Aekea Ironworks

In this day and age of technology, safety, and comfort in the industrial realm, there had been many strides to ensure that the workers on their 8-or-12 hour shifts weren't passing out from heat stroke. Fans had to be around here and thankfully the molten metal was separated from him by double, triple, and quad-insulated materials. Asbestos...? Still, that didn't mean that things would be great here. It wasn't exactly a volcano, but it was toasty enough for him. The ambient heat...

"Shaaa...." A black-and-blue-haired Lazenca started moving from side to side, then in a cross pattern. Upper left, center, upper right, center, lower left, center, lower right, center... repeat. Looping this motion made it seem like he was doing some sort of wallflower dance. He wanted to fight this round, but here?

"I'll go first..." That way, he could get done with his fight and sit on the side with Tiera, making sure things didn't go wrong. Also, he'd be able to keep himself cooler. But who would he be fighting against? Vahn... he wanted Vahn. Even though this place might be considered a fire zone and well give him a staggering advantage, Lazenca still wanted to fight him.

However it was probably too dangerous. Not now... not yet. Well, Athan was HUEG and that might be fun. He'd fought Kael once. Sakura might be reeeeally fun, considering what went on at the hotel.

He sighed and grooved hard into his next step.

Not exactly paradise in here.

Seemed like Athan was always relatively quick to arrive to the battlefield, no matter what sort of shape he was in. His left arm, broken in more places than he could count of his own accord was healed by some...unorthodox means at the hands of a brutal serial healer. That didn't really stop Athan from attempting to disbelieve that the work was indeed genuine, however. Even as he approached from Kael's rear he was inspecting the arm, squeezing it with his right hand, turning it over, rubbing and pounding on certain portions that should have felt sore.

"Huh."

With that out of the way, Athan would come to a stop a few feet to Kael's left, looking across the Ironworks to where Frozen Flame was gathering. Unlike last round, Athan hadn't managed to replace his shirt before the third round had begun. So as it was, Athan was wearing a black souveneir FRACTURE t-shirt with two huge holes ripped into it. One at the left shoulder, and the other on his right side. Accompanying that were dark patches of dried blood that stood out despite the black color of the shirt.

"Not exactly what I had in mind for the third round."

Whether the remark was to Kael, Frozen Flame, or just himself was a topic for debate, as Athan made no attempt to clarify the situation with any eye contact. His mind was in about twenty different places at once. Thinking of his resolution at the end of the second round, Vahn's sudden change of attitude in the Foyer, and the beginning of the third round, just to name a few.

Was she the one that did that to you? If so, what are you going to do now?

Athan hadn't chosen to get to know Frozen Flame all that well. He knew names, but he was perhaps the only one on Fracture who hadn't conversed with any member of Frozen Flame during or before the tournament. Not like it bothered him much, he was used to being the odd man out.

Athan managed to stifle a yawn before lowering unhooking the gauntlet from his waist, slipping the modified arm guard over his left hand and locking it into place.

"Where's the little green guy at? I thought he said he wanted to go first."

"Object to you fighting me? Not at all."

Lazenca started moving from side to side again, 'warmed' up enough to stop doing the full movements. "It's annoyingly hot, so come on if you wanna dance, ma'am."

Keeping rhythm, he unhooked his cloak and let it fall to the ground before holding his right hand out. While Lazenca always kept some aura of cold about him, it usually never extended past the hairs on his body. In this hot place, he was almost glowing with a translucent blue aura-- proof that Lazenca was actually working to stay unhot. Sakura proved that she had fire ability in her room, so it'd be a double whammy here.

Don't matter, don't care, Lazenca wanted to hurry and get this over with. "Whichever one of you basket-weavers are coming, step up."

"Comfy, feels like home..."

Sunstrike meandered into the scene without so much as a care in the world, though he did spare a glance for the masked figure.

"So we're up against you guys next eh?!"

Talk about a challenge, he was grinning like a true fatalist...but where on earth was their captain? He thought for certain she'd be hangining around such a nice warm tournament level.

"It takes two to tango," replied Sakura, sparks in the air serving to form an aura of their own around her body, almost seeming to form a sash as they spun around. It didn't look like it was any conscious decision on her part... it simply happened.

"See if you can keep in step with the beat of my heart."

She had no reason to bring any weapons into this particular fight. Laz didn't seem to be the weapon type, and if he did, she'd just dash for her backpack and grab something to defend herself. Simple plan. Effective plan. Probably a stupid plan. But it was time to play her part in the third act of this grand facade.

Vahn's words barely reached her ears as she stepped forward. She didn't know why she was doing this. Protecting him. From her. She was gonna figure out the truth even if she had to beat it out of someone!

No time wasted now... the sparks became a scarf as they wrapped around her neck and trailed several feet behind her as she made her first few kicks in Laz's direction, gaining a little speed before making a short leap to attempt a flying left knee at the man's face. She knew as well as anyone that it was a simple attack, deceptively so, but... she wanted to see how he'd react.

Let the Battle Diary of Great Warrior Sakura begin.

[Chapter 0, Page 1]

But she had to respect the wishes of her teammates and the spirit of the tournament. She looked impatiently at her 'colleagues,' waiting to see which one would be the first... the longer she waited, the more impatient she'd get, though.

With a lazy slide of his arms outward, the b*****d sword came out of the scabbard, which was discarded absently on the floor as Kael started walking out onto the field. Manacing toward Sakura with his weapon out? Was he in that bad of a mood?

ragingtofu Wrote:

"It takes two to tango," replied Sakura, sparks in the air serving to form an aura of their own around her body, almost seeming to form a sash as they spun around. It didn't look like it was any conscious decision on her part... it simply happened.

"See if you can keep in step wi-"

She'd be interrupted mid sentence as a bandage covered palm came up from behind her, squarely on the middle of her chest and not so much pushed as stiff armed her back as Kael stepped forward between her and Frozen Flame.

"Cool it Rage," it sounded like he wanted to grumble, but he was making sure to project enough for it to register, "everybody cool it."

His jaw clenched, offering general stare downs to whoever was going to try and get themselves, or somebody else, all worked up, while sarcastic internal monologue about his right to make remarks about temper was probably making his day oh so much more fun.

"Who do you think is gonna tell you no? You can fight 'er when she gets here."

The blade rose, smoothly up in the air, and back, blade resting against Kael's right shoulder.

Alright. Alright. Time to take your own advice.

There's a solution. Just play the game, keep your cool... just try and keep things running smooth, and when it comes down the line you'll see it.

He closed his eyes, a long, deep breath.

Count of one.

Two.

Three.

Kael smoothed his face out, and opened his eyes slowly, letting red settle on blue across the 'stage'.

"Okay,"

Kael took a first step forward, followed by a second, long but lethargis paces.

You can do this. And this way... well, this'll be fun too. Let's see how much more ready you are. You can't just stop after a defeat like before... not until you can work past it.

The right corner of his mouth twitched, then rose, slowly, stretching the scar on his cheek.

"...how you wanna do this?"

The sword bounced against his shoulder.

"Should I lose the toy? Or do you want to really push it?

Give 'em a show to remember, mrm?"

Then what.

Cool it? Who the hell did Kael think he was talking to? Might as well have asked the world to stop spinning.

What was to stop Sakura from going right through him and right on through the rest of the team? She had promised a fight to Teira, and she'd certainly get it. But she was getting tired of the bizarre game.

Of being left in the dark.

Of feeling like a pawn in some game that was so much more grand than her, as if someone was pulling strings and she was helpless to figure out what was going on.

"Listen, you," she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Kael, "when this round is over I've got a lot of questions for you, and don't you dare go dying on me so you can't answer them."

Rage had come to fight. He had come to see just what he could do, and see if he couldn't get enough attention that maybe, just maybe, he'd find the person he was looking for.

And somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that he was part of some grand play, in a part where he was given a script and nothing else. He was to play his part and simply go home.

I'm going to get my answer.

He didn't come here to babysit, and he didn't come here to be some sort of shield for Vahn to keep himself hidden in the shadows. All of this bubbled over into the firecracker that was Sakura.

She let out a huff, sparks settling on her shoulder and trailing down her back, eyes narrowed at teamate and enemy.

... regardless of if they want to give it to me or not.

Lazenca's right hand was already out, having never retracted from offering Sakura to dance. Not that it'd help him at all... if anything, it'd help him balance as eyes opened ever-so-slightly and he pushed himself to his own right as the hand floated near his face. His left upper arm felt the sting of blade tearing into it, and the glowing-blue Medium/tattoo had been penetrated. The right leg stomped the ground at the end of the slide away, and Lazenca's blood made its way to the ground.

And that was pretty much all the attacking he planned to let Kael get.

~Korper.~

He probably could've moved harder away, sparing him all bite of the sword, but to do so meant that he couldn't throw his left hand in the air to push it away. It didn't have to be much at all, just a relatively small bit of resistance that had Lazenca tracking where the weapon was going to be. The more important things were Lazenca himself, who had lunged forward.

Kael knew how fast Lazenca could be with short-distanced movements, small lunges and pokes. Korper gave him just enough of a speed boost to rush the ten feet in no time, increasing power so that the small nudge of the blade would be as if it were shoved away, and the hand aiming for Kael's face would clamp and yank his head back with relatively little problem (x2 physical stats).

The ability never lasted long, just short bursts but it had done enough. If it was all good, then Lazenca was at point blank range and Kael's eyes were facing the ceiling (not that he could see it well, with Laz's hand clamping over his face), which meant his neck was exposed. The most natural thing to do here would be to bite, which is exactly what Lazenca did. He knew where major arteries and all were, and wasn't trying to kill the guy... but Laz's trying to get this fight over with immediately had gotten through loud and clear.

"Yield," he snarled as his teeth maintained the hold and sweat matted his skin after even a quick count of seconds.

[disk 3, track 2]

Lazenca's teeth clamped around the pommel, eyes on his opponent. Suddenly clamping onto anything other than flesh was always jarring, and widened eyes showed it. However, the shock wore off when the knife found its way into his arm.

He could always re-advance, give only a second to breathe and get back into it. With that thought in mind, he straightened his right arm out and opened his hand, seeking to push Kael back and down. Unfortunately, this set himself up well enough for a rising leg, which connected and prevented him from advancing as quickly as he would have liked.

Hopefully, Kael would be going a good distance back and head over heels or something. Meanwhile, Lazenca took a couple of steps back and growled as he worked the knife out of his arm. The left had stopped bleeding, only for the right.

This is wonderful.

Oh, be quiet.

If this continues...

Well?

Be quiet.

Hnn...

[3/17]

The plan had been to land on his feet- awkwardly at best, granted- and then continue to hammer away with his knees, but he hadn't been counting on the helping hand.

"-ck!"

With his head continuing to move back the backward-overbalance that would have helped his knee strike gave him a full out bicycle kick effect. Which would have been great if he'd been counting on it.

He'd been pushing forward and downward on the knife, keeping a firm grip so he could cut right out of the muscle and go for another thrust. Only, the world continued the spin it had started on, full around until he was getting a full view of- s**t!- cement. Bending his arm unpleasantly, his pull would turn into a sudden jerk, flinging blood as it jerked out of the tissue and his hand at the same time. Thoughts of picking it back up were interrupted before they began as concrete forcefully acquainted itself with his ribs.

Not enough.

Something flickered black, and rolling onto his stomach. Thoughts fired off, twisted a mass of courses and half-finished plans in his head

Back up. Can't stop. Fight.

Kael leaned forward, tracing Lazenca visually while he clamped his teeth on the back of the coat his spin had flung across the floor, counting the distance as he straightened partway to his feet again.

"...rrmf."

His left hand flexed by his side, bandage wrapped over the missing palm of his gauntlet, quick tests coming like molasses. The rush! The adrenaline! Right now, it was as good a reason as any other to be here. Full of life, bursting, with more than he knew what to do with, senses and mind soaring. Something primal, wrapping itself up in his mind. It was better than the fury, but so closely related. He had to take a tight hold, keep this in check, keep the fury away.

