[The Official RPN Character Challenge 2015]Group A!

[SkyGinge]

Spoiler

@SwiftThunder )


@Aldur Forgehammer or @Aldur Forgehammer or @Aldur Forgehammer may also personally play 'bosses', large or powerful enemies.


[*]You are to adhere to the data-boxes provided for each enemy at all times when fighting them. If you take down an enemy that's supposed to be very strong with extreme ease, or completely ignore the details provided for each enemy, you will be marked down on points. Remember too that your characters will likely not know of the enemies' weaknesses even though you might.


[*]The Round will run from the opening on this thread (Monday 6th July) until 9:00 PM GMT on Friday 17th July (4:00 PM EST). So this round will run for roughly two weeks. Any posts made after this period will be immediately deleted.


[*]For this round, the remaining competitors have been drawn randomly into eight groups. Four characters will qualify from each group. Judges, taking into account your Preliminary Post, will award 5 points to their favourite from each group, 3 points to their second favourite, 2 points to their third and 1 point to their fourth. Once all the votes have been submitted, the points will be tallied, and if we have a tie for fourth place, we will discuss the final qualifier between us. Hence, 32 Characters will qualify for the next round. Do your best and you might be amongst them!


[*]All posts should be replies to this thread; post down below!


[*]If you have any questions about this round specifically, ask them in this linked thread! Similarly, if you want to banter about in OOC about this round, there is a specialised thread!





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Wave One: Mountain Trolls

-Weakness to Fire


-Stronger than an athletic person


-Heals fast


-Has sharp claws

Wave One: Wraith

-Can warp within a small area


-Sharp claws


-Levitates across the ground


-Is immune to fire poison and other elemental damage


-Screams can severely incapacitate a weak-minded individual and can impair hearing.

Wave One: Ice Beasts

-Resistant to fire


-Causes frostbite by slashing at the victim's skin


-Stronger than the Mountain Troll


-Moves slow


-Is tall

 

[Lioness075]

Blinking at the sudden change in setting, Luness slowly looked around herself to find she was in a low-lit building and it didn't take her long to find the handwritten and bloodied note nearby.


Yet, before she began to walk towards the note, Luness found that she was surrounded by several people she didn't even know. She may have seen them in that weird lobby area, but beyond that, she had no idea who she was with.


From what she could tell, she was the only person here with fur and it seemed that at least a few of these people had some strong-looking weapons with them.


Upon hearing shrieks and roars in the distance, Luness felt a shiver go down her spine, her fur beginning to stick up on end. That did not sound good.


Hoping the note would have some helpful advice on it, Luness brushed past the six other people around her and then snatched the note off of the wall before reading it out loud, "The townsmen are losing hope. There're too many...monsters coming from the woods. We fortified the City Hall; it keeps the creatures out. They all have sharp claws, sharp teeth. They want the Tower, but they won't be able to. No, they cannot. Keep the fire lit...whatever it takes just keep it lit for everyone's sake."


Ignoring the blood splattered on the note, Luness then looked back at the others near her and said calmly, "I hope you all are ready for battle because it would appear that one is coming whether we want it to or not."


Hearing more monstrous sounds in the distance, Luness walked up to a nearby window and peered out to see...well, monsters in the distance. She couldn't really recognize any from her own realm, but they certainly reminded her of the creatures and monstrosities that came from ShadowWood back home.


It was too bad the note didn't conveniently tell them of some way to defeat the monsters beyond the fact that they needed to defend the lit fire within the tower. Why did the fire matter so much anyways?

 

[Undercore]

Bunny looked over at the furry girl, smiling slightly as she pulled out her guns from their holsters, checking to make sure they had ammo in them and the safety was off, why did she even have safety?" I'm ready whenever you are." she said, walking over to the window that Luness was looking out of " My name's Bunny by the way,thought you should know before we die here it's always nice to know the name of a person before they die, you can then give them the proper respect that they deserve, not that I really care for all that crap, if you shoot someone, they're dead, doesn't matter if they're special or not. Anyways, I'll stop rambling now, what are we going to do about..." Bunny paused, opening the window and leaning her head out, bright pink hair waving in the soft breeze. " .. Those ugly shits?' she asked, waving at the monster that were heading their way " you think they'd be willing to let me just shoot their heads off? It'd be much easier, but hmmm.... They look kinda grumpy, guess we do have to fight them like you said." Bunny sighed, holding up a gun, her eyes concentrating on the mutations. They were still pretty far away so she had to aim right. She took a deep breath before firing, shooting one of the clothed woman skull things in the face. Sadly it didn't just fall over and die like it should but looked directly at the pink eyed girl and screamed. Bunny frowned, shooting against to shut it up, but it kept on screaming and warping back and forth. " GEEZE! THAT THING IS LOUD!" Bunny shouted more annoyed than in pain, guess her weak regeneratiom Powers were keeping her ears safe. She turned around to the group, her teeth bared in an animalistic snarl " WILL SOMEONE SHUT THAT UGLY SON OF A GUN UP?!"

 

[Lioness075]

Luness frowned at Bunny when she began rambling, not really replying by telling Bunny her own name. Why should she go around introducing herself to everyone when they were only going to be together for this stupid competition anyways?


When Bunny pulled out her metallic objects that she claimed could shoot the monsters from this far of a distance, Luness frowned and then backed up. She had no idea what those things were going to do and she wasn't too keen to find out.


Soon enough, Bunny began firing with the metallic objects and Luness yelped at both the loud sound the things made and the bright flash from them.


Shielding her eyes, Luness let out a low growl and rubbed them before suddenly going rigid at the sound of something screaming in the distance. While it was far away, Luness felt a sharp pain in both of her ears, especially her good one since it could hear things further away than her mangled ear could.


Hissing in pain, Luness moved her paws from eyes to her ears, as she covered them up and snarled at Bunny and then the whole group, "Someone kill that damned creature!"

