The Reluctant Alliance X 2 [Duke of Clubs; MaskedLegend; Zorolo]

“Huahh . . . Why . . . of all places . . . did Kellson choose here? I should kill him just for this.” Roery grumped to herself as she trekked her way up the narrow stairway. It was so slender, she had to walk up it with her back pressed up against the mountain cliff. “Freaking winged jerk.” The young blond had parked her motorcycle at the base of the enormous plateau, hidden well under a mound of rocks, and she had now been climbing the treacherous ascension for about an hour. If not for the increased stamina her biomechanical suit provided, she would have been completely exhausted by now. Not that it wasn’t starting to take effect.

She tilted her head up to see how far she still had to go “Hummmm . . . Screw this.” She mumbled to herself. The female soldier threw her arms up over her, digging her fingers into the hard rock surface of the cliff wall. She then pulled herself up into a back flip, planting her feet into the wall above where her hands had been. She dug her feet into the wall, pushed off hard with her palms, and fired off her thrusters. The blond shot up threw the air. After about ten feet up, she started to drift away from the cliff. She quickly put her feet into position and fired off another short burst from her thrusters. She then flipped her body around, slamming a foot against the mountain side. She pushed off hard with her left foot, shooting herself strait up, then with her right foot. She continued this for while, running up the side of the cliff. After she would start loosing momentum, she’d push off, up and away form the cliff, then thrusting her way back up at the cliff and continue to run up its surface.

“Hunng . . . Crap!” She was starting to lose momentum while running up the mountain and her feet were starting to scald from the constant use of her thrusters. She quickly slammed her fingers into the rock surface to keep from falling backwards. Without warning, the stone crumbled under her hands, causing her to slide down the cliff wall. She dug both hands and feet into the wall, franticly trying to stop her dissension. The girl started to panic as her fall accelerated. Suddenly her feet hit hard rock and she crumbled under the unexpected stop. She had just barely been able to keep from falling backwards by her fingertips. Heart racing, she pulled herself up and hugged the cliff wall. She looked down to see the narrow stairway that spiraled around the mountain under her feet and thanked the heavens above. After a short while of catching her breath, the girl continued her slow assent up the stone steps. Her brief fly up the mountain had definitely saved her a good thirty minutes but she was too shaken to go for another try. After another half hour or so she finally reached the top of the plateau. She glanced around at the flat roof of the mountain that was about the size of two football fields. Small heaps of rocks where strewn across here and there, a few dead trees, and a couple of small hills of earth. Knowing she was the first one there, the female soldier strolled around the mountain’s top, searching for just the right place. She soon found it and subconsciously activated a pitch black, mat skin over her armor. She shook her head as her blond hair turned to black. Her skin and eyes soon followed suit, the white of her eyes turning a dark gray. She then crawled into the small crevice in the side of a hill of boulders. The girl crouched low, almost entirely invisible, and waited.

As it had been a good couple of week’s sense it had been arranged, Roery thought about how exactly she got herself into this mess . . . J. It was J. man he was good at getting her in good sized messes. Her mind wandered over to why exactly she had agreed to take part in this mess . . . Kellson. Kellson was to be on her team . . . why the crap did she agree to this? Oh yes, Kellson could get hurt. A devilish grin played on her lips.

Let’s see . . . Her opponents; Green and grumpy staff wielder. They both appeared to be worthy opponents. More then that they had the air of being battle hardened warriors. Personally, she nothing against either of them, at least, nothing she’d want to kill them over. Her ally on the other hand . . . well, that was a different story. Of course the man from the maelstrom did seem to think a little much of himself, so did the green man for that matter. But they had been forced to converse with Kellson so it was rather understandable. In any case, both her opponents certainly did seem worthy to test her skills.

The faint sound of movement drifted to her keen ears. Anticipation for battle built up inside her as she readied herself for her own, personal ambush.

Thunder echoed in the distance as dark, bulbous clouds rolled across the plains and over the lonely plateau abruptly jutting from the scrublands. A wind blew cool air across the ground, rustling the short grass. Very little wildlife populated this land; the area was to barren for vegetation and water was hard to come by. When it did rain, however...

"'S gonna be a damn fine gullywasher."

Inky-black feathers shaking imperceptibly in the breeze, Kellson stood, eyes closed. He inhaled deeply and stretched. Light, strong chain mail clinked underneath his shirt as the regicide moved. He'd leave soon, but now, it was nice just to enjoy the pleasant air.

Kellson preferred cities and towns to the wilderness. There were more people, easier living, and more things to hit people with, like chairs and beer mugs. But when he'd been searching for an place to duel, he'd chosen the wide open spaces of a plateau, the ideal location for a winged creature. No trees, no buildings, just free air. Of course, one of his opponents could fly, too...but he flew like a baby robin: badly. The second opponent flew like a brick.

Extending his wings, Kellson lifted into the air and lazily ascended. In practically no time at all, he had reached the top of the plateau, setting down with hardly a bump. Yes, wings were definitely the best tool he had.

The demi-angel hefted a pebble and languidly tossed it over the edge. It fell, dwindling from a speck to invisibility. Nice and high, this plateau was. Nice. Maybe he could throw someone off.

Turning, he strolled off towards the center of the plateau. At least it wasn't too sunny, or disgustingly hot. A good day for someone else to die. Kellson unslung his modified crossbow from his shoulder and gave it a thorough once-over, cocking it and firing a few shots out of a cartridge. No problems.

"All right," he muttered to himself, standing in front of a group of large boulders. How the hell had boulders gotten on a giant mesa, anyways?

Someone grabbed him around the neck and pressed a round tube to his head. The regicide tensed and brought his crossbow up, but the person behind him growled, "Not a good idea."

Kellson relaxed, lowering his weapon. "Jesus Christ. That you, Roery?"

The woman released him and snorted. "That was hilarious. You nearly jumped out of your skin."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," he mumbled. Her entire body was black and grey. He blinked and mentally shrugged. She's crazy; who cares what color she changed too? "I'm surprised you showed up. I mean, I could kill both of them myself, but it's nice to have someone watch my back. I'm going after the green one, by the way. You take the other."

"I'm not doing it to 'watch your back,'" Roery replied scathingly, and turned. Kellson's eyes lingered on her, and he muttered under his breath, "Just as long as I can watch yours."

"What?" she asked venomously, whirling and raising a gun. Kellson shook his head.

"I didn't say nothin'!"

She glared at him before turning away. Kellson followed. "Uh...look," he began, cocking his crossbow and checking his bandolier of knives unconciously. "I think you and I just got off on the wrong foot. I'm actually not a drunken pervert, just like you're probably not a pyscho-girl from hell. Nothing personal," he added quickly as she raised a plasma launcher in warning.

The forest, all to natural a place to find Zorlo sitting at peace, but today was slightly different from the average day. Today, he had agreed to settle a score with a demi-angel and a strange woman with futuristic weapons and armor. The fencer pulled his hood down, revealing his faced, not that his foe wouldn't recognize him anyway. It's almost time, the fencer thought silently. He would have been to the chosen spot sooner, but something continued to come up.

"There's no way I'm letting you get away!" a voice rang out through the forest. The green haired man moved his head slightly to the right and opened his eyes as an ice shard flew past, splitting a tree branch and becoming lodged within it. "I haven't been following you three days to simply let you escape in peace," the youth muttered, exhausted from chasing down Zorlo. "It's time we settled things. Right here, right now!" the swordsman ordered.

"I don't have time to play games with you, Zachary," the Aura Master told the boy, looking towards the plateau not too far in the distance. "I need to go deal with a nuisance, you must understand," the fencer said, turning his head and smiling at the ice warrior.

"I don't care! I'm going to defeat you, whether you like it or not!" the young warrior stated, looking at the fencer with a burning passion in his eyes. The passion of desire, and the fencer couldn't allow such flames to be left unchecked, although an idea came to Zorlo.

"Why not come with me. I'm about to do battle with a strange man with black wings, and I know you know him. Why not join me and you and I can fight there?" the green haired man asked, looking down at the boy, who merely looked up at him angrily.

A man with black wings... must be that damned guy with the strange powers. I was nearly certain I killed him, the boy thought silently, looking up at the fencer again. "What's wrong, too weak to defeat him yourself?!" the ice innate mocked.

"Not at all, more to the contrary, I want to make this fight a little more fair for him," the fencer stated in a most serious tone. "Your advantage against that man last time was wholly setting based, so I am interested in seeing if you'd have such determination fighting he and I," the Aura Master stated wisely, looking down at the youth who merely stared back. "What do you say?"

"Err..." the boy growled, looking up at the green haired man, pondering what the fencer was actually planning. "all right, I'll be able to kill two birds with one stone. Well, one bird man and you, to be more exact," the red haired youth stated in whole seriousness. "So, where is this battlefield? I want to get this fight over with before the end of the century," the boy stated full heartedly, looking up at the fencer.

"Okay, follow me," the Aura Master stated standing upon the branch and pushing from the branch towards the plateau that stood a good deal away.

The ice innate trudged on behind the green haired man, trying vainly to keep the green attired man in his sights, which proved much harder then Zachary had ever imagined possible. What luck, fate will allow me to kill two people I hate the most in this world, and in one strike as well. How lucky can one guy get? the ice warrior pondered.

In no time, the fencer found himself at the bottom of the plateau, where he waited for the ice innate to appear, who burst from the forest a few seconds later, managing to keep the fencer within his sight range. The two warriors looked up the plateau, getting ready to scale it.

"Are you serious?" Leos asked, his eyes following the massive cliffed sides of the plateau. "I don't see how you plan to get up there," the ice innate asked, watching as the fencer stepped face to cliff face with the plateau.

"Very easily," the fencer stated plainly as he pushed himself upwards and began to jump from ledge to ledge every so gracefully, quickly pushing himself towards the top.

"You've got to be kidding me?" the boy asked blandly as he began to climb up the cliff face, intent on not missing this fight. It would be far too good.

