[Round 4] Omi vs. Vash

Premise: With half of the participants remaining, GTB is now halfway through with a few more rounds until its conclusion. Through a series of three rounds, fighters have proved themselves of their prowess and ambition to win thus far, and move one step closer to their destination: the championship. However, as the numbers dwindle down, the competition increases, as the best are narrowed down and each comes with an equal amount of skill. It is going to take experience, intelligence, and even luck at this point to determine who goes on and who goes packing home.

Midus Sonners has also decided to increase the presentation of the fighting arenas that the fighters are going to be taking place in for the duration of the tournament. While keeping with the Colosseum theme, Midus will be including variations of themes to keep things interesting and not as boring as a plain sandy ground with some walls and people watching you. That is why he has sent all the fighters to another venue for their fights. This time, with all fighters on board a plane, the crew flew themselves to the southern coast, a place caused Myamu Beach. Normally a vacation resort, the entire span of the beach has been reserved for the entirety of round four. People will be scattered around each fighting site to watch the fighters go at it in a nightly beach arena. While to them it seems like entertainment, to the fighters this is life or death.

Description: The sun has set, bringing about the darkness of the night over the entirety of the beach. Instead of artificial lighting being used, natural fire has instead become its substitute, bringing about a constant changing hue of orange overlaying the beach and its occupants. The beach spans for a good amount of distance, so each fight will take places in its own "section" which will make it seem separate from the other far away fights.

Each fight takes place in a ring of fire, which is basically a large circle of the sandy beach. Outside this fire, spectators watch, either standing or sitting in chairs, laughing and talking as they enjoy their drinks, food, and conversation. While this may be a competitive tournament, this scene of "entertainment" has placed increasing obligations on the fighters themselves to keep the audience entertained. Unlike the normal arena, the people are closer than before and their boos, cheers, and comments can be heard a lot clearer and louder. This means the fighters will have the psychological element added to the fight, much like the closely watched fights such as wrestling and boxing. Expect a noisy atmosphere.

Field Measurements: The ring of fire has a diameter of 45 yards, which is 135 ft. For those who need a comparison, just look at a football field and see the distance from one touchdown line to the 45 yard line. On the boundary of this circle is a series of lit fires on wood, which are as tall as only one to two feet. Spectators are spaced twenty feet away from this boundary in order to avoid possible injury from the fight.

Ten Count Boundary: Going outside the ring of fire will result in the starting of the ten count. The flying rule remains intact.

Added Penalty: Harming spectators is a no-no. Any intentional action against them that ends up hurting even one will result in a DQ. This can be either direct (going up to one and hurting them) or indirect (using a very dangerous attack that has a possibility of hurting the spectators). Accidents will be gauged to see whether it counts as an accident or was considered recklessness by the user.

Ring… Ring…

Vash’s right hand shot from under the covers of his rather comfortable bed, leaving the nightmares of days long since past. “Hello…” he answered in a hurried almost groaning tone, half from being startled and half from being dead tired. He had spent the few days rest from his last fight deep in thought and training to push himself much higher than before. Much higher than his next opponent, Omi Barsait who just happened to be the previous runner up in the GTB tournament. “Hey…. Vash….” It was a woman who responded to his greeting and it was a voice he never expected to hear again…. The room itself grew cold as he sat up slowly in his bed, his hand beginning to tighten around the phone. “What the hell do you want?” He spoke calmly despite the building irritation that slowly took over his body. “I’ve been watching your matches. Your last one was pathetic.” His body began to shake violently as an outlet for his anger as her words sank into his mind. The woman had the audacity to….. “Keep it cool, keep it cool.” He thought to himself as he stood to his feet in attempts to calm himself down. It was a failed attempt that only became more apparent as his fist clenched more and more around the receiver. The moon shone in through the open blinds of the window, illuminating his bare chest with folded shadows giving depth to his muscular body. “You lost the last one.” She continued. “Really? I lost?” he retorted as he slowly began to move away from the bed. “Here I was all this time thinking I won that match. I thank you for shedding that light upon the dark recesses of my incompetent mind. What the fuck do you want from me!?” His voice became more enraged with each passing word. “You didn’t use it. Next time use it.” ‘Click’ Beep….. Beep…… Beep…. “That, Bitch!” The phone shattered, its frozen bits severing his hand as they went their way. His left hand touched his cheek on its corresponding side gingerly, where blood was now apparent. “Use it huh?” he muttered to himself as he dropped his arm to lie dormant at his side dripping blood to the floor.

“Let’s make this a good bout.” The commemoration of his early morning phone call came to an end as his opponent spoke. The hate he felt from before was now centered and now a fuel for him. He watched his opponent with unwavering eyes as he responded to his opponents chatter. “I assure you, your time will be better spent resting in your provided room in the hospital from your wounds rather than trying to find me where I will not be.” He wore the same attire from his previous match. Upon his upper body he wore a white, stiff collared jacket with black designs spew all over it while upon his lower half plain black jeans and sneakers were present. With one quick motion, the duffle bag sized jug dropped from its place on his back, leaving the blade to be all that was present. Vash’s legs shifted apart leaving twelve inches of space between the two, his right leg leading. He lifted his right hand to that of his favored boxers guard while his left quickly reached into the pouch at his side, grasping three orbs before returning to sight once again and joining the guard. His generators were already doing their job at generating the energy he needed for his favored ability.“Next time use it.” The very end of the conversation played through his head once more as he watched his opponent draw near.

