Child's Play- or not (Ry-san's class)

OoC: Okay, boys. The current assignment. The name of the game is "capture the flag". Have fun. Keep in mind that this is a friendly game, and a few rules do apply.
1. No killing.
2. No irreparable maiming. *looks pointedly at a couple of students* (you know who you are)
3. No pure OoC posts.
4. No OoC "this is what I wanna do, so nobody post contrary" stuff. If you and your teammates wanna discuss strategy, keep it to a PM.
5. If you have a question about a rule, or something someone else posted, or something else to be brought to the referee's (that would be me) attention, take it to the home room.

BiC: Aurora led her class down the ivy strewn corridor holding Lunac's room, which eventually came to a...

...dead end. The only dead end Aurora had ever found in the Dome. Corridors loop endlessly, they intersect, they veer in strange ways, but NEVER just stop. Yet this one did. The ivy meandered along the ceiling to this point, then milled about in the corners a bit before cascading down in a sort of emerald waterfall, covering the wall so that only the occasional grey stone peeked through.

Without a pause, Aurora parted the vines gracefully, and walked right through the wall! The students hesitated, milling around before the apparently solid barrier. All except Chaos, who with barely a moment's pause, dove headfirst through the stone wall.

Nai walked up and put his hand on the wall. "It's perfectly solid. There's no way!"

"Then stay here," Kaid said coolly, "but I'm going to train." Then, he walked right through the solid wall, soon to be followed by Tokumaru and Starfire.


Aurora stood on the other side, waiting patiently for her class to negotiate the barrier before them. The only way they could get through the wall is to have faith that they would, and trust her. This could whittle her class size down seriously... Ultimately, they all showed up, and looked out across the landscape with their teacher.

They stood on a large hill, lush with green grass, overlooking a dense forest. In the distance, they could see another hill, just like the one they stood on. Each hill had a small, stone fort built on it, complete with a lookout tower in the center.

"Okay, boys, we're going to play a little game today. The name of the game is 'capture the flag', and for those of you who aren't familiar with it,... or didn't have a childhood... I'll lay out the rules.

"We divide you up into two teams. One team uses this fort as home base, the other team uses THAT fort as home base. If you'll look up, you'll see this fort has big red flags flying from the tower." They looked up, and sure enough, there were three red flags, each roughly the size of a bedsheet, flying from a pole overhead. "The other tower has blue flags." In the distance, they could just make out three blue flags flying from the other tower.

"The point of the game is this: capture all the opposing team's flags by retrieving them from their camp, and flying them from your own tower. Meanwhile, you'll have to protect your own flags from the opposing team, who's mission is the same. The first team to capture ALL of the other team's flags, wins.

"The rules: You may not steal back your own flags IF they have already been flown from your opponent's tower. However, if you meet up with a member of the opposite team holding one of your flags, you may try to take it back.

"You may not hide flags. EVER. They must always be in plain sight, whether on the tower, or being carried.

"Now, for the rules of a more personal nature. You may not kill another player. You may not maim another player. That means no dismemberments or life-threatening injuries. This is supposed to be a friendly game, so try to act like you like each other. I'll be the referee, and I will know EVERYTHING that goes on in the game." Seeing their suspicious looks she added, "Never you mind how I'll know. Just take my word for it. Furthermore, if anyone breaks the rules, his ENTIRE team will be disqualified, and the game will be over."

"There WILL be a prize for the winning team." Eyes lit up around the room, most of them had heard about the prize Tokumaru had won in the last game. "Furthermore, there will be another prize, a very special assignment, for the Most Valuble Player(OoC: Poster).

"Now to form the teams." She looked around, thinking carefully for a long moment. Here's how she broke it down:

Blue team- Kaid, Vallen, Thorns, Chaos, Zether

Red team- Tokumaru, Lunac, Starfire, Alvein, Nai

"Blue team, you'd better get moving. Your fort is about an hour's walk from here." She glanced up at the sun. "You have until high noon, that's about two hours away. When it's time, you'll hear a whistle." The summoner produced a silver referee's whistle, which she hung about her neck.

"Now everybody, LET'S PLAY!" With that, the Blue team headed off toward their own stronghold.

At the appropriate time, Aurora was levitating high over the forest, watching the teams prepare for the mini-war about to begin. She took a deep breath, and blew a shrill note on her magic silver whistle. Amazingly, the sound carried perfectly over the land, and her eager students set to work.

Zether looked around at his team. He didn't know anything about any of them but he would have to work with them for now. He began thinking of a strategy they might be able to use. He thought that a long range fighter could stay on top of the fort to shoot enemies from afar and a melee fighter could stay below and attack anyone that gets too close. The rest of the team could form their own strategy for getting the flags.

Zether relayed this idea to his fellow team members and asked for their ideas, hoping he could learn to work well with them and possible make a few friends. He simply listened to himself talk about his idea as he was lost in thought, wondering if his idea would work. He also wondered about what his fellow team mates would think about him from his idea.

As these thoughts crossed him, he began wondering if he was being too paranoid, but now was not the time for those kind of thoughts.

OOC: Alrighty. FYI, Ry-San, if you recall, the mage who gave Tokumaru his powers used Alchemy, so, I may not have my fire and elemental magics, but I still have a vague memory of Alchemy! This takes place BEFORE Aurora blows the whistle.

