Fandom Soul Eater: F.A.T.E

[Azurian Dream]

???
LOCATION—Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
DATE—10/31/2067 | Monday
Interactions: Sara Merciless Medic / Adrian Sir Les Paul / Dante Pumpkid

A coliseum stage... this was an unexpected turn of events, both familiar and new at the same time. The sun brazenly lit the arid climate anew with the intensity of the determination of the fighters giving it their all on the cemented padding. Wide and vast was the grand stage, like the deserts around the Nile, there was beauty amid the sands, the flowing water unrelenting, like those giving it their all. Two in particular were more predominantly fixated on than the rest.

The wolvin Sarah's grip, and pristine control of adrenaline to get her partner on track with her like a pack leader corralling the unruly warrior while showcasing her augmented reflexes to redirect the halberd long arm advantage from Adrian's breakneck lung like a arrow loosened in prisitne fixation unwilling to give a opening... the two had evolved much from when last time seen they were analyzing each other fixted on where there best opening to strike would be.

Good, there would be no need to hold back, for the best way to apologize to warriors was through the language all warriors knew—an unrelenting clash of determination. This apology would "kill" two birds with one stone if "they" correctly understood the terminology. From above to Adrian left and Sara's right, both fighters, a golden blaring flash of light would fixate on them, aiming to temporarily debilitate their senses of sight, shining off a golden material.

The flash was quickly followed, overtaken by a shadow releasing a strong whistle from above as something heavy came down from the lunging jump, dropping into a full-on baseball slide kick as from the sandaled foot a series of curved green blades jetted out right into contact with Adrians spike with full momentum force onto the Iron Boy as he threw his kick at Sara. By proxy of theory, the kick would reverberate into Dante's Halberd, giving Sara's grip equal troubles. Adrian was potentially about to realize a fatal mistake from his decision to dig himself into the ground to pierce in a pin on his enemy with the mentality of a one-on-one... he was in a field of those who could abuse the advantage of single-minded concentrated strike.

With a full force foot slide, the attacker came into view for both combatants as a gold, green, blue, and white blur before making contact for Adrain. A semi-long white dress, black skin-tight clothes underneath, skin tanned from years in a culture under the sun mixed with strange blue blotches, eyes piercing with heavy cosmetic eyeliner, the right eye surrounded by the symbol of Ra topped with a unique cobra-like gold/blue hair ornament resting against a deep mid-length stream of hair reaching down to the owner's neck, and to bring it all together a golden glistening arm sleeve that covered the new contenders entire left arm.

An Egyptian-themed clothing style, blotchy tan/blue skin, and a scent that could only be labeled as the smell of death. Without a doubt, the woman completing the triangle of this fight's new shape was none other than the imposingly six-foot-tall greater zombie Ashi Monsera.

​

I have much time to make up for in so little a grain of sand to accomplish it in, wouldn't you agree? That message was delivered in her eyes as she could lock eyes with the view of her opponents at hand. Ashi was happy to see Adrian and Sara again, a mix of emotions and unsaid thoughts wanting to erupt. Yet at the moment, those eyes quickly mixed with another goal: to give them a new weight of intensity in the fight that was taking place. Given the circumstances, words, though, would have to wait.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Noah Wiley​

Date: October 31, 2067
Location: Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
Interactions: Gauss, Arkayis
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul Peckinou

After having quite the uneventful time between going back home from the mission and being here, Noah was not too keen on coming back for yet another tournament. He remembered the last time - what with Maria’s exploding doll - and the fact that the tournament was put on hold for some strange reason.

But, now that he was here and he was glad there were no mages, being thrown in a battle royale was kind of stressful. Sure, Gauss was a great combatant, somehow using him and Arkayis without the pyrokinetic arms. Noah would try to generate as much electricity as he could, zapping people and - occasionally when he noticed someone using their raw emotions to be better at combat - a dose of healing wavelength to calm them down and disrupt their mental momentum.

Considering the amount of people swarming Gauss though and the ‘hit three times’ rule that he swore punished Utility Meisters, Noah was almost getting exhausted just watching Gauss go at everyone. Fire was also a funny deterring ability, even if that flame was red and not its usual blue luster.

He just sighed as he continued to help Gauss keep a diligent watch on those around him, but he was on the verge of complaining. “Jeez, they must all see ya as a threat if we’re bein’ dogged on this much…” He huffed.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Raphael Valerias​

Date: October 31, 2067
Location: Death City, Nevada
Interactions: Maria
Mentions: N/A
RedArmyShogun

As the festival made its headway, Raphael was a little bummed out that he wouldn’t be able to attend the Fate bracket of the coliseum. No mages allowed, he swore that was-

No… wait, they had a very good reason why, didn’t they?

He just made his way through the marketplace, buying up treats and some alcoholic beverages while he made his way. He had successfully lost his father in the mess, so now he was on his own, enjoying the sights and everything else that came with it.

That’s when he found someone familiar manning a stall. When he got closer, he smiled delightedly to see Maria standing there, displaying her wooden crafts and plushes. But what caught his attention were the weapons and armor she had on display. He hummed, walking up to her stall with a happy smile. “Well, hello, there. My, you got quite the collection. And-...” He stared at the little plushies and cooed. “Awww they’re so cuuuute…” Even his voice had went up an octave, as if he were entertaining a baby. He picked up a plush of Death the Kidd, chuckling. “These are tooooo cuuute, I need to buy some.” He looked so happy, sporting the biggest smile on his face.

His jacket opened up, revealing a small spider who had wrapped his spindly legs around Raph’s body. The spider looked over to see Maria, and waved one of his arms. He was definitely smaller than Maria’s spider, but that was probably on purpose so Raph can carry around his special spider.

Raphael had to then clear his throat and set down the plushie. “A-anyway, how are you? How’s business?” He was trying very hard not to coo at the adorable plushies again. He... might have been a little on the tipsy side, the smell of vodka on his person not super strong but still noticeable.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: October 31, 2067 - Death Festival
Location: Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
Interactions: Adrian, Ashi, Dante
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul Azurian Dream Pumpkid

Sara's momentary panic when she felt poor Dante getting a spike through one of the holes in his halberd form was suddenly met with her instincts reacting to the foot coming towards her face. With a simple 'Sorry, stay-' in soul space, she was already crouched so she rolled back, only to suddenly see a very familiar figure in front of them, most likely taking advantage of Adrian's state.

She looked down at Dante, then back up at Adrian. Ashi did interrupt their fight, and Ashi gave quite the reminiscing look towards them both.

Sara's nose curled at the smell of rot, but she then gave a grin. "Fascinating..."

That was all she said as she grinned almost manically. Not creepy, but it did certainly look like she wasn't all there. She looked at Adrian, the grin on her face making it look like she was ready to throw down with Ashi and help Adrian get rid of her.

After all, she did interrupt their match, might as well.

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Adrian Hackney​

"The Maiden"​

Species Human
Partner None
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Death Colosseum
Mission FATE Bracket, Deathfest Tournament
Status Focused

​

Tags: Pumpkid Merciless Medic Azurian Dream

Sara was one thing. Ashi was another. In most normal circumstances, Adrian wouldn't have minded another sparring round with Ashi. This wasn't most circumstances. This was a tournament. Adrian spent time with Ashi to know a few of her tricks and traits. She was tireless. Literally. Even if he won their races or could outpace her on foot, he would eventually grow tired. Ashi never did. All she had to do was keep going. In a battle royal like this, that was a massive advantage. Even the more powerful duos he could think of, like Gauss with his partners or Nadia and Dani, would be envious of virtually infinite stamina.

Worse, Ashi was resistant to his pain wavelength. Not immune, but resistant. Combine that resistance with the fact she would only go down when overwhelmed and she was a real problem.

Those were the thoughts racing through his head when his Soul Perception told him there was an incoming zombie from behind them. He knew her Soul Signature well enough to automatically know who it was without even seeing her. This changed his game plan entirely.

She came sliding in to kick his spike. He couldn't figure out her rationale for it unless it was to free Sara and Dante. It could also be that she was being a good sport, not wanting to land a tag from a surprise attack during her debut. Either way, it didn't matter. In a way, she ruined his strategy. Not because she would pry his spike from the stone ground with her kick, but that Adrian intended on getting rid of Dante. Sort've.

Sara was either going to take that kick straight to the face or let go of Dante. She might have perhaps tried some high flying aerial maneuver to jump over him, but he was doubtful she would risk it knowing he could transform his body still. In any case, those were the three most likely outcomes he anticipated. In two of the three, Dante was still left in his possession, essentially. All Adrian intended on doing was picking him up and chucking him as far as he feasibly could. If Dante dared transform, a hit from his Pain Wavelength would educate him on why that was a poor idea. Now this wasn't necessarily to be a bad sport, it was to extend their fight. To push Sara into fighting at a greater close range. To rely on martial arts over weapons. It was to waste time. The longer Adrian stayed locked in combat with Sara, the longer he didn't look like a threat to the sharks in the arena.

Also, it would likely piss off Dante. Adrian was all about that.

Nonetheless, the introduce of Ashi completely rearranged his priorities. Ashi was a real threat. He hated to admit it, but he didn't quite consider Sara in the same tier. Not due to a difference in skill, but due to the inherent biological advantages of the Undead.

That plan to distance Dante as far from Sara was utterly destroyed by Ashi.

Instead, Adrian could only follow the momentum of the moment. His kick was followed through and it missed. Ashi kicked his spike, adding rotational force to him while air born. Not ideal, but not impossible to work with. Ashi was effectively below him and Sara was already on the rebound after Dante. A choice had to be made here. He could try to attack Ashi himself given the exposing position or he could deal with Dante.

He chose the latter, just with an adjustment to his plan. Rolling with the momentum Ashi introduced by kicking his spike, Adrian shifted into the roll and shot another spike from his hand to give him a second spot in the ground for leverage. Afterwards, he could fling Dante at Sara via the hole he had ran his spike through earlier. He had disarmed only to re-arm her a moment later. In truth, he hoped the gesture would make her a temporary ally against the girl he considered a greater threat. Not only that, he needed to reset his position; being off the ground was becoming more of a liability than anything.

Adrian didn't follow up with an attack or some extravagant greeting. He rolled out of the way, using his spikes to dampen the fall, until he could finally have his feet make contact with the ground. It lost him tempo, but it was a much needed sacrifice to gain the distance and, more importantly, set Sara up to help fight Ashi.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Sara Middleton​

Date: October 31, 2067 - Death Festival
Location: Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
Interactions: Adrian, Ashi, Dante
Mentions: N/A
Sir Les Paul Azurian Dream Pumpkid

Well, that was sweet.

She caught Dante, giving Adrian a smile before he was sent tumbling back from the momentum. He'd have to restart his motions, and Sara figured that zombies didn't have the same problem with stamina that they all had.

So, Sara, with Dante giving her some range to work with, charged at Ashi with both hands on Dante like she were holding a spear. She did a stab, only to feint and come in with a slash upwards, spinning around Dante's weapon form only half way to use his shaft as a guard, all in one motion.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
LOCATION—Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
DATE—10/31/20267​

Aware of her allies, yet unable to help in the present, Feng does not give more than a side eye, her vision remaining fixed upon Kyle. The Swordsman was a troublesome sort, but she had the upper hand for now. It was a race against time however, while her martial discipline was holding, she was racing against the clock. While it was not as simple as flipping a switch, she could bring herself out of her berserker state. She had to defeat him before that state was reached and get back to her partners to continue the fight, if that was not possible, she did have one other option as far as she saw it.

While the swordsman attempted to defend himself, Feng quickly stepped inside of his backstep. Going low as her face took on a more serious, fierce quality to it as she unleashed a series of knife hand strikes, depending on her left arm as she mixed in shallow kicks, keeping her balance centered. The attacks became mixed in with a sound that would be straight out of a Chinese Martial arts flick; "Wuuutaaaah!" As the speed and strength increased in tempo, she meant to finish him here and now and force him further and further away from his likely incoming weapon. "Ha!" With that a more brutal attack from her left foot was made, aiming a kick for Kyle's right side, roughly below the ribs as the Feng lived up to her family name of Dragon. Fierce and determined she began an offensive, retracting her leg swiftly and smoothly once it connected or not and followed with a jump and diving fist from her left arm.


Interactions/mentions: EmperorsChosen (Aki) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Breadman (Domas) Sir Les Paul (NPCs)

 

[Haze-]

Wren
(& Beelzebub)
Death City; Death Colosseum​

The gravity of the situation made the narrator go mute inside Zosar’s head. Her usual barrage of jokes that never really landed had flat out stopped, her quippy observations where nowhere to be found, all of it was replaced with just plain annoyance, flat and clear across their spiritual link. It was one thing to be competitive, another to be an asshat. She knew that— she couldn’t take a loss properly herself, and she sure as hell couldn’t take a win without bragging about it.

But she still couldn’t shake off that blood-boiling sensation she felt coursing through her veins as she watched that shit eating grin on the AW’s face. The words were getting to her— they were getting to her bad.

The woman was stabbing at all the spots were it hurt with just that one simple insult she first threw at them. Peeling off the inner scabbing in her heart and letting the insecurities bleed out of her. All her feelings of worthlessness. Along with that voice in the back of her mind telling her that she was too far behind in comparison to all her peers in the program. She really did have no 'special moves' to show. None at all. At most she could blow up her soul, or maybe throw off some madness and have her collar put her to sleep.

Wren wanted to smack that smile off her face. But she wouldn’t be allowed to dwell on the thought. More blows came, and Zosar was only being pushed back further and further, until they were practically on the ropes.

The blades on the AW’s chainsaw linked and intertwined with the teeth of her own, grinding and pushing them back to reach Zosar. Then there was the matter of the Meister and that approaching soul menace roaring loud on her ear, growing louder with each ticking second.

She had a split-second decision to make. Really, the one and only decision she could make while staying in Zosar’s hands. Use her own wavelength to make the teeth of her chainblade move counterclockwise against Valerie, launch her off. But what then? She’d just get right back up and throw herself at them after they somehow dealt with the Meister. They’d be back at square one, it’d still be a 2v1.

Annoyance quickly boiled up to anger. Slowly shifting to frustration.

