A Friendly Duel (1 vs. 1, anyone)

OOC: My character: Soblen Satre

Anyone can join this- but only one person. It'll be a one on one duel.

This is my first battle thingamajigger so forgive me if I screwed it up. x_X

Ahem.

BiC:

The earth rumbled. Soblen extended his hand and gradually moved it up, levitating a massive tree and uprooting it. One by one, the roots came out of the ground and soon enough the entire tree was a foot above the ground. With a flick of he wrist, Soblen let the tree fall and smash down to the ground, exposing its bare roots.

Soblen chuckled. It was not because he found the tree's fall amusing. He was simply amused at himself. Had he really come down to this, being so bored that he had nothing better to do than to uproot trees?

Soblen sighed, and focused his power to place the tree back into the soil, and used restorative earth powers to repair any broken roots so that the tree could live. As much as he loved testing his powers over the earth, he also felt a certain connection to the earth, and couldn't bear to see healthy trees destroyed for no reason.

He walked over and sluggishly sat down, leaning against the base of the tree. He closed his eyes and tried to listen to the serenity around him, which was disrupted by a large rumble. Opening his eyes widely, he looked around suspiciously, only to realize that the sound was coming from... his stomach. He pulled out an apple and bit into it, not bothering to wipe the juices from his chin.

After a few minutes, he chucked the empty core behind him. He tried to convince himself that he was living a peaceful life, and that he should be happy. But when it all boiled down, Soblen Satre knew that the truth was that he was bored.

Soblen had arrived to this strange land, where battles seemed to happen more often than the sun rising. Yet he had not encountered any himself. He missed the old days just a year ago, when he had fought bravely against a group of notorious terrorists, finally executing their leader himself. Those were the days where there was action, adventure, and excitement in his life. Those were the days where he could count on adrenaline pumping through his body every moment of his life. Those days... were gone.

Soblen feared that he had been getting rusty. He hadn't fought anyone for a year. He needed a duel- not a duel to the death, of course, simply a friendly duel to keep him in practice of his skills.

But where would he find someone to battle with?

OoC: Seems interesting. I think I use Monroe Vossler, link in my sig. ^_^

BiC: "New mark, new mark," Monroe told himself as he looked over his new mission report. Apparently there had been some stranger that had wandered into this land, and it was the enhanced human's job to learn why this person was there. The modern fencer walked solemnly through the streets as he looked around. According to his mission report, the guy he was after enjoyed nature, and also had some level of telekinetic power. Perhaps another modified human, like Vossler.

Even so, this man was a mark, and if Monroe didn't gain the information he needed, then it would be apparent he'd not be paid for the job. This telekinetic had to be found, and, if necessary, captured. Anything that was a threat had to be captured for the sake of peace, in some form.

Okay, Monroe didn't really know why he took up bounties, but something about them had a sense of fun within them. He couldn't help that he wanted to find his purpose in the world. Somehow, fighting random others helped him find that purpose. Anyway, the modern man exited the city he was in, off to somewhere, although he still knew not where.

Monroe headed into the fields of grass, his dark trench coat making him stick out like a sore thumb. He opened his trench coat and checked over his weapons, making sure they were all in top shape. Odds are, this telekinetic would be a dangerous foe. His steps were nearly silent, making him a dangerous person, being amazingly hard to track.

Then it happened. The man who sought purpose saw someone laying against a tree. The modern fencer looked at his report sheet. Same guy. That meant that the fencer had found him. Now then, he wouldn't charge in and start a fight, but rather, find out why this person was here. "Good day," the former assassin of the FBI spoke as he moved towards the man, "my name is Monroe Vossler, and I was wondering if you are a..." he paused as he looked at the sheet, looking for the name again. It then came to his attention that the sheet didn't have a name on it.

Vossler looked around and then back towards the man. "Perhaps I should start again," the fencer said with a bow. "I'm Monroe Vossler," he stated, looking this person over with a half cocked smile and, "and you look like a person I'm looking for. Care to share your name?" the modern fencer asked, observing this man.

OoC: Sorry I took so long to get back.

Anyways, I'm pretty new to this- we're not allowed to control other character's dialogue at all, are we?

BiC:

Soblen stood up and looked at the man that had greeted him. He seemed to be about the same age as himself, or perhaps a bit younger. His face seemed stern and serious, but he seemed friendly enough. With a smile, Soblen extended his hand to shake hands.

"My name is Soblen Satre. Very nice to meet you, Mr. Vossler." While shaking Monroe's hand, the wind flared up erratically and Vossler's elaborate trench coat waved in the wind. For a moment, Soblen thought he saw the hilt of a sword , but it was quickly rehidden by the trench coat. Soblen shook it off as a trick of the eye, or his imagination, but in his mind he decided to be on his guard while talking to this stranger.

