Subway Ride

Stage2: Speed City Underground

Subway Ride

The train battle is a staple of HoH, however it always ends in strange results. The commission wanted a way to limit the unpredictable nature of the stage, as well as toss it up. They found their answer by restoring the crumbing Speed City subway.

The train stage with a twist: You're surrounded on all sides by walls. Any venture outside the cart is a dangerous one and can end in pain for all parties involved. However the inside is a bit more manoeuvrable, as subways are usually standing room only, the seats flush against the cabin walls.

Terrain

General - Momentum is your friend.

Weapons - Those dangling strap things you hang onto.

Bonus Effects - Once in the thread a team may use a striker action to pull the emergency stop. This halts the train for five posts. Violently.

A gangly man was sprawled out as much has he could be in one of the seats on the loading bay of the station.

The small line platform itself was empty for the moment, expectation was running high for the event outside though, with bodyguards holding the multitudes at the platform back so the contestants could get in.

Sun had come in with security that morning before they were letting the general public in, and had designated himself a perch on one of the tacky red seats. He was content to wait while the rest showed up, just so long as he was there on time.

He really tried not to be late for these kinds of things, a habit of being a main fighter instead of just an alternate.

To his credit, Sun didn't bat an eyelid. It WAS a bonus to have a book over his face, however. He lifted it and raised an eyebrow, before snapping it shut.

"So THATS where you got to. I was wondering."

Ryugi had had the key cards, after all, Sun had forgotten to get them off the dragonkin earlier, and had ended up sleeping outside the room. Hense the short nap before go time.

He snorted and just shook his head. Who was he to judge? All he'd been consuming lately wasn't exactly on weight watchers either. Sun leaned around and looked past Ryugi at the other bench, and the man pacing who must have been on the other team. Those bloody bracelets stood out for a mile.

He looked worried. Probably had a right to as well.

"You gonna be able to get that great pokey thing you call a sword through the doors of the train, Ryugi?"

Sunstrike Wrote:

"You gonna be able to get that great pokey thing you call a sword through the doors of the train, Ryugi?" If you can fit your ears through the doors, I'm sure I'll manage.

Ryugi smiled and chuckled. After a quick scan of the area, and noting of the only competitor on the opposing team, Ryugi would take a seat next to Sun.

Looks a bit barren, don't you think?

At the rate he was going, Sun was going to have a lot of press photo's of himself using the patented two finger salute.

Why was everyone picking on his ears lately anyway?

A quick flick of the book and he went back to reading napping.

"Umm. . ."

Sticky situation, wasn't this? Soon as Temn entered he had become the first match inside the train. Goddamn, that made him even more nervous from before. His whole body was practically shaking in angst. He wanted to go for his weapon, but his hands just couldn't muster up the strength to draw it. Only his feet would move, move backwards . . .

And with that, Temn would turn around, running over to the next car while slamming the door he opened to where Ryugi was. It was the only thing he could think of. Run, just run. It's what his brain thought as it set off something in Temn's mind. Next thing you know his right arm started showing weird coloured discharges. Indigo streaks flying off as he stopped running, his arm throbbing as the energy convulsed within his veins. Oh, he wasn't about to start blasting s**t to pieces, it was just something he thought would prove useful later on in the fight. So, pretty much the running was just something to by him time. Time to think of something. Although without even a threat present, he still seemed to want to escape.

He would wait for Ryugi to fly through the closed door, or something.

[1/17]

. . .

"********?"

His words would be jumbled as he staggered back from the sudden appearance of a wall made of light. s**t hurt badly, looks like Ryugi already had the upper hand, since Temn had to charge quite a bit for one attack. Why must he always be stuck against the wall?

"Sheesh.”

Armed with a bloody nose, he'd have no choice but to confront Ryugi. His shaking limbs would steady, and his worried eyes would now become focus. He'd reach over his shoulder, his hand gripping on the base of his weapon, ready to draw. READY TO POUNCE~

[2/17]

Well, there wasn't much space to do anything. They were on a speeding train, and the walkway they were on was quite small, only thing Temn could do was take the hit into the light, right?

Well, not exactly. Grabbing onto the handles above him, Temn would heave himself up, then being up both of his legs so that when Ryugi would make contact with Temn's body, Ryugi's face would be coming into contact with both of Temn's knees. Of course this had flaws. Considering the way Temn's body was, all huddled up while his arms held mostly all his weight. The momentum from Ryugi's charge, as well as the brutal force alone. This all could still result in Temn being smashed against the wall harder than him just staying on the ground. Where was the fun in that though?

Yeah, he was afraid of possibilities, but this was almost certain.

Temn would go flying, sure. Though his confidence would be rising, the more and more he'd get damaged.

[3/17]

AWH YEAH, GOT 'EM IN THE CHEST.

But it was short lived, as the impact against the wall of light was pretty damn fierce. Temn would grip onto the bars as if his life depended on it, though his body would still swing back, his a** slamming against the wall. Damn it would hurt. And it would leave Temn's lower body stunned for a second. Temn would now take his right hand off one of the bars, smacking it against the back of Ryugi's head, and using the discharge from earlier to send a small, feeble shock to Ryugi's brain. Hopefully this would create some kind of disturbance and make the wall of light behind them disappear.

If it did, Temn could swing over to the side, his feet landing onto the seats in the train. Temn would try to regain composure quickly before Ryugi could do anything else. With the momentum though, it would have Ryugi fall down, hopefully.

If it didn't. . . well Temn would have one arm holding onto a bar, and a very sore a**.

[4/17]

Someone, let a hobo on the train.

Not a single member of the staff would remember letting this man in, and glances likely would have just as easily washed over him, as people waited for his purpose to be revealed.

As far as any team knew this man was part of the opposite team. Or a spectator? Maybe a judge?

And then he coughed. A wet, sticky, deep, disturbing thing of a cough. The cough was louder than it should have been, and it seemed to echo like a shout down a long hall, passing through each of the shadows of the subway car.

The figures right hand moved to his face, and wiped a smear of black tar like liquid from his stained blackish purple lips. They were thin lips attached to a pale as death face, with blackish stains at either side of its cheeks. These cheeks were drained, almost gaunt. A pale gray tongue slipped free and licked what black tar remained away. Remnants of the substance could be seen staining bandages that covered his right hand. Rather, there were bandages but they were loosely laced between fingers and seemed to serve no medical purpose.

His right hand hand however, did seem to need medical attention. Its fingertips were bruised purple, and black and red had been caked under his nails. The hand twitched once, then twice, before settling in his lap. His sleeves fell limp, both sleeves had a long slit from the wrist to half way down the path to the elbow, buttons were present for closing the slit, but were currently open, revealing for a moment the dark shaded burn scars covering his right arm in patterned fashion.

This man wore a black hooded jacket, the hood had been pulled over his head and cast a shadow over his face. If there were eyes under there, they were never seen. And even with the bob and sway of the train, the movements of the hood never allowed it to show anything of his face above the tip of his nose. The hood however was open, as was the jacket, leaving the long garment to flow open and down to his feet. His feet were adorned in black boots covered in strange indigo stitching. This jacket was clearly worn, lived in, slept in, and over all used, though its color had never faded. At several locations on the upper arm and fore arm were straps, which seemed to serve no real purpose.

However, as momentum bobbed the wearer, the coat moved to reveal a very formal dress vest inside, with another white dress shirt beneath that, albeit sticking out of his belt. His clothes were disheveled, but clean, and quality, marking this man as clearly something other than the hobo he appeared to be.

After his cough, the man resumed breathing. His breathing had a labored effect to it, a slight wet wheeze seem present at the back of each breath in. With a jerk of the train grinding was heard as the hilt of his sword, a jet black affair formed from a solid black piece, fell from leaning on the wall behind him, but was caught by his boot before hitting the ground, and then lifted up by his right hand, and leaned between his legs. Both elbows resting on his legs as he hunched forward slightly, the black sword against his right shoulder, and a short black roughly a foot long laced in the fingers of his left hand.

While the man may not be recognizable as what he once was, his weapons the Nameless and Sha'yd might be. Though no members of Eclipse had seen or heard from his weapons owner since training on Shadow Island months ago. No answers at his house, or phone, no word or warning. Not even a sign he had checked into the Crimson Hawk. It was as if he had vanished.

Now here he was, and not once did his gaze move from its view straight down the shaft of the car, taking in everything or maybe nothing. Then again, not once were his eyes visible and so their intent, like his thoughts and like his own intent, were invisible and unknowable.

Save for the wheeze of his slow rhythmic breathing, he was silent.

Quote: The distance from the floor to the handles above wasn't all that significant. It was probably a total of seven feet or so because they had to be easily reachable by people of various heights during bumpy rides.

Now, this meant that Temn really only had a single arm to defend himself with, and only a small area of room with which to move in. Ryugi chuckled and hop

Heyo!