It took only a few minutes and the fencer landed at the top, looking down to see the ice innate at about the middle of the cliff face, slowly nearing the top. The fencer looked over at his two foes and half smiled. "Let's get started, I'm sure you're both quite ready for a battle of epic proportions," the Aura Master stated, focusing his energy and adjusting his armor. This was bound to be fun.

"You want to do what you simple fool?!" asked Marcus, his sarcastic and cynical voice echoed through Ciaran's silver and obsidian crafted gauntlet.

"I'm going to see how well these mortals fight and a good way for me to hone my skills as well, it's been a while since I fought any worthy opponent," Ciaran remarked, standing in a forested meadow that Marcus had warped him too.

"That's all you care about isn't it, you can't afford to damage my father's staff or you'll never come home from exile!"

"We've discussed this already, I'm not going back, I'm keeping the staff and staying here," the halfbreed argued. "is it so wrong that I like it here?"

"You know what, I will bring you there and watch as you get a lesson beaten into you," Marcus scowled.

"Gee... you got me all teary-eyed with that heartfelt message," Ciaran joked. "Ok, you remember what that fallen angel Kellson guy said, right?"

"Yes, my memory isn't tarnished, ok..."

"And try not to use my energy while warping me, I'll need my strength for this," he finished.

"Anything else, some wine and a book maybe?"

"Once I'm finished here, why not?" he chuckled.

With that, the gauntlet slithered around Ciaran's wrist and jumped off of his hand, then folded into itself. Only the two sapphires remained and they radiated an exuberant basking blue glow as Ciaran stepped into it's gleaming maw. All of the world around him faded into a void, pure nothingness. There was another flash of blue light and the halfbreed was tossed onto a mountainous regain, crumbling stairs kept him from falling to oblivion below.

"Well this sure isn't accommodating, then again, I've never seen a battlefield that was... ah well," he sighed.

After several cautious steps, bits of rock were falling from under his feet. There's no way he's going to miss out on this battle, not for the world. Time to use of a few of the little tricks up his sleeve. Ciaran held out his hand an the gauntlet loosely unraveled and formed the long and deadly staff as it assembled. Ciaran held his weapon high in the air and slammed the staff onto the stairway beneath him. He was propelled high into the air and caught the stairs above him, continually.

Finally, he made it to the top of the strange rock spire and was surprised at what he found. There stood that girl, Roery, in her strange armor and then that despicable Kellson already there. He was both thrilled to teach the fallen angel or whatever freak of nature Kellson was, a lesson, but yet was too chivalrous of actually fighting a girl in a team deathmatch. But then again... maybe his teammate, Zorlo wasn't. Ciaran sat behind one of the boulders, hidden from them and waited for his partner so the battle could begin.

"Let's get started, I'm sure you're both quite ready for a battle of epic proportions,"

Roery snapped a gun into her hand and fired it at a pile of rocks at the other end of the plateau. Confused, Kellson looked around to see Ciaran stepping out of the settling dust.

“Hee, look Roery, our friends have arrived.”

“Kellson! You screwed up my ambush!” She shouted, glaring at him.

He turned to face Zorlo. “What took you so long?!” He said with a smile, “Couldn’t find the massive plateau?” he asked mockingly, gesturing at the plateau under their feet.

“Just keep on talking knave, it will only make your death all the more pleasurable.” Zorlo stated in a steady tone.

“If you don’t mind, Zorlo, might I have the first round with the winged freak?” Ciaran called from the other side of the mesa.

“I apologize,” he called back, “but I’ve waited to long for this” he said under his breath as he drew his sword and equipped his buckler.

Roery folded her arms across her chest. “Oh Kellson, you’re so popular with the guys.”

He glanced a glare at her and turned back to his opponents. “You two make me sick. Oh, if you wouldn’t mind, Oh I apologi-” he was cut short as Roery pushed him hard, sending them both away from the attacks on either side that collided where he had been standing. Kellson flapped his black wings, keeping himself from touching the ground and swung his crossbow into his hand, pointing it at Zorlo.

Roery skid to a stop and immediately fired at Ciaran. Surprised, He brought his staff down, hitting and exploding the incoming plasma disk. “I do not wish to fight you Roery, but it looks like I’ll have to wait my turn for the fallen. Don’t expect me to go easy on you”

“That is if you survive to fight the Kellson, which wont happen if you go easy on me” she said, spinning her gun on her finger and snapping her other gun into her left hand. The half-breed nodded once and took a few quick steps forward, spinning his staff and jutting it at her, unleashing a massive blue fireball. The ink black girl casually fired off both guns, creating an immense explosion as the blasts collided between the two. The staff rocketed itself out of the settling smoke as Ciaran followed behind it. Surprised, Roery fell backwards, dodging under the blow. She quickly jumped into a back flip, kicking the staff away from her. Ciaran spun his staff up and slammed the other end into the ground. A fissure snaked along the ground from the point of impact, spreading bigger and creating a crevice where Roery was about to land. She fired off her thrusters, jumping in mid air and flying back at her opponent. She fired off both guns again as he jumped back, dodging the first and swiping the second with the end of his staff. The staff wielder brought up his other hand over his face as the disk exploded, showering him with plasma.

“Oh, is this it, Levitation and explosives? If so, my turn with the fallen wont be long at all.”

Roery landed a few feet in front of him, cocked her head to the side and smiled. “Oh? Then why don’t we try without them?” she asked, snapping her wrist as her guns folded and slipped back into her arms. He raised an eyebrow to her and jumped back as she rocketed herself at him. She ran forward, throwing punch after punch, all of which he skillfully blocked with his staff. But he was loosing ground, finding himself getting too close to the edge of the cliff. Roery threw a particularly hard punch that made the half-breed slide back a ways further.

“Heh, not bad.” The staff wielder crouched low, holding his staff up behind him. Perplexed at his odd stance, knowing she could easily reach him before he was able to spin his staff around, Roery took the bait and lunged forward. He quickly slammed the ground behind him with the end of his staff, rocketing himself up into the air. He brought himself into flip and whacked Roery hard on the back as she passed under him.

“Hung, crap,” she said as she tumbled near the edge of the plateau. She slammed her hand into the ground and slid right over the edge, barely holding onto the cliff’s edge. With her momentum, she flipped her body around and swung herself backup at her foe. She came down and slammed the ground hard where he had been seconds ago. The cloaked man jabbed his staff, releasing another blue bolt at her. Roery threw her feet to the side, firing off her thrusters in an attempt to dodge the blast but was too late. The blast slammed into her legs, spinning her threw the air and sending her crashing into the ground. Hrr, I hate magic. She winced as the flames singed her armor, severely stinging her legs. Taking advantage of the situation, Ciaran jumped foreword, bringing his staff down in a large arc at her. She pushed off the ground hard with her palm, spinning to the side and landing and sliding shakily on her feet, falling to one knee. Ignoring the pain, she lunged again at the half-bread as he came at her. She blocked the staff and warped her arm around it, trying to pull it away from Ciaran but he held tight and dug his feet into the ground. He shifted his grip on the staff and a blast of wind sent Roery back through air. She immediately jumped in air back at the man as he dodged to the side, narrowly dodging a fist as it scraped his cheek. She then backhanded him with the same arm, causing him to fall hard to the ground.

OoC: I left out Kellsons and Zorlos fight, feel free to fill it in

Edit: Ooooo, 100 views and only 4 posts, thats a lot more then most threads ^^ we's popular

OoC: That's because this fight is gonna be badass and they're all jealous of our mad skillz.

IC: Dust plumed into the air as Kellson touched down to the dry ground, wings beating slowly and majestically. Crossbow pointed towards Zorlo, the regicide allowed himself a quick grin. "All prior smack talk is irrelevant now, mate. Just you 'n me."

"Not quite," someone behind him countered. Kellson whirled, firing his crossbow instinctively. The figure barely dashed out of the way in time as the bolt zipped through the air, clattering off of the rocky mesa surface. The demi-angel lifted into the air again, hovering several feet above the ground. "Hey, it's that kid. The one that tried to kill me and cried like a little girl when he did it."

"You think you're so funny," Zachary Leos growled, unsheathing his triangular-shaped sword. "I've got my chance for revenge, and I'm taking it."

Kellson rolled his eyes. There was no stopping this kid. It wasn't bravery...the kid was just a damned idiot. He turned his back to the boy and faced Zorlo down once more. The fencer was smirking. "Bringing help along, are we?" Kellson called, firing a few bolts towards the fencer, more of a warning than an actual attack. The green-haired man easily danced out of the way.

"Of course not. He's been following me for a time, and I decided it would benefit all of us if we dueled each other here and now. 'Twould clean the air," the fencer continued, sword held loosely by his side, "of all past arguments."

Kellson shrugged imperceptibly and dropped his crossbow to the ground. He didn't need it, anyways. Drawing both his long and short swords, the regicide dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch.

The boy will be easier, easier than last time, he thought as he rose, coat fluttering in the breeze. There's no water in this parched land, unless it rains. I don't really care. Rain would be nice. It's damn hot out here.

Looking up into Zorlo's eyes, he grinned a humorless grin. Roery seemed to be doing well for herself, by the sound of it. Let's show her, the hellspawn, the kid, and this civilized ape what I can really do.

Still grinning, he bounded forward, glittering swords raised.

The fencer allowed himself to smirk slightly as Kellson came barreling at him. Although the fencer held no love for this man, it was cruel to merely allow him to believe that the green haired man had brought the boy to equalize this battle in the Aura Master's favor, but it was even more cruel to allow this man to believe that he could defeat the fencer. The green haired man slid one of his feet slightly back, and readied himself to attack.

"Just gonna stand there?! I knew you were scared of me, but not this scared," the demi-angel stated boldly as he readied to swing his blades down upon the fencer.

"So many moves I could make," the green haired man said calmly, looking at the ground for a second, his eyes closed, following the energy emitting from the pseudo-angel as it drew closer, waiting for his chance to strike. Not yet, the fencer told himself as the regicide's blades were raised over his head. Not yet, he repeated as the man's arms readied to fall. NOW! he told himself as the man's arms were half way down, and the fencer finally made his move, driving his elbow hard into the divine warrior's chest.