BiC: Tokumaru stood on the fresh mornings-dew grass as his teammates began to ascend their tower. “C’mon, Kyô!” Said Lunac, calling Tokumaru by his last name. “Do you want to help us or not?”

The Samurai looked at the circumference of the Tower’s bottom and laughed mockingly. “It’s all too easy.” he said aloud. “All they have to do is enter the tower. No defense whatsoever besides us.”

Starfire stood proudly upon the tower, looking down upon Tokumaru as if he were an idiot. “That’s why we’ve got Lunac, you dunce! He volunteered to be defender.”

Tokumaru looked at the tower’s structure. It was made of an old-world stone, and many cracks were laden upon each stone’s edge. Strangely though, each block that made the tower was precisely identical, having the same attributes upon them as the last. Then he looked at the flags high above him. Their satin red blew in the air majestically, signaling that defeat would not be easy. He didn’t want to loose them to anyone. “Hey, Alvein!” He said, yelling up to the top of the tower.

“Yeah?” The Elf said as he stood on the edge of the old tower, watching over to the blue team as they walked over to their tower.

“Can you shove some of those loose stones up at the top down here?” Asked Tokumaru loudly.

Alvein was amazed. “How did he see that those things were up here?!?” He thought. “Um… Sure.” The Elven Warrior pushed two of the blocks to the side and placed them on the edge of the Tower, breathing very heavily at the intense work. “Phew… Alright.” He said, snapping out of his tiredness. “Crater Push!” He held out his arms to the blocks, pushing them over with a magical beam of pure concentrated kinesis.

BAM! Sounded the old blocks as they landed in front of Tokumaru. “Alright then.” The Samurai said as he reached for his left waist, pulled out the Hinotama from its sheathe and readied it above him. “Ready! Futatsuwari!” He slammed the Hinotama through the two blocks at godlike speed, showing now sign of tire, just pure skill.

* * *

At first, the blocks remained intact and perfectly still. That is, until Tokumaru let out a sigh. At that very moment, the two stones split in two, leaving Tokumaru with four stones to work with. “Now for the easy part.” The samurai lay the tip of his sword on the ground, and walked around the stones, his sword following, making a circle around the four the stones. As the circle finished, Tokumaru walked inward, creating intricate designs within the circle. Soon, after much walk-designing, he sheathed the Hinotama and got down on his knees in front of the four stones. In silence, he clapped his hands together and placed them inside the circle around the stones.

In a blinding flash, the stones erected into four Armoros Statues, and stood perfectly still; the one eye upon each of them glowing softly. “There.” Said Tokumaru, proud of his work. “If the blue team should so much as move an inch near these things, the Armoros will spring to life and attack, giving us time to escape with our flags.” The samurai laughed at his creation, walked up the tower, and at that moment, Aurora’s whistle went off, signaling that the epic game had begun.

OOC: And no, Ry-San, I am not forcing Lunac to be defense. He really did volunteer. Okay, There’s my post!

Valen crossed his arms as he leaned against the cold stone wall of the fort. He was having a bit of trouble accepting all of this new information. He felt like his mind was about to explode from having to cram it all in. From what he had gathered, they were in a place called "The Dome;" an interdimensional training ground for warriors, and they were presently standing inside one of its built-in training courses. The one called, Aurora, who had led them here, seemed to be one of the "teachers" present in "The Dome." Atleast, Vallen assumed there were more. He reflected, for a moment, on the events leading up to this little "game" he was now in the middle of.

He remembered crashing into a pile of bodies, after falling through a mysterious hole that appeared out of nowhere. He now knew that the bodies that had broken his fall were other warriors who had been snatched up by the consciousness controlling the Dome's "recruitment" procedures.

As he looked around the room, he studied his fellow "students." It seemed to be quite a mixed batch, like the worlds had been mashed together and then spewed out the most diverse group of warriors in existence. A couple of elves littered the room, along with an apparent human and a small child in ratty garments.

"If this isn't the strangest bunch of warriors I've ever seen..." he projected to Kin. "I don't even know why I'm here; and I'm not even going to start on where 'here' really is." He thought as he scratched his head in a quizzical way.

Kin glanced up at him, "Well, as long as we're here, we might as well go along with it. We can ask questions after we're done."

Vallen shot a side-long glance at Kin. "I know what you're up to. You just want to get at whatever that 'prize' was that the woman spoke of."

Kin gave a doggish grin and let his tongue flop out. "Heh, you better believe it. I don't care what it is, as long as it's got 'prize' and 'free' in the description." He waved his tails about excitedly as he thought of all the possible objects the reward might be.

Vallen chuckled as he shook his head. Suddenly the image of Aurora appeared in his mind. "That woman," he thought, "she had a strange presence about her. I can't quite put my finger on it, but she's definitely not normal."

"Maybe you noticed the dragon wristband she wears, as I did." Kin interrupted.

"Dragon wristband?"

"Yeah, and it ain't an ordinary wristband either."

""Not ordinary? How so?" Vallen asked as he began to take interest.