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

No, no! She hadn't gotten the chance to talk to Chastity! Shit! She'd just been on her way to see her when they were lead back to the lobby and then here. Whatever this was. Wherever this was.The first true challenge. With a whole new team. Sapphire hadn't met any of these people previously.. it would be hard to work harmoniously and she knew that was what they would need to win.


"Gah!" Sapphire yelled as the one with pink hair shot at something and it began to screech. "That was stupid! We need strategy!" She yelled, covering her ears. God.. what were those things? How many were there? She wondered if you died, would you be immediately sent back to your own world? Healed, but out of the challenge? Maybe if you died you died forever. Absolutely possible..


"We need a few people to guard the fire, since it's obviously important, and a few people to go out and fight." Sapphire was half thinking aloud. If no one was going to step up as a leader-ly figure, well, she would. Sapphire had experience anyway. "I lead a team of people with, er, supernatural abilities, back in my own world. We don't fight monsters like these, but we fight. I assume you can all fight too."


"If we can work together we can finish this challenge in a matter of minutes. I hope." A strange moment, this was. She wasn't yelling. Sapphire was out of her comfort zone, with people she didn't know and monsters she didn't understand. Forced to fight for a cause she didn't believe in and protect something that meant nothing to her, that was everything Sapphire promised herself she would never, ever do.


Yet here she was.


"I don't want to be here. None of you probably do. So let's get it over with, clean and easy." She nodded. "My name is Sapphire." Taking a breath, she unplugged her ears despite the screaming, and took out her swords. "Who wants to guard and who wants to fight?"

 

[Lioness075]

The screaming suddenly stopped for a moment and Luness let out a small sigh, as she removed her hands from her ears, both of which were still ringing a bit, though the ringing slowly ebbed away.


Missing nearly everything one of the female humans said nearby, Luness did at least manage to hear her name and her last question.


Shifting her gaze to Sapphire, Luness then said confidently, "I'll fight." There was no way that Luness was about to just sit around on her rump and defend a stupid fire. No matter how important it appeared to be.


No, Luness wanted to be in the midst of all the chaos, as per usual for her whenever she encountered any fighting. More importantly, Luness wanted to tear apart the jugular of whatever creature had just screamed not too long ago.


Luness never wanted to hear that creature or any others of its kind screaming again. What better way to stop something from screaming than to shred apart its jugular?


On a side note, Luness really hoped that Sapphire girl hadn't said anything extremely important. If it was just some kind of pep talk or something, then Luness could care less. She wasn't here to get hyped. She was here to finish the job and then move on.

 

[SilverBlack]

"I'll fight as well."


Leo's voice cut through their hasty conversation suddenly as he made his way toward the three girls, his hands laid upon the multiple numbers of daggers located around his belt. His expression remained as still as ever, but his eyes clearly expressed his seriousness and concern.


Just like the others, he had been sent into this weird tower with his little fox Eldo. A letter was there, and just like what some others have done he read over it, and learned of the "mission" he was given along with the rest. Well aware already that this is a competition, Leo had frowned upon the fact of how 'fierce" this competition turned out to be. He expected it to be intense, yes, but to be related to their life and death this much, to fight with deadly monsters he has never actually seen in his world except in books and legends? What if someone actually died in this competition, will they be sent back to their original world? Surely, whoever "gods" created this mysterious battle did not explain everything to them enough.


However, now is not the time to think about that. They're told to protect the "light," to save the "townspeople." Leo did not have an exact idea of what's going on and who these people might be, or why the light is that important. But if people are crying over them for help, Leo is way too softhearted to just ignore it. When he saw the two ladies--he heard one of them introducing herself as Bunny--leaning over the window, he chose instead to look out another window alone. Waves of monsters in gigantic numbers are coming their way--and there seemed to be multiple types, in which he could only identify three for now. One type, as Bunny has mentioned, is the skeleton. The other two--their monstrous, beast-life figures crawling themselves toward them, unlike the skeleton, has skin.


Having skin, means they could be electrified, at the very least, disregarding if it works on them strongly or not. Electricity does not work on skeletons--bones cannot be electrified, similar to how one can't electrify a piece of cloth, but a body. In his mind, Leo confirmed that he might be able to fight the other two types of monsters with his combat skills and electrical magic, although he might have some troubles with the skeleton. He was surprised when Bunny suddenly fired a shot at it, considering that they might act better with a plan first instead of bluntly lunging to attack. Thus, when Sapphire--he got to know her name through the lobby--scolded them for acting recklessly, he secretly agreed. He liked her plan as well, and he listened quietly from aside till she finished her plan and asked the question. They probably didn't even notice that he's standing right there just now, but he walked over to them anyway, and with a voice not loud but enough for them to hear he said he will fight.


The loud piercing scream hurt his brain tremendously, and he furrowed his eyebrows together in pain for a moment before speaking again.


"I...Might not be good against the skeletons, since I fight with daggers and electrical magic. But," he looked toward Bunny. "I believe your gun shots might work, if you fire multiple times enough and closer to increase the impact. They're monsters, so I assume their body structures are much harder than regular bones, but we just need enough force...Force strong enough to crush and break the bones," he blinked. "So..." His lack of social skills is kicking in, how does one tell another that he wishes her to fight with them? "I believe...It'll be nice if you tag along."


"My name is Leo, I look forward to working with you all," he added in the end, then looked at the rest of the people who have been sent here, waiting for how they respond.

 

[Lioness075]

Hearing a male voice behind her, Luness turned to see one of the other humans had finally spoken up and seemed willing to join in fighting those...monsters.


Upon hearing the human could use electrical magic, Luness wasn't entirely surprised, as the humans from her world had exhibited similar magical capabilities. The electricity could help in taking down the monsters or at least stunning them long enough for one of the others to make a move.


Upon hearing the male's explanation of taking down the Screamers, as Luness decided to name them, she realized that what he said made more sense than her own logic of tearing out their jugulars.


