Story Topic

[Comatose]

River:

Sighing, I shift back to my baseline, trying not to let my fatigue show. Peter put up a decent fight, and any head on match against another spheremorph is sure to take its toll, but I can't afford to show any weaknesses here. As I exit the arena, I keep my eyes peeled for familiar faces. ESpecially important ones.

[Cuaiir]

I dash past Jack, slapping him on the shoulder in camaraderie, just in time to catch the end of River's match, and I'm very confused by what I see. He caused some tinder and alcohol to spontaneously combust, and that hurt his opponent? River must be more formidable than he appears, though it looks like he's hurting a bit himself. Yeah, I really don't want to go up against him...

As he saunters up beside me, I tell Jack, "I'm third over in Glyph, I'm going to see how the matches over there are going. I could even be up soon, I don't know. You want to come with?"

[Emeralis00]

Ambrosius

Okay,l Trippy's form is a telekinetic ice wielding, power-suit. That mask is going to make my Geass and Smokebraider useless, and that telekinesis will make life difficult for my atium misting.

Ambro mulls over the problem, waiting for the next match.

Melodic Bladesinger has Pain, Silence, and Damnation. Fighting him would not end well for me. Hopefully he loses, sometime in the future. Preferably before I have to fight him.

[Emeralis00]

Jack Mckinney

jack tilts his head. He had seen more of the match than Jay.

That form, my teacher described something like it. I keep wanting to say sympathy, but that can't be right. Sympathy is an emotion.

Turning to Jay. "So soon! Sure, I'll come with."

jack says that as he turns and heads to the Glyph Cavern, again leaving Jay behind.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Waterfall Cavern

River and Peter exit the arena, and Piscun speaks.

"The next competitors will be Darla and Eerongal. Please make your way to the arena as soon as possible."

Glyph Cavern

Dan is carried away to the infirmary and Flip leaves the arena, rejoining his group, who boisterously discuss the match.

"Our next match is between Jay'el and Thomas McGee. Report to the arena so we may begin!"

[Comatose]

River:

Ah, so my new friend is up next. I wonder what he is capable of. I feel torn. Part of me wants to stay and see how Eerongal fares )and analyze his every move, but the other wants to seek out Piscun and Jezebel again. If Eerongal is worth his salt, this match will be a long enough one. Perhaps I can do both As I move through the crowd, I try to find where Piscun's voice is coming from.

[Cuaiir]

Turning to Jack, JL quickly says, "Sorry, friend, gotta run! The arena awaits." He heads towards the arena, thoughts jumbled.

Okay, Jay, game time. Wait, does my last name not matter? Oh well. Spheresmithy after this match, yay! Focus. Focus. Engineer to start, bounce drones and bullets off the walls in addition to straight fire, switch to Primal Gunner when I run low on heat sinks, probably take some hits to the kinetic barrier, keep the heavy pistol for the switch - speed reloading and aiming is amazing with that thing, mow him down. Good plan? decent plan. Don't know what he has. manageable with new modifications. Thank you, Tori. Tech work afterwords, don't show up exhausted. Sphere work!

Jay'el is clearly distracted by the thought of working with Tori in the Spheresmithy after the match, but as he enters the arena his mind focuses to taking in his opponent, the elusive Thomas McGee.

[Emeralis00]

Jack Mckinney

Jack nods, then moves to follow Jay.

I think I will follow this guy for a while longer.

He quickly runs past Jay to get a good spot in the arena observations area.

[Emeralis00]

Ambrosius

Ambro's thoughts were interrupted by the announcement.

So, its Jay's turn. This should be interesting.

A man walks into the Glyph Cavern. Its the one Ambro ran into before.

The man walks over and takes a spot next to Ambro, and starts talking.

"Hi! Is this spot taken? I'm here to watch this next match. When is your match?..."

Ambro ignores the man. Despite this, the man continues to talk, not even waiting for answers.

Shoots a sideways glare, Ambro thinks,

Does this man EVER shut up? He is getting irritating real fast.

Edited August 26, 2011 by Emeralis00

[Eerongal]

Well, that was interesting

As the match finishes, i immediately get up and head down to the arena's preparation area.

I may as well be ready and on time, i suppose.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

River

Looking around the room you easily spot Piscun standing on the protruding balcony, where he has been since the matches started. But looking around also reveals something else: the bronze pulse silhouette, floating near the ceiling.

Jay'el

Thomas is already in the arena when you get there. He's a lanky fellow with dark eyes and a bored expression. He wears garb typical to the nomads who live just south of the Machine Desert.

"Prepare yourselves!" says Jezebel, who stands on a balcony similar to the one in the Waterfall room.

"On your mark!"

You start to shift into your Engineer Form, and he starts shifting as well.

"Get set!"

The light starts to fade.

"GO!"

