT! HER WILL BE DONE! FOR THREE HEADS ARE ALWAYS BETTER THAN ONE!"

 

His neck snapped, and the Cultist immediately stopped breathing, and Lace backed away.His body continued to contort, twisting itself into a ball, until it was nothing more than a heaping mess of bone, flesh, and blood. Something did this to him.

 

"Nice..." Lace sighed at the spectacle. "That's gonna haunt my nightmares for a while." She had seen some pretty nasty stuff in her past lives but that was something that would stick with her.

 

"Alrighty," Cleaning the blood from her blade she returned it to it's scabbard. "I guess I'm heading to the final floor then, huh?" The girl sighed once again before moving towards the next set of stairs.

[VCR_CAT]

Jack

 

The holograms dodged out of the way of Jack's tethers, each latching onto the ground that was once behind them. Jack didn't have much time to think, but had her plan formed out already. Reeling the tethers in, Jack shot past the holograms as they jumped to flank her. Holographic arrows peppered the ground behind her as Jack propelled herself off the edge of the building. Whoever ran this place was watching her, but obviously only knew as much of her suit's capabilities as she let them see. Then she would need to let them only see so much.

 

Jack mid-fall, Jack fired out her tethers onto another building, use the winch to real herself onto the wall's surface. The Jack clones were going to be in hot pursuit and she was going to need to get out of there. Jack quickly scanned what information she had mapped of the facility so far, and moved in the direction that she could here the defensive turrets firing. If the action was this way, then that's where her opponent was.

 

Jack, however, received another ping from Hack and Slash; their cams coming up on the display to reveal another drone, this one now flying, just over her position. It was still a ways off from them, but Jack gave the confirmation for one of her drones to attack this one. Flying towards it, Hack would use its single-burst zap on it, so as to not put itself on a significant down-time to charge another. Meanwhile, Slash caught up with Jack as she maneuvered her way from wall to wall, doing her best to get away from the holograms.

[Dad]

Sahill Cathedral

 

The Grove stalked Bethany, even as she threw large stones, books, and candlesticks at it to no effect.  It only became more enraged as she pelted the creature with tiny, irrelevant objects.  It crossed the cursed library, stepping into the sunken floor, causing a large rumble to occur, with a crack beneath its feet.  The center of the room had become unstable.  How unfortunate for them both.  Bethany had managed to lure the Grove out of its hole, however, its great mass was too much for the library to sustain itself.  The Grove surprised Bethany, managing to actually lift off of its giant legs and leap forwards at her.

 

She scrambled to get away, and nearly did as the Grove's pincers missed her flesh, but sank and locked into her clothes.  As the Grove fell, the library floor collapsed under it, and it was pulled downwards through the now gaping hole in the library floor.  With Bethany locked in its pincers, she too was pulled under, down four floors of rubble.  They rolled, tumbled, and crashed through the collapsed floors of the cathedral, before crushing the fifth floor staircase, and landing at the feet of Lace, who had only just stopped to check her surroundings.

 

Fortunately for Bethany, the soft, moldy flesh of the Grove stopped her from landing and harming herself.  Unfortunately, her clothes were torn to shreds, and she was now face to face with two enemies.  A confused Lace, and a now standing up, and very, very unhappy Hollow Grove.

 

It snapped its pincers threateningly, as it lurked towards Bethany and Lace.

 

---

 

A.W. Network

 

The Administrator tightened a fist, both annoyed and impressed by Jack's agility and persistence.  It reached over to its right, and turned a dial, then flicked a series of blue switches, before flipping a bright yellow one.  The holograms following Jack stopped, vanishing completely.  There was a loud hum in the entirety of the Network, and both Jack and Angelica could hear it.  

 

Where Angelica stood in the cooling tunnels, she felt a rumbling.  The tunnels were moving, and she was moving with them.  But it wasn't just the cooling tunnels that were moving.  The entirety of the network was now shifting, from wall to wall, reshaping itself like a giant puzzle block.  Even the wiring, turrets, and missile bay were shifted as the Network changed.  