Peering out of the window once more, Luness then focused on one of the Screamers and noted that they indeed were skeletons draped in ghostly cloaks.


When the Screamer had, well, screamed earlier, Luness had been so distracted by the pain that she'd entirely overlooked the creatures in seeing that they were actually skeletons.


Well, Luness could always tear out the jugulars of the weird, troll-like and animal-like creatures. They had flesh and so they had jugulars. Logically.


Upon hearing Leo introducing himself and then seeing him looking around at the group, Luness merely blinked in response. She didn't really know how to respond to what Leo said and so she found her silence to be befitting of a reply.


Luness still felt no need to share her name with people she didn't know, but they were going into battle together. It could prove useful if one was in a sticky situation and they needed to call out to Luness for aid or something.


Letting out a small sigh, Luness then said gruffly, "Name's Luness, by the way."

 

[SeaTea]

"What in hellfire....?" Ken removed his shaking hands from his ears as he looked at the spot where the skeletal mass was, it continued to move, even when that woman had unloaded what looked like a colt peacemaker into the things face. He saw other dark things out beyond it, shadows and darkness that screamed at him as evil. Ken was literally facing demon spawn, and he could swear that he had forgotten to breath for a second.


Ken noticed then that he had more weight on his shoulders than his time during the arena, and saw the he was outfitted with gear that had to come from Fort Polk; a range-master's vest with ammunition pouches, a mark 6 bayonet fit for a long rifle, and slung across his back was the m14 he had seen in the room he had first awoken in the white limbo. He didn't know where everything had come from, but if it was the will of those supposed 'gods' that he was able to fight armed, then he should be at least thankful for that small mercy. He shook himself a bit as he turned to the others that inhabited the hall, more fantastical people and, well he couldn't rightly speculate as to some of them, but they all seemed to be in the same situation, so he shouldn't make any enemies at this point. He still had a slight ringing in his ears from the short scream from that monstrosity, but he was able to hear about the plan of dividing and conquering, protecting the flame and taking the fight to the demons outside. He didn't rightly know what he should do, but he knew what he would rather do.


"Pardon, um.. I'll uh, I'll stay with the-uh candle, or fire I guess. I'll do better of the defensive." He gripped tightly to his new vest as he didn't look at any of the other people in the room outright, but simply looked at the small, seemingly insignificant candle near them. He didn't know about against fighting monsters, but he knew about fighting for a cause, or a purpose. With that, Ken would be able to focus a bit more as that candle had been presented as their absolute lifeline. Without it, even more horrors would be thrown his way and the way of the others... Sapphire, and Luness and everyone else; He didn't know any of them, but they were folk that were missing home or normalcy at least right about now. Every needed to get out alive and back to their own, and he would do all he could, with what he had and what he knew to do.


Ken set a grim line of determination across his face, forced though it was, he hoped it could help calm his nerves. "I'll be happy for company, but if ya'll think y'all would be better out there, then by all means. The name is Kenneth for whatever it's worth." He wanted to mention he would pray for them, but he doubted that any of them would put stock into his kind of faith. He slung out his m14 and cradled it with his left arm as he pushed his right hand into one of his pockets, grasping onto his lighter for some semblance of strength as he awaited the decision of the others; he turned toward the door of the chamber, and kept his eyes locked onto it for the time being.

 

[Lioness075]

Luness' feline eyes skimmed over Kenneth when he finally spoke up and offered to take a defensive position.


As if the people with her couldn't get any weirder. Kenneth had the oddest accent and he was wearing some odd vest along with some weaponry from what Luness could tell. On top of that, he appeared to have a larger, gun was it called?, than Bunny did and was now holding it.


Luness definitely wasn't too keen about the guns since they made so much noise. They made her ears ring and were bright when they fired off anything, thus temporarily blinding Luness if she were too close on top of the temporary deafening. The noise they made probably just helped in attracting all of the creatures to their location as well.


Looking away from Kenneth, Luness then eyed the last two, who had not spoken up yet. What, were they just going to stand there like idiots for the duration of the battle?


Frowning at the female and male, Luness then crossed her arms over her chest and said blatantly to them, "Are you two going to defend or fight? Either one will be more helpful than what you're doing right now."


From what Luness could tell, the female appeared more than ready to fight while the male was rather small and would probably be more useful for a defending position. Hopefully he had enough brains to make up for his seemingly small and feeble body.


Then again, they had uneven teams at the moment. It might be better if they evened out the teams or something.


As long as they got the job done though, Luness wouldn't complain. Planning had never really been one of her strong suits anyhow.


@The Suspicious Eye @Invisible monster

 

[Invisible monster]

Lyon blinked. His head was throbbing. Behind him, spikes dug into his back where it rested against a rotten wall. A shudder ran down his spine and he swung abruptly upwards, rubbing his head and moaning. Where was he? A dull memory surfaced, reminding him. That woman had started reading that note aloud. Ouch. Short, quick breaths, the lightness of his skull, the harsh and heavy impact of his limp body against the solid wood. Wincing as shards of splintery wallpaper stabbed at his hands, he hoisted himself up. That woman, the one who had read the note, was speaking to him. Straightening his cloak on his shoulders, he tried to raise his voice above a whisper. "I'll defend, I think." His hands went to his waist, looking for a scabbard, and he frowned. "But I don't think I have any weapons." A forced smile crept onto his face as he appraised his fellow competitors. "And my name's Lyon, by the way." Increasingly aware of the danger they all were in, his eyes fell to the monsters that surrounded the area, and he leaned back into the jagged boards. This served the dual purpose of preventing him from fainting again, and making him seem calm and nonchalant about the impending mortal peril. Damn, ever since this stupid competition had started, he'd been nothing but a shivering bundle of nerves and emotion. Where were his leadership skills, his energy, his excitable nature? He stood up away from the wall and steadied himself. Maybe he needed this fight.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Dani looked around, she didn't understand where she was. First I am in a arena and now a stenge hall, I wonder who has the power to move us so. The chamber she found herself in reminded her of the dark hopeless room they kept all the children in. Every night one by one a friend would be taken and experimented on, poked and disected. She shuddered and reached for her sword feeling the comfort of her sister weapon leaning againsther back. She unwrapped her sword and held it in her hand feeling a sense of strength, comfort and love resonating from it. She watched the wolf girl as she passed by her and read the note. She closed her eye and took a deep breath understanding the situation.