"It was a summon, a physical embodiment of a spirit, alot like me. I could sense its power." Kin explained. He hung his head, "I could tell it was hiding its power, even if it was passively." Vallen inquired as to what Kin meant by "passively." "It wasn't making a large effort to hide its energy. It was more like it was," Kin paused for a moment, "I guess you could call it, sleeping. But it wasn't really asleep."

Vallen waved his hand in an effort to tell Kin to stop. "Alright, alright, like you said, 'We can ask questions later.' Right now I'm more concerened about this "game," or "training session," or whatever you want to call it, that we've been so politely thrown into. According to Aurora, it's a basic game of 'Capture the Flag'." He met and held gazes with the stern faced, chesnut haired elf for a moment before the pointy eared figure went back to his own business.

Kin snorted, "'Capture the Flag' with weapons... this oughta be interesting."

Vallen rested his head in the palm of his hand and sighed. When he lifted his head he saw that one of the warriors, a short, red-haired boy was beckoning him over to the group. Vallen pushed off from the wall and strolled over to the crowd.

---------------------------------------------------------

After listening for a few moments to the redhead's proposal for a battle strategy Vallen considered the merit of the idea. "Usually such a strategy would be a good idea against a limited number of opponents. But after observing our opponents, I don't think it would be the best course of action."

"You're right," spoke the elf who had crossed Vallen's gaze earlier, "I can do it on my own. Why don't you guys just stay here while I go get all the flags myself?"

The child laughed, "Nice try, Slick, but nobody's going to be going out alone."

"Do you question my abilities again, Chaos!?" retorted the elf.

The child wove his hands and chuckled. "No, of course not. I'd never doubt the abilities of the invincible Kaid Rei!" He said sarcastically while moving his arms in a wide sweeping motion and bowing low. Kaid made a menacing advancment toward Chaos.

"Alright! That's enough!" Vallen exclaimed, drawing his sword and using it to separate the two. "Let's try to focus on the matter at hand!"

Kaid glared at him. "You'll learn to mind your business before long." he said matter-of-factly. Chaos rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure I will, but in the meantime, let's try to work together." He glanced at each person present, in turn. He asked their names, and after a few annoyed grumbles learned the tags of each of his current partners. "All right, since we're not going to work the two-person guard angle, let's try something else." He sheathed his sword. "Any ideas?"

OoC: Remember! DON'T POST ANY STRATEGY HERE!! Discuss it through PM's. When a strategy is decided post again but skip the discussion and get straight to carrying it out. We don't want to give our opponents any leverage, do we?

OOC: yay forest grounds! Kaid will be most pleased.

IC: Kaid walked through the vine covered wall leaving those who did not trust their teacher on the other side. Chaos was standing on the other side looking at a dense forest, Kaid’s eyes lit up. It looked exactly like his old stomping grounds, where he would spend all day hunting. The familiar smells came back to him, and he stood there enjoying his moment of nostalgia. He opened his eyes and saw Aurora give him a wink; she knew he would like this place. The elf didn’t know how, she knew these things about him, but to him it was just another mystery of the Dome.

One by one the other students filed in, through the wall. Once they were all in the newest room, Aurora called everyone into tell them what was going to happen. They were going to play something called “capture the flag”, a game that Kaid had never heard of in his life. He was intrigued by the game and was eager to play. One of the new students suggested that he stay behind and watch the tower. Kaid chuckled to himself and explained that it wasn’t such a good idea. After the brief chat he decided to run off toward the tower, and rest before the game begun. If he sprinted he would have an hour and a half but he couldn’t risk losing that much energy.

Kaid told all of his fellow teammates his plan, and none of them seemed to care. He took off running and then slowly started into his sprint. When he reached the tower he examined the base and studied it, memorizing its every detail and staircase. In all there were five stair cases one leading to a second story window for the lookout. The other staircases led to the top where the blue flag hung. Kaid focused his eye and saw the other base easily. Something was strange though. There were four strange statues with glowing eyes just outside the front door. He suspected the weakness of those statues were the eyes.

The young archer slumped against the stone wall next to the entrance and waited for his teammates, they were slow in arriving. He eventually dozed off and dreamed of his old home. It was a wonderful dream full of memories good and bad, and then he dreamed how he arrived at the Dome. It was Aurora who had first greeted him; he could see it clearly in his mind’s eye.

“Kaid Rei!” the elf startled awake. “You might want to get ready we only have thirty minutes until we start.” It was the new student who had talked to him earlier.

“Oh thanks.” Kaid yawned, stood up, and brushed the dirt from his clothes.

OOC: preparations complete for Kaid Rei. One of my better posts if I do say so myself but again I’m not a teacher.

Back at the Red fort, Starfire and Lunac were still preparing the defense. The time it took to get to each fort gave them a forty-five minute window, and they intended to use every single minute of it.

“The problem here is that the other team has too much tree cover. We can’t see them approaching,” Starfire told Lunac. “Could you do anything about that?”

Lunac smiled for the first time in a week. “Of course.” He placed himself in an offence position, with his legs spread out and his arms in front of him. He lowered his head and muttered, “People of fire, I call upon thee, answer my prayers and do my WILL!”

He screamed the last word out, and all at once every single tree and blade of grass in a hundred-metre radius of the fort was burnt to cinders. Starfire did not seem impressed.