Crouched, the coat trailed from the ground up, doing almost nothing to conceal his chest now, bare and glistening with sweat already. His face was dry, courtesy of Lazenca's hand and aura of cold, hot eyes following the cold ones across the room, red on blue. His mouth was hidden by bunched black cloth, but it didn't need to show. Not wicked, not shining with victory, his eyes were doing it for him. Just grinning.

It's not enough yet.

It couldn't be said that Kael had much of a fanbase. Inconsistant, holding on to his secrets and giving up the spotlight to the flashier fighters, it was at best a following- people who couldn't stifle their curiosity about the fighter. Somewhere, nearly drowned by the roar of Lazenca's crowd, a voice raised. Then another, and another.

"Kael! Kael! Kael! Kael!"

Like a cue for the world to begin moving again.

Fight, Kael.

The tip of his sword rose, hand back by his side tracing Lazenca with the tip, readying to follow his motion and thrust if he came forward or toward the right, as Kael quick-stepped, halfway down as if stalking, set on course to pick up his knife without breaking stride on his way toward Lazenca, holding off on his thrust until he closed to nearly five feet, or Lazenca did it for him.

"Kael! Kael! Kael! Kael!"

FIGHT.

Silver came strolling up behind Sun, hands stuffed in his jacket pockets. Fashionably late as usual. He was glancing about at the machinery as he walked. He found the ambient heat in the air quite comfortable and a nice change from this year's usual cool, winter outdoorsy locales, but something about the noise and machinery was unsettling to him. He was surprised such a place had been picked as a stage, but figured they had been steadily ramping up the danger factor as HoH became more and more popular.

"Hey, sorry I'm late. I, uh, drove myself today... I tried to bring Teira but I think she had business..."

Silver came to a stop next to his team mate on the sidelines, first examining the fight already in progress in the area designated for the ring, then over at the opposing team. The two on the floor, anyway. It was surprising to Silver he couldn't recall having ever met any of them.

"So, you guys are Fracture, huh? Wow, Vahn musta been really mad at me to shack up with you guys..."

Silver shook his head while smirking.

1... 2... 3... Where's--!

Slowly, Silver would look up, his eyes focusing on the last member of the opposition that had opted not to stay at ground level, for a good reason no doubt. But even under that cloak and mask, it wasn't hard to figure out where or who or he was. All it took was a little concentration to feel him. The seal he still bore saw to that.

"Nice get up."

Rather than taking a knife out of his arm then, he was clenching and loosing his right fist. Hurt like a mutha... he would have to give that arm a bit to stop bleeding, at least, so that further damage could be avoided. The right foot moved back, making the left side the lead.

Lazenca would have been rushing forward by now, but he had to take a moment to gather himself. The scene was definitely going to take a toll on him if he allowed it to be so hard, so the moment of inactivity was appreciated though his fighter's instinct spat. The noise was being tuned out for now, recognized as ambiance as much as the machinery moving around them. With his base low, the left arm rose and went vertical as if he was now asking Kael for a dance. He was resolved to deflect this incoming thrust as such was his primary concern, and the true reason for standing this way.

Stepping hard left while circling his arm down and around the blade, it's exactly what he did. The bracer and the motion would have the sword passing to Lazenca's right, close calls and all. The point was not only to have the sword thrust narrowly miss, but also make Kael have to cross over himself if he wanted to use his knife... so if Kael was being a Southpaw with his sword, then Lazenca was going to his own right and Kael was going to the left.

"..."

[disk 3, track 4]

[4/17]

With a chime and a spark, the sword diverted easily enough to the side- but Kael kept facing the larger man straight down. As soon as the wolf started to the side Kael mirrored with a quick step, followed by sidling around in his low stalking-stance. Effectively, keeping the two face to face, circling each other.

The thrust stopped as he moved, partially retracting- and with a quick rotation of his wrist he brought the tip of his blade in a tight semi-circle, at the end of which his elbow and shoulder tensed and snapped. Simply put, he'd used the quick-flourish to turn the blades from vertical to horizontal and changed the spin of the blade into a straight line out, hacking at the outside of Lazenca's right knee, probably the only part besides the foot that could be considered unprotected at this distance. With Lazenca's constitution, there was little risk of it crippling him, much as a little extra bleeding and strain on his motion wouldn't hurt the cause.

If it could take him off balance and create an opening though, Kael'd draw the sword back to his side and behind him and dash into the wolf, left hand forward defensively, to try and get the knife into the back of his thigh, and with a yank and shoulder check, try to drop him on his back during the opening.

Kael's brow had started to drop though.

This isn't all. What's the ploy?

[5/17]

Now-!

Lazenca had a head start, even if the rush was expected. Kael rushed headlong into it, moving forward and taking the back of the knuckles to the cheek, turning his face just enough-

"-hgtch!"

-to save his left eye as they ripped his cheek open and cut at the the lidded right and middle of his face.

Only, Kael never flinched back.

His right hand had been pulling wide all the while, as his legs straightened and shoulder's leaned forward, drawing the sword across Lazenca's tasset harmlessly and out of the way by the time Kael's face pressed into Lazenca's chest, as if to use the man's own body as a shield from more slashes, and simultaniously took the right knee hard in the ribs.

-I gotcha!

His left hand came up underneath the tasset, driving the knife into the back of his thigh, running up the muscle toward rear end and halting the kick before he could retreat. Instantly, he followed, working on the momentum of his reckless forward drive to put his right shoulder into Lazenca's stomach and wrap press the hand holding the sword against the back of his other hip.

With a snarl of excertion he dropped the coat from between his teeth as he straightened, lifting the larger man straight up into the air primarily using his legs for the lift, and using the momentum and tilt of his body Lazenca already had to add even more speed as he pressed the legs toward each other and swept them out to his own left, past his body, and finished the double leg takedown.

The half pivot at his hips accompanying the sweep of the legs, and Lazenca's weight, were all going to to make the painful takedown onto the concrete all the worse- besides of course, the fact that Lazenca would be landing on top of the blade running diagonally across his back, not so bad nearer the waist as near the shoulder where the most of his weight would come down first.

Assuming the take down was successful, he wasn't going to get time to breath and grit through it before Kael twisted the knife in his leg and pulled it out, following by dragging the sword out from underneath him as he started to stand again, readying to take as much out on the werewolf as he could before he found a way out and onto his feet.

...Well, crap.

The thoughts in ways to defend came many, jumbled, and too slow before he was downed. What was there to say about it? Kael had completely surprised Lazenca, and was rewarded by dropping him down to the ground. He let out something akin to a yelp when he landed on the knife, legs instinctively popping back away from the offense. His eyes were open to the feel of the sword creating another long gash in his back.

Was he... losing? The heat was disorienting and slowing him down mentally. It affected his fighting, taking him out of his usual relaxed mindset and putting him on a mad path that kept rewarding him with new slashes in his body, and relatively little done on Kael. However, Laz was all about taking a situation and making it his own.

Seldom used was the knife on Lazenca's hip, since he used his hands and bracers for much the same things... but there were just places he couldn't easily slash and stab into like someone's back. His right hand pulled the weapon from its sheath and as Kael wrenched his knife out, Lazenca plunged his into the left shoulder. For every bit of pulling away Kael did, he'd surely be damaging his own shoulder... and Laz tensed and made vibrate his hand often so the pain wouldn't dull. As for the left hand, it went grabbing for Kael's other shoulder and likely grabbed a fistful of jacket claws clamped down as hard as Esterianally possible.

Against all common sense, Lazenca rocked on his back with the aim of forcing the blade to a horizontal and therefore harmless position with the weight of his body. He'd likely open the wound a little bit before successful, but disarming was finally on its way. Was it all worth it?

[disk 3, track 6]

Ever the stoic badass...

Still looking up, Silver's eyes narrowed as a grin crept across his face. His hands never left his pockets as he leaned over to Sunstrike.

"Keep these jokers entertained 'til the Captain gets here, will ya? I've got something I gotta take care of..."

With that, Silver spun on his heels and began to slowly walk around the far side of the ring, disappearing into the smoke and sparks.

We knew it would eventually come to this... Hmph... in fact, I had counted on it...

He turned and began to ascend metal staircase, the steps themselves the same grating as most of the rest of the catwalks they supported.

What will happen now? I can't even pretend to begin to know how you think... Still, there are things that need to be said, things I have to know, I have to do...

A few more twists and turns. More stairs.

Has fate brought us to this? Were we destined to trade blows at some point?

He would eventually come to the far and of the upper catwalk.

Are your fangs really sharp enough... to pierce my heart? Could you? If you're so strong... Why are you hiding?

Ancient History was just that. Ancient History. Unless, of course, you happened to be a part of it.

They seemed like they were miles apart, both figuratively and literally, standing at opposite ends of the long catwalk. Steam and the haze of heat surrounded them. Like a Fah.

With the sounds of combat and industry all around them and so far apart, it should have been impossible to speak in a place like this. But these kinds of dramatic dialouges always came out clear. Probably because they already knew what the other was going to say.

Silver's hands stayed in his jacket pockets. That familiar red leather jacket that Vahn would have seen Silver wear many times before. That very jacket that Silver had started to wear because he wanted to be like the man he idolized.

The smile on his face was gone now. The serene green eyes of the younger man would stare forward to meet those now revealed.

"We'll only have a few minutes until the other fights conclude and we'll be expected to put on some kinda show, so I'll stick to a couple important ones..."

"Not nearly, feels like an early spring day!"

His attention shifted as Silver strolled in. Buisness.... Hell, she wasn't here, that was going to mess with Kael's plans. But, Sun didn't think Silver would have left her ALL by herself. He wasn't getting alarm bells ringing...for that matter...even through the mess earlier he'd not gotten them, which explained the slightly blissful state he was in. Teira was like a low level hum in the back of his mind that he couldn't...quite...understand.

He followed the other mans eyes up to the maked man and grinned much like Silver.

"Take care."

It was all he'd have to say, people were looking forward to a real clash of wills. Vahn and Sun would have they're day, whether together or opposing, there was no rush.

He turned back to Rage once Silver was out of sight, blinking in surprise at the er....mass of metal.

"How's our blue-haired godling fairing? She still at Firebrand? Or out causing soapy mischief?" He was, of course, referring to Owle, that girls connections were all across the board really.

Come on.

Kael was disarmed, and it only took Lazenca to take multiple slashes to his limb and even his back. However, there would be no fanfare in his mind for the feat; there was still the matter of winning. And it was still frikin' hot.

You're gonna sweat.

Kael was on a knee, and Lazenca needed to get up. Swinging his lower body to the left, he started pulling himself up on the knife in Kael's back which would wonderful work in tearing at the muscle while getting Laz up. It'd take the combined effort of that pulling, as well as his own scrambling his legs under him-- right leg flat as a crutch, push up on the left foot while twisting the hips-- to get him on one knee.

You're gonna bleed.

His pupils shrank as the pain was reawakened in his arm and he let out a great, ferocious roar in Kael's face, his quartet of voices finding the function to verbalize what his twitching right hand, now loosed and locked in its position of agony from the knife hand, wished to scream.

"Let... go!"

His left hand, left alone for the hellish muscle reopening, shot back at Kael's head with an open palm, aiming for nothing more than to make his head lean to the right. Where others would start throwing hooks and wild punches, Lazenca knew less punch types and more of veins and arteries. He knew how to expose and attack those points, and little else mattered.

It's gonna hurt.

It'd be much a repeat of last time, but now there was no sword between Lazenca's gaping maw and Kael's throat. Adrenaline made him press down and threaten the ultimate end, but his teeth weren't in proper position to send a large spray of vitae into his throat if Lazenca did truly close with ill intent. However, the point got across. The equivalent of holding a sword down on a flattened opponent or pointing a gun in their face and telling them to hold, Lazenca went for the kill shot and gave the warning only after his teeth were locked.

