Fantasy Legacies: World at War - In Character

[SharkBark]

Mood: Panic

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

After seeming to have evaded the dragon, the group could finally breath easily. Rai had just noticed but, it was really dark in the service entrance. Luckily, Mika had already noticed. He saw an unlit torch and with his flames, lit it easily. Now that Rai could easily see his surroundings, he was disgusted. I mean, the place was extremely dusty, a bit humid, and honestly just felt weird.

The place was also decorated with weapons. Weapons that seemed to have been unused for years. Decades. Centuries, maybe. Rai was a bit too distracted by his surroundings to hear what his comrades were saying. It sounds like Mateo was talking about some things he had seen and Mika was replying. Wow, good synopsis, Rai. The one part he properly heard was Mateo asking if Skyla was a "Desert Strider". At that point, Rai had to say something.

"Uh, two things." Rai started. "1, what the hell is a Desert Strider? 2, does anyone actually know where we're going?" Rai asked. "I don't wanna get lead into some sort of booby trap. This definitely seems like the type of place to have booby traps, not gonna lie."

After saying that, Rai looked at the floor and made sure none of the tiles were pressure plates.

"Yeah, seriously, I don't wanna drop into a pool of bloodthirsty alligators."


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Tired

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Castro was sure that that was the cloaked man. it had to be. He raced across the rooftops and just before he got the edge, he slowed down and slid to a stop. He perched from the rooftop, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. The man continued to tail the little girl and she didn't seem to have noticed yet. He was moving slowly but steadily. He must be a pro. After a bit, the little girl went into a house that seemed to be hers. That was a good move because the cloaked man stopped in his tracks and sighed heavily.

Now. Castro thought.

Castro leapt from the building towards the man and unsheathed his blade in the process. When he landed on the ground, he immediately began to run towards him. He got closer and closer very quickly but the man didn't make a single attempt to move, even though he had obviously seen Castro. That was enough to freak Castro out. He stopped running and stood a few feet in front of the man.

"Why the hell did you kill those girls, huh?" Castro asked him. He spoke low so he didn't draw attention to them. Castro got no clear response, just a slight chuckle. That small chuckle quickly turned into loud laughs. "The hell are you laughing at, huh?"

"You really fell for it, huh?" The man said. His voice was cold and he sounded young. "I only killed them to get your attention. And honestly, you can't act like you're in the clear here. They asked you for help and you did nothing. If anything, you helped me kill them."

Castro gritted his teeth with anger.

"I needed to stay undercover! I didn't expect you to kill them!"

"You don't expect a lot of things. Like this." The man reached into his cloak and pulled out what seemed to be some sort of remote with buttons on it. He clicked one of them and a whirring sound was made to Castro side. He looked to it and his eyes widened with fear. A device, no, a bomb was strapped to the side of the little girl's home.

"Wait, wait, wait." Castro pleaded. "You don't have to do this, okay? She didn't do anything to you."

"I know, but you did something to me." The man pulled his hood back a bit, not enough to show his face, but enough to reveal his bright red color. Castro felt a chill go down his spine as he saw it. He recognized those strands of hair. "Sorry, Castro. You of all people should know that I tend to hold grudges." Then, the man shrugged and pushed button on the remote again.

"Wait!" Castro tried to say, but it was too late. The bomb went off and an explosion, along with debris from the girl's home, went everywhere. Castro was thrown back by the force of the explosion and slammed into the house in to his right. He felt his back slam against the wall and he fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Fuck." Castro weakly said as he looked at the burning house. Another innocent girl killed. Castro felt himself begin to black out but before he did he weakly sputtered said,

"Kuragiri..." Then, he went unconscious.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

As the group continues...As the group continues through the service area and through the Fortress armory, they bullshit about various things to distract themselves from the various creepy things throughout the halls. Until they come upon a large opening and what looks to be a throne room. A throne with a single throne and an inanimate Knight holding a sword in front of himself.

The group walked into the throne room and out of nowhere the torches lining the walls mysteriously light up sequentially. The torches dimly lit the room and the Knight, "Foul trespassers..." The Knight said, still looking down, "Thou trespass upon the Master's Domain."

The Knight slowly looked up at the group, when he was done, the darkness within his helmet flashed red and signified his eyes. The room got brighter and the Knight stood up and yanked it his sword from the ground, pointing the blade to the sky, "The penalty for thine heinous crimes..." The Knight pointed his sword at the group, "...is death."

The Knight then held the sword in front of his helmet, "Forefathers, one and all..." he then thrusted it to the sky as it flared up with light magic and yelled this at the same time, "BEAR WITNESS!!!" After that, he slashed the sword to his side in a cinematic moment.

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika continued with his friends through the dusty old castle, "I don't know, maybe? To be honest I don't really know much about Skyla prior to meeting her. She was kind of tight lipped about that, even to me." He said as they approached the open throne room, noticing the single throne with a Knight sitting upon it. He put his hand out to stop Mateo from continuing further, then the Knight spoke to them. He called them trespassers nd said some other stuff. When the Knight drew his sword from the ground, Mika pulled his spear from his back. When the Knight's become enchanted with Light magic, Mika's spear became enchanted with fire that engulfed the blade only, leaving the shaft of the spear untouched, "Careful everyone, seems we won't be able to continue until we defeat this Knight." He said in a serious tone, "Prepare for a fight."

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia walked along with the group, she let out a small giggle when Rai mentioned not wanting to get eaten by blood thirsty alligators, "Aww, is our big, bad Thunderous Hunter scared of some wittle alligators." She teased him, then they approached an all too ominous room with a lone Knight sitting upon a throne with a sword and a shield. Great. A fight was about to ensue.

The Knight said some stuff and drew his weapon. Yep, she knew it so she drew her iron fist weapons and they began to swirl with winds. Yeah, Nia got some cool brass knuckles, deal with it. She put on her fighting face and scanned her surroundings, 'Okay well, clearly using my weather power in here wouldn't be the best idea so I'll let Mika and Rai use their powers. I'll protect Mateo as much as I can.' She thought.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mika's answer was a bit disappointing, but there was still a possibility that Skyla was from the desert. He didn't meet many people who had survived that kind of life, so he was happy whenever he could connect with someone who'd shared a similar childhood. "Well, once we save Skyla, I can just ask her myself. Maybe she'll open up to another Desert Strider." He had this proud look like that was some accomplishment, being a Desert Strider.

Then Rai asked what it was. "Oh, just a name for the roughnecks of the desert. Anyone who survives and thrives in the desert is a Desert Strider. And I happen to be one of those roughnecks!" Again, he boasted like it was a big accomplishment. But roughneck wouldn't be the right word to describe Mateo. Desert Strider, sure, but definitely not roughneck. But he seemed so innocent with that huge smile plastered to his face.

He giggled about Nia's comment about Rai. He was focused on their talk that he was surprised when he felt Mika's hand stopping him. He'd bumped into it. He said some weird things. Seriously, it sounded like this knight was a cult fanatic. He was not a fan. He noticed everyone taking out weapons, noticing Nia's brass knuckles and admiring them. They had all gotten a power up while he still had a stick. Speaking of, he took up his wooden staff in his hands, the twirling wood spiraling at the top in a place that looked like some kind holder for a large orb. Same as it had been six months ago. He didn't really know what he intended to do with it, maybe a few whacks to the skull would help beat this knight, but he brandished it anyways. He was a Desert Strider after all. He had to prove to the others that it wasn't just talk about him surviving in the desert.


Aleph ran and ate at the same time. Biscuit covered with an egg just sucked right into his mouth as he tried to follow a speeding bandit on a rooftop. But he couldn't lose this chance to get him. This could be the only chance he had to ask Castro to help him out with his arm problem, well lack thereof. But he wasn't as fast as Castro or as agile either. He bumped over things and lost his breath fast. He was never good with retaining his breathing. Excessive movement and fast pace just took the wind right out of his lungs as it always did.

His hearing loss was working against him too. He had to work solely on sight, and he could barely see Castro on the rooftops. It was only when he leaped from different buildings that he had a vantage and could guess where he was going. But even that was spotty. He ended up losing him at one point. He couldn't see him leaping from the buildings anymore. Shite. Just what he needed. In reality, it was because Castro was off the rooftops, jumping down to have a nice reunion with a man in a black cloak.

An explosion was what helped him out. He could physically see the blast and fire burning. He headed in that direction with that being his only lead. For once he thought maybe he was lucky he didn't have to hear that, or the sounds of panic that ensued.

He ran for it and when he got to the sight found two figures. One in a black cloak, another on the ground lying unconscious. He breathed heavily at the sight, remembering the blast that had took his arm as he gazed at the unconscious figure. He didn't move for a few seconds. Then he noticed the familiarity of the unconscious one. He took out the poster, but it flopped to the ground. His hand shook as he picked it up and ran over to the unconscious one. The hair, his face. He matched up with the poster. The only thing that was missing was his eyes to confirm it. He shook the man a bit and then looked towards the other one. Why didn't he come over to help? What was even going on?

There was a third one. A third bandit. In the flames there was a young woman holding a golden sword. Looked like a pirate's sword from fairy tales. It seemed to ward off the flames, protecting herself as she managed through the broken, flaming house with a body.

Aleph didn't know what to do. His voice didn't work, but his eyes pleaded with the guy to help, and the empty sleeve of his wool jacket flapped in the wind. Of course, the young boy had no way of knowing this guy had murdered a bunch of people.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Panic

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Just as Rai had suspected, no one knew where they were going. Great.

"Ah I see. But you didn't answer my other question. Are we just mindlessly travelling through here?" Rai said. "Also, is it that bad that I don't want the teeth of alligators sinking into my flesh?

Before Rai could get an answer to his two questions, the group entered a throne room that was in the castle. It was dark just like the rest of the place but when Mika stepped in with the torch, a throne was visible ahead of them with a Knight sitting on it. This place really is old. Rai thought. They even have an old Knight here. A bit after that thought, the Knight who was supposed to be inanimate put his hand forward and stopped Mika from moving any further.

"What the hell?" Rai said.

Then, it spoke. The Knight spoke about them trespassing and how they needed to be punished for such "heinous" crimes with death. Rai chuckled a bit.

"Really?" Rai said. "How long have you been solidified? You really think your rusty ass can actually do something?"

Rai got his answer quite quickly. The Knight pulled his sword from the ground and got ready to fight in a cinematic way. Rai gulped and unsheathed one of his katanas. Maybe disrespecting this guy wasn't one of his best moves.


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Tired

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Castro was unconscious, but only for a bit. He was awoken a few moments later by a kid in a wool sweater. The same kid as earlier. He was looking at someone. Who though? Castro groggily stood up and cracked his sore back. Then he looked around and remembered where he was. There was a burning house and a man in a black cloak. Kuragiri. Castro shook the child next to him.

"Listen! You gotta go, man!" he said. "It isn't safe here!" Castro couldn't emphasized enough how dangerous it was for that kid to be here right now. Kuragiri was psychotic. He'd kill this kid with ease and then divert his attention back to Castro. Castro stood up and grabbed at the kid's arm, only to find out there was nothing there. Underneath that wool sweater was nothing. Even worse.

Castro looked back to Kuragiri who was laughing maniacally and then back to the house. Someone exited it. A women holding a bright golden sword. What the hell was going on here? Kuragiri took a few steps towards Castro and the boy which made Castro pick up his blade.

"Stay back!" Castro yelled.

"Why, Castro?" Kuragiri said. "I just wanna help you two out."