“But wait, it doesn’t stop there,” Lunac said to him. He went back to the attack position, but this time didn’t say anything. Starfire looked over the edge of the tower to realise that every cinder on the hill ground was freezing, covering in ice. The white spread, completely covered the hill. It would now be impossible to climb it with out using fire powers, much less approaching it without being seen.

Lunac was panting when he sat down. “I just… need… some rest…” he whispered hoarsly to his teammate. Somewhere from above, he heard a whistle being blown.

"And so it begins," Lunac said.

OoC: Just for the record, a 27 year old doesn't qualify as a child. Keep that in mind, Manga Oni-Link. Anyway, to the task at hand...

BiC: Chaos climbed to the top of the tower and gazed towards the Red Team's tower.
"There's gotta be an easy way in," he said. "There always is."
He turned to Vallen.
"Any inspirations, Slick?" he asked.
"None," said Vallen. "They've frozen the ground, from the look of things. We won't be able to get close."
"Unless we can melt it," said Chaos slowly. He turned to his teammates.
"Oi! Stooges! Anyone here control fire?" he asked.
His question was met with blank expressions. A few of them shook their heads.
"We'll just need someone who can," said Chaos. "Heh, I remember my first assignment here. It was against a huge fire-breathing salamander. If only we had that..."
Kaid nudged him.
"Aren't you a shape-shifter?" asked the elf.
"Yup," said Chaos. "What's your point?"
"You can transform into animals, right?" asked Zether, catching on.
"Can't see why not," said Chaos. "Oh, I get it! You need me to take out the ice, right? No problemo. I'll have that area defrosted before you know it."
Chaos focused on the salamander he had fought on his first day at the Dome.
"Not here," said Vallon sharply. "You'll burn the place down!"
Chaos nodded and leapt from the top of the tower, landing lightly on his feet.
"Laters," he said, transforming into a giant salamander. He let out a jey of flame, and stomped off towards the Red Team's tower.

OoC: I'll leave it there for a bit. Maybe I'll continue after someone else posts.

"Heh, Chaos sure does proove to be useful doesn't he?"

The young boy leaned back on the fort, looking out over the battle grounds. Most of the trees and high grass had been burned down by the Red Team, which blew their cover for any sneaky attacks. They had also covered the hills in ice, but Chaos was taking care of that.

Zether looked up at their three blue flags, waving majestically in the wind. They gave him a feeling of pride, like they were sure to win. From the top of the tower, he could see that the other team had, somehow, made four Armos Statues for protection. He didn't know how they did it, but it was sure to be a problem for his team. He looked at their big bulging eyes and instantly was thinking that they were the weak points, however he could be wrong.

Zether let out a small sigh and walked down the stairs to the ground. Satnding there in the wind, he thought about what he could have possibly gotten himself into. He was also in a state of confusion about how he got here. One second he was standing outside the Dome, the next he was faling into a room within with four other people. What painful memories, but he had logn forgotten those. He didn't need to think about how he got here, he was only here to train.

OOC: Lunac do not ever do that again I warn you of this and you will see why.

IC: Kaid watched as the forest burned down around their fort, he felt tears streaming down his face, and memories hit him like a bolt of lightning. Memories of his village, of the few he had left rushed back at him and he felt the sting of his eye.
“Hefru, I shall kill you! Mark my words!” Kaid shouted as punched the wall he leaned against. He immediately pulled his sword out and smashed it against the wall. It shattered and lay broken on the tower floor. His team mates stared in shock at the odd behavior of the elf. Kaid paid no attention to this. He heard the whistle blow and he charged into the forest not aware that anyone else was there. As he charged through forest he picked up the most power plants he knew of. He shoved them into an empty bottle and threw in some of his mysterious liquid. The bottle shook with fury and shone brighter than the sun. He shoved it into his bag so it would not lose its glimmer.

As he approached the frozen plain he pulled out another bottle and shoved a few more plants and bugs inside. The potion was fiery and hot. He pulled some vines off a nearby tree and attached the potion to one of his arrows. Chaos had come up behind him now, ready to burn the entire field.

“Wait!” Kaid shouted finishing his preparations on his potion and arrow. “Let me do it.” Kaid fired the arrow which carried his potion to the middle of the ice desert, on impact it exploded as if it were a volcano. The water washed back to the tower and awoke the four statues. Kaid could see clearly that the statues were moving; they were slow for something that was supposed to kill him. He rushed forth, Chaos and Vallen close behind him. He could feel streams of magic approaching him and his companions. Again they were too slow for Kaid and his fury. Once he reached a distance of fifty meters he pulled four arrows back into his bowstring and let them fly. Each of them hit its mark and the four statues exploded into much less than rubble. More magical bolts came from above, better aimed but still dodged easily. As he finally approached the red tower he extracted the magnificent light potion from his bag, it shook with power. Chaos and Vallen had come up behind him now.

“You had better cover your eyes.” Kaid threw the potion inside and the tower lit up with a brilliant white light erupted from the base. It looked as if some of the gods themselves had descended into the tower. The white light lasted for some time then finally faded. “Get inside now!” the archer ordered.

OOC: so in short Kaid can get even meaner when threatened I suggest you never burn a patch of forest while he is around.