"Yield!"

[disk 3, track 7]

"Oh?"

It hurts.

He flourished the mask in his hand, giving it good twirl before regarding the entire thing, looking at it as he spoke. "Is that really all you have you say? Something as selfish as that?"

I know it hurts.

Yellowed eyes widened, even as those classic brows furrowed and he opened his mouth wide. "Don't give me that s**t."

But I can't... I can't let any of you in...

The temperature spiked up several degrees to correspond with the tone in his voice.

...to the wretched blackness that's already taken hold of us.

"I can't...stand being around...clean people." The mask was raised, covering a bit of his face from Silver's perspective. "For what I need to do... you would all just get in my way."

That terrible thing called vengeance...

He kept his head raised, lips pursed now.

But you'll understand. Someday. Definitely not today.

"GROW UP ALREADY!!" The shout would rattle the walkway as he stamped his foot down, jabbing a finger towards Silver.

"Do you honestly think I'm some kind of traveling clown?! That all I do is go around meeting pretty women and drinking myself to sleep?! Or beating up people left and right to prove myself--- or to get stronger!!? All I've ever wanted was to just rest--- but I can't!

There are still things I need to do.

There is still someone I need to see... and stop."

He spread both arms out, hands up. "I have felt what it's like to win and lose with these two hands. To save a life and take it.

I have felt the touch of a summer breeze... a warm breast...even the warmth of my own blood...

But with these two hands--- !!"

He clenched his right fist shut. "I...can't even remember the last time I touched her with these hands... these hands that sent her away---!"

His teeth gritted even as he looked Silver square in the eyes from across the walkway. "It's not...because I'm too good.

Or because I think nothing of it.

It's because I dishonored it. Because I didn't have enough faith in my friends...because I was confused... and I thought I knew what was right.

It was my mistake... that caused the fracture.

My mistake... that created Teira."

Sunstrike Wrote:

"Eh?!"

Sunstrike blinked, then grew a shade or two paler when Athan pointed the finger, ears lowering and eyes being startled into a few solid colours. It didn't hold for very long, but was noticable.

"I was in Glacier last year...and the year before, does that help? Nice to meet you anyway!" There was a pause as soon as Sun finished talking. Athan's finger lowered, but the hand pointing the accusing index didn't drop to his side just yet. Instead Athan just seemed to mull over the line that was fed to him.

No...that has to be him.

Sure, it could have been true and the blatantly obvious "oshit" look could have been a result of Athan's size, but this was a fighting tournament. People didn't just go pale and frightened for no reason, right?

"Funny. Coulda sworn I saw you in the Vale with Omikron."

After that little 'test' all Athan did was drop his hand. It was a bit awkward for the redhead, seeing as how Athan wasn't taking his eyes off of him for more than two seconds at a time to check on Kael's progress during the fight.

Vahn's presence went largely ignored. Not because he didn't know that the man was there, but because he refused to look in his direction for fear that the burning in the pit of his stomach would just get even worse.

To anyone else, it just looked like the heat was getting to him. Though it was anyone's guess why he had chosen to stand so close to a smelting pot in the first place.

A quick glance back to the fight.

C'mon bud. I don't wanna get involved if I don't have to. But...

By nature most people saw the ironworks fights from a television and not from the fairly small and mostly empty designated watching areas. Was just too difficult to fit a large number of ideal seats without compromising the arena, and that's not even counting the fact said seats sell incredibly poorly. Even with such an highly anticipated fight most people were watching it over a live stream from outside the ironworks or from HoH Square. Still there were a few brave fans sweating in the ironworks, either for enthusiasm or for personal reasons.

Two people pressed right up against the guard rail fell into that latter category, and they were quite visible due to the thin crowd.

The first was a man stripped down to jeans and a t-shirt leaned up against the rail. Disheveled copper hair, squinty eyes, and the patch of small scars covering the left side of his face made him fairly identifiable to at least two of the contestants. He was here to see the man that he had traveled with put on a good fight. Hell, he told everyone it was last years event where he had found out about that man.

Pity when they fought together it was leading towards a large mistake... Though that's where the other figure came in.

Not leaning against the rail but standing calmly behind it was a figure a few sizes larger than the leaning man. That wasn't the explanation behind all the strange looks that guy was getting, no, he was being stared at due to his blatantly insane outfit. A long grey coat was draped over an oversized black hooded-sweatshirt. Said sweater's hood obscuring any facial features of the figure, while the coat did the same hiding job for any bodily features. Not only was there a huge guy there, but a huge guy that looked like he should be boiling alive.

"He's getting all worked up over that other guy. I wonder what's up with that?" The ruddy-haired man commented to his enshrouded companion.

The other fellow was less interested in Vahn's proclamations, and was more concerned with nervously looking around. Constantly he shifted his hooded head to look at the stands, then fracture members, then Frozen Flame member, and occasionally he attempted to calm down and watch the fight.

"I do not know."

"I think it's one of his teammates from last year." The smaller man ignored his friend's flat tone, "Alexander or something. I watched it on TV so I didn't get to see much of him. Hopefully they won't mess each other up too bad, eh?"

"Mess each other up?" The hidden fellow's hollow tone was slightly confused, "I thought this was a sporting competition?"

"Kinda."

Oh, Lazenca wasn't even holding the knife anymore... mention of the hand open and in a position of pain. One couldn't possibly hold a knife with gnarled fingers, digits twisting like haunted tree limbs. No longer under his control since the knifehand dig, the knife stayed its place but wasn't getting twisted around at all.

His teeth clamped over nothing, closing loudly with a loud tick that he could hear even over the sound of his and Kael's struggling. More now, that he had a knife tearing into him again. His jaws parted to let out another cry of pain, and the hand against Kael's face ripped downward not only to claw his face, but more importantly to have his hand clamp around the wrist that had pushed his face up and keep it from stopping the next attack.

And then it happened, that thing he was trying not to do against this guy because he hadn't done it in their last meeting.

The short down on his skin shot up all over as muscles bulged and bulked. Proportions were altered... he became longer and his mouth became a snout from which breath, cold despite the struggle and venue, emerged in a visible cloud. His body would be hunched over to maintain his position (and minimize the injuries compounding) as best as possible after the two-second shift up to Negative.

Second verse, same as the first. Rather than try and pinpoint a place to attack, the whole of Lazenca's maw close over Kael's face and in building frustration, shook his head from side to side.

He must've really wanted that massage.

[disk 3, track 8]

[8/17]

"-rrrg!"

His eyes shut, cold lines of pain biting into his face, warm blood quickly removing the chill of the hand. He struggled, his right hand suddenly immobile, being dragged away and the left jiggling weakly- something was wrong.

What's happening. He feels-

His eyes opened, vision dark, and he threw his head, blinking rapidly to wash the blood out of his eyes.

Panic.

The twisted face and limbs, half human now, jaws descending on him, as he desperately struggled, pulling the knife free, far to late to get it up to push the head away from his face. And just as suddenly, something stopped it, and the wolf man was yanked up, rising away from him. Twisting, jerking desperately, he tore his hand away and fell on to the concrete on his side.

s**t.

Shaking violently, he pushed himself up, tucking his knife into his belt and stretching out to grab his sword up.

"Get up."

Kael stood, groaning, and reached around to his back. With a wince, he drew the knife out of his back, teeth clamped tight. Still gathering himself, he turned his head to follow Athan as he walked back to the sidelines, blood picking up sweat and tears, covering his face in streaks and rivers of red.

"And win."

He came back to himself quickly, blinking and gritting his teeth.

That's right...

He cast the knife off, throwing it along the ground to slide it's way toward the sidelines, keep it from getting to Lazenca's hands again, and turned immediately to the werewolf.

I can't stop.

It's not about who might need me later.

He focused his eyes on the werewolf, and started forward, putting both hands to the sword, held up infront of him at a 70 degree angle up from the ground. He wasn't going to charge, or ready for an attack, not when Lazenca suddenly had so much greater a reach, and the wolf man was bound to be ready for him before he got there.

Focus, and fight.

His face went hard, stoic, calming down.

He was hurting, the pain was bad, and all of that was only helping the heat and struggle fatigue him. But he couldn't stop. He couldn't lose- it simply wasn't an option to let it end any way but on his terms.

There are people counting on me now.

It was a good thing that all of his clothes and equipment had that Integrate ability, the one that said that if wants to, they shift up and down proportionate to his size because if Athan had really pulled on Lazenca's tail and not the tail guard, then they'd have some serious tension and misunderstandings between them.

That's not to say that he didn't snap his head around and try to tear off a bit of the nasty-tasting arm that interrupted his attack. This round was supposed to be over by now, Kael submitting to the great beast who threatened to crush his head between its teeth. Instead, he was picked up and hefted away and Lazenca was much too... tired? focused? to prevent it.

He wouldn't be tossed too far, stopping short of actually slamming into anything, but the distance was enough. The time was enough between them... all of that ground gaining was lost. And oh look, Kael had his damn sword back. Picking himself up from the ground and leaving streaks of red on it as he rolled over, Lazenca got into a four-point crouch.

He couldn't rightly move right now, he needed to breathe. His back and neck were stinging, sore... serious injuries had been taken and he'd been pushing himself in this atmosphere to keep going. Now that adrenaline was being given a chance to wear off, he was being made more aware of those injuries he'd stopped bleeding from as well as those that his body was working on now. His right bicep... even the thought of moving the arm was painful.

Not as painful as it being shredded apart, but still.

Lazenca didn't move from his position, stuck between growling at having to do everything over again and the person who'd interrupted and made it so. This, to the sound of the factory shutting down around them. It was quite notable where the fighting was, and much less so where other people had snuck off to converse. Factory workers who'd stuck around would look at their usual stations, but nothing seemed different-- nobody had pressed a stop button, and nothing was slowing down.

Nothing but Lazenca's breathing.

[disk 3, track 9]

Lazenca remained his position, his position in the squat only changed enough to keep Kael's midline in the center of his own. There were no words given in response, though Lazenca did huff at the end of Kael's words... coincidence or acknowledgment? Save for the sound of his growling, his large tail lashing at the air was the other sounds his body spared.

His mind, however, was not quiet.

What chemicals are there?

It's not water?

That doesn't make sense.

Some are water, but they'd need more here.

Oh, for the days when I was in school and could learn about this.

...What?

He's actually going to do this, isn't he...?

The fire extinguisher dropped and spun around between them. The last Lazenca would see of Kael was likely of the sword retracting. Kael's last image of Lazenca would be of his pushing forward, as if to stand.

Indeed, that was the plan... get to his feet. Not too high, not too fast... there was going to be time before the smokescreen tactic filled the area, making it effective, but he needed time for the light to fade. The light in his left palm (since he didn't want to lift his right arm, that side badly injured), exposed to the cloud. It was a pinpoint that shimmered in and out of existence before truly fading and gaining a voice, that of a chorus of women screaming bloody, dissonant murder. The light gained a temperature, that which opposed the area around them, freezing cold the likes of which one wouldn't associate with an ironworks unless Lazenca was there.

The attack was going to happen whether or not Kael leapt through, because Lazenca was counting on the extinguisher chemicals being able to take liquid, and subsequently iced, states. All around them ice would shove violently away the heat as the chemicals escaping the container stopped. The air itself in the area (seemed to have) stopped. Everything that wasn't Lazenca that was in the chemicals, stopped.

The light had gained a name: Aquatic Zone Backlash Grenade.

Kael, who would've had more success throwing the container at Lazenca's head, had just been frozen as a cloudy ice sculpture that he himself helped build, the attack stopping him mid-thrust as in a Merry Melodies cartoon-- complete immobility in the structure. The cameras and crowd wouldn't get much of a chance to get a good look at the jagged lines and hard edges created by the visible, tangible chemicals and Kael's body.

"Neither do you."