The clash of the titanium armor the fencer wore against the steel the regicide wore created the loud sound of scraping as the steel was bent and misshapen by the extreme density and hardness of the fencer's armor. A little more force and the fencer could have probably shattered the links that held the demi-angel's armor together, but that wouldn't be needed right now, especially as the fencer looked up at his foe, a surprised look overwhelmed him as the green haired man pulled his arm back to his side, allowing his foe to fall to his knees, his swords still in his hands.

"I can't say I'm impressed you held onto your blades," the fencer said, pointing his sword at the regicide's neck, awaiting a snide remark or any other form of insult from the partially divine being, but the man was still catching his breath, but then the Aura Master heard the man utter a few words.

"I've... met... four... year... olds... that... hit... harder... then... YOU!" the regicide insulted as he shifted his hand and readied to thrust his long sword at the fencer.

The fencer smiled as he noticed the movement of the man and responded first, quickly spinning and smacking the regicide in the face hard with his buckler, knocking the man to the ground as the green haired man moved a strand of hair from his face and jumped back, slowly turning to face Zachary. "I told you you'd regret fighting me," the fencer said in a serious tone, no hint of mocking or insult abound. He wasn't joking anymore, and although he knew Kellson would get up and continue to fight on, that display of power was more for the ice innate then the demi-angel. Zorlo would show this boy power like he had never seen before, and then, perhaps, the boy would understand why his efforts were in vane. Who knows, maybe the boy would even become the fencer's apprentice, but the green haired man didn't know what would happen, he'd merely wait and see.

Zachary stared at Kellson, purely astounded at what he had just seen. He... with just... how? The youth's thoughts were erratic, confused and slightly terrified at what he had just seen, but slowly, he allowed more rational thought to return as he changed his expression from one of fear to one of bravery. He took down that loud mouthed guy with wings with just two attacks. It took me using every bit of strength and ingenuity I had, and he does it with two hits. I'll show him how strong I am! the boy told himself confidently as he charged at the fencer, his blade held tightly as he readied it to fight with the green haired man.

The Aura Master saw the look of determination on the face of the young ice innate and smiled himself. This boy has amazing potential, and if he could learn to channel his powers, he'd be much more powerful then he is now. All it would take is time, so I just need to hope he continues trying to defeat me, it appears to have made him much more powerful. I don't like the idea of him chasing me for vengeance, but what I cannot prevent, I will not try to. I just wish I knew why he wants to kill me so badly? the fencer asked himself as the boy swung his sword down and the green haired man stepped to the side, evading the attack with ease.

The ice innate's sword hit the ground, causing the crack to freeze as the blade hit, and the red haired swordsman turned and faced the green haired man. "I can't be defeated by the likes of either of you! I am an avenger, and I shall avenge all the people you've both killed," the ice innate said with great fury, grasping his sword tightly.

"Yeah," the demi-angel said as he slowly stood up, holding his own blades tightly. "Didn't I tell you? I only kill people that deserve to die, like you and greeny," the divine warrior stated, spinning his short sword in his hand. "And what in the world makes you two think you've got any chance of defeating me?!" Kellson asked, fully sure he would defeat the two of them.

The fencer laughed, greatly enjoying the humor he found in the man's sense of humor as he saw it. "Yes, this will be a good deal of fun. I think we'll enjoy this fight," the fencer stated, spinning his golden blade lightly, readying himself to fight these foes, although the fencer had an... ulterior motive here, although he wouldn't think about that now. He had more pressing matters, and that was about to start when someone struck next.

The plateau had become another battlefield for the halfbreed. Just another place to fight, another place to kill, another place to die. It was almost symbolic of sorts. A battlefield is a sort of sanctuary to some, a fear to others. Most don't enjoy the scene of battle, others are desperate for its taste, relish in it. It's call drove most away, yet beckoned some.

Ciaran was between the lines that divided the bloodthirsty-savages from the reluctant warriors. He had longed to fight a mortal to fight, to test himself against their best and to see what they're best was. Plus he had especially longed to kick Kellson to where some shamed individual such as him belonged- Hell. Then to go against Zorlo, whom he wanted to fight from a long time ago.

Yet something stood in his way, something he was reluctant to remove. Roery, it was wrong got him to willingly fight a woman, yet she was a truly challenging opponent. Oh well, he'd have to go easy on her and didn't want to use his best moves he was saving for Kellson on her either. A troubling predicament he was in.

While he was busy pondering, Roery had struck him with the back of her hand and he nearly slammed to the ground, but caught himself on his hand. Perhaps a trick would help immobilize Roery long enough for a shot at Kellson. Ciaran stood up and charged at Roery and quickly pole vaulted over several incoming plasma disks and caught a breeze of wind to soar over Roery's head. She took the bait and rocketed upward toward him, pulling back a fist.

Ciaran quickly absorbed a piece of a boulder from the plateau and it flew straight at Roery. While they were in the air, he sent a powerful gust of wind at her, merely blowing her back, but distracting her long enough. The rock struck Roery in the back and she fell forward, stunned. She headed for the ground and Ciaran shot another wind gale at her, sending her over the edge of the plateau.

Good thing Roery could fly. Ciaran turned around and prepared for one of his more powerful techniques. This would be sure to get Roery away and have enough time for a shot at Kellson. Unfortunately, Roery's rockets kicked in and she rose to the top of the rocky plateau, firing numerous plasma disks at Ciaran. Dammit, it was too early for Ciaran to unleash a transformation technique.

Roery deactivated her guns and started to swing at Ciaran, fist on fist, hand to hand. Ciaran nimbly dodged and blocked, but she was surprisingly stronger than an average female human. How strange.

"You're... fairly strong m'lady," Ciaran said, ducking an incoming kick.

"Yeah, I train a lot," Roery replied, blocking Ciaran's roundhouse.

"You're as agile and strong as one of my species' women," Ciaran commented.

"Well... thanks," she returned, delivering numerous jabs and a flying front kick.

Ciaran rolled out of the way before Roery flew through the air again. This was going to be another challenging fight. Hopefully he didn't have to waste too much energy on Roery before Kellson.

OoC: Omfgoutoforderlol.

IC: He smelled something in the cool, breezy air. Something blowing in. Ah, well. If it was rain, let it come. If not, all right.

The regicide was disgusted with himself. He knew Zorlo possessed strength and speed. Why the hell hadn't he at least tried to block his shots? And what on earth was all that foolishness about Zorlo and Zachary deserving to die? Kellson nearly slapped himself, but he restrained himself just because Zorlo would have laughed. No more of this self-righteous nonsense. Just do it.

Actually, maybe a bit of talk would be good. And as much as he hated to admit it, Zorlo could probably best him in a duel with swords. Used to enemies he could dispatch with only a few well-placed attacks, Kellson knew Zorlo wouldn’t go down so easily (not to mention that his jacket or whatever it was seemed rather strong). Kellson sheathed his swords calmly. If you’re on the bad side of an uneven playing field, blow something up and make the damn thing level again.

“Got to give you a chance, Z,” he said, pulling out two sets of brass knuckles and slipping them on. Zorlo seemed amused.

“This is a duel,” he smirked, “not one of your barroom brawls.”

“What’s the matter?” Kellson quipped, black feathers ruffling in the wind. “Are you afraid to get your nice sword dirty? You had no hesitation the other day in the Dome. Should I lay down on the rocks and just let you cut my wings again?”

The boy, Zachary, stood to the side, sword raised and head cocked quizzically, watching silently. Zorlo sneered. Oh, to wipe the sneer off that face. “I’ve told you, cretin. Your wings will be feather dusters by the end of the day.”

“Selene must be proud.”

Zorlo was spurred to action. “I’ve warned you about insulting my love!” he cried, stalking forward. Kellson stood his ground and curled his lip. “Aye. You did. I didn’t insult her…I insulted you.”

Leaping into the air, the regicide twisted to avoid the fencer’s quick slashes and landed behind him, pivoted, and lashed out with a warm-up roundhouse kick. The blow, hitting Zorlo in the leg, sent him staggering, but just barely. Despite himself, Kellson was impressed…barely. It was just a start, after all. His strongest kick had dented a tree. He grinned to himself. He had had a helluva time getting his leg unstuck.

“What’s so funny?” Zorlo asked, slicing towards Kellson’s head. The regicide bent backward and performed a handspring, flipping back up after the rapier swept past harmlessly.

“That,” Kellson replied. “Swing and a miss.”

Zorlo’s golden sword, gleaming in the sunlight, zipped through the air like an angry hornet. Kellson bent and swayed out of the way, dodging the sword easily but only by centimeters. It didn’t matter, though; the fact that the fencer missed was what was important.

Quickly, the regicide, dodging another swipe of the sword, dashed forward and caught Zorlo with a brass-lined bunch across the face. Something went crackle in the fencer’s surprised face. Before he could react, Kellson went to work with his strong legs once more, kicking once, twice, a third time, before dancing out of the way again. Each blow hit home on Zorlo’s thighs and calves with a sickening crack. It was one of Kellson’s favored tactics. Most men went for the chest, neck and head. Good idea, but hard to master: your opponent would be guarding his vital areas closely. Go for the legs and the enemy would collapse like a cripple.

Something hissed through the air behind him. Without turning, Kellson blasted two beams of holy energy over his shoulder. Someone cursed loudly and there was the sound of a flying body hitting a boulder. Kellson grinned. “Zachary, Zachary, Zachary…attack from the front like a man.”

Zorlo’s blade whipped towards him while he spoke; the demi-angel barely got away in time. As it was, the sharp point nicked his bicep…just a scratch.

Kellson fired two more blasts of energy towards Zorlo’s face, savagely kicking the fencer’s unprotected legs. The fencer staggered. “Is the hypocrite hurting?” Kellson taunted, flapping his wings to blow sand into the green-haired man’s face. “I know the kid is.”