Charge lvl 1 Gauntlets:15,000 Volts Blade: 17,500 Volts Electrode Mines 25-3

[I aplogize for the delay of my post. I had a family emergency and wasnt given enough time to post till now.]

Vash didn’t care that he restated his opponent’s threat in a way. He wasn’t in this tournament to flaunt fancy words. He was here to fight and prove his worth to all those who dared say he was nothing more than a mere eyesore. To make those who threw him into the streets regret that they had ever given up such a treasure as he. For that reason alone, he would use “it.” His generators continued to spin as he waited for the rather talkative Omi to finish speaking, words of which Vash was unsure of to take as compliment or other. It was rather pointless to Vash for Omi to state what they did or did not know about each other. Of course Vash had done his studying of the prior winners and semi-finalists in this tournament. He was chosen out of the several others in his gang to participate because of his prowess in reconnaissance as well as his “ability.” However, even with this knowledge, Vash knew that there was a high possibility that Omi brought a few new tricks to the game. This in mind he stayed on his guard.

As Omi came close to what seemed to be the end of his speech, two of the orbs he had taken flew from his hand with a simple flick of his wrist. They came to rest ten feet in front of where Vash stood which was about twenty feet away from boundaries set upon the opposite side from where Omi started his lazy walk. Bringing his left hand back to guard, his stance changed slightly as he lifted his right leg slightly, leaving the toe of his sneaker imbedded in the sand. His right hand loosed from a balled fist to that of a relaxed palm, slightly opened. His left hand followed suit of his right but with adequate closure to continue to hold the third orb as well as drawn back slightly to match the “right first” posture of his body. It would be here he began to truly use his ability to manipulate water. Until now, he used his ability on a small scale, manipulating only the small portions that were within his generators that provided the charging power of his devices. His hands began to move up and down in a slow rhythmic fashion. However, this action did not provide immediate results. To Omi it would simply seem like he had taken to some strange rhythm or motion. Even if Omi went to high alert from this it would not prepare him for what was to come. Under the sands of the beach, if one ventured to dig far enough downward, was a plentiful supply of water that was so generously supplied by the ocean out in the distance. Of course, being father away from the ocean meant that it was further down beneath the surface of the sand, but Vash was no stranger to manipulating water from a distance. As long as he could feel its presence it was within his realm to use it. Be in the waters of the sea, or the modest traces in the air. Water beneath the surface began to drill its way up through the sand, silently making its way towards the surface.

Charge lvl 2 Gauntlets:30,000 Volts Blade: 35,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (3 in use)

Omi was only partially right in his assumption as to what Vash was and was not. Vash could indeed use long range type techniques but at this point in time, they would hold little purpose for. Omi would see the strike long before his attack made it to him. That was of course his attack was something that could be seen before hand. Not to mention, Vash liked to get up close and personal since he was the sort who liked to use his martial arts to the fullest range possible. The soft whine of his gauntlets and blade began to become more apparent to Vash’s ears as their charge finally reached level three, the first time they had been able to do so since his match against Gable. And it was now time to set things into motion.

One, long, upward pull with his arms presented itself as if he had taken all concentration into that one movement. Beneath the surface the drilling water followed suit, driving upwards at a much faster rate than before. For two seconds he held his hands upwards, leaving his guard purposely open to possibly bait an attack from Omi before dropping back into his original boxers guard. Interestingly enough the water never broke the surface. It merely saturated the sand seven feet beneath the fighting grounds with an ample supply of fresh salted water. Even though he relinquished his immediate control over the liquid, it still continued to pull upward, the quick upwards motion caused by his actions creating a vacuum that would, at least for a little while longer, continue to bring water below them. “Let’s go!” he exclaimed as he stepped forward with his left, quickly cocking back his left arm, before thrusting it forwards with the motion of his body. From his hand left the third orb he had taken and it was on a collision course with Omi’s chest.

Charge lvl 3 Gauntlets:60,000 Volts Blade: 70,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (3 in use)

It was now time to see what how far he had really come. “Let’s see if I can put out these flames,” he thought to himself as the serpents made their way towards his lonely orb, looking to grasp it in their flaming mouths to swallow and whole. As the flames sprung to life, Vash moved forward from his stance. One step followed by another took him to the spot where his first two orbs had fallen. With a simple quick motion he dug his left toe into the sand, lifting the orb from its resting place upon the top of his shoe. Pivoting upon his right leg he turned his body to his right, launching the orb towards Omi’s outer right. The orb flew in a curving motion, arching outwards before converging to its real target of Omi’s right shoulder.

Dropping his left leg, he continued to move forward leaving the second orb in its place. By this time the three snakes converged on their target engulfing the small entity in their inferno and continue forward. They had met at a little beyond the halfway mark between the two fighters and it would seem as if the small orb had been overtaken by the powerful snakes. However, within the flames his orb exploded, sending its electric current through the flaming snakes while expanding outwards. Normally he used these orbs in close combat in order to provide a rather shocking experience for his opponents with its taser like properties. Its purpose here was to test the integrity of Omi’s flames. The sudden expansion in should separate the snakes while providing a burst that would put them out. Not only that, but there was one more property Omi had to worry about.