What was Ryugi doin'? Temn's arm was still pretty much behind Ryugi's head. So once he got the notion that Ryugi would be moving backwards, Temn's gripping hand would let go of the bar, and then both of Temn's arms would proceed to hug Ryugi's head. Temn called this move "KOALA HUUGU." The rest of Temn's body would follow hugging onto Ryugi, his legs would wrap around Ryugi's waist. Now this of course itself was hard to do in the small area they were in, as well as Temn's very sore behind. So if Temn couldn't wrap his legs around Ryugi's waist, the soles of his shoes would be planted against the door behind him, unless Ryugi could still somehow slither into the next room with Temn all over his upper body.

Indigo sparks would fly off of Temn's right arm again; it seemed the discharges would be charging in his arm once again.

[5/17]

DJ Crossflare Wrote:

"KOALA HUUGU." Well, that was unpleasant. But not nearly as unpleasant as what was about to happen to Temn.

Ryugi's energy sense picked up on the electric charge his opponent was gathering into his arm. More powers meant Ryugi could afford to be a little rougher.

In an instant, Ryugi's whole body would burst into searing flames. Temn would be "bear" hugging a blow torch.

Ryugi's Bio Wrote:

Attack List and Specials

While these are the most commonly used attacks by Ryugi, he may use his fire or light energy to create improvised attacks with his abilities for different situations. Improvised moves can rate in strength from a simple flash of heat or light, to a powerful, driving explosive punch on equal standing with his Supernova Attack in energy consumption. The manifestation of these attacks will vary in execution, and all will have an equivalent stamina drain to accompany them.

Note: All attacks can be made more powerful by adding more energy to them, but at a larger stamina drain on Ryugi's person.

But the burning Ryugi wasn't all. As soon as the young man gripped onto Ryugi, Ryugi gripped onto Temn's side's. Now the young man wouldn't be getting away until Ryugi allowed it, or Temn really forced the issue...

His grip secured, Ryugi would then showcase another of his talents...

RRRRAAAAAHHHH!!!

Strength. He would heft Temn's body off the ground and above him, then his powerful legs would chamber and jump as hard as they could, legs that could withstand and lift at maximum one ton of weight. The end result would be Temn being slammed into the roof of the subway car with as much force as Ryugi could muster.

Of course, what went up, had to come down. And down the both of them would come. As Ryugi's legs hit ground, he'd resume his charge, and slam Temn once more into the wall of light energy behind him, all the while engulfed in roiling flames.

Surprisingly, Ryugi had no name for this attack. It was sheer brutality.

[6/17]

Oh joy. Ki Blasts! Ryugi sensed them before they were even let loose. Of course, in his current situation and position, there was really nothing he could do about them. Ryugi supposed he was lucky Temn's power level wasn't over nine-thousand...yet?

Luckily for Ryugi, he had a very hard, and stubborn, head.

One had to wonder why Temn felt the urge to provoke Ryugi further when he was already being burned by roiling flames. As if getting slammed into the roof of the subway car, AND getting slammed into a wall wasn't bad enough, he had to go and mess with Ryugi's head, and his self control. One pet peeve of Ryugi's involved people messing with his head.

Now, Ryugi was getting a little upset, and the flaming orange glow that built up around his right arm would be testament to that. His head was pounding, and that only made him get more irritated.

Temn's actions would only serve to make things hotter...

As soon as the pair slammed into the wall of light, Ryugi's right arm chambered back, the energy flowing around it surging into a point around his knuckles, before the whole mess shot forward, exploding out, directly into Temn's left midsection for a powerful, explosive, burning, punch.

The force would crack windows closest to Ryugi, and send him careening, ripping away from Temn's and his own grasp. Ryugi would wind up slamming into the wall behind him, before hitting the ground on all fours, his body smoking from the flames that had been used for the explosive close-range strike.

He'd then look up, panting, his red eyes boring into Temn's face.

Heh... Don't mess with my head...

The damage from the strike would likely be charred skin and some broken bones. Combine that with Temn having been engulfed in flames and slammed around no less than three times, and the young man would probably be in a world of hurt, even as the wall of light cracked from the force of the blow Ryugi had imparted to it.

Ryugi himself was feeling pretty good now that his head was clearing up a bit. He'd only used about half of his stamina buffer, as most of the energy hadn't been major. And as he knew he had more than half the fight left to go, he figured he was in good shape.

His opponent, though... Ryugi wasn't so sure...

[7/17]

You could smell the stench, the stench of skin burning on Temn's body. He was almost broken, just almost. There wasn't a better time to call in Sey for an assist than now. Temn would look at his FIGHTER slowly, thinking of calling her in to heal him up, or he could just go and call in his other two mates to attack Ryugi suddenly. The idea was wonderful, Temn would smile just thinking about being healed, the holy light upon his skin. A chuckle, and that thought was shattered by reality of his situation. Temn could not quit, even though he was battered so very easily. Burnt skin, broken nose, and probably a few broken bones rattling inside him, and damn was his midsection just aching from that strangely familiar move.

The only good thing about this was that there was just a teeny bit more space in-between the fighters. It appeared also that the wall of light behind him was shattered with the brute force of Ryugi's charges against Temn's body. All the young man could do as try to pull himself backwards with his hands, slowly just a few inches back. He'd attempt to stand, his hands gripping the ends of the seats, and eventually the poles that were stationed between every few seats. It would be like a cane, but he could not move much from there, as it was most of his support before he could even muster up the strength to do much more.

“It seems I'm over my head this . . . fight. I can't even call it that; I'm being thrown around so easily. I can barely even stand, much less stand the pain."

His free hand would reach around his shoulder, pulling out the bat that was strapped on his back. He'd point that end of it at Ryugi, the bat shaking as Temn's hand fumbled with it to keep it straight.

“Now, lets see how much more I can last before I can't move anymore, yes?"

His eyes were different, just like Ryugi's. You could tell that he was serious; you could tell that he wouldn't resort to healing or any other assistance just yet. Not yet, not without one more try. He still had plenty more time to fight, didn't he? He wasn't as fragile as he looked.

The shaking of the bat would cease, surely Ryugi would know that Temn would strike back. But during this, Ryugi could easily just knock out Temn when he was trying to stand up. Only time would tell what would happen next.

A continuation or an end.

[7/17]

"NO!"

Slamming her fist onto the glass of the door as she saw her teammate being thrown around like a rag doll by Ryugi and his flaming arms, Sey couldn't help herself as more tears gathered in the corners of her eyes. As her teammate struggled to stand, Sey's finger moved down her arm and lingered over her FIGHTER but stopped at Temn's words.

Her gut twisted and Sey threw herself into Malen's chest, hands covering her face as her shoulders shuddered with silent tears. It was taking every ounce of willpower within her to not open that door and help him - but this was what he wanted.

"S-Sir M-M-Malenexum. Temn is..." Splaying her small fingers and peering through them and into the adjacent car, Sey's gray eyes were filled with worry and fear. Funny how a White Mage was seeking comfort in a Vampire... Or if it was even possible. Sey's worry made her forget that her magic was a bane of Malen's existence; hopefully she wasn't making her teammate burn.

((Will post in a moment, phone call.))

((Post is below, sorry for the wait.))

Actually, the momentum wouldn't matter all that much, until someone pulled the emergency stop on the train, in which case Ryugi would possibly fall back, and Temn would likely fall forward. But, that aside, there was a fight that needed finishing.

Ryugi continued to charge as he saw Temn's bat aim to burrow into his midsection. As the young man moved to thrust forward, Ryugi's body would leap into the air and duck back, arms gripping a pole as he passed to get his body low enough, his legs whipping outward into a fierce DOUBLE KICK aimed directly for the young man's midsection as Ryugi's back hit ground.

The bat would miss him, moving over the top of Ryugi's legs and torso.

The wall of light was still behind Temn, albeit a wreck of its former self. It wouldn't really take much more of a beating, and if the hit was successful, Temn would likely be sent crashing through the construct, and onto the floor behind it.

Regardless of if the strike hit or not, Ryugi's legs immediately chambered back in towards his body, preparing for his next move, even as his arms glowed orange again.

[9/17]

An excited clapping filled the control room as Stephen did his little show for anyone who was paying attention. "Oh, oh, oh, oh!!! I know him!" Bouncing up and down in her chair and pointing at the monitor Rae was now thoroughly enjoying the match, even if she was a little lost on who appeared to be winning...

"He's... wait I know this..." A slightly frustrated frown crossed her face as she sat back and chewed on the end of her pen for a moment. "He's...drat, what's-his-name! I met him......in a bar..... no that's not right...it was a flying car?! Now that is just stupid!" She shook her head, black and red braids snaking along her shoulders with the movement.