Not bad, the fencer admitted to himself, clearing his mind of his anger. He's trying to get me mad, trying to get me to not thing before I make an action, and then take advantage of it. If he wants to fight hand to hand, then I'll grant him such a thing. Its been a long time since I've had a worthy foe for purely hand to hand combat, the green haired man told himself sheathing his sword and removing his buckler from his right arm and tossing it off the cliff. He no longer had need of the small shield, its use wouldn't be very high here.

"If its a fist fight you want, then I'll gladly oblige you. Let's go," the fencer said as he unzipped his jacket and threw it to one side.

"What's that gonna..." the demi-angel stopped short, watching as where the jacket hit, the rock cracked, leaving a massive fissure in the form of the man's jacket where the metal lined creation had struck the ground. "The hell?" Kellson asked as he moved towards the jacket and looked at the crater it had just made.

Zorlo cracked his shoulders, then his back, and finally, he patted his legs down, check their status. He hits hard and aims low, I've got to keep that in mind, but I've just more then evened out the playing field now, the fencer thought silently as he took a combat stance that was identical to his sword fighting stance. Last time I faced someone in purely hand to hand combat, that impressed me, was Sakuraneko. I haven't had a worthy foe in hand to hand combat since. This will be good exercise, the green haired man told himself, mentally laughing.

The fencer grounded his legs, pushing the bones in his knees and his achilles tendons back into place. His legs were strong, no doubt, but for someone who was trained in purely speed based combat, even kicks like those weren't likely to bring him down any times soon. The fencer slid his left foot forwards, adjusting his right foot to get in optimum positioning to attack. If the regicide had been amazed at Zorlo's first attack, this was bound to make him crap himself.

"That jacket is designed with the express purpose of not only defense, but also weight training. I wear it at almost all times, and it creates a perpetual sense of my body being heavier then it is. Once I remove it... well, you can figure out the rest. Before we continue, I must say, I'm impressed. You are a lot stronger then I thought. I'm not going to underestimate you anymore," the fencer stated. Although these were the words he spoke, he knew all too well that using his Ancient Aura here was not needed, but not just that, it would cause the plateau to break apart if he used it. That energy was unstable, and unless the foe needed to be defeated, using it wasn't likely.

"Ready?" the fencer asked, and Kellson, ever so slightly, nodded. In a flash, Zorlo had vanished delivering a quick kick to Kellson's right knee. The demi-angel swung his left hook, but almost as soon as his arm started moving, Zorlo was gone again. In an instant, another extremely high speed blow, this one a punch that hit Kellson hard in the left cheek, causing him to collapse onto his left arm to keep himself upright. Now Zorlo had momentum, and his blows were bound to hurt more, even without a weapon.

Kellson tried his best to keep his eyes on the Aura Master, but the green haired man was moving at such a speed that he left afterimages of his movements, cloaking which attacks were real, and which were merely illusions. This skill had been adapted to the fencer's free range attacks after mastering the Mirage Thrust Rain. Duplicating it with the rest of his body proved much harder, but it wasn't like learning this skill was impossible.

Only two attacks had hit, and Kellson was still on the defensive. "And now!" the young Aura Master said as he appeared above the man with black wings, driving his foot powerfully down on Kellson's head. The regicide smirked, grabbing the fencer's leg.

"Gotcha," he said with a smile. In this instance, he would have to be even more careful, because any counter attack would be as deadly to Kellson as it was to Zorlo. The fencer could easily make a counter move to end the regicide's, but it was worth the risk. The warrior of God quickly moved his other hand and threw the fencer by his leg, aiming to launch the green haired man off the ledge.

The fencer had encountered attacks like this before, and countering them always seemed to be a pain, especially now that gravity was against him. The Aura Master had to think quick, and it hit him. Quickly, he began to meld his aura into his feet, placing them on the ground to stop him from sliding and bring him to a halt. "Not-" was the only word the fencer got out as a blast of holy energy came towards him. "Quite!" the fencer finished his thought as he deflected the blast of holy energy with his hand, now covered by his natural aura, making his hand appear to be engulfed in green flames. He'd been practicing doing that for some time, but it had now paid off, knocking way the attack.

The Aura Master was now ready to attack again, and this one would be the big one. Again, like a bolt of lightning, Zorlo vanished and reappeared in front of Kellson, thrusting his palm upwards into the regicide's chin, launching him into the air. As Soon as Kellson found himself about ten yards in the air, the fencer went into action, pushing himself into the air and appearing behind Kellson, placing his arms around the demi-angel's chest. "Evade this!" Zorlo stated, as the two began falling towards the ground, and the fencer released Kellson, ever so calculatedly, right into his jacket, causing the part of the plateau the green armor sat on to fissure further.

The fencer spun in the air until he landed, looking over at Kellson, but moving no closer, knowing the man probably planned the fencer to, as he imagined Zorlo would gloat over this attack. The Aura Master knew the demi-angel wasn't defeated, and now he would wait for him to emerge and continue to fight on.

Zachary had been launched off the plateau and had only avoided falling to his death using his sword and freezing it in place. "I can't believe that bastard just tried to flick me off this cliff. I'm gonna kill them both," Zachary stated, pulling his blade from the cliff face and scaling the wall of it more, using the sword to help produce things to grab.

It took the ice innate a few minutes, but he did reach the top, but by that time, Zorlo had already finished his attack on Kellson and now stood a few feet from the crater, awaiting the black winged man to emerge again. Perfect! the red haired youth thought as he charged at Zorlo with all speed. "You are mine this time!" he yelled foolhardily as he began to swing his sword wildly at Zorlo.

The Aura Master dodged and weaved around the rune blade with great ease, not allowing the boy a chance to hit him. As quick as Zachary had begun his attack, Zorlo had ended it, appearing behind the boy and thrusting his elbow into the back of Zachary's head, knocking him forwards.

"If you couldn't hit me with my armor, what makes you think you have a chance now?"

"What?" the boy asked confused, beginning to make ice needles to prepare to attack the fencer.

"Before I was wearing my armor, and now I'm not, you can't hope to hit me. the only hope he has, right now, is to counter attack after I attack," the fencer stated, pointing at Kellson, who was still in the crater. "Actually, that is a lie, I'm not sure what he's got planned, but he's got more then enough of a chance to hit me, you can't hope to," the fencer stated.

It was in that moment that reality seemed to hit Zachary, along with a swell, rain was coming, but it wasn't here yet. The ice innate could sense it, and the arctic winds began to muster, trying to bring the rain quicker, but it didn't seem to come. The realization of Zorlo's words as truth stunned the ice innate, actually scaring him. I... I defeated Kellson. How is it possible I can't defeat him? the boy asked himself, unable to pry his eyes away from the Aura Master.

"Although I wasn't there, I'm aware you defeated Kellson. Your resolve to win is strong, but you have no where near the power you need to follow up in your hopes of defeating me. Please, stop your futile effort and leave."

Leos heard these words far to clearly, and his fear turned to rage. "I've... I've trained far to hard to let you tell me what I'm doing right now!" the youth yelled at Zorlo, pointing his sword at the green haired man.

"Well now, it seems that got you roused. Come at me then!" the fencer ordered, and Zachary obliged, charging at the green haired man with all speed and slashing again.

With a quick sidestep, the fencer had avoided the attack, but now, something else happened. When Zachary's sword struck the ground, the ground froze in a small circle around the attack. The red haired swordsman pulled his blade from the ground and readied to attack again. "I'll beat you!" Somehow, the boy told himself, hoping beyond hope to conquer the fencer.

Zorlo closed his eyes, enjoying this battle greatly. This is the most fun I've had in a long time. I hope it doesn't end for a while, he told himself, keeping a close eye on both Kellson and Zachary's auras, completely ready for any attacks either would make. "So, who's going to attack me first?" the green haired man asked, readying his aura shield should they both attack at the same time.

After a series of attacks Roery and Ciaran finally separated, both sliding to a stop and standing erect to face each other. The girl thread her fingers together and stretched her arms out in front of her, Taking a deep breath and letting it out. “Well that was a pretty good warm up. Heh, you’re quite the nimble one” She said with a smirk. “Ready to step it up a notch?” She flashed her green eyes, tilting her head slightly.

“By all means” the half-breed said kindly. Without warning she rocketed at the armored man, reducing the space between them with incredible speed. It was all he could do to bring his staff up, pushing her outstretched fist up over his head. She then brought her shin strait into his gut, sending them both back through the air. Ciaran quickly brought his staff down, but was blocked with the woman’s forearm. She then twisted her arm, and grabbed the staff with both arms, both of them still flying backwards through the air. She leaned back and pushed forward with her leg, sending them into a back flip and slamming Ciaran into the ground hard. Slightly stunned he quickly jabbed the earth with his staff as a stalagmite shot out at her. The female soldier pushed off hard against the man’s chest, narrowly dodging the jagged rock but forcing her to put some distance between the two of them.

Roery snapped a gun into her hand before touching the ground, firing a plasma disk as it exploded on another wall of earth that the half-breed erected just in time. He pushed off the ground with his staff, spinning to his feet and dragging his staff threw the stalagmite. The chunk of rock drug along the ground and shot up into the air as Ciaran flung his staff up over his head. Roery easily blasted through the rock as Ciaran wind-milled his staff through the ground again, throwing up another bolder Roery’s way. He continued this three more times as the rocks exploded in the air in a eruption of rock and plasma. Finally he jabbed his staff at her, a beam of blue energy ripping through the clouding dust. Roery was just barely able to dodge in time but was then struck on the arm as the beam swiped closer to her. She spun backwards, holding her arm and was just barely able to keep her self from falling over. She wasn’t used to the pain that magic caused and she didn’t like it. Any other projectile would barely have fazed her but piercing magic always stung far worse then it should.