So sister shall we fight now? I desire the crimson nectar of life to stain my blade. Deliver it to me, deliver it to me my sister. Dani winced and let out a long sigh, "very well." She looked up at the others and nodded, "I will do what is needed of me. We should work together it will be the easiest way to assure victory." She looked over at the girl who had rashly shot at the creatures. She knew that this will be difficult, but she was certain they could prevail. She unsheathed her sword and took a few steps forward and focused on the task at hand. "Time for death my sister. Dani exhaled "only if it's necessary." She turned an looked at the others giving them a polite nod. "My name is Dani, it's a pleasure."

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

To Sapphire's surprise, people actually were willing to follow along with her plan. She quirked an eyebrow, rather impressed with herself. The person who read the note aloud, whom Sapphire expected would be the last to agree with her strategy, was actually the first. A small grin appeared on her face as fox-boy spoke up as well. "Ah, you! I remember you. I don't care whatcha aren't good against. You're probably good against something." He seemed smart. Good. At least everyone here wouldn't be a complete nincompoop.


Ooh. The one who had a crooked nose had a gun. That girl with pink hair, Bunny, did too. This was looking much better then she expected, truly! The one she would have to watch out for was Luness, but Sapphire could handle a bit of an ass. Patrick. She wondered if he was here, too. A little bit of homesickness settled in, making her just slightly queasy. I don't have a home, she reminded herself. But I have a team.


So far it seemed like there was turning out to be an even number of people for both teams. The skimpy little kid, Lyon, seemed quite shaken. Sapphire sighed and rolled her eyes when he stated he didn't have a weapon. "Hmph.. take this." Sapphire thrust one of her swords towards him. "But I will be needing it back." She said sternly. She could fight with one sword, even if she was more comfortable with two. Hell, Sapphire could fist-fight if she wanted too.


"Alright. So, fight team. Leo, fox boy. I sense great things from you. Come up with some fancy, clever way for us to wipe 'em out quickly. Luness.. you look like you'd do good up front. " She nodded. "And Dani, you could do fight team."


"Defending team. You, Lyon. I expect my sword back in tip-top shape. I will accept blood on it. And crooked-nose, shoot some shit. Good. Bunny, would you mind being.. in between? Guard the door to the tower. Defend the defenders, and if things get rough for either team, you can leave your station." This could actually turn out well.


"Let's go."

 

[Lioness075]

Hearing Lyon, the male, finally speak up, Luness frowned, as he seemed rather out of it at the moment. He wasn't going to be of much use to the team if he didn't get his act together.


When Dani spoke up, Luness took note of her talking to herself at one point and raised an eyebrow at this. Well, as long as it didn't get in the way of them completing the task, Luness couldn't complain. It wasn't as if Luness hadn't talked to herself before, what with her occasional hallucinations and whatnot.


Hearing Sapphire taking charge again, Luness rolled her eyes, but listened. At least the girl knew what she was doing in a leadership position. Or so it seemed for now.


Hearing the mention of herself doing good up front on the offensive team, Luness smirked and then muttered, "I'd do good anywhere I please."


Once Sapphire said it was time to go, Luness shrugged and brushed past the group to open the door to the tower.


She immediately saw the line of monsters was about 800m away from their current position. It would seem that they were going to be fighting almost immediately.


Not bothering to wait for her team, Luness dropped to all fours and let out a caterwaul, for the sense of an exciting charge, and then Luness was sprinting forward, quickly leaving any of the humans behind her in the dust, as she rushed forward to meet the nearest monster she saw: a mountain troll.

 

[Invisible monster]

"Thank you" Lyon gratefully accepted the blade, glad of a leader to do the directing. Lyon was a decent captain, but he was used to leading a crew of mad people and a few sane men, not this serious mob. "And I'll try not to break it." A grin, a real one this time, spread across his face, and, forgetting his fear for a fraction of a second, he laughed. "I make no promises though." Joking was good. Humour kept him calm. Laughter tricked him into thinking everything was alright. He untied his cloak and tucked it into his shirt as a precautionary measure, wincing as he prodded at the bruise where he had been choked by it in the first round. Turning to the man who had introduced himself as Kenneth, he shrugged to hide his shaking shoulders. "You should watch the further away ones. You know, since you have a gun." Said Lyon, a little jealous. Old style guns were hard to come by, especially in the skyports. "I'll try and take out anything that gets in." Steeling himself, Lyon turned around, waiting for the monsters to arrive.

 

[Undercore]

Bunny listened to the instructions, nodding to Leo while she refilled some of her ammo. " So, I still get too shoot things?" she asked curiously, raising an eyebrow slightly." Because hanging around a wall doing nothing sounds pretty boring. I'll do anything you say or deem as necessary,Sapphire, I got a team back home on earth and I know how to follow orders. I'll admit I don't follow them most of the time, but meh, we're super villains, half of us are insane, what do you expect?" Bunny shrugged, checking the throwing knives again that hung on her belt. Her eyes looked up as the gate opened, revealing a whole line of giant monsters. Bunny sighed " So shoot the skeletons when they come close enough, yes?" she asked on more time, unclicking the safety on her other gun. She trusted her little nice hand guns whose name she forgot, she might have called one nancy or something, but that was irrelevant right now, what was important, or at least everyone said it was, we're the monster heading towards their way.