Electricity had an interesting effect on substances. Water, this being an example, had a tendency to break into its free ions, disassociating to leave hydrogen and oxygen in its gaseous form. Being that his snakes would be taking this charge head on would be faced with a sudden current that possibly held the ability to break them apart from the inside out while the sudden expansion forced materials that once gave the snakes their weird ability to burst into flames at a moment’s notice further apart to keep the flame from reigniting. This current would not stop at the point of interception much to the dismay of his opponent. Its goal would be to travel through the serpents to and latch onto the bare fingers of Omi. Lucky for Omi the electricity would have nothing more than a disturbing kick to it rather than the normal paralyzing kick it carried. The power would be far too depleted from destroying the snakes and their flames.

Charge lvl 3 Gauntlets:60,000 Volts Blade: 70,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (5 in use 1 used)

An ecstatic smile crossed the face of Vash, but only for a moment. “Good, my theory correct,” he thought to himself as he continued his mad dash towards his opponent. The orbs at this point weren’t as much as a distraction or an attack as they were testers. He knew for a fact that Omi’s flames were not normal. Spawned from a separate entity as they were Vash was long past dubbing Omi’s flames as something he could easily combat with his one true natural ability. Therefore, he needed another way to disperse the flames quickly so that he could move into his favored range of combat. “Three snakes to my orb on my left with significantly less distance needing to be covered from my kick… Power reduced by… half? No it would be a bit stronger but not yet enough…” Quickly his accelerated mind processed the ever changing situations of his battle. Right now Omi was at an unknown disadvantage. If the orb had in fact “tickled” his fingers, it was quite possible he would have been able to deduce the true power of the orb. His left hand drew from his pouch and removed the three orbs he had grasped. One was quickly dropped in the sand while the two remaining were held fast within his grasp.

With no more than fifty feet to go, Vash continued his forward momentum towards Omi, the snakes of little concern to him at least until they were going to strike him. Quickly, he transferred one orb to his right hand, while his generators began to whine softly once again to build up even further. Meanwhile the snakes targeting the orb struck it expectedly earlier than the snakes heading towards Vash. Omi’s concern for the audience was well placed but not needed. Vash was more careful than that. Like before, the orb exploded and removed three more snakes from the playing field like the last.

Thirty feet left and Vash and the three snakes in front of him would be on a crash course into one another. It would appear Omi and to the audience that Vash was not afraid of the snakes or the fire they loomed to bring. But for what purpose could he have to run directly towards the snakes? In the next few moments they would see.

Charge lvl 3 (Lvl 4 pending) Gauntlets:60,000 Volts Blade: 70,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (4 in use 2 used)

As the snakes came within range of Vash’s body, it became increasingly important for him to take care of them. Like before, he would destroy the three snakes that were in his way to reach Omi, however the outcome would be a bit different. Well at least for Vash. Moving his left wrist in a quick flicking motion, he lobbed the orb that was once in his hand, into the mouths of the three snakes. Like before, it exploded, expanding and disassociating the snake’s composition to destroy the flame and keep it from easily being brought, back to life if at all possible. The charge would not vanish into the air like last time. No, it was more imperative now for Vash to keep ever ounce of power he could muster at ready for the final clash with his opponent. Dashing through Omi’s dissipating flames and snake material, Vash collected the relinquishing charge within his left gauntlet. Of course to Omi it would merely look as if electricity had grounded itself like last time due to the shadowed pumping of Vash’s arms as he ran.

An expression of small glee quickly changed to that of question as Vash witnessed his opponent actually tearing off his upper armor. “The hell? Why would he remove his armor? Greater maneuverability to dodge my attacks, probable…. however, I’d be a fool to assume that to be the only reason he removed it.” His mind quickly processed his situation once again as many thoughts ran throughout his mind as he continued his dash forward. His smile returned as his opponent sounded his opinion as to what Vash’s tactics were. The orbs…. mere distractions? His opponent would soon find this not to be the case, but his plan was not yet ripe. More time was needed, more games needed to be played….. But wait! Much to his surprise and luck, Omi decided to bring the fight to him. This meant that he could…. Yes….. he could! With the distance reaching to the point where either fighter could physically strike the other, Vash found that now was the best time to set things into full throttle. The motors of his generators stopped as his focus went into another tactic in order to have it done quickly and efficiently. Fingers pulled in to meet his palms as the sand below shifted sliding to his left, Omi’s right. In response, a small amount of the salted water that rose and laid in wait a few feet below the surface rose to the merely a few inches below the sand right where Omi’s leading foot was estimated to land (Of course the affected area is a bit more than three feet in diameter to leave room for variables.). This small portion solidified quickly, and slid to the left in order to throw Omi off balance and possibly cause him to fall into the sand and after which would quickly hide its presence again. Vash was by no means an earth user, but Omi need not know this. He merely needed to think that he was. Provided that Omi fell, Vash would be by this point within quick lunging grappling range of Omi, however he would refrain from this and merely fire his last remaining orb towards Omi’s exposed upper body.