"Oh bother... I forgot again...." "Meh..." She shrugged to herself and went back to watching Ryu-something-or-other beat on the other fellow, wondering if there was anything to eat around here

"Fuc-"

Temn's thrusting bat would miss Ryugi's torso, and there wasn't much Temn could do other than watch himself get kicked in his midsection. You could hear the bones cracking, as it was badly damaged from Ryugi's flaming punches as well as the multiple charges, not to mention his burnt skin, which would make the kick feel much worse. Though, that pain would be doubled, as it was a DOUBLE KICK. It would send Temn's frail body flying into what was left of the wall of light, breaking it with the impact.

Temn would drop, his body motionless. One could only hear the heavy breathing of the young man. His time was up, his body couldn't hold much longer. It was a trouble just to breathe at this point, the pain unbearable, his weapon tossed to the side whilst being sent flying. He would then be rendered unconscious through all the pain in his body, all the burns still itching away at his skin.

Looks like Eclipse was one step closer to winning.

[9/17]

And with the DOUBLE KICK, the match was over. Ryugi's legs kicked out and he righted himself, brushing his outfit off. He then looked over to the battered and bruised young man, his red eyes softening.

Ryugi enjoyed the thrill of a good battle, but he didn't take pleasure in the pain it sometimes caused others. He walked over to where Temn lay on the ground, the remains of the wall dissipating as he passed it, and knelt down.

You did well, friend. Rest now. Your team will need you again soon.

He then gingerly picked up the young man's unconscious form, careful to cause him as little injury as possible, and walked towards the rest of Eclipse and Team Ugly Bastards. He entered the car and softly set the young man's body down on a row of seats near his team mates.

I hope you don't judge me too harshly. You've a fine team member there. While he didn't win the fight, he's certainly won my respect.

Ryugi's soft red eyes would scan each of the other two members of Team Ugly Bastards before he headed over to the seats where his team had set up camp.

[10/17] - ((Match End - Good fight DJ))

At Sunstrike's words, Sey turned 9 shades of red; color creeping up from her shoulders to her forehead in response to his queries. Aw st! She had done her best to block out the terribly embarrassing memories at the Vale but here they were to bite her in the a in the form of the terribly handsome Sunstrike and his accosting finger.

"I-I..." Glancing at him before quickly staring at the floor, Sey attempted to answer his questions... Questions she wanted some answers to herself.

"Hello Sir Sunstrike, it's been quite a while hasn't it?" The mage replied with fake composure and a forced, sweet smile. AGH God! Quite a while and yet, of course, he probably only remembers you because you stripped down to your birthday suit to make that barrier. Who wouldn't forget a ridiculous scene like that!?

"N-naked? I don't k-know what you're talking about..." Said the tomato red girl who couldn't look him in the face. It was quite obvious that dissembling was not one of Sey's forte's. She felt like a little kid that got caught with her hand in the cookie jar, poking her index fingers together and pouting.

As for his last question...

Touching the platinum medallion at her chest and finally looking Sunstrike in the eyes, Sey held his gaze for a moment in silence before the car shuddered beneath her and she was forced to grab onto a pole. She couldn't voice the answer to Sun's last question since she didn't know the answer herself - but she had never been able to hide her emotions from showing in her eyes. In that single glance she gave Sun a glimpse all of her anxiety, hope, fear, love and all the other tumultuous emotions that his question caused within her. For now, that was the best answer that she could give him.

Stryphe...

That a*****e.

The Duke of Id Wrote:

CLACK!

The strike had been so forceful that Malenexum had literally bent the tube a bit, and also rattle the joints where the tube was bolted to the floor and to the ceiling.

"That b*****d!"

Jumping at the noise and looking at her teammate, Sey was too caught up in the memories that Sunstrike dredged up that she only now realized that she couldn't see Temn standing - and then Ryugi appeared in the doorway of their car with her teammate in hand.

Her heart broke a little at the sight of Temn and as soon as the silver haired man placed him down on the seats, Sey bolted to his side, hands shaking as she surveyed the young man's wounds.

Ryugi Kazamaru Wrote:

I hope you don't judge me too harshly. You've a fine team member there. While he didn't win the fight, he's certainly won my respect.

Looking up at Ryugi from her place on the car's floor, Sey digested his words - though no words could wipe the look of misery on the ex-Priestess' face. A few tears escaped from the corners of her eyes as she looked back to Temn, hands shaking as she placed them on his forehead and chest.

She could deal with the burns relatively easily, though his broken bones...

Light flashed from her hands as Sey began to mend her teammate's wounds, those sensitive to spells in the car feeling warmth creep over them as she manipulated her white magic. She tried to focus on her work at hand, on keeping her hands stable, on the prayer that kept slipping out of her head but she couldn't. Her hands were shaking and it wasn't only because she was worried for Temn.

Pushing off the sets that Temn lay on and standing up, Sey turned to Malen and grabbed his right arm with more strength then either of them realized she had.

"I-I..." She probably looked terribly foolish - a mere woman of 5"0' with tears running down her eyes stopping a demon like Malen. But she really didn't care.

Sey was really... Angry.

"I want to..." It was so hard for her to finish the sentence, as it went against every single principal that she had lived her entire life by. But for some reason, right now it just felt so right.

"I want to fight."

Though she whispered the words, there was no mistaking the emotion that was behind them. She was a White Mage in a fighting tournament. Might as well start fighting.

When Sey tried to hold Malenxum back, he simply janked his arm out of the way and continued walking to the train, almost completely ignoring her and her 'stronger' grip. Then he'd do as he had meant to (which would be all the actions that happened in my previous post).

"I never had a mother. Your mother won't recognize you when I'm through with you, though, so you might as well not have one, either."

The grin he had on his face continued to stay there, though this time around there was more malice in his voice than before. It was as if he finally found a reason not to stay his violence. The fight that was about to ensue would be his outlet.

When Malenexum turned around and faced the crowded car from all the way on the other side of the adjacent car, he was looking straight at Sutiiven with a malicious, defiant grin.

"I'm always ready for a dance, my dear prey!

But make sure that you do not trip with my feet!

I'm an excellent dancer in my worst days!"

Ah yes... Then there was the arrogance factor. Malenexum could bring the hatred out of anyone if they really hated scumbags like the vampire before Sutiivan. Malenexum extended his arms to his sides, and pushed them upwards in a 45 degree angle, his left hand holding the sword facing vertically downwards since it was so long.

"Now then! Do we have a fight, or don't we!?"

((Sorry for taking so long, I thought you logged off so I got some dinner.))

Stephen walked quietly behind the man, pausing only to glance at the woman before walking into the car. He closed the door behind him, and looked down towards Malenexum.

"Your feet are the least of my concern, dear sir."

He fixed his gloves for as he walked forward a bit, getting away from the wall behind him. Nothing like a little space to start things off.

He knelt down to tie his shoe, but as he rose, he left behind a dinner plate sized spot of energy - there was nothing covering it, a blatant white-ish spot stood before him where one was not before. It didn't move or seem to do anything, but it sat there roughly in the middle of the car, as if it were a marker.

Stepping back a few spaces from that, he shifted into an unarmed fighting stance. He opened his mouth and uttered but two words:

"Game Start."

[1/17]

Stephen heard the man moving and immediately redacted his original plan in order to take evasive action. As Malenexum came in, the right hand that was dealing with the shoe would whip upwards directly at the vampire's face, simultaneously beginning to roll backwards in order to avoid that sword.

Quote: Flash Bomb: Sutii hurls a small orb of energy from his palm that, upon collision with a solid object, creates an explosion of light and concussive force, which can be used to momentarily blind or stun an opponent. This flash affects a 10 sq.ft. radius in all directions, but can be countered by a covering of one's eyes. R1. (Spiritual Ability)

The hand motion resulted in a small orb of energy flying at high speeds straight at the oncoming Malenexum's face, only helping throw Stephen backwards into the roll. Whether or not it hit was no matter, the flash of light would be enough to temporarily blind or stun the man if he didn't close his eyes quickly.

The move's owner had already counted on that and closed his eyes for the flash, which would finish around the time the roll was ending. He used the momentum to get to his feet and drew his swords. This would be followed by a forward charge, left hand blade for defense, right for offense. Upon entering range, he would attempt a diagonal slash across the chest of the man with the right hand weapon, followed by a left front thrust kick to the mans chest, and finally a right stab to the shoulder with full intent to pierce into him.

The fight was officially joined. And damn did it feel good.

[2/17]

The blade came down, causing Stephen to stop his rush and come up to block the weapon with both swords and pin it in between. He then wrenched it to the ground as hard as he could, hoping to disarm him, but otherwise just messing things up for Malenexum.

And then the Darkness hit.

However, Malenexum's plan was all for naught as his opponent was not stupid enough to stand around and wait for an attack. He pushed back as hard as he could, going in reverse in order to evade any kind of unseen attack from his opponent. He came to a halt as soon as he came out of the darkness, kneeling on one leg and left arm still inside the blackness, palm resting on the ground. Upon coming to a complete stop, he got to his feet and backpedaled a short distance, holding his right hand blade in front of him. He appeared to have lost his left hand blade in the scuffle, but it was so entrapped in the darkness that it would have to wait.