Castro charged Kuragiri and slashed sideways at his head. Kuragiri easily dodged though and kicked Castro in his chest, knocking him to the floor. Before Castro could get back up, Kuragiri stepped on his face and pushed his head into the ground. Castro struggled to remove his leg but it seemed virtually impossible.

"Castro. Still as weak as ever, huh?" Kuragiri spoke. "I've been imprisoned for years and you haven't improved at least a little?" Kuragiri took Castro's sword and pressed it against Castro's chest. "No worries though, I'm sure you'll have nothing but time to improve in the afterlife."

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

!! The Nameless Knight !!Location: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
The Nameless Knight didn't move from his spot, instead opting to start the fight with a swipe from a dragon tail of light that he followed up with another swipe of the same attack. He then followed up the follow up attack with a slash of his sword that sent a wave of light flying at the group that he again followed up with a jumping downward slash. After the move combo was finished, he slowly stood up from the jumping slash, "How was that for rusty, samurai?" He directed that at Rai.

(Opening combo (all attacks will be accounted for): Dragon Tail -> Holy Sword)

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika sighed when Rai insulted the Knight, 'Come on, man...' he thought but he didnt get to say anything as the Knight began his onslaught. Mika ducked under the first tail swipe and narrowly missing the follow-up by ducking back, "Jesus-" he wasn't even able to complete that sentence as the Knight slashed at them, sending a light wave at them. Mika dodged it by ducking, again. Mika did alot of ducking it seems, but he wasn't out of the woods yet as the Knight did a jumping downward slash that Mika dodged to the right.

The Knight retorted to Rai's insult, "Yeah, Rai, let's not insult the enemy, okay?" Mika said in a half-joking manner. Mika thrusted his spear forward at the Knight then did a spin then a downward slam.

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia looked focused, she began to back up to Mateo, "Hey, Mateo, let's hang back for a bit. Let's let Rai and Mika take care of this." Of course, they wouldn't have it that easy. As the tail swung around, Nia instinctively pushed Mateo to the ground but, in reurn, took that tail in the back. Nia yelled out in pain, "Shit!" She fell to the ground and the rest of the attacks missed her, aside from that first one.

She looked at Mateo and grimaced in pain, "Sorry, I acted instinctively. Are you okay?" She didn't mean to push him like she did.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo had to physically cup his hands over his mouth to prevent himself from laughing at Rai's comment. I mean, they were on the joke train, so he didn't think it was bad. Maybe because the full weight of the situation hadn't yet gotten to him. But it sure did a second later as the "rusty ass" knight started unleashing all these attacks that dived straight at the group. They didn't seem to have one clear opponent they were directed at, just the whole group in general. Maybe trying to kill them all in one fell swoop of attacks. But Mateo was good at dodging. His travel years had given him experience, plus living in the desert and having to avoid dunes and sandstorms. That was one thing he'd be good at in battle.

Nia backed up to him and told him they should let Rai and Mika handle this. Great, so he knew Nia didn't have any confidence in his offensive skills. She thought he was useless as well. Yay! His whole party knew he wasn't much help besides for a quick heal. "Sure." He said, but he didn't sound too excited.

Then, out of nowhere, he was pushed to the ground by Nia. Cora sprang out of the bag with a hiss in her direction. Probably thought she'd done it on purpose, meanwhile it had been to protect Mateo. She'd taken a hit for him and fell to the ground next to him, missing the attacks. Cora missed them as well, but because he was a bristling cat at the moment. They were too high up in the air to reach him. So, Cora took up a protective stance in front of the two of them. It was more so to protect Mateo than Nia, because Cora had a dislike and distrust of the rest of the party.

Mateo sat up with a small groan. He was weighed down by a massive Hiker's backpack, so it was a bit of a struggle to sit up. The backpack really wasn't great in battles like these. "No, I'm good. No need to apologize. I think you just saved my life." He sighed in relief, checking out his blue ruana and noticing it had no tears in it, and then looked at the expression of pain plastered to Nia's face. He was already having to use his healer ability. "You shouldn't be asking about me. You're the one who just took a hit. Let me see." He sounded stern, like he was a mother scolding a child.

He shifted her around and healed her back. It wasn't as serious as say a broken leg, so it was fairly easy to heal and didn't take much out of him. She'd feel the pain ease and her back numb as his glowing hand wiped across it. "There, all better." At least he could be useful this way. "Thanks for the save, by the way."

Cora groaned and rolled his eyes. Mateo was way too attached to these humans at this point.



Aleph was glad Castro had woken up. He could feel the shake, which was what had immediately alerted him, but Castro was also yelling. Some bits got through, but he could tell that he was yelling by the way he sounded. Aleph just shook his head, which could've been seen as a no to what Castro was telling him or a signal that he couldn't understand. There was a signal to say deaf right? He couldn't remember what the damn book said at this moment.

Castro then tried to grab at his arm and Aleph's eyes widened. It was the sleeve of his wool jacket that didn't have an arm inhabiting it. Nice. Well, when he could, explaining himself to Castro might be easier. He already knew what his problem was. No arm. He looked back towards the other guy as Castro dropped his sleeve and grabbed his sword. Well, this was nice. He clutched at his shoulder, the one that didn't have an arm and his grip around it tightened. Muffled yelling and scuffled sounds came. They were louder, so they came out clearer.

Aleph looked back to see Castro charge at Kuragiri. Castro seemed to be back on the ground in a matter of seconds, disarmed and with a foot on his head. Then, Kuragiri took Castro's sword to his chest and seemed to be going for the kill. The only thing Aleph could do in that moment was scream. He screamed so loudly that even his half deaf ears could hear it. "Stop it!" He sounded like an Irish boy getting strangled. Because he was half deaf, his voice came out weird because he couldn't hear himself and adjust the pitch and tone and all that stuff. After he was done screaming, he did in fact feel like he was an Irish boy that had just gotten strangled. Well, it was enough distraction for the woman to step in.

If you'd seen her wanted posters, you would've known her as the Dragonflame Bandit. And she certainly lived up to her name. She used the distraction Aleph had caused to speed her way over to Kuragiri. She struck out with her golden blade and attracted the fire from the building. More like willed it to follow her. It festered around the blade until it was a hot red flaming Chinese dragon made solely of fire. She thrusted the blade forward, and the dragon arced forward towards Kuragiri, swallowing him in its jaws and erupting his body in flame. It sent him flying a few feet away and steam poked up wherever the dragon intersected with the ground. She stood in front of Castro and pulled a bit of reddish-brown hair out of her face. "Thought you were supposed to be good, Mr. Blue Eyes." She said with a jester like smile. "And yet here you are letting a chump who chooses to burn up little girls get to you."

Aleph noticed the flame dragon and immediately like this girl. He observed her, seeing a playful expression. She looked around the same age as Castro and in the same profession too. She definitely had the outfit of a bandit. She noticed him and gave him a smile and a wave of her hand. He waved back with the hand he still had.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Alert

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Rai's insult definitely didn't have a good end to it. The Knight did a crazy combination of moves and then quipped to Rai,

"How was that for rusty, samurai?"

Rai crouched down to dodged the first light slash, leapt over the second, and then moved to the left for the downwards slash. Mika advised Rai not to insult the Knight anymore.

"Don't have to tell me twice." Rai said. Mika did his own combination of moves at the Knight. "Mika, before you attack again, we need to be more coordinated. I don't wanna have us accidentally attack at the same time and then one of us gets hurt. So I'll let you know right now, I'll take high, you go low. If you wanna change it up, tell me after this move."

Rai got into a low stance and charged up for a bit. When he finished, he charged at the Knight and then leapt into the air and flipped over it. At the same time, he slashed downwards at back of the Knight's head.


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Panic

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Castro and Kuragiri both turned to the sound of the yell. The boy who had woke Castro up yelled for Kuragiri to stop hurting Castro.

"Shut up." Kuragiri said. Then he lifted Castro's blade and before he could stab it into his body, he felt heat to his side. When he looked over, he saw that the girl who had exited the flames had made some sort of flame dragon to engulf him in. In an attempt to escape, Kuragiri quickly leapt back but was slightly hit, causing him fly a feet back.

Castro looked up to see a girl with reddish-brown hair standing above him.

"Thought you were supposed to be good, Mr. Blue Eyes." she said. "And yet here you are letting a chump who chooses to burn up little girls get to you."

"Believe me, if you knew this "chump", you wouldn't be questioning my skill." Castro responded. "He's above my level and most likely yours too."

Castro stood up and brushed himself off.

"I suggest you take that kid over there and run. This isn't gonna end well."

Castro had said that because Kuragiri's right arm was engulfed with flames. Not because of the flame dragon, but because of his magic type. He was gonna turn this entire block into hell. Literally.

The entire block was going to be on fire. He'd make sure of it.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

!! The Nameless Knight !!Location: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
The Knight raised his shield and took all of Mika's attacks. Rai flipped over the Knight and connected an attack with his head, which caused his head to go forward a bit. He took this time to swing his shield around and try to bash Rai with it, however this opened up a backstab attempt to Mika. Mika did take that that opportunity to backstab the Knight, which caused him to yell out in pain from the burning blade piercing his skin.

"Get..." the Knight raised one foot like a sumo wrestler and stomped down, "Away!!!" as he said this, a small explosion of Light emanated from his body that pushed Rai and Mika away from him which allowed him to backstep and get some distance from them.

"Fine. Thou wants to play rough? Let us play rough." Wings of light sprouted from his back and he jumped up and started his Valkyrie Dive, first going one way then turning around and coming another way, he landed and combo'd this into a wide spinning Dragon Tail following up by dragging his sword along the ground then swinging it upwards and sending a blade of Light at Rai then following that up with a Dragon Tail attack towards Mika.

(Attack combo: Valkyrie Dive -> Dragon Tail -> Light Wave -> Dragon Tail)

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Mika nodded as Rai came up with a plan but he executed it so suddenly Mika didn't have time to coordinate with him, "Wai-" but then Rai created an opening for Mika to backstab the Knight, "That works too-" Mika got pushed back by a small force that was enough to allow the Knight to gain some distance and execute a more attacks.

First, his Valkyrie Dive which Mika dodged to the left of, then he came back with another that he side stepped to the right of. That was followed-up with a wide Dragon Tail, an attempt to hit everyone, Mika ran and slid under it. After the Light Wave at Rai, the Knight sent another tail towards Mika but he was still on the ground from the last one, he managed to dodge most of it but got clipped by the last dragon tail, he groaned in pain, "Fuck..." Mika got up and back stepped a bit, "This is gonna take awhile if we can only get one attack of before he attacks again.. we need a new plan of attack, Rai." Mika said, "What do you think?"

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia felt better as Mateo healed her, "Thanks, you're a lifesaver." She smiled, she refocused as the dragon tail came. She got up and and stomped forward and extended her arms outwards and a wall of wind was momentarily erected that dispelled the attack, she was panting though, 'Hell... i'm close to fatiguing...' Erecting that wall took it out of her, but another tail attack came. She mustered another wall but it wasn't as effective, a small bit of the tail got through and pushed her back a bit but didn't leave any kind physical wound. She fell to a knee, 'I'm over exerting myself..' She took a deep breath and focused herself.

She immediately felt reinvigorated, she got up and took a fighting stance, "Hah!" She turned to Mateo, "All is well, don't worry!" She gave him a thumbs up and and a smile.

Cyan the Flowing RiverLocation: Somewhere in Ironshire
Interactions: SharkBark
Current Weather: None
Cyan had heard an explosion within his city and went to investigate. Though, he didn't have to look far to see the culprit or culprits. They were fighting. Cyan decided not to interfere for now, he just stood on a roof and watched, his cloak flowing in the wind, "Let's see what happens." He said to himself.