OoC: Don't know what you are talking about. You can, I'm just leaving questions to your character to you. Dialogue, and general character control by another are pretty open to each person and tend to be different. Personally, I enjoy doing it with characters I'm familiar with, but ones I'm not, slightly less. Anyway, I felt that was a good place to stop off for you to post. Also, I like your attitude. This should be fun. ^_^

BiC: Soblen Satre, eh? Monroe thought as he looked the man over. "So, you're the one I'm looking for, are you?" the man of 2043 said as he began walking to the warrior's side. "I suppose I can't say you don't look much like a Telekinetic, but, hey, who am I to say. Never met one," Vossler stated. If this man truly had some of the powers that the sheet said he had, it was bound to be an interesting battle. "So, why are you here?" Vossler asked him, moving his trench coat to flash his sword to the man.

"Why... what is it you want with me?" the earth elemental asked, looking at Monroe, carefully examining the man.

"I'm here to judge how much of a problem you'll cause to this land. I'm only doing my job," the fencer stated as he drew his sword and pointed the chrome plated blade at the mage, who stepped back slightly.

"What kind of a reason is that?" Soblen asked, watching the semi-bounty hunter closely. The mage was unsure of why this man was here, but the dark dressed warrior didn't seem to attack this mage yet.

"I'm here because I'm being paid to see how much of a threat you are, and find out why you are here. What better reason could one have?" Monroe asked angrily as he stepped back slightly, unsure of what move to make. He raised his right hand and waved his foe on, not scared in the least. Then again, the modern fencer also didn't believe in magic, which could become dangerous when around people with it.

The atmosphere of the meeting had quickly and harshly turned from friendly to somewhat dangerous. Soblen stared at Monroe intently, his hands near the invisible hilts of his two swords, ready to draw them at the slightest hint of an attack.

"Well... well, Mr. Vossler, I can assure you that I'm not a threat at all. In fact, I'm not very sure how I found myself here at all..."

Monroe continued to focus his harsh, unsettling gaze on Soblen. "Well, of course that's what anyone would say, isn't it now?" Monroe advanced towards Soblen as Soblen took a step backwards. He smirked. "Well, don't be afraid, then. I'm not going to kill you. I just need to gauge how much of a threat you might be towards my land- that's all."

"I'm not afraid!" Soblen said defiantly. Suddenly realizing that what he just said may have sounded a bit immature, Soblen cleared his throat and spoke up again. "So... how are you going to determine whether I'm a 'threat', then?"

Monroe stopped pointing the sword at Soblen. "A simple duel. To test your abilities in whatever areas of combat you are an expert in- swordfighting, magic, telekinesis... Shall we?"

Soblen frowned slightly. How did this man know that he had telekinetic powers? Rather than inquiring about Monroe's knowledge, Soblen nodded firmly and drew his two golden swords. "If you say so, Mr. Vossler. Let's begin."

While being wary of the fact that this man could very well be dangerous, Soblen was a bit elated due to the fact that he was about to enter the very duel he had been hoping for since he arrived at this strange land. He just hoped it didn't turn out to spell his death.

Monroe looked at the man's weapons, and then at the mage. Magic, he told himself, silently laughing. I can't believe people believe in that crap. Magic is about as real as Santa Claus. I guess people need to believe in imaginary forces to help them feel strong. Whatever. The fencer didn't believe in magic, so that basically ruled out the possibly of convincing him of anything of the like. If this guy had telekinetic powers, then they had to be from genetic modification. Perhaps he was a new breed of super soldier. One to replace Monroe's.

"Hah!" the man from the future scoffed as he thought about it. Even if they were replacing him and the others, he'd gotten out of there. The others, well, he didn't care about them. Monroe was his own, only concern. He'd defeat this guy, and then move on. A friendly duel sounded like good fun anyway, he'd been ever so bored. Bar fights are only rewarding for so long before they get boring.

The modern fencer moved quickly and whipped his smallsword quickly, clanging it between Soblen's blades, knocking them both to the side before lunging quickly. The earth elemental worked fast and moved the the side, evading the titanium blade, but only by inches. Monroe laughed and flicked his wrist, causing the flat side of his sword to strike his foe's chest and causing the dual bladed warrior to stumble back.

Soblen spun his sword in his hand and stepped back a bit, suddenly striking forwards, swinging one sword down at the fencer, which the modern warrior blocked quickly, but he wasn't ready for the second golden blade as it moved towards him. The man in a trench coat narrowly evaded the blade, getting a cut along the side of his lower abdomen. His eyes winced in pain, but he held it back and stumbled backwards slightly. Man that had hurt.