Her green eye’s glared at the silhouette of Ciaran through the settling dust. She lunged to the side, deciding it best to use the cover while it lasted. She then ducked low and dashed to the other side, but was soon foiled as a blast of wind gave away her position. Slightly disappointed she boosted at the half-breed once more, dodging the blue bolts that shot out from his staff. At the last second she put a hand to the ground, spinning her body around and taking the staff wielder’s legs out from under him. She then kicked him in the ribs, and then again in the chest with the same foot, sending him back through the air. Without touching the ground with her feet, she pushed off with her hand, going into a front flip and bringing her heal hard down on his chest. He hit the ground with his staff before slamming into the ground himself, but this time Roery was ready. She kicked straight through the incoming stalagmite, spun and kicked through a second one as Ciaran jammed his staff to the other side of him. She came down hard into the ground where the half-breed had been laying as he used a gust of wind to slide himself to his feet. He spun in the air before touching the ground, sending a blast of wind at the armored girl. She quickly dropped to the ground and ignited her thrusters to keep herself from flying back. She dug her hands and feet into the ground and lunged forward, thrusters at full force. She ripped herself through the wind and decked a rather surprised Ciaran in the face.

“You’re not holding back are you?” she asked with a smirk as she spun and kicked him hard in the chest with her heal, sending the half-breed strait over the edge of the plateau.

"So, who's going to attack me first?" The young woman glanced around, finding herself oddly close to the other three. She smirked and fired a plasma disk at Zorlo’s back. He dodged to the side, the disk leaving a small gash in his left arm. The green haired man spun around to face her, a rather surprised look on his face.

“May I have the honors?” She asked with a grin. She knew Ciaran would be back soon, but there was no way she was going to miss the chance to have a little fun with the grass man.

This girl was certainly a strong foe. However, she was becoming quite the nuisance. But, Ciaran didn't want to waste any of his more powerful attacks on her. He was going to use them on Kellson, and maybe Zorlo if he had the chance. What to do, what to do? He had been punched hard in the face, and then kicked in the chest, sent plummeting of the pletaeu. No big deal for him. It was a long way to the bottom, so he was planning his next move while falling to his death.

Ciaran continued to ponder this... maybe he could use one of the more powerful attacks on a girl. But he wasn't trying to kill her. Hopefully, she wasn't trying to kill him but she sure wasn't going easy. Ciaran was. Aha. HIs plan came to him, just in time. Ciaran flipped around in the air, his feet facing the incoming ground below.

He swung his staff at the ground, only a few meters below now, sending a powerful gust of wind at the rocky ground below. The blast propelled him back higher, into the air and he repeated it several times, onto the spiraling staircase. Ciaran was careful to be conspicuous and he crept to the edge of the plateau. He morphed his staff into his gauntlet and peeked over the side of the edge.

"Now... here we go," he said. "Marcus!"

The gauntlet's sapphire gleamed for a split-second. "What do you want, fool?" Marcus ignorantly asked.

"I need you to take over the staff for a few moments and then return it to me right after!" Ciaran remarked, careful to stay discrete.

"Pfft, why should I?" Marcus asked.

"Just do it, because if I die here, I'll come and find you and shove this damn staff right up your a-,"

"Yes, yes, you've made your point, whatever," Marcus said.

Suddenly, Ciaran's gauntlet shook violently and slammed itself into the rocky plateau edge, frantically waving the halfbreed's arm about. Ciaran pointed his armored hand at Roery and an illusion of himself suddenly materialized behind her with his staff in hand. Roery was focused on Zorlo and she crept toward the green fencer, completely unaware of Ciaran at the moment. The illusion slowly edged toward her and Ciaran felt the gauntlet settle down. Now!

Ciaran morphed his hand armor into the his staff and he ran toward Roery, making sure his illusion was already attacking her and she took the bait. Roery rocketed into the air and dive-bombed the fake halfbreed. The real Ciaran sprinted toward Roery and once he was close enough he tossed his staff into the air and it stopped near the clouds. Ciaran focused on the staff and it shot several blasts into the air, looking like the sky was being torn apart.

Blank pieces in the sky floated overhead and a beam of light zapped down, thrusting Roery into the ground. The staff came barreling down to the ground and the real Ciaran caught in and thrust it into the ground. Several cracks formed into the plateau, bursts of flame shooting forth around Roery, forming a circle. A shallow hole cracked beneath her, swallowing her up to her waist. That was all Ciaran could handled.

Still he charged forward and his replica vanished. He separated his staff into the two dual blades and stood on Roery's left hand, pointing one blade at her other hand and the opposite at her forehead.

"Not so easy now, am I?" Ciaran grinned.

"A bit underhanded," Roery replied, careful not to make a sudden move.

"Don't worry, I'd never kill such a talented, beautiful woman as such as yourself... unless you forced me to and please don't," Ciaran said. "Too bad Kellson is a bit busy."

The regicide erupted from the small crater like Death himself, black wings pumping and blasting dust and rocks into the air. Spinning in midair, he appraised the situation through narrowed eyes. Roery was in a hole. Well, too bad. Someone else's turn to be down a point.

Below him, Zachary warily circled Zorlo, who unconcernedly brushed off a light cut on his arm and bounced on the balls of his feet, brimming with confidence. Kellson let his wings stop moving, and he dropped to the ground, smashing into the parched earth with a crunch. Straightening, he wiped his brass knuckles on his sleeves and cocked his head.

"Are you done playing with your boyfriend?" Kellson growled, jerking a thumb towards the red-haired boy behind him. Zachary glared and raised his sword.

"I'm gonna make you pay for that one, flyboy!" he crowed, dashing towards the regicide. Kellson turned slowly as the younger swordsman bounded towards him.

"You gotta be kidding me."

As the boy came closer, Kellson stood his ground, loading his weight onto his back foot, before exploding forward, ramming Leos with one mighty punch. The boy was sent tumbling backwards, completely winded and gasping. The regicide strolled over and stomped down on Zachary's throat. The boy wheezed and clawed at Kellson's foot, his actions becoming weaker and weaker. Finally, Kellson relented and withdrew his boot, spitting on the nearly unconcious young warrior.

"How did I ever waste my time on you?" he snorted. "I should get paid for this."

He turned back to Zorlo, trenchcoat fluttering in the strengthening breeze. Thunder rolled in the distance, crackling, enunciating the tension in the air. Kellson raised a fist and held up his middle finger. The universal gesture spurred Zorlo to action. Once more, Kellson stood his ground in the face of the charging enemy. Zorlo's actions were a dull blur, and Kellson guessed the fencer moved so fast he could only see an afterimage.

So? Deal with it.

The green blur in the air grew nearer. When it came within five feet, Kellson dove to the side, sending a mighty kick forward towards the spot a few feet away from the afterimage. A second crack sounded--bone, not thunder. The blur solidified into Zorlo once more, and the fencer looked shocked. Kellson hit the ground, landing on his side, as Zorlo was sent careening through the air into a boulder. A third crack. The regicide savored the sound.

"You're fast," he commented airily, standing up, raising his voice over the thunder. "Too fast. Too predictable."

Calmly, he pocketed the brass knuckles and drew one of his swords, swinging it experimentally through the air. It hissed like an angry wasp and created a blur akin to Zorlo's own, seconds before. Leaning the blade on his shoulder, Kellson grinned, feeling confidence return once more. One enemy bleeding from a mighty kick to the face, the other nearly dead from suffocation. A good start.

The Aura Master moved himself from the rock, wiping the blood from his face and stepping over towards the crater a few feet from him and reaching his hand into it, searching for where his jacket had landed. The green haired man had gotten his chance to warm up, and now was time to get serious. Although the fencer enjoyed the cool breeze on his skin and the feeling of blow to blow combat, this battle was not the time to give his foe any advantage. His fingers brushed a fiber, and, with a quick jerk, pulled the armor out of the hole with no difficulty.

"HA! Thought you could get away from me, did you!" the fencer stated with a certain amount of joking in his voice towards the inanimate object. As he stared at the green, thick jacket, he noticed Kellson pointing his sword at him. Zorlo had obliged the man in his style of combat, and now it was time for the fencer's. The Aura Master cast his jacket over his shoulders and zipped it up, resting his hand upon the pommel of his sword. "I'll warn you, when it comes to swordplay, I'm rather good," the green haired man said, the wind blowing a strand of his eccentric green hair from his eyes.

"You think I don't know that?" the demi-angel responded. "I know all too well you are a swordsman, that's why I switched my fighting style, but you couldn't leave things as they were and had to switch yours as well, didn't ya?" the regicide asked, swinging his sword a few more times. "I want to know just how good you are with your little ornament," he stated, guessing that the fencer's sword was more for show then use.

"So, you think my sword is merely ornamental, do you? This blade isn't made of gold, but that is another story. Shall we begin?" the green haired man asked, unsheathing his blade and taking a traditional fencing stance. This clash of blades would be interesting, and if his foe proved worthy enough, the green haired man would need to show off some of his more powerful skills.

Another crack of thunder split the eardrums of the warriors, and then, something unexpected happened. The rain began to fall.

Within moments, the field was suddenly covered in the downpour that seemed to have come from nowhere, quickly weighing the fencer's hair down, and probably doing something similar to Kellson's wings. Then, the next crash of thunder, and the two warriors moved, their swords displacing rain as it hit them and the first clash of blades sparked.

Meanwhile, the third leg of the battle stirred, the young boy who had been brutally maimed just moments before. His hand twitched, only slightly at first, but then his fingers began to curl up. There was absolutely no way he'd lose consciousness, nor would he lose this battle. He would not let either of those charlatans defeat him, it just couldn't happen. The red haired boy's anger flared up as the cool rain splashed against him, but something suddenly changed the balance of the battle. A cold, almost arctic wind interceded on the behalf of the boy, freezing some of the rain as the boy slowly began to force consciousness back into himself.

I won't die! I cannot die! I must fulfill my duty and kill those two! That wannabe of an angel and... the boy stopped, his anger flaring to almost immeasurable heights. That... that vile FENCER! the ice innate thought as his eyes opened, a massive amount of energy suddenly releasing from his sword and freezing all the rain around him in a three hundred and sixty degree area around the boy. Slowly he forced himself to his feet, seeing the warriors he wanted dead fighting with an intensity he had not seen before.

