You make your way into the museum. Quite a large place, a tyrannosaurus skeleton stands dead-center behind the main desk. It's noticeably white-yellow, probably made out of bone instead of fossil what with what little you know about this island. It's as large as it is devoid of people, but a cheery-looking girl stands behind the counter. You walk up to her with thunder in your soul.
[力] "I ask, is there any exhibits artifacts related to Taoism?"
She shakes her head "We haven't put any sort of artifacts related to major religion on display. The closest thing to that is some ancient stained-glass window, and that's in storage."
[力] "Ah, (!) Can you take me there?"
[NPC] "I suppose so, what for?"
[力] "But I'm sure it was not what I was looking for something very important."
[NPC] "...Your English isn't very good, is it?"
[力] "No, really quite pathetic."
[NPC] "Ahaha, no matter. Come, follow me."
You smile. "You have my gratitude."
You follow the woman down a few halls and eventually arrive at a discrete, out-of-the-way door. She produces a key and after just a few tries opens it, leading you into a room about as large as the main hall of the museum. Rows upon rows of industrial shelves upon shelves break up the enormous empty space, each shelf almost reaching the ceiling and full of a variety of items. You note that there's a large amount of taxidermy and seemingly innocuous household objects like lamps. It seems the museum is more geared towards Derika's history than anything.
She leads you down some aisles, way to the back. Overall the storage room was more like a full-sized warehouse than a simple room. She eventually stops and directs your attention to a small, square, stained-glass window... thing. It looked more like a tile to you.
Dead-center it was emblazoned with the silhouette of a bird with outstretched wings. You check it from every single angle and find no Bagua, nor anything indicating the panel is of any interest to you.
What you do find of interest however is a flickering shadow in the corner of your eye. As you turn to look at it all you see is a bunch of objects crashing down.
[力] "We are not alone."
[NPC] "WHAT!? Protect me!"
She grabs you by your shirt and starts shaking you hysterically. You're starting to find her annoying. You gently remove her, pull out your panels and begin to focus.
坤; Receptive Energy
巽; Wind
...
...
...
There's someone in the opposite aisle.
You quicklyrapidly step into the other aisle and with a flick of the wrist send a gust of wind, pushing everything leaning over the ends of the shelves down to the wall.
You see no aggressor, just a pile of objects against the far wall and the curator with an peculiarly angry face.
[NPC] "Look at that mess! Out! Get out get out get out get out get out!"
[力] "But..."
[NPC] "No, get out! Get out now!"
[力] "Eh... yes..."
Well.
Not much to really say about that.
You leave the museum with a melancholy sigh, returning your Bagua panels to your bag before going down the street. You wonder if you can check whatever treasury this place has. You start to imagine grand treasures and those that would fall to the avarice they bring. When the museum doors open again from behind you, down the street, you adjust your elements of Earth and Wind to sense the person leaving. You instantly cast it as suspect #1 regarding the knocked over objects, but it's possible that they were just visiting the museum when you got there, and you don't want them to think you're on to them by looking back.
Wait, what are you thinking? You don't have time to deal with clumsy people who slip into storage rooms, you have a search to get on with!
The matter gets much more pressing when you you take a left and whoever it is goes down the same route.
You keep the wind receptive to keep him within your sense. You take a right and whoever it is takes a right matching yours.
You take a left. They follow.
You take another left. They follow.
You take a third left. They follow.
You take a fourth left. They follow.
They followed you as you went in a square. They are after you, specifically. You can't imagine who would be after you here, (aside from guards) but you consider that they were hired by Ryan to test you. You find these things completely unnecessary, but your guardian is a fanatic, so you suppose there's nothing that can be done.
You cross the street into an alleyway. Opportunely, it's shaped like an L, so after you turn the corner, you reach a dead-end. Perfect. Outside of the prying eyes of the public, you can prevent legal formalities from getting in your way and deal with things faster.
You retrieve your Bagua panels and use the summer elements 巽 (Wind) and 乾 (Sky/Heaven) to lift yourself up. You sense and then see the offending character reach the dead end with confusion. You drop down behind them.
[力] "Who are you?"
The man does not answer. Instead, he draws a blade. A large horned tiger-like creature appears from thin air behind him. He rushes forward. His actions seem reckless, unfitting for the inherent quality of the black blade he wields. That tiger on the other hand seems almost asleep. You're going to guess that it's his ability.
You use the standard evasive combo of 巽 and 坤 to give yourself flexibility and allow yourself to yield to his actions, essentially copying the motion in this case. As he nears, he swings his blade upward diagonally. You bend over backwards to dodge and roll with the momentum, spinning to deliver some offense in the form of a kick in the same motion as the slash and using 乾 to launch a blast in his face. He flies backward to the end of the alley, slamming straight into the tiger.
he seems to get more agitated as the tiger vanishes. With even more fervor than before, he rushes forward. You're not concerned. As soon as you saw that tiger in such cramped quarters, you were ready to take measures to dodge the undodgeable, and you intend to make use of it. With a downward thrust with your right hand and a stomp with your right foot, four pillars of earth, each taller than the last rise from the ground. The last is slightly taller than your opponent and stops directly in front of his face. With just a little bit of 離 you rush up the pillars and leap off the end, hurling wind backward at him, pushing him right into the last pillar and landing where the tiger was previously. It's a bit too close for your liking, and you aren't about to deliver any blows along the lines of decisive so quickly, putting you at a distinct disadvantage, though to anyone else it'd probably look the opposite.
he whips around and you barely have time to notice the man appearing out of thin air to your left transform into a snake, lunging at your face.
You do what any sane person would do in your situation.
You duck and ignite the air, blasting the god damn reptile. You keep the flames going long enough to propel it well over your head and into the brick wall the side opposite.
"Damn snakes."
Of course, the man is now within swinging distance and his blade is already raised. There's not enough room or time to dodge properly and you still aren't fond of the idea of killing him, especially if he was hired by Ryan. Instead you opt for 艮, to become still; unmovable. His blade connects with you and rebounds off. He doesn't seem to care and continues swinging, so you decide to use some 坎; danger; the abyss.
The abyss is one of your more mysterious ability uses with many applications. The abyss is deep and empty quite simply. Combined with 艮, it allows you to fill the abyss as he strikes at you again and again. The sword strikes are somewhat uncomfortable, but at least not painful. Soon enough the abyss is filled enough for your uses (barely at all) and you unleash the stored energy, throwing the man to the opposite end of the alley, hitting the brick wall, but landing on his feet.
Something about him seems off to you. He's filled with anger and conviction. This is unfitting for both a petty thief/creep and a hired assassin. Either it has something to do with his animal-summoning ability or something is wrong here.
He seems to be mounting up his rage. From the ground you see three other people rise out of nothingess, each seemingly more difficult than both the last and a swordsman drunk with inexplicable, reckless rage. He seems about to attack when a loud announcement resounds.
"All participants to the stadium, the matches are about to begin!"
The additional familiars (?) vanish and the man mutters something under his breath before turning to face you completely.
"This is not over, you hear hat boy?! I will be coming for you after this match, so you better watch your back!"
He quickly absconds out of your sensory range and you're left to wonder what the hell just happened.
"'Hat boy'?"
You glance back at the disturbed ground and the charred snake corpse. You decide to fix the ground back to flatness, replenishing your 坤 in the process and leave the snake for whoever has to deal with it.
This tournament might be worth checking out... you don't intend to do any fighting of course; that skirmish drained your resources more than you'd like, but at least you came out on top...
You can't know these things with precision, but if you were to estimate...
Wind and Sky are easy to get more of since you can replenish them from almost anywhere at any time. It's become second-nature to replenish it constantly.
By creating a fire yourself, you can harness it and replenish your stores over some time.
Earth and Water is easy enough to get more of, and Mountain, while usually a bit trickier, should be even easier since the entire city is on a mountain.