So he hadn't gotten the first attack that drew blood, what did it matter? Monroe knew he could still hold out. After all, that small cut didn't hurt that much. The only thing that was slightly annoying was the dripping blood that moved down his side. He needed to make his foe wince a little bit, but not yet. He'd wanted to do this for a little while now. Monroe stepped forwards and began slashing quickly, having his sword narrowly evaded by Soblen, who watched his movements carefully, but the earth elemental couldn't follow Monroe's movements too well, as before the telekinetic knew it, the fencer's sword had slashed along the earth warrior's upper arm, leaving a small cut.

Monroe leapt back and smiled at his foe. "You're not bad. Can't say I've ever fought a man with two swords before. This could be fun," Monroe said in all seriousness, getting ready to continue. He took a traditional Epee fencing stance, his arm fully extended and ready to lash out at his foe. Anyone who hadn't seen such a stance would mistake it for him measuring distance, but that wasn't the case. In the case of Monroe, this was the most effective attacking stance. The foe never saw it coming, and quickly, the fencer lashed, whipping his thin blade at his foe, wondering how Soblen would respond.

Soblen was taken aback at this unique fighting stance and only barely managed to duck out of the way. He literally threw himself to the right, and Monroe lunged past him. Soblen quickly rose to his feet, but Monroe was able to knock him down using the full force of his body again. Soblen backflipped to his feet this time.

Monroe realized that Soblen was very agile, and simply lunging towards him would not work. Monroe knew he had to rely on his strength and swordfighting skills, both of which seemed to be superior to Soblen's.

The two opponents stood a couple yards away from each other for a while, each pondering their strategy. Like clockwork, Monroe ran forward at the same time as Soblen, and the clang of the collision of the three swords resounded. Monroe swiped away at Soblen with lightning-fast strikes, and Soblen strategically used his left hand's sword to defend against Monroe's sword while using his right hand's sword to attack.

However, eventually Monroe gained the upper hand. He continued to push Soblen back and astound him with quick and precise strikes, varying his attack strategy to confuse Soblen. Soblen realized he was at a disadvantage, but did not want to tap into his magic powers yet. This was a practice duel, and he wanted to focus on improving his swordfighting skills. But after a while, Soblen simply put his two swords in a defensive 'X' formation.

Monroe smiled, and then mustered up all his strength and knocked the two swords away. He then hit Soblen in the side of the head with the blunt side of the sword, knocking him to the ground and giving him quite a headache. Monroe chuckled. "Is that all you have to offer me? I suppose you aren't much of a threat, then."

Soblen's eyes blazed with anger and emotion, which he quickly supressed. He then let a small grin form at the sides of his mouth. Forget it, he though. I've got to defeat this guy.

He raised his relaxed right arm towards a small tree, and then tensed it and brought it up. The tree uprooted and hovered a foot above the ground. Monroe was taken aback. Soblen grunted with effort and whipped his hand in the direction of Monroe, and the tree flew towards Monroe and hit him full on in the chest.

Monroe flew backwards, hurt but not injured. The blow had made him extremely out of breath, and he wheezed his way back to his feet. Soblen returned to his feet as well, and let the tree fall to the ground.

Soblen raised his two arms in the air, and his two swords that had been knocked away from him quickly zipped through the air back to his hands. "This time, I'm not holding back. I'm using my magic against you."

Monroe raised one eyebrow and held a quizzical expression for a few seconds before laughing heartily. "Hah! Magic, huh? Why don't you go fly on a broomstick and get a cauldron, and mix up some eye of newt and put a curse on me? There is no such thing as magic. That little trick- an impressive one, yes, but that's just telekinesis. And you probably can only do that just because of some freaky genetic modification, anyways!"

Soblen's facial expression remained emotionless. "You don't beleive in magic? You must have had quite the deprived childhood, then. Daddy never dressed up as Santy Claus to give you presents when you were young?" Soblen chuckled while Monroe's face became increasingly angry.

"I assure you, Mr. Vossler, I am not a lab rat. I haven't been genetically modified. I was born with these magic powers, as are- were- all of my people." Soblen took an offensive stance and smiled. "If you don't beleive in magic- your loss. Let's continue this duel, then."

Not giving himself or Soblen a moment's worth of breathing time, Monroe immediately raced towards Soblen with his sword behind him, ready to slash at Soblen with all his might. Soblen casually raised his hand up, and a wall of rock and dirt formed from the ground. Monroe smashed into this wall, and hobbled backwards a few steps. Soblen let the wall sink back into the ground.

Monroe's face was full of confusion. Soblen simply nodded. "Yes, Mr. Vossler, that's magic."