(Watch yourself Shark c: )

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo nodded at Nia. "Guess we're both lifesavers today." He'd kind of forgotten they were in the middle of a battle. It's not like they'd be safe from attacks. And he figured that out a second later as he saw the Dragon Tail coming at them. Nia got up before he could do or say anything, stomping her foot to the ground and extending out her arms before a wall of wind summoned to protect the both of them. He looked like he was in utter awe. Good to know they shared the same type. He had some weather abilities, but they weren't as strong as his nature magic. That's because he hadn't gotten the chance to fully learn from his teacher before a little incident had occurred to drive him and Cora out of town. Still cool. It was nice to know he shared something in common with one of his teammates, and maybe she could even show him some stuff if he asked. Maybe both in magic and martial arts. He should probably learn more offensive moves if battles were going to be a continuous thing while traveling with this group, if they even stayed a group after rescuing Skyla. He really hoped they wouldn't just go their separate ways again.

She looked to be panting afterwards. He didn't know how, but he could tell she didn't have much magic left in her. He guessed he just had an eye for it after studying up on magic. Yeah, he was that passionate about the subject. Besides, his traveling healer's knowledge just told him flat out she was close to fainting. He put that all together and it equaled magic fatigue. He needed to get her somewhere where she didn't have to worry about protecting the both of them.

Another attack came, and Nia put up the wall again. The attack was able to somewhat get through though. He seemed to push in her back in what he guessed might've been a shockwave from the attack. She took a knee like one does when proposing, or when fighting off fatigue. He crawled to her and looked her over. Strange. No physical wound he could heal. It was most likely fatigue, and that was something he couldn't heal. It was a condition, not a wound. If she was wounded at all, he'd rather it be a physical wound because then he'd be able to help in a second.

She took a deep breath and then after a moment she was up and in a fighting stance. Nia told him she was fine and to not worry. Oh, he was worrying. "You should really get somewhere to rest!" He called in exasperation, but she seemed like a stubborn type. He always dealt with stubborn kids who didn't want to drink his hand concocted medicines. He'd always tell them he'd give them candy afterwards if they did and that was true. He'd either have some on him if he knew he was dealing with child patients or would go buy some as promised. He briefly wondered if that would work on Nia. He really didn't want to be pounded with those brass knuckles, so he thought against it.

So, he did the next best thing he could think of. He turned to the snarling cat. "Cora! Give her back up." The cat looked towards him with a face full of disgust. "C'mon, please. For me." He gave the puppy dog eyes and Cora sighed, his tail lashing. He strutted over to Nia, bracing himself for an attack to give her support. He might be able to take the edge off of an attack, but he really didn't know what he could do with magic. He probably wouldn't be much help, but he'd try for Mateo's sake. He'd probably be better if he could strike up close, but it's not like he was doing that unless Mateo gave him more puppy dog eyes. Gods, why did he let that kid get away with stuff like this?

Mateo had vaguely heard the fighting. They were doing attacks in pairs, one going higher and one going lower. Since he wasn't doing much, if he could watch and learn patterns then he might be able to help with the strategy.



Aleph had no clue what the guy said before the dragon had slammed into him. But he had a good idea. It was clear on his face what he wanted, and his lips mouthed out the words. Wait, how had he known that? Lips... he'd never been able to read them before. Maybe it was because it was a simple phrase, or maybe he just paid attention to the movement more with the sound pretty much gone. He wasn't sure. Either way, he had a new distraction to focus on with the flaming Chinese dragon flying right into Kuragiri.

Then, the two other bandits conversed a little.

The Dragonflame bandit raised a brow at Castro's statement. "Oh please. You don't know who trained me, Blue Eyes. Seriously, you two seem really full of yourselves. Only a coward involves innocents in their quarrels." She said with a disgusted glance at Kuragiri. "And cowards don't beat dragons."

Castro stood up, but she didn't back down. She gave a glance at Aleph when he mentioned the kid. "Seriously, he's not with you? Man, you guys really aren't good at keeping this whole personal bullshit to yourselves, huh?" She gave an exasperated sigh. She heard the brief yelling match, and she could tell this was a personal thing between him and the Black Cloaked Creep. Speaking of him, she followed Castro's gaze to Kuragiri and his flaming right arm. She wasn't worried about the flame for herself. But the kid was a major inconvenience. Same for Castro, who might not be as fire resistant as she was. "Look, tell ya what. I'll take the kid to a safer place, but I'm not leaving this mess. I'm not having anyone get hurt because of the Black Cloaked Creep over there. And I can't trust someone like you, Blue Eyes. Even if you're a top bounty, don't know if you're all good against other top guns. I mean, look what's already happened here." She didn't wait for a reply from him. She turned to Aleph and said, "Alright, kiddo. Time to get ya safe." She picked him up by the right arm, purely by chance, and he struggled to get up. She decided he'd take to long and just picked up. That's what she figured out about the missing arm. He was just in distress, no sign of pain, so the loss didn't seem to have come from this situation. Good. She'd never forgive these two if it had.

The Dragonflame bandit with Aleph in tow sped off for the nearest place she could dump a kid for the time being. And was she fast for a human. At least she looked completely human and didn't have a spirit aura about her. Yet, you could tell there was something up with her golden sword. It seemed pretty powerful for a run of the mill bandit to have.

She found an empty shack a few yards away. Seemed to be some kind of utility hut or tool shed. It was vacant and small, perfect for stashing a little boy. "Stay here, alright." She pointed her hand down like she was directing a puppy to sit and stay. Maybe her people skills could use some work. She'd come back after this mess was over and help him to his parents or a friend, or maybe the authorities should she not be able to help. But she didn't know Aleph was half deaf and couldn't hear besides some muffling that was clear sometimes and not the other. Luckily, her hands gestures were enough signal, even if it wasn't sign language. Aleph began to move, and she said, "Stay!" That one, he was able to vaguely hear her spunky voice for the first time. She then walked out of the shed, closed the door, and started her sprint back to the scene of the crime.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Alert

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Rai's attack on the knight hit, sending him forward and allowing Mika to hit a good back stab. But In the process, Rai was swatted away with the Knight's shield. Sending him a few feet back. Rai landed upright and continued his advance. He would've attempted an attack again but, the Knight released a small explosion that knocked him back a bit. At that point, Mika suggested that he think of a new plan.

"Uh. I don't know. How about you use your other fancy elements?" Rai suggested. "Since when did you rely of flames? Freeze this guy or something."

Rai advance for his next attack, deciding to let Mika choose when to use his other elements. Meanwhile, Rai would use his. As Rai closed the distance between him and the Knight, he charged up some electricity again, this time into his body, not his blade. Once he was close enough, Rai folded his arms over his chest in the form of an X and then broke it, sending forward a glowing bolt of lightning that shot quickly at the Knight.

"Mika! Hurry up and use those powers!" Rai said as he folded his arms again for another blast.



Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Panic

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Castro rolled his eyes at the dragon girl's statements. He couldn't blame her for what she was saying though. She didn't know Kuragiri like Castro did.

"Tell me who trained you another time." Castro responded. "Can you go save that kid now?"

She agreed but told Castro she'd be back. Castro nodded and then advanced Kuragiri. He walked slowly as he approached him. Alright. Kuragiri only uses flame and dark type attacks. But I should expect the flame more since he isn't that trained in dark magic. At least, the last time I checked he wasn't. Castro calculated in his head. He always starts with the same attack pattern. Forward flame blast, curved fireball, and an overhand fire fist slam. Alright. I'm ready. 1..2..3..go.

Castro charged at Kuragiri and formed two clubs that were made of ice in his hands. Once Kuragiri saw that he had gotten closer, he charged Castro as well. 10 feet till his attack. Castro thought. 5 feet till his attack. Now. As Castro had suspected, Kuragiri shot a straight blast of flames at Castro. Instinctively, Castro dodged to the side and the flame flew past him. One attack down. Once Kuragiri saw that his attack hadn't worked, he twisted his arm to the left and shot out a fireball that curved to the right and was aimed at Castro's side. Castro jumped into the air and twisted his body to the right, successfully gliding over the projectile, thus dodging another attack. Second attack down, one more to go.

Castro and Kuragiri were face to face now, which means Kuragiri would switch to close combat. Kuragiri engulfed his right fist in flames and then lifted it into the air. Then, he swung it downwards towards Castro's face. Overhand Fire Fist Slam. Predictable.

Before Kuragiri could get the chance to slam his fist into his face, Castro swung the club in his left arm and smashed into Kuragiri's jaw, stopping his attack and knocking him to the side a bit. Castro wasn't done though. He did that same thing with the right club and then unleashed a vicious combo of attacks onto Kuragiri. He slammed the club into his ribs, jabbed it at his nose, and even slammed it onto his temple. Yet even after all of that, Kuragiri laughed.

Kuragiri had his own way of countering Castro's attacks, he took them to the face and then once Castro's combo finished, he seized his chance to make him suffer even more.

"Damn, looks like you remembered my attack pattern, eh?" Kuragiri said with a laugh. "But look where the attacks you dodged hit."

Castro looked behind him. Nothing there.

"Shit."

It was already happening by the time Castro turned around. Kuragiri had wrapped his arms around Castro's waist and lifted him into the air.

"I can't believe you fell for that." Kuragiri said.

Then, he slammed Castro into the ground in a position that was bound to kill him. Well, he thought he had. Suddenly, Kuragiri felt a wet substance all over her hands. It was water. He turned to see what it was and all he saw was a puddle of water. No sign of Castro at all.

"Not this again." Kuragiri said, clearly annoyed. Castro had used one of his best moves. He turned himself into a puddle of water and he couldn't be attacked.

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

!! The Nameless Knight !!Location: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Status: Open to Deathblow
Rai's attack made the Knight stagger back a bit. The Knight quickly recovered, dazed a bit but he unleashed a spinning attack to deter Rai from attempting another close range attack like that. The Knight didn't have much time to react as Mika charged him in his powered up state but he managed to get a block off, but the small explosions coming off of Mika's attacks broke his posture and allowed Mika's swipe to land in full effect and knock the Knight to the ground.

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Status: Desolation (All attacks deal extra explosion damage on top of regular damage)
Mika gave a small smile to Rai when he mentioned his other powers, "Yeah... about that..." Mika thought for a moment, "I have an ace in the hole.. but it's kind of a one-off. It's worth the risk though." Mika quick stepped back and formed a ball of fire in his left hand, "Hey, Rai, look after me after this, okay?" After saying that, Mika jammed the ball of fire into chest. After a few seconds, his eyes become engulfed in a painless flame as well as his hands. His lance blade's flames become more intense, he looked at Rai, "Let's do this."

He charged the Knight after saying that, he got in close and did a few thrusts before jumping and doing a large frontal swipe as he landed. The swing made the Knight fall to the ground, "Quick, Rai! Finish him!" Mika shouted at Rai.

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia gave Mateo a puzzled look as he asked his cat to back her up then watched as a cat came trotting up next to her, "Uh.." she was confused more then anything. Her attention was quickly grabbed by the fight again, Mika powering up and Rai doing some cool 'X-Bolt' attack. She almost was like Mateo. She admired both of these men, platonically at this point, for how strong they were. She knew Mika had feelings for someone else and she was pretty sure Rai only saw her as a friend.