You don't know of any Lakes on the island, so you're going to have to conserve it. Bottled water occasionally works, but you're not fond of buying and pouring several different brands on yourself in the hopes that one works.
Thunder is nigh impossible to get by yourself unless you have a lightningrod on hand. You'll have to use it wisely.
Wait, wait, no. You have a mission to accomplish, and judging by that announcement it's too late to sign up. Besides, you doubt an artifact with religious paraphernalia on it would be the prize. Most competitions allowed to be broadcasted city-wide are better at upholding secularism than that.
You decide to look for a Chinese map of the city. Would a place like this have an airport? A city hall? It's not like you have time to stand around being indecisive; Ryan should be coming in a week, and you intend not to let him down. In any case, it can't hurt to search aimlessly!
You start to wander the city, completely forgetting the library until you are hopelessly lost.
[Rigel]
"Let the hunger games first match of the annual Brinkhaven tournament begin!"
After a few long minutes waiting, the doors to the arena started to slide open, showing both teams the arena through thick glass.
About a mile across, the arena was a giant hexagon, with the teams on opposite sides. In the middle, in between the two team gates was a tall mountain, draped with tropical foliage. Spread to her left were rolling sand dunes, dusted with tiny green plants. Extended to the right was a forest. In between the two were grassy plains-like areas with scraggly shrubs, not much but perhaps enough to provide a bit of cover from sight. Cawing cut the air as a few large birds spiraled up from the mountain, chasing each other. The edges of the hexagon glowed, extending upward into the sky at least two miles before slanting into a roof. Those walls were obviously the work of some Gifted, and most likely extended into the ground as well. A stream of water flowed down the mountain toward the forest, and though it wasn't visible due to the trees, Silvira's ears told her that it turned into a waterfall.
This is going to be interesting. Silvira thought, before turning toward Liam.
"Do you think we're ready?" She asked, voice tinged with worry.
((This is the official description of the arena.)) ((There are animals in the arena, so be prepared for that. If you have any questions about it, and what might be available for use by your characters in the arena, talk to me.))
Registration: Joseph/Team Lenny Face/Desert Eagle + Ammunition/Unaligned
Registration: Maximilian/Team (I don't remember)/ Anti-Material Rifle + Ammunition + Sword thingy/Physical
Both Joseph and Maximilian arrive at their respective areas where they are supposed to be. They are fashionably late.
((~Not exactly sure whats happening. Let me know if I need to post something~))
Haley had also turned up, although nobody had noticed her, because her roleplaying had been sadly lacking. She looked around the arena, noticing a large mountain in the center, and various other interesting landmarks. 'If you guys can protect me, I can scout out what the other guys are doing,' she said to her teammates.
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I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
He perks up as the doors slide open at last, revealing the battlefield they'd be fighting on. A pretty large arena, cut in half by the mountain by the looks of it. It's walled in, with a really high roof... and birds apparently. Hopefully normal ones. The sand dunes might be hard to move in, but sand is nowhere near as dense as earth. The grassy open are looks good, easy to see in all directions. And the forest. Yeah not going in there unless I have to.
Liam turns to respond to Silvira. "Of course we are, we're Team Tableflip." He says with a grin, looking and feeling confident.
"Oh, hey Haley, didn't see you there." Liam waves in greeting.
The arena is revealed to the team and John muses over it. Quite large and treacherous looking: they were playing to John's level well. He would have no trouble fighting in this one...or at least, he was 90% certain he wouldn't.
Doors sliding open, Vance smiled as He saw several animals roaming about the area, as well as birds circling above. Two things caught his interest. He wondered how the walls of the arena functioned, and just how capable those birds above were. Tapping on the glass while admiring the arena, He spoke to Jake "Hey see those birds? Think you can teleport me on top of one? I could probably get a better shot off on the other team from there."
[Edonis]
From what I could see, the arena's landscape was fairly balanced between biomes, and was probably made to cater towards any many different types of Gifts as possible. "I'll be able to protect you Haley, you could step inside my other suit and I'd be able to tote you around inside that with me while you scout around with your Gift."
"Fighting others for prizes. Hmm...a somewhat vulgar competition but I'm not here so much for the prizes as just the practice. Need to keep in shape after all: even if I'm no longer a biological human being" John said.
[V.R.A. v 8.0]
"It seems to constitute the practice known as sport," I answer, having only a borderline understanding of the concept. "Bettering oneself through experience and combat data is indeed a viable goal." I observe the arena. All areas except the forest would provide no hindrance to my superior mobility. "What weaponry do you currently possess?" I ask. Hopefully we could formulate basic strategies based on the information we already have.
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"I-I didn't know you could do that!"
"I could write a BOOK about what you don't know!" ~Skeletor
John looks back to Eightball and searches his list of weaponry. Several laser, phaser, and particle weapons, a few machine guns, some melee weapons, and a few other stuff that would surely prove useful. John hands the printed weapons list to Eightball.
"Here." he says. "A list of the weapons I have. That's not counting emergency beacons, radios, Jammers, and other miscellaneous small stuff which should get us through some hardships."
((An important clarification: Outside forces cannot influence the arena whatsoever. This goes for not only the audience but the contestants within the preparation room. So no moving the terrain, setting up traps ahead of time, none of that until the doors actually open. Speaking of which, something will have to be done to prevent preemptive attacks as participants are entering. Mm I know just the thing, I'll begin the tournament myself once i get a few more responses.))
Doors sliding open, Vance smiled as He saw several animals roaming about the area, as well as birds circling above. Two things caught his interest. He wondered how the walls of the arena functioned, and just how capable those birds above were. Tapping on the glass while admiring the arena, He spoke to Jake "Hey see those birds? Think you can teleport me on top of one? I could probably get a better shot off on the other team from there."
[Jake]
Still analyzing and memorizing the layout of the arena, Jake continues to scan the terrain as he answers Vance. "I can do that." He answers curtly, internally wondering if the birds were even large enough to support Vance's weight. From this distance Jake couldn't tell, but he supposed Vance, with his enhanced vision, could.
"Vance, how far is it from this side of the arena to the other?" Jake asks, prepping his explosive charges. The moment the tournament began, Jake would teleport and detonate the charges in the midst of the enemy.
I had arrived 45 minutes early to try to show up ahead of the rush crowd... but it turned out that the rush crowd thought something similar. Took me half an hour just to find a good spot. Either way, time to watch the games.
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"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
[Vance] "How far is it... [REDACTED] miles across should be the opposing team's entrance. You sure you can make that distance?" Awaiting Jake's teleportation onto the bird, Vance attached both of his rifles onto his back, leaving his arms free so he could latch onto the bird if necessary. Obviously it would be able to support his weight, there are Derikan birds now, right? It wasn't TOO far to fall now...
((So... yeah I think we're ready, unless Haley wants to step inside that suit Edonis offered...))
((I've waited long enough haha, and now it finally begins.))
((I did recommend that Haley enter the suit. Well, it's still possible for Edonis to save her. ))
[Jake]
He nods in response, saying "I can make it." Jake reaches into the bag and withdraws
Moments later, an announcement sounds throughout the Preparation rooms. "May the odds be never in your favor!"
On the glass partition that everyone thought were doors but actually weren't, a large holographic 10 appears. The number counts down from 10 and when it hits 1, every participant is teleported onto the other side of the partition, their position relative to were they were in the preparation room.
Before the timer even runs out, Jake activates 2 of his 10 explosives and sets them to detonate 2 seconds after the countdown ends. Each explosive was a 1 inch cube with merely a timer on one face. at exactly zero seconds, Jake teleports Vance on top of the mountain and then himself to the other side of the arena. Positioning the teleport to place him in the air so he can see better, Jake appears 100 feet in the air and 20 feet to the right of the enemy team. The moment Jake recognizes his opponents, he teleports the two cubes in the midst of the group. They detonate. The moment after detonation, Jake teleports to the top of the mountain to assist Vance in mounting a bird if he needed the assistance.