Meanwhile, his opponent remained hidden. He waited quietly for the man's next move.

[3/17]

Stephen had long since abandoned his previous action and had returned to the light - Malenexum could swing and taunt all he wanted, but it didn't change the fact that his target had abandoned one of his weapons and the fight all together in order to keep his vision.

Strength was worthless if it had nothing to grip or push, and a sword was just a shiny object if nothing was in range to cut.

"Come now, you hide in the shadows? One who talks so tough should at least be willing to stand and fight in the open."

Sweat was beginning to run down the man's brow. The exertion of battle starting to show it's signs, but it was not a bad thing. The combat high was coursing through him.

He held his position, weapon forward, awaiting Malenexum's exit from the darkness. There was a chance that the man would come at him with his own weapon, but he hoped that Malenexum was neither inclined not capable of returning the dual wield action.

The man quietly focused on one point of the darkness, the one from which he had exited.

In a narrow subway car, there was only so many places one could come from.

[4/17]

Not very good judgement around some members of Team Eclipse, was there? Whatever. He'd go with the flow then. It was impressive how someone could assume 20 feet of radius from a spell that turned everything into darkness didn't encompass the whole car they were in, but... for the sake of arguement, it would be allowed.

So his grab failed, and his opponent had somehow gotten away from the other attack he pulled off. Amusing. He'd let his vision become restored as he began to taunt the poor creature cornered against the other side of the car.

"The itsy bitsy spider went up the water spout..."

The dragging of a metalic blade across the floor was heard. Then it stopped. Malenexum giggled.

...

"Down came the rain and WASHED--"

A slash was made at one of the tubes, making a large clanging sound of metal against metal come from deep within the darkness. The tubes were rigid, right? Surely they wouldn't be able to get cut...! Or... would they?

"--the spider out!

Out came the sun and DRIED--"

(( Totally understand. twiddles her thumbs as impending doom approaches~ ))

Stiffening for a moment as she continued her ministrations on Temn, Sey could have sworn she heard her name... Nah. Best to ignore it at least - last time she heard mysterious voices, she was getting possessed by The Forgotten One. Either way, she had to focus on her task at hand, lest the guilt at leaving her teammate in such a pitiful state eat her up from the inside out.

Pausing for a moment and leaning back, she gave Temn a once over. Most of his burns had been taken care of - flushed pink skin scattered across his body in place of the blisters and sores caused by Ryugi's FLAMING ARMS. She was almost done....

Worrying her lower lip and leaning back in towards Temn, Sey positioned herself so that she was half cradling the injured man, lithe arms wrapped around his torso. His ribs were a little cracked... And unless she was going to mend them together in their current state, she had to give him a little hug.

"Sorry, Temn. This will... Tickle a little." She whispered, her face in the crook of his neck and hidden in her curtain of hair. Squeezing her arms around him in a hug that caused several popping noises, Sey took advantage of the added contact her aura had with his and siphoned her healing energy into Temn's battered frame through her chest and arms. The duo would stay frozen like that for several moments, the petite Priestess swaying as the car traveled over it's tracks, filling up her own car with a soft white light. Lifting her head up and loosening her grip, Sey stared down at Temn's unconcious face and smiled slightly; hands moving to support his head as she moved to sit on the seat he lay upon and resting his head on her lap. Moving a shaky hand to brush some stray hair away from his face, Sey sighed and stared at his face before casting her gaze at the pitch black car ahead of them.

It wasn't that she was tired from healing Temn; it was more a mental exhaustion that caused her hands to shake and her tears to fall. The young man who lay in her lap reminded her so much of a young Acolyte she had known a long time ago; a boy who had lost his life in the Grand Battle that rocked Barton Town. It seemed that the day was filled with things that dredged up old memories for her; starting first with being ditched by Stryphe, then Sunstrike's impeccable memory and the bittersweet end of Temn's bout. Falis, what did the Gods have planned for her now with all the nostalgia that fate had thrown her way.

Everything had been happening so quickly in the cars and it was a bit of fresh air for her to be able to just sit back and just breathe.

And glare at the floor thinking about their missing 'leader'.

The Duke of Id Wrote:

The very sword that Sutiiven had lost was hurled back at him with much more strength than the piece of pipe had been, but from straight ahead! And then...

Sutiiven Wrote:

And then he had the very nerve to send his own weapon hurtling at him!

The sword clanged harmlessly against the wall as he casually side stepped from its trajectory. He didn't look away from the spot he was watching previously.

...darkness struck once more.

Quote: Darkness

Evocation

Description: This spell causes an object to radiate shadowy illumination out to a 20-foot radius. All creatures in the area become concealed; even creatures that can normally see in such conditions (such as with darkvision or low-light vision) cannot see as well in an area shrouded in magical darkness. Normal lights (torches, candles, lanterns, and so forth) are incapable of brightening the area, as are light spells of lower level. Higher level light spells are not affected by this supernatural darkness. If darkness is cast on a small object that is then placed inside or under a lightproof covering, the spell’s effect is blocked until the covering is removed.

Darkness counters or dispels any light spell of equal or lower spell level.

Duration: 40 minutes

Mana Expenditure: 20 MP per use.

The door that lead to the car where everyone else was suddently glew dark purple, and then everything became dark. Since it was behind Stephen, it would be almost impossible to spot-- and even should it have been spotted, it was not going to help him at all. Oops, forgot to mention that he could cast the spell again, did he? Too bad for Sutiiven not to have thought about that, then.

At the very moment that the darkness fell, Malenexum's voice went out as well and Malenexum charged forward with his sword at hand. Silence would emit from the car other than the noise created by the wheels and the motion of the train, and the sounds of random metal noises across the tubes at either side of the car, all of them headed simultaneously at Sutiiven. Then, a slash, from Sutiiven's right, diagonally crossed upwards, meant to slash through the man's torso.

Might be important for everyone else to read: The spell was cast, and the darkness took over the whole car that he and his opponent was in, plus a small portion of the empty adjacent car and half of the car where everyone else was in. If they were smart, they would move away to the other car and allow the fight to have the possibility to flow into the car they were all currently in, considering Sutiiven had a particular fear to fighting in the dark... or perhaps, he was just being smart.

He spotted the plate-sized spot of energy on the floor and made mind to avoid stepping on it, since it seemed to be some kind of trap. Almost all vampires innately have dark vision. Because of this, while Malenexum couldn't see very well inside the very magical darkness he had created, he could indeed make out silhouettes; like looking into a dark area for a human.

Not only that, but as stated before, he had a lot of experience fighting in the dark, and his senses were accostumed to switching accuteness depending on the ammount of light his eyes were given space to work with-- though, most of the time he didn't have to use that particular ability, since darkness, unless magical, would only make him see in black and white out to sixty feet. His alignment with the darkness element gave him an innate sixth sense of feeling his way through it which was hard to describe normally, as well.

It was imperative to note noted that this attack followed immediately the throw of Stephen's blade. It came suddently and unexpected, as well as unseen. The sound of the metallic tubes hid the sounds his steps would emit, and thus concealed his exact position.

Was he coming from the left?!

Was he coming from the right?!

Was he coming from straight forward?!

The truth of the situation was that he'd be to the right side of the car, using the length of the blade of his sword to hit the pipes to the left side of the car, while hitting the pipes nearest to him with his right hand and the long nails that sprouted from his fingers.

Here he comes, here he laughs!

Here comes the X in the equation of your mental math!

Here comes what will have undone your path!

[MP: 95/135]

V

Malenexum felt the sword slice through something and grinned widely. He ducked down and leapt forward towards the man that had just used this chance to slice at the darkness. It would be so unexpected to feel something suddently strike you at the hips when what you were fighting was easily as tall as you were, especially while you were striking at a sword that came from hell knew how far away-- this he knew from experience: more than three fourths of his victims never attacked downwards when fighting him in the dark, or expected an attack from this position.

The sword that had slashed Sutiiven's chest would be discarded simply by unwrapping the fingers from around it's handle. Thus both arms would extend outwards and towards the opponent, aiming to capture the man's lower torso and bring it along with his impulse against the back of the wall. Malen's head would be positioned in such a way that he would be putting his right ear against Stephen's body, as if to hear the blood gushing out of his body as he made an impact against it.

Both bodies would land against the wall/door behind Stephen unceremoniously, crashing into eachother once more as they finally touched floor. At that moment, Malenexum would get on his knees, which were separated by shoulder length, hugging into the legs of his opponent. The left hand would violently aim to grab at the man's right arm, around the forearm, while the right hand would close into a fist and would begin to strike time and time again against the man's face, savagely being used as a flail (the elbow would be facing straight downwards, the fist would hit Stephen's face with the pinky, the right bottom part of the fist and the right side of the wrist-- as if using a hammer, but without the hammer). Ofcourse, it would only do so after proper control of the man's right arm would be achieved.