Monroe simply laughed at the claim of magic existing again. "So you can move earth. You just have really strong telekinetic powers is all. Don't try to spread any of your magic crap. I haven't heard such stupid trash in a long time," the fencer stated full of distaste for such speaking. Moving a wall of earth. The man from 2043 began to wonder what he'd gotten himself into, but hey, it didn't matter, this was fun so far.

Monroe resumed his stance and began walking backwards and to the side, moving in almost a circular pattern. This guy had some moves, and that made things much more interesting. Suddenly, the earth elemental moved slightly and a wave flew through the ground and tried to throw Monroe off balance, but the former assassin jumped the side and charged, sword and hand, and lunged his sword like lightning at the elemental.

Soblen moved quickly, raising another wall to catch the horizontal slash, but the blade barely missed the earth melder. His foe was much stronger then the mage had thought this man would be. The earth innate drew his arms back and pushed them forward, throwing a larger wave of earth at the modern fencer. He had little time to react, and the earth struck him hard, throwing him into a nearby tree.

The fencer pulled himself from the tree, his back aching slightly. This guy's got some telekinetic powers. I'd better be careful, otherwise I'm gonna wind up being in a lot of pain when we get done. Better be more-

Monroe suddenly found himself being cut off as another wall of earth came speeding towards him. Quickly, the fencer rolled to the side, narrowly evading the wall, which stopped before the tree and vanished. Monroe was at range now, and the modern fencer had little choice in attacks right now. He couldn't use his gun yet. That'd be cruel. Also, he wasn't trying to kill this guy, but instead, he'd use something else. He'd be creative to get around his problem.

Suddenly, the man from the future bolted upwards and dashed at his foe, his sword dragging along the ground as his eyes kept a keen gaze upon his obviously powerful foe. Quickly, the earth innate began launching waves of earth to try to throw Monroe off his feet, and eventually, larger ones to knock him down, but he kept enough movement and variation to evade. Before long, the modern fencer had gotten close enough to attack, and his blade lunged forwards, but was stopped, barely, in front of the warrior's face, but what Soblen didn't see coming was the sudden first from the former assassin that threw the earth elemental through the air.

Monroe had abandoned his sword just long enough to attack, and pulled it from the wall of earth, pointing it at his foe in his normal stance. He was ready to fight, and would be damned if he would be defeated, no matter how powerful his foe's magic seemed to be. "This is just getting interesting. Let's keep going," Vossler stated, cracking his neck and getting ready for round two.

At this point, Soblen had given up trying to convince Monroe of his magic. It was obvious that the man was stubborn and close-minded, and him acknowledging the presence of magic wouldn't help Soblen to win.

Soblen knew that to win he would have to combine both his magic tactics as well as his swordfighting skills. He rose to his feet, and took a defensive stance as he was approached by Monroe. The former assassin and the earth mage sent sparks flying with the collision of their swords.

Rather than standing in one place only to be knocked away by Monroe again, Soblen adopted a few new strategies. If he saw Monroe getting ready to lunge forward, he would roll out of the way and attack him from the side. The first time, this resulted in a cut in the side of Monroe's upper body. The second time, however, Monroe managed to defend himself against it. Soblen also used his magic to bombard his opponent with branches, rocks, and dirt, distracting him greatly and helping Soblen.

This strategy worked, and Monroe's defense kept deteoriating. But Soblen had overestimated his abilities; and began to tire after a while. Monroe noticed this, and when Soblen seemed to be moving more sluggishly, Monroe went all-out offensive and knocked Soblen to the ground yet again. Soblen backflipped before Monroe could strike him while he was down, and landed on his feet.

"Good strategies," Monroe commented. "But I'm afraid your so-called-magic isn't powerful enough to defeat me. I've got strength. You don't. It's as simple as that, Soblen Satre."

Soblen eyes hardened. "You've got strength? You say that just because you best me at swordfighting, Mr. Vossler?" Soblen threw his two swords towards a tree. The two swords stuck into the tree. He then extended his arm towards Monroe, and focused on his sword.

Let's see... this sword, what could it be made of? Hm... iron? No, no... ah, titanium! Having recognized the element within the sword, Soblen took full control of it using his earth magic and whipped his hand towards the tree, sending the Titanium Smallsword flying through the air into the tree.

Monroe stood in shock, which quickly dissipated and turned into anger. "What is this? You dare to take away my weapon? This is-"

"Unfair, Mr. Vossler? I'd hardly think so. Neither of us have swords now, so it's balanced."

Monroe cocked his head. "Then this will be a hand-to-hand duel? Like I said before, I've got strength, even without a sword. You've got nothing, except for fancy telekinetic tricks."

Soblen shook his head. "I've got more up my sleeve than that... Mr. Vossler." Soblen crouched slightly for about two seconds, and then teleported.