Charge lvl Variating Gauntlet (L) Forced lvl 4.5: 125,000 Volts Gauntlet (R) lvl 4: 120,000 Volts Blade: 140,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (3 in use 3 used)

-Edited for some clarification

Vash was no fool when it came to fights of any kind. His eyes kept close watch of everything that unfolded for more than one reason. He was a bit disappointed to see that his opponent had not fallen, however, was even more intrigued to see that he could now find out the true purpose for his opponent sudden de-armoring and find that he was right to assume that it wasn’t just for maneuverability. The armored mesh had no issues enveloping the orb as it was flung forward. Furthermore, Omi’s right hand had tucked back to what seemed to be a preparation for a punch, this he caught by somewhat of a chance due to the chainmail mesh blocking his view for a moment before the curvature of the orb caused the mesh to fold inward. “A punch, at this range would do….. FUCK!” His eyes caught sight of the sudden burst of flames from Omi’s shoulders, propelling him forward into the chainmail mesh and towards Vash at an alarming rate. If Vash was any other fighter in this tournament, he would have been hit dead on from the attack, however, he had one saving grace.

Quote: Wrote:

> Unlocked mind: This is a characteristic keen to elementals of his birth home. Each elementalist spends days on end becoming in sync with their element, therefore unlocking their “mind” to the barriers one would normally face when using its abilities. This unlocked state allows for a quicker reaction time as well as better perception of extreme speeds as well. It also allows the person the ability to sense with the natural element as if it were a part of them. With this, it becomes extremely difficult to be attacked through means of any kind of mental attack for where his humanly senses kick out, his elemental traits kick in further.

Vash was blessed with the character trait that gave him a mind to process events faster than the normal human as well as a body that could react with his faster mind. So what most came as a surprise to most didn’t faze him. This situation was dangerously close to one that could have called an end to him though and he didn’t like that very much. His abdomen, the only feasible target of the looming punch, Vash moved accordingly to counter his opponents well played attack changing the positioning of his body as much as he could given the current circumstances. His leading right foot dug forcefully into the sand as he turned his body at the torso.

Things for him were like in slow motion now, the roar of the crowd beginning to change to a slurred voice all in unison as every sense he had kicked in. He could “see” his opponent’s body shift through the particles of water in the air, even the snake that loomed behind him, fangs bared to sink its teeth into its prey. All the while his body kept moving towards its goal. He could feel the head pass over his abdomen as his opponents fist grazed by, nicking him on the fly. Luckily for Vash his invisible ice armor was present and prevented a large deterrent from his counter from happening not to mention large burns from the heat wave. His right hand by this point had been cocked back long since his near possible “end of match” escape from its corresponding boxers guard with the left, chambered before launching forwards in a curved motion to Omi’s face as his fist glanced by Vash’s body. He came in with a short but sweet hook shot that flowed with the turning motion of his body as he placed as much as his weight as possible into the quickly executed attack and slight balance loss due to the strike. Of course the chainmail mesh’s expansion would have been a problem if he had tried a straight punch. His punch probably would have been wrapped up in the mesh thus keeping Omi from the brunt of his attack. Hell, it would probably force the impact of his gauntlets to feel like nothing more than a slap to the face due to the close proximity and little time to prepare…

Normally....

Quote: Wrote:

> Surge: This attack is a single or double fisted punch to any portion of the body of his opponent. Once connected, a stored electrical charge is released to cause additional or primary damage to his opponent. Depending on the charge, effective damage ranges.

A torrent of electrical energy was released as his fist made a connection with Omi’s face, a significant half charge of what was stored in his right gauntlet being released into the body of Omi. It was a pleasant 60,000 volts leaving his gauntlets with a forced milliamp charge of fifteen, right within range of what was needed to cause muscle control loss. His face would be a disoriented mess with spasms and the works. The recoil blast of the attack would be enough to separate the fighters by a few feet, forcing Vash to slide to his right, off balance and possibly causing him to stumble and fall upon the sand while sending Omi in the opposite direction, hopefully upon his back or face. Whichever came first. “Use it….” The voice of the woman from the call earlier that day chimed in once again. “Not yet,” his mind chimed in response.

Needless to say, the snake wasn’t even an issue for Vash either. If one were to recall his actions as he removed the last three orbs from his pouch they would remember that he had dropped one into the sand while he dashed towards Omi. This same orb would stop the snake. As the punch followed through, the release of electrical energy from his gauntlet a less daunting task than one might think, the orb literally jumped into the air. Or to onlookers it would seem so. Once again, water below the surface made its way quickly, and forcefully up right below the orb. This action would cause it to jump as if it had a mind of its own, right into the mouth of the looming serpent, exploding and removing the snake from play like its brothers. Omi had made a comment about whose desired burned strongest. Hopefully, the burn that would remain upon Omi’s stomach from the entering of electrical energy would give him that answer. Vash didn’t plan on going home today.