"... and that's it, simple as that. You two ready?" Alvein asked, tightening his gloves as he waited for his allies' decisions. Both Tokumaru and Nai nodded in agreement, preferring to keep the conversation to a mimimun for the moment.

"Good... I'll get Starfire. Remember... the sooner we get those flags flying, the better. You know what to do." Both men left at the shrill call of the whistle, disappearing into the tree line within minutes, leaving the blonde elf to his own tasks. He moved deeper into the old stone fortress, climbing the worn stone steps two at a time unntil he reached the top. Alvein arrived to find Lunac, slumped against the wall in exhaustion. The spells had taken it out of him, and while he claimed to fully able to cover the base himself the elf didn't quite buy into his words.

"Starfire... go on ahead to the blue fort; I'll catch up to you later," Alvein said, scanning for any members of the other team. He decided against explaining the plan; it would delay things, and it was more than simple enough that the other elf would figure it out quickly.

I don't think I should leave him here alone, Alvein thought, watching Starfire depart, but then again I don't think I should stay. He's clearly more skilled than he looks, but if the other team is as well he might be overpowered. And if they get in here and manage to keep him occupied for long enough, all three flags are theirs. No, I'll stay... and I'll do some work of my own.

"Lunac... I'm staying for a bit, to gauge the enemy before I take off for their fortress. You rest until they get here, while I set up some things"

And with that the elf ascended and descended the stairs numerous times, shifting furniture and carrying items to and fro. He'd just completed the last of his preparations when a massive salamander tore towards the stone construct on top of the hill, officially beginning the defense.

Alvein grinned as the potion went off inside, sending light sreaming out of each of the fort's openings. Still, the barricade in place at the bottom remained intact, and the barricade at the top prevented most of the blinding light from reaching those on the roof. Still, both men rubbed their eyes, even as Alvein placed a considerable weight upon the rooftop barricade.

"Get ready," he said, blinking furiously to clear his vision. "It's time to see what these guys are made of..."

((Sorry... we've got a table over the opening to the top, and we're all on the roof. As bad as the light was, it didn't have nearly the effect you expected.))

OoC: Not quite what I had in mind, Alch, but effective nonetheless.

BiC: Chaos transformed back to normal.
"Okay ladies and gentlemen," he said enthusiastically. "Let's rock the house! You guys take the direct approach!"
"What are you talking about, Chaos?" asked Kaid. "Direct approach? As opposed to what?"
"Take the stairs, Slick," said Chaos. "I've got an alternative method. Adios!"
Chaos transformed into a large falcon, and flew to the top of the Red Team's tower. He returned to his normal form upon landing.
"G'day, mates!" he laughed. He jumped over his opponents' heads and grabbed the table, swinging it round to block an attack from Alvein.
"Nice try Slick, but no cigar!" said Chaos. "Hmm, nice flags. Mind if I borrow this one?"
Chaos jumped into the air, kicking Alvein in the face and knocking him over. He ran over to the nearest flag and grabbed it.
"And with that, I'm off," said Chaos. "Smell ya later, Slick!"
Chaos leapt from the top of the tower, using the flag as a parachute. He landed gracefully and sprinted towards the Blue Team's tower. When he arrived, he used the flagpole to vault up the tower, grabbing the edge of the roof and hoisting himself up. He planted the flagpole in the ground nearby.
"Score one for the blues!" he laughed triumphantly. "Okay, I'm done. I'll be on defense if you need me."
Chaos stood at the door, transforming several times before deciding on a form; a mighty stone golem, which he had used to fight the salamander.
"This is too easy," he thought.

OoC: One-up the Blues! Booyah!

OoC: I would like to sincerely apologize for the total screw-up that was the first version of this post. *repeatedly bangs his head against the wall*

Lunac swore under his breath at the field of melted ice that lay before him. Moments before a Doppelganger, under the form of a fire-breathing salamander, had come to melt the whole of his ice desert. The same Doppelganger had then stolen one of their flags, and the Blue team was now in the lead. Lunac hadn’t expected that. Plus, to top it off, his fire had sent Kaid into a blinding rage. He cursed himself for not taking the game more seriously, and attempted to make a better defence for the fort.

Sitting down in the lotus position, he raised his hands to the heavens and cried out: “People of fire! People of ice! I call upon thee! My will be done!”

All around the tower, a fog started to appear. It then solidified into dozens of little golems, each not much taller that a dwarf. They were completely made of ice, and little fiery serpents streamed down their bodies.

As Lunac got up, he saw Starfire returning. The elf asked: “What are these things?”

“Elemental Golems,” answered Lunac. “Impervious to fire and ice, with the ability to turn into fog if needed. They’re not very fast, but they’re extremely powerful.”

“What’s the catch?”

“Well, they’re basically the incarnation of my power, so as long as they’re all alive I have no control over fire or ice. As soon as one dies, my power comes back bit by bit.”

Lunac looked into the distance to see the Blue fort, with four flags waving into the air. “I hope Tokamaru and Nai get those flags,” he said. “I could use a reward.”

The two others nodded. The confusion of coming to this place could be seen in most fighters’ eyes, along with the determination of winning a game they did not entirely understand. Everyone had to get his emotions under control and contribute something to the team.