The ice crashed inward, energy released all at once via implosion (maximum damage to Kael, little chance of things flying everywhere so icicles could stab people they weren't supposed to). As for Kael himself, he wouldn't feel the need to fly anywhere dramatically from a single force pushing him somewhere, since it came from everywhere at once.

Standing and keeping consciousness, however, may prove difficult.

[disk 3, track 10]

The ace pilot circles the smoking bogey to confirm the kill, to see if another few bullets or Fox 2 is required.

The lone onlooker below stares at the 13 painted on the metallic side, seeing the familiar house on the lake burn.

In the story, the pilot was able to leave but things didn't always go by the book. Fox 1 was the Backlash Grenade. The "circle" was Lazenca walking the distance to the recovering Kael, stomping on the sword-bearing hand... this too would be familiar.

He should've kicked Kael in the face, loosed the other missile that would send Kael's plane burning as the opposing pilot fell from the wild blue yonder of consciousness. Lazenca had good tone, he had lock. Would Kael make him fire?

"...Yield."

[disk 3, track 11]

Psychofish Wrote:

Doesn't immediately say "I give"

That's all that mattered right now. Not the direction that Kael was going, not that he was breaking his own sword under Lazenca's foot. Not that both of them had at least part of their mind on the last fight. His mind wasn't on the feel of Sakura's hands on his back and tummy while she muttered curses (ooh baby, I like it when you talk dirty), or the thought of sleeping in his room for near a full day to give his injuries time to really heal up, or the meal he'd eat afterwards to replenish all the aura he was burning just to not overheat here.

Psychofish Wrote:

Doesn't immediately say "I give"

THAT was all that mattered, and it's what made Lazenca's face go from fatigued calm back to anger and irritation. It's not like Lazenca could legally kill here, but that's what he knew. In a life or death situation, things would indeed have gone differently. He wouldn't've held back, attacking so that pain would be there but not absolute maiming or gods and goddesses forbid, death be the result. But here he was, in this competition where he was most crippled not by his lack of a long blade to clash and make sword songs, or by the current venue that limited his aural ability use and actually made he who never sweats, sweat.

It was the fact that in the end, he was bound by unnatural laws that prevented him from ever winning the way that nature demanded it. He couldn't crush Kael's throat. He had the opportunity to plunge the knife in Kael's skull, but the shoulder was taken instead. He was also not allowed to just let Kael freeze to death as an ice sculpture. Lazenca was fighting people who kept going until they were killed, knew that there was always a way to stop someone from beating you since the person was used to final solutions. No-one ever had to just bow out, and an unsurprising few people did.

Nobody allows themselves to--

"YIELD!"

There was no windup for the pitch, his left leg shooting up suddenly while his body twisted to the right, onto a leg with a hole in the thigh and a gash at the knee. He didn't feel when the blade snapped beneath his foot, or really see when Kael rushed back in to plunge it into the left side of his stomach. The feeling he was looking for was that of some part of his leg meeting resistance and breaking through it (knee to the head) to send Kael's body back down to the ground where, if he had a bit of sense and didn't want Lazenca to physically pick him up by his legs and beat him against the containers of molten steel, he'd stay the hell down.

Hit or miss (but why would he miss?), Lazenca lost his footing at the end of the turn and dropped to his ailing right arm to stop himself from completely flattening. This time, he had about half a sword sticking out of his side.

JAWSOME.

[disk3, track 12]

To be fair, he was playing by their rules. He expected it. But it was fine, because Lazenca knew he had to find other ways to beat people than just killing them. Karma was gonna bite him like a mean ol' b***h when it caught up.

...He rolled his eyes and mentally apologized to his mother for thinking that.

His arm dragging him like dead weight and knee/thigh injury not doing anything at all to help his balance, Lazenca was down but not out. Surely, when he tried to push off his right side he'd yelp again, reminded immediately of the bicep, neck-to-side, and back injuries that made that arm pretty much useless for the time. Going on the left side was possible, but would hurt just as much. Thing was, he could actually stand with it.

So he did. First, there was haste because he expected to have to defend himself from a rising and madly attacking Kael. Lazenca rocked to the left side, scrambling up with the arm and trying to not wiggle the sword at all on the way up, resulting in a very awkward stand that ended in some kind of hop and limp as he turned with his right hand up. Just in case.

However, Kael was much slower to getting up, to the point that he didn't. The time would be taken not to stand over Kael, but take a deep breath and yank the broken sword out. Cue a grunt, and a lot more blood. With hands limp at his side-- left holding the weapon, he waited for something... Kael, a Judge.

For the end.

[disk 3, track 13]

[take the needle off the record.]

The round had been called, and Lazenca dropped Kael's broken sword to the ground at his side. There needn't to be said any words right now... he began to lope off to his side of the field, expecting that Kael's teammates (or if they were too busy haeting him, medics) would take the opponent off the field. Tiera came fashionably late, but in time enough. When the shoulder was offered, despite his size, he took it.

"One massage... in the bag."

Any other opponent, Lazenca would get out of this place... he'd go sit outside and let the rest of the team fend for itself. It had nothing to do with ties broken and members not liking each other... it was just too hot to be comfortable, less so now that he had injuries that would take much longer to simply settle and stop bleeding, much less mend. But against this team, he was forced to stay for a multitude of reasons.

So he did.

"...Hungry."

The medical staff knew him well, considering last year. They knew to feed him with a sandwich or something. Just one, because they weren't caterers, but food was considered a part of Lazenca's recovery.

"A massage, and dinner. "

"We go now, LIVE to the Aekea Ironworks, where two of the most highly anticipated teams for Heaven or Hell two thousand and eight, are squaring off--- Over to you Nikki!"

---

"Nikki here! And things have REALLY heated up between Kael of FRACTURE and Lazenca Miranda, of FROZEN FLAME!

Both men have been keeping pace with one another. Bot started strong, but Kael seemed to have the upper hand-- now the tides have turned and it seems Lazenca is controlling the flow of the fight."

-Camera pans to Athan entering the ring. Zoom in a maw-block and tail toss-

"Fellow FRACTURE teammate, Athan has just entered the fray to aide Kael who was about to have his face EATEN by the big bad bad wolf! Lazenca was sent sailing by the muscle-bound hunk before he returned to the sidelines, telling Kael to 'Get up and WIN!'.

He seems shaken but determined!

BLOODIED and BATTERED these fighters are not giving up yet!~"

-The camera zoomed in on the fighters as the field was obscured by the misty spray of a fire extinguisher.

Kael of FRACTURE entered the haze and--- AND-- ?!!

And didn't come out!

There was a moment of flickering light and then the spray hardened into solid ice!

Camera pans to the side and focuses on Sakura's iron sculptures before returning to zoom in on Kael's iced over face-

"The field has been turned into an impromptu art gallery!~ While his teammate Sakura makes metal men and statues of polar bears-- Lazenca has reversed the heat of battle to give Kael and cool down, by turning him into a living ice sculpture!"

The ice imploded to crush Kael and the battle continued viciously. Nikki couldn't tear her eyes away. Her heart was racing! Blood pounding in her ears even as the two fighters pounded eachother!

"This BRUTAL battle is coming to a head folks! It looks as if Lazenca is ready to finish it! But what's this-- another request for his opponent to YIELD? Will Kael surrender?"

-The camera zooms in on the two, entwined in the final moments of their struggle-

"NO! KAEL IS STILL FIGHTING! Ladies and gentleman, you are seeing a display of WILL and SPIRIT! As even now, FRACTURE's member is giving it everything he's got!"

-Focus on the stab to Lazenca's side, blood running off the hilt.-

"OUUUUUU!~ Lazenca has just taken a NASTY stab from Kael. The sword is STICKING OUT OF HIS SIDE!"

• The camera followed the knee strike to the head and trailed both fighters as they went down. -

"Lazenca making good on his threat with a VICIOUS knee strike to the head!~

BOTH fighters are down now!

Will this be a double KO?"

-Focus on Laz struggling to his feet. Focus on Kael, back to Laz.-

"Lazenca has gotten to his feet--- There is no movement from Kael. He appears to have fallen unconscious, that means-- YES! The judge has called it!

LAZENCA MIRANDA of FROZEN FLAME Has won the first match of ROUND THREE!"

-Camera zooms in on the fighters being helped off the field by their teammates

Nikki grinned at the camera flashing the thumbs up in approval. A salute to the two fighters-

"THIS is what Heaven or Hell is about! BRUTAL on the edge of your seat BLOOD LETTING! And with two more fights to go, the Ironworks is only just HEATING UP!"

"You...don't get it, do you?"

He stared at Silver, even as the sounds of fighting beneath them seemed to die out. A gush of steam poured out in the middle of them, even as the machinery edged in on their world for just a moment.

"There is no getting back together. I ain't in that circle anymore..it isn't so simple as a pat on the back or saying 'sorry'.

Not with what I did... and still gotta do."

Another hiss of steam, even as the mask was placed firmly back onto his face, the clasps settling in, and that single yellow eye showing.

There is no black and white in this situation.

I've already picked the people I want to surround myself with. That deepened voice spilled forth once more-- as if a completely different person were standing before Silver now.

Their the bastards who can help me get to that man... I don't have to shed tears for them or go out of my way to protect them! They can stand on their own--- and fall on their own.

The fingers of his right hand were spread wide, staying in front of his masked face before lowering as he took hold of his Fang's handle with the left, the blade being withdrawn from it's scabbard on the back of his waist beneath his cloak.

But if you reeeally think your better than any of them--- then I'll show ya' just how wide the gap really is... between black... and white.

His right eye widened.

Athan was just staring at Kael's unconscious body as Lazenca stood triumphant overtop of him. His right hand was balled up into a tight fist, and he just looked stunned. The match was well fought on both ends but, just as Teira was more inclined to root for Lazenca, Athan was far more inclined to be upset about the end result.

Shouldn't have let it come down to that.

Athan's hand opened up and he started back into the playing field, walking slowly, keeping his eyes on Frozen Flame as he went across.

Athan was the odd man out when it came to having a 'friendly' relationship with their competition. He wasn't very well aware of Teira's condition, he didn't even know Lazenca or Silver, and Sun was someone he was pretty sure he had fought with once, even if the little runt wouldn't admit it. So when it came down to it, Athan was perfectly fine with harboring some amount of hatred towards these people, and he doubted the glares he was shooting would be all that well-received.

There was more to it than just Kael's defeat. He saw the Teira incident as an unfortunate detour on his quest for vengeance. Vahn had convinced him that Alpha along with Victor and Ra'kar would most certainly come for her, but the longer the tournament dragged on the more Athan doubted that.

"You gave it your best."

He finally tore his eyes away from the opposition and bent down to pick Kael up. Throwing the bloodied body over his shoulder, Athan started back from whence he came, clearing the arena for round two.

And if round two didn't start by the time he turned around, it was almost certain he'd be taking matters into his own hands.

As the medical team helped Laz to a cooler location, she would toss one of them a pouch. It was stuffed to bursting. Inside her friend would find a bounty of smoked venison jerky.

"Give that to him."

And with that she turned back to Sakura who had made her way to the stage's center. Teira strode boldly forward, squaring off, toe to toe opposite of the green haired woman.

Both of them stood at 5ft5'', eye locked on each other. Her golden eyes staring into Sakura's brown one's.

Despite that they were generally friendly to one another-- HoH had seen the birth of a new rivalry. If this were an anime, sparks would be jumping between their gaze, a dramatic static line in the background.

But all there was, was heat.

The heat of the molten metal around them... Of the natural body heat as sweaty factory workers toiled in their own sweat. The lingering heat of the bloody battle that had preceded them--

But nothing so hot as the passion that surrounded these too women.

This was going to go down as HoH's HOTTEST fight.

Sakura Wrote:

"I can feel it. The heated passion of a man who gave up everything."

"I can feel it too..."

Her left foot slid back, knees bent. Her elven blade was sheathed at her left hip beneath her cloak.