(The cubes appear 6 feet off the ground, each one spaced about evenly between the five figures. Each creates an explosion with a 15 foot radius, and are most certainly lethal.)
{Fabian}
Fabian sets up an air wall around the team and focuses on creating his illusions, forming another every 10 seconds. As the illusions form, they leave the barrier and spread out into the arena.
[Liam]
Seconds after Liam enters the arena, a massive flash of heat and light envelopes him. Liam survives the blast virtually unharmed, with only his clothing damaged. Ugh, Jake happened. I didn't think he would attack this soon. Unable to see or breathe due to the dust and smoke, Liam both supplies himself with fresh air and clears the air around him with his Gift. As the air clears, Liam notices his shirt is gone and his shorts are in tatters. He speed changes clothes with his Gift and looks around for Jake.
I lagged behind the boy with the most unique hat by about 30 seconds or more, trying to keep my actions as inconspicuous as possible. It didn't seem like the boy had noticed me tailing him yet, so I proceeded with caution. After entering the large building, I found that it seemed almost more expansive on the inside than it did on the outside; maybe this was just a trick of the eye due to the lack of people within the building. Everyone seemed to be elsewhere, probably joining in on the day’s events, save the couple of staff members floating around the empty halls. I positioned myself in front of a poster that was advertising the newest exhibits and attractions, allowing me to always keep the boy within my peripheral vision. What could he be possibly looking for in a museum? Is he some kind of researcher with some kind of researching ability or something?, I queried in my head. It might explain that strange hat… The boy had been talking with the almost-overly enthusiastic curator for a while about something when they began to walk down a hall.
I casually gravitated it the same direction to the exhibitions that were along the same hall and stopped in from of an attraction within about 5ft of the door that they were trying to unlock, pretending to belittle myself with the skeleton of some ancient bird-like creature. When the boy entered the new area with the curator after opening the door, I checked my surroundings before attempting to follow; however, another female curator adorning a just-as-creepy-if-not-creepier, perfect smile took out her jangling ring of keys with the obvious intent of sealing the area. I could not lose my prey, not now, so I swiftly slipped behind the unsuspecting curator, covered her mouth with one hand, and knocked her over the head with the hilt of my sword with my other hand. I then proceeded to drag her unconscious body into the new area, which must have been storage or something with all of the huge stacks of crates and boxes, and deposited it within one of the many pre-opened crates. I hoped there had not been any cameras...how would I be able to explain this later...eh..oh well. What is done is done. I will deal with any lingering consequences later.
The boy and the curator had not made it that far, but they were a good distance ahead. I decided to stay reserved for the time being and therefore darted and peeked at the two from behind the boxes and crates stacked with in the aisles nearest to them. The two ventured to the very back of the area until they reached a small stain-glass window. Is that what he was looking for? Why did he need to find such a thing?, I pondered. While staring at the glass artifact, I failed to notice that I, too, was being watched. He appeared out of nowhere from within one of the boxes in front of me, scaring me out of my wits. I stumbled backwards, tripping over the edges of two boxes in the process and subsequently knocking over their respective stacks. As the boxes toppled down in unorderly heaps, I cursed under my breath.
[Hat boy] "We are not alone."
[Curator] "WHAT!? Protect me!"
I tensed up. Are they going to come and investigate the mess? Damn. What do I do if I am caught? What do I say? Do I engage in battle?, I contemplated in my head. In the end, I decided that the most viable option was to flee to an adjacent aisle and evade their eyes. Luckily that I did, for as soon as I took to a new hiding spot in the adjacent aisle, a large gust of wind whipped through the aisle I had resided in prior, and carried any boxes along the edges of the shelving structure to the back end of the aisle where I had been before. I apprehensively peeked around the box stack that I was behind to glance at who produced such a gale, to find the boy looking around and adorning those weird disc things. I released a slight sigh as I interpreted from his quizzical expression and actions, that he had not seen me switch aisles. After seeing the mess of the broken items and artifacts lying at the end of the aisle, the curator flew into a fury of her own and started screaming at the boy to get out. As the two passed by, I shuffled around the stack of boxes to keep out of sight as I listened to their voices fade into the distance. To my great pleasure, there was no slam of a door, so I figured that the curator was in such a rush to oust the boy that she had forgotten to lock the door to this storage area. I waited about a minute or so before I deemed that it was safe to leave my hiding spot.
I poked my head out the open door of the storage area to make sure that the coast was clear before I slipped out of the storage area unnoticed and exited the museum into the blinding rays of the smiling sun. My eyes adjusted in moments, so I easily spotted the unique hat and continued on my investigation since it was quite apparent that this boy had nothing to do with that weird stain glass tile. I kept a close tail on the boy, making sure he was never out of my sight and by staying within 10 feet of him. I followed his every movement. When the boy made a left, I made a left. When the boy made a right, I made a right. When the boy made a left, I made a left. When the boy made another left, I made another left. When the boy made another left, I made another left. By then, I knew there was something wrong here. Why would he take so many lefts? One more and it would be a perfect square, which would be utterly pointless. Was he on to me? He never looked back to check like a person normally would. Maybe he was just really lost with no sense of direction. Yeah that was probably it. He did accidentally enter the library instead of the museum at first. He is just a fool. That is why he never apologized to the angel. Maybe I have been wrong about him this whole time? Still, he needs to be punished for acting so familiar with the angel. They obviously didn’t know each other that well. Plus, she is mine and not his, so he should have never associated with her in the first place. However, he should at least have had enough common sense to know not to talk to strangers and to at least apologize for falling on someone. No. It can’t be! I have been played like a fool. This is all a game to him isn’t it? He does know I am following him, doesn’t he?! Fine! Two can play at this game! I will play along, but just know boy, I will come out as the winner!
I followed the boy in his clever ploy of walking in a complete square before he finally stopped the stupid cycle and crossed the street into an alleyway. Perfect! The little fool has walked himself into a trap! This alleyway is a dead end! I will be able to get hi- Wait what?!, I exclaimed in my mind. As I rounded the corner of the alley that lead to a dead end, but the boy had vanished into thin air! I ventured to the end of the alley, thinking maybe that he was hiding somewhere, when a voiced called from behind me, "Who are you?"
The sly little brat. I whirled around, completely ignoring his question, and drew my blade as I rushed at him, calling my Horned Tiger to my side just in case was to be needed. I wanted to make this fight at least a little fair with some 1v1 to test his skills at first, so I slashed upward diagonally while my tiger waited patiently for my command behind me. I expected the boy to be a little surprised and barely dodge the attack, but his speed and reaction time was beyond my expectations. He seemed to read my attack and swiftly countered by executing a perfect evasive maneuver and attack that copied the same motion as my own attack, aiming for my head. I had no time to react myself, so the blow stopped right in front of my face yet yielded a force so great that it shoved me backwards and sent me sprawling into my tiger. The impact slammed us both into the wall, the tiger taking the brunt of the blow as I landed in its soft fur. Dazed by the powerful blow, I staggered to my feet and helped my tiger up. A twang of guilt collected in my gut as I realized that due to my poor judgment of the dimensions of the alley and battle strategy, a precious friend was harmed by the enemy. I channeled this self-hate into kindle to fodder my scorn of my enemy by blaming everything on him. It was not my fault my tiger got hurt. No. It was all his fault! All of it! I returned the injured beast to my blade and turned to glare in the direction of the boy, half-expecting that he had turned tail and ran when he had the chance. Instead, he stood there staring at me as if he was waiting for my next move. He wanted this to happen, didn’t he? I complied with the boy’s preconceived wishes and charged at him again, empowered by the nurtured feelings of hate. As soon as I moved, he did too. He thrust his right hand down and stomped with his right foot. The earth shook as 4 pillars, each growing in height consecutively, rose out of the ground with the last one stopping right in front of my face. The boy scaled these steps with ease and flipped around to produce a gale that slammed me into the last pillar. I was infuriated! I took such an attack as an insult as it was almost comical in thought. How dare he make a mockery out of me! I decided in that instant that 1v1 would get me nowhere, so I summon Haku, my snake synth, immediately and commanded him to attack the boy. As soon as Haku began to materialize beside me, he shifted into the form of a regular-sized viper and launched himself at the boy. I smirked, thinking that the boy would certainly not have enough time to react within such close quarters. He had doomed himself. However, almost by instinct, the boy ducked and shot out fire, burning Haku in mid-air and propelling him over his head. I watched in horror, dropping my smug expression and replacing it with a blank one, as one of my precious friends writhed around in the flames that would burn its body to an unusable crisp.