Not necessarily aimed at Valerie this time around, but at herself. Zosar only had the strength of his own volatile wavelength and her sub-par regulation to count on. She couldn’t pull any fancy move like any of the other weapons. Hell, if that magitech baton Zosar was holding were as indestructible as her, it would probably be more effective to swing around than a giant inactive chainsaw.

She was fuming inside of her soul room, doing her best to drive wavelength into the chainblade, will the teeth to move. There was barely a spark of wavelength flaring on the engine of her weapon form, barely any movement as her chainblade’s teeth struggled against Valerie’s, whom only gotten closer to Zosar in all that time wasted. The clock ticked forward into their failure, and she stood there wondering if she couldn’t even do something as simple as moving the chainsaw on her own.

'Tch...!' — Then the intrusive thoughts blurred into nothingness, and out of instinct, she started craning her foot back inside of her soul space, like she were about to punt a soccerball into the stratosphere. After a red flash of blinding light, Valerie had her chainblades planted on nothing, just empty air, and Wren threw her whole leg forward with all of the non-existent momentum she’d carried over from her soul room. Her boot and Valerie’s nose kissed then and there. Painfully, at full speed— passionately, some could even say.

The wereweapon was wearing a mixture of a scowl and a self-satisfied grin on her face, brimming with pure malice as it all unfolded. The moment her feet touched the ground, she rammed her shoulder into Valerie, pushing her off, and pulling themselves away from Zosar and Kim.

Whether she succeeded or not, either way she’d end up stumbling forward. With an aching skull, and an all too familiar voice ringing in her ears. Along with the beeping of the bracelets shackling her writs, the heat of the collar around her neck.

‘Oooooh, dearest Mistress…’ — She could almost hear her little madness demon whispering nothings into her ear, standing right beside her. With all of his usual dramatic flair to boot — ‘You shouldn’t lower yourself to meddle with these plebians and allow them to take your royal germs so freely! They’ll start to think highly of themselves at your merest touch— the ingrates!'

‘Prithee, m’lady,’ — The voice only grew louder, insistent. Wren tried shaking off the daze, blink away the fog from her mind — ‘I— truly, oh, truly— insist you heed this pitiful servitor’s advice.’

‘Why don't we just forget about the tournament's rules?’ — Her nose shriveled, and a sickeningly sweet scent of iron wafted into her nostrils — ‘Surely one little corpse wouldn’t disqualify you and the young master— don’t be silly! Why don't you take a small nibble out of her, mayhaps? A lovetap? A tear, a bite, a slice, a gouge— think of the possibilities, m’highness! OH THINK OF THE TASTE!!’

There was blood on her. Some of it her own, some she wasn’t sure if it was even hers. At the tip of her boot, of course. Then a wide red slash across her left shoulder from where Valerie’s chainsaw had caught her, surface-level. A wound the adrenaline hadn't allowed her to feel — “Pfft— heheheh…! That was a terrible idea…” — A clawed finger went to scoop up some of the red, then brought it to her mouth. Instead of that bitter-metallic taste, it was like honey on her tongue.

What did she really expect from throwing herself at a live chainsaw? They were at least 1 – 1 now, right? Just two more tags before they were both out. Or not...she didn't really care to remember the tournament's rules at all.

A pair of predatory eyes bound up to search the arena, pupils cut into thin slits, until they found their target. Wren glared at Valerie, her eyes trailing down her neck as she shuddered in a deep, controlled breath. Her focus flitted from Valerie's jugular over to her shoulder, with wide eyes, like she'd seen a ghost. And there he was, looming over the woman's shoulders, the ghost of Christmas future. A tall, lanky shadow in a monochrome, checkered motley— a jester with a perpetual smile carved across the pale of his mask. Beelzebub raked his wiry, trembling hands across the AW's face, billowing down hot breath into her neck, almost dreamily— 'Supple skin...tender meat...’

The bracelets, the collar, everything heated up at once; the beeping grew slowly like a quickening heartbeat. Wren shook her head, forced herself to ignore him. He wasn't real. Couldn't be real— not here.

The beeping of her madness inhibitor collar died down to a low, almost rhythmical ping. Wren shot the AW a smug grin, hands on her hips — “What? Did that hurt? I’m sowwy~” — She mocked, forcing a squeaky, nasally voice out— goading Valerie to attack her. If she couldn’t overpower the AW with raw speed and strength, then she’d at least lose knowing she wiped that smug grin off her face.

Interactions: The Regal Rper
Mentions: N/A

 

[The Regal Rper]

Threat of Three
Colosseum, Tournament

Everything went in a blur.

Her transformation didn't even cost a second in the real world. Partial or full, it was like a flash of light going off. It was everything after and in between that went like a blur. Valerie's fall, Kim attacking with Soul Menace, Zosar doing something that forced Kim to follow-- it all happened too quickly.

For Wren, everything really came into focus between her and Valerie.

The acrobat used her arms to launch herself and change her trajectory as she lost her footing to try and regain her balance, one leg kicked, the other braced for the ground.

Wren's foot never made it to Valerie's nose. Fact was she had to reposition when she shifted back before she could deliver any kind of kick. The fact her partner also got pulled away in the fight might have been lost on her given where her focus was at the time.

Transforming back to her semi-human form didn’t let her carry the momentum of her actions she desired in soul space. Maybe she pictured landing that hit, hearing the crunch when her foot made contact, smelling blood-- perhaps for a moment-- she felt a intense satisfaction that her masked butler grinned at with bated breath and shaky hands- that was all just basic bloodlust, something she felt more intimately due to her Lycanthrope heritage.

What actually transpired was different.

When she deprived Valerie of her foot stool she came out crouched, low to the ground and ready to snap at her target, not already moving. Without Amplification or tapping into more of her Cutem Clan traits the fact of the matter was, Wren couldn't truly match the physical speed needed to compete with the momentum Valerie already had on her handstand as it turned into a cartwheel.

What happened instead was as her leg shot out she just barely touched the surface of Valerie's forehead in passing. The tip of her boot looked like it kissed the skin of Valerie's forehead, that brush against her skin ultimately worked out in Wren’s favor, because it also gave her the ability to shift herself to use that window to knock the AW off course before she could complete the cartwheel.

A beep hit their ears-- Wren had gotten one thing out of this. She had landed a tag. That was the good news.

The bad news was Valerie wasn't about to let that go free. She certainly didn’t plan on going down without some kind of fight.

“I'm taking you with me.” It sounded like a promise, hissed as she recovered.

Valerie took the shove and used the momentum and amplification to further the gap and catch some air, taking that momentum and throwing some of it back.

That was when Wren heard the jingle. The wheezing huff of familiar laughter caressed her eardrums. In his voice, a disembodied warning.

Ooooh, my dear Mistress…You shouldn’t lower yourself to meddle with these plebeians and allow them to take your royal germs so freely! They'll start to think highly of themselves-- the ingrates!

The Jester may have been right, more than Wren realized. Valerie certainly had faith in her skills. It showed before Wren even knew what was happening. Chains materialized out of thin air, and by then it was too late to do anything. The chainblades on Valerie had extended into a single loop that she had thrown to now go around Wren. All Valerie had to do was pull those blades back and the chains would drag Wren right along with her.

Wren felt the cold metal for a moment press into her back before she was suddenly jerked right towards Valerie. A violent tug. They nearly crashed into each other for a second from the sudden force then both went tumbling, and for the briefest second Wren caught the scowl shift to a grin on Valerie's face like she was enjoying the moment of what would next unfold.

They went tumbling at different speeds, only for Valerie to somehow end on the bottom, Wren on top.

Within her soul space her loyal dark servant peered from the swinging chandeliers of dancing lights, cackling. “Good show! Jolly good show! You've shown her, my liege!” Wren’s stomach didn’t growl, what she felt was a sudden itch to show this cocky bitch she had poked the wrong Weapon. Her fist itched to get that second tag in.

It was only for a moment though she would get to linger on that victory. Before Wren could act on their positions, they had swapped places with Valerie on top of her. She overpowered her easily or maybe she was just quicker than even untrained werewolf reflexes could be. They rolled again, with the AW straddling her for a moment as both her hands forced Wren down into the ground once they had finished their roll before Valerie quickly jumped off to create a gap between them, hitting the ground in a roll off to the side. When she broke that roll she came out on her hands and knees, like a carnivore in the thicket of tall grass with the way strands of her long silver hair cascaded off her shoulders and face.

The arena was a cacophony of noise, shooting, shouting, scents, flaring wavelengths-- but in that moment when or if their eyes met, it was just the two of them.

Beelzebub yelled into a spoon like it was a mic. “My queen, hurry, get up! Quickly!” Dramatic as usual but haste spoke with each word. Yet the urgency that was carried in the wind by Beelzebub 's voice was not entirely needed here even if it did the job of pushing Wren to stay alert.

Valerie gave Wren the opportunity to reorient herself. Whether it was overconfidence or caution she couldn’t be certain.

“All the better she keep her distance!” Her servant’s voice grew ever louder. That lost confidence returned with a new brazen fire. “This lout must be taught a lesson!” And mannequins seemed to clap for the Jester in the hall in front of the throne within her soul room. “She dared to--” but just as he was getting started- Beelzebub went silent just as quickly as they heard something…Chuckling.

Valeria had this look of amusement on her face. A small grin barely visible behind the long bangs.

“I was starting to wonder if you had any fire in you at all. Nice hit. Glad to see the werewolf has some bite.”

Cocky as it was, there was a pinch of respect in the delivery.

“ Same type of soul, similar type of Weapon. Hair even matches..” Listing off just how alike they were as she walked around. “ I’d ask if you were blood, but we both know we ain’t kin.” She went on, brushing her bangs out of her eyes with a shake of her head and moving her hand. “ Just know, I don’t play nice.”

“Nor by the rules.” Beel whispered gently. “Heed my words , my liege, neither should we.” The jester’s emphasis in the end, like the situation, was laced with anticipation.

“ I hope you don’t regret leaving your partner all by himself for little ol’ me.” Valerie prowled closer. “I may not be a werewolf but I’ve got claws just as good that'll keep me in this game.” As if to magnify the weight of those words, the next step Valerie took was with a flash of light as her blades materialized at her feet.

That one move alone set the tension just a bit higher. Beelzebub could only clap though. It echoed in her background. Amusement that mixed with irritation which burned in Wren’s chest. “ I think she’ll be fitting entertainment-- an appetizer-- don’t you think, my Queen? Let us show her that a royal is not to be taken so--”

“Oh, and one more thing.” Valerie's words cutting little Jester’s short. Walking around Wren, keeping that gap of distance, aware one of them could cross it quickly. “Don’t bore me.” The delivery flat, candid, and the sneer gone as her face went straight.

Beelzebub went taut, his shoulders stiff, masked face tilting with his head to the side. There was a beat of nothing from him within the soul room.

“Oh dear me,” her little demon advisor whispered in her ear at last. Hushed caution in his voice. “I do believe we’ll have to be wary of our entertainment here, my queen. I do think she wants you to live up to your title, but worry not” his tone dripping warmth and reassurance, bravado seeping back up, joy overflowing in his next words. “Your humble servant shan’t allow an oaf to besmirch you. You shall have all you need to make it safely back to your knight.”

Skinny hands raised in the Queen’s throne room, and her jester clapped as if to summon a servant. The first clap made her heart pick up just a little bit faster as Valerie started moving her way, the second let the adrenaline hit her system in a way it only ever did when she was focused on a mission.

The AW closed the gap between them immediately, not quite like she had with Zosar, that had been much faster. Using blades like roller skates Valerie was still pretty fast. A flash of light removed the blade on her foot as she sent a roundhouse kick aimed at Wren's shoulder. The telegraph was easy to see. There was no telling how hard the kick would be, but it wasn't blindingly fast like her earlier display of moves. She could weave by it easy. The follow up attack wasn’t as clear but there would be another.

The clear difference here that Wren could figure out was Valerie wasn’t going hard on her like she had been Zosar. This was some kind of game or test or maybe both. Not only was the first attack easily telegraphed, the speed behind it wasn't as insane as it could have been, but at the rate she was moving Wren had the speed to match her. At the current level Valerie was going, she could match her easily.

Give it enough time though and she knew what to expect and how hard it would become.

Yet even in that moment as Valerie sent out that kick, that shot of excitement hitting Wren’s system was impossible to ignore.

Mentions: RedArmyShogun EmperorsChosen Sir Les Paul

Interactions: Shotgunpenguin Haze-

 

[The Regal Rper]

Leo | Death Festival/ Tournament Stands

His greatest regret was not having the ability to watch multiple screens at once to keep track of multiple fights. The benefit of being in a crowd though was you could ask your neighbor what was happening here or there. And Leo had already gotten a groove working with some of the people around himself and his partner.

Conversation wasn't limited to just the events of the tournament though. Others saw their attention drifting to those around them. In a crowd like this the short banter between people wasn't uncommon. One or two had hit up minor conversations with the Magitech interested Meister, occasionally offering their attention to the combat. The one person that particularly caught attention for a few of those slightly more interested in the people around them was a trio of mages. One of whom Leo recognized from the news as the African branch battlemage, Ark. Another mage, a Witch that Leo vaguely recalled from social media, one who had something of a large following and was known to assist on field missions, the last he was pretty sure he had never seen before.

As the battle royale had started the giant earth mage had stepped into the same row as Leo and Corellia with two other mages, and a group of Meisters and weapons. Ark had ended up sitting just a seat away from Corellia and actually overheard any minor banter that could have led to the topic of Magitech. Though his interest was more on the fights, the Earth mage did get eventually pulled into the conversation as his Meister buddy talking to Cor brought up the subject of how Ark’s family dabbled in Magitech and how Ark himself was a Sorcerer- something Corellia could easily see on her own if she merely used soul perception. Not wanting to be rude, Ark didn't ignore the proding, and had engaged in the conversation to some extent, at the very least introducing himself, and letting himself get pulled into some of the conversation that was being made.

Leonel didn't bother to involve himself in these small banters. He was more focused on the fights itself so as not to get distracted. Like a true sports fan, he was focused primarily on everything happening, and thankfully so were most of the people around him that weren't interested in being pulled into the small banter circle around Corellia.