Charge lvl Varying Gauntlet (L) Forced lvl 4.5: 125,000 Volts Gauntlet (R) lvl 3: 60,000 Volts Blade: 140,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (1 in use 5 used)

Edit complete*

The crowd roared at the sight of the two opponents as they finally classed in a manner of epic proportions. “I GOT HIM!” Vash’s mind exclaimed as the fist connected with his opponents face and his surge technique was a success. However, to him everything was still slowed, the mere moments had not yet fully passed for things to return to a normal state of viewing in a sense to Vash but soon enough it would… or would it? His eyes received the image of Omi’s body rotating as the punch reached its full extension. “How can… he…” his mind began as the actions of his opponent registered. Normally when a person was struck with his surge move it left them unable to produce proper motor functions due to the confusion of electrical pulses to the given area. Being that he had targeted his opponents face; his opponent should not have even been able to properly see at the given moment. However, the affect did not hold true for Omi. Vash could expect no less than such from the runner up of the GTB II yet to even provide a counter in a small time frame based simply off of positioning rather than merely having the reflexes for it like Vash had…. It was truly amazing.

Lighter… My body is lighter, my armor.

Reflex…..

Vash could feel his armor tear off as if eaten by something…. The snakes….. The snakes ate his armor! “SHIT!!” he screamed in his mind as he could now see the second, left strike move in towards his unguarded ribcage. It was here he was at a disadvantage. Even seeing the move, there was no way, even with a heightened reaction for him to intercept the attack with his left hand. Sure it would move reflexively as if it could catch the incoming rocket shot to his ribs, but his physical body just wasn't fast enough, it couldn’t be… How many could Omi shatter with a punch like that? The outcome would be catastrophic if not only by the fist alone by the flames that followed behind it. “Move damn it… MOVE!!!” Vash wouldn’t make it in time. He couldn’t make it in time, but he couldn’t take a hit like that, he couldn’t… No, he wouldn’t. Hydrogen burst into flames as Omi’s fist came deathly close to his ribs, he heat and flames burning a hole into his jacket without it even touching it yet.

Will……

Immediately present water in the immediate vicinity of Vash began to thrash (solid and gaseous forms of the substance don’t really matter much here because solid isn’t free enough due to its solid form to move and there simply isn’t enough gas to make much use by its thrashing) wildly in response to his mind. There was little liquid that could aid him despite its reaction to his mental cries. The only liquid close to him were the small amounts trapped within his gauntlets and sword. Of course there was the supply brought forth from earlier in the match; however, this portion had no room to large of a distance to cover before it could aid him. Agitated by its inability to spring forth and out of its “cage,” the liquid water inside of his weaponry did the only thing it could do. It rotated at an alarming rate. As always the rotation of the liquid charged the gauntlets and blade exponentially, increasing all but the blade’s charge to its maximum level and pushing the gauntlet weaponry to critical before…

Quote: Wrote:

> Static Gauntlets Form 2: There is only one notable difference is the form of the gauntlets and that is the extension of a tightly woven micro fibered armor. This microfiber is entwines thin yet strong pieces of L-wire and conductive metal with a rubber pad pressing against the skin along the way up. This allows for the electricity charged to travel further up the arm to give him a larger range of attack and defense however does not add any new form of attack to his arsenal.

Quote: Wrote:

> A New Ability- > > Lightning encasement- > > While his static gauntlets are in stage two and with a three post charge of his electrical energy, he is now able to encase himself in his "electrical element" by means of transferring electrical energy out an about him through a control circuit of air. This "orb" around him can reach outwards of a diameter of five to six feet in full or reduced to simply line his body (its greatest strength level). This encasement at its current mastery can provide protection against projectile attacks to some degree. > > Drawbacks- Of course being a new technique it can be quite annoying, even tiresome to hold for long durations. Vash also faces a problem with the attacking strength of his encasement. The father away he moved it from the main source i.e. his body (gauntlets specifically), the less power attacking power it contains and the faster his charge is used up. However, if holding the electrical energy too close to his body, he runs the risk of shocking himself with his own technique. Bad for Vash, good for his opponent.

His gauntlets immediately transformed, if one wished to call it this, into its second form as L wire and conductive wire shot up his arm, forced into place at an alarming rate by the overloading gauntlets attempt to provide relief to it. Simultaneously, and in many ways unwanted, an attack/defense was unleashed. It was the new move he had developed for the GTB after realizing how difficult it had been to land effective strikes with his electrical attacks. In this case the maneuver was forced prematurely due to the overload of his weaponry and much to Vash’s dismay it would prove somewhat dangerous to himself as well as his opponent. From his body, the epicenter of the attack, would the electrical energy force outwards to create an orb about Vash. Omi’s fist at this point had just made some connection to Vash’s side and, without much armor present for defense there, leave a nasty bruise. Omi’s body now became a live wire for the full concussive force of 150,000 volts X 2 (150,000 volts per gauntlet surging through the orb) with a milliamp charge of fourteen as repulsive forces generated would knock the two fighters further apart that intended from the first blow. Furthermore Omi's one saving grace, his upper body armor, had been moved out of reach by means of its exit over Omi's right shoulder and out of reach. The flames and snakes was well would be canceled by his orb, the electrical current doing its work on disassembling the snakes like before and putting out the flames they created by removing its fuel.