 

The next wall that Jack touched down on began to  tremble as she touched it.  It shook, and rumbled, before loosening and turning.  Like the rest of the Network, even the outside was changing.  Every piece of the network had moved, except for one:  the control room.  Remaining dead center, the Administrator watched patiently from inside as a new Network Formation formed around Jack and Angelica.  Angelica's previous entry through the cooling tunnels was now sealed, and the cooling tunnels had but a single exit into a pool of murky green water in a large metal containment area, thirty feet below her.  The water was about six feet deep, and standing in the waters were six scaly humanoid reptilian like creatures who eyed her curiously from below.

 

They tilted their heads, their eyes darting back and forth as they observed her.  Each of them was a six foot tall, tail-less, green scaled humanoid whose hide was as tough as steel, and whose strength matched one hundred men.  By no means were they invincible.  However, they could quickly overwhelm their target, were they hungry enough.  And it just so happens, that these 'experiments' had not been fed.

 

As for Jack, she quickly found herself inside the complex, against her will.  The structure had changed so rapidly and so much, that walls had surrounded jack on all sides, creating a lengthy but narrow column around her.  There was enough room for her to possibly shimmy up the walls because they were so close together now.  However, the only way back out was through a small port fit only enough for a small box shaped package.  There was a rectangular shaped opening directly in front of her, which opened up into the insides of the Network, some hundred feet above Angelica now thanks to the Network Shift.  And Jack's path in front of her presented a four way intersection, with a large concrete and steel pillar in the center of it.

 

From each direction, should she stand in the center, she would be able to hear a different noise.  From the West, a soft blowing of wind.  From the South, a busy humming.  From the East, a gurgling.  And from the north, from where she was standing now, there was a feint clicking in four second intervals.  Which direction she chose was irrelevant, to the Administrator.  She would soon be dead, regardless.

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Well...that sucked. She didn't think that thing would be so...agile. "Totally unfair, tanks are supposed to be slow, friggin cheater." She muttered. Landing on the thing was...less than pleasant. She didn't need to know how squishy corpses were, she already had figured they would be, the first hand experience was totally unnecessary.

 

As she stood she noticed two things. The first was that Lace was right there. "Yo, thought I'd drop by, how's it going?" she said as calmly as she could manage.

This calm was almost shattered when she realized the undead pervert had torn much of her clothing. Thankfully her...private bits were covered but it still showed a lot more skin than she was comfortable with.

 

Shivering, as the cold increased, due to lack of cover, she got up and ready as the undead thing did as well. She noticed it looked upset. "Oh, no. Oh no no no...YOU don't get to be upset. YOU didn't just almost give thousands of people an impromptu peep show. YOU don't have to explain to the kids that might be watching about this." She glanced over at Lace. "Hey, we're fighting, yada yada. But this thing needs to go down, so let's just ignore that for a while. Hopefully you can do some damage cause I doubt I can punch this thing's lights out."

 

She then ran towards the creature, diving under its legs as she got closer, hoping to keep it focused on her to give Lace a chance to attack it.

[Admiral_Stalfos19]

 
"By decree, I--Choros, the angel of the cosmos--break this holy seal. May death wash their sins away."

 

So it was decided, then. Choros would be fighting against both Kai and Rawal. It would've been too easy to have it any other way now, wouldn't it? To have the opponent surrender like he was supposed to. To maintain ties between brother and sister. And above all, to earn the guaranteed spot as a quarter-finalist. Now Kai was gonna have to establish all that "the hard way", and if that meant trying to procure an alliance with her half-brother again so they could take down Rawal, then so be it. And if all attempts of establishing said alliance would fail, then she'd have to do about the wrongest thing known to man; attacking a holy being.

 

Although if the being in question didn't happen to be Choros, then Kai would have no qualms in the slightest. And we know this 'cause we all know Kai's a selfish jabroni.