Suddenly Starfire asked, “Do we have some bricks left?”

Alvein and Lunac checked. There were a goodly number still on the floor. “Why?” asked the elementalist.

“I suggest we put them on the table that’s covering the trap door. I think it’ll take more that a new table to hold the other team off.”

The two others agreed, and pushed the remaining blocks on the table. Even without his powers on fire and ice, Lunac was still a tremendously strong man, a result of his intensive Gerudo training. Alvein used his Crater Push to get two of the bricks on.

“Well, I guess we’re as ready as we’ll ever be now,” remarked Lunac. “Now we wait for the next attack. Keep an eye out.”

OoC: Repeat, I AM COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY SORRY. I totally screwed up on that one, please pardon me.

OoC: Okay, extra-long post coming up. Hold the onions.

BiC: Chaos stood about halfway up the tower, leaning against the wall and gazing out towards the Red Team's tower. Life as a huge indestructable stone golem was boring, he realised, and his mind started to drift away. He remembered bits and pieces of his past, memories of his village came back to him. He saw his old friends, locked up, being tortured. He was powerless to help them...
"No!" he shouted, startling even himself. He noticed Thorns staring at him.
"You okay, Chaos?" asked Thorns.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Chaos, who had transformed back to normal during his trance-like state. "Man, it's boring in here! Think I might go rob a flag or two, back later."
Chaos made his way back down the stairs and left the tower. Something about this place, the Dome, was beginning to mess with his head. First the domerii, which had taken the form of one of his old friends, and now these visions. What did they mean?
"C'mon Chaos," he muttered as he crossed the battlefield. "Pull yourself together."
The game was beginning to take its toll on Chaos. He was now getting tired from crossing the battlefield three times, and the Red tower seemed even more distant than before.
"This is stupid," he thought. "Why am I walking? I'm a Doppelganger!"
Chaos transformed into a falcon, which was one of his favourite animals because of its speed and renown as a hunter, and soared into the air, flapping his wings and feeling the cool air pass under them. His mind cleared of distraction as he soared towards the Red tower, and he was completely focused on the task at hand. Tokumaru pointed at Chaos as he approached.
"That falcon," he said to his teammates. "The Doppelganger's back!"
Chaos circled overhead a few times, before swooping down and landing at the foot of the tower, transforming back to normal as he touched down.
"Take two," he said to himself. "And... action!"
As Chaos made his way into the tower, he remembered something from his childhood. He had played Capture the Flag before as a kid, no older than 12 years old. He and his friends had used a pair of abandoned watch towers, about a kilometre apart, as bases. This, thought Chaos, was the same game, but with different players. Last time, he had been disqualified for his transformation. This time, though, would be different.
"Okay," he muttered under his breath. "Five goons, two flags, one Chaos. I like them odds."
Chaos sprinted up the tower, taking the stairs three at a time. He reached the door at the top, which was closed, and threw his weight against it. A sore shoulder was his reward.
"Keep that door blocked!" came a voice from inside.
"Figures," muttered Chaos. "I should've known they'd block the door again."
Rubbing his sore shoulder, Chaos transformed into the stone golem. The stairway he was stod on had barely enough room for him to move, but he drew back one massive fist and slammed it against the door, breaking a small hole. Chaos transformed into a snake and slithered through the hole, emerging inside the main room.
"Ssssssurprisssse," hissed Chaos as he transformed back to normal. He laughed, and drew his swords. "Happy to see me?"
"Not him again," said Starfire. "Get him!"
As Lunac and Starfire leapt at Chaos, he backflipped over them, landing on the table that was blocking the door. He jumped over them, rolling as he hit the ground, and raised his blades as he stood up to block an attack from Tokumaru.
"I've got one like that," said Chaos, indicating the flag behind him. "Mind if I borrow this one? No, thought not."
Chaos sheathed his swords and took a few steps backwards, placing one hand on the flagpole. He jumped backwards, off the edge of the tower, and the Red Team members ran to the edge, looking for him. A large falcon flew up, clutching the flag in its talons. Without a second look back, Chaos flew back towards his own tower.
"Two flags already," he thought. "Not bad for a morning's work."
He flew higher, so as to get a better view of the battlefield below. He saw the scorched patch of ground where Lunac's ice desert had been melted by Kaid, and the edge of the forest. Eventually, his own tower came into view, and he swooped down, returning to normal as he hit the ground at the top of the tower.
"I'm back," said Chaos, flying the second flag from the tower. "Miss me?"

ooC: I hope that's long enough, took me ages to write. Well, two down, one to go.

Tokumaru and I knelt down in the bushes. "That's their base..." I whispered. "Yeah, so, what are we gonna do?" Tokumaru asked, looking over at me. "Depends, what do you wanna be the decoy, or the one who gets the flag?" I asked. "I'll get the flag. Mind being the distraction?" he asked. "Terribly, but I haven't a choice now do I." I said, running out from my hiding place and withdrawing my one foot blade. The blade leaving the sheath made a very familiar *shing!* noise, and a very loud one at that. Curious as to what the hell just happened, all of the blue team looked over the edge of their fort. "Hi." I said, and smiled.