Monroe frowned. "What... you're chicken? You're running away from me now? Hah!" Monroe knew that Soblen was still out there, somewhere, and turned around gradually, keeping on his guard. "Where are you hiding, magic-boy? Come out!"

From up within the branches of a tree, Soblen looked down at Monroe and did his best to supress a chuckle. Without swords, the battle was tipped towards his favor. He prepared to attack...

The warrior of the future scanned around the area, using his heightened senses to try to help him locate his foe. Silence reigned over the area, except for a slightly movement of a branch every so often. Suddenly, something occurred to the fencer. Something he hadn't even considered before. His eyes searched the battlefield quickly to make sure. He had to know, for he could leave nothing to chance.

He nodded slightly to himself. It was just as he thought: There were no bird in the area, nor any other form of life besides the two warriors. Knowing what he knew about wildlife, they tended to flee from danger they sensed, and a big battle that had a psychic seemed to fit that description pretty well. So, it was his foe that was moving in the trees. But how could that be? This man hadn't moved at all, from what Monroe knew, for his ultra sensitive hearing or sight would have picked the movement up. What was his foe doing?

Then, the modern fencer realized something: His foe could move at a level of speed that seemed to almost be like teleporting. That was the answer. Somehow, this warrior that the futuristic fencer fought could use his powers to move himself that fast, but moving so fast had its drawbacks, and probably drained Soblen. The earth elemental was running himself out of juice, but even so, the mage was on the offensive, or, at least, Monroe was on the defensive.

Now it was all a matter of time. Monroe simply needed to wait for his foe to give a slight notion to where he hid, and the fencer from the future would strike. Just then, a tree branch behind Vossler rattled, and before he even thought about what he was doing, he bolted after it, leaping into the air and throwing a powerful kick. The earth innate barely evaded, but, lost his balance and began to fall, but created an earth platform to catch himself. "Only one choice now," the trench coat wearing warrior said as he leapt down and swung his leg down, his foe rolling and expanding his platform to avoid the attack which split the initial platform in half.

Vossler watched as the platform disappeared and looked over to his foe, which stood only feet from him. No time to let his foe use his powers, and suddenly, the fencer threw a powerful punch with his right hand, but soon found his fist intercepted by his foe's earth wall, and a crunch as his fist struck the wall. A small amount of blood dripped down the wall as Monroe pulled his hand back and shook it out. Damn that had hurt. Solid rock... what person could shatter solid rock with just their own, pure, fist.

Actually, in the taverns and bounty houses, rumor existed of a bounty who was wanted for thirty million dollars. An S-class bounty named Zorlo, who had several very serious counts against him. Some of the stories said that he could punch a hole in solid rock without being hurt, or even flinching as the rock shattered. Vossler shook the thoughts from his head, his distraction had cost him precious time to react.

With a mere stomp of his foot, Soblen sent a wall of earth diagonally at the fencer, which slammed right into his gut and sent him flying into the air, dropping him down on his back. He had been winded, and he was beginning to learn that even with his training, this was going to be hard. He'd need to step up his game. Vossler stood up and dusted off his trench coat before reaching his left hand into the jacket. He grasped something beneath the jacket, and his foe watched careful.

"What do you have there?" Soblen asked, watching Monroe carefully.

"Perhaps something that will equalize this battle," the former assassin stated as he pulled his knife from its sheath and pointed the shorter blade at his foe. "I've got more then just one weapon, you know. Never want to be caught unprepared," he told the earth elemental, bending his knees to lower his upper body and holding the knife at the ready. This weapon was, perhaps, the best tool for this battle, although he had his gun if it came to that. Monroe seriously hoped it didn't.

OoC: Great battle so far. Say, Zorolo- when do battles like these usually end?

BiC:

Soblen and Monroe stood there practically motionless; each waiting for the slightest hint of movement from the other. The earth mage pondered the situation. Soblen had sacrificed his two swords to get rid of Monroe's sword, which was even and fair. But getting rid of the blade without getting rid of something of his own would be dishonorable in his mind.

Still pointing the blade towards Soblen, Monroe began to walk slowly towards him. Soblen stood there motionless with a blank expression on his face. As soon as Monroe was within attacking distance, he lunged forward towards Soblen, who quickly jumped backwards onto the trunk of a tree, and used all the might he could muster in his legs to jump off of the tree behind Monroe. Soblen rolled forward and jumped to his feet, and Monroe whirled around, with the short blade in hand.

Soblen then had an idea. Gathering power in his hands beforehand, he slammed the ground with his fist, causing a hollow cylinder of rock and dirt to appear and surround Monroe. The cylinder was just tall enough to avoid Monroe's escape, and the inside had a diameter of about five feet. The sun, which at this point was sinking, wasn't able to illuminate the inside, which made it dark for Monroe.