And the two warriors were, for as a quick slash came down from the winged man's blade, the fencer deflected it and and swung at the demi-angel, catching him off guard and cutting his trench coat, shirt, and causing cuts even on his chain-mail, in a diagonal movement, causing the divine warrior to use his wings to push him back. It was far to wet to produce anymore dust or sand, so trying to stall the fencer wouldn't work anymore, and the warrior of God knew this. This battle was very dangerous under these circumstances, and anyone who fought in them knew it.

With a small smirk, the Aura Master made the next move, lunging his sword at the slightly perplexed warrior with great speed, causing him to step back and knock the green haired man's sword to the left, quickly spinning and attempting an attack. The attack by Kellson was successful in striking the armored hip of the fencer, and the demi-angel's arm shook as the metal of his sword made a hard clang against the titanium of the fencer's armor. Small parts of the regicide's blade had been broken or cracked from the clashes with both the fencer's sword and now the green haired man's armor, but Kellson just jumped back, looking his sword over and deeming it still useable.

No matter how little traditional skill the brawler had in sword fighting, the fencer couldn't deny that the street fighter was good. Even knowing that the fencer easily outmatched him in this kind of combat, he was still willing to fight the green haired man in it. A mistake yes, but not a mistake that the Aura Master would lament about later. The time had come for the green haired man to make his move, and he was intent on shaking the battle up a bit.

The young Aura Master slid his right foot back and charged at his foe, dragging his blade along the ground and cutting the solid rock with ease as he charged, swinging his blade up from the ground towards the regicide, who quickly displaced the sword. Whilst the fencer's sword went astray, the green haired man quickly spun around, carrying himself with all the grace and skill of his art, and moved another slash at Kellson, slowly adding more energy to his blade, causing it to give off a slight green tint. The demi-angel quickly braced his sword, holding it in a diagonal guard and taking the attack, but being pushed to his knees in the process, but still didn't let that stop him, and the dark haired brawler swung his sword up, knocking the fencer's away again and swinging hard down towards the green haired man's shoulder blade, quickly finding his arms rattling again from another clash with the very powerful armor the Aura Master wore.

As Kellson recoiled from the strike on Zorlo's armor, and a few more small chips of the regicide's sword hit the ground, the fencer wasted not time in taking advantage of things again, gathering up his aura in his blade until it appeared to have an emerald flame engulfing it. With a quick, yet powerful, slash, the green haired man released his energy in the form of a vertical energy wave that slammed into Kellson, thrusting the winged man into the boulders the fencer had managed to move him behind. Again, this battle had moved itself back to square one, as neither warrior seemed to be gaining any ground. This truly was an intense battle, and the Aura Master was only just warming up.

The ice innate had been watching the sword fight with envy, his growing anger taking shape as massive numbers of ice needles were forming, even though the youth's sword was still on the ground, a few feet from him. A dark blew aura seemed to emit from the young swordsman, who now held his hand up. He was going to kill the demi-angel with his needles this time, and no one was going to stop him. With a quick swing of his hands, the ice needles launched, heading right towards the divine warrior.

The Aura Master slowly waltzed towards the slightly stunned fighter, who now stood up, but neither seemed to notice the needles as they slowly moved towards Kellson. Something, although not entirely at the same time, made both warriors turn towards the boy who radiated with a dark aura, and take notice of his attack. Cracking a slight smile at the black winged man, the fencer gathered up some energy and fired it from his sword, another blade, quickly destroying a good number of the linear moving needles. The regicide quickly cleaned them up with a blast of holy energy, stopping the attack entirely, and the two looked back at each other, a quick slash coming from Kellson and causing he and Zorlo's blades to become locked in a blade lock.

"I didn't ask for your help!" he yelled, trying to kick at the fencer's leg, but quickly find the right hand of the green haired man driven directly into the temple of his forehead, causing him to stumble back.

"Yeah, you didn't ask, but I'm sure you couldn't have handled all those needles by yourself," the Aura Master stated in fact, knowing that, despite Kellson's facade, the brawler didn't have as much energy as was needed to destroy all the needles.

"Says you!" the demi-angel responded, throwing a bolt of holy energy at the fencer who quickly swatted it away, the green haired man's right hand again engulfed in his emerald aura.

"Yeah, and you know you needed it," the fencer said quickly thrusting his blade at the regicide who backpedaled quickly, dodging and dipping at each move the fencer made. When an opportunity struck, the holy warrior quickly moved, driving his shoulder into the green haired man's armored chest and, although it hurt Kellson, it worked, throwing Zorlo a few feet back and allowing the black winged man a chance to jump back.

As the swordsman watched the two warriors argue, he became more and more angry. Magnus sensed this, and couldn't resist but feed Zachary's growing anger. Wounds and pain no longer mattered, all that mattered now was killing the two men that stood before the young warrior.

With each moment, the dark blue aura grew larger and larger, although it never fully consumed the ice innate. The water froze as the aura slowly rose from the boy, a mix of the youth's magical energy and his rune blade's magical powers. He would make them suffer as they had made him suffer.

Yes! Magnus whispered to the boy, not through the sword this time, but through the swordsman's own emotions. They were now as dark and sinister as the demon, and at this moment, the two avengers were bent on one thing: Killing the demi-angel and the fencer. Use your anger; your jealousy; and mostly, your rage! Let these fuel you, and use them to destroy these fools! Magnus ordered, the boy hearing the words clear as day in his mind, as these were his own thoughts as well.

What's that? the green haired man asked himself, sensing the presence of another being. The aura coming of Zachary was not his own, but a mix of his and something demonic. During his moment of distraction, Kellson punched the Aura Master in the jaw, knocking the green haired man off his feet, but not really hurting the fencer too much.

"Not bad, at least you can say you tried," Kellson stated as he pointed his damaged blade at the fencer's face.

Yes, the face of terror, as is how the green haired man's appeared at that moment, but not because of the demi-angel, but because of the young warrior that took only a step forwards, the ground freezing as his foot descended.

"QUIET!" the roar of Leos echoed, making Kellson turn. Zorlo wasn't sure if the divine warrior could see the physical aura that the ice innate was giving off, but the green haired man was more then certain the winged man would see the difference in the person they were fighting. "I'm tired of your voice!" Zachary said, clenching his teeth tightly and swinging his arms down, taking a feral, almost mongrel stance. He had seemed to revert back to an almost animalistic state, but it wasn't just his stance that worried the fencer, the dark blue aura coming off of Leos headed straight toward Kellson.

"Kellson, look out!" the fencer attempted to warn the demi-angel who quickly raised his arms, expecting another barrage of needles, but this time, the attack was much worse. A sudden burst of cold air blew past the demi-angel, and his arms, torso and legs had a semi-thick layer of ice on them, freezing the regicide's arms together.

"What is this?" the black winged man asked, looking at the fencer.

"I don't know, but it's bad," the green haired man admitted as Kellson quickly blasted his arms free of the ice, and then his legs and shattering the ice on his torso with his arms.

"Damn, that stings like a *****, but I'll be ready to get back to beating you up in a mo-" the young demi-angel started before a very powerful punch from the ice innate struck him, the boy's fist leaving a frozen imprint on Kellson's cheek after the brawler hit the ground.

"What'd I tell you?!" Zachary asked angrily. "SHUT UP!" the boy ordered, the energy of the sword that he used seemed to follow him as he stood up to his full height, his eyes now a strange dark blue. "What do you think, fencer? Do you have any hopes of defeating me?" the boy asked as ice began to form on his arm, slowly becoming an ice blade that covered from his elbow over his hand and about a foot longer. This was no normal ice, but the youth's more powerful ice, the kind that was strong as steel.

Kellson stirred slightly, sitting up and rubbing his cheek, using a small amount of holy energy to blast the ice off his cheek. "Damn, when did he learn to hit that hard?" the regicide probably meant to ask himself, but the fencer picked up his words.

"That isn't Zachary, or at least not the one you and I know," the fencer said, pushing himself backwards as the swordsman drove his blade arm into the ground, freezing the crevice he made after pulling his arm out. "He's changed, something in him has awakened!" the Aura Master stated in certainty, finding his sword locked with the swordsman's arm blade, and quickly both fighters pushed, creating a distance between them.

"I am not going to let you fraud defenders harm any more people," the red haired ice innate stated, pointing his ice blade first at Zorlo and then at Kellson, who merely snickered and fired a holy blast at the boy, who quickly deflected it, his arm blade totally unaffected. "I can't allow either of you to live!" he stated, as fact more then anything, in hopes of his dream coming true.

OoC: Okay, this awakened form of Zachary is as strong as Zorlo is in his normal form, so don't think he's easy pickings. Don't worry, this form won't be around long, and if you need a better explanation of what's going on, PM me and I'll fill in the details. Things just got really interesting. Oh, and damn, this is without doubt the longest post I've made in a very long time. Over 2500 words. ... Sorry guys.

Roery couldn’t help but feel slightly impressed. That was indeed a well executed move, however underhanded it may have been. Of course who was she to talk? She never let down the chance to do a little underhandeding. The girl had tensed quite a bit when the half-breed had ran at her with he’s swords flashing, preparing her self for the worse, but soon relaxed as the man slowed and merely pointed his swords at her triumphantly. Roery decided then to bide her time until the moment to strike back. He wasn’t going to get away with this. Yet the duel sword wielder kept a steady eye on her. He would only back off and let her out when he chose to, making sure that she knew who was in control now.

His eye moved just a fraction as Kellson rocketed out of the ground. That was all she needed. With lightening speed, a gun flashed into her hand and fired off an energy disk at the same instant. Ciaran was just barely able to intercept the blast with his blade at the last second, but the majority of the plasma exploded and hit him dead in the chest, throwing him a few yards back, his armor slightly burned. Upset at the sudden turn in control, Ciaran slammed his blade in the ground as fast as he could, sending a slag of earth at Roery to pin her completely, but he was too late. She had easily escaped her earthen confinement with her strength and thrusters, and was able to back flip away from the earth attack. The two warriors squared off once again.