Fueling my wrath into fiery flames, the boy added in a snide comment, "Damn snakes." I snapped. First he was arrogant enough to speak with my angel and then he killed off one of my few precious friends with a cruel insult. I am so done with this boy. He will pay with the highest price for such heinous acts. I will destroy him if it is the last thing I do, I thought firmly as I bit back tears. I stiffly lifted my blade and unleashed an onslaught of attacks, one of which was aimed at his feather/plant-like hat. My blade rebounded off of the hat as if it was made of some solid, immovable substance, but I did not falter. I kept attacking, blinded by rage and overwhelming emotions.
All of a sudden in the midst of my fury, a force exploded from the boy and sent me hurdling into the wall at the opposing end of the alleyway. I crumpled to the ground. Miraculously, only a few of my bones were broken, mostly in my ribs, and I didn't receive too much head trauma, so I staggered to my feet, only managing to regain such strength through the energy supplied by my inflamed emotions.
"Goood that's right. Let that hate fill your drive to kill. Relinquish your control to your instinctive, savage side. Yes relish in that pain and despair. He is the reason for all your pain and suffering, so take everything out on him. On everyone," he whispered in my ear and I obediently complied in my semi-conscious state. I began calling out my other familiars: Lina, Jane, and William. I tilted my blade and was preparing to launch another assault when an announcement rang throughout the city.
"All participants to the stadium, the matches are about to begin!"
The announcement called me back to my senses and reminded me of the obligations I still held. I reluctantly returned my familiars with much unneeded grumbling under my breath before shouting at the hat boy, "This is not over, you hear hat boy?! I will be coming for you after this match, so you better watch your back!" I quickly left the alley and made for the tournament area once again, dusting off some of the residue left on my clothes after being knocked around during the battle.
Quickly, Haley jumps into the proffered suit before everyone can happen that could possibly damage suit less Haley before she could step into the proffered suit which Haley is wearing right now.
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I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
((I've waited long enough haha, and now it finally begins.))
((I did recommend that Haley enter the suit. Well, it's still possible for Edonis to save her. ))
[Jake]
He nods in response, saying "I can make it." Jake reaches into the bag and withdraws
Moments later, an announcement sounds throughout the Preparation rooms. "May the odds be never in your favor!"
On the glass partition that everyone thought were doors but actually weren't, a large holographic 10 appears. The number counts down from 10 and when it hits 1, every participant is teleported onto the other side of the partition, their position relative to were they were in the preparation room.
Before the timer even runs out, Jake activates 2 of his 10 explosives and sets them to detonate 2 seconds after the countdown ends. Each explosive was a 1 inch cube with merely a timer on one face. at exactly zero seconds, Jake teleports Vance on top of the mountain and then himself to the other side of the arena. Positioning the teleport to place him in the air so he can see better, Jake appears 100 feet in the air and 20 feet to the right of the enemy team. The moment Jake recognizes his opponents, he teleports the two cubes in the midst of the group. They detonate. The moment after detonation, Jake teleports to the top of the mountain to assist Vance in mounting a bird if he needed the assistance.
(The cubes appear 6 feet off the ground, each one spaced about evenly between the five figures. Each creates an explosion with a 15 foot radius, and are most certainly lethal.)
My team is suddenly teleported into the area outside the partition, just how we were positioned in the preparation room.
Just a second later, I sense a large mass of metal up to my right. That must be the teleporter.
Two seconds after the start, I sense two more metal objects, right between us. I immediately try to protect the most vulnerable of our team, Haley, from this foreign object, most likely some sort of explosive. I directed my second suit which I had offered to Haley, which she had not yet entered, to spread out and wrap around her, hopefully shielding her from whatever those objects were.
Three seconds from the start and both objects that appeared detonated, creating a fiery explosion that engulfed our group entirely. The figure above vanishes the moment their explosives go off as well. Dust and dirt from the explosion fly into my suit and I completely seal up the front to prevent anymore from entering. I wait a few seconds before reopening and rushing to check over Haley.
[Vance]
Zero seconds in, Jake teleports Vance onto the bir-- no wait, the mountain. Jake then releases two explosives and returns to the top next to Vance. As the dust cloud settled, Vance notices David's rather noticeable figure jump clear of the cloud and survey the area.
"Think you got any of them? And could you drop me on one of those birds now, they look pretty nice. Since you did just ditch me on the mountain instead of ditching me onto of one of those majestic birds soaring above."
'Tis a lovely day and you must spend it marching to your death with a bunch of strangers. Sigh.
[Jake] "So what strategy did all of you have in mind?"
[Xiphos] "I'd prefer to stay out of this altogether."
[Zweihänder] "Just ignore her, she's probably going to get completely and totally involved."
[Xiphos] "Shut up!"
[Zweihänder] "Look, we both know that the moment John decides he can't deal we're going to jump in and be his knights in glistening armor. Why not save yourself the time and just obliterate the enemy team?"
[Xiphos] "Because I'm opposed to violence altogether! Even as sport, it's not something I want to have a hand in."
[Zweihänder] "Lame."
[Jake] "Ahem..."
[Zweihänder] "Anyway, you can teleport people right? Warp us to the highest vantage point then. From there the thief should be able to blast em all and you can warp your bullets however you like."
[Jake] "You think that'll work? I mean, what are the rest of you going to be doing?" [Kira] "Oi, why are you calling the shots?"
[Zweihänder] "Because I'm the only one here with a brain. Catboy can go do his thing wherever we have cover. He's been living in the woods, he's probably best off by himself playing hit, run and hide. I'm sure he'd be a grade-A annoyance to anyone dumb enough to set foot in there. Send spiky hair psycho wherever you like, he's liable to be even more annoying. Xiphos is probably going to spirit John away somewhere..."
[Xiphos] "I intend to carve the nicest house from the mountainside I can and install cable television, running water, and electricity."
Everyone save Catboy and Spiky Psycho stop and stare at her.
[Xiphos] "What? I've taken up carpentry!"
Zweihänder leans in and whispers that she's tried this before with cooking and the results were not pretty.
[Zweihänder] "Anyway, I'm going to see who's on the enemy team. If they're all a bit... female, consider the round won. If not, I'll see what I can do.
[Xiphos] "You don't even attempt to hide it."
[Zweihänder] "Hush, do not question your commander." [Kira] "Why the hell are you the commander?"
[Rigel]
"Now that the first round of the annual factions tournament has commenced, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to direct your attention away from the arena and to the 7 other floating arenas above ours. Yes, keep beholding, and note that every single one is entirely unique. We apologize for forcing you to choose, but all of the preliminaries are to take place simultaneously! What's more, by simply thinking about which match you want to see, you can view it from your seat! If you are a mind blocker or are opposed to such means of convenience, the exits to each of the 4 cardinal directions and one exit between them (save one) have been converted to portals to the other arenas!