 

'...

 

...the funk you say?'

 

And then the meteors fell! Kai could've sworn she was out of range from all the spells Choros could cast, but obviously she'd forgotten the one that allowed him to rain meteors down from the heavens  and lay waste to the battlefield. In any case, Kai sprouted her ethereal wings once again, and bobbed and weaved through the ones that were coming straight for her. Fortunately for her, she got through without injury. As she rose above the the last meteor, Kai scanned the surroundings below, hoping one of them had stricken Rawal. It was clear that wasn't the case, since Kai would otherwise hear a scream of pain by now.

 

"Aaaaaannnnnnnnnd you whiffed," Kai said in a disappointed tone, shaking her head as well, "Tsk tsk tsk. Maybe try firing that beam that blows holes in the ground."

[Hälō]

"..." 

 

"Yo, thought I'd drop by, how's it going?"

 

"Hey, looks like you've been busy..." Lace peered down at Bethany with her usual bland expression as if it weren't even a surprise that the other girl had crashed through the ceiling, half naked, and in the company of a hulking undead monster.   

 

Should she just knock her out now? Lace considered striking at Bethany whilst she was vulnerable, but decided against in favor of getting to actually have a good fight. Bethany was one of the strongest beings on the planet, right? She had be a hell of an opponent...

 

"Hey, we're fighting, yada yada. But this thing needs to go down, so let's just ignore that for a while. Hopefully you can do some damage cause I doubt I can punch this thing's lights out." 

 

"Oh, so he's not a friend of yours?" Shifting her gaze away from her official opponent, Lace sized up the angry looking creature that had fallen with Bethany. In that instant, Bethany rushed forward and under the beast's legs to presumably draw it's a attention. Taking advantage of the opening, Lace used her speed to dash towards the nearest wall.

 

Briefly running up the vertical surface, she lunched herself up towards the creature's head and reached back to draw Beowulf with both hands. "Magnum Locust!" With a roar she swung her blade downwards, releasing a large shockwave of crushing concussive force. 

[(GigaDrillBreaker)]

The Yin and Yang intruded upon the Taijitu.

 

The Jiangshi could feel hostility within them. They were intruding upon his place of balance for their own conflict. Curious. Even so, the Yang was wrought with apprehension, uncertainty. She did not fear her enemy, instead seeming to fear herself, what she may do on accident. Curious indeed. The Yin, on the other hand, could be seen as quite the opposite. Though the Jiangshi could not hear the words spoken from his perch several floors above, he could feel the aura the Yin was putting forth. A mask of positivity, laced with poison.

 

He simply seeped with this darkness. Thousands of thoughts of anguish and introspection wishing to escape. And escape they did. Despite the forthcoming attitude the Yin brought with him, the Jiangshi could feel the young man manipulating his Qi very delicately, wrapping around the inner pillars in what he could only assume to be an attempt at a sneak attack. It was clever. In a physical altercation, the Yin was quite likely at a massive disadvantage. By aiming for the first strike, and aiming to kill, he could avoid the fight completely.

 

Unfortunately, the Yin did not fully realize the gravity of his actions, or the significance of where he stood.

 

This was sacred ground. The Yin carelessly spilled his darkness upon the carefully-curated twilight. 

 

He has tainted it.

 

Pressing lightly on a raised floorboard with a single finger, the Jiangshi initiated a chain reaction within the pagoda. It was an old building, and its original denizen was a paranoid man, who had ordered the creation of a very specific kill device for those who thought to stand before him. Of course, for once as immortal and durable as the Jiangshi, the mechanism had its own purpose.

 

After several agonizing moments of creaking of old wood and clanking of old gears, the floor opened up beneath the Jiangshi, with a similar trapdoor revealing itself on each floor. The Jianshi plummeted to the ground floor, eager to meet his new guests, Yin and Yang. What was this feeling? Excitement? No, that wasn't quite it... Anticipation?