Kaid took out his bow and cocked back an arrow, and I stood completely still. He let go of his grip and the arrow came flying at me. I rolled out of the way, the arrow just missing my ankle. Just then, I heard a voice that sounded a bit like mine, maybe older. It called out "Ice Crystal Barrage!" I looked up to see a kid a bit older than me swinging his sword, and little shards of ice flew at me. I raised my left hand over my face, my shield blocked most of the ice, but a few hit me in my gut. I quickly pulled them all out, and shockingly as less pain as I felt, they went pretty far into me; yet not far enough to harm me to severely.

I looked back up at the tower, only to see two of them, the one in blue and Kaid. I turned around and raised my shield as a young man swung his blade at me. It knocked me back but I caught my balance, only to be met by the doppleganger. He had transformed into a gorilla, and he punched me in the gut, causing me to fly back a few feet. I fell down and quickly jumped up, just barely dodging the young man's sword. I puched the man back and he fell on his ass. I then quickly sheathed my blade and took out my blow dart, loading it with a sleeping dart. "Night." I smiled, as I blew it out at the doppleganger. It hit him right in the neck, but nothing happened. "Dammit." I shouted, realizing the gorilla's skin must have been too think for the dart to reach his bloodstream.

I took out the dagger again, and ran at the gorilla. I punched him in his shoulder, and kneed him in the gut. At this point, the doppleganger must have been really pissed off, for he grabbed me by my foot and swung me back fifty feet. I hit my back on their fort, and fell on the ground. All of a sudden, I heard a disruption in the air, something not right. Then, I felt cold metal in my right shoulder. I looked over to see one of Kaid's arrows. "Gah!" I screamed, grabbing my shoulder and getting up.
Wait..Nai look!
I listened to the boy and looked up. Sure enough, there was Tokumaru, running for our base. "What are you smiling at boy?" the doppleganger asked. He looked over in the direction I was looking. "The flag!" he called...

OOC: See, now you have time to react. I suggest you use it.

OOC: Sorry about the length

IC: Kaid watched as Tokumaru ran away confident of his success, Kaid grinned and pulled an arrow into his bowstring. He aimed it carefully and then felt a surge of energy take over the arrow, it glowed red. He fired at the patch of ground beneath Tokmaru’s feet the arrow exploded on contact and Tokumaru was thrown into the air, though he still held on to the flag.

“Chaos, take care of this one, I’ll get the flag back.” Kaid shouted as he sprinted off to Tokumaru. He put away his bow ready to nail Tokumaru with a punch in the gut like he had never felt before, but as he approached and leaned in to punch him, Tokumaru put his legs up and caught Kaid off balance. Kid hit a tree hard and felt a piece of bark cut his arm, and down to his wrist. “No time to fix it,” Kaid pulled out the Yew bow and an arrow quickly cocked it back and at Tokumaru’s head. “Drop the flag and go back to the red tower.”

“What you can’t kill me.” Tokumaru stated confidently. “You can threaten me all you want but you can’t actally kill me.

Again Kaid smirked and his arrow began to glow green. “It’s poisonous, all it needs to do is touch your skin and you’ll die within a few hours. Now don’t worry, I won’t let you die, but you will be put out of commission for the rest of those hours. I mean that you won’t be able to move or even lift a sword. So what will it be?”

OOC: sorry it’s short but I couldn’t very well decide for Safer.

Chaos, now transformed as a lion, ran after me. I sprinted up to where Tokumaru was. Then, when they were in plain sight, I froze. "*****..." I muttered, "don't give him the flag yet man..." I muttered. I quickly pulled my blow darts out and shot a sleeping dart at Kaid. Kaid groaned "what the hell?" he asked, as he pulled the dart out. "Oh you f-" he fell down, asleep.
"Run the hell away." I said, glaring at Tokumaru. He nodded, and ran for the base. I turned around, to see the doppleganger's claws dig into my shoulder's flesh, and pound me to the ground.

He looked up at Kaid, then down at me. "Think you're something, eh slick?" he asked, grinning at me. "No, why do you find yourself as something?" I asked, as I kneed him in the gut. He rolled over and groaned as I got up. I dusted myself off and unsheathed my dagger. The doppleganger tried to get up, and I kicked up back down. This continued for a while, until I heard a *clunk*, then felt a rididculous pain on my head. "Ow! Gah, what the fu-" I started. "Save it kid." the young man was behind me, he had hit me on the head with the butt of his sword. I scratched my head and looked back at the doppleganger. "I may not be able to kill you, but when I'm done you're gonna wish you're dead!" the doppleganger growled as he got up, and transformed into a huge spider. "*****...I hate spiders.." I whispered to myself.

The man raised his sword above his head, and threw it down. I jumped back, his blade just cutting my leg. I landed right in front of the spider. It hissed, and jumped on me. I started to punch it, trying to get it the hell off me. It kept hitting me with it's legs, and then the man came and picked me up off the ground. He held me up, suspended in the air, and smacked me across my face. He then threw me on the ground and grabbed my foot. "Come on, let's go for a little trip." he said, grinning malificently. He started swinging me around, by my leg, and let go. I landed about three hundred feet from my base. I looked back, and Tokumaru was about five hundred feet from me. "Hurry up, they can still catch up to you!" I shouted, getting up and dusting myself off...