People in the crowd had also started picking who they were rooting for. Leo heard sides for Adrian, some voting for Sara-- which had also started a playful exchange between a group claiming one of their buddies was a furry and had it down bad for werewolves, others curious about Dante. Some were watching Gauss' fight closely. He heard voices of interest in Feng or Elly, and surprised hushed remarks about seeing Zosar from a small few people that Leo recognized from other social gatherings.

The most notable thing about how all these fights differed was how people really were taking advantage of the rules in different ways.

Kyle in particular had slipped in quite a few dirty tricks from the cut he gave Feng to some of the tactics his partners were using but if Leonel were being honest he would have done something similar if he had joined the fight. Using his elemental affinity to super heat his partial transformation was just one of the ways he could apply it. These fights required strategy, and in strategic operations playing fair wasn't always the way to go. Admittedly that didn't mean he agreed with half of what he was seeing on the field.

He didn't need to know Kyle to see that he was clearly targeting Feng for one reason or another, and though the execution of his Wavelength was smart, he knew both Kyle and his partners were bending the rules quite a bit.

Gav taking that punch for instance, was just one of the things he didn't entirely agree with in how it had been executed. Though using the one loophole around self resonance was smart admittedly.

Then again, this was the FATE Bracket. Expecting pure decency in these fights and fairness, no cheap shots or questionable actions, probably shouldn't have been that surprising. It wasn't like Kyle and his team were the only ones slipping in cheap tricks. Some were fighting with more psychological tricks as much as they were operating around loopholes.

Zosar's side of the fight was probably a good example of how capitalizing on numbers and executing tricks could be beneficial too. Kim, he knew, the AW beside her, Valerie, he had met a few times and their coordination was seriously on point. Covering for each other offensively and defensively, it was impressive to watch- the Volatile soul wielder was doing a good job keeping up and holding his guard against essentially four opponents, well three since Kim’s last partner wasn't doing anything yet.

Eyes shifting back to the Feng exchange it seemed the plan had changed. Partners were stepping in. Aki was wrestling with Kyle's, Leo caught her partial transformation as she aimed at Alma. The tense struggle continued as Alma slowly regained control, and Leo had to wonder what the gothic Blasian was about to do to get this tag in.

There was a moment of tense silence and then--

OOOOOOOOOOOH!

The crowd exploded as one. This was like a stadium reacting with a single mind. The United reaction, astonishment followed swiftly by amusement and other mixed reactions. People threw popcorn kernels into the air, some got up from their seats.

Ark however gave the name of the Weapon in his exclamation as he winced slightly at the scene.

In the tense few seconds of the struggle between Aki and Kyle's weapon partner she was wrestling with, Alma had “...in a desperate attempt to gain some kind of control, she kissed the blue one!” Someone next to Leo was explaining to a friend who had missed the exact moment.

Someone else was laughing, only to utter “That's craaaaaaazy. I knew this bracket would be a blast!”

“It should have been meeeeee!” Someone bemoaned loudly. “Not heeeeer!”

“I hear you girl.” Replied a sombre male voice. “Where are all the bad bitches to manhandle me? I'm wearing the shirt for crying out loud!...Blue kinda cute though--”

Immediately. “I’m not gonna lie, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Y'all sleeping on Blasian gothic beauty right here, you see the girl topping her? 10/10 even if she is crazy.”

“Crazy is hot these days though.” Another person commented.

A shy voice added. “Is it bad I find the mouthy samurai guy red is fighting hot?”

“See what I’m saying?”

“You guys think I could score with the Amazonian giant or her pink haired friend if I shoot my shot?”

There was a pause. One of them looked. “They're part of the security dude.”

“So?” was the reply.

An argument was breaking out in which Leo heard, “All of you are wrong and that's okay because I'm leaning more towards that chick who’s going up against Gav.”

“How are you going to pick her over my goat?”

“Guys, shut yo mouths!” A male voice snapped. Cutting through the debate that had started. “They’re all going to get what's coming, just you watch!”

People were laughing out of surprise, others were engaged in excited chatter, some people were hollering. A couple of loud fox whistles hit the air. Several were still clapping. Many were standing.

“That's going up on the Tube. Shorts, reels, I gotta get this ta mah gurl Launa. Did you see her face when she planted that one on her?” Leo could hear some female behind him say.

“Let's GOOOOOO! Things are getting heated in here!” a person yelled.

Just for the person next to them to say. “Get. Her. Back, Blue!” Passionate yelling. “Don't take that lying down! You better get her back!” A Wasian Weapon with half purple hair a row below Leo was shouting.

“Y’all think they're gonna cut the tournament short if people start making out like those two?” Leo looked the guy’s way with a raised brow but was spared from answering that.

“Nah man,” his effeminate friend replied, “hands about to get thrown.” As they flicked through their phone. “Comments are already going haywire about this. Things are just getting started.”

“Look, I'm not a furry, BUT--”

“--no way she'll come out on top.” His buddy countered. “Guy's got some moves!”

“--Goth bettah watch out,” someone else was saying. “Blue may have froze but she's probably not going to take that quiet.”

“Told you guys this bracket would be lit. Pay up.”

The comments and noise was aplenty. The crowd was buzzing with new energy at this development. Leo heard it all, but was more surprised to see the action.

He wasn't even sure how he would react if he had been in Blue's-- Aki's place. He wasn't even sure if he could call the tactic a smart move. It was a move but eh... All that he was sure of was the next few seconds had his full attention.

Hopefully, Aki wouldn't mind whatever fame she got down the road for this.

Mentions: Shotgunpenguin RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Pumpkid EmperorsChosen Azurian Dream Haze- Breadman Sir Les Paul

Interactions: @November Witch

 

[Sir Les Paul]

Thaddeus Thales​

"Gauss"​

Species Human
Partner Noah Wiley, Arkayis Misonuka
Rank Fate Agent

Location Death City, Death Colosseum
Mission FATE Bracket, Deathfest Tournament
Status Mildly overwhelmed

​

Tags: The Regal Rper Haze- Peckinou Merciless Medic

​

A fritz. A falter in the field that both displayed the broadcasting to the audience and one felt by the combatants.

Noah was right. The entire tournament saw him as a threat, apparently. It started out fine. They made elimination after elimination. They had an assortment of tricks up their sleeve even with the limitations put on them by the tournament. Not that any of the three were low-tier agents to begin with. Arkayis likely didn't know it, but his lack of enthusiasm for the tournament and thus less intense flames turned out to be a boon. With less of his energy going into the flames, it meant he could last longer in general. This was the gift Arkayis had: a wellspring of spiritual energy. Normally, it was used for his trademark blue jet flames, but it could just as easily be spread out into a sea of fire.

Which it was. Everywhere the trio went, a path of fire followed. Soon enough, a quarter of the stadium had been lit ablaze due to the nigh-constant assault from various other combatants. At a point, the trio focused on trying to eliminate as many as they could, but they ran into the same issue as Feng: multiple weapons necessitated multiple tags. Combined with the volley of challengers, it meant orchestrating eliminations proved difficult. After the first half-dozen, the trio had to focus more on survival.

It was becoming a war of attrition and despite all their potential, they couldn't keep up the pace required to fight so many adversaries.

Gauss decided to rely on a technique he had not yet mastered. One that mastery of, for him specifically, was challenging beyond the norm. Many other combatants had already used it, but few had the Magnetic Wavelength that Gauss possessed. Few had to contest with the consequences of their own attack.

Yet, it was those very consequences Gauss intended to use to shake things up.

Still pursued by what seemed like five or six individuals all hoping to score a tag on the elemental juggernaut trio, Gauss made his way through most of the field. Not only setting it ablaze, but positioning himself now in the middle of as many people as possible. He had a single, simple goal. Create a ring of fire around himself with Arkayis, have Noah cover him with lightning, and then...

...his half-complete Soul Menace.

This was what sent the system on a fritz. A brief burst of electromagnetic energy that came from the moment Gauss tried to concentrate his spiritual energy into a single area sufficiently to cause sparks of electricity. That very electricity was the problem. It fed into the field and only made it that much stronger. Gauss still lacked the raw control to either do this in a steady manner or prevent it from happening all together. That didn't mean it couldn't be used, it just meant it would only work right up until that very first spark. In reality, the technique Gauss was using was more like a Spiritual Sparkplug than Soul Menace. Even still, the effect worked.

Those in pursuit of him were pulled into the flames of Arkayis had they anything on them magnetic. Many with their weapons or their collars had no such choice.

Those in the outer range were yanked had they the same metal manifestations. Not into the flames, no, but enough to briefly interrupt them. Such individuals as Zosar, Wren, Valerie, and all those in that fight would feel this sudden and fairly potent yank in the direction of Gauss and his hellscape.

Those further away, like Elly, Kisei, Feng, and the three-way deadlock between Sara, Ashi, and Adrian would feel nothing, as the field simply dissipated by that point. It wasn't meant for them.

Moments later, several combatants forfeit. Because they were fucking on fire.

"We are fucking threats," Gauss said, reassuring Noah. Noah knew better, though, he could feel how winded Gauss was getting. Gauss had essentially spent the last ten minutes of the fight running around in circles so that Noah and Arkayis could play artillery. Problem was, the hyenas chasing him were superhumans just like them. It didn't allow for a lot of downtime.

As evidenced even now by the fact Noah had to cover a blind spot with a jolt of electricity from a Meister that had avoided the magnetic pull. The trio worked as a single, cohesive unit.

Gauss saw the agent curled over on the ground from the bolt and kicked him aside, earning a tag on him. His golden eyes then scanned out to the wave of fire that medics were going into to pull out his previous pursuers.

"You assholes can suck our collective dicks," the Meister shouted, that confidence evolving into arrogance, but not without the actual hint of frustration it came from. Some might find it a compliment of sorts to be seen as such a threat that raw numbers were necessary, but not Gauss. No, he was upset he hadn't really had a good fight yet. He preferred proper duels, not this battle royal bullshit. In the back of his mind where perhaps only Noah and Arkayis could hear, his final thought was and Cyrus, too, for setting this dumb shit up.

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Maria Mayer
Streets Near Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
DATE - 10/31/20267​

Humming a curious tune to herself, the craftswoman noticed Raph just moments prior, his height and blazing red hair would always stand out, no matter where he went. And it would likely stay that way for some time. Still his presence wasn't an unwelcomed one.

Till she caught a wiff of his breath at least, sighing lightly, she was thankful he wasn't falling and stumbling, so he hadn't had that much yet. Hopefully. Still, a customer was a customer, and it was not like the pair were enemies, Maria reasoned. Watching his little spider at play and hearing his questions, Maria tilted her head slightly, pleased that Raph had liked her plushies at least. "Hmm, I could give you a discount, but are you sure you want some of those?" Turning her attention to the spider, the blonde would give a nod of her head to the blue spider, continuing with what the Sorcerer had inquired.

"Hmm, I've had a few shoppers, but the tournament is still ongoing, and the festival has yet to get into full swing. And I am fine?" Pondering the last bit as if it were an open question, she nods, accepting that as her answer.

"What of you, Raph? You seem to have sampled some of what it offers, or have you run across Nadia? Still, I must say I am a bit surprised you would take an interest in the plushies, not that I mind." Turning her attention to those of note she smiled thinly, money was not something she would just turn away, but she didn't want to take advantage of a slightly buzzed, or potentially drunk Raph. That was not something any good tradesman would do.

Interactions: Merciless Medic (Raph)

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
Death Colosseum - Death City, Nevada
October 31'st

Mentions: RedArmyShogun (Feng) Sir Les Paul (Gauss) Breadman (Domas) The Regal Rper (Zosar) Haze- (Wren)
Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki), NPC's​

---

‘It hurts.’

The ringing that Wes heard as the first dredges of consciousness returned to his body was not in fact the result of an annoying alarm, but rather the aftermath of blocking a full force soul menace with his face. It drowned out pretty much everything else, from the physical world to the spiritual. A blessing in a way, because if he had been able to hear the spiritual world, it would probably have sounded like a ton of illegal fireworks stuck into a reinforced washing machine. It was accompanied by the feeling that someone had hooked up a car battery straight to his soul and shocked the ever loving shit out of it. White hot fire was running through his left arm from his shoulder down, fingers twitching against the stone floor of the colosseum.

The blissful world of sleep called to him, wrapping spectral arms around him and whispering of the comforts he could feel if he just closed his eyes once again. And if he were being honest, it was so damn hard to find a reason not to. Sleep had always been his refuge from the burden of the waking world, the one place where he could find peace without resorting to isolation. It would have been so easy…

If it didn’t hurt so fucking much.

The metallic taste of blood filled his mouth, dying his teeth red as it slowly dripped out of the corner of his mouth and onto the arena floor. He couldn’t tell whether it came from the cut on the inside of his cheek or his gums being smashed with the equivalent of a sledge hammer and then bounced on the ground like a volleyball. He let out a low groan that only grew louder as his jaw twitched, sending a fresh wave of pain coursing through his body. He clenched his eyes shut, trying in vain to drown out some of the pain that was making a mess out of his skull. When he opened them after a few seconds, his vision slowly began to settle as he took in the battle in front of him.

Wes blinked once, twice, and after the scene in front of him didn’t shift even after blinking for a third time, his brain went to work to try and make sense of what he was seeing. Some hot-topic looking girl was currently mounting Aki, mashing her lips against the pistol in a scene straight out of a softcore video.

Well, it was certainly a kind of fight. Whether or not it was one of the kinds that would end up being passed around on some unsavory message boards or not, that would have to be seen. Oh who the hell was he kidding, by the end of the tournament he expected for Aki to be one of the most popular women in the city, alongside the gothic chick.

But seriously, how hard did someone have to get hit for him to be seeing shit like this? His mind filled in the blanks, reasoning being thrown to the void as he assumed that what he was seeing was a yet untold side effect of having his soul beaten and shocked like a junkie who tried one too many times to pull one over on the mob. Either that or a concussion. Both seemed like good possibilities.