Now, teams Totes Smexy and team Banana Forever Alone's Phones, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 2. The portal to which can be found in the south west corner exit. Teams Main Characters and team The Four Arms of Vishnu, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 3. The portal to which can be found in the western exit. Teams Giraffes Raining from the Sky and team Falcon With a Box on Its Head, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 4. The portal to which can be found in the north-western exit. Teams Rightful Rulers of Derika and team Night Raid, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 5. The portal to which can be found in the northern exit. Teams Dino Lamp-post and team Potato Power, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 6. The portal to which can be found in the north-eastern exit. Teams ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and team The 5 Maidens of Death, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 7. The portal to which can be found in the eastern exit. Teams ETG 2 and team Simply the Worst Patients There Are, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 8. The portal to which can be found in the south-eastern exit. Alright everybody, let us get on with the matches of the first round!
The screens around the stadium light up with the names of the participants of each team. The exits lead to exact copies of the current stadium and everyone in the stadium is capable of seeing the other stadiums if they so will, albeit they are not able to see the battlefield, as the surface of the force-field surrounding them is pitch black.
((The arenas are, to some extent, established, but distribution isn't. In the mean-time... *prepare*))
You make your way into the museum. Quite a large place, a tyrannosaurus skeleton stands dead-center behind the main desk. It's noticeably white-yellow, probably made out of bone instead of fossil what with what little you know about this island. It's as large as it is devoid of people, but a cheery-looking girl stands behind the counter. You walk up to her with thunder in your soul.
[力] "I ask, is there any exhibits artifacts related to Taoism?"
She shakes her head "We haven't put any sort of artifacts related to major religion on display. The closest thing to that is some ancient stained-glass window, and that's in storage."
[力] "Ah, (!) Can you take me there?"
[NPC] "I suppose so, what for?"
[力] "But I'm sure it was not what I was looking for something very important."
[NPC] "...Your English isn't very good, is it?"
[力] "No, really quite pathetic."
[NPC] "Ahaha, no matter. Come, follow me."
You smile. "You have my gratitude."
You follow the woman down a few halls and eventually arrive at a discrete, out-of-the-way door. She produces a key and after just a few tries opens it, leading you into a room about as large as the main hall of the museum. Rows upon rows of industrial shelves upon shelves break up the enormous empty space, each shelf almost reaching the ceiling and full of a variety of items. You note that there's a large amount of taxidermy and seemingly innocuous household objects like lamps. It seems the museum is more geared towards Derika's history than anything.
She leads you down some aisles, way to the back. Overall the storage room was more like a full-sized warehouse than a simple room. She eventually stops and directs your attention to a small, square, stained-glass window... thing. It looked more like a tile to you.
Dead-center it was emblazoned with the silhouette of a bird with outstretched wings. You check it from every single angle and find no Bagua, nor anything indicating the panel is of any interest to you.
What you do find of interest however is a flickering shadow in the corner of your eye. As you turn to look at it all you see is a bunch of objects crashing down.
[力] "We are not alone."
[NPC] "WHAT!? Protect me!"
She grabs you by your shirt and starts shaking you hysterically. You're starting to find her annoying. You gently remove her, pull out your panels and begin to focus.
坤; Receptive Energy
巽; Wind
...
...
...
There's someone in the opposite aisle.
You
quicklyrapidly step into the other aisle and with a flick of the wrist send a gust of wind, pushing everything leaning over the ends of the shelves down to the wall.You see no aggressor, just a pile of objects against the far wall and the curator with an peculiarly angry face.
[NPC] "Look at that mess! Out! Get out get out get out get out get out!"
[力] "But..."
[NPC] "No, get out! Get out now!"
[力] "Eh... yes..."
Well.
Not much to really say about that.
You leave the museum with a melancholy sigh, returning your Bagua panels to your bag before going down the street. You wonder if you can check whatever treasury this place has. You start to imagine grand treasures and those that would fall to the avarice they bring. When the museum doors open again from behind you, down the street, you adjust your elements of Earth and Wind to sense the person leaving. You instantly cast it as suspect #1 regarding the knocked over objects, but it's possible that they were just visiting the museum when you got there, and you don't want them to think you're on to them by looking back.
Wait, what are you thinking? You don't have time to deal with clumsy people who slip into storage rooms, you have a search to get on with!
The matter gets much more pressing when you you take a left and whoever it is goes down the same route.
You keep the wind receptive to keep him within your sense. You take a right and whoever it is takes a right matching yours.
You take a left. They follow.
You take another left. They follow.
You take a third left. They follow.
You take a fourth left. They follow.
They followed you as you went in a square. They are after you, specifically. You can't imagine who would be after you here, (aside from guards) but you consider that they were hired by Ryan to test you. You find these things completely unnecessary, but your guardian is a fanatic, so you suppose there's nothing that can be done.
You cross the street into an alleyway. Opportunely, it's shaped like an L, so after you turn the corner, you reach a dead-end. Perfect. Outside of the prying eyes of the public, you can prevent legal formalities from getting in your way and deal with things faster.
You retrieve your Bagua panels and use the summer elements 巽 (Wind) and 乾 (Sky/Heaven) to lift yourself up. You sense and then see the offending character reach the dead end with confusion. You drop down behind them.
[力] "Who are you?"
The man does not answer. Instead, he draws a blade. A large horned tiger-like creature appears from thin air behind him. He rushes forward. His actions seem reckless, unfitting for the inherent quality of the black blade he wields. That tiger on the other hand seems almost asleep. You're going to guess that it's his ability.
You use the standard evasive combo of 巽 and 坤 to give yourself flexibility and allow yourself to yield to his actions, essentially copying the motion in this case. As he nears, he swings his blade upward diagonally. You bend over backwards to dodge and roll with the momentum, spinning to deliver some offense in the form of a kick in the same motion as the slash and using 乾 to launch a blast in his face. He flies backward to the end of the alley, slamming straight into the tiger.
he seems to get more agitated as the tiger vanishes. With even more fervor than before, he rushes forward. You're not concerned. As soon as you saw that tiger in such cramped quarters, you were ready to take measures to dodge the undodgeable, and you intend to make use of it. With a downward thrust with your right hand and a stomp with your right foot, four pillars of earth, each taller than the last rise from the ground. The last is slightly taller than your opponent and stops directly in front of his face. With just a little bit of 離 you rush up the pillars and leap off the end, hurling wind backward at him, pushing him right into the last pillar and landing where the tiger was previously. It's a bit too close for your liking, and you aren't about to deliver any blows along the lines of decisive so quickly, putting you at a distinct disadvantage, though to anyone else it'd probably look the opposite.
he whips around and you barely have time to notice the man appearing out of thin air to your left transform into a snake, lunging at your face.
You do what any sane person would do in your situation.
You duck and ignite the air, blasting the god damn reptile. You keep the flames going long enough to propel it well over your head and into the brick wall the side opposite.
"Damn snakes."
Of course, the man is now within swinging distance and his blade is already raised. There's not enough room or time to dodge properly and you still aren't fond of the idea of killing him, especially if he was hired by Ryan. Instead you opt for 艮, to become still; unmovable. His blade connects with you and rebounds off. He doesn't seem to care and continues swinging, so you decide to use some 坎; danger; the abyss.
The abyss is one of your more mysterious ability uses with many applications. The abyss is deep and empty quite simply. Combined with 艮, it allows you to fill the abyss as he strikes at you again and again. The sword strikes are somewhat uncomfortable, but at least not painful. Soon enough the abyss is filled enough for your uses (barely at all) and you unleash the stored energy, throwing the man to the opposite end of the alley, hitting the brick wall, but landing on his feet.
Something about him seems off to you. He's filled with anger and conviction. This is unfitting for both a petty thief/creep and a hired assassin. Either it has something to do with his animal-summoning ability or something is wrong here.
He seems to be mounting up his rage. From the ground you see three other people rise out of nothingess, each seemingly more difficult than both the last and a swordsman drunk with inexplicable, reckless rage. He seems about to attack when a loud announcement resounds.