As soon as your computers come online, something seems to hit you, like a ripple in the air. Your electronics go berserk, frying themselves and sparking like crazy until they just shut off completely. Your shields are down and your equipment is useless.

Your opponent is grinning. His Form is a Warrior, common as grass when it comes to Formspheres, but with your equipment useless it might as well be a Special Form.

Eerongal

You see a woman across from you. She's young, no older than twenty, and she wears red. The style shows her allegiance to the Furies, a mercenary group with a nasty reputation. But she doesn't fit the normal profile. Too young, and not really dangerous looking. There many unanswered questions around her.

[Comatose]

River:

There's that presence again. What could it be? I begin making my way over to the balcony. Piscun's location puts me in a difficult position. The balcony seems to be an area only frequented by the staff, so I will have to wait to find time to socialize with him it seems. Perhaps if he sees me... Surely my win has earned me some sort of status. I remember Piscun and Jezebel speaking of rewards. I know it's early in the game, but perhaps I qualify for some sort of prize already. I need more information! I realize, for I still know next to nothing about this tournament.

I take a seat as close the the balcony as I can get while still being within Piscun's line of vision, and glance back at the arena, hoping to see some of Eerongal's strengths and weaknesses while I wait.

[Cuaiir]

WHAT?!? No! Nonononononono. Problem! Jay. Focus. Calm down. No tech, you can handle this. Still have that Bloodmaker ability, right? I try to fill my goldmind bracers, just a touch. Well at least that still works. Omni-tool's dead... Guns? I give a squeeze of my heavy pistol's trigger, still in its holster, listening for the microcomputer's whir. Nothing. Well, there goes that idea. Still got plenty of healing, but I can't hit him with that. Thomas is walking towards me slowly, looking like he's savoring my helplessness. If he hits me with that massive two-handed sword, I'm going to have to spend a lot of healing recovering.

I don't have twenty seconds at this distance... I retreat towards the edge of the arena, putting space between myself and Thomas. His slow, inevitable walk towards me continues, but I keep my calm. What do I want to keep... Nothing is useful from this form. Decision made, I start the shift into Primal Gunner, wary of a charge by Thomas. I could try and trip him into the chasm... unlikely he'd fall for it. Duck and roll, if needed. Do not spend unnecessary healing. Scrapes are fine, free-bleeding wounds aren't.

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

You see a woman across from you. She's young, no older than twenty, and she wears red. The style shows her allegiance to the Furies, a mercenary group with a nasty reputation. But she doesn't fit the normal profile. Too young, and not really dangerous looking. There many unanswered questions around her.

Interesting.....

Musing to myself about the implications and possible abilities of this young girl, I consider my strategy momentarily.

I'll come out swinging hard in Tactician, in hopes to gauge her abilities. If i need something more stout, I'll find somewhere to hide and swap to Champion.

Glancing about, I take note of any possible hiding places.

With that, I draw my hammer and shift into tactician form.

Waving my hammer above my head to catch her attention, I call out to the young girl.

"I wish you safety, and look forward to testing my abilities against you!"

And with that, I rest my weapon at my side and await for the commencement of the match to be announced.

In the back of my mind, I consider Jay'El in the other arena, and hope things are going well for him.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

He stands still, concentrating on something. An aura starts to build around his hands, and he slams into the ground, a short wave of earth coming at you just as you complete your shift.

Eerongal

She nods at you, a little awkward at your well wishing.

"On my mark!"

You start your shifts.

"Get set!"

Her shift finishes.

"GO!"

Your shift finishes as she charges at you. She carries a long, katana-like sword that trails green flames. She wears a helmet with large, glowing green gems set into the visor like the jewel eyes of an insect. Her armor is bulky around the shoulders and feet, but still gives the impression of litheness and speed. Which is apparent as her run is incredibly fast.

[Cuaiir]

As the light from my shift dies down, I see the ripple of earth headed towards me in just enough time to lean forward and avoid being thrown off the arena floor. I'm knocked down, scraping my knees, but as I fall I call three balls of Coldfire into existance and will them towards Thomas' face. Harmless... but he doesn't know that.

Still prone, I draw a dagger in my left hand and a pistol in my right. Wild magic take this form's lack of durability... Should have kept some armor. Can't even stay up through an earthwave... I try to get to my feet and fire at Thomas, but he seems to have something else in store for me. Be ready to move...

Edited August 30, 2011 by Cuaiir

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

She nods at you, a little awkward at your well wishing.

"On my mark!"

You start your shifts.

"Get set!"

Her shift finishes.

"GO!"

Your shift finishes as she charges at you. She carries a long, katana-like sword that trails green flames. She wears a helmet with large, glowing green gems set into the visor like the jewel eyes of an insect. Her armor is bulky around the shoulders and feet, but still gives the impression of litheness and speed. Which is apparent as her run is incredibly fast.