Thud…… Thud……

Vash’s body slid through the sand after he was thrown a good twenty feet to his right. Reflex told him to throw his body into a proper roll so that in the end he would be in a crouched position, but this never happened. His body smoked moderately from not only Omi’s fist but his own attack as well as he laid upon the sand.There was no control over its release on Vash’s part thus the electrical energy, despite the safeguards of the L wire and conductive material upon his level two gauntlets, had also entered his own body but luckily didn't cause as much damage as it could have. His arms and legs twitched from the electric burst while there were evident burns not only upon his right side where he had been hit by Omi but upon his chest and cheeks (If one could see even his legs were slightly burnt). Luckily for him, his lightning encasement maneuver was not an all out attack. It was half and half thus the amperage was mainly to cause pain rather than to immobilize. Even not taking the brunt of it still meant quite a bit of physical pain on his part and if he felt this bad he could only imagine how Omi felt. “Sh......... i......t....” he coughed as he literally willed himself to sit up, one eye watching the smoke that rose from the smolder lump that was Omi. while the other was held tightly closed to bare the pain. Hopefully, Omi wasn’t planning on getting back up. Maybe... just maybe.... he didn't have to use it after all and in the shape he was in he hoped he would have to. He didn’t even bother to look at his gauntlets. The literal overcharge had left their generators a bit worse for wear. They were still usable for about a level one charge but even doing that would completely destroy them as well as his gauntlets. His blade was still at optimum usage though. It was much more durable that his gauntlets in its resistance to the electricity generated due to having a bit larger of a generator… He didn't need to move to tell that his ribs had been shattered on his right side. It was obvious from the immense pain he felt and slight difficulty drawing in solid breaths. Turning "Damn.... it..... a....." He couldn't even finish his statement for the pain on his left side took a turn for the worse. His left hand gingerly clutched his right side as the lower portion of his ice armor quickly partitioned itself to cover his upper body. Luckily for him, the ice would help ease the pain slightly of what was left of the right side of his body as well as become somewhat of a brace for him.

Vash really preferred walking out of rings while thanking God he didn’t need a stretcher. But today he'd be just thanking God if he was conscious upon the end of this match.

Charge lvl Varying Gauntlet(s): Lvl 0 Functionality 20% Blade: 260,000 Volts Electrode Mines 25 (1 in use 5 used)

Edited a bit for clarity

Edited to fit ruling.

Judging

So, I read this situation and then read the rather long AIM Haelstrom sent me, so here's my analysis and decision on it.

Firstly, it was hard trying to figure out WHAT was going on in the first place. After a few re readings, I finally understand that the issue is between whether Vash will take a full punch or not. His reasoning is that an element that can move as fast as light itself can be reacted with no problem with the same speed of the mind's reflexes. However, that split second time period is too small for this tournament to try to do anything such as that, so I rule in favor of Omi.

The punch will hit and the two fighters will be separately, of course with Omi taking his amount of damage, as well.

Nothing felt right. Truth of the matter was, an easier solution would be just to lie down and let this battle end for the sake of "fighting tomorrow," but such a proposition was so absolutely disgusting to Omi, its very existence as an option would've infuriated him wasn't he grinning ear to ear. Partially, it was the adrenaline helping his shaky body keep operating even due the horrendous, hot-iron pain screaming across his very brain. Even as much, perhaps it was the trading of blows they had engaged in moments ago. Or perhaps..

Not even aware of the orb behind him, it was the slightest errant measure of motion from that procured blade's fancy trick that caused Omi to react. Yet, unable to rise onto his feet much less get out of the way very easily even were he in perfect shape, just what on earth would he do in a split instant that could change this scenario?

A snap. Left handed snap, hesitant from those constant bodily twitches but distinct.

"DAMN!!" One would hear Omi suddenly groan out loud in pain, practically shouting as the expanded blood-flow of his left shoulder wound seemed to expand but an inch before it appeared his entire left shoulder had exploded. Same trick as earlier, except far more reckless, far less controlled, yet exceedingly more blood to react to. It lurched Omi to his right (back towards his original location) at quite an impressive speed. That was his ticket into..!

..skidding in a bodily heap right into the earlier expansion of water that had nearly helped him along to death's horrendous gates. Left side up, right side down, Omi was practically burred in a miniature tide-pool of sand and water. It was a disgusting contour, to be sure. To top it, his left shoulder, which had begun to feel at least numb, lost that privilege as it pulsated in a thousand hells. And with Omi half-submerged into what would make another orb of electricity or two a horrendous fry-fest.. this could seem to some, to be the "end." Act V and final of the show.

Was it ever that easy, though?

**[Renewal**]

Spitting out a nasty mixture of water, sand, and his own blood - as the little tide-pool of twitching flesh mixed up around him like an atrocious soup.. something interesting would commence with all of Omi's remaining strength and focus going straight into the procedure. Left eye watching for Vash's inevitable next attack, right eye more obscured- that right eye..

.. began to redden up in that signature fashion, a serpent from Omi's right thumb bounding down the water's source. After all, that water sprung up in several places too convenient to be mere natural phenomenon! It only took the slightest bit of recon to confirm the water flow below. That told Omi even in his hazed state of mind two things -

I. Vash was not just a "lightning user," but had mastery over at least two elements, possibly more which wouldn't be ruled out. II. This water had a good ways to travel if it was merely from the shore, or for that matter, a good ways to bubble up through the ground. There had to be a fair quantity; Vash couldn't just get rid of it all before Omi's dark intentions were through with it, even if he focused heavily on just that action. Not a chance.