“What’s a matter? Isn’t this usually the part where you add your two cents in?”

The half-breed shrugged slightly. “Its already all been said”

Out of the corner of her eye, Roery saw Kellson stomping on the young swordsman. She smiled to herself. His battle seemed to be going ok for the time being. She rocketed into the air as the ground erupted beneath her. Easily anticipating the elementalists next move, she quickly rolled forward and thrusted back down to the ground at Ciaran as he shot a blast of air up at her. He jumped back as she somersaulted forward and lunged at him. A wall of earth shot up in front of the armored girl but wasn’t enough to hold back her fist as she shattered it. She ducked low, placing her hands on the ground and pushed off with all fours, jumped forward as a blue blast shot just over her head. Another wall flew up and Ciaran shot himself into the air just as Roery bust threw his rock barrier. The half-breed swung one sword down, pinning Roery to the ground with a powerful blast of wind. He then jabbed with his other blade, hitting her square in the back with a massive chaos bolt. Roery grunted in pain. Still in the air, the sword wielder shot another bolt at the weakened girl. Wincing in pain, she ignited her thrusters and pushed off the ground with her hands, barely escaping the blast. She landed unsteadily a few yards away and slid her feet, spinning herself around to face her opponent.

Lighting struck in the distance and was soon followed by the crack of thunder. Rain soon started to fall, which Roery found rather pleasant. The rain clattered against her metallic armor, soaking her hair, and creating a glistening effect on her armor. The pain in her back had already faded, just leaving a wide, charred indent on her armor. The female soldier stood tall, readying herself for the half-breeds next move.

OoC: Sorry guys, my imaginations broke. ML, you can come up with what happens when Zach goes all crazy

Ciaran had the upper hand... or so he would have like to have thought. Roery was pinned halfway beneath the earth with two swords pointed at her, Ciaran standing on one of her blaster gun arms. But unfortunately, Kellson the fallen angel, bolted out of the ground and Ciaran instinctively checked to make sure he wasn't coming for him. After all, his teammate was in a tough situation. Too bad this was not the case.

While slightly distracted, Roery moved her arm to position a gun and fired a blast that struck the halfbreed square in the chest, tossing him back, but trying to reel forward so he would not fall off the edge again. She was getting too troublesome.

“What’s a matter? Isn’t this usually the part where you add your two cents in?”

The half-breed shrugged slightly. “Its already all been said...”

A sudden anger raged through him. That's it! This is where it ended, even if it would kill Roery and exhaust himself. She was getting in the way, a thorn in the side for much too long. Ciaran's skin turned to an ashen hue and his gray eyes blinked, then revealed glowing, glaring blood red pupils.

"Agh... no, not now!" he yelled at himself. "Can't waste this!"

Ciaran's eyes reverted to the usual gray and his skin to the same fair complexion. But not for long if Roery kept up like she had been. He did not feel like wasting a powerful move on someone he didn't even want to kill. Roery looked at Ciaran strangely, but still stood in a defensive position. She was playing hard to beat. Ciaran was already wasting enough time as it is fighting her. This was still getting tiresome and tedious.

Ciaran merged the dual blades back into the staff and held the tip to his own chest. A dark blue bolt shot out and wrapped itself into a barrier that covered his whole body. He then pole-vaulted into the air and rode a current at full speed toward Roery, rocketing toward her. But, he rolled off of his staff, letting it plummet toward Roery, spiking the ground, sending an entire barrage of spiked rocks at her.

She flew back, avoiding his attack, but Ciaran outstretched his hand and his weapon obeyed and returned into his palm as he rushed toward her. He shot a beam of energy at the ground beneath her, and she expected it be aiming for her, sending her reeling back. Ciaran separated his staff into swords once more and threw on at her feet, opening a deep crack in the ground, causing her to fall waist deep once more.

He rushed forward and joined his swords finally, then pounded the ground behind her, forming a great split that led to the edge of the plateau. Ciaran shot a powerful gust of wind that into the beginning, sending Roery completely through and off the edge of the plateau.

"I wonder how she'll like it," he said to himself. "She'll be back momentarily, meanwhile I'm taking a breather..." Ciaran let out a deep sigh and after a few moments, Roery rocketed back to the edge and shot toward him. She tried delivering a powerful kick, but a blast of wind knocked her of course, but she recovered. Roery landed and swung a powerful punch toward his chest. Unfortunately for her, her fist met his barrier and she went flying back several yards.

Roery stood up and hesitated, planning her next action. Meanwhile, she noticed Kellson fighting Zachary and not very well, either. She stole one last glance at Ciaran, then rocketed off to help Kellson. Now Ciaran had no one to fight. By the time it's his turn to fight Kellson, he would be beaten to a bloody pulp. That, or dead. But he saw Zorlo standing idly by and fired a shot that went right in front of his face. Zorlo certainly got the message.

"What do you say, I want to see your skills, fencer!" Ciaran said.

"Authority isn't left to you to decide whether I live or die," Kellson shouted, voice overriding the pouring of the rain. "That's up to me, you worthless little slumbitch!"

Zorlo opened his mouth to say something, but Kellson, standing near him, launched a kick that hit him in the side of the jaw, sending him sprawling in the mud. "I haven't forgotten about you, either," the regicide growled.

Leaving the fencer in the quickly moistening dirt, Kellson stalked forward, muscular frame outlined in a flash of lightning. Zachary stood near, sword raised, a look of righteous determination on his face.

Sickening.

"Look at you, you poor, misguided sonuvabitch," Kellson sneered, circling the boy. "I've seen puppies stronger than you."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Zachary howled, charging at Kellson. The demi-angel blinked slightly, standing at ease. When the boy moved, ice crystals formed and rain turned to hail nearby. Kellson shrugged and inhaled deeply. Time to go...

The ice sword scythed through the air, but Kellson was already moving, leaning to the side like a sapling in the wind. The sword came down inches from his side, freezing the rain as it went. Kellson continued to dodge swiftly, easily. Zachary grew more angry as his blows failed to hit.

Abruptly, Kellson shot forward and grabbed Zachary's wrists. Frost formed on his hands, but his vice-like grip didn't loosen. He hissed in the boy's ear, "Disgusting."

Ice needles shot into his back and shoulders, embedding themselves. Kellson winced and hurled Zachary to the side. The boy flew through the air and smashed into a boulder. Ice and stone whizzed through the air as Kellson ripped the daggers out of his back, ignoring the blood.

OoC: Sorry. Not good, but it moves the story.

OoC: Duke, just so you know, in that state, Zachary's in an utter state of inhibition: He's working purely on instinct. He no longer heeds his emotions.

Zorlo stood up, rubbing his jaw. The kick had hurt... a little, but it had barely fazed the fencer. If Kellson wanted to defeat the green haired man, he'd have to try harder then this. A pathetic attempt like that kick had merely stunned the fencer, and now, his smile was gone. It was go time!

A sudden burst of strange energy moved past the fencer as he saw the female soldier moving towards him, and quickly jumped and delivered a strong spin kick to her, throwing her into Kellson, and throwing the two of them into a nearby patch of boulders opposite that of the one Kellson had sent Zachary into. The words from the man that had alerted the fencer rang through the air: "What do you say, I want to see your skills, fencer!"

"I'm sorry, Ciaran, but I want to finish this battle with Kellson first. Worry not, I'll save some strength for you, don't worry." I need to make sure that Zachary survives though, I must know something, the Aura Master asked himself as he moved in front of the ice innate's rune blade, which was lodged into the ground. He wrapped his hand around it, and instantly, he felt the other presence within it. Something evil lurked in that sword.

The Aura Master stepped back, he now knew why Zachary hunted him. Whatever was using that sword to contact the boy wanted the fencer dead for some reason, and that creature had to be stopped. How to do that would matter later, because something more pressing was at hand. Kellson and Roery were attacking him at the same time. "Bad move," the fencer muttered, turning towards them, but suddenly, one blast of energy hit the regicide, blasting him towards the edge, and with a quick kick, the female soldier was knocked towards Ciaran, sliding until she landed a few feet from him. "Sorry, Ciaran, but the winged guy is mine."

"Fine, but when you are done, its me and you," the mystic stated, half smiling at the fencer, the green haired man returning the sentiment.

Meanwhile, the ice innate's non-bladed arm grabbed the rock and pulled himself out. Despite his wounds, he stood ready to fight. Physical pain no longer mattered, all that mattered was the one thought that raced through his mind: Kill! He no longer cared about why he fought, or who he was fighting, but merely that whomever this was had to die. His dark blue eyes took in the now standing demi-angel that had risen to his knees. A blank smile went over the ice warrior's lips as he charged.

The winged man noticed the charging warrior, moving on his hands and knees like a wild animal. The brawler wrapped his hand around the damaged sword he had and thrust it at the boy, who merely rose up during his charge and spun around the weapon. Without warning, the swordsman slashed his sword arm along the regicide's back, and cut through his armor, leaving a long cut along his back. He held back a cry of pain, but barely as the wound froze over.

Leos wasn't done yet though. The divine warrior fired a bolt of holy energy at him, but the animalistic warrior jumped over it and drove both feet into the regicide's face, throwing him back slightly, over the edge. The red haired warrior didn't even look over the edge, turning back to face the fencer, who still stood next to the warrior's sword. Leos growled and charged at the fencer, who was more then ready for this fight.

The ice innate leapt into the air and thrust his ice blade at the Aura Master, who side stepped it and then proceeded to dodge each of the coming thrusts. A sudden barrage of needles followed the thrusts when the green haired man leapt back and spun his sword around, deflecting them. Then, the ice innate made his last move, leaping into the air again and receiving a quick roundhouse to the gut, throwing him into his own sword.