 

[SilverBlack]

Leo nodded patiently upon hearing Sapphire's words, let in a bit of a sharp breath when he heard that he's to come up with some clever plans--although people did remark him intelligent before, he still made some unexpected mistakes once in a while. Sapphire sounds like a great leader--probably is as great back in her own world. For Leo, who had for a long time worked independently alone, it's somehow a new experience for him here to work as a team. He guessed the competition isn't too bad since he is then given a chance to try something he has never tried before--defeating monsters in legends, working with a group of people with different abilities. He just hoped that he won't mess up and ended up disappointing the team. With that in mind, Eldo, his pet fox around his neck yelped, as in ready to engage in combat as well.


When Bunny raised an eyebrow at him before he gets ready to leave, he stared at her for a few seconds, wondering what to say cause it's Sapphire who told her what to do. Guarding the door is certainly important, protecting the defenders is as important as well. Leo glanced back at all the fellow partners who are on the defense team, and his eyes landed on Kenneth, stayed there, then skimmed the rest. "We have just seven people in total, and only four are on the fighting team. Compared our number to the extremely large amount of monsters coming our way, no matter how supernatural we are...There might be multiple monsters that will find its way at you all. So it won't be boring, and it won't only be skeletons." He stared at Bunny hard as if to correct her saying of hanging around the wall and shooting skeletons when they come, cause most likely not only skeletons will be coming, but the other two types of monsters too. He then looked at the other lad with the gun, "...Kenneth, is it, pardon if I'm wrong. Bunny's first shot from the window had be ineffective because the distance is as far as more than 500 meters away. Once it gets closer however, Like....A few meters away from the door of the tower, I'm sure, your attacks will start to be effective, even from that distance. Therefore, I hope you can assist her...From above, the window...While guarding the light with Lyon as part of the defense team."


It is rare of him to speak this much at a time, it is even rarer for him to be planning this carefully even though Sapphire's already in the lead, giving the instructions. However, his soft nature caused him to be concerned over everyone's safety, realizing that Bunny guarding the door alone might be way too difficult. Upon hearing Sapphire's order to have the fighting team move on now, Leo blinked for a moment before turning around one last time. "Good luck," For once, his still and blank face expression changed as he smiled softly.


Upon leaving the tower, however, the atmosphere immediately changed as the intensity increased. The roaring of the monsters echoed within the thin air. He frowned for a moment upon seeing Luness sudden speeding to the front to engage with the wave of monsters coming their way, and leaving the rest of the fighting team behind. Leo let out a short sigh, then inhaled as if to prepare as he started to lunge forward himself, his eyes glowed a bright yellow as blue electrical light began to gather around him, he could feel the buzzing sounds of the electrical currents around his ears as he pulled out his daggers, one in each hand, prepared to attack a nearby beast who had just targeted him.


To combine his electrical skills with his usual combat skills is something he has just mastered not long ago in his original world, he hoped he do well.

 

[Lioness075]

Just as Luness neared the first mountain troll, she leapt into the air, her claws extended and yowling the whole way until she collided with the troll and the two took a tumble with Luness clinging to the beast's back.


After tumbling a few feet, the pair came to a halt and Luness was lucky enough...to be pinned under the mountain troll.


Snarling at this, though while the troll was luckily not big enough to be crushing her, it was still effective in preventing Luness from doing a whole lot.


It couldn't prevent her from biting at the back of its neck though.


Soon, the troll was roaring in pain from the deep bite wounds on the back of its neck and it lurched off of Luness before turning around and taking a swipe at her.


Luness was already on her feet the moment the troll removed itself from her though, and she deftly dodged to the side and avoided the swipe altogether.


Once at the side of the beast though, Luness' eyes widened upon seeing her deep bite wounds on the back of its neck were already beginning to heal with the muscles threading themselves back into place.


Realizing she'd have to make this fight quick, Luness yowled and then surprised the troll, as she sprinted straight at it.


Raising one of its meaty arms, the troll began to swipe at Luness, but was too slow, as she was already directly in front of it and had leapt up to clamp her jaw around the front of the troll's throat.


A few jerks later, Luness was standing over the troll's lifeless body with blood dripping from her muzzle and staining the fur around it.


Yet, her victory was short-lived, as she soon looked around to find that she had been surrounded by several trolls, four in total.


Narrowing her eyes at the nearest one, Luness' eyes shifted from green and gold to dark, crimson red, as she transitioned into her Alpha state, which automatically gave her further enhanced senses and strength as well as the ability to see everything within her line of sight that had a heat signature. The four trolls were promptly replaced by four red, glowing heat signatures and Luness snarled in turn at all four of them, slowly backing away on all fours until she could see all four of the trolls in front of her. The last thing she needed to do was let one of them sneak up on her.


Hissing, Luness then sprinted towards the nearest one and zigzagged from side to side before she rushed forward to leap at its neck and clamp her jaw on its throat.


Yet, instead of having a clean kill like before, Luness was left dangling by the troll's throat, as it howled in pain and then began swinging Luness back and forth until she lost her grip and went flying through the air with a surprised yelp.


Before Luness could either land on all fours on the ground or crash into it though, she felt herself caught by something, which was now holding Luness up by the front, top end of her leather armor.


Glancing up at whatever was holding her, and praying it was one of her allies, who happened to have wings or the ability to fly, the color drained from Luness' face upon seeing one of the Screamers was holding her.


For a moment, there was mostly silence and nothing happened.


Pinning her good ear against her head in anticipation of its scream, Luness then swiftly brought one of her paws up and punched the Screamer in the face, pleased when her strike left a decently sized crack in one of its cheekbones.


Her pleasure was short-lived however, as the Screamer then screamed in Luness' face, its skeletal jaw wide open.


Pure terror filled Luness within seconds and she went completely limp, as she was suddenly overcome by a flashback.


All Luness could hear now was her mother's screams of pure agony and terror, as Luness' own father tore through Luness' mother and mangled her before Luness' eight year old eyes.