Thinking quickly, he stuck his knife into the wall and used it as a hold to propel himself upwards. As he was about to climb out, Soblen jumped up into the air, and kicked him on the top off his head, slamming him onto the floor of the cylinder. Soblen landed inside the cylinder as Monroe quickly got up, and a frenzy of fighting began.

It was too dark to tell what exactly was going on, which made it difficult for the two. Soblen felt his head crash against the wall several times, and Monroe felt something hit him in the gut several times. Monroe was fighting half-heartedly, while frantically searching the wall for where his knife was. Finally reclaiming it, he took the knife and swung wildly. He could feel the tip of the knife graze Soblen's arm, and Soblen cringed and step backwards.

Monroe closed his eyes to heighten his sense, and then reopened them. He was now able to see Soblen completely. After a minute, Soblen realized that he was at a disadvantage here, and caused the cylinder to sink back into the earth.

The sudden brightness was a shock for both opponents, especially Monroe with his heightened sense. Soblen recovered quicker and kicked Monroe in the gut, forcing him backwards a little bit.

The fight within the cylindrical wall of dirt left both warriors battered and exhausted, but they were determined not to give up. Soblen was extremely out of breath due to the number of magical feats he had done. The two engaged in combat yet again, Soblen focusing more on dodging Monroe's strikes with the blade than attacking Monroe.

Eventually, Monroe managed to distract Soblen with the blade to the right, and landed a quick blow to the face with his left fist. Soblen was thrown to the ground with a bloody nose, and Monroe pounced like a tiger on prey on top of him, pinning him down with his knees. He lifted his knife in the air threateningly, and then smiled. Soblen's eyes were widened, and blood was dripping slowly from his nose. His breathing was wheezy and erratic.

"This was fun, earth mage. But in the end, my weapons prevailed over your so-called magic." Soblen's expressioned changed to a smug grin, which slightly aggravated Monroe. "Mind telling me why there's a smirk on your face?"

Soblen closed his eyes and focused on the knife. It was a strong blade, made up of several different elements. The prevalent one seemd to be iron, however. After focusing on the iron, he opened his eyes and tensed up his face. Monroe watched in horror as all the iron particles of the knife disintegrated and fell out, leaving nothing but the hilt.

Soblen smiled weakly. "Just another trick up my sleeve, Mr. Vossler."

Monroe stared blankly at the handle of his dagger, still pinning his foe to the ground. What the hell had happened to his dagger? The blade had seemingly been broken down at a molecular level. That was some damn powerful telekinetic energy, but the fencer was certain that trick was draining to do, and could tell so from his foe's exhausted expression. Come to think of it, the modern fencer guessed everyone of the mage's magic tricks took their tool on his mind. Vossler smiled, knowing his foe would be too worn out soon.

Taking inventory on his remaining weapons, Monroe realized that, without his sword, he only had his revolver yet. He wouldn't use it, not unless he had to. The weapon's firepower was beyond what anyone needed, but it helped pick off large groups of people. Even so, if the former assassin didn't wield it as he began to tire, he'd have no hope of beating this guy. This warrior's telekinetic powers were far beyond anything Monroe could defeat with just his combat training. He'd need to sink that low to win, but still, he'd win.

But before Monroe could do anything, a sudden wall of earth drove itself straight into his forehead, sending him backwards a few feet, and moving him off of Soblen. The modern fencer rubbed his head, a tad shocked at that attack, but not too amazed. This guy was getting more and more annoying as this battle dragged on, and it was time that the former assassin ended this fight. Suddenly, the futuristic man hopped to his feet and threw a sudden punch at his rising foe, who narrowly evaded it. The earth elemental stumbled back, narrowly evading a spinning forearm strike aimed for his head.

Monroe's right hand was still pulsing with pain, and he couldn't quite close his hand enough to form a fist with it, but he had a sudden, and possibly brilliant idea. The man from 2043 threw a fake punch with his right hand, the hand obviously not fully closed, but the earth innate had no time to notice as he evaded the attack, but found the modern fencer's fist driven into his chest, throwing him back slightly. As the fencer moved to kick the mage, a sudden wall rose up and blocked the foot. A sudden burst in the rock through Monroe back and cut him up, drawing some blood from him as he suddenly had various cuts.

The modern fencer rose to his feet, watching his foe. This telekinetic's power drew heavily from the earth. Perhaps the mission log that Monroe had been given was wrong. Perhaps his foe was a Terrakinetic, and not simply just a basic telekinetic. If so, that would explain a lot.