Sakura Wrote:

"So... I have to ask..."

Wings folded neatly at her back, her tail twitched like a cat ready to pounce on it's prey. Her eyes swirled with golden flame as a devilish smile crept across her rubied lips.

Sakura Wrote:

"Do you have what it takes to put out the fire burning in my soul?"

Her right hand grasped the cloak. Flinging her arm straight out to the side, tearing it off, she threw it to the sidelines in a discarded heap. Dressed in a fresh set of battle robes and what little armour she chose to wear. She threw her left arm out as well and yelled out to anyone present, her voice booming over the noise of their surroundings.

"ANYONE WHO CAN'T TAKE THE HEAT-- BETTER LEAVE NOW!"

Her eyes met with Sakura's once more-- "Do you really think you're THAT hot? That YOU could burn ME?"

As if that were a cue, four people standing in the designated spectator area, whipped off sunglasses, hats and tear away track suits, tossing them into a vat of molten iron in a poof of flame. POSES! Music flooded the scene and the music filled the area fighting over the roar of machines.

Four women, one man who was wearing sparkly red underwear and a shiny gold cape started dancing and singing. Where they with Teira? If so where on earth had she picked up such a bizarre quintet?

"NIGHT OF FIRE!~"

"LETS ROCK!"

"FIIIYYYAAAAA~"

Both her hands would reach forward and grab her by the shirt collar to deliver a nasty HEADBUTT--

It was on!

|| HEAVEN OR HELL 2oo8 || ROUND 3: FIGHT TWO ||

TEIRA VS. SAKURA

:: 1/17 ::

ragingtofu Wrote:

"You think that's going to stop me?!"

She screwed up her face as they butted heads. Teira had never head butted a robot before-- hell, she'd never even seen one! But that didn't make her any less 'thick headed' -- or was that 'hard headed'?

What Sakura may or may not have known, was that Teira was every bit as crazy.

She smirked as her eyes narrowed at her opponent- "I sure hope not-- Or this--"

Her right hand would let go of the shirt collar only to shoot straight upwards and catch Sakura square in the jaw, her hand closed in a fist. Hopefully with all the chatting she was doing, she didn't bite her tongue~

"Would be-- NO FUN!"

ragingtofu Wrote:

"YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHIN' YET!"

Sakura's right foot came up, knee to chest and foot forcing itself into Teira's stomach with a force that was more of a push than a kick. Time to get some distance--

"OOUFFF!!"

As Sakura hoofed her one in the stomach, Teira held on by the left hand, still gripping her shirt collar. Distance was exactly what Teira DIDN'T want between them.

The kick forced her back, but Sakura would be jerked forward at the same time. The right fist that had just struck her in the jaw, would reach back, grabbing a fistful of blue bandanna and green hair even as the hand on on her shirt collar tugged her forwards and down.

Since the left side was anchored to her opponent's shirt, the kick would finally glance off the right as it forced her body to open up. Pivoting, she made a 90 degree angle out of their bodies, but only for a second.

As her hands would force Sakura's head down, aided by the mometum of Sakura's own kick, her right knee came up in a strong knee strike to Sakura's face. Namely, her nose. If she could, she would bring her knee down and up, ONE-- TWO MORE TIMES!-- before releasing her in a forward motion to send her tumbling.

:: 2/17 ::

"Hrrk--"

So that was the game she wanted to play, was it? It was a strong fist, but it didn't have a huge travel distance, so unless Teira had super strength it wasn't going to hit her too hard. She didn't bite her tongue, but her teeth got a good clang as it forced her mouth shut.

"--guh!"

She felt herself being pulled down, not knowing what her opponent was planning but not caring to find out. Her right foot came down hard, pushing forward along with the momentum that came with Teira's pull. She used the temporary opening from her kick to push forward as hard as she could, trying to break free from the red-head's hold. The pivot would create the opening, and the bandanna was expendable. She wanted to keep this battle close, but she wasn't gonna be able to do much in the grasp of her enemy.

"So you wanna dance....?"

Taking a few additional steps forward, she suddenly made a backwards leap, throwing her right shoulder and elbow out behind her. A reverse clothesline? Backwards elbow drop? Whatever it was, it was headed straight for Teira's head! Regardless of if her attack struck or not, she'd have to roll out of the way and back to her feet quickly.

"THEN LET\'S DANCE!"

You could almost see the speedlines.

Actually, you could see the speedlines - apparently an illusionist mage was in the audience to add a little flair to the battle. Meanwhile, the dancers could still be heard in the background.

"Chu-chu-chu up, right left down~"

[Chapter 3, Page 2]

Sakura's arm was already in position. She hadn't willingly guarded against the attack from the wings, but rather, her arm and shoulder were already up near her face. It made for an excellent defense, since the wing caught under her right arm, but it threw her attack off-base entirely.

An elf with wings.

Go figure.

Her right shoulder was prone to injury, but Sakura had learned how to quickly pop it back in place should something go awry. Unfortunately she didn't have that luxury right now, twisting through the air before landing a short distance away, but on her feet.

"The pleasure is all mine."

She'd have to wing it - bad puns and all. The moment her feet hit the ground, she kicked off towards Teira, refusing to give her the satisfaction of closing the distance.

You can't work a phone and yet you somehow know the ways of a real battle... you're hiding something, aren't you.

No time for monologuing, but she could certainly think. As she ran in, she lowered her right shoulder for a straight tackle - but at the last second, dropped her left knee to the ground and swept her right foot around in a bid to take out the girl's legs or, with her right shoulder up, plow into her stomach and knock the wind out of her. It was a hybrid slide, leg sweep, and shoulder check all in one. To some it may have seemed a foolish idea to use a shoulder that may have already been severely injured, but in her mind, there wasn't much point in getting her lead arm all banged up, now was there?

Winning or losing faded from her mind. Fighting for a team no longer mattered.

Everything she was working for hinged on this battle.

Time to prove she had what it took.

[Chapter 3, Page 3]

Silver Alexander Wrote:

A loud clang. Silver smirked, some of the humor returning to his face. It wasn't hard to figure out whose smooth entrance that was. Still, he never turned back around, though he was secretly a little relieved the red-head had appeared to ease some tension.

But the secret relief would never come.

Though once Silver turned around there would be no one to be seen, the clang apparently was off in the distance. He probably could identify Sun off in the distance, approaching a large fellow in the wrong clothing. Hilariously enough though, the people Sun was now with were two of the exact same people Silver just accused of being expendable. Seems this was still Silver's moment alone with Fah.

The clang was noticed by the two, and was loud enough to tear them and a few other spectators from the fight. The larger figure seemed to be on edge, jumping right away and only dropping from the defensive when he saw who it was.

The copper-haired man didn't cease leaning on the railing, he only turned his head to look.

"You're shitting me." Was muttered under breath as smile crossed his face.

Sunstrike Wrote:

"Good to see you though, my friend."

"Scene?" The voice coming from inside the bundle of clothing sounded mildly confused as he searched through his memory for that particular expression, "No. It is not at all my scene. Though I have been told if I am to contact anyone I should travel to this contest."

"I told him that." The other guy had gone back to watching Teira and Sakura's displays of both fighting and... backup dancing, "See Omikron. I think you blew your 'this is ridiculous' a tad too early."

"I stand by my statement." The now identified figure in a coat didn't even bother to look at the other stranger, "You will have to forgive me Sunstrike. I know you are a competitor, but I do not quite grasp the point of this... scene."

"That's right, get your Sakura posters here, folks!"

Among the sellers and opportunists was a man selling various posters and gizmos, from bobbleheads to questionably themed beverages (Such as Teira Twist Juice and Sakura Splash) to all manner of gadgets and memorabilia up to but not limited to "special edition" posters.

"That's right, just fifty dollars for your memorial poster of Fracture's Sakura, the green machine who's lean and mean!" The stand behind him seemed to support this, as a large glossy poster of a green-haired woman stood proudly with a coy smile on her face. There was just one teensy, tiny problem.

"That's not Sakura at all!" Chimed in a spectator waiting in line, getting a closer look at the poster in front of him. "It looks like you just ran it through Photoshop to change her hair green! In fact, if you ask me, that's a catgirl with the ears airbrushed out. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced that's even a picture, it's just --"

"Forty bucks."

"Sold. Come one come all, pick up your memorial Fracture t-shirts, and for the ladies, your memorial Fracture swimwear...."

---

Meanwhile, Sakura was having a fun time with her fight. Well, her definition of fun, anyways, as a tail wrapped around her neck and a knee caught her in the face. Echoes of the Brutal Underground tournament she had participated in came back to her as her lip split open and her head flew backwards for a moment. As for the wings, she had certainly seen them before - but they weren't something that factored in much to her train of thought. Not even a tail around her neck could derail it - much like Sakura, it just kept chugging along.

There was no point in using heat to her advantage. Having seen what Laz could do and a name like Frozen Flame, it didn't take a genius to figure out just where the flames came from. It may have been a twisted line of thought, but Sakura needed the pain to remind herself just what she was doing....

She couldn't hold her breath forever, but she didn't need an eternity. She just needed an opening....

As Teira used her wings for leverage, Sakura twisted to her left, planting her left hand on the ground and swinging her right leg out to deliver a hard kick to the woman's ribs or midsection. She had strong legs, and although the kick itself didn't have a terrible amount of force behind it, it would certainly deliver a harder blow when Teira was bouncing back into it.

It would give her enough of an opening to bring her right hand to her shoulder, drawing the blade from her back.

Things just got a lot hotter.

Jammer, the elemental weapon, naturally pulled fire energy from Sakura's body, and with a flick of a wrist it was ready to cut through solid steel. Sakura didn't talk, but she held the blade above, somehow able to stay white hot without warping, her furious eyes doing the speaking for her.

Drop the tail or I'll take it with me as a souvenir.

Could Teira stand the heat, or would she save her precious tail to strangle another day?

Tune in next time on Rage V Heaven or Hell!

[Chapter 3, Page 4]

Slow motion.

It was all going so wrong.

But...

Her head hit the ground, the pain barely registering. Was it over already? Tch... what a horrible way to go. Their fight couldn't just end like this.

Not with a victory for Frozen Flame.

The second slam, this one a little more painful. It reminded her that she was still alive, that she wasn't down for the count yet. Even so, things were starting to fade and blur....

"I didn't raise my son to give up."

...!

The cloaked man previously watching the fight had gotten as close as security would allow. His hood was gone, revealing a man in his late forties or perhaps early fifties (ancient for Gaia, really), long red hair getting in the way of pale brown eyes.

"I thought you said this was your story."

Sakura's eyes widened slightly, even as her head took a third shot against the ground.

"ARE YOU GOING TO LET SOMEONE ELSE WRITE IT?!"

She was being choked and pricked. Her right hand was held down and her shoulder may have even been broken. Her head was pounded, hair was pulled...

... this was what she had been waiting for.

Before the fourth slam to the ground would strike, Sakura yelled out. Not in pain, not in anger, but something bestial, something triumphant. It was an answer not to a question that had been asked, but to one that remained silent.

"NO!"

Spikes plunged into flesh even deeper as Sakura's voice boomed out. It wasn't much, but it let her take another deep breath before being constricted again - enough to keep going, enough to keep the darkness from obscuring her vision.

But boy, was she seeing red.

Her right hand relinquished it's grip on the sword, instead opting to focus all it's strength on breaking the grip at her wrist, making a hard and wild swing for Teira's head. An eye for an eye, maybe? Either way, she used the momentum and distraction to bend her legs and push upward with her hips in a bid to quite literally buck Teira off of her. It should at the least give her enough time to get her legs free enough to plant a foot in Sierra's stomach (she did so love doing that), grabbing what parts of the girl's clothes that she could and putting as much strength as possible into quite literally throwing her opponent overhead - a quick and simple sacrifice throw (or "judo movie throw). She could continue to hold onto what she wanted, but the force of the move would most likely prove to be too much.