 

As his falling body breach the last ceiling, himself now in full view of the pair, he realized what he felt.

 

Hunger. 

 

Landing with a grace unbefitting of his figure, the Jiangshi only contacted the floor with the ball of his left foot, making no sound as the many sashes he wore fell with gravity, seemingly slowed by an invisible force. For a moment, he remained completely motionless there, before turning his gaze directly toward the Yin. Though his face was concealed by the talisman, the entire weight of his qi pressed on the young man. "I cannot have you tainting the Taijitu." Without moving the rest of his body an inch, the Jiangshi extended his right leg, moving it an an impossible angle, before it seemed to tear itself apart, held together only by sinews. His foot collided with the pillar Yin's shadow was trying to hide behind, launching fragments through the outside wall.

 

As the torches went dark one by one, a few faint beams of moonlight shone through the newly created gap in the wall, illuminating the two combatants, as well as the Jiangshi. "This is a place of balance. A balance neither of you will be able to attain. Leave this valley, or I will be forced to cleanse it of your corruptions."

[Dad]

Sahill Cathedral

 

The Grove watched Bethany carefully, as she charged dangerously forwards, and slid between its large legs and beneath it.  It swiped at her with both pincer arms, missing as she slid past the Grove.  Raising its heavy body upwards, the Grove was greeted with a powerful concussive blow to its soft, squishy back and weak point.  The Grove toppled forwards, crashing face first into the stone flooring of the Cathedral and falling into chunks of moldy, mixed flesh.  The upper half of the Grove had broken into four chunks, each of them slowly crawling around, leaving behind a gooey grey slime, and growing a single arm as they attempted to reattach to one another.  The lower half of the Grove stumbled around slowly, aimlessly, waiting to be killed.

 

The next strike on the Grove would put it out of its misery.

 

---

 

The Fallen Church of Jubilee

 

His attack had not been fruitful.  In fact, it had served to do more than scare Kai and her opponent, who's name Choros still did not know.  But having broken a holy seal, he had no choice in the matter of combat any more.  As he stood up straight, Kai taunted her older brother.

 

"Tsk tsk tsk. Maybe try firing that beam that blows holes in the ground."

 

Choros tilted his head.  "Are you asking me to destroy the holy ground?" he questioned, legitimately confused.  However, with the seal broken, the ground was vulnerable to magic and physical attack.  In fact, some of Choros' meteors had already scarred the land.  He would simply have to restore it later.  "Perhaps you are correct, sister.  I should cleanse the land in holy flame.  And as your opponent burns, I will render you unconscious in the skies.  But first, I will teach you more of your angelic lineage."

 

Choros sprinted over to one of Jubilee's remaining, three marble pillars, and ripped it from the concrete in which it stood.  He swung it wide, aiming for Kai, and unknowingly destroying Talis-Eye's hiding place, barely missing its head.

[Mr. Hyde]

 

There was no answer from across that pagoda.  It must've been awkward having the opponent you're supposed to dismember try to be all casual.  It was part of the plan anyway...catch them off guard, seem innocent, and when their guard is dropped, gut them!  A better opponent would see through the guise immediately, or would at least have put up some kind of defense.  Hell, a good opponent would have already attacked him by now.  This...thing...was not a good opponent.  There was no use making this go on longer than it had to.  It was time to put this piece of trash out of it's misery.

 

"What a drag..." Louis sighed, as he placed a hand over his shoulder.  As his shadow began to emerge from the invisible side of the pillar, ready to strike, something dropped to the bottom floor with them.  It was an unsightly thing...but sadly it wasn't the most unsightly thing in the room.  A large paper talisman hid the face of the new arrival.  

 

"I cannot have you tainting the Taijitu."  It finally spoke.  As if almost detaching it's own leg, it hurled it's leg towards a specific pillar, launching multiple fragments into Louis' shadow.  A stinging sensation could be felt coursing through his chest.  This monster had...injured him?  