"Say Vash.." Omi muttered out into the air, audible enough the enemy could make it out. He didn't really care if the opponent would give him time to speak or not, because it was a concurrent action - spreading out taunting words while making his last stand a good one. "I liked that thing you did, you know~ The one.. the one where all that electric charge flew from your body in an omnidirectional manner, it was neat. Dun' mind if I rip a note from your page, do ya?"

Left palm thrusting towards the enemy, the new predicament for this [Final Act] would begin to show its horrendous qualities in full. Omi was fairly certain were he to continue matching all the sources Vash had at his disposal with the serpent mass time and time again, eventually Barait's stamina would give to Vash's numerous methods of procuring a bolt so to speak - and Round IV would be his Gaia Tenkaichi Budoukai III footnote. Not favorable.

However, Vash had a notion wrong here. While the grand charge Omi took did indeed affect his body negatively to a grand degree, it did not affect the serpent mass in the matter of existence. After all, they stemmed from dear Omi's blood, and~

..his blood was currently flowing like Niagra Falls from his shoulders, his gums, his teeth, tongue, the points of impact from Vash's twin-fisted blow - blood and water was mixing like an ominous chemical this day, as serpent mass began to pump out of the shed crimson liquid and flood down the metaphorical "pipes" of water below, also staining the water around this young man's body.

[Tree of Encasement]

Spitting a mucus-filled volley of blood right onto the sand ahead of him mockingly, a 2" high serpent head began to pulsate out of it. Less a human than a chain of serpents, less a man than a tree extending its branches- Omi Barsait's laughter never quite stopped, as the blood oozing from where those gauntlet shards tore at the left hand's palm, nails, and tips - crimson mass slowly oozing out in with the flood. If the water was manipulated in some manner to envelop him, that'd been even more hilarious - the thought just had him in stitches!

"Weaaaaak Vaaaaash," He sung a crescendo; a prelude to the match's end, one way or another. And this time, it didn't ring with insincerity. Omi was entirely truthful, singing in a husky, ominous voice: "WEAK~!"

Dancing in victory only made a trip to the dirt more bitter.

The truth was, Omi for all of his tenacity was in poor shape. He could likely ration out his remaining stamina and continue fighting for a whiles provided it was kept to a slow-pace, and continue battle efforts for a while.. were the circumstances not as they were now. His opponent, weak and wounded though Vash was, utilized weaponry and abilities that were less dependent on his physical status; Omi was not blessed with such a luxury. He couldn't afford to mount gradually weakening resistances while the enemy's assaults remained constant.

He had to strike with his every last ounce of strength now, and rather than go for an impressive assault.. he had to utterly suffocate the opponent in one magnificent rush, because if he didn't, the fight was over either way for him.

And of course, that was just not an option.

Firstly, Vash had to understand the electricity would not be rumbling through his serpents, nor that the serpents would casually be flickered out at their normal pace. The substance by which these ghastly apparitions were composed of wouldn't hold a charge; the hope they would be erratic and useless before even coming into play was, regretfully, null and void. More importantly though, was that with all the wounds self-inflicted and not lining Omi's body, the serpent mass which extended from his blood didn't have to filter through the pores of his skin, nor did it necessarily have to take its normal, defined shape. Liken it to a bag of sand above you slowly filling a room - you in haste cut it open, and all you've done is fill the room with far more sand at a far greater pace.

In short, it really didn't matter how enhanced Vash's brain was in operating his various elemental manipulations this time, because the serpents flooding outward and "eating" up the water into a shroud of gas that would suffocate poor Omi were it not put to a more nefarious use soon, all occurred even as he was flopping into the sand- prior in fact. If there's two men in a footrace, one 5x faster than the other, the slower racer would still likely win were he only a few inches from the finish-line to begin with. To top it, while the manipulation of the water and such was surely doable by Vash instantaneously, thrusting the sword into the ground was not - it would give Omi, eyes so enraptured with Vash prior to the right performing its little trick, the perfect indication of what was such a terribly straight-forward maneuver, even a fighter with low-wit could figure it out.

If Vash can manipulate water, and he can discharge great amounts of electricity, he would attempt to use that. Not that he could now, given the water directly surrounding Omi was cut off from the source which made that electric rush towards the dark-clad fighter thanks to it no longer being H2O but simply H2 floating upward.

To top it: Omi's "tracking" serpents going to reach that water source had no problem gliding through the sands below. Like their real-life animal counterparts, they'd simply force their way on through the readily makeshift soil and keep right on target, a good four of them in an extremely tight-knit formation now spreading out in a four-pronged formation to reach their lovely goal while the sword-driven charge fell miserably short of its intended goal. One may as well've noted this at most slightly inhibited their speed, and only slightly, before they would no doubt reach the underlying, larger source of water and begin the cataclysm to come.

He was sure hurt to hell, and his body was going to fail him rather soon if not from the absurd amount of shock than from the blood-loss - but Omi Barsait was not so simply beaten; rarely was victory as simple as a single act, but rather a million woven into a fine mesh of glory.