"All participants to the stadium, the matches are about to begin!"
The additional familiars (?) vanish and the man mutters something under his breath before turning to face you completely.
"This is not over, you hear hat boy?! I will be coming for you after this match, so you better watch your back!"
He quickly absconds out of your sensory range and you're left to wonder what the hell just happened.
"'Hat boy'?"
You glance back at the disturbed ground and the charred snake corpse. You decide to fix the ground back to flatness, replenishing your 坤 in the process and leave the snake for whoever has to deal with it.
This tournament might be worth checking out... you don't intend to do any fighting of course; that skirmish drained your resources more than you'd like, but at least you came out on top...
乾 (Sky/Heaven) - 100/100
巽 (Wind) - 100/100
坎 (Water) - 85/100
艮 (Mountain) - 75/100
坤 (Earth) - 60/100
震 (Thunder) - 100/100
離 (Fire) - 45/100
兌 (Lake) 95/100
Wind and Sky are easy to get more of since you can replenish them from almost anywhere at any time. It's become second-nature to replenish it constantly.
By creating a fire yourself, you can harness it and replenish your stores over some time.
Earth and Water is easy enough to get more of, and Mountain, while usually a bit trickier, should be even easier since the entire city is on a mountain.
You don't know of any Lakes on the island, so you're going to have to conserve it. Bottled water occasionally works, but you're not fond of buying and pouring several different brands on yourself in the hopes that one works.
Thunder is nigh impossible to get by yourself unless you have a lightningrod on hand. You'll have to use it wisely.
Wait, wait, no. You have a mission to accomplish, and judging by that announcement it's too late to sign up. Besides, you doubt an artifact with religious paraphernalia on it would be the prize. Most competitions allowed to be broadcasted city-wide are better at upholding secularism than that.
You decide to look for a Chinese map of the city. Would a place like this have an airport? A city hall? It's not like you have time to stand around being indecisive; Ryan should be coming in a week, and you intend not to let him down. In any case, it can't hurt to search aimlessly!
You start to wander the city, completely forgetting the library until you are hopelessly lost.
[Rigel]
"Let the
hunger gamesfirst match of the annual Brinkhaven tournament begin!"After a few long minutes waiting, the doors to the arena started to slide open, showing both teams the arena through thick glass.
About a mile across, the arena was a giant hexagon, with the teams on opposite sides. In the middle, in between the two team gates was a tall mountain, draped with tropical foliage. Spread to her left were rolling sand dunes, dusted with tiny green plants. Extended to the right was a forest. In between the two were grassy plains-like areas with scraggly shrubs, not much but perhaps enough to provide a bit of cover from sight. Cawing cut the air as a few large birds spiraled up from the mountain, chasing each other. The edges of the hexagon glowed, extending upward into the sky at least two miles before slanting into a roof. Those walls were obviously the work of some Gifted, and most likely extended into the ground as well. A stream of water flowed down the mountain toward the forest, and though it wasn't visible due to the trees, Silvira's ears told her that it turned into a waterfall.
This is going to be interesting. Silvira thought, before turning toward Liam.
"Do you think we're ready?" She asked, voice tinged with worry.
((This is the official description of the arena.))
((There are animals in the arena, so be prepared for that. If you have any questions about it, and what might be available for use by your characters in the arena, talk to me.))
Feed my dragons please
Registration: Joseph/Team Lenny Face/Desert Eagle + Ammunition/Unaligned
Registration: Maximilian/Team (I don't remember)/ Anti-Material Rifle + Ammunition + Sword thingy/Physical
Both Joseph and Maximilian arrive at their respective areas where they are supposed to be. They are fashionably late.
((~Not exactly sure whats happening. Let me know if I need to post something~))
Haley had also turned up, although nobody had noticed her, because her roleplaying had been sadly lacking. She looked around the arena, noticing a large mountain in the center, and various other interesting landmarks. 'If you guys can protect me, I can scout out what the other guys are doing,' she said to her teammates.
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
He perks up as the doors slide open at last, revealing the battlefield they'd be fighting on. A pretty large arena, cut in half by the mountain by the looks of it. It's walled in, with a really high roof... and birds apparently. Hopefully normal ones. The sand dunes might be hard to move in, but sand is nowhere near as dense as earth. The grassy open are looks good, easy to see in all directions. And the forest. Yeah not going in there unless I have to.
Liam turns to respond to Silvira. "Of course we are, we're Team Tableflip." He says with a grin, looking and feeling confident.
"Oh, hey Haley, didn't see you there." Liam waves in greeting.
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
>END_OF_LINE_
Doors sliding open, Vance smiled as He saw several animals roaming about the area, as well as birds circling above. Two things caught his interest. He wondered how the walls of the arena functioned, and just how capable those birds above were. Tapping on the glass while admiring the arena, He spoke to Jake "Hey see those birds? Think you can teleport me on top of one? I could probably get a better shot off on the other team from there."
[Edonis]
From what I could see, the arena's landscape was fairly balanced between biomes, and was probably made to cater towards any many different types of Gifts as possible. "I'll be able to protect you Haley, you could step inside my other suit and I'd be able to tote you around inside that with me while you scout around with your Gift."
[V.R.A. v 8.0]
"It seems to constitute the practice known as sport," I answer, having only a borderline understanding of the concept. "Bettering oneself through experience and combat data is indeed a viable goal." I observe the arena. All areas except the forest would provide no hindrance to my superior mobility. "What weaponry do you currently possess?" I ask. Hopefully we could formulate basic strategies based on the information we already have.
"Here." he says. "A list of the weapons I have. That's not counting emergency beacons, radios, Jammers, and other miscellaneous small stuff which should get us through some hardships."
>END_OF_LINE_
[Jake]
Still analyzing and memorizing the layout of the arena, Jake continues to scan the terrain as he answers Vance. "I can do that." He answers curtly, internally wondering if the birds were even large enough to support Vance's weight. From this distance Jake couldn't tell, but he supposed Vance, with his enhanced vision, could.
"Vance, how far is it from this side of the arena to the other?" Jake asks, prepping his explosive charges. The moment the tournament began, Jake would teleport and detonate the charges in the midst of the enemy.
I had arrived 45 minutes early to try to show up ahead of the rush crowd... but it turned out that the rush crowd thought something similar. Took me half an hour just to find a good spot. Either way, time to watch the games.
"We must call for aid! Executor, bring out the Reavers! ... What? What do you mean we don't have reavers anymore? Then... send the Dragoons! ... Ugh, then what do you suggest? ... What's a Void Ray?!" -Tassadar, Savior of the Templar
"How far is it... [REDACTED] miles across should be the opposing team's entrance. You sure you can make that distance?"
Awaiting Jake's teleportation onto the bird, Vance attached both of his rifles onto his back, leaving his arms free so he could latch onto the bird if necessary. Obviously it would be able to support his weight, there are Derikan birds now, right? It wasn't TOO far to fall now...
((So... yeah I think we're ready, unless Haley wants to step inside that suit Edonis offered...))
((I did recommend that Haley enter the suit. Well, it's still possible for Edonis to save her. ))
[Jake]
He nods in response, saying "I can make it." Jake reaches into the bag and withdraws
Moments later, an announcement sounds throughout the Preparation rooms. "May the odds be never in your favor!"
On the glass partition that everyone thought were doors but actually weren't, a large holographic 10 appears. The number counts down from 10 and when it hits 1, every participant is teleported onto the other side of the partition, their position relative to were they were in the preparation room.
Before the timer even runs out, Jake activates 2 of his 10 explosives and sets them to detonate 2 seconds after the countdown ends. Each explosive was a 1 inch cube with merely a timer on one face. at exactly zero seconds, Jake teleports Vance on top of the mountain and then himself to the other side of the arena. Positioning the teleport to place him in the air so he can see better, Jake appears 100 feet in the air and 20 feet to the right of the enemy team. The moment Jake recognizes his opponents, he teleports the two cubes in the midst of the group. They detonate. The moment after detonation, Jake teleports to the top of the mountain to assist Vance in mounting a bird if he needed the assistance.