 

"Louis!  This thing knows where your shadow is!  That thing knows where I am!!!  That's no good!" a voice rang in his head.

 

"I get that genius..." Louis barked in response.  The situation had become more dire.  Although whatever this thing was had intruded on a one on one fight, it already knew what Louis was up to, and possibly, what he was capable of.  On the other hand, Louis had no idea what to expect from this thing.  A mental note was taken that it's body could detach and retract body parts in an instant...an ability almost identical to his own.  Perhaps Louis could pull this one out from under the thing after all.  Soon, the torches went out one by one, removing many a light source from the battlefield.  However, in it's stead, moonlight pierced the roof of the pagoda, sending stray shadows in every which way.  

 

This is a place of balance. A balance neither of you will be able to attain. Leave this valley, or I will be forced to cleanse it of your corruptions."

 

"Balance huh?  Don't make me laugh."  Louis' shadow crept up on the shrapnel of the pillar that had punctured his shadow prior.  "You created one big ol' hole in the side of this pillar....doesn't that mean you have to put one in the other as well?"  His shadow plucked the pieces of the wooden shreds from the ground, and took aim at both the creature, and the pile of sludge.  "For like...balance and all?"  After his statement concluded, in an instant, Louis let his shadow whip the shards of wood at a breakneck speed, towards both opponents.  

[Yui]

---

"Yo!"

 

Mango immediately turned to face the source of the voice. Her opponent! What a happy coincidence. Turned out her gut was right after all. Hi there, she mentally smiled, raising a hand in return. Let's try to end this fight quickly and both go home alive, okay? Mango took a deep breath. This was far from her first real combat situation, but each one made her nervous every time. Training. Just training. Right, this is all just training so I can show everyone back at the lab what XRT-41-E is made of. Mango was about to start running toward her opponent, ready to begin the battle, but no sooner than she took her first step forward, the creaking of wood and clanking of gears turned her attention to the ceiling. A trapdoor had opened! And from it descended...

 

"I cannot have you tainting the Taijitu."

 

A resident of the pagoda? People still lived in these? Mango watched apprehensively as the mystery man raised his leg and-Since when can legs do that!? Mango visibly flinched as the man's leg stretched and tore its way to the pillar, staring wide-eyed at the guy who did it, glancing back and forth between the man and the pillar he'd just kicked from way too far away. That just happened. Mango had seen some sheet growing up in a genetic lab geared toward bioweapons, but never had she seen somebody just rip their leg apart like that. This guy's creepy.

 

"This is a place of balance. A balance neither of you will be able to attain. Leave this valley, or I will be forced to cleanse it of your corruptions."

 

"Balance huh?  Don't make me laugh. You created one big ol' hole in the side of this pillar....doesn't that mean you have to put one in the other as well? For like...balance and all?"

 

From the corner of her eye, Mango saw some bits of wood being thrown at her. She didn't take time to count how many were being thrown at her, but there was enough of them to count on her fingers. Which meant...enough to cut them all. Mango swung her bladed fingers nimbly and in angles human fingers would probably be uncomfortable with, splitting and stopping all but one shard of wood she'd only clipped the point off of before it got stuck in the layer of sludge around her head. As much as she would have loved to just run in toward her enemy and end the fight quickly as per her wishes, there were bigger problems. Like the leg-tearing man.

 

"I-I didn't mean to mess with any balance or anything," Mango nervously started. "I probably want to leave more than you want me to, but I'm stuck here until one of us wins a fight and I'd really like us both to go home alive so...no hard feelings? Sir?" Mango kept her eyes on the boy, however. Unexpected guests or not, he was still her opponent. Taking her eyes off him was a bad move.

---

[Hälō]

"Well that was anticlimactic..." Lace sighed as she gracefully landed on the slimy stone floor in a crouching position. Watching from her peripheral as the four upper pieces of the creature began crawling towards each other, she lazily swung her broadsword upwards towards chunks of flesh just as they were about to meet; sending a smaller shockwave across the ground that tore the mounds of meet to shreds.