"So cool." She said quietly as the Knight got knocked to his ass, "Finish him!" she instinctively shouted without realizing it.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo understood how Cora might be confusing to the others. He'd never actually introduced them to his cat, or the fact that he was a pretty smart cat. Smart because he was actually a Bakeneko. Not your usual annoying cat, but your usual annoying Bakeneko. Seriously, his cologne made his satchel smell like flowers. He liked flowers, but his satchel didn't need to be lacquered in their smell. Oddly enough, the cologne did not hide spirit scent. Oh, how he wished it would. Back on thought, maybe after all of this he should finally come clean about one secret he was hiding. Maybe he owed that to these guys. That would just be a lot of convincing to do. Cora never really liked giving up his identity to mortals too, which was one of the problems in the first place. They'd talked about it a bit, but Cora was a brat each time and shut it down. They'd spent a total of four days together, including the tournament day, and Mateo already trusted these guys with at least that secret. Maybe Cora would come around after they had spent more time with this group, even if he was still acting like a brat now.

Mateo refocused to the fight when Rai called out for Mika to use his powers. Wait, these two didn't know, did they? Mika had explained it to Mateo about the lance, but Nia and Rai were both late to the party. They'd only know about him switching from a katana to a lance, but not the fact that the lance was a magical old weapon which had sealed off his other elements. An exclusive fire type. That's what Mika was now.

"Mika!" Mateo yelled as he watched the guy just jab fire into his chest. What was he thinking? Why was he trying to kill himself?! He realized it was spell, and an awesome one at that, when his eyes and hands engulfed in flame, his lance's blade to which had made the flames on it grow in intensity, and he charged at the enemy. He went in with thrusts at the knight and Nia remarked about how it was so cool. "Yeah..." He murmured which prompted a low sound from Cora. Maybe a growl, maybe a groan. Whatever it was, you could tell he wasn't happy about Mateo's admiration for Mika. "So cool."

A large frontal swipe from Mika was what got the knight to the ground. He watched in admiration at what he dubbed, The Fire Dance. That was one of his stupid little names like Desert Strider. He called it that because Mika looked like he was dancing. At least to him. It reminded him kind of back home. There'd be dancers in some villages who used bright red and orange silk to emanate fire, and then other dancers who actually juggled fire. Mika reminded him of a combination of those two dancers. Maybe it was his professional foot work and movement with the flaming blade that made him think so. Anyways, it was a huge hit with him. He thought it was a really pretty sight, despite them still being in the middle of a battle.

Mika shouted at Rai to finish him off, and at the same time Nia instinctively shouted pretty much the same message. Well, why not? He thought. It was pretty much the only thing useful he could do at the moment. So, he shouted too. "Come on, Rai! You can do it! Finish him off with some cool magic!" Then, as a final message he added, "Cora believes in you too!" Which prompted the cat to spin on his heels and give him a hiss to which he gave a little chuckle. Even if Mateo gave him a hard time, and he responded with a tart hiss, they were still good buddies and did it completely in jest.



The wonder of taking a kid and leaving him in a shed yards away from the battle meant that she missed pretty everything. All the cool fighting, all the fire she could've absorbed wasn't a thing she even had knowledge of. She knew they'd be fighting when she got back, neither one of them seemed willing to back down until the other was dead or running away, but she didn't know what state things would be in once she got back. She just ran faster than she probably should've for a human and ran towards the direction of smoke.

And, ok, things looked pretty bad. She'd tried to do some damage control with the flaming building, but the flames still in cased their battlefield, as well as debris from the building. You'd have to watch your step to make sure you didn't accidently trip on a strip of wood or a stray stone. She guessed that's what you get when you explode a building.

But, no, what was worse was there was no sign of Castro whatsoever. She could see Kuragiri, with his burning arm, looking down at a wet substance. A puddle of water. She had no idea how that had gotten there in the first place, but it hardly mattered to her. The point was, Castro may have gotten an early cremation by the Black Cloaked Creep who obviously used fire magic, since there was no sign of him around. She wasn't letting him get away with that.

She took out her blade, the pure gold shinning as the light from the flames hit it. She didn't know if he could use and absorb fire attacks like she could with her sword, but if he could use fire magic than there was a chance. Her sword was for more than just magic. I mean, sure, that was one of its functions, but it was also a sword. Could be other things, but a sword now. Besides, its not like her magic attack had done any severe damage to him, even if it was one of her best. Seriously, the flaming Chinese dragon made out of flames?! Absolutely genius. But these two dolts didn't seem to see it that well. Well, pirate sword it was.

The Dragonflame Bandit charged in for her attack. Kuragiri was turned away from her, distracted with Puddle Castro so she had a clean opening. She let fire gather at her heels which gave her a boost to go in for a fast strike. With her first attack, she put both handles on her golden sword's hilt and slashed a side-ways attack at his back that left a gash torn in his black cloak. She didn't even stop to see if it hit, using the momentum from her first strike, as well as the flames, to jet herself into the air. She held the tip facing Kuragiri while in mid-air and angled her body in the air so well that it seemed like being weightless didn't bother her one bit. Then, she slashed down and let the tip of her blade pierce into his leg. She landed with her legs on the ground in a sort of crouching position, but it didn't look quite natural. She twisted and the blade came free, absorbing the fire coming from Kuragiri. She leapt backwards with fire now attached to her blade and pointed it at Kuragiri with a smirk dancing on her lips and fire crackling on the golden blade. Fire user against fire user. She was confident she was the better one. After all, her golden blade wasn't some normal sword. Her warding off the fire while holding the blade in front of her, channeling the fire from the building to curl around the sword and take shape into a dragon, and now collecting Kuragiri's fire power and recycling it as her own while attaching it to the blade. Yeah, definitely no ordinary weapon.

"Guess who's back~" She gave a mocking wave to him and then her gaze hardened. "Now, tell me, what have you done with Blue Eyes."

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Alert

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

"Yeah... about that..."

"What do you mean by that?" Rai asked. He diverted his attention back to the knight. "Y'know what, tell me another time. What's up with the ace in the hole you have?"

Mika didn't answer. Instead, he jammed a ball of fire into his chest.

"Mika..what are you doing-" Rai stopped as he saw the intense look in his eyes. Mika knew what he was doing. Rai just had to put his trust into him and follow up. Once Mika had finished his little power up, he charged the Knight and hit him with a vicious combination of moves that left him knocked onto the ground.

"Quick, Rai! Finish him!"

"Finish him!"

"Come on, Rai! You can do it! Finish him off with some cool magic! Cora believes in you too!" "

With the signal for him to end it, Rai charged the fallen knight at max speed. In a matter of seconds, he was within 5 feet of the beast. While he ran, he charged up a great amount of electricity into his body, 70,000 Volts to be exact.

"On the count of three, everyone jump of climb onto something!" Rai yelled out to his comrades.

"Three!"

Rai leapt into the air above the Knight with a trail of lightning trailing behind him. His ripped haori and white hair seemed to glisten in the light. It was like he was a thunderous angel.

"Two!"

Rai turned over sideways, stuck his sword out forwards, and spun in a circular motion as fast as possible. Electricity coursed all around him and took the form of a cyclone. Then, he came down with great speed at the Knight's neck.

"One!"

Rai's Cyclone violently cut down into the Knight's neck and he began to behead him. It was hard at first but the more Rai increased in speed, the smoother the cut became. Since the Cyclone was wide, parts of the Knight's torso and face were caught in the attack. It was going well. He was going to behead him until he felt a sharp tinge in his chest. His injuries from before still weren't completely healed and he began to lose focus. His speed decreased and he began to lose his grip on his katana.

"Shit!" Rai swore. He couldn't mess up now, they were too close to defeating him. He had to behead it. He had to give it his all.

Rai charged up close to his max capacity and let out a battle cry as he picked back up in speed and began to tear through the Knight's head with full force. He could feel his energy decreasing and his body exhausting but he continued to shred anything caught in the cyclone. He hadn't even noticed whether or not he had cut off the Knight's head, so he shredded through the floor and sent debris throughout the fortress. Then, after he had worn out, he stopped his cyclone and fell to the floor.

He was barely conscious and on the verge on Magic Fatigue. That was close to 80% of his power. Anymore that and he would've had a near death experience. He had finished one of his strongest moves.

Lightning Cyclone.
Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Panic

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

"Another pussy move huh, Castro?" Kuragiri calmly said to Puddle Castro. "Come on, fight me like a man."

As Kuragiri was badmouthing Castro, he didn't realize that the Dragonflame Bandit was approaching him from behind quickly. She swung a sideways slash at his back and left a gash in his cloak and his skin. Kuragiri turned around confused and saw her jump up into the air.

"What are you doing?" Kuragiri obliviously said.

He got his answer when the Dragonflame Bandit came down and pierced his left leg with her sword. He looked down at that in confusion too. The back of his cloak was on fire along with his leg. Wow. Kuragiri looked down at puddle Castro.

"Do you know who this is?" he asked. Castro stuck his middle finger out of the puddle, which Kuragiri tried to step on but Castro sank it back down too quickly. He redirected his attention to the Dragonflame Bandit.

"Your form was bad." Kuragiri plainly said. "Your sideways slash. You used only your arms to do that slash. You need to but your hips and legs into it too. If you had done that, you could've probably sliced me in half. I can mentor you if you'd like."

Castro scoffed from the puddle. Kuragiri. Even when he's on fire, he's making blatant comments.

"But that'll have to be for later, I have to deal with you first." Kuragiri keeps his word. He manifested an axe made of flames from his hands and charges at her. Once she's in his range, he throws his axe at her and then manifests a flame spear from his hands. Not waiting for his other attack to hit, he spun the spear around violently at her, having it come at her at all angles.

"I think you should leave. I'm sure Castro told you to do so." Kuragiri said plainly. Then he yawned and patted the flame off of his leg. "You need more heat in your flames too. It didn't even burn through my cloak that much. Once again, I can mentor you if you'd like." Kuragiri smirked. She seemed like a cocky motherfucker and things like this, doubting her skill, was a sure way to defy her.

"What am I doing. I should finish you off now." Kuragiri lifted his arm into the air and a large ball of fire began to manifest above it. "Maybe I won't get to master you, red head. That s-"

Before Kuragiri could finish speaking, Castro sent both of his feet into his face and drop-kicked him to the side. Castro looked back to the Dragonflame Bandit.

"GOD!" He said loudly. "You don't listen do you? I told you to leave! You're only going to hold me back in this battle, y'know?"

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Nameless Knight Defeated!Rai let out a fierce battlecry and slice through the Knight's head. He found the sweet, soft spot that was the Knight's neck and sliced his head clean off, more or less. The Knight dropped his sword, he was on his knees without a head. As his sword clanged to the ground, it began to turn into ash and eventually disappearing. The death of the Knight was silent, as would be expected from someone who had their head chopped off.

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Status: Magic Fatigued
Mika attempted to grab onto something but just barely was able to grab onto the rafters which just so happen to be within range of Mika's jump.

Mika fell to his knees as the flames vanished from his eyes, hands and lance blade. He was panting heavily and struggling to remain conscious, "Good job... Rai..." He said weakly, it was the aftereffect of using Desolation. Magic Fatigue. For the next few minutes, he'd be nothing but a burden to the group. He finally closed his eyes and collapsed, falling over on his side. He didn't have any physical wounds, just was magic fatigued.

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia did as Rai said and grabbed on to a nearby wall torch, not the sturdiest but it worked.

Nia let out a sigh of relief when the Knight fell, "That was a short battle but my god that was intense." She looked at Mika just as he fell over and rushed to his side, "Mika, no!" She put an ear to his chest and listened for a heartbeat. Yes, there was one. She put her forehead on his chest and sighed, "God, don't scare me like that." She said that quietly to herself, she cared about Mika, mostly because it would devastate Skyla if he died now. She looked over to Rai and Mateo, "He's fine, I think. Might just be Magic Fatigue."