Seeing her immediately spring forward and launch into an attack, I quickly alter my plan and go on the defensive.

Interesting....Fairly aggressive it would seem. I could use that.

Continuing on the defensive, I allow her to gain ground, while still blocking and parrying to the best of my abilities.

damnation she's fast. I haven't let a blow past yet, however I don't know how long I can keep this up if she keeps pressing hard and fast like this.....

Paying particular attention to how she presses the attack, and looking for any apparent openings in her style, I take note of the bulky parts of the armor, but also more importantly the less bulk parts.

So....If i had to hazard a guess, the thinner parts of the armor won't terribly enjoy a good, solid hit from my hammer. And those crystals....I wonder if they're entirely decorational or not.

Considering these points, I pay close attention to the various ebbs and glows of the crystals as she presses her attack.

Finally, once we start nearing the edge of the arena, I begin staying lower to the ground, as much as possible, and continue to block and parry to the best of my ability.

Staying low like this will force her to work around the bulkiness of her shoulder armor. Since she's young, she likely isn't as comfortable in armor as I have become over the years. I'll continue like this for a bit, let her think I'm cowering, and then when i see a clear opening, I'll strike around the waist area where her armor seems thin with a good, stout blow. That should hopefully knock her off balance with as fast as she's moving and give me a good idea of what I'm up against in terms of how hard it will be to break through her defenses.

Putting on a guise of determined concentration, i proceed to enact my plan.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

He takes one of the Coldfire blasts to the shoulder, realizing that they're harmless, and starts to shift. Raising your gun, you can feel something running through it, a force of some kind, but you can also feel your own magic in the gun, keeping it at bay. You fire just as he finishes his shift, he takes a blow to the stomach, propelling him back a bit, and reflects your next shot with his sword. He's shifted, but he seems the same, the only that's different is the detail colors of some of his clothes, which have gone from greens and browns to reds and oranges. He charges up something like before, and throws a small fireball at you.

Eerongal

Her reflexes are a razor edge, and she's able to counter each blow. But her throws aren't solid, shying away before applying any real force, just getting enough in to keep your blows away. Using your strategy, you're able to land a decent hit to her side. She shouts and is thrown back toward the middle of the arena, holding her side. Taking a deep breath, she holds her sword in front of her and closes her eyes in focus. An aura appears around her, a light breeze rustling her clothing. This holds for a few seconds, then drops. She opens her eyes, a new vigor held there.

She charges you again, but halfway there she seems to vanish, but a blur indicates that she went to the right. You feel something appear behind you, a wind of movement to one side. Your Tactician's instincts let you know that something is attacking you from behind.

[Cuaiir]

On my feet, I can nimbly dodge the fireball thanks to Gunner's raw speed. Different Warrior styles? Earth and Fire so far, it looks like. And some sort of magic that occurs on shift. Probably what shut me down earlier. Move, Jay, move. Still no durability in this Form. Keep him at range.

I call up multiple balls of Coldfire as a distraction as I circle around the edge of the arena, and move them in a spiral pattern centered on Thomas. He knows they're harmless. Time for something a bit more tactical. Reaching the opposite edge of the ring, I disperse the Coldfire and call three small fires into Thomas' clothes while unleashing a rapid burst of bullets towards him and the area around him.

I doubt those fires will do much in his current Form. Oh well. I've been using this Form like it's not a combination. Time to mix some abilities together, see what I can do.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Jay'el

He charges at you, ignoring the Coldfire. Your shots hit him, driving him back with their concussive force. He's in obvious pain. Your fires light up in his clothes, but rather than the grimace of pain you were expecting, he starts to grin. The fire leaves no trace on his clothes, and he stands straight, practically buzzing with energy. He charges at you, his newly found invigoration giving him a burst of moderate speed. His blade glows with fiery energy.

[Emeralis00]

Jack Mckinney

That sucks. Jay used fire on a fire-warrior type form.

"Oh, Jay shouldn't have done that. Now he is sooo gonna be in pain!"

Jack doesn't show any outward signs of worry.

Ambrosius

Ambro glances at the man next to him.

So he knows Jay. Well, it appears Jay hasn't been as forthcoming as he appeared.

Now how do I use this?

Ambro looks over to the arena, then back at the man.

It appears that this man has knowledge of formspheres. I could use that, and fix my lack of formal training.

The problem is, this guy simply won't shut up!

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

Her reflexes are a razor edge, and she's able to counter each blow. But her throws aren't solid, shying away before applying any real force, just getting enough in to keep your blows away. Using your strategy, you're able to land a decent hit to her side. She shouts and is thrown back toward the middle of the arena, holding her side. Taking a deep breath, she holds her sword in front of her and closes her eyes in focus. An aura appears around her, a light breeze rustling her clothing. This holds for a few seconds, then drops. She opens her eyes, a new vigor held there.