The ice warrior pushed himself to his feet, although with great difficulty. His breathing was painful and hard, but at least he stood. The sound of metal snapping rang through the air as the form of Kellson stood before the warriors. He seemed to be having a hard time flying, his wings weighed down by the heavy rain. He had broken his sword, probably stopping his downward fall to save himself. He merely smirked at the broken weapon and threw it over the edge, drawing his other sword in response. "That kids gonna get it," he stated with a gleam in his eye. What it meant, it didn't matter, he was holding his own, and the fencer wanted this battle to continue.

"Don't forget about me," the fencer said, appearing in front of the turning Kellson and throwing a very fast slash, creating a cut along the front of his armor that split it diagonally, leaving a cut along his chest and causing his armor to slide off his arms. The Aura Master gave the man no time to respond and quickly followed up with a punch that was aimed for the man's face, but found his hand.

Blocking the punch had slid Kellson back slightly, but he had stopped the attack. The two stood, but the regicide struck again, stabbing the fencer in his right leg. Before the demi-angel could pull his hand back, the fencer had driven his sword into Kellson's wrist, forcing him to release the hilt of the blade and allowing the fencer to dip down and drive his hard boot into Kellson's now exposed chest, pushing him right on the edge of the plateau.

Zorlo braced himself, grabbing the sword and pulling it from his leg and tossing it over the edge of the plateau. He closed his eyes and realized his time to recover was short, having to quickly turn and block the now ice covered rune sword that Zachary wielded violently. The horizontal attack had nearly caught the Aura Master off guard, and this had to stop now. Moving without regard, the fencer drove his fist into the boy's chin, upper-cutting him through the air an causing him to land hard on the ground. This time, he was out for the count.

The green haired man picked up the red haired boy's blade and moved over to him slowly, his leg wound bothering him slightly. The fencer, against his better desire, sheathed the boy's blade and hid him between several boulders. He no longer needed to be involved in this battle. This was merely a fight between the people that had set this fight up.

Needless to say, Kellson had risen and was ready for another round. "Where'd that kid go?" he asked, the fencer turning to face him, bandaging his leg wound.

"He's dealt with, so leave him alone. You came here to settle a fight with me, didn't you? Come prove how tough you are. Where is all your talk now? I'm fighting at my most basic level and you can barely keep up. So what happens when I turn up the heat?" the Aura Master asked, an emerald green flame covering him. "Can you keep up?" he asked, bursting forwards, his mind ignoring the pain in his leg as he readied to finally end this battle with Kellson.

OoC: Okay, that should do. Zachary's out of this battle as of now, so please leave him be. Now its time to get a bit more serious.

This battle was starting to get chaotic. Roery wasn’t sure who to fight anymore. She shunned herself for getting beat by Zorlo twice. It wasn’t that he was amazingly fast, it was that he was surprisingly fast and she wasn’t focusing enough on her defense. The second kick had sent her sliding on her feet in the mud until finally stopping next to Ciaran. Though it didn’t hurt much.

"Sorry, Ciaran, but the winged guy is mine." Stated the green haired man

"Fine, but when you are done, its me and you," The half-breed responded.

No sooner had Ciaran finished his words, then he was struck in the back by a plasma disk. Roery glared at the both of them, she didn’t much appreciate being tossed aside and ignored. The blast appeared not to hurt him as much as it should have. Maybe it was that magic barrier, or something to do with his armor. Didn’t make his cloak look pretty though, what with the smoldering whole and all.

Ciaran flew a few yards forward, stunned, before spinning in air and firing a gust of wind at Roery. She dug her feet into the muddy ground and leaned forward, holding her ground as she fired off another disk at Ciaran. Spinning his staff, he swatted the projectile with the end of it, exploding the disk far enough away from himself. The armored girl lunged foreword again and was immediately met with a wall of earth to intercept her. She broke through the barrier with ease, the rain weakening it strength. She rolled to the side as a dark blue blast hit the ground beside her, and shot herself strait at the half-breed. Splitting his staff into duel swords, he swung his blades down at the incoming soldier. She swiped the blades away with her forearm and swung with her right. Ciaran leaned back as the fist grazed the magical barrier over his chest, and swung his blades again, one high, one low, at her left side.

A devilish smile graced the female soldier’s lips. “Lets take this a bit farther shall we?” Snapping a gun into her hand with lightning speed, she aimed strait at the half-breeds face, ignoring the blades as she pulled the trigger. There was a flash of energy from Ciaran’s swords and a blur of inhuman speed, followed by an explosion of wind and plasma. Roery and Ciaran shot in opposite direction, grabbing the ground and coming to a stop ten yards from each other.

Roery stood, putting her hand to a deep gash on her cheek, blood spilling freely from an even deeper cut on her side. Ciaran stood also, examining the damage on the reflection of his blade. He had somehow been able to block most of the blast with the flat side of his sword. The disk had still given a good sized explosion, which was evident by the blistering flesh on his forehead and neck and black holes in his cloak. The half-breed glared at the young woman across from him and swung both blades behind him, rocketing himself forward with a blast of wind. Roery smirked and ignited her thrusters, shooting herself a little higher then her opponent. The mystic raised from the ground, swords flashing behind him. At the last second, Roery rolled onto her back in air and fired off her thrusters, shooting herself diagonally at the ground. She landed on her back in the mud, somersaulted backwards, and brought her feet strait up into Ciaran’s chest. To bad he still had that barrier, or that might have worked.

Roery shot back into the muddy ground face first, sliding a good twenty feet before getting slammed in the back by a chaos bolt. She grunted in pain and jammed her palms into the ground, throwing herself into a front flip that she landed, still sliding and turned to face the Locturis. She put a hand to the now almost nonexistent armor on her back, but was forced to jump back and block another sword swipe as the mystic pushed forward. She dodged and blocked a series of sword swipes, taking multiple steps back. She then saw her opening and punched Ciaran right in the face. Her fist bounced right off his barrier and shot her back another couple of yard, sliding her feet in the mud and spinning around again to face the half-breed. No sooner had she dropped her eyes back on her opponent that she was nailed in the chest with a beam of blue energy. She flew backwards through the air, the beam still slamming her, pushing the air right out of her lungs as it shot her farther and farther away. The beam finally let up and she hit the ground, sliding through the mud and rain for a long time before coming to a stop, her head hanging off the edge of the cliff. The girl coughed hard, blinking the mud out of her eyes. Her once blond hair was now brown and muddy, clinging to her face. You almost couldn’t see the blue of her armor, as mud covered every inch.

“Wow, is this it?” Ciaran asked, almost surprised. “And I didn’t even need to use my stronger magic.”

Roery coughed again, putting a hand to her charred chest and spitting up mud. Her head hung loosely off the side of the plateau, making it hard to breathe. Ciaran looked back at the other two warriors, just in time to see Kellson kicked off the edge of the cliff. “My apologize Roery, but I cant risk you getting in the way” The mystic stated, turning to face the wounded girl. Splitting his staff into duel swords, he lunged forward, ready to finish her off. Of course he wouldn’t kill, her. Merely make sure she would be getting in the way anytime soon.

Roery had done her fare share of taking the bait. It was Ciarans turn to give it a try.

The very second before the half-breed brought his blades down; his chest exploded against two plasma disks, rocketing him high into the air. Roery immediately slammed off of the ground with her palms, sending herself feet first at the half-breed. She quickly rolled forward and blasted off her thrusters, firing off another plasma disk that exploded against his back, sending him higher into the air. The female soldier quickly caught up with Ciaran, flying right over him and leaning forward into a flip, slamming her feet down on the barrier over his chest, and blasted off her thrusters once more. The next second, Ciaran slammed into the ground hard, soon followed by Roery, who had exhausted her thrusters and rolled to her side as she hit the ground.

The mud covered girl staid on her hands and knees as she tried to steady herself. It didn’t work very good as she coughed up blood and winced and the deep cut on her side. Slowly the young women stood, wiping the mud from her face and pushing her wet bangs out of her eyes. She looked back at the other two just as Zorlo erupted in green flames and dashed toward Kellson.

Ciaran was once again shot down to fight Kellson or Zorlo. He was wasting all his energy and stamina fight Roery and she was getting too much of a nuisance who wasn't getting the message very clearly. He wanted her to go away and stop fighting him. Plus, every time she was down, Roery got right back up and kept fighting. It was getting too frustrating.

Once again, he was faced with the choice of utterly destroying her and killing her, but he'd have to use more of the stronger attacks and spells which was saving for Kellson and maybe Zorlo. This was just another damn test of patience and it wearing Ciaran's nerves down. Suddenly, a blast struck him in the back, but his barrier absorbed most of the blow.

That tore it.

He charged at her swinging his staff and throwing up barriers each time she went on the offensive, trying to parry all her plasma disks too, letting his barrier fend off her regular attacks. He then separated his staff and jabbed and slashed at Roery, but she quickly grabbed an extra gun and fired a shot. Ciaran quickly sent a gust of wind, sending the duo flying in opposite directions.

After constant clashing, Roery finally sent Ciaran into the ground, but also fell, her boosters out. She still stood back up, bloodied. Pieces of her armor was dented and scratched while Ciaran stood up, bruised, his skin burnt by plasma and his cloak tattered and torn. This was getting annoying!

"That's it!" he yelled as Roery was distracted watching Zorlo and Kellson collide.

Ciaran fell to his knees, hands gripping his forehead, screaming through gritted teeth. He thrashed about on the ground when he could hear his heart beat in his head. Suddenly, his skin went pale and ashen. He shut his eyes and stood up. He opened them once more, from the calm gray to a blood-lusting red. Ciaran embraced his demon heritage, he felt the power flow through his veins as he took a deep breath before glaring at Roery.

"We're ending this!" Ciaran yelled, his voice sounding darker, having an echo.

The half-demon charged forward at a blurring speed. Roery was shocked at what happened, but continued to fire plasma shots, Ciaran quickly dodging most. He continued forward and lunged at her, also slamming his staff down. She jumped back from the kick, but a pillar of earth hit her square in the back, sending her into the air. Ciaran jumped into the air and sent a gust of wind, knocking her back down, taking advantage of her flightless boosters.

When he hit the ground, he pounced on her and held this staff to her throat.

"One more move and you're dead!"