"YOU. ARE. USE. LESS. TO. YOUR. TEAM!"

The vampire's strength was more than enough to break the man's cheekbones or eyebrows with as many as a couple of punches. Knocking the man out was an extremely possible outcome if the fists landed on the man's forehead, and it was Malenexum's intent to do so. The strength behind his every syllable behind every fist were just as powerful, attempting at the man's moralle and aiming to bring it past the floor and into the train tracks below.

Malenexum's position was easily alterable, and capable of adapting at a moment's notice. The sword the man carried on the right hand would be problematic, but that would be assuming that the grip of said weapon would survive the shock of being hit across the stomach with a shoulder right after being slashed, the trip from the standing position to the wall, and the hazardous impact of the wielder's back against the wall/door itself. It's chances of still being at Stephen's hand were very slim, at best.

Malenexum had said Sutiiven's mother would not recognize him after he was through with him.

He would make sure to do his best to attain those results, if not win.

I love the smell, the smell of your blood!

You'll be treated like a pathetic dog!

Once I've won and you have lost!

[MP: 95/135]

VI

A soft yellow glow illuminated a far corner of the car through the darkness, rapidly moving toward the fighters. It cut through the inky black as it floated along-- that is, until it latched itself onto Malenexum's head.

A digital voice stated the thing's purpose.

"Malenexum has been awarded a yellow card for discrepancies between submitted and used powers."

Then it promptly sucked the energy out of him. When it was full, it detached itself and floated out of sight.

Previous MP

95/135

Updated MP

55/135

The Duke of Id Wrote:

Darkness

Duration: 40 minutes

Mana Expenditure: 20 MP per use.

Submitted Information Wrote:

Darkness

Duration: 40 minutes

Mana Expenditure: 25 MP per use.

The Duke of Id Wrote:

As he morphed in the darkness, the vampire leapt back onto his opponent...

The vampire came off, and in the darkness something bad was happening. Stephen lie there against the wall, fairly exhausted from the energy spent, but hanging on as best he could. The weapon that he had lost and that was subsequently thrown at him earlier rested beside him.

He could hear the man... there was no doubting that whatever he had coming for the lad was not positive. Vision still impaired, he had to rely on his sense of hearing to fight.

Suddenly, he heard the sounds of approach, and had a few seconds before imminent attack.

<Wait for it... wait for it... NOW!>

Stephen waited for the last possible moment in Malenexum's charge, waiting for him to commit, waiting for him to hit the point of no return. And when it came, he grabbed the sword and brought it in front of him just in time for the beast to impale itself on the blade. His left hand would grab the vampire's face (or something in that vicinity) how ever possible, and he'd brace his legs in front of him in the chance they were needed to defend or push him back. But he wasn't just gonna sit there and wait - Stephen had other plans.

Quote: Flash Bomb: Sutii hurls a small orb of energy from his palm that, upon collision with a solid object, creates an explosion of light and concussive force, which can be used to momentarily blind or stun an opponent. This flash affects a 10 sq.ft. radius in all directions, but can be countered by a covering of one's eyes. R1. (Spiritual Ability)

With a gentle smile, he uttered two words:

"Bite me."

This was followed up by a point blank range Flash Bomb. In the darkness, the light was worthless, but the concussive force was just as effective as ever.

Malenexum would either have a dead limb, a sore chest, or a hell of a headache.

[8/17]

DJ Crossflare Wrote:

“Sorry Sey. . .”

He smiled apologetically, seeing this fit since he had lost his fight. The young man was worn out, he felt completely defeated. But. . . Better luck next time, right?

"Oh... You're awake." Smiling serenely and looking at her patient as he sat up slowly, Sey reached out a hand for his chest to inspect her work but stopped a few inches short. The car that held the two brawlers was pitch black - something that would hinder many fighters that weren't born in darkness like Malen, including herself - but from within it, she could feel the two men's auras dancing in the dark as they fought.

And suddenly she felt Malen's more familiar aura change... And her fingers moved from Temn's back and jammed down on her FIGHTER with none of the hesitation that she felt during the previous bout.

STRIKER DEFENSE

Jumping to her feet and closing the distance between herself and the door between the cars with several long strides, Sey felt her stomach sink as Malen's aura shot straight towards her as she opened the door; darkness chilling her front as the light from the car behind her warmed her back in comparison. There was no time to even think through everything, the instinct to protect driving her forward into the depths of the darkness as the White Mage forced herself away from her element and into the the shittiest environment possible. Finding nothing, absolutely nothing in the pitch black car to pull from but herself, Sey shot her hands forward with fingers splayed and cried out as she felt for her teammate's aura and weaved her energy into it - a spark of bright white-blue light piercing the darkness; the Apostate's sacrificed life energy manifesting itself into the blinding spark that twisted and weaved over Malen's torso, protecting the demon's chest from the collar bone to his hips in a bright, blue-white circle.

Sutiiven Wrote:

Stephen waited for the last possible moment in Malenexum's charge, waiting for him to commit, waiting for him to hit the point of no return. And when it came, he grabbed the sword and brought it in front of him just in time for the beast to impale itself on the blade.

Alongside some growling and a pregnant pause of expectation and there was something she had never felt before - something that brought back memories of fighting the demonic General Samael; a feeling that could only be described as something clawing at her very soul.

"KIIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA~"

Within the stomach clenching darkness, something sharp came in contact with her barrier strengthened by years of her life she could have spent with James and Sey cried out with the shock and fear of the sensation, voice cracking at the end of her cry as the car swayed underneath her for reasons other then hitting a turn of the tracks. Half inside the door and half out, Sey slumped against the car and lowered her outstretched arms to grasp the cold metal of the carriage as old memories and current sensations mixed together in the darkness. She tried to grope her way back to the light, wanting to get away from the darkness that was suddenly filled with her past demons and into the light of reason. Falis forgive her for reacting on such base gut instincts, but she had a feeling that her teammate needed her... And she gave to him the most precious thing she had: Time. </striker end~!>

The Duke of Id Wrote:

As Malenexum came down upon his prey, the door behind Stephen opened...

"s**t!"

The door behind Stephen opened, causing him to drop backwards. As he did so, he'd lift his legs up, pressing his feet against Malenexum's stomach so that he could lift and toss the man over him, using the already incoming momentum. The sword was brought backwards by his own fall, now bracing flat against Malenexum's now protected torso. His left hand was deviated to helping brace the sword as Malenexum would fall on top of him going for the maim. With the vampire coming forward as hard and fast as he was, Stephen would have little problem getting the extra power needed to flip the guy over him and through the door and into the next car.

Improv Judo at its finest.

He was stretched between the two cars at this point, neither of which were that far apart but at the same time it was an extremely nerve wracking position to be in. He rapidly got back to his feet and turned around to face the other car where Mal would hopefully be now.

His sword in hand, he stood, blood dripping, sweat drenched, tired from energy exertion, but still ready to fight.

What little light there was helped enough.

[9/17]

The judo move was pulled off and Malenexum was hurled across from one car to another, flipping him over onto his back and landing on it, probably tumbling into Sey (and whatever other people in the other car that were near the door) along the way. As fast and frantically as he could he'd turn his body to face the ground and then, fumbling and tumbling with a mess of limbs and whatever other bodies (though hopefully and probably only Sey would be involved) that he had inevitably toppled over due to Stephen's throw, he'd begin to stand up as his crouched, bent-at-the-knees limbs would start to drive him towards his opponent.

Somewhere along the way of his trip, Malenexum would have willed himself to end the state of rage he was in.

Iris would grow back to their normal size.

Fangs would shrink down to their usual large selves.

Claws would hide in his fingers, under slowly forming nails.

The pain along his head came back to him, along with the intense burn he felt across his body.The headache he had didn't seem as strong as the other ones he had had before, though, and, although he was still concerned about fainting in the middle of the fight, for some reason it seemed to him that this particular headache wasn't going to make him collapse this time around. Somewhere along the way, the shield that Sey had made for him disappeared (or shattered) as soon as the Strike Assist time had been elapsed.

With the other car was almost as black as the one they had been in, except only around 10 feet of it would be affected due to the door being on the backside (closest to the back of the train) of the car, the darkness that Stephen experienced would continue to exist. The lights so far away would fade as soon as they got into the radius of the ongoing spell, and would not be seen by the man's eyes.

Back into the darkness!

"GRRAAHHH!!!"

He'd await for a swing of the weapon. Just one swing...

Stop avoiding your inevitable defeat.

Don't try to hide the shake of your feet.

The fear you show is as clear as the way you bleed!

[MP: 55/135]

XI

Sey was running for him, and not for a hug by the looks of it. However, when Malen was hurled into the spectator cart Stryphe was overcome by his love for battle, and it was all he could focus on for that split second. He laughed out loud and shouted "GO MALEN" before being cut off by the burning smack to the face and the little white mage barreling into his chest.