A person that had power over a single element and could cause major destruction with it. If his foe truly was a Terrakinetic, then he was very dangerous. Vossler didn't know for certain, but he knew there was no magic. THis had to be an advanced elemental form of telekinesis. After all, Monroe had heard of experiments to create such people, so he wouldn't be too amazed to meet one.

Vossler pushed himself to his feet, laughing as blood continued to drip from the various cuts and wounds across his body. "A Terrakinetic, what are the odds. I've found a truly unique foe here. Well, I guess this makes things more interesting, doesn't it?" the modern man asked, smiling as he readied to charge. He wasn't quite ready to use his gun yet.

OoC: Sorry I took so long.

BiC:

Soblen glared fiercely at his opponent, trying to keep his facial expression as unnerved and serious as possible. But his nose was bleeding profusely, and his energy had been depleted to a point that it took effort to breathe. Glancing at his opponent, he could see that his earth magic had caused Monroe quite a lot of cuts, bruises, and pain. Yet Monroe seemed unaffected by all this.

He casually wiped blood off of his upper lip. He seemed to be getting some energy back, but he knew that anymore magic tricks would likely weaken him further.

"A Terrakinetic?" Soblen said. "How many times... do I have to tell you... it's... ah, forget it." Soblen shook his head, which felt quite muddy and clouded due to his fatigue.

Monroe's keen eyesight noticed that Soblen wasn't feeling energetic. He charged towards him, and threw a punch, which Soblen dodged quickly. At least his exhaustion hadn't affected his reflexes. Soblen punched Monroe in the gut, and Monroe took a couple steps back. Soblen prepared to land another one, but Monroe kicked him in the stomach and sent him stumbling backwards.

Taking the opportunity, Monroe landed a series of punches which Soblen did not have the energy to block or dodge. Feeling quite pleased, Monroe finished it off with a kick to the chest and sent Soblen flying backwards to the ground.

"What's the matter? Lost your terrakinesis?" Monroe taunted. "Or are you just to weak to use them now?"

Soblen got up and hobbled over to the nearest tree like an old man without a cane. Monroe simply watched in amusement. He deduced that whatever powers that were vested in his unique opponent sapped his energy greatly when used- and without his powers he was useless.

Putting his hand on the tree, Soblen relaxed his body and closed his eyes. "God of the Earth... please forgive me." The tree vibrated, and slowly went from its rich tan hue to a dark, rotten purplish-black color. Soblen opened his eyes and smiled, his energy renewed. He cringed when he saw the dead tree, and took a step backwards.

Monroe raised one eyebrow. "What the hell was that, earth innate?" he inquired.

"I... I sapped energy from this tree. And I'm not proud about it, either..." Soblen sighed. "Killing this tree is the only way I can go on with this fight."

"'Sapped' energy from the tree? How is that-" Monroe's words were interrupted by a fast-paced wall of earth approaching him from the ground where Soblen was standing. Monroe jumped to the side, but the wall of earth hit his foot and sent him spiraling to the ground. He immediately jumped up, and saw his opponent preparing yet another wall of earth.

Apparently his energy is back, although I can't imagine how... Monroe thought. Eventually he'll tire out again, and when he does, I'll just have to end this fight. Monroe stood with a defensive stance, readying himself for Soblen's next move.

OoC: Don't worry about it, but just one thing, reading your foes mind is against the rules. Just for future reference. ^_^

BiC: This Terrakinetic was quickly wearing its welcome with the modern fencer. Earth manipulation was a powerful foe to contend with, and now that the former assassin was wearing down, his enhanced senses were starting to get... fuzzy. His eyesight began to blur, his hearing was beginning to dull, and his body was beginning to lose feeling. Odds are, he couldn't fight on much longer.

Choices were few now. Fighting hand to hand was dangerous to Monroe, mostly seeing how many shards of earth he had embedded in his skin now. His knife was little more then a handle now, destroyed at a molecular level due to the powerful Terrakinetic magic of the earth mage. The futuristic man would be using his sword now, but his honor prevented that. He'd given up his sword because his foe had given up his, and that was fair. That left only one option.

Monroe placed his hand on his revolver. His right hand was unusable, and his body was exhausted. He unholstered his gun and looked down the chamber. Six shots. That was all he had, and all he would have for this battle. Vossler figured he'd only need two shots to end this, but it would get tricky if he wasn't careful. Without his sword, his knife, or is right hand, this fight was very dangerous. How could he have let things get this bad?

How could I have let things get this bad? he asked himself as he pulled back the hammer of his revolver. For a normal human to fire this gun with one arm would probably jolt their arm out of its socket, but for Monroe, it was a walk in the park. The recoil was strong, yes, but the modern man's body was enhanced to nearly nullify the shock from the recoil.