She charges you again, but halfway there she seems to vanish, but a blur indicates that she went to the right. You feel something appear behind you, a wind of movement to one side. Your Tactician's instincts let you know that something is attacking you from behind.

damnation she's fast!

Knowing there isn't enough time for me to both turn and block a blow, judging by how fast she was moving, I immediately drop myself into a roll to my left, positioning my back in such a way as I fall as to encourage any blow from above and to the right to glance, hopefully mostly harmlessly, down the back of my armor instead of striking me in the head.

She's fast, and not too bad, but likely young and inexperienced. I can use that to my advantage.

As I drop into the roll, I begin charging my hammer with a stun strike, coating the weapon in a brilliant sheen.

There. Distraction created. She she should have no trouble noticing that....

As I get down into the roll I use the violent motion of the roll to discreetly reach into my belt and charge my small utility knife with a slow strike.

All right. She's likely to be wary of my hammer, so when I come up I will start using it much more aggressively, and hopefully I should find a nice opening for my little surprise. That should even things up a little bit.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Eerongal

Her blow lands as intended, glancing down your back, but leaves a shallow cut a few inches away from your spine. Way too close.

She starts to circle you, but, as you anticipated, her attention is on the glowing hammer. Expected, she charges straight at you again, but, unexpected, is yet another burst of speed. Not as frightening as when she got behind you, but still difficult to track. Her blade, previously glowing green, now glows blue.

A number of things happen very fast. She dives in toward you and you strike with your hammer, shifting just enough to take the force of the blow on her armor. The surge of stunning energy you expect doesn't happen, seeming to dissipate. Whatever this burst of speed is, your stun doesn't faze it. As she gets inside your defenses with this clever move, you use your hidden knife, hoping it'll be enough to stop her.

The blow takes you in the side, leaving a nasty dent in the armor. She staggers away, a knife protruding from her chest, bleeding freely. Her paling face seems confident, somehow.

She collapses, a flash of light obscuring her as she hits the ground. When the light clears, you don't see the unconscious body of your opponent's baseline, but a small girl.

The girl rolls up onto her feet, her posture falling into a pout. Her face is familiar enough to be recognized as your opponent somehow changed into a child.

"That wasn't very nice."

[Eerongal]

Eerongal

Her blow lands as intended, glancing down your back, but leaves a shallow cut a few inches away from your spine. Way too close.

She starts to circle you, but, as you anticipated, her attention is on the glowing hammer. Expected, she charges straight at you again, but, unexpected, is yet another burst of speed. Not as frightening as when she got behind you, but still difficult to track. Her blade, previously glowing green, now glows blue.

A number of things happen very fast. She dives in toward you and you strike with your hammer, shifting just enough to take the force of the blow on her armor. The surge of stunning energy you expect doesn't happen, seeming to dissipate. Whatever this burst of speed is, your stun doesn't faze it. As she gets inside your defenses with this clever move, you use your hidden knife, hoping it'll be enough to stop her.

The blow takes you in the side, leaving a nasty dent in the armor. She staggers away, a knife protruding from her chest, bleeding freely. Her paling face seems confident, somehow.

She collapses, a flash of light obscuring her as she hits the ground. When the light clears, you don't see the unconscious body of your opponent's baseline, but a small girl.

The girl rolls up onto her feet, her posture falling into a pout. Her face is familiar enough to be recognized as your opponent somehow changed into a child.

"That wasn't very nice."

Interesting.....a...trap perhaps? That....couldn't be....I distinctly struck her with a killing blow....

Holding my side, I stagger up to my feet.

damnation. That was a solid blow. I may need to get this looked at, the sheer force of it could have cracked a few ribs....Hopefully it's just a bruise, though.....

Furrowing my brow, i start "I....uh...I'm sorry? Young lady, excuse my frankness, but where are your parents? You are much too young for something as violent as this!"

Watching her warily, I keep my weapon at the ready, just in case this is some trick of her form that I am unaware of.

[Silus - Shard of Flame]

Eerongal

You can't put your finger on it, but there's something decidedly off about this situation. Whether it's the "this shouldn't be happening" fact, or the sudden appearance of a small child on a battlefield is hard to determine. One thing to note, is that her smile is blatantly creepy.

She holds her hands behind her back, rocking her weight from one foot to the other, a somehow predatory grin camping under her dollish eyes.

"Have you seen my bear, Tibbers?"

Something behind you explodes, a fiery force smashing you in the back and nearly off your feet as you struggle to remain upright in spite of the surprise.

"Tibbers!" yells the girl, hopping up and down in glee.

Before you can get your bearings, something strong and covered in flames grips you around the shoulders. The hold is tight, not to mention burning, but you can't help but notice that it's...soft, like a stuffed animal.