(The cubes appear 6 feet off the ground, each one spaced about evenly between the five figures. Each creates an explosion with a 15 foot radius, and are most certainly lethal.)
{Fabian}
Fabian sets up an air wall around the team and focuses on creating his illusions, forming another every 10 seconds. As the illusions form, they leave the barrier and spread out into the arena.
[Liam]
Seconds after Liam enters the arena, a massive flash of heat and light envelopes him. Liam survives the blast virtually unharmed, with only his clothing damaged. Ugh, Jake happened. I didn't think he would attack this soon. Unable to see or breathe due to the dust and smoke, Liam both supplies himself with fresh air and clears the air around him with his Gift. As the air clears, Liam notices his shirt is gone and his shorts are in tatters. He speed changes clothes with his Gift and looks around for Jake.
I lagged behind the boy with the most unique hat by about 30 seconds or more, trying to keep my actions as inconspicuous as possible. It didn't seem like the boy had noticed me tailing him yet, so I proceeded with caution. After entering the large building, I found that it seemed almost more expansive on the inside than it did on the outside; maybe this was just a trick of the eye due to the lack of people within the building. Everyone seemed to be elsewhere, probably joining in on the day’s events, save the couple of staff members floating around the empty halls. I positioned myself in front of a poster that was advertising the newest exhibits and attractions, allowing me to always keep the boy within my peripheral vision. What could he be possibly looking for in a museum? Is he some kind of researcher with some kind of researching ability or something?, I queried in my head. It might explain that strange hat… The boy had been talking with the almost-overly enthusiastic curator for a while about something when they began to walk down a hall.
I casually gravitated it the same direction to the exhibitions that were along the same hall and stopped in from of an attraction within about 5ft of the door that they were trying to unlock, pretending to belittle myself with the skeleton of some ancient bird-like creature. When the boy entered the new area with the curator after opening the door, I checked my surroundings before attempting to follow; however, another female curator adorning a just-as-creepy-if-not-creepier, perfect smile took out her jangling ring of keys with the obvious intent of sealing the area. I could not lose my prey, not now, so I swiftly slipped behind the unsuspecting curator, covered her mouth with one hand, and knocked her over the head with the hilt of my sword with my other hand. I then proceeded to drag her unconscious body into the new area, which must have been storage or something with all of the huge stacks of crates and boxes, and deposited it within one of the many pre-opened crates. I hoped there had not been any cameras...how would I be able to explain this later...eh..oh well. What is done is done. I will deal with any lingering consequences later.
The boy and the curator had not made it that far, but they were a good distance ahead. I decided to stay reserved for the time being and therefore darted and peeked at the two from behind the boxes and crates stacked with in the aisles nearest to them. The two ventured to the very back of the area until they reached a small stain-glass window. Is that what he was looking for? Why did he need to find such a thing?, I pondered. While staring at the glass artifact, I failed to notice that I, too, was being watched. He appeared out of nowhere from within one of the boxes in front of me, scaring me out of my wits. I stumbled backwards, tripping over the edges of two boxes in the process and subsequently knocking over their respective stacks. As the boxes toppled down in unorderly heaps, I cursed under my breath.
[Hat boy] "We are not alone."
[Curator] "WHAT!? Protect me!"
I tensed up. Are they going to come and investigate the mess? Damn. What do I do if I am caught? What do I say? Do I engage in battle?, I contemplated in my head. In the end, I decided that the most viable option was to flee to an adjacent aisle and evade their eyes. Luckily that I did, for as soon as I took to a new hiding spot in the adjacent aisle, a large gust of wind whipped through the aisle I had resided in prior, and carried any boxes along the edges of the shelving structure to the back end of the aisle where I had been before. I apprehensively peeked around the box stack that I was behind to glance at who produced such a gale, to find the boy looking around and adorning those weird disc things. I released a slight sigh as I interpreted from his quizzical expression and actions, that he had not seen me switch aisles. After seeing the mess of the broken items and artifacts lying at the end of the aisle, the curator flew into a fury of her own and started screaming at the boy to get out. As the two passed by, I shuffled around the stack of boxes to keep out of sight as I listened to their voices fade into the distance. To my great pleasure, there was no slam of a door, so I figured that the curator was in such a rush to oust the boy that she had forgotten to lock the door to this storage area. I waited about a minute or so before I deemed that it was safe to leave my hiding spot.
I poked my head out the open door of the storage area to make sure that the coast was clear before I slipped out of the storage area unnoticed and exited the museum into the blinding rays of the smiling sun. My eyes adjusted in moments, so I easily spotted the unique hat and continued on my investigation since it was quite apparent that this boy had nothing to do with that weird stain glass tile. I kept a close tail on the boy, making sure he was never out of my sight and by staying within 10 feet of him. I followed his every movement. When the boy made a left, I made a left. When the boy made a right, I made a right. When the boy made a left, I made a left. When the boy made another left, I made another left. When the boy made another left, I made another left. By then, I knew there was something wrong here. Why would he take so many lefts? One more and it would be a perfect square, which would be utterly pointless. Was he on to me? He never looked back to check like a person normally would. Maybe he was just really lost with no sense of direction. Yeah that was probably it. He did accidentally enter the library instead of the museum at first. He is just a fool. That is why he never apologized to the angel. Maybe I have been wrong about him this whole time? Still, he needs to be punished for acting so familiar with the angel. They obviously didn’t know each other that well. Plus, she is mine and not his, so he should have never associated with her in the first place. However, he should at least have had enough common sense to know not to talk to strangers and to at least apologize for falling on someone. No. It can’t be! I have been played like a fool. This is all a game to him isn’t it? He does know I am following him, doesn’t he?! Fine! Two can play at this game! I will play along, but just know boy, I will come out as the winner!
I followed the boy in his clever ploy of walking in a complete square before he finally stopped the stupid cycle and crossed the street into an alleyway. Perfect! The little fool has walked himself into a trap! This alleyway is a dead end! I will be able to get hi- Wait what?!, I exclaimed in my mind. As I rounded the corner of the alley that lead to a dead end, but the boy had vanished into thin air! I ventured to the end of the alley, thinking maybe that he was hiding somewhere, when a voiced called from behind me, "Who are you?"
The sly little brat. I whirled around, completely ignoring his question, and drew my blade as I rushed at him, calling my Horned Tiger to my side just in case was to be needed. I wanted to make this fight at least a little fair with some 1v1 to test his skills at first, so I slashed upward diagonally while my tiger waited patiently for my command behind me. I expected the boy to be a little surprised and barely dodge the attack, but his speed and reaction time was beyond my expectations. He seemed to read my attack and swiftly countered by executing a perfect evasive maneuver and attack that copied the same motion as my own attack, aiming for my head. I had no time to react myself, so the blow stopped right in front of my face yet yielded a force so great that it shoved me backwards and sent me sprawling into my tiger. The impact slammed us both into the wall, the tiger taking the brunt of the blow as I landed in its soft fur. Dazed by the powerful blow, I staggered to my feet and helped my tiger up. A twang of guilt collected in my gut as I realized that due to my poor judgment of the dimensions of the alley and battle strategy, a precious friend was harmed by the enemy. I channeled this self-hate into kindle to fodder my scorn of my enemy by blaming everything on him. It was not my fault my tiger got hurt. No. It was all his fault! All of it! I returned the injured beast to my blade and turned to glare in the direction of the boy, half-expecting that he had turned tail and ran when he had the chance. Instead, he stood there staring at me as if he was waiting for my next move. He wanted this to happen, didn’t he? I complied with the boy’s preconceived wishes and charged at him again, empowered by the nurtured feelings of hate. As soon as I moved, he did too. He thrust his right hand down and stomped with his right foot. The earth shook as 4 pillars, each growing in height consecutively, rose out of the ground with the last one stopping right in front of my face. The boy scaled these steps with ease and flipped around to produce a gale that slammed me into the last pillar. I was infuriated! I took such an attack as an insult as it was almost comical in thought. How dare he make a mockery out of me! I decided in that instant that 1v1 would get me nowhere, so I summon Haku, my snake synth, immediately and commanded him to attack the boy. As soon as Haku began to materialize beside me, he shifted into the form of a regular-sized viper and launched himself at the boy. I smirked, thinking that the boy would certainly not have enough time to react within such close quarters. He had doomed himself. However, almost by instinct, the boy ducked and shot out fire, burning Haku in mid-air and propelling him over his head. I watched in horror, dropping my smug expression and replacing it with a blank one, as one of my precious friends writhed around in the flames that would burn its body to an unusable crisp.