Suddenly, the former assassin rolled to the side, evading an oncoming wall and rolling to his feet, instantly beginning to run again. The earth innate watched the modern fencer closely as the revived man ran a wide ellipse around the Terrakinetic. This wouldn't work if he gave his intention too soon, so Monroe would have to be careful of what he did here.

Soblen watched closely, mildly amused, mildly pondering something. His energy began to gather up for whatever his foe was planning, and that could be very dangerous if he gave his position too soon. The swirl of earth beneath the earth elemental's feet gave some indication that he knew what the weapon did, but it wasn't always what things appeared to be as what they were. After all, Monroe's bullets were unique. They were made of the same metal as his sword, and very hard to stop.

Suddenly, Vossler skidded to a stop and aimed his gun, the laser sight focusing on his foe's lower abdomen, and then....

Bang!

With a pull of the trigger, the bullet erupted from the gun. Instinctively, Soblen created a wall of earth between himself and the bullet, but the wall suddenly found a massive crater in it, and Soblen a bullet passing through his lower abdomen. The earth elemental stepped back, his wall hadn't been strong enough to stop the bullet, but it had severely reduced the damage it caused. The bullet left a small hole in the earth innate, but, even if Monroe didn't know, he was certain it must have hurt.

Vossler's vision blurred more. Blood loss was getting the better of him. Not much longer. One more shot.

OoC: Oops! Sorry! ...Well, I guess I can blame it on my newbieness.

Okay, so I almost ended it... I'll leave it up to you to wrap it up or something.


BiC:

Soblen hobbled backwards in intense pain. His wall of earth hadn't been enough to stop the bullet, and the bullet had lodged itself inside his abdominal area. It wasn't a deep wound, but it hurt like hell.

He focused on the bullet momentarily and used his magic to push it out of the wound, wincing in pain. What kind of bullet is that, that a wall of dirt and rock couldn't stop?

He got up to his feet and glared at Monroe. His vision blurred, and he didn't even notice that he was bending forward in pain. His concentration was extremely broken, but he still noticed Monroe's fingers reaching for the trigger, the barrel pointing right at his chest.

Soblen felt his energy almost completely dissipated. He knew that if he tried to block this bullet when Monroe pressed that trigger, he would pass out- and then he was as good as dead. Breathing heavily, only one idea ocurred to him- and as his options were limited, he went through with it.

Trying his best to ignore the biting pain near his stomach, he turned around, and focused all of his remaining energy on uprooting the tree behind him. He lifted his hands upwards, and then whipped them towards Monroe, sending the tree flying towards him. Monroe tried to duck, but the tree hit the man from the future on the head, knocking him unconscious. The gun dropped from Monroe's unclenched hand and hit the ground with a thud.

Soblen smiled weakly, and immediately fell to the ground, unconscious as well from exhaustion and blood loss.

A sound resonated from the enhanced human. It'd been an hour since he'd been downed by that tree, and he was finally coming to. His hand moved slowly up the ground and rubbed his head. Man that had hurt, but then again, why wouldn't being hit with a tree suddenly not hurt afterwards? It didn't matter now, Monroe knew one thing for certain. "Son of a ***** I'm not dead," he muttered to himself as he sat up, holding his throbbing head. Damn it hurt, but he wouldn't let that get to him. He had other, more pressing, matters to attend to.

The former assassin complained some as he stood up and walked over to his gun and picked the weapon up, holstering it soon after. Whoever this guy was, he was strong, but that didn't matter now. The modern fencer removed his contract and wrote a few notes down with a pen he kept in his jacket and returned the parchment to his jacket pocket. Even though this guy was strong, he wasn't a threat to anyone. He was just here to explore, and Monroe put just that.

"Now then, to get back my sword," he stated, walking over to the three his sword was partly embedded in. Only about five inches of the blade had been lodged into the tree, but simply pulling it out wouldn't be easy. "Guess I've got to go about it in a different method," he muttered as he cracked his good hand's knuckles and punched the side of the tree, shattering the bark and loosening the sword. WIth a quick jerk, the enhanced human removed his sword and looked at it. A little worn, but still in great condition. Swiftly, the fencer sheathed his sword and looked at his wounded foe.

The modern man inspected his foe, taking note of the bullet wound and the blood. He'd be fine, he wasn't bleeding that much. Anyway, the modern fencer had places to be, people to see, and other people to kill. Money didn't make itself after all. With that, he walked away from Soblen. Mayhaps the man from 2043 would meet the Terrakinetic again, but even that was hard to say. If they did, a rematch would be needed. "I'd enjoy that," the nonbeliever muttered with a slight smile as he vanished. Other things to do, and what not.