[[Blocking: The Fine Art]](http://haelstrom.net/audio/Blocking.mp3)

The Serpentine Manipulation Artist's tenacity was both revered and reviled; even now, his haggard breath shook with excitement. The end would be tenacious, regardless of the outcome! He'd make sure of it!

The serpents below unfortunately, would merely plow their way through the makeshift sand with relative ease. Even if the water in relation to the sand needed to traverse between the crimson and blue masses underground was performing its best shoveling act, the serpent mass was a rather makeshift substance as well, prodding through where gaps made themselves evident. Such a quickly slung together effort to prevent his entrance to the pool of water below would be futile against Omi Barsait, this his crimson apparitions would prove as one chunk of red substance after another began to flood into the water ahead like mocking fluids flooding cracks in a wall.

What that would lead to could only be guessed at this point, though one would have to agree: as Omi's right eye fluttered about between the various serpents below, gazing into the chaotic sight of red, tan, blue, white - it could not turn out pleasant. Perhaps the match could be called a "stalemate," but here was a breach that would challenge that status most angrily.

As for the orb - perhaps Barsait wasn't his most cognitive at this point, drooling a pitiful mixture of blood and saliva as his brain and body both threatened to shut down without notice if this all kept up, but he certainly wasn't rendered a fool. Vash had already played his mine card several times throughout the match, usually in a location out of direct sight of Omi; it was an overused and ever-expected ploy at this point. Fortunately, if his ears ringing though they were didn't tip him off by the sound of sloshing water flinging one of those troublesome orbs through the air, the shadow of the object which was exaggerated thanks to their arena border of flames would most certainly.

All it took to ignite the hydrogen gas present was a clash of his teeth.

The "tree" bloomed into a glorious aurora of flames, sending the wayward orb in the opposite direction likely before it could even trigger its shock. Now, Omi wasn't in a position where he could estimate the affects of the sudden spike in fire on that orb, but if three of his serpents could render one to the ground, then the "tree" his body played the stems for would outright blast it away like child's play.

It was untrue, the misconceived notion by those whom followed Omi's battling that he was impervious to heat, or flames. Rather, he was impervious to flames he created, along with the byproducts; you could liken it to two magnets of the same polarity trying to touch, flames spawned from his odd serpent-guided technique and the "mass" of the serpent substance stemming from his blood and skin pores. A child could light a cheap match and poke his left elbow, and likely he'd yelp in pain - where as he can practically engulf himself in flames he has held the hand of creation to, and practically shrug it off.

And while the explosive little display would've surely knocked him about normally.. in this case, it was occurring above him, around him, essentially driving him into the ground he was already well accustomed to being lodged in. Though sand would spray across him much to his chagrin, the effects of this would assuredly be less problematic for Omi than Vash, namely in the time to come.

However, if it was possible to believe, that wasn't the brunt of Omi's assault.

Most of his serpent mass wasn't being directed above the ground, given it only took one little ignition to create that horrendous mess. At most, a few of the serpents would be fluttering upwards to guide the ball of hydrogenated flames, tugging them down to earth where normally they'd be floating away.

So where was the majority going? The majority of those serpents, the apex of Omi's remaining, dwindling strength?

Quote: Wrote:

> Such a quickly slung together effort to prevent his entrance to the pool of water below would be futile against Omi Barsait, this his crimson apparitions would prove as one chunk of red substance after another began to flood into the water ahead like mocking fluids flooding cracks in a wall.

All of it, like a sickening goop overwhelming that hastily maintained guard the water rifted up again and again, broke the metaphorical dam and began to fill the body of water below without relent. Barsait's left hand was pushing through the air like pushing aside an object- farther the hand, deeper the serpents! Right arm painfully being crushed by his less and less responsive body- pointing towards Vash again and again and again and again and again, the hydrogenated horror beginning its slow but monstrous travel time towards the fellow with clear intentions.

The left however, as his left pinky, ring, and middle fingers clutched down- would signal for a large chunk of that water below to be turned into the hydrogenated gas, before without a single instant's hesitation, the remaining two fingers clutched into a fist- signaling the remainder of the serpents and Omi's stamina to come into fruition.

[**The Burning Comet**]

If you thought an explosion above ground could kick up some sand, try an even more massive one with a larger amount of fuel occurring hardly beneath ground level! There was already air where the water wasn't occupying thanks to its little sand-shifting act, meaning air currents flowing through sand allow the object on top of the sand to more readily take up space that the particles of sand can hold up. This combined with the uprising explosion..

... well, a large, large chunk of the ground between Omi and Vash would find itself turning into a disgusting, smoldering glass-meets-slop mixture that would proof too difficult a chasm for that secondary ground impalement of the sword to reach Omi with. It'd have a little inhibiting detour to make, shall we say.

And that was it. Omi had just created hell within the ring of fire, and was now attempting to even fill the ring with more flames as the mass easily 5x the space Barsait's body occupied lumbered towards Vash like a vengeful wraith. It was a wrathful combination - ..and the last of Barsait's strength. Beyond this, it was doubtful he could even procure a single serpent.

The question was: would he need to, as that right hand stretched forward with a few bones popping awkwardly to grasp onto the tuft of air representing Vash? Was the fight over, against or for him? The cataclysm continued!