Though now was the question of if they wait for him to wake up and take a well deserved rest or continue on with 185 pounds of unconscious man behind them, "So what do you guys think? Should we wait for him or continue on?" She asked.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

After everyone yelled for Rai to finish the knight off, the samurai returned with saying everyone needed to jump or climb onto something on the count of three, then he started his count down. Mateo didn't know exactly what Rai would do, but he had a pretty good idea. Magic that would affect everything in the vicinity. So, he did as he was told.

"Cora!" He yelled for the cat who began to race at his heels and follow him, not that he really had to tell him. Mateo parkoured up some boxes which was impressive for him. He'd learned to be agile in the desert to avoid the dangers, plus his time as a traveler helped him learn to advance that as well as climbing and scaling things like mountains. Wooden boxes? Piece of cake for him! And Cora had cat reflexes, so he was fine. He leaped and clawed his way up after Mateo. Then, Cora jumped to sit on top of his hiker's backpack since Mateo was pulling himself up to the rafters, following Mika's lead. Though, climbing the boxes had taken too long in the short time frame they had to get away, so Mateo had only been able to grab the rafter with his hand and suspend himself in mid-air when the attack was released. He wished he'd been able to pull himself up onto the rafter, because holding it made his arm feel like jelly.

The cyclone blasted the wooden boxes and destroyed them, and Mateo was really glad he had gotten at least a hold on the rafters. Those boxes could've easily been him and Cora as well. Shredded because of the cyclone. Luckily, he was still intact.

Then, Mateo watched as Rai cut off the guy's freaking head. He found that pretty morbid, even if he had seen some bad stuff on his travels. This may as well have been one of the worst. He'd never expected to see someone's head get sliced off, and he certainly didn't want to see it again much less be on the receiving end of that attack. Plus, the magic that was used for that was absolutely awesome! He had way more respect for Rai now. I mean, he'd grown to have a lot of respect for the guy, but it was more now.

When the attack was done his hand just instinctually let go of the rafter and he face planted into the cold stone ground of the fortress. He just kind of laid there for a second, his arm thoroughly exhausted. When he got up, he was breathing heavily, and a red dot displayed itself on his forehead from the fall.

Then, Mateo heard Nia's call and turned to see Mika collapsed and Rai on the verge of unconsciousness. "Mika! Rai!" He called out and ran over to his exhausted friends. Nia had run over to Mika and started checking his vitals, well he assumed that was what she was doing, so he knew Mika was taken care of. So, he went to Rai and started fussing over him like he was his mother. He started patting him down like prison guards do, but purely to check for injury. While doing so, he asked a bunch of questions. "How are you feeling? Hot? Cold? Any injuries? Please tell me you've noticed your injuries this time. How's your breathing? Do you feel lightheaded?" He snuck a worried glance at Mika and asked Nia. "How's he doing? Wait, you know how to take vitals, right?"

Nia responded with that he was fine and that it was probably just magic fatigue. He was still worried, so he migrated his way over to Mika. "Cora, stay with Rai." The cat leapt off his backpack with an annoyed twitch of his tail. Mateo could tell he had some opinions about Rai's move almost killing them. After all, the cat sat six feet away from the guy while watching him like a hawk.

Mateo put two fingers on his wrist, really an artery, and checked for a pulse. Sure enough, he had one. It wasn't bad either. Meanwhile, Nia asked if they should continue on. Next, he put a hand over his nose and felt air coming out. Ok, he was breathing. Nia must've been right, because he was passed out cold. Still, his healer instincts had made him want to do some professional checks. "Nia's gotta be right." He said. "Magic fatigue. I can't see any other reason why he'd just passed out. I mean, he used that super move and danced his way to victory so it makes sense." No one was going to understand that joke but him, since he called Mika's Desolation move the Fire Dance. "Problem is, I can't heal magic fatigue. That's one of the only things my magic doesn't work with. Its not really an injury per say, but the bodies response to a potentially dangerous situation. Shutting down for preservation, you could say. Unfortunately, sometimes the body just shuts down too much and that's why magic fatigue is dangerous." He realized he was giving out too much information than needed. "Sorry. The point is, if there's no injury then there's no way for me to help. I can't even wake him up. That would be too dangerous even if I could. Which means we'll have to carry him around and this time we don't have the luxury of a cart. And I can't carry him, since I have the weak little nerd arms. Rai's out of commission for now." He looked sternly at Rai. "You have to rest so I'm not letting you." Then he turned to Nia. "And I know you're pretty tired from protecting the both of us. Thanks for that, by the way. But I'm not letting my tired, injured friends push themselves." He blushed when he realized what he said. "Anywho... I think are best option would be to wait for him to recover. I've gotta heal your injuries so we're waiting a bit regardless. Besides, we need our knight in shining armor for the rescue." He dropped that one without much thought. I mean, everyone knew at this point. They knew how Mika felt about Skyla and vice versa. "So, don't be shy, both of you show me your injuries."



Kuragiri's flame still swirled around her blade as the guy asked a puddle who she was. Ok, wow, rude. Sure, she wasn't as well-known as Castro, but she did have a good reputation for being possibly the bandit with the best magic affinity and control. Plus, her inhuman reflexes and bendability gave her name a good reputation, purely because of the fact that it was weird. So weird that she stood out from your run of the mill bandit. She didn't pull off incredible heists and didn't belong to some high-level bandit gang, but come on, she was still incredible! It made her blood boil every time she wasn't recognized in comparison to the big bounties.

She watched in surprise as a middle finger formed from the puddle and while Kuragiri was busy trying to stomp on it, her mind was clicking the pieces together. "So that's where your hiding, Blue Eyes." She murmured to herself.

Then Kuragiri turned towards her and gave just a blatant disrespectful statement. Was he kidding? She wanted to laugh. The murderer was trying to give her tips on proper form. Her whole thing was unproper form. Didn't he realize that? She had an unconventional way of moving and that's why she stuck out. Even if she got mad because he didn't seem to realize her deal, it was still laughable that the serial killer wanted to give her tips. He even offered to mentor her.

He said he had to deal with her first. She spat on the ground in a disrespectful way. There was no way she wanted lessons from the Black Cloaked Creep. Well, at least she had slashed up his staple cloak. That made her feel at least a little bit better. "Yeah, like hell." She responded and got into a stance as she saw a flame in the form of a weapon. An axe. She looked at her golden sword. Could it absorb that much flame? The Dragonflame Bandit really hoped it could. Or at least that she could dodge such an attack.

He threw the axe at her and boy was she lucky it wasn't a real axe. Had he still not figured out her golden sword wasn't like any other weapon? Fire didn't work on her, idiot. At least she had that advantage over him. When the flame axe came close, she shoved her sword in front and it absorbed part of the blow. Enough so that the axe deformed and the remaining flame curved around her like she had shield. That was essentially what her blade acted as sometimes, at least regarding fire. The second attack, however, took some damage on her. Even if she had inhuman reflexes, she wouldn't keep up with the speed of every single attack angle. Still, at least it wasn't a real spear but a spear of fire. That wasn't going to take as much damage on her as a real weapon would. This guy really needed to learn from his opponent. Maybe it was more so the fact that he was focused on Castro that she was able to get away with using her tricks.

The spear swung violently at her but she kicked into action and brought her spear horizontally so that it would protect a larger area in front of her. Each time the spear hit a protected area, some of its fire would be siphoned off and come to her golden blazing sword. She tried to move fast with her blade, but it got some hits in. She felt a section on her upper back, her arm was nipped a little, and her feet were caught off balanced when she was struck on her left foot. She sunk to the ground and narrowly missed another attack. Luckily, she was up to her old tricks. She kicked up with her feet, twisted in mid-air and went down hard with her blade on the spear. As it passed and scratched her cheek, she absorbed the flame with her blade and landed to the ground with a thud. She smiled in a cocky sort of way, spots of blood trickling down her cheek, arm and back. "How's that for proper form?" She asked Kuragiri.

He responded with more comments. She wouldn't leave while this was going on. He'd gotten civilians hurt for no reason other than to cause chaos, at least that's what she thought. That didn't fly with her. She didn't want anyone else to be affected by something like that. She wouldn't let that happen. "You mean Blue Eyes?" She asked as he yawned and patted the flame all nonchalantly. "Sorry to burst your bubble but I don't give a crap about what others tell me to do."

But even with that, he just went on and on and on. She would've just shut him out of her mind had he not insulted her flames. Oh, if he wanted heat, she could give him heat. She had a blade that had absorbed tons of fire and it was just bubbling to be released. The reason it hadn't burned through his cloak was because she was aiming to use the blade itself, not her fire magic. It was more so an added bonus that she got some fire damage in. Once again, he started with the condescending crap about how he could mentor her. She already had a perfectly good mentor that was ten times better than this human would ever be. Yeah, thanks, but no thanks. She was good.

She didn't care about him doubting her skill. It didn't inflict self-doubt on her. No, it just got her pissed. Pissed enough to want to pound him even more. The ball of fire didn't scare her. Fire didn't scare her at all anymore. She'd mastered it, she used it to her advantage. But calling her a red head, ok that's what got her. "I'm not a red head you jackass!" She called as Castro kicked him to the ground. "Its a reddish brown! Get it right you colorblind creep!"

But seeing someone like that just made her laugh. "Now look who needs a few lessons in form! You could learn a few things from me." She said as she cracked her knuckles. Seriously, if that had been her, she would've been up in a flash. She would've been able to twist her body in a way that would've gotten her up right. Her unconventional ways and forms did have pluses despite looking weird.

Castro turned towards her, telling her to leave and that she was just going to hold him back. She groaned. "Listen, I got the heat off you alright. Let's get one thing straight, Blue Eyes. You wouldn't have recovered if it wasn't for me distracting Black Cloaked Creep over there. Don't tell me I'll hinder your abilities. If anything, you're gonna be a hinderance to me. I doubt you have flame resistance. Which means I'm gonna have to spend half of my energy protecting your ass. So don't give me that whole crap, alright?"

She looked at him with a burning intensity, the intensity of the hottest fire. She wasn't backing down from either of these guys. She then turned towards Kuragiri. "Hey, maybe I was wrong. I think I can learn a thing or two from a guy like you. How bout this, I'll shoot some fire at you, and you can tell me if its hot enough. Ready? Here goes teach!" You could tell from her tone she was completely mocking him. Once he was on his feet again, she swung her sword violently. With each turn, flame sent out in spirals with enough power to send anyone flying backwards and the flames had a lot of power backing them, enough to give anyone third degree burns. She was releasing all the flames she had stored in her blade in that one attack and it was significantly more than any attack she had pulled off yet. Even more than the flaming dragon. She sent it straight in his direction and hopefully he was disoriented enough from Castro to not expect it. Hopefully it would hit.

She looked smug like she had just proved herself. Hopefully that would get the both of them to shut up and start taking her seriously.

 

[Kumii]

Skyla the Dark FlashLocation: Somewhere within the Iron Fortress
Interactions: None
Current Weather: Misty
Bare footed footsteps could be heard echoing within the Fortress walls. They sounded panicked, like they were running away from someone or something. The feet belonged to a slender figure, they ducked into an opened room which turned out to be the Armory. They panted heavily with their head down. They had raven black hair, they looked up to look around and their facial features made them out to be Skyla.