OOC: Oh and Alchemist, by now the sleeping darts effect should have worn off, so you're fine to post again, the sleeping dart only lasts a few minutes, seeing as how you pulled it out before it could take full effect.

Vallen practically laughed out loud as he saw the chaos that had enveloped his team's base. Dust was being kicked up everywhere, grass flew through the air, trees were having bodies thrown into them like rag dolls, and everyone seemed to be having a good time, despite getting the tar beaten out of them.

"Are we gonna let them have all the fun?" Kin said childishly.
---------------------------------------
OoC: Insert I Mack's posts here
---------------------------------------

"Hurry up! They can still catch up to you!" yelled the young man Vallen had just thrown across the battle field. Vallen looked in the direction the boy was looking and saw the blue haired warrior running toward the direction of his own base with a blue flag. Vallen quickly glanced around at anyone who might be able to go after him.

Kaid was lying on the ground, evidently suffering from the effects of the black haired elf's darts. Zether was still in the tower, doing his duty, guarding the flags; though he seemed to have fallen down on the job in this case. Thorns seemed to be inside the base with Zether, as he was nowhere to be seen. Kin had disappeared as well. Having run out of options, Vallen yelled at Chaos.

"Chaos! The blue hair has the flag!" Vallen exclaimed, pointing in the direction the flag bearer was running. Chaos quickly turned around and shot a web from his spinnerets at the warrior. But the sprinter happened to glance over his shoulder as the webbing flew towards him. He quickly rolled out of the way and the web hit a nearby tree, adhering to it.

Just as the flag thief was getting back to his feet, a low growl resounded from the tree behind him. Vallen watched as the man looked up just in time to see Kin land on his face. Vallen couldn't help but laugh as the man struggled to free himself of Kin's furry physique. Suddenly, as he flailed about, he happened to grab one of Kin's tails and yank it. Vallen groaned as the tails curse took effect. The warrior's body tensed, and he turned a slight blue, falling to the ground in a heap. Kin pulled his tail from the man's grasp, and grabbed the flag. But as Kin turned to make his way toward Vallen with the flag, the cursed body reached out and grabbed Kin's hind leg. Kin yelped and dropped the flag. He turned and began gnawing on the warrior's hand, but it held on tight.

Vallen, seeing Kin's predicament, rushed toward him. However, as he ran, he suddenly tripped over something and fell, face first, into the forest floor. He got up and turned around to see that the elf he had been quarreling with had stuck out his leg and tripped the knight. "Persistent little guy, do you have a name?" Vallen asked as he wiped the dirt from his face and they both regained their balance. The young elf just glared at him. Vallen shrugged, "Fine, don't tell me." The boy drew his knife again and raised his shield. Vallen smirked and drew his own blade. "Mine's bigger."

OoC: Al, I expect you to help Kin.

Zether, at the top of the blue tower, saw everything happen like a blur. Vallen has just tripped over one of the enemies legs, and the whole field was a wreck. He saw some blue haired fellow running off with a flag that matched the hair. Zether ran to the edge of the tower and looked for an opening.

When he looked however, the fellow was on the ground, as stiff as a brick. He saw Kaid looking satisfied until another fellow shot him with a dart. Kaid looked angry and pulled the dart out, but he was soon knocked out. When he saw the blue-haired fellow come around, with the weird spell broken, Zether shot ice crystals at him.

I need to learn some diffrent abilities....this one is getting old. I wonder if Aurora could teach me some new abilities...

Zether saw that Vallen has gotten back up and had unsheathed his sword. He looked at the other side of the tower and saw Thorns, sitting there doing nothing.

"Are you going to just sit there or are you going to help?"

OOC: and… REVIVE!

IC: Kaid slowly rose from the ground; his clothes were stained with grass and dirt. His mind was wandering and he couldn’t see straight, he could hear yells and shouts coming at him from every direction and finally his vision focused. The archer looked and saw the fox demon, Kin, struggling with the blue haired elf who was now cursed somehow. Kaid, still woozy, hobbled over to the demon fox and thrust the spike on his boot into the elf’s hand he let go and the fox ran with the flag back up the tower.

The elven archer collapsed back on the ground, his mind wandered again and he drifted back into his sleepy state. Vallen came up to him and picked him up, and carried him back to the tower and sat him against the top wall leaning over the tower.

“Hey wake up!” Vallen nudged Kaid, but it was to no avail. “Hey get up!” Kin was nudging Kaid’s leg and prodding his hand. Vallen decided he had to get him up no matter what. Vallen drew back his fist and threw a punch at Kaid’s stomach; it was blocked by Kaid, and Vallen quickly dodged a punch thrown at his head by the archer.

“What happened?” Kaid inquired. He stood and stretched his arms.

“That elf hit you with a sleeping dart.” Vallen said. “You want me to get him?”

“No, that’s fine. I think I’ll stay on defense with Zether.” Kaid said as he nudged the human. “You can go on offense if you want.” He watched Vallen descend the stairs.

"I'm fine, you take the left and back of the tower, I'll take the right and front." Zether headed to the opposite side of tower.

"That's fair enough for me." Kaid replied shooting an arrow down at Nai who was approaching the tower.

OOC: short but reviving. Once the story picks up again I'll do a really long post to make up for its shortness.