One arm planted against the ground to try and push himself upright, only to falter as a wave of nausea slammed into him, making the floor beneath him writhe and spin. It was almost enough to make him empty his lunch on the floor right then and there. Deep gasps brought much needed air into his lungs, mixed in with grunts and groans as he managed to bring a knee up beneath him. Blood and spittle dripped onto the floor beneath him, dizzying droplets of crimson that painted Were it not for the assistance of Zosar and his partner, he would be an easy target to pick off. Not that he was aware of that, his primary focus being not blowing chunks and getting to his feet, in that order. Managing to raise himself into a hunched over crouch, his gaze slowly raised from the ground, turning towards the scene that had greeted his awakening.

Wes’s left arm hung a short distance lower than his right, the limb swaying slightly from his movement off of the floor. One of his eyes was bloodshot, the purple of his pupil framed in a sea of crimson. Combined with the thin trail of blood that trickled down the side of his face and the trail that mirrored it from his mouth, one look was all it would take for someone to know that he was hurting. Hell, If he had seen himself on the screen, Wes would have sworn he was playing an extra in a zombie flick. Everything was spinning bad, and the flashing lights from the spectator stands only added to what was already a disorienting experience. He had no idea what Feng or Domas were up to, and he genuinely didn’t think he had enough focus right now to worry about that. Aki was currently being mounted, and something had to be done about it.

So, he did the only thing that made sense in the scrambled egg that was his skull. Half stumbling and half running, his bad arm trailed behind him as he approached the lip-locked duo. In any other circumstance, he would have just been an easy target. Fortunately, after the almost explosive performance that Gauss had put on, all eyes seemed to be on him. Wes may not have been able to utilize his wavelength, or even enhance himself, but he had one advantage over Kyle’s weapon that more than made up for it. He wasn’t currently focused on trying to get some tongue with his partner.

“Back off!”

The words came out as more of a raspy shout than the bark he was hoping for, but he very much doubted that anyone other than Aki and Kyle’s weapon would be able to hear. Regardless, Wes planted his foot, knee fighting the urge to buckle under the pressure as his other leg tensed, swinging forward to plant a size ten sneaker right into the goth chick’s head. His brain finished his short quip, saying that Aki was his partner and that he wasn’t going to sit back and watch when she was in trouble.

Unfortunately, somewhere between thinking of the words and them actually coming out of his mouth, a five car pileup occurred in his throat, leaving behind a mangled mess of what he had meant to say. Words that, were he in a more stable state of mind, he would sooner bash his skull against the floor than let fly. Unfortunately….

“She’s mine!”

 

[EmperorsChosen]

Aki Kiyoko - North of JFK International Airport

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~​

Aki was focused, determined, locked in. Alma was going for her eyes, but by pulling her wrist to the side in the path of the other, she not only obstructed her maiming attempt but prepped a perfect lineup with her other hand, which was partially transformed into her pistol form. Aki was ready to shoot too. She didn't really care if it just hurt or actually put a hole through the girl at this point.

This made it all the more confusing.

With her main plan foiled, the girl with abysmal use of honorifics leaned her head in. What Aki thought was a headbutt or even a bite was something else entirely. Her narrowed, dead eyes seemed to freeze on impact before widening in surprise. What was happening? Why was this girl's lips touching hers?

Aki held the advantage here. In fact, this was probably the only time today thus far that she had any use, she felt. This was just some girl. She wasn't an Autonomous Weapon. She clearly didn't know partial transformation. Most normal weapons didn't even bother to really train martial arts. It was truly only the shock factor of such a tactic.

At first she didn't hear anything else, the jeering and cheering drowned out as Aki laid there in a moment of complete confusion. That was until a voice broke her out of it.

“Back off!”

It was enough to shake her out of the daze. Her eyes narrowed again and Aki once again refocused. One arm that was being pinned by Alma transformed to slip out of her grip. While Aki typically transformed her hand or fingers into the barrel as it was easier to aim, her limb effectively shrunk, stubbing at her bicep before transforming it back to its full length. Her index and middle fingers made up the barrel and the side of her palm and pinky finger made up the butt of the grip. Aki cocked her arm back as well as she could before trying to slam the butt of her gun-hand into the side of Alma's head, opposite to Wes's kick.

And then she heard the rest.

“She’s mine!”

'...Eh?'

Shotgunpenguin Sir Les Paul

 

[Breadman]

Domas Krogertas
Death Colosseum - Death City, Nevada
October 31'st​

The plan seemed to have stalled as Domas was unable to transform back into his human form. Instead, whatever had hit him and caused the confusion made him transform into his axe form. Tsch, this was annoying. He tried to focus and turn back to his human form, but it only seemed to further plant him in this form. This was really annoying. At the very least, he could feel the tingling of electricity in the air come back to him. That was good news. The bad news was that even trying to revert to hammer was blocked somehow. So he was going to have to spend time in this form for a while longer. It would have to be enough if he can't go back into human form. Feng was dealing with Kyle to the best of her ability without weapons. That's good at least. Aki was...what even was going on there?

Wes was planing something by the faint sound of it. Whatever that plan was, it would have to work. Right? Domas needed to figure out a way to help Feng and fast. What could he even do in this form? The options circled around in his head as he eliminated the one that would require a partner. Feng was nowhere near him to pull them off and if she was, she's tangled with that asshole and his weapon. A few more remained in his mind and finally he could only pick the old reliable. Simple, but it would have to do. He channeled whatever electricity he had and directed it to the enemy weapon.

"Ei kalyte!"

 

[The Regal Rper]

Short Update
Colosseum, Tournament

Wren's departure, while unexpected, was not wasted. Zosar didn't just divert the soul menace strike that Kim had been aiming at him, he retaliated with his own upon countering her attack with a deflection and sent a open palm strike that forced Kim to create a gap that sent her sliding backwards on her feet. It was not without a cost though. That open palm strike left him wide open for Andrea to come out in her whip form as the Demon Weapon wrapped around Zosar's left arm extended and kept a tight hold as she wrapped around his bicep.

“You guys must have really missed me huh?”

“Don’t think you've won yet.”

The Demon Whip yanked and the two Meisters went in exchanging attacks back and forth, dodging more, blocking few, while Andrea worked to drag Zosar into as many of Kim's moves as she could. Ultimately, what separated them was Zosar's strength coming out on top. Pushing more of his wavelength into his muscles, that excess fueled the temporary major strength boost he used to shift his stance and suddenly jerk Andrea and Kim forwards at the exact moment they tried to pull him into another attack. That intense pull forced Kim to not only leap over him but it also caused Andrea to finally let go of Zosar's arm and return to her sword form quickly.

Shifting his attention as quickly as he could to Wren, Zosar turned his attention in time to see Valerie and the AW were, for now, talking.

Movement made him shift quickly back to Kim, moving out of the way of Andrea’s whip coming out. The Meister’s eyes narrowed as his opponent gave him a slightly annoyed look.

“Shifting your attention off me isn't the brightest idea if you want to stay in the game.”

“Didn’t plan on it. So, what, how many of the others are in the crowd watching us go at it?” Was his reply as he shot forward. Kim slashed Andrea in his direction and Zosar swatted the attack away, the impact caused a slight bend but he was sure it was still good for now.

“Some of them, I won't give names.” Sending out another slash with the whip. This time, Zosar narrowly dodged the attack but intentionally so he could grab Andrea with one hand as she went by and pull her in a yanking motion as he moved to close the gap to upset her Meister's balance. Kim immediately reached for her Katana weapon partner and Zosar’s soul spiked in that exact moment as he sent a bit more of his wavelength into his legs to cover the gap.

Though before anything could happen, Gauss' wavelength noticeably spiked, Zosar’s gaze shifted, he felt the baton in his hand shake as the magnetism of that wavelength started to take effect. If it weren't for his familiarity with Gauss, he might not have been prepared for what was about to happen. While pulled slightly due to holding some of his weapons, Zosar let all of the magnetic objects he had on him get carried away to the Colosseum floor as the pull continued. Kim and her teammates, Wren and Valerie were not as lucky.

Kim got thrown off her footing completely in the midst of trying to recover it. Both of her Weapon partners, the Katana Weapon on Kim’s hip and Andrea were affected by Gauss’ magnetic pull. She didn't get tripped she got violently tugged into a fall. Andrea was nearly yanked out of her hand, the Katana Demon Weapon went flying out of the position resting on Kim’s hip, where she hit the ground with a clatter, sliding to a stop a distance behind Zosar and Kim off to the side. Still with great distance between her and those unlucky contestants that Gauss had pulled into the flames.

Valerie was completely caught off guard by the move Gauss had pulled by extension. Her blades and her collar were specifically affected, throwing her entire balance off. Any attack she used on Wren would have been completely negated with what Gauss did.

In the middle of all this madness, Zosar was the only one truly able to turn Gauss' stunt into an advantage for himself. Kim caught herself on her free hand and a knee, but she wasn't fast enough to create a distance between herself and the approaching Meister. Leaping off her fallen position she shifted Andrea in front of her and Andrea did something else entirely. In a flash of light she transformed. Whether it was due to the paranoia of Gauss pulling the same stunt again or some other plan, the Demon Weapon changed acting as a guard against Zosar's path to Kim.

“Leshauna get over here!” Kim yelled at the Katana transforming into a young Caribbean woman.

Zosar however wasn't about to just let himself get ganged on. He needed to end this quickly so he could get to Wren. Even as Andrea jumped into his path, he didn't slow down as her hand shifted with a light.

Unlike Kyle though, he had no interest in treating Andrea like how the swordsman had treated Wes. If what Kim had said was true and people they knew were watching this, or there were others participating in this tournament still active, behaving like a boar in this tournament against them specifically would just get him more trouble. Image was still very much on his mind here. More than that though, he had no interest in dishing out some inflated sense of punishment on anyone.

Kim was the fastest of the three. She struck out with a kick that Zosar dodged, then weaved away from his strike, Andrea leaped in with her own move-- that was precisely where Zosar got her as she tried to latch herself to him. Suspecting her plan might be to try and ensnare him, he instead moved into her attack as she struck out with the blade, only for the tip of the blade to transform into her hand. This made part of Andrea's arm look like an extended whip limb as her hand did in fact grab a hold of him, earning the first tag. Willing to take that for his next move though he got a hold, pulled her in and using his greater strength he merely threw her into the direction of Leshauna. The Katana immediately froze, trying to cover the tossed Demon Whip before the fall turned somewhat nasty.

At that precise moment, Kim struck out with her heeled boot and Zosar ducked past it immediately going low to knock her balance off quickly. The move missed by an inch as she flipped backwards away from the leg sweep.

With her partners momentarily out though, Zosar tried to scan for Wren, only for Kim to demand his attention with an attack. In which he immediately landed that second tag that Kim took to perform a judo flip on the Meister, bringing him down as she scored her own first tag on him in return.

Keeping hold of his arm, Kim immediately moved to get on top. Trying to prevent this though, Zosar tried to roll himself and his arm out of Kim's grip before her partners could give her an assist. On his knees and the unrestrained arm, it became a struggle between him and Kim as the seconds ticked while Leshauna settled a transforming Andrea who was changing back into her human form as the two planned on moving up to assist Kim with the struggling meister.

Mentions: Sir Les Paul

Interactions: Haze-

 

[Sir Les Paul]

LOCATION—Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
DATE—10/31/2067 | Monday
TIME—N/A

Alma of the Broken Edge

---

The plan she had in mind wouldn't work. Her Distorted Soul under normal circumstances could have done to Aki precisely what Kyle's had done to Domas: prevent the Demon Weapon from transforming. There were more ways than brute force like Soul Menace for one soul to affect another. Much like how Adrian and Dani were close and subsequently any Chain Resonance between the trio of Nadia, Dani, and Adrian was slightly stronger, that one brief kiss could have been the poison that put Alma in an advantageous position. Alas, such was not the case. When dealing with the nuances of wavelength effects like these, there were bound to be unforeseen interactions.

One was that Aki and her Volatile Soul was simply too strong for the Distortion to work. The very nature of a Volatile Soul made it stronger than average by no small margin, but unstable because of it. Alma hadn't the sheer force to distort Aki.

Which put her in quite the precarious situation.

This was a moment a simple form like hers, while great for traditional combat, was at a distinct disadvantage. Functionally, a sword was but a flat piece of sharpened steel with an end rounded off to hold. It didn't result in many partial weapon transformations. Worse, she was a katana. Only one of her edges was even sharp. There was an argument to be made regarding swords being a terrible weapon form.

The way she saw it, there was only one saving grace here. Aki decided to try and pistol whip her instead of shoot. That, and it seemed Aki had assumed Alma was unskilled in the art of partial transformations.

You know what they say about assumptions.

Aki had performed quite the deft maneuver in shortening her limb with the gun to avoid a hold. She wasn't the only one with such options. Alma transformed the olecranon process—the very tip of her elbow—into the handle of her katana form, then shifted her arm down and over to ram it right into the antecubital fossa—the inward portion of the elbow—of Aki's gun hand arm. Aside from being oddly uncomfortable, this gave Alma the advantage in strength due to body mechanics. As weird as it was and likely looked to any bystander, it was an effective block to the pistol whip.

That still left Wes to deal with. Unfortunately, Alma had no such creative or skillful rebuttal. Instead, she had a different means of response. The blade edge of her katana sprouted right out from her head, in line with the incoming kick from Wes. As if stealing a page right from Adrian, she didn't intend on blocking the attack; instead, she intended to simply change who got hurt by it worse.

"You knooow," Alma said still fairly close to Aki all things considered, "up close, you're pretty cute." It was an entire change of pace and a shift in tone. More importantly, she sounded fairly normal despite the uwu-goth girl aesthetic she donned.

"You wanna just ditch the guys and hit the fest with me?" she asked, seemingly entirely serious. What kind of game she was playing, or in fact if she was even playing a game at all, was unclear. An awkward proposal while having to restrain that pistol arm and incredibly poor timing given the incoming kick, but hopefully Wes would (or could) halt it instead of impaling himself.