 

Bringing herself up to her feet, Lace set her sights on the half naked Bethany. Damn it, she had shown the other girl one of the forms of Magnum Locust...

 

"Here," Lace's sighed slightly before quickly removing her checkered green sweater vest with her free hand. Even if she was her opponent, there was now need for Bethany to have to be exposed in front of the entire world. "Cover up, this is supposed to be a family show." Lace joked dryly whilst tossing the sweater towards Bethany.

 

Just then, the lower half of the undead creature stumbled into range. In a sudden flash of movement, Lace sliced at the creature's right leg. Cleaving it cleanly off and causing the separated lower body to immediately fall on its side. Never taking her eyes of Bethany, Lace took a step forward and drove the tip of Beowulf into the creature's lower back, causing it to halt it's squirming.

 

"Look, we can fight now if you want..." With the threat now completely negated, Lace yanked her blade free from the pile of flesh and rested it on her should as she addressed her opponent. "But then I'd have to try and kill you so that we don't waste anymore time." She spoke in her usual melancholic expression as her lavender gaze peered into Bethany's eyes. "The cultist here have woken up something evil down bellow, and apparently it's the cast the world into eternal darkness kind of thing..." She paused for a second, unsure if she was wasting her time. "I'm not gonna let that happen. So you have two options: We fight now and end this quickly, or you come down there with me and help kill whatever bad mojo they've cooked up."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

Well this was a barrel of bad if Bethany had ever seen one. She watched as Lace RAN ON THE WALL and BLEW UP THE MONSTER WITH HER SWORD.

 

While Bethany tired to keep her cool, that scene, straight from an action movie, almost broke her will to fight. How was she going to compete with that? She could catch the blade but that thing that came after it? She doubted her gloves, special as they were, could stand up to that much force.

It seemed, though, that the undead creature couldn't either. As it basically blew apart at the attack.

 

She knew she should do something to help finish it off, but, what could she do, step on it?

 

While she debated how difficult it would be to get corpse gunk off her boots, something she never thought she'd have to think, Lace attacked with yet another shockwave. Bethany noticed, this time, that there was a bit of a delay, a tell, when one of those was coming out...She might be able to use that later.

 

"Cover up, this is supposed to be a family show."

 

Bethany barely caught the vest. She didn't think it'd quite fit but she still slide it on. "Humor. Nice. Can't have a super power fight without one-liners right?" She grinned, trying to come off as confident. She succeeded but couldn't help but feel she looked so fake and the grin slipped away as Lace continued to talk.

 

"Look, we can fight now if you want...But then I'd have to try and kill you so that we don't waste anymore time. The cultist here have woken up something evil down bellow, and apparently it's the cast the world into eternal darkness kind of thing..." She paused for a second, unsure if she was wasting her time. "I'm not gonna let that happen. So you have two options: We fight now and end this quickly, or you come down there with me and help kill whatever bad mojo they've cooked up."

 

Bethany shifted the weight from one foot to the other as she took in the words. "What kind of place did we get sent to?" She wondered out loud. This was seven shades of shady and none of it was very slim. Their host had to have known something about this, right? Or did he just like the look of the place and didn't bother checking to see if they were trying to summon eldritch abominations?
Either he's fishy or stupid.

"God I hope he's just stupid."

 

Bethany realized she still needed to answer. "Yeah, guess I can try this saving the world thing. Hopefully it's something I can get close to without, like, being eaten or something."
That said Bethany went to follow Lace's lead towards wherever they were going. She considered for a moment that...she could hold back, let whatever it was wound Lace, and after she'd be easier to beat.

 

....What was her problem? Bethany's face scrunched up as she tried to get the idea out of his head. She wanted to win, and not die, but that was low even for someone like her. She had to do her best, that was it, do her best do her best do her best...

...."Please don't chicken out." She thought to herself.