Howling at the sight of such an event again, Luness closed her eyes tightly and screamed for it all to be over already.


Yet, just like before, her father's pack member, who was holding the young Luness down right now, growled at her and then slapped her in the face to force her to open her eyes again and continue to watch her own mother's death yet again.


When would the nightmares truly end?


In the present time, the Screamer stopped its screaming suddenly when it noticed that Luness seemed entirely incapacitated at the moment.


Seemingly pleased with its own handiwork, the Screamer then let go of Luness, leaving her to plummet nearly twenty feet to either her own death or some broken bones unless someone intervened and stopped Luness' fall.

 

[The Suspicious Eye]

Dani looked at the girl and nodded, she thought that there should be more people stationed on defense. However, she would just have to destroy all the creatures before they got close to the tower. Blood, blood, blood, blood... bring me my blood. Let me bathe in the blood of our enemies my sister or I will bathe in the blood of your allies. The sword began to twitch and move towards on the others. Dani clasped her free hand to hold the sword steady. "Patience!" She glare down at her sword and hissed "you will have what you want just be patient!" The voice in her head and chanted blood, blood, blood, blood...





Dani couldn't stand it she turned to the gate and followed the others out the door. She came out only to see her comrade begin to fall to the ground. Without a single thought she dashed over and jumped up catching her. She held the girl in her arms as they fell to the ground, where they landed with a loud crunch of the ground. For any average person that landing would have destroyed them. However, the assimilation of her body and a ignition weapon. Along with, the constant testing and prodding at her nerves, she was perfectly fine. She looked at the girl and let her feet touch the broken ground. Dani looked at her and opened her mouth about to speak when a dark chant came over her.


Blood, blood, blood, blood. Dani closed her eyes "I hear you!" and opened them again. "I hope you are unharmed, you need to be more careful on the battlefield." She fully released her and took a few steps back. "Stay close to the others and stay calm. A sound mind is a strong warrior." Her sword hand was twitching as she felt the sword nearly vibrate with bloodlust. She grasped her hand yet again and walked away from the woman. "Excuse me."


She needed to fight soon, for the safety of her temporary allies. She watched the others attack the monster and made her way to a open area where she would have room to do her best. She made sure to stay at a far distance so she could reach the others if they required assistance. She looked over at the monster in front of her, five strong mountain trolls. She tilted her sword and it shined even in the dim light. "Let's begin this."


 
@Lioness075

 

[SilverBlack]

A dash, a swing of his dagger, and a combination of his electrical magic. Its buzzing currents found its way to electrify and freeze some of the mighty beasts as he lunged himself toward them. The sharp edge of the short swords impaling through the thick skin of theirs, long cuts drown upon their dark hard bodies as Leo continued to slash in an attempt of cutting the beasts apart. The trolls were so far, compared to the other two, the easiest to defeat, as long as he moved fast enough to kill them before they heal themselves. At least with his electrical magic it's not that hard--however, they did come in the greatest number. Combining with the constant disturbance of the other two monsters, it made the fight difficult. Especially with the skeletons' piercing screams, it gave Leo an unbearable headache, finding his vision blurring with a dizzy mind once in a while. The worst, however, was that a sharp pain was constantly felt through his ears. Perhaps these screams could impair hearing? He blinked at the thought, sweats scrolling down from the side of his head. He did not cover his ears, and he did not have the chance to right now. What a mistake he had made.


The electric currents flashed like blue lightning bolts as it stroke down the three trolls around him, his eyebrows tightened in a frown. He could spot more trolls coming, and some slipping through their attacks and found its ways closer to the tower. Although that worried him, he trusted the defense team to handle the rest. He should focus on what's in front of him right now--that he believed.


Leo noticed the third type of monsters dragging themselves toward them--they are gigantic, their skins seemingly thicker, and they appeared more powerful than anything else. Leo let out a tiny sigh of relief when he saw that they came in the smallest numbers. He turned and glanced toward Sapphire and Dani, realizing both of them have swords as their weapons. Comparing swords to daggers, they're much greater in durability and strength if the daggers did not come in high quality. In his mind, he eventually started to think of what is best for the team to do. If a sword is swung strong enough with enough energy, it could break the skeletons' bones--similarly, it could wound the gigantic beasts....


Just that moment, he noticed Luness on the other side.


She had been attacked by the skeletons--as Leo had noticed from the previous, loud scream he heard. Yet, unusual did she look for she seemed to lose her usual strength and power, being held by the monster instead like a soulless doll. The lad blinked in confusion, backing up from the trolls as he studied harder at her direction, and quickly was he about to dash to her tge moment the skeleton dropped her to her death when he realized Dani had saved her right before he did. He stopped in his track then, seeing as Luness had been placed gently onto the ground.


"Are you alright?" He found himself running her way, placing a hand on her shoulder, then slowly shook her as if waking her up. What is the skeleton's true ability, how did he turn her like this anyway? Who created these monsters, is it those mysterious "gods" who brought them to the competition? Why did they have to tease them like this? He noticed that the skeletons' had landed their empty eyes at him, as if setting their next target. Leo surprised himself when he felt a shudder down his spine--is it fear he just felt? After so long training in the forest, did he still lack bravery, is he still going to disappoint Felonia...Who ended up dying because of him?


He shook his head away from the thought, and lifted Luness up as he brought her to the very back of the fighting team, allowing her to "heal" herself before returning to her original form. Eldo, who had just fiercely supported his battles by remaining on his shoulder like a good boy he should be and not causing any troubles, yelped as if catching his attention, and he nodded as he placed the tiny fox down with the girl. "Take care of her...Bark if she's attacked or woke up." The fox wagged its tail as a nod.