A burning heat filled his entire head as the little girl he shared some strange fate with sent him reeling backwards into the car he'd just come from.

He had to make a few clutch steps backwards before making a 180 degree spin and planting a foot down to end the teetering effect, all the while keeping one arm hooked around the small of Sey's back.

The end result was some sort of disheveled tango dip.

"Heaven or Hell's got you all saucy, Priestess," He said, smirking, thoroughly enjoying the pain radiating from Seyumi's hand.

As soon as Malenexum found himself being grabbed, Stephen was charging up. This was endgame, and it was time for the checkmate.

Quote: Overdrive: Sutiiven focuses on his energy in order to make it flow through him much more efficiently. This allows him to ascend to the height of his energy's potential, which puts him in an adrenaline rush state. When active, this increases his skills and abilities by 50%, doubles his recharge rate, and causes him to radiate with a faint glow. It is an ability augmentation, and damage taken with this active has the same effects as if it were taken when normal. While it is possible to use this ability on command, generally it is unleashed by extreme emotion in battle. As such, it lasts as long as the emotion lasts, the threat has been neutralized, or the body is exhausted. Overdrive can be described as an “all or nothing, or ‘this is the last post and I've been fighting non-stop for a week and have to make this count’” move. One Turn Charge. Five Turn Max. R-Special. (Spiritual Ability)

His energy flowed through him, his body began to glow faintly as the power within reached the height of its potential. By the time the man would collide with Ankokuko, the ability was in full effect.

Maximos Wrote:

Finish this...

"With Pleasure."

Gripping the lone sword in both hands tightly, Stephen proceeded to wail on his opponent, his abilities enhanced by the effects of overdrive. He rapidly fired off attack after attack in a devastating combo:

Diagonal downwards slash right to left.

Vertical slash up.

Spinning one handed horizontal slash left to right.

Diagonal upwards slash right to left.

Two handed horizontal slash left to right.

Stab.

Retract.

Diagonal slash up right to left.

One handed spinning horizontal slash right to left.

Quote: Spiritual Improvisation: Aside from the following listed abilities, of which are his most commonly used attacks, Sutiiven is capable of manipulating his spiritual energy in order to create improvisational attacks and skills. Improvised abilities can rate in power from simple attacks that do low damage (such as Energy Pulse or Flash Bomb) to complicated attacks that do high damage (such as Energy Rain or Drive Stun). These attacks vary in creation and use and will have an equivalent drain of energy in order to power them. However, no ability can exceed the man's capabilities, and if his energy is exhausted, then no improvisation can be made. (Spiritual Ability)

At the end of the horizontal slash he stalled for a second, focusing the rest of his energy reserves into one final strike. His blade started to glow as well as he dumped the excess into the weapon.

"Game Over."

With that he brutally swung the weapon with one hand in an diagonal upward slash left to right, causing a burst of energy to flash upon the final blow as all the power was released in a brutal strike, hammering Malenexum for all it was worth.

The glow drained from Stephen and his weapon as he turned his back on the vampire and sheathed it. Dripping with blood and sweat, he looked over his left shoulder, taking a moment to glance at his opponent. He looked like hell... but he'd live.

"I believe this is your stop."

[10/17]

The Duke of Id Wrote:

The vampire would fall onto the floor prone on his back.

Stephen was already in Overdrive and already on the move. He saw the arm break, and knew that only bad things could come from that, one of which was the altered trajectory of Max's throw. But it wasn't useless. As the man landed, instead of getting up like a smart person, he sat there and laughed.

Allowing Stephen to run him through with his sword and pin him to the floor.

Which was followed by a good old fashioned curbstompin'.

Lots and lots of curb stompin's, actually.

Stephen was still smashing his face in as his wrist broke. It was but a minor pain and inconvenience. He was Overdrived and intent on damaging.

If the man tried to attack, he would deal with it. Until then, he was content with beating the crap out of the man's face, with full intent to break the jaw if possible. A fire glowed in his eyes, an almost rage state was beginning to build.

If there was a definition of 'No More Mr. Nice Guy', this was it.

[11/17]

Okay, so the wrist break was nigh simultaneous. Stephen grunted, but the adrenaline coursing through him temporarily nulled the pain for the most part. He unceremoniously ripped his sword from his own hand, now carrying it in the left.

The Duke of Id Wrote:

As Stephen approached to stab him into the floor, he'd have to walk over (or near) Malenexum's legs first. Both of them would come crashing upwards and the laughter would stop right there.

They would both position themselves to either side of the closest leg's knee...

... and find themselves being sliced off with a loud roar from the long haired man.

Stephen didn't have enough time to react to the attack due to the darkness, but he had been put in this many times before from his Ju-Jitsu training, and this was merely as set back. As he fell, the free hand was in front of himself, ready to brace his fall, while the right one still brandished the sword, twisting it so that it would cut the legs on the way down - he couldn't see them, but he knew the anatomy well enough to swing at them.

He put as much power behind the swing as he could, intent on severing one, if not both, clean off of their owner. His weapons were sharp, freshly edged for the tournament, and the power of Overdrive and now just general rage made the weapon extremely sharp and dangerous. The man who normally avoided vitals was now on the edge of locking his morals in the broom cupboard while he ******** this sumbitch up.

Should it work, he would try and regain himself before returning to stabbing the man in the chest and proceeding with the curb stompin's until Malenexum was rendered unconscious or surrendered.

[12/17]

THUD! Both legs landed to either side of the knee and attempted to topple the man down! Now all Malen would do would be retract his legs towards himself to bring his opponent closer to hi--

"ARRRGH!"

SHINK!

As the man fell he had unleashed a vicious attack at the vampire's legs, which was promptly stopped halfway by the thing that everyone had to stand on in a fight: the floor. The estimatedly three and a half foot long blade was interrupted in it's flow and motion as the man came down at a faster speed than intended when Malenexum pulled on the knee and all of him, plus the fact that he'd be cocksided to his left (since Sutiiven had come from Malenexum's left) and would thus only be able to cut halfway into the vampire's right thigh before the sword would get stuck to the car's floor as he fell.

Because Malen had pulled the legs forward, the man would fall at an awkward angle of leftwise/forward. His body would continue to fall at this angle, while the sword would stay on the floor and stuck into Malenexum's right thigh by the broadside of the blade. He would not keep the wrap of his legs after the blade cut, so he'd let the man's left leg go. If the man kept holding onto it, his wrist would break or he'd bend/break his own sword with his weight, so he was pretty much forced to let go of it. There were also high chances of the handle stabbing into his stomach, but probabilities were the sword would just turn back out of the leg and hit the floor under Stephen's body when he fell.

But, AS all of the actions stated on the previous two paragraphs would happen, Malenexum's body would sit up. Just a little present for his trip.

As he'd sit up, he'd bring his whole right arm hurling towards the falling body aiming to hit at the head with his bicep.

A lariat strike.

A very, very strong lariat strike.

Or well, was it really? It was definitely going to function as one if he fell the way he did. Sure, the arm that was bracing for the fall could allow him to block it and take some of the brunt of the hit, but it was coming in fast, what with both the momentum of the falling man and his own momentum of sitting up PLUS the added one he'd give the bicep to arc towards his forehead's left side. It could easily knock him out on it's own... as well as give him a hell of a neck hurt.

And then, once he'd fall into this lariat strike, he'd be throw into the ground along with him. The leg that had been bent sideways would be at the curled legs of the vampire, but they would not be curled around the leg. The right leg, which got slashed half-way, would stay curled where it's original position had been, perhaps with the shin and the calf aimed a bit more downwards than before, while the upper leg would be resting on Sutiiven's straight leg. And the rest would be history.

My my! Haven't you been hard to fell!

Don't worry, atleast the hard floor can tell!

When I beat you down, I'll revel in your yell!

[MP: 35/135]

XII

The awkwardness of the fall forced him to release the blade as it struck the floor, but that was fine since that would open up both arms to preform a powerful double block, stopping the lariat. The downward momentum of the fall plus the man's own weight would counteract the strength should Malenexum attempt a pin or something of the like.

Stephen would then slip his right arm around the offending strike, and pin it tightly between his chest and upper arm, helping give him a little balance. But balance wasn't important. What was important was what the left hand was doing - striking the elbow up with enough force to break it, which wasn't hard since the arm was already straight and locked.

After the arm would break, the balance would be lost, and Stephen would fall and land on his right arm, using it to hold him up as much as possible. With his left arm, he would start elbow striking Malenexum in the chest and struggling with his legs in attempt to free himself from the vampire's grip.

Stephen was bloody, bruised, dirty, and dripping with sweat, but he sure as hell wasn't going to go down unless it was kicking and screaming.