She had changed, her raven black hair was faded into purple at the tips now. She was half naked and looked for clothes, luckily she was in the armory and quickly found some ragged shirts and pants. She quickly put them on and just before she was about run back out, she saw a familiar blade... her great sword. She grabbed it and slung it across her back, "Where are you Mika... Rai... Mateo... Nia...?" She shook her head and slapped her cheeks a bit, "They're here, they have to be. Pull yourself together, Skyla, you escaped from the Mad Doctor... find them before he finds you. You can't become his Queen..." She said to herself before running back out the door and turning right and heading that way.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Tired and Confused

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Iron Fortress

The knight was defeated. It may have taken a lot more effort then Rai wanted but, it was dead. Rai felt the Knight disappear from beneath him and turn into ashes, just like the Pegasus did. Seems like he'd be seeing that a lot. There had to be more foes ahead. It couldn't possibly be this easy. So, Rai intended to stay prepared.

Rai lay on the bare, shredded floor panting heavily. He didn't have magic fatigue, but he was exhausted, which wasn't close to as painful as magic fatigue. He was exhausted for physicl reasons, such as the fact that he had swung his hands at full speed. Due to being so tired, Rai closed his eyes and began to rest himself.

"Give me a bit guys, I'm tired." Rai told his comrades.

Mateo ran over to Rai and began to check on him, asking a plethora of questions. Rai smiled. He was such a caring kid.

"How are you feeling? Hot? Cold? Any injuries? Please tell me you've noticed your injuries this time. How's your breathing? Do you feel lightheaded?

"Uh. I'm feeling alright, I feel hot, like, I'm sweating in places I'd rather not tell you about. Yes, I've noticed my injuries. Wait, this time? Was there a time where I didn't? Never mind right now, I feel some pain in my arms, that's really all. My breathing is a little stuttered right now, I'm out of breath. And no, I dont feel lightheaded." Rai said, answering all his questions, his eyes still closed.

Rai decided to open his eyes for response, but Mateo wasn't there. Instead, a calm eyed cat was there, looking into his eyes. Rai and the cat held eye contact for a while -- At least 32.5 seconds -- and didn't make a sound. That was until Rai said,

"When the hell was there a cat in here?"

Rai and the cat stared at each other further more. Not. A. Movement.

"Alright, this is getting too weird."

Rai slowly sat up and looked towards Mateo and Nia.

"Yo, who just had a random cat here?"


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Apologetic then Prepared to Fight.

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

Castro was impressed by the Dragonflame bandit response. He had to admit, she was right. He'd be dead if it wasn't for her.

I guess you're right." Castro said. "Sorry for coming at you like that, I forgot that you're a bandit, not a civilian. Just wanted to make sure no one got killed by this guy."

Without responding to him, the girl turns her attention to Kuragiri, who was still recovering from Castro's attack.

"Damn, cheap shot, dude." Kuragiri said, rubbing his face. "But that barely even did damag-"

Suddenly, Kuragiri was engulfed in spirals of flames. He was blown into the air for a second and then came crashing onto the ground, more of his cloak burnt off. Kuragiri's skin and hair were unfazed though. He forced himself onto his knees and blinked for a bit, trying to bring himself back mentally from that attack. He didn't see that coming.

"I should tell you now, you should take his advice and put a bit more heat into those flames. He's a fire user and he somehow learned how to develop an, uhm, resistance to some high temperatures." Castro explained to the Dragonflame Bandit. "I mean, if you keep cutting him up with that sick ass sword of yours, he's bound to go down soon. Just remember two things, this guy can't feel flames or pain. A genetic deletion. He doesn't have the nerves that cause him to feel it."

Castro finally looked up at the girl's face and found himself blushing a bit. He didn't really pay attention to her before due to having low respect but, seeing now, he realized she was really pretty. He felt his ears burning.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, Castro. He thought to himself, trying to snap out of it. Calm down, you don't even know her.

"Anyways, let's take this guy down, you make the first move, er, what's your name? I'm Castro, Castro Smith. The Blue-Eyed Bandit."

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Status: Recovering
About 15 minutes later...Mika lay motionless for a bit and after about 10 or 15 minutes had passed, he stirred awake. He groaned softly and sat up, holding his head, "I used Desolation, didn't I?" That question was more for himself but it was loud that everyone else could hear it. He leaned over and grabbed his lance, "Hey, what happened?" His memory was a bit foggy right now, "I feel like I just got hit by a truck then zapped lightning. Maybe both at the same time. I don't know."

Mika slung his lance on his back as he got up, staggering a bit before regaining his balance, "Forget it, come on, we have to go." He began walking away but didn't get far before he had to lean on the wall, holding his head, "Skyla's waiting for me." He said quietly. Even after everything he went through, Skyla was still his number 1 priority.

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: Fortress Throne Room
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia looked at Mateo when he said to show him their injuries, "What- Who, me? I'm fine, I promise." Nia smiled, who kne whether it was genuine or not though. It wasn't long until Rai said a few things, like mentioning the cat, "Yeah, you know I'm wondering the same thing. That can't just be a normal cat."

I mean why would a normal cat come to Nia's aid? Come to think it, it didn't really move until Mateo commanded it, "Thats... that's your cat isn't it, Mateo?" Nia thought for a moment, "Hey, wait, wasn't that cat with you 6 months ago? At the tournament? I could've swore I occasionally heard you talking to someone or something... and you're always smacking your satchel." This was Nia's perception at its fullest, she began to put pieces together, "You're not... hiding something from us... are you?" She inquired.

About 15 minutes later...Nia heard Mika stirring, "Hey, the man of hour is awake-" Then Mika got up, "Hey, Mika, what are you-" He stumbled to the wall and Nia got up, "Mika, wait, take it slow!" She said.

Skyla the Dark FlashLocation: Somewhere within the Iron Fortress
Interactions: None
Current Weather: Misty
Skyla swung her sword upwards, jumping back then disappearing in a flash and reappearing in front of her opponent and swinging her sword upwards at her assailant, killing him, "Gods, just how many are there?" She looked around, swinging her sword onto her back. She was still bare foot.

Skyla continued down the path she chose, 'He's here... they're here... they have to be... they have to be...' she thought as she walked...

(Just do a normal post but include the 15 minute time skip)

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Rai answered every single one of his questions. He was hot and sweaty in a lot of places. Likely a fever. It could be from overworking himself, but those were also obvious signs of a fever. He'd have to check. Short term memory loss. He didn't remember when they had all rejoined and he walked up with a big welt and other injuries. Maybe Mateo remembered that because he was the healer, and it was medical stuff but still. He thought it was a little funny. But short term could be because of fatigue. Normal fatigue, not magic fatigue. Wait, did magic fatigue cause short term memory loss? He really wasn't sure on that.

He felt pain in his arms, but Mateo contributed that to wielding a katana and fighting. He'd never held a katana, so that was mostly a guess there. Rai said he wasn't feeling lightheaded. Ok, good. But what worried him most of all was his breathing. He said his breathing was a little stuttered. That definitely worried him. All of that seemed like generic after fighting worries, but he still wanted to keep an eye on his breathing to make sure everything was alright. It was the healer in him getting worried.

He looked back over to Nia when she said she was fine. He didn't look convinced. He looked her up and down like he was sizing her up, but he was really checking for injuries. Ok, there were no physical injuries that he could see. She looked good but he still didn't look convinced. That stutter at the start made her seem guilty. "Fine, but you're getting an earful if I find out later you hid your injuries from me." He'd leave her alone for now because he didn't see anything, and he wasn't going to push. He couldn't do much, but he took what he could do for the group very seriously. "Just rest for now, though."

Then, Rai said something really unexpected. He asked about Cora. Great. Now he had to deal with that. To be fair, it wasn't his fault. Cora was the one who slipped out of his satchel and stayed out, so he couldn't blame him for that. That was all on Cora. His sassy little Bakeneko companion couldn't come crying to him.

Then Nia joined in, asking if the cat was his. Ok, he wasn't his as in a pet he owned, but his traveling partner. So, she was kind of right. Yes, the cat that had appeared a couple of times before was with him. But what was worse was she was starting to put it together. She even pieced together stuff from six months ago at the tournament. Man, she was perceptive. He'd have to be careful around her and not let his other secrets slip. What he was searching for, the legend, and what was happening to him. He couldn't let any of that slip.

He sighed, feeling guilty when Nia asked if he was hiding something from them. Yeah, a lot of stuff that no one could really understand but him. Even if Cora knew, he still felt alone sometimes. Even if someone knew and excepted him, no one around him could understand the terror of it all. It sucked having this weight on him. But right now, he got to hide behind the smaller secret and fib a little about Cora. The heat wasn't on him. He was fine.

"Yeah, Nia's right, I have been hiding something. That cat is with me. His name's Cora and he was at the tournament with me six months ago. He's harmless as long as you don't insult his intelligence or touch him. You could say, he's my traveling buddy. We keep each other company on the road. I put him in my satchel with my other stuff and then he started messing up my maps, so I got the bigger bag." He patted his satchel. "This things been with me for a long while, but right now it functions as a Cora carrier. I hide him in it because he gets us in a lot of trouble, that's all. Sorry I didn't tell you guys."

Cora stared at him like he was crazy but Mateo returned the gaze with a look that basically said, 'Well its better than telling them the full truth.' Its not like he was lying too, so he didn't feel as guilty. He was just telling them select tidbits and skirting around the truth. None of it was a lie, so maybe that's why he was good at this. Unlike when he tried to lie to Mika and Skyla about the spirit scent. Wow, nostalgia really just hit him like a train there.

He shifted over to Rai and started healing any injuries he could. If there were any, he was going to try. That was the only use he really had in the group so he did want to help. Cora shifted to stay near Mateo, showing he didn't really trust the other two. Even without, you could tell by his gaze that he wasn't fond of them. "And yes I talk to him. Its not weird or anything. He's really smart, a brat sometimes, but really smart. Trust me, he understands everything that's going on right now and knows what we're saying. He's got some opinions too." He chuckled to himself, knowing the sharp tongue Cora has. "I was talking to him at the tournament because he's my traveling buddy. I need to consult him with what happens to us so we can make decisions together. We're buddies after all, so its only right he has a say in things too."

"Anyways." He said trying to switch the subject. "I think it's good that we're waiting for Mika because you two can rest. We can just relax and take a breather for a minute before continuing on to rescue Skyla." He had no clue if what he said was convincing enough for the two but he hoped they wouldn't start pressing him on his secrets.

Fifteen minutes later...
In that interval of time, Mateo had run all over the place checking up on Mika, Rai, and Nia. Mika for the most part seemed ok. Just fighting off magic fatigue which was something Mateo didn't consider wise. That's how a lot of people ended up dying from it, defying a natural process the body was doing to save one's life. Stubborn people fought the process and he guessed Mika was that type of person...

When he heard Mika groan and sit up, he turned towards him. "Mika!" He exclaimed, "How are you feeling?" He asked some kind of question and Mateo was kind of confused. "Desolation? Don't know about that but that Fire Dance was really pretty. Seriously, you should consider becoming a fire dancer. I'm sure everyone back home would love you." He chuckled at the joke. Mateo was just trying to keep things lighthearted.

Mika remarked a bunch of stuff about how he was feeling. The gist of it was that he was feeling pretty horrible. "Well, that's what happens when someone fights recklessly. Mika." His tone was stern, and he looked at him like he was personally offended by his actions. Once again, he sounded like a mother scolding her child. Mostly a joke, but he did think they were all too reckless. They were all just too much for him to keep up with.

Ok, Mateo was done with the jokes. Now he was seriously worried. Mika had gotten up and slung his lance over his shoulder, but he hadn't gotten far before having to lean on a wall. He'd gotten up to run to him and heard the comment about Skyla. He shifted his weight so that Mika would lean on him. Though it was a heavy burden considering Mika was a good couple years ahead of him in age, with him still being a teen. At least being a tall sixteen-year-old helped in this instance. But Mika was still taller than him given that he was an adult. And Mateo was lacking in the strength department. Ok, he was a tall, weak sixteen-year-old but he took what he could get. He was still trying to help his friend. But man was he lacking compared to the rest of the group.