Finally, his eyes once again spotted Sapphire and he found himself aiming her way, assisting her for a second when a monster lunged toward her. "Let's...Have Bunny and Kenneth handle the skeletons," his still, empty face expression expressed concern with his eyes as he glanced toward the huge, gigantic beasts that seemed to be covered with ice, strong and mighty they are as they crawled in their directions. "They seem more difficult to handle, and there's five of them. Would you mind...Working together to defeat them first?" He asked, it is his first time working as a team and he didn't really know how to act. However, he knew that Dani seemed well enough to handle the trolls alone for now, Luness could assist once she return to battle. Bunny and Kenneth's guns might work best with the skeletons--perhaps the decision of eliminating the hardest monster right now is a smart move. He hopes he's right in the decision.


He needs to do his best, his mind could not waver. No, he won't disappoint his team--Not the first team he has ever worked with.


(@CloudyBlueDay , @Lioness075 )

 

[SeaTea]

'Wait, my nose is still crooked?' was the first thought that crossed his mind as he heard Sapphire speak to the others, it was only a moment removed from the situation, but Kenneth was thankful for that at least.


Kenneth didn't say much as the rest of the group figured exactly how they would deal with this, well problem was a understatement, but it was really the only thing Kenneth could think of at that point. He only offered vigorous nods and a tightening grip on his rifle to everyone that addressed him, telling him simply one thing; do what he was supposed to do best, or at least what he was training to do with his rifle. He found slight comfort in not being face to face with any demon, but the screeching and gnashing from the fog outside. He had to swallow a bit as those that went out to fight engaged almost immediately with large lumbering beasts with large tusks, skeletal ghouls that seemed to float on the very air, and something else beyond them that looked even more monstrous than he wanted to believe. He saw the flash of light and streak of movement as...


'Luness, Leo, Dani, and Sapphire' He reminded himself of those names, for he felt obligated to remember them, well beyond this current predicament, if he was so blessed to live past it. He moved to one of the hall windows and realized again of the rifle he held in his hands, and knew that he must do everything he could to stem off the tide.


Kenneth moved to crouch in the open window and planted his rifle firmly against the sill, he tried to line up a shot of the first monster he saw, but found he could not pull the trigger due to his hands shaking slightly. He left out a quiet curse and slammed his right hand against the stone wall, ignoring the pain that went up his arm. Kenneth let out a shaky breath and spoke quietly to himself, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." It was little comfort in the long run, but Kenneth re-sighted again with his m14, and found his aim to be much steadier. He sighted up one of the larger beasts with tusks and gently squeezed the trigger.


~BANG!~ EHhhhhh! Kenneth's left hand shot to his left ear in a shock "Ear plugs, of course I'd forget the damn earplugs." He mumbled out through clinched teeth. He checked his target and saw that it was still up and moving with force, quickly before, he thought it was Luness, cut it down. He thought he had missed, but he managed to make out a large patch of skin beneath the fur that had closed up, and Kenneth could not believe his eyes. If those things could just close up after being shot, than what actual worth was he and his rifle? That was he noticed those skeletal beasts turn their vicious screams onto his improvised group members, and his eyes narrowed.


He might not kill them quickly, but by fury he could distract them. "All right you dead ringers, let me show you how loud I can get!" It didn't make sense he guessed, but damn it felt good to blow steam somehow. Kenneth took aim at the skeleton closest to those outside, and let out another shot and ignored the ringing in his ears. He let out a shout of joy when he saw his bullet strike home into the skeleton's face which shattered. The skeleton seemed to suffer from a great deal of twitching as it stumbled backward into the fog and darkness. Kenneth instantly went to work lining up and pot-shooting the skeletons that he could see from his vantage point, he only hoped that they wouldn't notice too quickly where this destruction was coming from.


His earing continued to be filled with constant ringing, but he let out a shout to those he knew were close. "Lyon and Um, Bunny, they're gonna figure us out soon, watch for any that break-neck this way!" @Undercore @Invisible monster


Kenneth continued shooting; it made him feel much better as he continued popping off rounds, the ringing in his ears ever present as he unloaded his first magazine.

 

[Lioness075]

When Dani caught Luness and disrupted her fall, Luness was jolted suddenly out of her past and brought back to the present.


Dazed and unable to hear from being screamed at by one of the Screamers so close to her, Luness had no idea what Dani said to her upon laying her on the ground. Groaning to herself, Luness soon was overcome by the mother of all headaches and passed out.


@The Suspicious Eye


She wasn't out for long before she felt someone shaking her shoulder, but she felt too groggy and out of it to open her eyes and make some audible sound for the person to react to.


Her mind was still in scattered pieces, though she was quickly putting it back together and bringing herself back to reality. This was most certainly not the time to dwell on the past. She needed her focus back so she could rejoin the fight.


Soon, she felt herself being picked up, again, and then was set down somewhere new, though she soon smelled some fox near her. Didn't one of her companions have a little fox that followed him loyally like a dog?


After a minute or two passed and her headache was reduced to more of a dull, yet throbbing one, which Luness could better handle, she opened her eyes and tentatively pushed herself into a sitting position.


Bringing one of her forepaws to her forehead, Luness let out a groan, though she couldn't even hear herself beyond feeling her throat vibrating from her making noise. Was she going to be deaf for the rest of this fight? That was certainly going to make things interesting, especially since Luness had no idea how to read lips...or read in general. Great.


With a constant, annoyingly loud, ringing in her ears, Luness looked to her side to see the small fox beside her. What - her companion thought that little guy was going to protect her or something?


It was then that she looked around herself to see that she'd been brought back to the defensive area, where the small fire was being protected.


With the new lighting, Luness then also realized that in the shock of everything in the moment, she'd shifted back into her human form, of all things.


Irritated by this fact, Luness quickly shifted back into her werecat form, though the ringing didn't leave her ears. Hopefully it would go away at some point. It couldn't be permanent, right?


Seeing something flash out of the corner of her eye suddenly, Luness let out a surprised yelp and quickly blinked a few times to clear up the spots she was now seeing in her line of sight.


Frowning in the direction of the flash, Luness soon saw Kenneth with his gun and knew what was coming next so she quickly averted her gaze back to the small fox.