Tala the Unbroken

---

There was little to do but take the brunt of it. Domas didn't intercept the ball end of her kusarigama which meant it would, in fact, reach Kyle. It just wouldn't get to him before that electricity from Domas. At this range and with the positioning, in truth, there was little Tala could have done even if it wouldn't have messed up her plan. Especially since her one use of Self-Resonance was already forfeit. The only recompense was that the shock she would have to endure would make the Meister unhanded that much longer. It was doubtful the hammer had any means of returning to Feng as if it where Mjolnir itself.

Domas hurled his lightning and it hit its mark. Her Fortified Soul made her resistant, but unlike her weapon form, her flesh was not so indestructible. What little she could do was minimize just how damaging it would be. A step back, extending her free hand and transforming it into a sickle, and planting only one foot on the ground for once the lightning hit. It would, of course, seek the path of least resistance. It struck the blade of her sickle, shot through her arm, and in doing so tensed every muscle she had. It was but all her strength not to crumple to the ground. The lightning of Perun was nothing to scoff at, though Noah had been using this exact element to stun people the entire tournament.

It shot through her muscles, her nerves, carried itself along the water and salts in her blood and body, and only found an exit in her one planted foot. That didn't last long as the other soon hit the ground for her to brace, but once the circuit was completed, Domas' electricity had at least somewhere to go. It was only for a brief few seconds, but those seconds felt like an eternity with the type of voltage he could output at will running through her. Down from her arm where her transformation would at least spar her a burn mark or scar all the way to her foot and every fiber in between currently at the mercy of flowing electrons with a vengeance.

But, it came and it went. Her arm literally steamed, both of her legs trembled, her eyes widened, but true to her moniker, she remained unbroken. Not unhurt, just unbroken.

Domas flew on past her. More importantly, her ball-end landed by Kyle.

Kyle the Disturbance

---

Kyle was saved, in essence, by the delay that existed between tags. Of course, situations like these were the exact situation that rule was implemented in the first place. Landing three tags in a flurry of blows wasn't the type of point-system most martial arts, or in the case of this tournament, entertainment was judged by. What he wasn't saved from was the actual impact of her strikes. Try though he might, she was faster and stronger than him at this point. Dodge this, parry that, back-up for more distance, all of his options fell short. By the end of her series of jabs and her first kick, she had easily landed enough strikes to earn a tag. It was what little he could do to withdraw his sword arm into a close-coiled block to prevent her kick from breaking his ribs or knocking the wind right out of him.

He had no room, no time for an offense. At no point in the last exchange could he identify, let alone take advantage of, an opening. That wasn't just a different in martial skill, it was the physical advantage of her Berserker Wavelength against his half-broken amplification. It was a poor match-up.

Lo and behold, her last jump, though powerful, was the window in which he would receive Tala. The ball end of the kusarigama had just came into reach. He had to drop his kodachi for it, but he caught the indestructible iron sphere like a baseball. And, despite her electrocution, Tala was still capable of transforming to return. Feng was faster than Kyle, but she wasn't faster than the transformation of a Demon Weapon.

The bright red light shot across the field a distance away, going from his extended hand to his free hand. Now, he was armed with the weighted ball and the sickle. More importantly, her chain stretched in front of him, taut, and reformed with a singular goal: to catch the hand that was about to hit Kyle. A simple wrap around her forearm and wrist, but with all the remaining strength Kyle had left in him, it was enough to hold Feng at bay for the moment.

Grunting, using all the strength he could to keep the chains taut and tight to in turn hold Feng in place, the strained Meister took the moment to lock eyes with the former mercenary. Still, he had disdain in them. She hadn't earned his respect in this fight, even if he was losing.

"I see now why the Mazuko Muramasa chose you," he spat, sharing the conclusion he just came to between strained breathes. It took this much just to hold one of her arms, let alone the rest of her.

"You were a barbarian to begin with."​

The Elemental Triad

---

If the hunt for Gauss, Noah, and Arkayis had been a highlight of the FATE bracket before, the previous stunt of their Meister would turn it into an entire reel. The trio not only announced their threat level, but made plenty of enemies by hurting and burning some of the other contestants. Forfeit via fire was still technically a win condition and thus allowed, but it didn't make for good optics. Still, the situation for the trio was fairly dire. Fate Agents fought dirtier, harder, and more ferociously than anyone in the previous brackets. Even the winner of the EAT bracket did so through raw skill, not the underhanded tactics that were occurring here. The extend of the dogpiling in their bracket was far worse than anything they saw in the previous match.

In a way, all the trio did was fight fire with fire.

A reality had began to set in. A belief Gauss shared with both Noah and Arkayis. Even if they deserved to win, and perhaps they might, their chances were dwindling due to the veritable manhunt they were under. If their chances of winning were shrinking, they might as well cause as big of a scene as possible. Go out with a show. Give the people fireworks.

And, so they did.

Gauss switched gears, having Arkayis flood the immediate area with as much fire and flame as he could. The fact Arkayis still wasn't invested and thus his flames weren't truly that hot or dangerous also meant there happened to be just that much more to use. Unlike using Noah as his defensive option, Arkayis was more of a broad spectrum solution. He was a lot harder to get through when there was a sea of fire around him.

That wasn't to say he did absolutely nothing. Fending off the few foes capable of navigating that sea was one thing, but there still were others around him. The most nearby? Zosar and the group ganging up on him, of course. It made sense; they were also the only group close enough to be affected by the magnetic pull.

More importantly, Gauss felt a twinge of sympathy for the Meister. He, too, at the moment was being ganged up on for entirely unfair reasons. Or, so Gauss presumed. The two never did really settle things between them, though most of the beef was from Zosar. Gauss never thought much twice about him unless he had to. Right this very second, though, Gauss decided it was appropriate to give the Meister a break.

Leshauna and Andrea became acquainted with the electrified bolt Noah had became so well known for this tournament. A surprise attack, probably too fast to easily dodge, and worse for anyone in a human form. Unlike Tala, neither of them sported any inherent resistance to spiritual attacks like this lightning, either. If he could get in to fight either of them, this would have been a great time to land some tags, but alas, he was still off dealing with a handful of pissed off teammates looking for revenge. All he could do for Zosar was have Noah zap those two unsuspecting adversaries in hopes it would buy time for him while he dealt with Kim.

EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun Breadman Shotgunpenguin The Regal Rper


​

 

[The Regal Rper]

Gav | Death Festival/ Tournament

They had elected to hang back and merely watch. Time flew by quickly.

So many things had happened since Gav took that punch and Austin became his bodyguard while he took a short rest to recuperate his senses. People were getting lit on fire, frozen, blasted with water, shot at, electrocuted, grappled in different unique ways, or in Aki's case, wrestling.

Austin stayed close though. Arms transformed partially into his weapon form. Melissa was also keeping to her word. She hadn't made an attempt to charge at them yet. Though unlike others she stayed clear of Gauss also.

This battle royale was true chaos, and Gav couldn't have cared less in the moment. His mood had dipped and there was one reason for that alone.

To have been reminded of frankly his most humbling and most humiliating defeat in Dall Island, was a sore spot to be put on as he rose to his feet.

It was practically a mirror copy, just a different person, different eyes, and different place. Kisei had performed a similar move on him back on Dall Island, when he had gotten pissed at him when he was Midori. Pissed at him for talking smack in comparing his techniques to the Old Ways of the Hoshi. Irritated that he was being talked down to by someone he had anticipated might actually show him some respect for being capable of beating Star Clan members, he had taken the whole conversation as a slight. Maybe there hadn't been any intended insult or barbed jab at all, he hadn't been in the mindset back then to think about it. All he had heard was Midori talking in a way he took offense to and that had led to their impromptu duel. They’d fought and then Midori had beaten his ass to prove a point when Gav was too stubborn and prideful to submit and demanded justice, and that hadn't been a private fight. There had been an audience there to see it.

Then they'd fought several more times, over and over and over again but not a single one of the fights they had in the Paean program had ever compared to the pain he had felt losing that first time-- not even a draw or a battle that had effort to it, it had been a complete total loss- which back then had been the worst thing in the world.

Power, winning, being better was how he had shown his worth to the Witches of his family, his Realm.

In a way, being punched like he had, was like cutting a scar to reopen a wound. Gav honestly had been surprised when Tala pulled that move on him, then he’d felt anger for being reminded. The difference was, he hadn't immediately reacted to that anger.

Austin hadn't tried to distract him amidst the waiting. He was patient, silent, and observing their environment. It was exactly what Gav needed. Even if he was done with Paean and had grown, he knew his partner still had some of his old pride somewhere.

If Tala hadn’t been partners with Kyle, he might not have felt so sour about all this. She had played him fairly, Gav could admit that. He knew when to accept that now.

What he couldn't accept was Kyle gaining the advantage again, especially since he had been watching the exchange between the two Meisters since Tala left while Austin guarded.

“Let’s go. I'm ready.”

Just as Kyle caught Tala, Gav caught Austin who had fully transformed. This time he didn't hold back. His soul spiked, and then he was off. Closing the gap as Kyle delivered his thoughts to Feng specifically, more particularly Gav heard that last line as he came in from the side, having chosen a path that let him come in from the right.

His plan was to go for Kyle's remaining Weapon given he had no interest in seeing Kyle regain his footing but something in him couldn't ignore the disdain he heard on Kyle's voice as he said that line of thought to Feng.

Feng and him had never been friends. Gav recalled clearly they had in fact never gotten along in the previous program and that had been partially due to meeting Feng after having his experience with Midori. At that point almost anything became a competition for him. As far as he were concerned they were neutral to each other in the present, but hearing that disdain struck a memory in Gav that threw him back to his past. Where he had heard similar words, similar comparisons his whole life-- it set his jaw tight. His oceanic blue eyes burned.

Alma might have considered it good fortune since the look in Gav's eyes went from her to pure irritation with Kyle as he altered course and blurred forward.

With speed he swung one of Austin's dull blades in Kyle's direction, full force. Taking advantage of his current state to land an attack.

“Hypocrisy coming from you.”

Mentions: Shotgunpenguin

Interactions: Tala, Alma, Sir Les Paul EmperorsChosen RedArmyShogun

 

[RedArmyShogun]

Feng Long
LOCATION—Death Colosseum, Death City, Nevada
DATE—10/31/20267​

It was a shame yet so satisfying to get her hits in on Kyle, though it seemed rapid strikes were not recorded. As if to be a points match, which in hindsight is what this all was about. It was the ultimate irony that while a great martial artist of the Shaolin, Feng had rarely if ever taken part in the point-based combat like in western dojos or Japanese martial arts. She had been getting her hits in, even as he halfway defended, her kick had been the most satisfying... Still, it seemed her final attack in the series had produced more risk than reward.

That was apparent from the chain wrapped around her left wrist. But still, it would do little more than slow her, buying him just enough time to throw out an insult. One that did not hurt, but did bring a brief and rancorous laughter. "Kehehahaha!" A bemused expression briefly caught her face, as she took advantage of the more fluid nature of Chinese to say what she had to then and there, as curiously she grabbed hold of the chain, grounding him as an interloper made himself known, Gav. It seemed for now, he was not a target for her. But if it would remain so was up in the air.

"Wǒ de rénmín zhèngzài jiànshè wénmíng, ér nǐmen de rénmín què zài yòng shuāngshǒu chǎn shǐ. Wǒ shāguò bǐ nǐmen gèng yōuxiù de rén. Nǐmen xiǎng jiào wǒ yěmán rén jiù jiào wǒ ba. Wǒ huì zài zhèlǐ yíngdé shènglì."

"<My people were building civilizations when yours were shoveling your own shit with your hands. I've killed better men than you. Call me a barbarian all you want. I will be winning here.>"

As she readied for a strike of her right arm should he attempted to dodge her way, she didn't much care if Gav got the hit, it would be interesting to see if the hits were judged in total or from a specific fighter, no, it was a specific fighter. Fine.

Determined to end this herself before she got to absorbed into the battle, she would continue to pull the chain while falling back and tucking her knees to her chest before quickly launching her legs skyward and thrusting them right for Kyle's midsection into what was a mule kick, she wanted these over with now and would turn his hold on her into a serious disadvantage, though she would have to win this quickly.

Interactions/mentions: EmperorsChosen (Aki) Shotgunpenguin (Wes) Breadman (Domas) Sir Les Paul (NPCs) The Regal Rper (various)

 

[Pumpkid]

Dante Holiday

Location: Death Colosseum, Death City

Tags: Sir Les Paul Merciless Medic Azurian Dream​

It all happened so fast. One minute he was in Sara's hands struggling to take down Adrian and in the next the blueberry smurf had pried him off of Sara like nothing. He was pinned n by those disgusting spikes reminding him of bones for some reason. Shocked was an understatement. Adrian’s prowess was something to be admired. It was a wonder Sara was insistent on keeping Dante alive, feeding him information in order for him to be cautious; yet experiencing Adrian’s fighting tactics first-hand is different than word to mouth.

Dante's jaw practically remained dropped, processing how he got to where he is. How in the hell did Sara manage to disappoint him and be overcomed? He assumed she was as quick and strong as any other member, but showed his ignorance of FATE members. There are others far stronger than Sara, or maybe Dante put faith in someone who seemed tough but was also bark and no bite. Sara is intimidating, but looking at things at a larger scale, Sara was nothing without a weapon. She could probably only hold her ground against an opponent for a short while.

These were Dante's petty thoughts, remembering her words and weaponizing them out of sheer frustration. Dante was made a fool, and while he is not in control of the fight, he absolutely despises being helpless. The spikes holding Dante down only caused him to complain. “Raaaaghhh! You conniving little monster! This is plain dirty using someone's awesome form against them.” Dante exhaled through his nose like a raging bull. He glances at either side of his blades realizing there is no chance of him being able to transform. He would only injure himself and the spikes would pierce his flesh.

Now that Adrian had humiliated Dante it was no surprise he had officially blacklisted Adrian as someone he plans on getting revenge on and showing the male a thing or two even if it took him a lifetime. At least winning one time would suffice.