Her only worry was if that tail would stay around her neck - she had to remove it, even if it meant by pure force. She'd kick to her feet, trying to counteract the force of her throw with her own movement to force the tail off, coughing if she was successful and suffering several cuts and gashes around her neck. It was better than being unconscious.

And it had better have worked. Her team was counting on her.

Her team.

Fracture....

Even their name beget their motives. None of them functioned as a real team. Athan, Kael, Rage... they were all just accessories to Vahn. They were the force holding back the almighty Glacier.

It was time for a new dynasty.

Could four enemies really succeed in claiming Heaven or Hell?

There was only one way to find out.

You still don't get it do you.

He held his Fang out to the side, the true edge resting against the top of the walkway's railing. They aren't just sacks of meat to be sacrificed.

They exist on an entirely different level than you.

That yellowed eye bore into Silver even as the ambiance continued to beat a concerto into the background.

I don't have to worry about them because they won't fall...

Kael, becoming nothing more than a crude sculpture of ice, as Lazenca used the extinguisher's coolant.... only for the fallen swordsman to rear up and make one last stab towards the man.

Sakura, fighting for every remaining breath in her body, as Teira stood over her gloating and asking for her to give in.

And Athan-- tirelessly backing up both men, stepping in so that things were simpler for the swords... a literal walking shield.

...so easily.

He raised his left arm--- sword point aimed towards Silver's back. Even if there existed nothing but a 0.5% chance of any of you dying... as a result of what has to be done... as long as that chance isn't 0%--- I won't hesitate to leave what's precious to me somewhere safe.

If that makes me a coward--- then so be it. At least I can go on without hindrance and knowing that no matter what-- I can keep pushing ahead 100%.

His right eye narrowed.

It's in our blood... fighting-- is what we do. I don't know anything else but that.

They may deny it... they may not even realize it... but it's what their good at.

The question; do you think you're better at it than them?

Let alone--- me?

The true colors finally came out.

The girl everyone was trying to protect...

... not so kind, not so innocent.

She was the girl with the Saccharine Smile.

She had underestimated her opponent before the battle had begun.

I'll never make that mistake again...!

A bloodcurdling scream shattered the air - Sakura was so focused on the situation that she hadn't realized that Athan had come in with a Striker. Instead, she heard the sounds of Teira hurt --

Who do you think she is?

What? I... she's....

She's your opponent... your enemy. And the sooner you realize that, the sooner you can get this over with.

But --

But?! Look at yourself! Why are you holding back, accepting defeat before the bell's even rung? Look at those eyes. Yellow. Filled with rage, like an animal. They aren't her eyes, now are they?

I guess --

Don't guess. Just do it. You came here for a reason and nobody's going to stop you - nobody except you.

I protect my friends. I don't hurt them. But in your case... I'll have to make an exception!

Sakura was only resistant to flames - she had no particular ability to withstand them for a long time. But she had an extremely high tolerance for pain, and even with her neck slowly being crushed....

Teira had gripped Sakura's right shoulder with her own right hand. That could prove to be a huge mistake, as even though her shoulder was held down her right arm had a fairly free range of movement. While Teira reached out for her shoulder, she reached for the tail on her neck. She knew all too well about the spikes on the "fifth limb," but that was exactly what she was counting on, even as they pierced the flesh of her hand and arm.

A weapon is only as good as the one who uses it....

Pulling on the tail as hard as she could, she'd push it into Teira's arm to give her a taste of her own spikes, trying to jam the tail into the girl's arm and grind it along to create even deeper wounds. But that wasn't the only reason, no no no. She had more plans? Yeah yeah yeah.

Her left hand had already gripped the scabbard of the sword discarded earlier, drawing it quickly from it's place on her back and slipping it into the gap between tail and neck she had just created. It was a boorish way of doing things, but the thick wood would press up against her chest and face, keeping her airway open. It wasn't invincible, but the thing was made to stand up to worse - it should hold for it's current purpose.

But she was hardly done yet.

Both hands were left free. Her right shoulder may have been held down, but Teira was on her chest. It meant less work for her.

What d-d-do you sssssee in her?

Nothing.

Good.

Lady Sierra Wrote:

"FIIIIIIIIII--"

"This..."

WHAM!

Right fist, meet elf jaw. The wild haymaker came in as hard as she could throw it, aiming right for Teira's face. But it wasn't over just yet. Regardless of if it connected or not, she bent her wrist and hooked her arm around the one on her shoulder, attempting to pull it off with all her might. She'd be burned either way, there was simply no avoiding it - if the fire burned clothes, those would go too. But it didn't particularly matter to her... this was her fight to win.

"... is my..."

WHAM!!

And now for the left, coming in even harder and faster than the right, as it wasn't held down. A straight straight shot this time, aiming for Teira's neck - a little payback for being choked earlier.

"... STORY!"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAMWHAMWHAMWHAMWHAM!

Blow after blow came towards Teira, strikes against her head, neck, chest, stomach, anywhere on her body that she could hit, and she showed no signs of slowing down.

Flames licked her body, a new kind, a kind that reminded her of the pain she had felt so long ago as a child. The pain only drove her to new heights as she threw blow after blow, her fire burning inward to conserve energy and strength instead of expending it on someone who would only resist.

Control it. Focus!

Knee after knee came into Teira's back, striking wings, hips, tailbone, spine, whatever they possibly could, as she couldn't see exactly what she was hitting - but with Teira on her chest, it allowed far more free movement of her legs. Besides.

Lady Sierra Wrote:

Teira's shadow flames were a manifestation of essence rather than energy. Fueled by her will. Her passion-- her desire to win.

A will that would sear even the most hardened of flame wielders.

She would take that fire and make it hers. She had the ability to control flames - they may have been a manifestation of essence, but they still took on the appearance of fire. If she could control it, it would turn a furious red, the color of passion, the color of Sakura's soul. If she couldn't, well, the flames would sear the most hardened of flame wielders - could Teira stand up to her own heat?

The arm would burn, the clothes would blaze - but the blows kept coming.

She would not relent, but she would not give into the fury and rage building inside her. It was somewhere in between. Somewhere between instinct and thought, enough to focus her anger on what was in front of her but not enough to completely lose control.

"I won't lose! Not to you, not to anyone!"

Anything you can do I can do better, I can do anything better than you....

[Chapter 3, Page 6]

Sunstrike Wrote:

"That...and there's not a sexually active being alive that can resist a good dirty bitchfight."

"I'll agree to that" The man practically slumped on his chest from leaning on the railing spoke.

Omikron on the other hand didn't seem so convinced. Hooded head looking back and forth between Sunstrike and the fight as things got more and more heated. Nobody could see his expression, but from his defensive stance he didn't appear comfortable. Then came the series of events leading to Teira being clobbered with a hunk of metal. Omikron was watching, and the hulking figure cringed slightly. His attention was decidedly on Sun now.

"So it is destruction and exploitation.." Omikron's tone was still matter of fact. He sounded like a schoolteacher reciting one plus one is two, yet his normal flat tone drifted dangerously close to disapproval.

"I am still unsure about the artistic merit, Sunstrike." The voice from under the clothing was hollow, "Perhaps it is my form that prevents my appreciation... Though I am not sure it is the entrapment that makes me see this only as remorseless brutality for questionable gain."

Still, he wondered if the motive was clear it would be any better.

"HSSTT!"

The breath escaped through her teeth in a hiss as her own tail spine scraped over her elbow. But it was just a p***k. Her forearms were protected by her bracers, otherwise her arm might have been opened up a bit more.

However, Sakura really WAS crazy! As she would try and push up the tail, even as it was tightening around her neck. Two times. The tail had wrapped around her neck twice. And so, two rows of little razored spikes would be further shoved into her neck and throat, tearing upwards opening small punctured gashes in Sakura's flesh. Would they hit anything vital? Not likely as the spikes hadn't yet been fully turned inwards and the tail wasn't pushed very far.

It was similar to being strangled with barbed wire. Yet Sakura was still fighting wildly.

"Good, hee he hee~."

She smiled, still laughing.

"GOOD! I wouldn't expect anything LESS FROM YOU!!"

As her opponent struggled to get her scabbard free from under her, even as she brought it between them to try and use it to free her air passage--

When the tail had wrapped around Sakura's throat, it had done so with the smooth underside at first. Putting spikes outwards. There was no space between her neck and the metal. Even as the spikes had rotated inwards and begin to p***k the skin, biting-- drawing blood. There was no space. Simply metal embedding itself in supple flesh.

Sakura was lucky that the full 1/2 inch of each spike had not yet been buried in her pretty throat. Or she might have ended it for herself there and then.

The only space between Sakura, the deadly tail and Teira, was where it stretched between their bodies at Teira's side and just beneath her arm where Sakura had tried to shove it into her. If she wanted to try and create more space, try and loosen the tail--- then she was welcome to try but would quickly find that it would 'cause the tail to tighten and the spikes would be dragged sideways (to the left as the tail wrapped from the right) across her throat.

Teira's eyes were wild, the smile on her face was the kind of smile that would send little kids screaming and having nightmares for the rest of their life. Even grown adults couldn't help but to shiver when her face was turned towards them.

A weapon is only as good as the one who uses it....

The thought couldn't be more true, but unfortunately for Sakura-- Tail, wings... even the blade that had yet to be drawn, she was well versed with them all.

For the past 9 months....

All she had done was train with Maximos. They had fought for days, even nights on end. Together they had taken her instinct. They had taken the technique and style that her subconscious had imprinted upon them-- and honed them.

Her purpose.

What it had always been... Was to fight and WIN.

The reasons changed. But the purpose remained the same.

Her very existence. Her 'body' itself. SHE was a WEAPON.

Fighting for others.

For those she loved.

To get stronger.

To overcome herself--

They all demanded the SAME result.

WIN.

• WHAM! -

Sakura's haymaker hit her in the side of the head, 'causing her to tilt slightly to the side from the waist up. Even as the hand drew back and hooked around her arm.

Trying to drag her right hand from the injured shoulder-- She was successful, but to what end?

Even though Teira's sense of reason was fading beneath each wave of pain, the scent of blood-- it all threatened to drown her. She fought to keep her head above that-- Fought to hold onto her humanity. Not for her sake, but for Sakura's.

She had aimed the blast of fire to be painful. Effective. But this--

Her arm was jerked away, sending the fire awry and splashing the black and purplish tinted flames across Sakura's face and chest.

One second of flame-- Teira cut them off, but the damage would only be minimalized.

For one second, Sakura's face, shoulder, upper arm and chest would be bathed in flames manifested from Teira's own pain. Her own rage. Her own fear. Her own love--- everything that was behind the redhead's will was poured into that blackened fire.

Sakura's clothes wouldn't necessarily burn if they were fire resistant. The flames effected only things that could feel emotion, and extended to their energy, their magicks as they were merely extensions of self.

It was possible for clothes to burn as the body was engulfed and kindled, but it was as a result of the heat released by the body as it burned and not the flames themselves.

The left fist-- came in to strike at Teira's throat even as the flames would rush across. How far into the fire the second limb was plunged remained to be seen...

WHAMWHAMWHAM--

"UGHHN!!"

She groaned as Sakura caught her below her left eye leaving a small cut. She groaned again as another fist caught her on the chin-- and again in the collar bone--

-CRK!-

'How long am I going to let her mess up my face for? Doing as she pleases?!'

A hairline fracture sent pain through her collar bone as she hissed angrily at Sakura.

-THUD!-

Followed by her body rocking forward as a knee slammed itself into her open wings. She couldn't hit the upper one from that position, but the lower ones--

Teira closed her lower wings. Why? To minimalize the area of damage?

-THUD!-

'ENOUGH.'

Her waist twisted slightly. That was part of it--- But her wings got more force behind them when

-SNAP!-

The lower wings unfurled themselves once more, crashing against the striking knee with enough force to shatter the knee cap and leg bone. At the very least they should dislocate the knee joint. The lower wings extending fully would slam into the other legs hip/thigh. Would it break? Dislocate? Or just hurt like a sonuvabitch?