Was she supposed to say something to it, or what?


@SilverBlack @SwiftThunder (Mentioned)

 

[Invisible monster]

Lyon nodded at Kenneth. "Got it." The deafening thunder of bullets rang into his ears as he crouched, waiting, in the tower's stairwell. His hand tightened around the sword in his hand, gripping the handle hard enough that it began to hurt. He dug his fingernails into the leather and gritted his teeth, willing them not to chatter as he fixed his eyes onto the bottom of the staircase. The tenseness of his muscles failed to shift.


Lyon jumped up, startled, as the cacophonous crash of... something... bursting through the back door echoed through the tower. "That's my cue.", he muttered to himself, hoisting himself up by the bannister and leaping over it. The beast hung at the door, a hulking, monstrous troll, panting and drooling, leaning against the walls. As he dropped towards it, Lyon could see it sniffing around, scanning the area for the source of the gunfire and human scent. Its head swung up a second too late, sensing the movement above it just in time to see Lyon barreling through the air towards it. He smacked into it feet first, his sword following suit as he cleaved through its head. The sword lodged itself solidly in its skull, remaining there even as the flesh and bone knitted back together and the creature threw him back against the wall. The impact winded him for a second, but the breath returned to his lungs surprisingly quickly when he saw the thing looming over him.


A fist slammed into the wall just above him and he skittered out the door, sprinting into the dimly lit area surrounding the tower and running through his options in his head as the troll readied itself to follow him. Kenneth was busy, and the window didn't face this way anyway. Most everyone else was preoccupied with fighting all the other monsters, so that left... Bunny. Bunny was guarding the front door, and she certainly would have heard this thing come in the back, but just in case she hadn't, Lyon raced round the corner where she was stationed, hoping to whatever weird gods it turned out actually existed that she hadn't wandered off. "Bunny? I really need you to come riddle this thing with bullets. Asap."


@Undercore

 

[Undercore]

Bunny sat crouched down by the front door, trying to make herself as small as possible so that she wasn't a big pink target for any of the monster. Maybe I should change the color of my outfit.... she thought as she lifted her arm, about to shoot a skeleton that was heading thowards on of her team mates. Her eyes narrowed, she took a deep breath, forcing her hand to steady, but just as she was about to shoot Lyon came around the corner, shouting about shooting something else. Confused Bunny stood up, opening her mouth to reply when the big lumbering troll roared, crashing into the corner of the building and falling onto its face as it tried to take a sharp turn. " Oh. " was all Bunny could say before the troll hauled itself to its feet, shaking dust and stone from its body. It turned around to face them, drawing its lips back into a rather disgusting snarl with spit practically flowing out of his mouth. " Geeze, couldn't you get a prettier one?" Bunny growled, stepping back to get some distance between her and that... Thing. The troll snorted, looking around for something to pick up and hit them with, Lyon's sword still sticking out of it's animalistic head. " lost your weapon to it huh? Apparently they have regeneration powers, like me just way stronger, but we don't know how much they can take before their regeneration fails them, or at least I don't know yet." Bunny drew her second hand gun, lifting both guns and firing as fast as she could, the bullets hitting the troll in turns, digging deep into it's flesh... Which started healing right after the bullets entered, dark, dry skin covering the bullet wounds. The troll turned around, having found a tree trunk that had toppled over at some point, swinging it back and forth as if testing how good of a weapons it was. " Uh, well, what now?" Bunny asked, looking more confused than scared.


@Invisible monster

 

[CloudyBlueDay]

Fighting was invigorating for Sapphire. The adrenaline, the rush, that feeling of power. Nothing could compete with how triumphant she felt every time she won a battle. She had no memories of before the Protectors took her in, at least.. not clear ones. She remembered being so scared and afraid. There was never a moment where there was light. She was weak, powerless in the powerful world. Bound to die if not saved. Sapphire trained for hours on end, making sure she never, EVER, felt like that again. She refused too. Her illusion abilities were at many times, not enough. Just a little add-on, she felt it was at times. Illusions could not truly harm people. What was the point of them? Electrical magic, fire magic, something goddamn useful.. she wished that was what she had.


She felt a little bit strange with only one sword, but she could handle it just fine. Those skeletons never seemed to shut up, and yes, it did hurt, but Sapphire was quite good at blocking things out. A determined expression on her face, she got to work on a Mountain Troll that rushed towards her. Raising her sword, Sapphire attempted to go straight for the kill. She aimed to stab at it's heart, but it swung a mighty arm and tried to make her fall. She would not be taken down that easily. She saw it coming and jumped back.


It let out a roar and aimed to swing again. She jumped out of the way just a little too late, it's sharp claws scratching her bare shoulder. Sapphire hissed in pain. It was a back-and-forth duel for a moment. It would swing, she would jump back, again, again. After a few turns like this, instead of aiming for it's chest, she went for it's throat, slashing. It let out a cry, blood spurting, and Sapphire could see it trying to heal itself, but the cut had been too deep and it fell to the floor. Sapphire sighed. She was rather upset with herself for taking so long.


She wiped the sweat from her brow and turned to see Luness be dropped by one of the skeleton's. Sapphire's eyes widened, and she lunged forward towards the chasm, as if it would even help. There was no way. How? Just moments ago Luness looked like a top competitor. Would.. would Sapphire's questions about death be answered?


Dani jumped in after her, and Sapphire stared down as she caught her amazingly. Dani looked perfectly harmed. It looked rather fun to be unhuman..


"That was the definition of idiotic." Sapphire whispered, exasperated, as Leo brought Luness back to the defensive area. Sapphire hadn't even noticed that another troll had appeared behind her. She jolted around, and it would have certainly been too late, unless Leo had been there. Jumping up to finish the troll off, Sapphire slashed at the troll. Once it had been killed, she stopped to listen to Leo speak, panting.


She laughed. "Do I mind? You're funny. Sign me up."