As Dante struggled, something else or rather, someone else had changed Adrian’s mind. Dante was set free, tossed and now in the hands of Sara. Their focus on a different combatant. Some zombie chick across the field had forced the two to join forces. The question is why and how much worse is Ashi. Dante jumped in Sara's hands as he makes a fuss, 'You got a lot of nerve dropping me, pup! How in the hell did you let some troll doll smurf get the best of you. At this point, either tape me to your fucking hands or I'll take him myself. Caught in his fucking clam shell or not! And what the hell is up with the new girl?' There was no answer. As soon as Sara and Adrian were in accordance, she struck first leaving Dante in the dark and a ball of rage. All he wanted was to beat someone up and vent his fury.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Ark & Aki | Collab, Status Update

Oct 5, 2067

Things had been going smoothly. They had all been sitting around scones, tea, cookies, and sandwiches, talking, and then one of his aunts had dropped a particular question about Maria.

An innocent question about how she was doing, and how his friendship with her was going.

It prompted a pause and then the question: “You've been digging into my peers, haven't you Auntie?”

“Of course we have,” Wanda replied in an almost bored tone, as if it were obvious. Smoothing the wrinkles of her dress as she shifted in her seat to cross a leg over the other. “Many of our peerage had witches assisting on that Kaiju assault. Ever since that complete failure on Hawaii, we've been trying to conduct more thorough reviews on the people in the program, and given you are my nephew it's not wrong for me to conduct reviews on the people you might associate with. Having access to some of your peers on the recent mission you were on is just part of the job, don't be so guarded.”

The bouncy curled ends of Wanda’s flowing purple hair were fluffed with a palm as she shifted in her seat with a puff at the gathering table.

Taking a sip of her drink, Wanda continued where she left off. “It's bad enough that during Fool’s Festival, we had that whole strange incident earlier, now a prank by some fool. How they even got a hold of the liquor to have such a effect is still a mystery. The Phoenixes we are working with are also in involving themselves too. You know how fiery their tempers can be, especially when crossed.”

“Which brings us back to a certain powerful Perceptionisr your Aunt Wanda has told us of, that we have heard in the rumors you were seen engaging with.“ Noir stated, drawing the conversation to another he had been avoiding.

“ There's nothing to talk about. I didn't even know who she was” Ark stated, though he his tone even, relaxed, even leaned back in his seat. This was the sort of conversation he wanted to avoid. “I had never spoken to Elly until recently. I also had other things to worry about.”

Aunt Blake spoke next. “Yes well, we can't throw aside that you have done some networking.” A passive reminder of the situation with the Mabason. “It's just, well, we'd like it if you did more.” A sip stopping anymore words from coming.

A pinch of frustration entered the Earth Mage's expression

“Don't give me that look, Claec.” Blake sighed.

“What about Maria, the Workshop Witch’s adoptive daughter.” Estella, his mother, chimed in.

“The Mabasons are already interested in that one.” Wanda stated. Not hiding her sense of annoyance either as she scanned the tray with home baked pastries by the staff. "You know how they are,” then took an aggressive bite into her pastry. “Oh, that's quite good.”

“You haven't gotten closer with Maria?” His mother glanced his way.

“We're friends.” Was all he said.

"Maybe work on that so it tightens the bonds between us and her mother." Wanda bluntly added.

Ark merely rolled his eyes.

“Wasn't there a weapon there fighting over you with two other women?” Blake asked.

Ark knew where that was headed. He also decided to cut that down quickly. “They were all under the influence of the spell, and besides none of them were interested in me, and one has a boyfriend.” Smoothly deflecting.

Blake shook her head and took a sip of tea.

"Well at least you could turn her and her partner into friends of the House." She added.

"Why exactly are we so focused on my peers in F.A.T.E?"

"We can't be curious about your friends?" Estella lightly prodded her son.

“What about that Giantess I heard about at the tournament?” Luna proposed.

Wanda choked on her sip of tea and only after she got it down did she stare in surprise at her fraternal twin. “You want--” she dabbed at a lip “ahuh- ahem-- you want to hook up our nephew with a Giantess? Are you being serious?”

It was hard to take anything serious when hos mother was grinning with a prideful smirk at Wanda's statement.

“Don't forget the credit you owe to who gave birth to that powerful mage.”

Wanda waved Estella’s smug commentary off with a polished manicured hand. “Fuck off Estel. You're always bragging about that when you can.” To which his mom grinned even wider. “I was making a point. Jotun blood would ruin any magical potential with that stupid antimagical trait they have. It would weaken any magical potential any children they were to sire could have."

“You forget the opportunities that having a someone with Jotun blood could provide.” Noir stated calmly.

“Well that all depends on how invested he is with her?” Wanda asked, attention shifting to her nephew.

All eyes shifted to Ark. Again, uncomfortable but he merely took a sip from his mug to hide it.

“I would have thought you'd be taking a chance here in the program to get to know your peers, Ark.” Estella stated.

It snapped him out of his thoughts immediately as he looked at his mother with a quizzical expression.

“You think I got your dad without winning him over first?” Estella countered. “When I met him he was in the middle of a nasty breakup, and well, you can see how things turned out.”

A hand went up to massage his temple.

His mother for her credit laughed. “Relax. I'm only teasing.”

“All we want is for you to be more proactive.” Luna stated.

“Estel might have a point though, where is all that flare you had when you were younger? You never had a problem picking partners a few years back.”

That turned Ark’s silence into a strained grimace. “I was too eager back then. None of those went anywhere anyway.”

His mother quirked a brow. “Sure but the ones in this program might be? I mean you seemed to be satisfied with the people in your group. You were particularly happy if I recall when you were bonding with the daughter of House Sitheris.”

The others except Noir paused all they were doing to look up.

Interest now clearly dripped in Wanda's voice. “Nix is missing out. She'd be so excited to hear this. You interacted with a Sitheris? Why didn't we hear about this sooner? What was their name?”

Ark glanced at his mom with a minor frown. The look she gave said that he should speak. “Iris Sitheris, she's a cousin of Rand Mabason. And Gav, I guess. We talked, not as much as we were when she started the program but I don't know, she got some sort of deal and left my group. I talk to her now and then when I can.” He didn't mention how he'd been disappointed when she left.

His mother patting his back affectionately didn't exactly help the situation as everyone at the table seemed to chew on this news.

“Disappointing.” Blake finally said, breaking the silence. “Hm…well, I suppose then my assumption you had lost an interest in women was wrong then. Guess it isn't an issue of libido or bi-curiosity after all.”

“Auntie! Don't SAY stuff like that in that way!”

“Your volume” Blake chided.

“Oh hush, you can't fault him for being surprised you went there.” Estella patted her son's tense shoulder.

“A bit unnecessary she went there at all.” Ark said flatly.

“Your pace is too slow.” Wanda retorted. “As we just said, we would like to see you be more active in this. I believe it is fair we give you a push.”

“Is this because of Eloise? I barely knew her. Had it not been for that event, I might not have met her at all!”

Wanda waved the comment away like it was nothing. “Fine, we’ll give you that.”

It's just the questions didn't really let up. From Maria, to Elly, to Nadia, to Sara, to others, Ark had questions popping about many of his peers he had met in FATE. It felt more like giving a report without the paperwork. If it weren't for the occasional curiosity if he were attracted to anyone in the program, he might not have had issues with the line of discussion. It was the theorizing in specific he didn't care for when his aunts thought he might be hiding something.

It didn't help he had lied about being affected by the prank. More so because he knew what kind of reaction they'd give him if he told the truth. At least his mother hadn't let that slip out in this ambush.

As if by fate, Ark's phone rang with Aki’s name appearing. It was a blessing really given he had agreed to meet up with her later, and seeing the time was getting close, he excused himself immediately as he picked up the phone to see if she was at the gate.

“Yup! Also when you said there was a gate I was kind of picturing something less like a castle’s,” Aki chimed, looking up at the large gate that somehow looked more expensive and fancy than her whole apartment.

That genuinely got a laugh. “A castle huh? Well, I'll be sure to give you a tour next time.” The hum of his bike cutting off anything else he would say. Exiting with it and coming out from the gate to where Aki was he pulled a second helmet for her to wear and then motioned she hop on. Once she was on he revved the bike and then they peeled out of the driveway and away from his place.

“Glad I got out of there, the conversations there were getting off. Anyway, how'd things go with your mission?” He asked once they were stopped at a red light.

Aki hopped onto the bike gleefully, using Ark essentially as an anchor. Though at his question, she tilted her head a bit sheepishly. “Eh… It was alright, I guess,” She replied simply. The mission had gone fine, all things considered. She was just more or less useless in it. Even if she annoyed some of her various teams in the past, if even one person could use her for a while, she usually made up for it with power. That mission, though, between the giant monster, the Undead that didn’t seem to care about her shots, and the Death Scythe, she honestly didn’t need to be there at all.

Though, the brief window of what seemed like something like disappointment didn’t linger. She was quick to perk up. “What about yours?”

It was hard to see behind the visor of his helmet but Ark also had his own mixed feelings about the mission. Going under the Pull hadn't been great but experiencing what could be done without it's influence had. It left a mixed bag of feelings given the wanting destruction that had occured.

“It was okay also, a bit more exhausting than usual though.” He admitted as the light turned green, he headed over to the intersection that took them towards a restaurant. Once parked, Ark walked with Aki into the establishment. The place was pretty big with a shopping center too and other joint places for dining. The actual restaurant they were going to though was a middle eastern dining place.

As they both ordered their food and picked a spot to sit at Ark pulled a seat out for Aki next to him and sat down in the adjacent empty one.

“Yeah, mine wasn’t that fun, either…” Aki trailed off, taking the seat and scooting herself in. Just as before, she perked up again, as if internally fighting with herself over whether to be happy or deflated about the event. “But everyone’s alive, so that’s a thing!”

She paused again, trying to push the mission and her feelings on it aside. While she did also like to hang out, she wanted to do it with Ark for a particular reason. Aki didn’t have the same feelings as at Hawaii, but since then she also didn’t have the same as she did prior to it. One could say she had started to see Ark in a different light, and while she didn’t completely understand her own feelings, Eurelia had spoken to her some about what it likely was. This was new territory, and so she felt unusually anxious about it. She didn’t even know why she was anxious. It was just words.

“So… I was, kind of thinking… um…” Aki began, trailing off again, a faint pink adorning her cheeks. Her eyes shot between him and various random items on the table. “I… really like hanging out with you and being around you… um. Do you want to, maybe… do more stuff like this, but as like… a date?” She asked, trying to force herself to be concise like Eurelia coached her, but it still came out as a bit rambly and awkward.

Ark's expression came at a bit of a surprise at the revelation. For a moment he chewed on how to respond. As he was about to was when their food came in, but instead of letting that cause a greater pause, personal experience in all his past relationships kicking in vividly here, he took a moment to take a sip of his drink as the waiters set their foods down.

Once giving his thanks he turned his attention to Aki after they were gone.

“I like hanging out with you too, but,” and there it was, he stopped touching his food entirely to look at her, and to ensure she was looking at him as he did this because she deserved at least that kind of respect he hadn't received always himself. “I don't think I'm in a good place right now to be dating.” He said honestly. There had been a myriad of other things he could have said, but that specific line he felt was the hardest truth.

As much progress as he had made in these last few months in the program, PTSD was lifelong sometimes. He had been denying the symptoms for months in the war. He had even slipped up in Hawaii, and he hadn't forgotten that. The last mission may not have caused a episode, but at the same time, it just seemed…too early.

“The reason I'm in this program is because of what I have going on up here” he tapped his forehead, past the gem, hoping she at least understood what he meant. “And because of that I think for now, it's better I get back into a proper place before I go out with a beauty like you. I do want to do more of this with you though” he offered, not quite about to let Aki spiral from his reply as he held her attention. “Can we still be friends?” The question at least hopeful as he waited.

Aki’s gaze turned to the waiter as they arrived with the food, a slightly welcome distraction from her own anxiousness, before her eyes found his again. At his response, her face shifted subtly from timid anxiousness to something else. Perhaps a hint of disappointment, but just as quickly shifted back to a sheepish smile. “Oh, sure, sure! No problem! Forget I said anything,” She quickly assured with a wave of her hands. “Of course we’re still friends, don’t worry!” She added, then turning her eyes down to the food itself.

She was disappointed. Even if he said the reason he didn’t want to was because of something else going on, there was still an unpleasant feeling in her chest that she couldn’t help. Aki wouldn’t want him to see that beyond the awkwardness of it all, though. “But… um… you’re doing okay?” She asked, peering up at him again and going back to what he said about whatever was going on in his head. She was concerned about that more than anything, really.

He knew there was little he could do about that, so instead he followed her towards to topic shift as he nodded. “ I'm mostly alright, with a bit of time I should be fine.” As reassuring as he could be.

For a minute or so they ate, it was awkward, but not as painfully awkward as it could have been had things gone totally sour. Then Ark cleared his throat as something gnawing at him begged to be asked.

“Aki, forgive me for prying about this but…uh…do you talk to Zosar much? Because if you do, I'll admit I'd be slightly surprised if you haven't noticed.” Continuing after a sip, “Unless he just wasn't your type I guess, which I can get, not everyone's really into poly. Honestly gets a bit more crap than it should for people who prefer it but that's a whole separate topic we don't have to get into. I just am curious, do you guys talk, like at all or often?”

“Okay… good,” Aki said, seemingly pleased enough with that answer as she turned back to her food. She only perked up again when he asked about Zosar, humming inquisitively as she finished chewing on the food in her mouth. “Hm? Yeah, we talk,” She replied simply, though as he kept speaking, her head tilted a bit to the side. “...type? Whaddaya mean? What’s a poly?”

His brow went up. “Uh, okay, we'll circle back to that part later. Being poly means different things for different people, so I can't give you an exact description just a general one. If you're poly, it basically means you like to have more than one person you are romantically involved with. It's different from monogamy, which is considered the ‘norm’,” he used air quotes to say that, but quickly moved on. “Anyway for some people it's something they simply are, Zosar's one of those. He and Sara from what I understand have a Poly relationship, meaning they are both poly, and both are able to date other people outside of each other if they want. Granted, you'll want to ask him how he handles that stuff if you're curious about how all that works. I just was wondering if like…” he shrugged, “I don't know, we talk about you a lot, especially the first day we met you and Feng. He was really into you two, and I noticed that quickly, he took a particularly strong liking to you, Aki. And I know that hasn't changed from our conversations. I sort of figured you knew but finding out he was Poly made you lose interest. Unfortunately many people just take advantage of that kind of relationship or don't really take it seriously or worse...”