At the same time, her right hand was searching for a hold on the arm hooked around her own.

The left grabbed the scabbard that had been discarded for fending off fire and throwing punches.

THWAK!-

She would crack Sakura across the side of the head with it, reversing the strike and hitting her again from the other direction.

OVER and OVER again.

:: 7/17 ::

"Tch... Ohhhh?"

The tail was constricting and crushing inwards. Teira wasn't certain why Sakura wasn't suffocating, but it was clear that her strategy wasn't working.

What point was there then? Continuing something then, only to see it fail?

• THUD -

• THUD -

• THUD -

Sakura's knee's kept pummeling her back. More specifically her wings, as her back and spine were protected by the feathery shields. Flapping those wings, she also flapped the upper.

"HHGGGNN!!! --- BORING!"

• CRACK! -

The wings would crash down on Sakura's thighs and pelvis. Even as Teira screamed through the pain of moving that right wing, it would flack inky blood across the pavement.

The fists stop coming.

That wasn't something you really missed.

So--

The scabbard in her left hand struck against the scabbard in Sakura's.

As Sakura raised her knee to strike Teira in the back again, instead of sitting back into it, she lifted her pelvis, tilted her hips forward and allowed her opponent's legs to carry her forward discarding the mount she had on the other woman's chest. She rocked up on her knees.

She allowed her weight to bear down on the opposing scabbard, pressing it down between them as she continued to tip forward.

Pushing off the ground, Teira did a frontwards roll over her opponent, her wings closing against her back as she did so.

At the same time the tail would stretch out yanking down Sakura's neck and hopefully winding her while it jerked her down to make sure she didn't try and follow up on Teira while her back was turned.

Sakura wouldn't be dragged however. The tail unwound from around her neck leaving a necklace of blossoming bruises in it's wake, decorated with little flowering of blood from the spikes.

FRIEND OR FOE....

THEY ALL BLEED THE SAME!

Teira would roll to her feet, turning around to face Sakura, circling her.

Her right hand moved to her left hip. Her hand closed around the hilt of Madryn Thosi and in one fluid motion, the shadow tainted weapon was drawn free from it's sheath, slicing an angry arch through the air.

A familiar rush pumped through the redhead's veins as some deep part of her being awoke to the fight.

The elven sword sang in her hands. A blood requiem that played in Teira's head and Teira's head alone. The song just for her---

Bringing the blade up in front of her, the weapon was held with the tip on an upwards diagonal, across her chest and left shoulder.

The left hand gripping Sakura's scabbard by her left hip.

Her knees slightly bent, her right leg leading, the left slid back as she stared at Sakura with wild anticipation--

'This is just the beginning-- You feel it too, I know you do!'

"GET UP!"

'That fire that just won't go out!'

:: 8/17 ::

If you feel that strongly about it...

He shot his left arm up, sending his Fang spiraling forward as he flicked his wrist at the same moment. The blade sailed through the air, straight past Silver's right cheek-- bangs flying even as the rapier went on past him and lodged itself into steel piping.

...Then show me."

A fine line of red would slide down Silver's cheek, showing how narrowly his blade had passed by, even as the cloak was thrown off to the side along with the mask.

His arms tensed, even as each of his knuckles cracked, his entire body tightening-- before loosening up visibly. He took the lead with the right side of his body, yellowed eyes narrowing into a seriousness that was reserved for someone Vahn truly saw as an obstacle...a foe.

The atmosphere was deadly.

ROUND 3 OF HEAVEN OR HELL-- FRACTURE VS FROZEN FLAME THIRD ROUND--!

VAHN VERSUS

SILVER

THE FLAME OF RULERS IS NOW IN QUESTION!!

TIMER: 17:00

"Suuuh..."

The exhalation of breath, even as the muscles on his arms tensed. His left foot slid back, even as Silver came clanging forward. Yellowed eyes shot wide even as he stepped in with the lead foot, his right fist snapping forward, the knuckles out.

Through the lens of the camera--- as steam went off around both fighters, the scene would be frozen. Silver, suspended in the air, his torso turned and that right fist a literal inch from Vahn's nose.

Vahn's body would be deep into Silver's own field, those right knuckles a literal inch from the younger man's body.

The scene would return to normal as both hits connected.

THRAAKK

Silver's fist would impact against Vahn's face-- head being thrown back as the nose was broken, and Silver would most likely be blown back a bit as Vahn's normal One Inch punch went off.

TIMER: 16:00

"Tfft." Spitting out a bit of blood to the side, he wiped the back of his left hand across his nose. The blood was starting to flow-- making more of a mess than was called for and overall making it look worse than it really was.

However, there was something else in that blood too.

Something...primal.

FWOOOSH

Blackened flames went out, even as Vahn snorted both nostrils clean, his teeth set as his left forearm came up. His left hand would be half a second too late to stop that heel from connecting-- the head moving in time with the blow even as his body shifted as well.

"Cheh--" Grabbing hold of the railing on his left side, he would use nothing but arm strength to raise his body horizontally off the walkway, vaulting around to get behind Silver-- using the momentum of being struck.

Now behind him-- Vahn would step in, and ram his right shoulder into Silver's backside, intending to send him flooring, before torquing his entire body to send out his left leg in an axe-like motion, the heavy boot coming down hard in a modified scissor kick.

Because of the motion, he would land hard on the walkways grating, hit or miss-- so he was ready for the pain with a grunt of air to boot. "Hggh!"

TIMER: 15:00

Is this-- no! It's not!!

His eyes widened even as he felt the pressure from the attack reach far before the actual thing crashed atop him.

Rewind.

The axe-kick would strike nothing but grating as a grunt of air was exhaled from Vahn. Damn! Feeling that-- he was already pushing up and back, using both hands to raise his body from the torso first--- and flipping onto both feet again.

As I figured----!

OK. Present time.

Silver was running forward-- and that uppercut would cut a clean swath from the ground up, the gout of flame trailing and preceding his fist blinding camera lens.

The entire walkway shook just from the mere pressure of the attack, even as Vahn's body was lifted up and back. Both arms were crossed in front of him, forming an 'x', a last ditch effort to minimize the damage.

It was blatantly obvious what Silver was trying to accomplish-- considering that an uppercut like that was more useful when beyond an opponent's range of view. But since Vahn had basically risen up and seen Silver charging in-- he was able to push back a bit, and block the majority of the blow with his forearms.

Steam and heat blew out in a wide gusts, even as sparks flew when his greaves hit the walkway, sliding for a bit before stopping.

"Suuuh."

The release of breath-- even as he came bursting out of the cloud of steam-- the walkway already cracking, support giving in as the entire level began going vertical-- only for Vahn to lead in with a drop kick, aimed straight for Silver's chest.

If connected it would throw Silver off the collapsing walkway, even as Vahn would grab hold of one of several dozens of huge chains hanging off the piping that was off to the side. It was like an entire 'jungle' of steel vines-- vines that would scorch a normal persons hands.

TIMER: 14:00

Now---!

Yellowed eyes narrowed, even as both arms spread out now-- each hand grasping hold of a chain.

His entire body was dipped downward, legs just hanging there as he supported his entire body upright with nothing but the chains to hold onto. Let's widen speed this up a bit!

Releasing both chains, he would be free falling amidst the steel vines, only to reach out and snatch onto one once he got relatively close enough to Silver's level. Pushing forward and using the swinging momentum-- he would aim to bring down the heel of his left foot directly onto Silver's shoulder before twisting his body and spiraling to another chain.

If undisturbed-- he continue to alternate small attacks like this, in a rapid fashion-- utilizing the maneuverability of the chains and the nimbleness he did posses to keep up the continuous explosive movement he was known for.

TIMER: 13:00

"Ooof--!" Struck in mid-swing, he didn't really have any choice in the matter as he was sent plummeting down.

Going into a roll as soon as he hit the ground-- shoulder first-- he stopped and propped himself up on one knee, staring towards Silver-- even as a large shadow eclipsed him. "?!" Peering over his shoulder, he rolled to the side in time to avoid the arrival of a huge metal cylinder-- the same type that seemed to be used to contain the molten flames used in the Iron Works.

"Teh---! IS that all you can do?! Use pirated moves? Show me something original!" He stood up, left hand massaging the kinks out of his right fist.

He was giving Silver a chance to recover himself before resuming the attack. Which would come in the form of Vahn dashing towards the younger man-- that familiar burst of speed kicking in suddenly that had been seen in previous matches. "Mirage Step."

His image would appear like a haze in all that heat, multiplying itself as he glided along.

With all the ambient heat in the area, it wasn't all too difficult to activate his greaves-- completely cutting through friction as if it never existed. Sliding across the conveyor belt, he would come in with a lead straight for Silver's shoulder-- the same that he had struck with a kick previously.

TIMER: 12:00

"Guh!" Yellowed eyes widened even as his straight was sent off course.

!! The flash of movement-- even as Silver was reacting-- and the sudden struggle of pressure on both sides as Vahn's eyes simply stayed widened-- and focused downward.

His left hand had snapped up, the fingers gripping tightly onto Silver's offending elbow-- the strike just barely grazing his neck. He recognized the style of course--- it was the same move set he had used the first year of the tournament--- the Kyonuske-ryu!

Of course..considering that it had been Mitsuyo who had trained Silver and not expressly Vahn... this shouldn't have come as a surprise. "Cheh! You---!"

Lifting his left knee, he would aim to strike into Silver's lower abdomen-- even as a shadow eclipsed them both.

TIMER: 11:00

As Sakura found herself pinned to the floor, many fans found themselves looking away. Had their hero really fallen before the fight had begun? It was too much to bear... some began to walk away from the fight, believing that their favorite fighter was down for the....

"Wait!"

She was fighting back?! Even through the fire and the flames and the fury? She kept taking horrible blows and continued to fight on, striking and striking and throwing punches, knees, whatever she could to prove that she still had what it took fend off her opponent, even when she was pinned to the ground....

People started to turn back.

They started chanting....

"Sa... ku... ra."

A few people stopped. How could she keep going? Black flames erupted from Teira's hand - Sakura couldn't possibly - why was she continuing to throw her arms through the fire? What drove her? Why was she doing this? She must have been crazy!

"Sa... ku... ra."

Those flames should have consumed her, burned her flesh, kept her from getting up... but she kept throwing knees at Teira's back, even when the wings struck and it was clear that they had done some real damage. She pressed on. She didn't give up. Why?

"Sa... ku... ra!"

The chanting met clapping from the audience, even the dancers from before joining in on the beat. The green haired warrior could feel it... the beat was catching up, quickening. It urged her to go on through the dulled pain that had been pushed to the side of her mind. Bones could break, flesh could be cut and consumed. But this... this was her chance. If she didn't take it now, she'd regret it....

"Sa-ku-ra!"

... forever.

She could feel it resonating in her soul... the chanting had met the rhythm of her heart, beating quick and fierce, as Teira finally released her death grip. Her throat hurt, it burned, her legs were battered, bruised, and she was sure that walking on her left was going to be a challenge. Her right shoulder hurt, and she couldn't figure out if it had popped out or if it was broken. But.

Her opponent had finally learned....

"SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA!"

The moment Teira let go, she had already kicked up to her feet, her back to her opponent for just a moment as Teira showed hers. Katana in her left hand, she was up before her opponent could demand the pleasure of her. Every clap was another beat of her heart. Every syllable added fire to her soul.

It drowned out the song of Madryn Thosi, drowned out the sounds of the forge, drowned out anything else except the girl they were all chanting for. Her blade, No Name, hung in her left hand, the tip half an inch from the floor. She turned around, a big smile on her face. Not the toothy grin from earlier, but a smile nonetheless. Warm. Inviting. Something that had no place in a battle such as this - it was eerie.

"SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA!"