[13/17]

For a few seconds, the half-demon felt himself softening (and possibly stiffening) for the small, innocent little priestess. He was proud of her for entering the tournament and proud of the woman she'd become since being the innocent and helpless priestess. For once, her tears were something he felt he could respect. In his arms was a woman grown, someone who'd faced her own demons, been to hell and back, and was here, now. She was standing bravely between Heaven and Hell and by the gods, she was beautiful for it. She'd only catch a small hint of all that; something calling to her from behind the cool, smart gaze and the almost-snide smirk he was so use to mocking her with.

Now he just felt under-dressed. Maximos stood before them looking very much the creepy gentleman. Something about the way the Reaper presented himself seemed to hint at how the man, the creature, would fight. Stryphe could feel the precision, the cold, dark calm. The effect was much more potent when there was no TAT. There was Ugly Bastards and Eclipse.

The half-demon stood at roughly 6 foot and was built for agility, power and flexibility more than brute strength. His hair was a den of tangles a knots, wild and unkempt. Thick stubble covered his jaw and spiked slightly up towards his cheekbones to flow down over his chin and upper lip. His face was jagged and hawkish, as potentially sinister as it was handsome. His expressions were always very bold. He wore no more than an almost tight white t-shirt and camouflage cargo shorts. Nothing in the pockets. No shoes. As close to 'el naturale as possible.

"I don't suppose you're here to pick a fight with a girl, you..."

Suddenly, he realized something. A thump-thump-thump reverberated through his mind. The sound of something outside the train...

"...you creep." o.o;

Now that hurt.

His mismatched eyes rolled away from Sey to the half demon. The Shadow's eyes showed how very distraught he was immediately, the entire expression on his face drooped to carry the weight of Stryphe's words.

At 6ft 3inchs, Max was just high enough for his collar to continue covering his face, but no so much that when he spoke one would have any mistaking noticing that his cheeks, lips, and mouth area did not move one bit. He said...and his voice seemed to wisp in on the wind, ghostly and haunting, and yet smooth. It carried that formal aire of charm and warmth Maximos' voice always did only it seemed to echoing from far away, instead of up close where his mouth was.

Stryphe...I'm insulted...

He said dejected, shaking his head.

...I didnt come here to fight...

He of course completely ignored being called a creep in listing his issues with Stryphe's statement because well...even Maximos knew how to use a mirror. There was a pause, Maximos broke eye contact for an instant, his eyes darting to Sey then back to Stryphe, addressing the man with all the formality of one addressing the guardsmen of another. He said.

...I came to dance.

And by the look on his face, and any senses magical or mundane one could tell, Maximos was infact...completely serious. He turned his eyes lightened from the dejected gloom, his lips spread into a soft dark smile who's peaks rose over his collar. A man in his condition simply could not help but look dark, the panda-shading around his eyes did not help his case.

Regardless, those dark shaded and mismatched eyes turned to Sey, and ever the gentleman he said a name only one other individual on all of Gaia had been told. Fully confident that with the bustling noise of the train and the fight, it would be drowned out for all save for those in present company. His left hand moved across his chest, and the voice continued.

My name Maximos Lucillien Dark...Lady Sey...

A pause, Maximos coughed softly, clearing his throat as best he could before taking a very very formal bow. His eyes started straight down at the subcar floor. His left hand extending to his side, his right arm moving under his torso, and right leg slid in front of his left.

Bowed like this, she would be able to see down his collar. There was nothing horribly wrong here, just the neck of a dress shirt. Maximos' lips however were stained with something black, and wet that seemed to drip down to the sides of his mouth and half way to his chin. Smear marks were visible here where he had tried to wipe it away, but it had proved entirely too thick.

For a moment, he looked more broken than scary. Perhaps even misunderstood? Or maybe not.

And then, for only the second time during this match, his lips parted. His teeth were dull white, his gums were black, and his tongue was grey, all from that same tar like substance. All of the above revealed as Maximos actually spoke. The voice that escaped him however was not anywhere near as smooth as the ethereal voice which preceded it. This voice was raspy, it was rough, as if the product of a life time of chain smoking. Anyone could tell that using it was a real effort, but Maximos put it forth anyway because...this must be done proper. Stryphe just may notice, if memory served that the Maximos he met in TAT was far cleaner, and in much better shape....and could talk.

...Would you grant me...

A pause, a strain on his face as he tried his best to fight it back, but to no avail. He coughed, immediately cupping his mouth with his left hand, smearing away as much of the black tar as he could, and quickly closing his hand to hide how much had spilled. He took a quick, wheezing breath, and continued, as best he could.

...the honor, of this dance?

At which point his head rose, just enough to let his eyes meet hers, and he extended his right hand, fingers splayed out in invitation. As is traditional when offering a dance. Now considering this was a fighting tournament, it was pretty obvious what metaphor hid behind the word "Dance". But what Maximos was exemplifying was that he was a gentleman, he had absolutely no intention of brutally beating this young girl at all, despite his reputation. Infact, Maximos would have considered himself entirely amiss if he had to ball a fist against a woman. There were other, smarter, more creative ways to fight.

For any that were magically attuned, this arm was dark. Not unholy. Not evil. It was darkness. It was touched by shadow, deeply. If it held any other secrets, it held them tight for the moment. Outwardly, his hand was pale, poorly wrapped, burned, and his fingertips were bruised. Maybe for other reasons...maybe if she did not trust him....but Maximos could not for the life of him imagine a White Mage turning down his hand simply on the merit that it was injured, or unhealthy.

Still, one must always obey the formalities.

L'un de Dix-sept

.One of Seventeen.

It was time. The slow, warm up music had begun.

Wrenching her glued gaze from Maximos' arm and focusing on his eyes, Sey looked at him for a silent moment. She had forsaken all of her Oaths that had made her a White Mage, all but the most important - the central core of the Falician beliefs.

Given to the clergy when she was 5, Sey had been raised with the Oath of healing and supporting all Gaians whom she encounters to the best of her ability; regardless of any prejudices on account of their nature. Bound by Oaths under the God of Light, the two branches of the Falician Order live by strict principals embodied in their vows. Falician Paladins Protect and Serve - their strength the embodiment of Falis' hands upon Gaian soil, protecting his children while White Mages are Compassion personified, spells and shields bringing rest to the weary and pain to those of evil.

But it was that very word - evil - that had brought her from the white marble halls of the Temple of Falis to this subway car. There was no good and there was no evil - only shades of gray. She learned that pretty well fighting alongside Omikron and the Shades during the battle over the Vale... A battle in which she stood by the same man next to her today.

Taking a step away from Stryphe's side and looking up to the towering man that was a full foot and 3 inches taller then her, Seyumi's fingers twitched and then moved to her chest, clasping the platinum medallion - her most precious and prized treasure - and began to do something that she had never, ever done before. Removing the pendant and sliding her long black tresses through the blessed platinum chain, the fallen High Priestess turned to Stryphe with hands outstretched. The symbol of Falis, given to those chosen specifically by him held so many meanings for her: the embodiment of her religion, family, duty, principals - but most of all it was the culmination of her young life. Everything she had done had been done for Falis, save for the actions of her heart. To give this...

"Can you hold onto this for me? If... Anything happens...." For a moment her serene resolve cracked as her nervousness revealed itself in it's entirety through the opal mirrors of her irises. She loved two men and one of them was here... And the other was competing in HOH as well - though she didn't know it.

"Please give it to James Black."

Standing on her tiptoes and sliding the blessed symbol over the half-demon's head, Sey spun around on her dragonhide boots and moved to take the proffered hand.

In the almost 6 years she had roamed Gaia, the little Priestess learned that healing was not always through her white magic and that supporting was not always self sacrifice. In order to truly follow her Oath the way SHE saw fit, Sey would fight. Fight to find her answers, to find her truth and to find a way to live her life following her Oath and her heart... Regardless of what her God had said.

She was ready. It was on.

...

As soon as she reached out and saw that her pale, small hand wasn't the MANRY hand that was in Maximos' grasp, the White Mage gasped and skittered backwards and into seats diagonal from the two fighters. She... He... Stryphe...

"STRYPHE!"

But the fight had begun. Team leader against Team leader - and while she was ready, willing and able to fight for her comrades - Stryphe was... Well, Stryphe.

Cocky, headstrong and... Strong.

Looking down at her FIGHTER and mashing buttons (not her STRIKER one though~), even going so far as screaming and flinging the arm it was stuck to in the air in several frustrated circles, Sey turned a livid shade of red. Neither of the two names on her screen belonged to her.

Code: TEAM ELIPSE: MAXIMOS

NOT her goddamn NAME.

Code: TEAM UGLY BASTARDS: STRYPHE

DEFINITELY NOT HER NAME.

"GODDAMNIT!" She was far enough away from the two of them to give them their space to fight, but close enough to see everything that transpired. She was going to prove herself. She was going to fight. And all of Gaia would see the true power of a White Mage by the time this tournament had ended.

...