Aki continued eating as he spoke. The gears seemed to be turning in her head, but it was clear it was still foreign to her. She wasn’t familiar with romance much at all, so it wasn’t all that surprising. “I… think I get it?”

She didn’t, but the understanding she did have was about as close as could be expected currently.

“I mean, I like him too but…” Aki never really considered their relationship to be in that way. She didn’t consider anyone really, short of Ark, and that was kickstarted by the Hawaii incident. It wasn’t something she really looked for, she was just going off how she felt currently. “...are you sure it’s like that? I mean, I get Sara and Feng… Also, we kinda can’t touch… at all.”

“Yeah he told me about that day one you guys first interacted.” He said as he continued eating. “It didn't really seem to make him lose interest though. And I mean, I can't show you our convos, but I've asked him personally, dude likes you. If I hadn't seen you and Kenny though, well, I guess I might think different. I'm not really someone that believes minor hiccups like your souls causing friction are a good enough excuse to downplay a relationship though, not that I think that's what you're saying.” He clarified. “I just think, hey, perseverance can be cool in its own way. If a guy with two souls could easily get past the hiccup with you, why can't you two? You're both bound to reach Kenny's level at some point. From what I know reading about Volatile souls, you probably might get there faster than Zosar. Even if you don't end up dating, he likes you quite a bit. If he isn't showing it to you yet, then I'd say I watch for when he does. Maybe you just have been missing the signs.”

“He said he likes me…?” Aki asked, pausing to take another bite. She didn’t know how to feel about that. It was nice, on the one hand. On the other hand, she didn’t know what to do with that information. She barely figured out how to ask Ark out and that still didn’t go how she wanted it to.

She really seemed to be in a bit of a daze learning about this, Ark thought.

Nodding to her question he finished off the last of his food. “He does, that I can assure you. I mean there's a lot of stuff we talk about in general, so I don't doubt his interest.” Then he glanced around conspiratorially and leaned in. “Some things I can't exactly share, better off asking him” he nudged her with a chuckle.

Aki just stared at him in a deadpan at that, clearly not getting it. “...Why? Is it a secret? Why would he tell me then?” She asked with a tilt of her head.

She didn't get the joke. Ark smiled a little in amusement, and patted Aki on the shoulder. Chuckling, he replied: “I was making a joke but I see you didn't catch on. It's fine” he chuckles. “I just hope you can survive Zosar's teasing.”

Aki’s eyes narrowed and her face shifted into a pout. “You’re making light of me…” She murmured in retort but continued to finish what was left of her food. “I can survive just fine,” She added with a light huff.

“Oh no no,” he reassured, still grinning. “I just think Zosar's teasing can be a bit rough at times, you'll see what I mean, I think.” Though she'd probably have it worse, not that he was about to give that away.

Aki stared at him with suspicion, a pouting hum droning from her closed mouth. He was still teasing her, he could tell. However her expression did ultimately soften. “Well… Teasing aside, do you wanna go to the arcade or something now, or…?” She suggested.

“I know a pretty good arcade place we can check out. Follow me.”

Collabers: EmperorsChosen

Mentions: n/a

 

[Haze-]

Wren
Death City; Death Colosseum​

There was a lot of noise, a lot of words spoken in a language she knew, allegedly. But it all registered as nothing but foreign drivel and noise to her sharp ears, only sounds. She met the origin of all that noise with a blank, almost confused stare. Watching. Adjacent. Apart. Any ounce of sense within her washing away as the world swam from her feral, rabid mind.

She blinked, and Valerie was still opening her mouth, talking. Words, be they smug, demanding, or scolding, went in one lupine ear and came out the other. All word vomit she couldn’t have cared less to slow down and listen to. The morning light from the grinning sun fell dazzlingly onto the stadium, the air waving and blurring against the heat in her eyes, and all she was focusing on was the sweet, foul smell of all the gathered souls washing up over her in waves.

Wren took a moment to let the scent settle into her nostrils, her unfocused gaze drifting around the podium, absentmindedly. It was like smelling fine wine.

Then her ears flicked down, catching the sound of Valerie’s boots pushing off the ground before she’d even halved the distance between them. Wren’s head snapped in her direction, eyes wide, pupils shrunk, mouth hanging wide open. Not a single coherent thought crossed that head as she watched the bladed leg come towards her, no hesitation, there was only movement.

She didn’t notice her ‘holding back’, it didn’t even register as a thought in her mind— Wren just rushed toward her, black nails popping loose from her twitching fingers as new, sharper implements took their place. She jabbed her entire arm out into Valerie’s abdomen, fingers bunched together, in one swift, spearing motion. Not making any distance away or planning to dodge the kick at all, she was completely absorbed by instinct. She was either disemboweling the AW or being split open herself.

Neither of them would have seen the outcome of their clash either wave. Wren felt it like an invisible grip yanking her by the collar, snapping the airflow shut from her throat. Before she knew it, she was pulled, swatted towards the same spot alongside Valerie. She gritted her teeth, planted her foot down, her ankle twisting painfully against the magnetic force, almost slipping on the floor, but she managed to pivot herself to switch that jab into a full-on slash that she threw at Valerie as she lost her footing.

Finally, she tumbled into a roll on the floor, wasting no time to try and make distance away from Valerie and the Gauss’s ring of fire. The wereweapon ran away on all fours, hands pounding rapidly against the floor before she skidded to a halt on the ground once she’d made enough distance. She was sweating bullets, breathing heavily. That yank from Gauss had somehow managed to sober her up, if only a bit.

‘We’ve got a mouth on us today, don’t we?’ — Wren steadied her pounding heart, threw a grimace down at the floor as she scoffed. She needed to address the madness quick before it became a problem. More than it already was. She had plenty of chances where she could have played dirty to get a tag or a nasty wound on Valerie, such as when she got on top of her, but she hadn’t been thinking straight at all for a while now.

She wasn’t taking her chances anymore. She needed a clear mind for this battle, not a feral one. The AW was getting too comfortable already; wrestling with her like she wouldn’t bite into her neck or scratch her forearms into messy red strips.

‘You’re talking all funny too…’

“I know, right??? This here foooooool has been doing nothing but…perfect…his lines— sharpening the edge of the tongue, hefting the weight of the wordsssss—AHH!” — She heard him let out a loud, shaky gasp in her mind. Wheezing for lost air, as if he’d forgotten to take pauses between words — “But…Is it possible that I…Was my performance NOT to your liking?! Could it be that I was…how wouldst thine royal graces put it……”

“Too much of a ‘kiss-ass’.” — He asked, genuinely concerned for his piss poor performance. Wren rolled her eyes in the real world, gulped down a breath as she began to pull herself up from the floor.

“Aahh…I even had the attendees practice for a little dance-off in the ball room— o sweet Death, be merciful!”

‘I mean like, c’mon…’Jolly good show’? Get your act together…’ — Wren rolled her neck, letting out a deep sigh as she closed her eyes. Focused on the Calm Seal, her training, stilling the swirling chaos of her soul and becoming all mind — “You are— oh, so right— dear Mistress…From now on, I shall focus on being only my truest, vilest self for you!”

“Don’t…” — She muttered under her breath, pleading — “OUR TRUEST, VILEST, REVILED SELVES!”

There were attempts to shut him off entirely, but it was too slow. Her stomach was still grumbling, and she was wasting precious time getting her shit together. Valerie could’ve shortened the distance she’d made in no time at all. So, she resorted to the fastest way to shut down her cravings. Bringing her forearm up to her mouth and simply biting down just hard enough to draw blood, guzzling down the sweet red nectar pouring from it.

“M’highness! That’s—!” — At first there was shock, and a half-formed warning from the Jester’s tongue. But then there was silence. An easy, warm feeling of being sated — “That’s…”

“Ohhh…That’s…Gooood…” — The voice faded, as did the hunger pangs. The jester’s last words before she steeled her back her mind with the Calm Seal were nothing but mad ramblings. Distant, satisfied groans, words of praise, zealous gratitude— then something about putting some research into ‘self-cannibalism’.

With difficulty, she managed to take her jaws off herself quick before the cravings kicked back up again and she ended up biting a chunk off her forearm. Refusing to look down at the bloody mess on her arm, or to feel the pain at all when she moved it.

All of this only served to remind her of how bad of an idea it was for her to be out on the field. Her madness was an active threat, unlike most others. A ticking timebomb. Spending over a year of her life having to defuse said timebomb shoving food down her gullet had her tack the whole thing down to a science.

She would start to feel a faint discomfort after going 10 minutes without a lick of food, or anything to sate her cravings. 30 minutes, and her stomach would feel like it were curling inward on its own, flipping from the inside out. On the following 10, her brain would start to spin morbid strategies and imaginary scenarios, wondering for how long she could go, how many poor, innocent civilian’s she could devour before they put her down like a dog.

By the hour, she would probably act upon those intrusive thoughts.

Right now, she was somewhere between minute 10 and 30.

Thankfully for her, Valerie seemed to completely miss the point of not trying to look pretty in a fight. She was all amplification and flashy, choreographed moves as far as she’d seen. Even when she was throwing hits at Zosar. That fact alone raised her abysmal chances of outperforming her amplification ever-so-slightly.

She couldn’t fully transform into a werewolf, best she could do is ‘flex’ her partial transformations and look bigger and stronger. But aside from that, Wren only had dirty tricks and low blows to work with.

A giddy smile split her face just at the thought. It brought her back to the good old days of loan-sharking, beating adults twice her size into submission. She felt right at home — “C’mon, then…”

Interactions: The Regal Rper

 

[Shotgunpenguin]

Wes Kraven
Death Colosseum - Death City, Nevada
October 31'st

Mentions: RedArmyShogun (Feng) Breadman (Domas)
Interactions: EmperorsChosen (Aki) Sir Les Paul (NPC's)
​

---

Wes didn’t know what to expect when he had thrown his kick. Well that was a lie, he expected for his kick to land, and then he would figure everything out after the fact. Things like planning ahead and thinking about his actions took a back seat, tried to speak up, and then were told that if they didn’t shut up that he would turn the car around and go home. What Wes didn’t expect was for the sharpened blade of a sword to sprout out from her head like some sort of lethal mohawk. His lidded eyes widened, knowing that it was too late to stop his kick.

To anyone watching from the rafters, it might have seemed that Wes managed to divert his kick at the last second, avoiding skewering his foot like a kebab around the newfound growth on Alma’s head. To Aki and Alma, who had a front row seat to the kick, the actual answer was far less impressive. Wes’s foot swung towards Alma’s head…. Only to miss it completely by a few inches as his foot flew past both of their heads.

As it turned out, Wes’s vision was still swimming from his impromptu usage as a bouncy ball. Thankfully, that meant that his kick that was supposed to knock out a few teeth was off the mark from the very beginning. Unfortunately, his kick still carried momentum, momentum that didn’t bode well for his already buckling knee. The world shifted as his knee buckled, his body weight proving too much as he collapsed forward.

His buckled knee hit the ground first, followed by the hell of his other leg as it slammed into the floor to stop himself from doing an impromptu split. His bad arm swung forward in a way that it shouldn’t have, the limb completing its arc by swinging back down with just as much force as it had ascended with. A dry, flakey and slightly crunchy sound emanated from his shoulder, like drywall being broken apart, sending a fresh wave of fiery pain straight through his system. If his shoulder wasn’t entirely dislocated before, it certainly was now.

A strangled sound somewhere between a grunt and a whine slipped through his teeth as he fought the instinct to cradle his arm to his chest. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes, threatening to spill down his cheeks. His good arm pulled back, fingernails digging into his palm hard enough to leave little crescent shaped indents in the skin. The punch he threw at the side of Alma's head was wide, sloppy, more of those big punches you’d see in a bar brawl in a western flick. But with his soul still reeling from the force of the soul menace, it was a sad fact that Wes couldn’t do very much else.

He wasn’t a martial artist like Feng, or a mercenary used to getting their hands dirty outside of their weapon form like Aki or Domas. He always had someone to fall back on, to deal with the issue in front of them while he stayed in the back, providing half-assed support and relying on his partner to pick up the slack. And it was showing, hard.

 

[The Regal Rper]

Leo | Death Festival/ Tournament Stands

There was a collective cry when Gauss' trick took effect. Multiple voices shouting out in protest or confused frustration. That united shout was audible, just as much as the shift of bodies rising to their feet was visible.

For those few seconds many people stood from their seats to see what exactly the elemental utility meister was doing when screens went blank. Leo among them.

Watching people get pulled by an invisible force into the ring of fire he had created certainly got a reaction. A loud applause. There was a ‘oooooooh’ but then came the applause.

This wasn't insanely loud and the applause weren't from everyone as most people only got up to keep an eye on their specific fights but certainly many were enjoying the spectacle. Some clapped merely because of the infectious energy, others didn't. Gauss had curried some favor here more than anyone else with this trick he pulled and for a few seconds, he could bask in that with his partners. They might have heard whistling, cheering, but what drowned it all out was the clapping. In this case the fan service outweighed the silence of those who watched without offering any reaction at all. And those with negative opinions towards the Meister or even his partners among the crowd, their contributions were nonexistent. At least a majority of the people in a given row clapped, and that sound carried.

As the screens came back on though, this brief accolade died down in a few seconds as people returned to their seats to watch the other fights.

Much like the chaos of the battle Royale shifted what one reacted to, so too did the other fights quickly shift the respective mood and overall responses.

Leo was immediately back to observing the fights with his entourage.

Some people were keeping their eyes locked on the Sara-Adrian and Zombie female three way exchange.

After Gauss had performed his stunt, eyes had fallen on Wes who was coming out of his daze, and was now focusing on what the crowd had reacted to earlier-- Aki and her wrestling partner.

The fight around Zosar, specifically Wren and Valerie's tussle had cottened attention, eyes were closely following that too, especially when Gauss' trick had impacted them and put a forced pause on their exchange.

Kyle and Feng's exchange was reaching what looked like the end and Gavril joining in had caught attention on how this would change the layout of the fight also.