"Yeah, Skyla is but she'd want you to rest first. Mika you just got off of magic fatigue. I think magic fatigue? Anyways, your body needs time to recuperate. Your not invincible even if you want to be. Let us take the lead from here. Once your feeling better, you can play the big strong knight in shining armor again. But you need time. You helped me, now let me help you." His words were stern, but there was also a sense of maturity behind them. He'd seen a lot on his travels. He'd had to grow and mature faster than someone should have to. He was pretty mature for his age, even if he acted a little goofy sometimes.



The Dragonflame Bandit let out a laugh as Kuragiri was sent spiraling into the air because of her flame vortex. There'd been a lot of flames backing that attack, so of course it had the power to send him flying in the air. Still, it was really funny to her to see someone as horrible as him get hit with two attacks in a row and get flung around a lot. It made her feel better from his personal attacks of her skill.

Her attention switched back to Castro as he said some stuff. He'd apologized before, so she guessed she'd hear him out. Before he'd said sorry for talking to her like a civilian. Cool, at least someone knew of her. She wasn't completely lost in the whirlwind of bounties, because at least Blue Eyes could tell she was a bandit. Maybe he'd even seen her wanted posters around. It was a long shot, but it still felt good that he was recognizing that she wasn't like that little kid. She wasn't helpless or terrible at fighting like he'd already thought. Besides that, he seemed to have a similar way of thinking. Sure they stole from people, but they both didn't want to kill civilians unlike Black Cloaked Creep. She felt better about this one. He was decent enough, she guessed.

When Castro talked about taking his advice and upping the power on her flames, she was ready to start yelling at him. She almost did but held herself back when he elaborated. Kuragiri was a fire user, obviously, but he had a resistance to flames like she did. Seriously? None of the fire users she had ever encountered had had that ability. Which meant she could just use her sword to store up fire taken from fire users and send it right back at them. But now, her ace in the hole was basically useless against this guy. She briefly wondered if he'd trained the same way she had. No way was that possible! Her mentor had taken in a scrappy street kid because she wasn't a threat to him and found her hiding from the authorities amusing. They'd bonded, and eventually he'd decided to train her. No way one of his kind would ever wanna train a mortal such as him. This guy was a psychopathic killer! They already liked to stay away from mortals, so there was no way he would've gotten the same training she had. Good. That way he was nothing like her.

Castro got some brownie points for the sick ass sword comment, and it actually got her to crack a smile at him. But what was even worse news, no nerves. It made her mood drop a bit to exasperation. Was this dude kidding? How could someone have no nerves? Well, it was still good to know. Now she wouldn't waste her time on magic. She could focus on fancy foot play, dodging, and stabbing with her sword. At least she had the advantage of information. That wasn't really her style, and sounded dorky to her, but it was true.

The Dragonflame Bandit had put her attention to Castro, so she noticed his red tinged skin. He was lucky that she wasn't about to put those pieces together in the middle of a battle. She was more focused on fighting and taking care of this jerk than Castro's blushing. Still, her immediate thought was that he was feeling the heat from the raging flames.

Then, he did something a bit unexpected. He introduced himself and asked her name. Castro Smith. The Blue-Eyed Bandit. The nickname made sense for someone with such striking blue eyes. "The Dragonflame Bandit." That was her immediate response. She wasn't used to giving her name out to people anymore. Then she realized he would prefer her actual name and not her bandit nickname. She scratched the back of her head in kind of an awkward way that didn't seem usual for the cocky person she presented herself as. "But people call me Rori. Rori Lang." There was a bit of awkward silence where you could tell she wasn't used to this. Then she looked towards Kuragiri. "Alright, let's take down the Black Cloaked Creep, Blue Eyes. Er, I mean, Castro." She blushed out of embarrassment and then sped off towards her target saying, "I think you should watch his flames; you look red from the heat."

She wasn't frightened by this guy. Rori Lang had known what fear felt like as a child, but now she felt fearless. Well, in certain situations. And this was certain situations. Castro had told her everything she needed to win. Sure having no nerves, feeling no pain, it seemed like a blessing. But it was actually a curse. He wouldn't known when his body was at its limit. He wouldn't feel the pain of a weapon sinking into his skin. He wouldn't realize it was time to flee until after he was down. That worked towards her...their...advantage.

She was gonna work on speeding in and getting a couple hits in. Those fire things actually did some damage despite being made of flame. She guessed it was because they were fashioned into a point like blades of weapons. Still, as long as they could both continuously get hits in, he shouldn't be able to make any of those and get his hits in. And if any flew at them, she could use her sword to absorb it or redirect it to circle around her blade. They had the advantage here.

Once Kuragiri was standing, she went in for her attack. She learned from her opponent and, though she hated it, gripped her sword with both hands. Then she went in for two attacks. Her first was an arch swipe aimed at his stomach. She put a lot of force into the swing from having both hands on the hilt but didn't let it hinder her ability to move and twist her body. Once she had pulled off the swipe, she twisted and curved around his body to get a smaller swipe at his side to a bit of his back. The second was mostly her just buying Castro time to consider what he was going to do for an attack and to set it in motion when Rori jumped backwards. It honestly felt odd having to account for another teammate.

She jumped backwards and hopefully out of close range. Then she looked for Castro, hoping he'd come in to keep their shared enemy at bay.

 

[Kumii]

Skyla the Dark FlashLocation: Somewhere within the Iron Fortress
Interactions: None
Current Weather: Misty
Skyla was walking and encountered another open room, it was empty except for the corpse of an armored samurai. This one unique armor, the traditional looking samurai attire minus the shoulder pads. The right sleeve was cut-off and instead had a single full length armored arm sleeves, she went to go put it on and, surprisingly, it fit. Well mostly fit, "Ugh, the chest area is a bit..." she tugged on the chest of the armor, "...tight..." she paused and glanced at her chest, "Or maybe I just have big boobs." She shrugged, she'll have to get it adjusted the next time they're in Ironshire. For now, she had armor and was better protected, "Either way, I feel much better having actual armor rather then rags."

Skyla turned around as she heard something walk up on her. A quick reveal showed that it was the Mad Doctor, "Here you are, my love." Skyla readied her sword.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Alert

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Turns out, that cat belonged to Mateo. He had been in that satchel of his all along, even at the tournament. Mateo referred to the cat as "Cora" and that Cora was his "traveling buddy". Mateo apologized for hiding him, which wasn't really necessary because Rai didn't really care. It's just a cat.

Mateo came over to Rai and began to heal any injuries he could find. At least, he tried. Rai knew he didn't have any serious injuries but he decided not to tell Mateo. After all, there could actually be injuries but, he can't feel them due to adrenaline. While healing Rai, Mateo spoke about how he talks to Cora and that the cat was...smart? How could a cat have high intellect?

"Listen, Mateo." Rai started. "You really don't need to apologize. If you had a pet, you could just said that. No one would've judged you. But, for now, I'm gonna take your advice," Rai yawned. "...and rest."


15 minutes later...

For a while, Mateo ran around checking on everyone like a worried mother. But he didn't seem like he could help it. Rai had never seen him contribute to offense or even defense. He was just the healer for now.

Rai had known many doctors and healers in his life, but each of them could at least fight or defend themselves and their comrades. Mateo was different. Maybe it was because he was still young but, he wasn't really useful in a fight. Why did he even bother joining the tournament? He was outclassed in many ways by many different fighters. Rai didn't get to see him fight but if he did, he probably would've seen Mateo get overwhelmed by someone else's pure power. He already constantly got impressed with the amazing feats and attacks Rai and Mika performed, but if those attacks were targeted at Mateo, would he even be able to protect himself or even fight back?

Rai sighed. He contemplated teaching Mateo a few moves to protect himself with. In the rare scenario that he was the only person left standing in a fight, meaning Rai, Mika, and Nia were either too injured to function or dead, he needed to be able to hold back who or whatever their opponent is. But all that could wait right now because Mika just woke up.

The first thing Mika mentioned when he woke up was Desolation. That must've been the name of the glowing eyes thing he did. He then dismissed the question and told everyone it was time to go. Rai stood up and picked up his blade then sheathed it.

"You heard the man, let's move. Skyla isn't going to come to us." Rai said."We have to go to her."

Mateo suggested that Mika should rest though. He said that because he has just come back from Magic fatigue, at least he thought it was that, his body needs time to recover. Rau couldn't say he was wrong, Mika really shouldn't be exerting himself like that.

"Ah, you're right." Rai said with a smile. "I keep forgetting that you're the one with the best medical training here."


Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Panic

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

The Dragonflame Bandit's real name was Rori. Rori Lang. Castro was surprised that he was actually able to get her to tell him her real name. She did say her criminal name at first but, he expected her to leave it at that.

"Rori Lang. That's a nice name." Castro said.

Without a thank you or returning the compliment, Rori charged at Kuragiri and left Castro a comment saying he looked red and that he should try to avoid his flames. She definitely noticed his blushing, which had made Castro blush even more. He tried to quickly dismiss the embarrassment though and watched to see what Rori would do.

Rori's attacks seemed to be based off of what Kuragiri had told her she should do. She grabbed her sword with two hands this time and swung with not only her hands, but she twisted feet and hips. She swung the blade at Kuragiri's stomach and surprisingly, the attack connected. Kuragiri didn't feel it but, he could still tell that Rori attacked him. Kuragiri reached out to grab her but failed. Rori curved around and sliced him on the back. She was agile and strong, Kuragiri couldn't keep up right now but it was best to beat him before he actually began trying.

Once she finished that combo, Rori jumped back and looked at Castro, signaling for him to attack. Castro charged forward at a dazed Kuragiri and manifested a large Warhammer made of ice in the process. Once Kuragiri was in his range, he leapt into the air and swung the hammer down at Kuragiri, planning on hitting him on the top of the head. But something unexpected happened. A large surge of heat emanated from Kuragiri and melted the hammer before it could make contact. Castro was blown back a bit from the heat and stumbled a few feet away from Kuragiri. He looked desperate now.

"Shit. Can't even give me the satisfaction of a one on one, huh?" Kuragiri said. "Guess I'll have to get seri-" Kuragiri stumbled for a second. Struggling to stay standing. "Shit..what the hell? Why can't I stand up straight?" Kuragiri looked at his body. He was covered in cuts and injuries. "Shit, I've lost too much blood."

(just gonna leave it here because I don't know what to do -- try not to kill him, I plan to use him later )

Code by Serobliss

 

[Kumii]

Mika the Flaming SpearLocation: "The Iron Bridge"
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Status: Recovered
Mika stood steadfast despite everyone else telling him not to push himself, going so far as to brush Mateo off him, "I'm fine." He shook his head to snap himself out of his fatigue. He stood against the light of the doorway in front of him and looked back at everyone, "We've wasted enough time as it is. We don't know if Skyla is even still the same person anymore but I have to try and find her regardless. I owe her that much." With that, Mik turned and started to leave "I'm not budging on that. I can promise you that."

The doorway he took lead out to a long bridge with an open roof that gave a another wonderful view of the majesty of the Iron Fortress. It looked like a castle and not an actual Fortress. The bridge itself was long and rather wide as well, its walls were about a foot or two taller then ayour average male and it had bumps at 50 foot intervals, perfect hiding places...