Fueling my wrath into fiery flames, the boy added in a snide comment, "Damn snakes." I snapped. First he was arrogant enough to speak with my angel and then he killed off one of my few precious friends with a cruel insult. I am so done with this boy. He will pay with the highest price for such heinous acts. I will destroy him if it is the last thing I do, I thought firmly as I bit back tears. I stiffly lifted my blade and unleashed an onslaught of attacks, one of which was aimed at his feather/plant-like hat. My blade rebounded off of the hat as if it was made of some solid, immovable substance, but I did not falter. I kept attacking, blinded by rage and overwhelming emotions.
All of a sudden in the midst of my fury, a force exploded from the boy and sent me hurdling into the wall at the opposing end of the alleyway. I crumpled to the ground. Miraculously, only a few of my bones were broken, mostly in my ribs, and I didn't receive too much head trauma, so I staggered to my feet, only managing to regain such strength through the energy supplied by my inflamed emotions.
"Goood that's right. Let that hate fill your drive to kill. Relinquish your control to your instinctive, savage side. Yes relish in that pain and despair. He is the reason for all your pain and suffering, so take everything out on him. On everyone," he whispered in my ear and I obediently complied in my semi-conscious state. I began calling out my other familiars: Lina, Jane, and William. I tilted my blade and was preparing to launch another assault when an announcement rang throughout the city.
"All participants to the stadium, the matches are about to begin!"
The announcement called me back to my senses and reminded me of the obligations I still held. I reluctantly returned my familiars with much unneeded grumbling under my breath before shouting at the hat boy, "This is not over, you hear hat boy?! I will be coming for you after this match, so you better watch your back!" I quickly left the alley and made for the tournament area once again, dusting off some of the residue left on my clothes after being knocked around during the battle.
Quickly, Haley jumps into the proffered suit before everyone can happen that could possibly damage suit less Haley before she could step into the proffered suit which Haley is wearing right now.
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
[Edonis]
"May the odds be never in your favor!"
10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
My team is suddenly teleported into the area outside the partition, just how we were positioned in the preparation room.
Just a second later, I sense a large mass of metal up to my right. That must be the teleporter.
Two seconds after the start, I sense two more metal objects, right between us. I immediately try to protect the most vulnerable of our team, Haley, from this foreign object, most likely some sort of explosive. I directed my second suit which I had offered to Haley, which she had not yet entered, to spread out and wrap around her, hopefully shielding her from whatever those objects were.
Three seconds from the start and both objects that appeared detonated, creating a fiery explosion that engulfed our group entirely. The figure above vanishes the moment their explosives go off as well. Dust and dirt from the explosion fly into my suit and I completely seal up the front to prevent anymore from entering. I wait a few seconds before reopening and rushing to check over Haley.
[Vance]
Zero seconds in, Jake teleports Vance onto the bir-- no wait, the mountain. Jake then releases two explosives and returns to the top next to Vance. As the dust cloud settled, Vance notices David's rather noticeable figure jump clear of the cloud and survey the area.
"Think you got any of them? And could you drop me on one of those birds now, they look pretty nice. Since you did just ditch me on the mountain instead of ditching me onto of one of those majestic birds soaring above."
I used to be chocolate cake.. but then new Minecraft Forums happened..
'Tis a lovely day and you must spend it marching to your death with a bunch of strangers. Sigh.
[Jake] "So what strategy did all of you have in mind?"
[Xiphos] "I'd prefer to stay out of this altogether."
[Zweihänder] "Just ignore her, she's probably going to get completely and totally involved."
[Xiphos] "Shut up!"
[Zweihänder] "Look, we both know that the moment John decides he can't deal we're going to jump in and be his knights in glistening armor. Why not save yourself the time and just obliterate the enemy team?"
[Xiphos] "Because I'm opposed to violence altogether! Even as sport, it's not something I want to have a hand in."
[Zweihänder] "Lame."
[Jake] "Ahem..."
[Zweihänder] "Anyway, you can teleport people right? Warp us to the highest vantage point then. From there the thief should be able to blast em all and you can warp your bullets however you like."
[Jake] "You think that'll work? I mean, what are the rest of you going to be doing?"
[Kira] "Oi, why are you calling the shots?"
[Zweihänder] "Because I'm the only one here with a brain. Catboy can go do his thing wherever we have cover. He's been living in the woods, he's probably best off by himself playing hit, run and hide. I'm sure he'd be a grade-A annoyance to anyone dumb enough to set foot in there. Send spiky hair psycho wherever you like, he's liable to be even more annoying. Xiphos is probably going to spirit John away somewhere..."
[Xiphos] "I intend to carve the nicest house from the mountainside I can and install cable television, running water, and electricity."
Everyone save Catboy and Spiky Psycho stop and stare at her.
[Xiphos] "What? I've taken up carpentry!"
Zweihänder leans in and whispers that she's tried this before with cooking and the results were not pretty.
[Zweihänder] "Anyway, I'm going to see who's on the enemy team. If they're all a bit... female, consider the round won. If not, I'll see what I can do.
[Xiphos] "You don't even attempt to hide it."
[Zweihänder] "Hush, do not question your commander."
[Kira] "Why the hell are you the commander?"
[Rigel]
"Now that the first round of the annual factions tournament has commenced, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to direct your attention away from the arena and to the 7 other floating arenas above ours. Yes, keep beholding, and note that every single one is entirely unique. We apologize for forcing you to choose, but all of the preliminaries are to take place simultaneously! What's more, by simply thinking about which match you want to see, you can view it from your seat! If you are a mind blocker or are opposed to such means of convenience, the exits to each of the 4 cardinal directions and one exit between them (save one) have been converted to portals to the other arenas!
Now, teams Totes Smexy and team Banana Forever Alone's Phones, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 2. The portal to which can be found in the south west corner exit. Teams Main Characters and team The Four Arms of Vishnu, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 3. The portal to which can be found in the western exit. Teams Giraffes Raining from the Sky and team Falcon With a Box on Its Head, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 4. The portal to which can be found in the north-western exit. Teams Rightful Rulers of Derika and team Night Raid, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 5. The portal to which can be found in the northern exit. Teams Dino Lamp-post and team Potato Power, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 6. The portal to which can be found in the north-eastern exit. Teams ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and team The 5 Maidens of Death, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 7. The portal to which can be found in the eastern exit. Teams ETG 2 and team Simply the Worst Patients There Are, please report to the preparation rooms in arena 8. The portal to which can be found in the south-eastern exit. Alright everybody, let us get on with the matches of the first round!
The screens around the stadium light up with the names of the participants of each team. The exits lead to exact copies of the current stadium and everyone in the stadium is capable of seeing the other stadiums if they so will, albeit they are not able to see the battlefield, as the surface of the force-field surrounding them is pitch black.
((The arenas are, to some extent, established, but distribution isn't. In the mean-time... *prepare*))