All that excitement the crowd was feeling took a turn for different reasons as the energy became more tame, focused, and in other cases tense.

There were multiple reasons for this sudden dip though. And that came from watching specific participants in the various fights.

Wes may not have realized it but he had attention moving on and off him periodically before Gauss pulled his half complete soul menace to draw in the unlucky ones nearest him. Zosar standing in the Gong’s defense had actually gotten eyes on the Weapon pretty consistently which had started a conversation among some Weapons in the crowd and some civilians about how they would just play dead until the opportunity arose to get out of the situation where not one but two people were targeting you and you only had one (technically two) people in your defense. So when he stirred, the attention he received was back immediately. There was some actual concern with how he was moving that Leo heard from some people. The way he looked didn't help this either. As common as occasional blood might be in some contact sports, Wes looked awful. This tournament was different from a sports match though given the individuals involved were capable of supernatural feats, and so most remained silent as they watched him move.

His parents however, and his buddy that had been pushing him to get himself involved in the activity, were a different story though. Wes' mother was horrified, and his father, equally so. Though they kept composed, witnessing it all. A group of people that found out the parents of the Gong weapon were in the crowd actually couldn't help but reflect the parental concern radiating off them, or even the slight discomfort that Wes' buddy might have shown. Someone briefly made the comment that perhaps the judges would issue him out by default given his state, but no such ruling came. And so for however long Wes struggled to get back on his feet, people watched.

Once he was up, it was anyone's guess what he was doing next. Leo had the right hunch though, and Wes was stumbling then moving in the direction of his team. The only reason he didn't get interrupted was because Zosar and Wren had fully gotten the attention of the ones after him.

It was anyone's guess what he was going to try and do in his current state to help out.

“Why isn't he changing back to his Weapon form?” Someone asked.

“Maybe he's dazed out of his mind, who knows?”

“Someone should just tag him out he's clearly in no state to keep going.”

“Guy should just forfeit, this is just getting sad.”

“Shhhh! He's getting closer to Blue and the goth!”

It was what Wes did that hadn't entirely been expected.

His parents heard him say exactly what he said as did everyone else on the bleachers with them. It was painful, perhaps not coherent like he wanted, and emotional-- but most of the people around them that were combatants, understood what it was like to be in his position, and didn't put any heavy factor into what the Weapon was saying. It was abundantly clear he wasn't in any good state to anyone-- that didn't mean there was no reaction of anticipation as he kicked right as Alma did the most devious thing to defend herself, just for the crowd to: “Aaaaaaaaah!” in horror for the imminent-- only for him to miss what would have been a truly painful land and a, “Ooooooooh!” Follow as he crumpled.

His parents were relieved. Multiple people were a mixture of that and amused and at least tried to provide comfort to the parents in the moment with his thankfully failed attempt. There were limits to the violence some people wanted to see here.

Aki's expression was the true icing on the cake. Her befuddled reaction to both Wes and Alma’s respective statements was going to make a lot of message boards and chat rooms happy- just as much as Feng's aggressive expression would be useful for the latest meme.

Live streaming comments were going by in a rapid scroll downwards with every new message according to one person Leo could hear from.

What threw this atmosphere off was the attention that came from others on the fight around Zosar when someone said an expletive as the fight there took a shift.

Leo's eyes were on that fight as it unfolded.

Mentions: Shotgunpenguin RedArmyShogun Merciless Medic Pumpkid EmperorsChosen Azurian Dream Haze- Breadman Sir Les Paul @November Witch

Interactions: n/a

 

[The Regal Rper]

Meddlesome Duo
Colosseum, Tournament

It was easy to see why things had started picking up.

Kim had two tags on her, commentators pointed out versus the one on her opponent. Now the tide had turned in the ex-infiltrator’s favor once more, courtesy of Gauss and Noah.

People had seen the most intense action in the FATE Bracket more than EAT. Perhaps that was why as the Bracket began there was a influx of more people filling the stands and more viewers on the streams or broadcast. People had been shocked, shot at, been hit with the blunt edges of a Weapon, had the rules bent by receiving a cut or slash here or there, some had literal fire thrown right at them, been pulled into the flames thanks to Gauss, hit with ice, smacked around with spiritual water, but this specific moment got a more noticeable reaction in Leo’s group.

It came as Noah sent that bolt of lightning flying.

There was a brief moment where both Andrea and Leshauna’s cry of pain had caused multiple people to wince witnessing them get hit with spiritual lightning. The effect was made all the more real by how they both issued a surprised shout in unison that turned into a pained cry, their hair rising from the effect of the static and current running through their bodies, Andrea’s jeaned skirt turned a darker shade while Leshauna's black curly hair puffed out wildly, turning the Caribbean’s braids into a mess of curls and knots before the lightning exited into the ground below them, leaving stained black marks where both stood.

Knocking out two of Kim's weapons had been the perfect assist the lone Meister needed to break himself out of the situation he was in but it also came with the impact of getting a reaction in the crowd itself.

Five people got up when Andrea and Leshauna hit the ground after swaying on their legs before buckling much like Wes a distance away had, collapsing over each other. Passed out.

Amanda, a female Meister on Leo’s right a seat away ushered an ouch. Commenters in the live stream on phones issued similar statements. The sight wasn't pretty, and unlike Domas and Tala, the surprised shout the girls gave and their immediate fall made the scene a bit more painful to watch especially with how smoke curled off their stunned bodies. Leo recognized at least two of the five audience members who might have been friends of the Weapons, possibly even Kim, and the looks on their faces was anything but pleased. Some people who had been rooting for the girls against the werewolf’s partner were making claims that there should be some sort of rule against that. There were no rules against what Gauss and Noah had done though, and so nothing came of it.

Hushed murmuring may have followed but all the fights continued uncaring of another pair falling.

What did change was the dynamic between Kim and her opponent as it turned into a display of martial arts, skill, and power. A divide formed in this moment clearly here. Some voting for Kim, others voted for Zosar. Though there was clearly some tension now as these two went at it. One that was palpable as they circled each other before clashing once more.

It was clear these two had history. At least to experienced fighters it was. Anyone watching them earlier would have heard the brief exchange between Zosar, Kim and Valerie that there was some familiarity before the fight began. Both knew each other from the way they could respond to moves off the other either as an attack was being made or as a move was being performed. If Domas had flown their way after blasting Tala perhaps the decisive end to this conflict would have been a impromptu Weapon dropping in.

As it stood now though Kim and Zosar were evenly matched. The match was only getting started as both lashed out at each other, treating all the chaos around them like background noise.

Their fight was drawing eyes, especially from those that recognized the FATE Meister from rumors or whispers, or the friends or acquaintances of Kim who sat in the stands.

This was where attention also came on Wren and Valerie, the two who were recovering from Gauss' smart move. The AW had increased the immediate space between herself and Gauss, realizing he was the source of the whole forced shift in her fight with Wren.

Wren however remained stationary, dazed, out of focus. Several eyes were on her while Valerie was sussing out what the fuck Gauss had actually done to kill the mood of her grand scene, which was around the same time he also provided Zosar the assist.

“What's up with her?” Someone asked. Pointing at Wren on the screen. Leo wasn't the only one seeing it. The cameras on Wren were displaying that unfocused hypnosis she was in as she internally fought not just the feral instincts she was dealing with but also the invisible battle she was having with herself.

“She's fighting her instincts.” When Leo looked, the soul owning that voice was that of a werewolf in the crowd. Lyall was her stage name, if he recalled the face correctly. She had been watching Sara and Adrian fight but her attention like others had shifted also. Most of the group she sat with were werewolves it seemed. “She's struggling with it,” the same speaker noted. “Seems like she doesn't have much experience dealing with that side of herself. Surprised given she's clearly from the Cutem and her present form seems to be more based around agility than strength. You'd think someone capable of staying in a mixed state like that would be used to it.”

That explanation made more people turn their attention more on the Wren and Valerie exchange, especially as Valerie herself had noticed the same unsteady fugue that Wren was fighting to get out of. To Wren's credit it provided one advantage in keeping Valerie off her for the moment.

“You think the werewolf has a chance? Valerie’s been doing well so far.” A male voice, a human Weapon, beside Lyall asked.

“We'll have to see.” Lyall shrugged. Watching this fight more closely as Wren stayed stationary and Valerie clearly seemed to be more alert. “I used to work on the same team as Valerie before she got into the program, she's a serious hitter when she's not running her mouth and being a thorn. Bless Kim’s heart if she got that girl a bit more tame. If you ask me, Gauss doing what he did has shifted the fight. From the looks of it, Valerie looks like she's thinking things over. I'll leave the critique of the Cutem to an expert like Render.”

Lyall’s comment wasn't wrong. Valerie was eyeing Wren cautiously, not in alarm or concern. She was studying her from a distance. That stopped the second Wren moved her arm to her mouth, the AW was moving on her in a heartbeat.

Several feet away from them, Zosar and Kim were trying to land their respective tags on each other. They had retrieved discarded broken weapons others had used in combat and were now using them against each other until Zosar completely destroyed the one Kim was about to use, only for her to knock the one in his hand clean away. Nothing had changed between the two as neither one had gotten a hit on the other yet. The moment one got close to landing a tag the other shifted out of it. Kim, despite the fact Zosar had more raw power, was holding her own and arguably well. Which came down to understanding how to use her Wavelength.

Just when it looked like he was about to get that final tag in though as he slipped past her guard, Kim dodged it, diverting his fist away, backflipped on her hands, forcing him to dodge the kick going for his chin, and then creating a gap with a series of flips she performed a technique that made use of the destructive power of her wavelength. On her last large flip, Kim slammed the ground with Soul Force using her feet to pulverize the floor into a pit of scattered chunks in front of her.

As she acted on her plan to send this debris flying in Zosar's direction, Valerie’s charge towards Wren came to a grinding stop as the AW's eyes narrowed watching Wren.

Anyone's would when you just witnessed your opponent biting into their own arm enough to leave bloody teeth marks. Wren may have had the same enhanced healing that all werewolves possessed but she wasn't a bloodsucker, so this just seemed strange.

The worst thing about being on camera was how clear your expressions were caught, and it was that feral look in her eyes fading after people watched her sink her teeth into something that left room for thoughts to wander.

"What is she, Mike Tyson?" A comment came and went.

She may as well have taken a page out of Mike Tyson's book of fights with how she seemed to calm down. To the viewer it was up to their own interpretation. Over on Leo’s side most people looked quizzically at Lyall or even other DWMA agents near them. From the reactions of Lyall and some of the other werewolves in the stadium watching, from the silent expressions of some EAT Agents, most made no attempt to offer any answers. Fact was half had no idea what she was doing.

To the average person there was no way to understand why Wren did what she did. Was it a werewolf thing? If it was, what did it mean? Was she setting up to something else, if it was a unique move her specific race could do or was it a feint to some trick she had up her sleeve? Was it a tactic to throw Valerie off? The questions varied in the mind.

The one person comparing her to Mike Tyson created an avalanche of opportunity for comments to come rolling, especially those among the live stream who took the opportunity to make jokes, throw in a lewd comment, or the more curious question.

Wren had no idea what she had started with this one action alone, and some of those same eyes began poking the same questions on Sara. Wondering if she would bite Adrian or the Zombie. If she might wolf out like Wren and display the same intensity Wren has. For Leo, where he was in the crowd, no one leaned towards making a xenophobic comment- at least not that he heard.

The one to snap everyone out of the trance Wren had put them all in was Kim. Kim calling Valerie's name for an assist.

Eyes returning to Zosar vs Kim were drawn to quite the scene. The two Meisters were tearing up the colosseum floor in different ways to get an advantage. Their fighting had also put them further away from Gauss, who himself would soon be seeing his own run in with new challengers.

Kim however was determined to stay in this, and that determination was holding out against Zosar. It had resulted in her weaponizing the destructive force her wavelength could provide in ways that could almost be questionable to the novice that had no idea what she was doing. Moves that were subtle while Zosar was matching her, using the overwhelming power he could create with strategic counters. Pits were being ripped clean in the floor as the colosseum itself was being used as a way for one to get the advantage on the other to land a blow by breaking balance.

Valerie shifted plans immediately in response to Kim’s cry.

Moving not straight towards Wren but past her, towards Kim and Zosar. Wren could move to intercept but things were different now. Valerie's eyes said she wasn't playing anymore. Whatever that biting thing Wren had done for whatever reason had also put the AW on alert. Flexing her Werewolf muscles to their fullest degree was what she needed to do now.

Valerie however also had a surprise. Instead of just repeating the same approach of charging and clashing with Wren. She did something different. She launched into a jump that was higher sent her feet into the air anticipating Wren’s actions, and her wavelength spiked.

The speed of her blades picked up faster and faster, turning red with every rotation and that's where something only Zosar could have seen in her soul when the fight first began, became clear to Wren and the audience watching her.

“KIM!”

Heat, sparks, and the hissing light of her buzzing blades came to life.

The real big difference between Wren and her, was her Capacitor soul utilized a different application of the Pop-Cap technique, and that showed as her her soul churned out heat and flame.

One of her legs flared to life with energy. Heat and sparks flew off her chain as her leg moved with frightening speed and there was a flash as her blades ignited, a projectile arc of concentrated energy and heat shot off one burning buzzing leg, moving faster than even Wren could move to intercept, not that this was something she would want to tank anyway even if she had the speed to do so (which she didn't). It was like firing a bullet the size of a baseball, and that bullet went straight towards Zosar and Kim as Valerie sent this projectile flying off her spinning bladed leg.

The two Meisters were visible for about four seconds and then Zosar moved, the projectile missed him but when it hit the ground, both were consumed in dust as Valerie's attack slammed into the ground before bursting, blocking a clear view of what happened.

Valerie wasn’t finished with just this though, because as soon as she launched this attack and was losing air, she immediately shifted her burning red blades on to Wren, halting the movement of her chainblade as she brought that same leg down on Wren. Ready to follow up with another move to throw the werewolf off game.

"You're done for." Was all she said as she came crashing down in her direction.

With burning hot teeth on her leg, Valerie struck out. "Forfeit and maybe I'll go easy on your partner!"

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