Those eyes... Teira had become an animal. A wild one. And animals needed to be tamed, brought to their senses, made to understand that they were more than just beasts....

Now sit at the feet of your master and learn, because...!

Her right hand extended, index finger curling in towards her a few times. An invitation with a big, warm smile, even with that busted, bleeding lower lip.

"YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME!"

A dance to the rhythm of Sakura's heart - let the real fight begin!

[Chapter 3, Page 8]

"AAAAAAAA--OOF!"

Silver came crashing down just behind Vahn, landing not far from him, though face first. He'd apparently gotten flipped over somehow in the descent, but was lucky enough to not have gone through any piping either.

He managed to push himself up on all fours, coughing violently from his injuries, but also from all the ash and/or soot that he'd inhaled when he landed on it. He raised his right hand to cover his mouth, finding blood on it once he pulled it away for inspection. Taking heavy blows to the stomach and lungs'll do that to you.

"Great... You're welcome, by the way..."

Silver climbed to his feet, removing and tossing aside his own jacket that was now also covered in ash stains and various other burn marks, as well as just looking ridiculous to be wearing as every new part of the Iron Works their fight brought them to just got hotter and hotter. It was starting to bother even him. He wiped blood from his own mouth off on the back of his glove, then shook it off.

"And I think any other member of you team would be Bar-B-Que by now..."

More attitude to cover it up, but Vahn's was hitting uncomfortably close to home. Even though he shouldn't have been, he was annoyed at himself for disrupting the fight by saving both their skins. It was the right thing to do, but would it prove to Vahn he had what it took to stand up to Victor? Or did it just make him a liability... An exploitable weakness?

Damnit...

Silver raised his arms back to the ready, wincing slightly from the pain in his right shoulder.

"Enough talk... We're not even half done. I still got plenty to show you!"

8

"Scuse me...pardon me...gah."

The blue-haired figure made a disgruntled noise as the few spectators in this inferno of a place blocked her way from getting near the guard rail despite her attempts to politely wriggle through the crowd. She tapped one scaled foot against the metal floor, impatiently, then sighed and gave it up for lost. The people in front of her were never going to move enough for her to get through...as she was, anyway.

In the blink of an eye, Owle had melted, body turning black as Omikron's hoodie before falling towards the ground and reshaping into that of a fearsome (cough) cute little black kitten with emerald eyes. "Mew!" she declared, then darted through the legs of the stubborn spectators until the little black cat was standing behind Sunstrike, Omikron, and the copper-haired man.

Anyone watching her at exactly that moment would see the melting happen in reverse, the black cat turning into viscous goo that shot upwards and reformed into the shape of the unusual woman named Owle.

"Hey, Sun." Owle grinned from behind him, her voice filled with warmth. "Long time no see."

Then she turned to Omikron. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. I thought...I'd find myself here, already, and...well, I guess I'm still in the Firebrand."

Owle's eyes glaze over for a moment, and Sunstrike can see one of her little golden snakes dart off towards the northeast.

Her eyes then abruptly snap back into focus, settling on Sun again.

"Sun, do you have a cellphone? It's kind of urgent."

ragingtofu Wrote:

"YOU'LL NEVER BEAT ME!"

There was no sword song for the chanting crowd to drown out. That bittersweet melody was reserved Teira, to her her alone the sword sang, drowning out the distractions around her. Giving the pulsing headache behind her eyes some reprieve from the noisy machinations about them.

The pain was less of a distraction now as adrenaline helped her body accept the injuries. She'd had worse. She could keep going. She WOULD keep going.

She wouldn't stop, not before Sakura did or a judge came and pried them apart.

Slitted pupils pulled to the surface of her eerie golden gaze. There was something dark behind those eyes. Something raw and primal like a force of nature.

Teira was born of Fire and Darkness, together there was no limit to the destructive capabilities.

But every time Sakura spoke, it forced her to focus. It helped give Teira a foothold against the raw power that threatened to sweep her away. As Teira stared at Sakura, she smiled,

In that moment, Sakura would see that an intelligent being was grinning back at her. Maximos would not have allowed her to come to a tournament such as this if she would be so easily lost to her own power.

It was easier to control it against her nii-chan, as her love for her brother gave her a control she did not have against others-- But to say she had no control-- Had it not been Maximos hand that had guided her?

"TCH! Pretty cocky--- For someone who just spent so long on the GROUND!!"

She winked and thumbed her nose.

Teira was not without her own fans. Fans that she had gained this year-- But also people who had followed the redhead's progression through Heaven or Hell the previous two years.

She'd been called Ra'kar and then Sierra-- what was another name change? Their favourite female fighter was back and they came back with her!

The only female captain for three years running.

The only woman to compete every year--

"YOU'RE NOT SO HOT!"

Those fan's voices reached up---

• CLAP! CLAP! STOMP! -

"LETS GO TEI-RA! LETS GO!~"

• CLAP! CLAP! STOMP! -

"LETS GO TEI-RA! LETS GO!~"

• CLAP! CLAP! STOMP! -

"LETS GO TEI-RA! LETS GO!~"

• CLAP! CLAP! STOMP! -

"LETS GO TEI-RA! LETS GO!~"

"GET READY FOR THE HEEEEEEEEATWAVE!~"

Her wings folded behind her, She bent her knees, dropping and then rising as the crowd followed her cue. It rippled across the spectators as they bobbed and threw their hands up cheering as the WAVE rocked across the gathering of people.

She was playing, this was a show right?

But underneath the cheering and the antics, Teira's heart-- like Sakura's-- was beating to a rythm as well, but hers was one of fire and of darkness.... a song written in blood.

Throwing her sword up in the air, and running three steps forward, Teira launched herself into the air doing a front flip, arms crossed over her chest as she twisted and landed. Her hand shot up in the air, the the hilt coming to rest in her hand as if it had been guided there expressly.

Her right knee turned out, bent at a ninety degree angle as she stepped forward extending her left leg, foot touching the pavement heel-to-toe as the hand that caught her sword remained raised. Lifting the elbow and bending it, the tip of the sword descended downwards on an angle. The left hand still holding the scabbard, was held straight in front of her, the scabbard drawing a horizontal line across her chest.

Grinning as she nodded her head at Sakura. Round two of this fight was about to begin!

Her right leg took the lead, as the sword descended in a thrust towards Sakura's right shoulder. The left arm had receded and was extended fully behind her, the scabbard held in line with the arm.

|| RIVAL FIGHT! - PART TWO ||

A CLASH OF BLADES!

A TEST OF WILLS!

:: 9/17 ::

Teira Wrote:

"TCH! Pretty cocky--- For someone who just spent so long on the GROUND--"

"-- to show you that no matter where the battle takes me, I'll always come out on top!"

The fight had extended beyond the trading of blows. It was the clashing of blades, the exchange of words, even heated arguments among the crowd - fist fights breaking out, vampires retreating to the safety of the rafters, androids sinking conspicuously into vats of molten metal....

"SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA! SA-KU-RA!"

... those that chanted pounded their hands together until they hurt, slammed their feet against the ground until they went numb... then kept on going. If their hero could push on through anything, then they could too!

Others pumped their fists into the air, yet others, completely exhausted, slapped the ground or bobbed their heads to the beat. Even Sakura's head started to bob, matching the beat....

Teira Wrote:

"YOU'RE NOT SO HOT!"

That little smile turned into a big grin as echoes of that first match returned to her, her body turning slightly as her right finger pointed at Teira, the entire crowd supporting her by doing the same and joining in her yell --

"HOT ENOUGH TO BURN YOU!"

Were they truly the same at their core?

Maybe they were two sides of the same coin.

Teira would have her display, spinning through the air before making a sword strike for Sakura's right shoulder.

She wouldn't dodge - she'd hold her ground, a triumphant CLANG erupting from the two blades as they clashed, sparks flying for a moment as Sakura stepped inward with her right foot, trying to force Teira's blade so that both would lock at the hilt.

She took on a similar stance to Teira, scabbard in her right hand, but held close to her hip instead of extended wide behind her.

"Heh heh heh."

Come on. I want to see what you can do.

[Chapter 3, Page 9]

'Hot enough to burn me huh?'

"PROVE IT!"

As she thrusted at her opponent's right shoulder and Sakura moved to block her blade, a few crimson hairs would be scattered to the ground as the katana met-- NOTHING.

Teira had set her up for a feint.

She went down, moving left (Sakura's right) on the left foot, her left knee bent in a lunging crouch as the right leg was extended behind her, the foot resting on the toes of her boot and greaves. Sakura's blade passed over her head where her sword 'would have' been if she'd been committed to the shoulder attack.

Rotating her shoulder and her wrist while she twisted her hips, the sword that had been aimed at the woman's right shoulder was now thrusting into her left hip as the sword arm extended fully to the side. The downwards angle was traded for an upwards. Right was switched out for left, as the true target was revealed.

Teira was ready for that katana to come down at her, her left arm was now bent with the the forearm level with her collarbone her fist with the scabbard just above her right breast, ready to defend herself--

If the thrust went as planned, the right leg would move in as the left side stepped, clearing Sakura's body and skirting around behind her opponent, rising up as her legs straightened. Ever wary of retaliation--

:: 10/17 ::

You just don't get it, do you....

Sakura couldn't predict a feint. She could only assume what would happen next, and she had assumed wrong. However, she had not swung her blade at her opponent - merely kept it in a position to protect herself, her hand moving forward slightly in anticipation of a blow that had not come.

It stayed in position, however, even as Teira made her move....

Why had Sakura left her back turned to Teira before? Why had she stood in that exact position while her opponent came to her? She had stepped with her right foot because her left knee was hurt, right?

The flash of a blade cut through the air as the wooden scabbard in Sakura's right hand dropped to the ground. It didn't have a horrible distance to travel, but if she could just--

"--guh--"

Something pierced her flesh, just like that blue-haired girl that reminded her of Owle... she hadn't had the will to go on that time. But this wasn't Owle. This wasn't someone that looked like Owle. This was her enemy.

She wouldn't go down just yet.

"THIS IS MY STORY!!"

She'd say it as many times as she had to.

Right hand wrapped around the grip of the sword she had lost earlier - she had hooked it underneath her left foot and kicked it up to herself, holding it in her right hand. Teira hadn't thrown it too far earlier, and it gave her the perfect opportunity to set up her own attack - she just didn't know what Teira had been planning.

She turned to pivot with Teira, holding her blades in an "X" before thrusting them both outward and down with as much force as she could muster - one silver and one white, one reliable and one elemental. She didn't call out her attack, but it rang through her head, her strange, two-handed cross-body slash....

Shark Bite!

[Chapter 3, Page 10]

The chants grew ever louder, the energy, the sound, the clapping flowing into Sakura's heart, pushing her on for reasons even she couldn't quite understand....

"SA-KU-RA!

Clap!

SA-KU-RA!

Clap!

SAKURA!

Clap!

SAKURA!

It wasn't quite as original, but it carried an unknown music with it, a steadiness, a passion that transcended everything else that she had been fighting for....

... she was doing it for them, too.

The clash would be made between blades and scabbards, weapons makeshift and of design. The scabbard would hold - it was extremely well-crafted and made to stop the elemental blade from destroying itself - it would easily stop the blade here.

I left myself open... but so did you...!

The pommel struck her ribs shortly after she felt a blade cut her flesh, adding what would most likely be a second scar to her left hip.

Time was winding down.

Even as she took the blow to her ribs, she let go of her weapons, her body bursting forward, her right leg kicking hard to propel herself towards Teira. She'd force that hand back if she had to, throwing herself towards her enemy, trying to slam her to the ground.

Those wings had to be hurting and broken - even if Teira used them to bounce back, she'd still get a face-full of Sakura's left shoulder charging in. She aimed to pin her opponent, sitting on her chest. Why?

"Didn't I tell you I'd always come out on top?!"

THE FINAL ACT!

MAKE IT COUNT!!

[Chapter 3, Page 11]