Nia of the Storming FistLocation: "The Iron Bridge"
Interactions: AlphaBlueWolf SharkBark
Current Weather: Misty
Nia agreed with Mateo about everything he said. Mika didn't exactly listen, instead was steadfast. It was an admirable trait and one of things Nia adored about Mika. He made a small speech silhouetted against the light. Cool. Nia got up, "Wait, we're leaving already?" She briefly looked back at Rai and Mateo then caught up with Mika as they entered onto what Nia would go on to call 'The Iron Bridge'. It had perfectly placed hiding places. Fun. She had an inkling they'd come in handy so she memorized where they were.

 

[AlphaBlueWolf]

Mateo was glad that the other two had rested before, but Mika wasn't having it. He wouldn't rest, even when he just got out of magic fatigue. Rai thought he was right, purely on the basis that he had the most medical expertise than any one of their group. But Mika was way too stubborn, pushing ahead like he was fine. Mateo tightened his fists. He hated it when patients refused to be treated or to rest. He understood what Mika was getting at, but the guy needed to take care of himself. Before you know it, he'd pass out again. Maybe it was because of his determination to save Skyla, or maybe it was because Mateo was still a teen and didn't hold much respect among the group with his limited skills. Whatever it was, it made him feel helpless. The one thing he had going for him, and there was a refusal to let him work. He wasn't talking about stopping, just resting a bit. The three of them could take the lead and figure out where they were going while Mika just took a stop from his worrying. But even that he didn't seem to go for.

Mika wasn't budging on it and turned to leave. For some reason, Mateo was way more angry than he would've been with just a normal patient. Maybe because he knew Mika. He was a friend who knew him, knew he was the real deal when it came to healing, and still refused his advice. No one was understanding him right now, and it kind of made him relive that well known loneliness.

Rai and Nia hadn't understood him before with Cora. He couldn't blame them, considering he hadn't gave them the full story. A cat with intelligence? Yeah, he really wouldn't believe that or understand it either if he were them. Rai called Cora his pet, and that had definitely angered Cora with his fur bristling, but its not like he knew that Cora was a Bakeneko. A spirit. He'd have a much different approach to the situation if he did know that fact. Maybe it was better that way. It still didn't change the fact that no one seemed to really hear him. And if they did, they didn't understand. He wanted to be taken seriously. Maybe that was a childish way of thinking, especially with his annoyance and anger towards Mika, but he was still sixteen. He was going to have some childish thinking now and again.

Even if Nia secretly agreed with Mateo, to him she seemed pretty indifferent about the situation. She said something about them leaving already and then followed behind Mika with a glance at him and Rai. Mateo's cheeks were pink. No one was listening, not even Nia. Was he... was he frustrated? That must be what it was. Still, he usually kept himself calm when it came to patients. So why was he just so upset about Mika?

Mateo started following since there was nothing else to do. Rai and him were a little ways away from Nia and Mika, with Cora padding along at Mateo's side and sending Rai angry looks for the pet comment, not that he meant anything derogatory by it. Mateo looked up at Rai. They all respected the samurai and his word held a lot of weight. They all knew he was good in a fight and he'd been the one to take down the Nameless Knight with that impressive magic beheading trick. That had won him brownies points with all of them, that he was sure about. Maybe Mika would be more inclined to listen to Rai than some kid...

He tugged at Rai's haori to get his attention, a very childlike thing of him to do. "Hey, Rai? Could you try talking to Mika about getting some rest? Like.. letting us take the lead. He'll probably listen to you more than he will me." He whispered to Rai, not wanting Mika or even Nia to overhear.

They walked out onto the bridge, and he could see a good view of the fortress that reminded him more of a castle in fairy tales. Though, he guessed those castles weren't as dangerous as this one. The walls around them were pretty tall, and despite his taller height he couldn't see past them. If he were an adult like the others then maybe he would've had a better view, but alas. Just another way he lagged behind in the group.

Fifty feet separated between different bumps of space. The architecture was pretty interesting. Cora climbed up to one of the bumps and pawed at it, which Mateo didn't know what he was trying to accomplish. Maybe he was just in awe at seeing a fortress. Despite Cora being a smartass brat at times, he really didn't know a lot from having a sheltered upbringing as a noble spirit. His cat companion's explorations were the only thing that'd help him remember the bumps that would be good for hiding.



What Castro did seemed interesting to Rori as she observed his moves. He'd made himself into a puddle before. Water magic. Now he'd made an ice Warhammer. These two really liked making weapons out of magic. Anyways, that signaled that he had ice magic. Nice to know in case she ever ended up in a fight with Castro. Half of his magic would be strong against her, and the other half would be weak. Same with Kuragiri. She sighed, seeing what would come next before it actually did. Kuragiri and her were in the same place when it came to magic. She would've done the exact same thing had it been her and not Kuragiri standing there for the attack.

Before Castro could get the ice Warhammer to connect with Kuragiri's body, a wave of heat was sent and melted the weapon. It also sent Castro back. Idiot. Rori thought. What an idiot. It was ice! Flame and heat beat it! She knew that because of her own magic, but still. It seemed pretty obvious to her.

"Idiot, I told you to watch out for his flames!" She yelled towards Castro. They weren't actually flames that had hit him, but a wave of heat. Whatever. Same difference.

Kuragiri was about to attack Castro again. Rori readied her blade, putting both hands on the hilt and thinking of a good point to strike before he could get to Castro. Before she even needed to, Kuragiri was stumbling back. Blood dripped from him out of a multitude of cuts and scratches. Most of which Rori thought were her attacks. She so got bragging rights when this jerk was down.

Thoughts aside, this actually gave her a perfect opening. Kuragiri was mostly down. Just one final blow should do it. Well, hopefully. And it looks like it was up to her, since Castro really wasn't much help. Who was the weak one now, Blue Eyes? Anyways, Rori didn't fancy herself to be a murderer. Despite this creep killing a bunch of girls, she wouldn't kill him. No, death was too sweet a punishment. She wouldn't take mercy. She'd rather him rot in the dingiest cell there was.

Rori charged Kuragiri with impressive speed for a human. With both hands on her hilt, she brought her sword up. But she didn't slash. Instead, she brought the but of the sword down onto Kuragiri's neck with a hard hit. Her intention was to knock the guy out so he couldn't do anymore damage. Then maybe she'd tip off the authorities of his whereabouts. She was vulnerable just standing there, but she waited for him to go down. She had to make sure before doing anything else.

 

[Kumii]

Skyla the Dark FlashLocation: Somewhere within the Iron Fortress
Interactions: None
Current Weather: Misty
Skyla growled, "Don't call me that. I'll never marry you!" She exclaimed.

The Mad Doctor took out a tome, a book with a Phoenix crest on it and opened it. When he did, phoenix wings sprouted from the cover, "One way or another, you WILL bow to me, Skyla." The book then began pouring fire energy into the Doctor as he he readied a fireball to hurl at Skyla.

Skyla did an upward slash, her sword was covered in darkness and, at the climax of the slash, a wave of dark energy shot out from the blade. It collided with the fireball and created a puff of smoke that Skyla used to close the distance and perform a diagonal slash at the Doctor that knocked him back a bit.

He groaned in pain and held his chest, where the blade had hit him, "I will send my Dragon after you... and your pathetic boyfriend too." He said before vanishing in a puff of darkness, "He's not my boyfriend!" She yelled out to him, knowing he couldn't hear her, "...yet..." She put the sword on her back and ran off toward the large bridge.

 

[SharkBark]

Mood: Calm

Rai Ikari

Thunderous Hunter

Bridge to Iron Fortress

Alright, guess Mika's not going to rest. Or is he? It was all confusing at this point. Mateo was trying to convince Mika to rest after getting off of magic fatigue, but Mika was too blinded by his own goal to rescue Skyla. Rai understood that he loved Skyla, but he still needed to think about everyone else. Rai didn't want to butt in but he might have too soon, Mika was moving forwards while not completely being physically ready for battle, and Mateo seemed a bit frustrated at Mika, most likely because he cares a lot for him. But before Rai could make a decision to get involved, Mika turned around and walked out of a doorway. God, this was going to be annoying.

The doorway Mika took lead the group to a wide bridge that had large walls bordering it. It looked like something out of fantasy books Rai read when he was younger, the only difference is that in the books there wasn't so much mist. Rai was getting annoyed by that. Rai followed behind Mika but didn't come too close. He lingered behind with Mateo.

"Hey, Rai? Could you try talking to Mika about getting some rest?" Mateo suddenly said while tugging on his haori. "Like..letting us take the lead. He'll probably listen to you more than he will me."

"Uh...I don't know why you think he'd listen to me..." Rai started. "..he can sort of be a dick--I mean jerk sometimes when he's focused on something. But I'll still try for you, Mateo."

Rai patted Mateo on his head and approached Mika. As he was making his way there, everything felt like they were in slow motion. It was like he was approaching a final boss. Which was weird, because Rai didn't fear Mika, guess he just had a different type of respect for him. Once Rai finally got to him, things were fast paced again, and he placed his hand on Mika's shoulder.

"Yo, Mika, can I talk to you for a moment?" Rai said. And without letting Mika answer, he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and made him walk faster, creating some distance between the two of them and the others. "Listen, I know that you're fixed on finding Skyla but, Mateo's right. You need to think about yourself too." Rai glanced back at Mateo and then returned his attention back to Mika.

"Mika, Mateo cares a lot about you, man. He looks up to you too. It's like you're the older brother he never had. So of course, he's going to be hell bent on making sure that you're fine after your magic fatigue. He could choose any other person to look up to, there are so many other people out here. Cyan, Igor the Giant Hunter, Skadi the Poison hunter, and even more. Hell, he doesn't even look up to me and barely starts conversations with me like he does with you, and I'm wayyy cooler than you. I mean, did you see my cyclone?"

"But no," Rai presses his finger against Mika's chest. "..he looks up to you. Be a good role model. You don't want him to pick up the dumbass things you do. And you can't forget that he actually knows what he's doing. He is a healer after all. So please, Mika, for the sake of yourself, Mateo's self esteem, and my patience, get some rest. Let us take over the lead for now, alright?"
Kumii AlphaBlueWolf

Code by Serobliss

Mood: Panic

Castro Smith

Blue-Eyed Bandit

Unknown, Ironshire

"Idiot, I told you to watch out for his flames!"

Castro sighed. Still scolding him mid battle, huh? The least Rori could do is ask him if he's okay. But, some traits can't be changed in a matter of seconds, so that'll just have to be ignored for now.

Kuragiri was hurt. Badly. Blood was dripping from most of his body and he had lost the ability to move. This is it. It's over for him now. Castro wanted the last blow but Rori charged forward at Kuragiri with both hands on the handle of her blade. She was going to end him with a final slash. But unexpectedly, she didn't cut him. Instead, she slammed the hilt of her sword hard onto the back of his neck. That was enough to knock him out cold.

"Ah, shit." Kuragiri sputtered out slowly. "I should've listened to Heath." And then, he fell unconscious.

"Uh, thanks?" Castro said. He wanted to ask why she didn't kill him, but he needed to go. Now. After all this, authorities were bound to be coming to them after this. Castro picked up his sword and then ran over to Kuragiri's unconscious body.

"Hey, as a way of repaying you for helping me out here, you can hide out at my place, if you'd like of course." Castro quickly offered as he picked up Kuragiri. "You might be wondering why I'm just taking him instead of leaving him with the guards but, don't worry about it right now, alright? If you wanna get to my place follow me!"

Castro turned to the left and darted into the thin alley leading back to his place. It was up to Rori on whether or not she wanted to come hide with him or not. He didn't know even if he wanted her too. It all just came out. But no turning back now, eh?

Code by Serobliss