And the spectators had a rare glimpse of super cute chibi Sey not angry as her non SD form was but excited as she really was underneath all that anger. Apparently, whoever was working the announcements for the fight was reading too much Shojo manga - and it showed in her work.

The little Sey bowed on the screens, smiled, waved and giggled a little before walking to a blackboard that was covered in HOH commentary and the official fight bracket. Holding a small piece of chalk in her hand to write down any important fight updates, the chibi Priestess spoke in an excited and happy high pitched voice as she delivered her message for EVERYONE ♥~!

Maximos' hand, did not feel like a hand at all.

It was cold, unnaturally cold and for more than one reason.

First off, just an inch beneath the skin were black metal digits. These digits did not take kindly to the air condition or cold temperatures and were very very hard to warm. They also made Maximos' right hand feel alot harder, and stiffer than a natural hand, this being something Stryphe might notice as he tried to squeeze and found the hand entirely unrelenting.

You see, these metal bones...and the bruising...and burning scars were all part of a curse. A curse borne of a shadow based runic enchantment gone wrong, it was dead and dormant unless woken. A curse that really only took effect when the bare skin of Maximos' right hand, touched the bare skin of another. Maximos had dubbed the hand...

Quote:

• Twilight's Hand - Crepusclum Manus

Only useable in Human Form. Maximos' right arm is covered with a single tattooed runic array burned into his flesh. The bones in his right arm are stained and supported by a very durable black metal. Beyond making the arm difficult to break, the arm is also able to function albeit with much less dexterity, if the flesh and muscle covering it are placed in a state of extreme disrepair.

((A beautiful post Stryphe! I couldnt wait! Skipping lunch for library computer lab access for the win! ))

He could feel it. Dread. Strain. Stress. The tingling rush of pure life rushing through his arm, and spreading across his body. Maximos held back. The rules of the tournament stated competitors were to be under no illicit substances, and there was no high greater that the high of the Soul Taker. But...Maximos was calm. Maximos was controlled, his hand was practically quivering, but now with with fear or weakness but excitement.

"So you couldn't have been too disappointed that it was me who took your hand..."

He could squirrel it away for later. Package the energy, then swallow it when it was safe. His grin stretched, sickly and dark. It looked like it might split his face in half, it was all the answer Stryphe would likely need.

And then Stryphe began to chuckle, it was low and light, and Maximos knew exactly why, but did his best not to let it show. No, instead the Reaper let his smile begin to fade. And then...

FWOOM

Maximos' eyes snapped open, shock covered his face and emerald flame was everywhere. He looked, as if the tables had just been turned, overturned even, and suddenly he was lost! Hopeless! Defeated! The pure demonic energy bathed across Stryphe's form, and then down his arm, Max's eyes followed it, both eyes filled with what looked to be the desperation of man facing defeat. Unholy. Profane. Demonic essence. It was...

Unclean!

The voice pleaded!

Unclean!

A tad dramatic, a tad desperate. Maybe he was laying it on a bit thick?

"...I'll have to see what I can do about THAT."

Maximos' form slammed back first into the window, and the glass shattered like sparkling rain in all directions, sucked down the subway car. There was just no stopping it, no matter how strong his arm was Stryphe was strong enough, especially with both arms to lift Maximos' wieght as a whole. The pain spread out in a red flash across his back, like spiderwebs darting out across his form. He was saved any cuts simply because the window was whole when he hit it, an the majority of the glass was shot out of the speeding train and away.

Uncleee-he-he-heheheahahahAHAHAHAHA!

He cried out with a definite sort of twisted madness.

All of a sudden, things werent what they seemed. Max was shaking hands with The Hulk. And The Hulk, unknowingly was in the hands of an Abomination.

Quote: Curo Ingurgito | Mana Gorge - Being of a beastly nature the Manus hungers for constant sustenance. While its preferred prey is life force it is able to feast on other forms of energy. Any enchanted item placed in the Manus' unholy grip will find itself temporarily inert. Any magical being in its grasp will find its energies slowly drained, in the same manner and time table as the Soul Taker. Likewise, if the arm is directly exposed into a magical or energy based attack the arm may devour the oncoming attack entirely, adding the attacks energy to the Manus' own. If its owner can survive said attack. The arm is unable to absorb a second attack until the energy of the first has been given function. If the energy is placed into an attack, that attack exhibits the same force and destructive potential of the devoured attack plus the arm's base strength.

All of a sudden, it wasnt a question of whether or not Stryphe could survive the energy drain. Stryphe had added something other than life to the fray. No...

Green glow was visible peeking through the nails of his bruised fingertips, his long sleeves were open and revealed streaks of green filling the purple runes. A pulse was visible, a bright glow streaking in, and in endlessly up the arm and into the man who owned it. Feeding him. Strengthening him as well.

...No...All of a sudden the question was whether or not Stryphe could survive having his strength, and his energy boundless as it was...turned back on him.

The truth is...this was a set up. The offered hand? The slight goading? "Warm up". Do it. Stryphe was handing his weapons. Maximos was a good man...a good man doing dark, evil things. And, it was the nature of evil to turn you against yourself.

Immediately, even as glass fell to the floor Max brought his feet down hard. They smacked the ground and found a firm hold, and then as Max had demonstrated for Sey, he performed any Shadow's oldest and greatest trick. He mimicked. He had the element of surprise on his side.

His left hand quickly snapped to joined his right on Stryphe's arm, and he brought both hands to bear, aiming to swing the demon just as violently as he had himself had been swung. Just as with Max, it would likely become now a question wieght. Max's arm was entirely capable of lifting Stryphe's body wieght as a whole. And chucking him at the same window...the only difference? There was no window anymore. Just a hole. And Max wasnt going to let go.

If Stryphe was indeed over-the-shoulder flung, Max would immediately stomp forward to shove the man out the large open hole in the train car, extending his body out of the gap. One foot stepping on the hard red seats and the other on the window sill, as he aimed to slam, and hold, and grind, the likely upside down man against the wall of the subway tunnel with supernatural force as the train sped on. Out of his perif, he tried to keep an eye on Sey. White Mages...hammers...unpleasant.

Good!

His lips moving again, the more he drank the more of the tar he suffered, made visible as the black spit from his parted lips as he spoke. The black substance whipped away by gushing air.

Theres so MUCH more to dance room out here!

Trois de Dix-sept

. Three of Seventeen .

The world was a blur, a screaming, eye-watering tempest beneath the earth.

DOOM

Stryphe's body, ragdoll, crashed against the subway wall, bouncing and sending blood and debris along the vapor trails of the green demonic energy spewing from his eyes.

DOOM

Again the hard, cold, emotionless blur that was the wall of the tunnel thrashed him, turning skin to dust, bruising bones and threatening to knock him entirely senseless.

As his body rushed to meet the wall for a third time, the Lancer cocked back his left hand, his entire arm red with blood and speckled with tiny bits of rubble. The green fire in his eyes roared as the half-demon let out a thick, horrifying scream.

The trail of pure, emerald power grew thicker behind him as Stryphe's demonic omnipotence took hold of his left arm, which went plunging into the wall of the subway before the rest of him could. The power he was inadvertently supplying Maximos with now would be sickening, but that thought was far, far from the Lancer's mind. There were no plans when you were stuck between a train and a hard place.

For Maximos, Stryphe would suddenly be a great deal harder to hang onto- but that didn't matter. Stryphe's right hand was still tightly in the Reaper's grip, and the Reaper's right hand in his. Maximos would be ripped violently through the broken window, horizontally pile-driven into the same wall Stryphe was so well acquainted with.

Three.

Sutiiven Wrote:

He could grab the arm all he wanted, it wasn't a throat and it sure wouldn't do jack for headbutting. Oh really?

Well then, he wouldn't mind if he got that arm grabbed then, did he?

When his left hand went to grab and didn't touch anything, Malenexum would turn right-wise and look and make sure to grab something. As his opponent rolled away from him (that would be to Malenexum's right) and previously his right arm had been close to him, Malenexum would grab onto the right arm's forearm area, the arm that was being used to 'defend' from upcoming attacks would thus be used as a grabbing point. It would do little use to have that arm defend from anything, since, once grabbed, all the vampire would have to do was pull and tilt his head back a little bit, then bring it forward with unpresedented strength and momentum at Stephen's head.

All of this would be accentuated by a lot of heavy breathing and sweating from Malenexum's face, as his right arm would lift up, broken elbow and everything, from below Sutiiven's body to pin the man next to him to disallow an exit as much as possible.

He'd be pulled in by Stephen's movement, and at the same time his own pull would only emphasize on that momentum and bring him closer and faster along with him. Even with Stephen attempting his best to keep his elbow bent in order to procure a 'boxer's guard', the pull would be carrying almost all of Malenexum's weight behind it, as well as the own momentum he provided to roll away from him. Unless his arm was 'bolted' to stay bent, there'd be little to prevent the vampire to get rid of that guard and hurl his head full speed at his.

"C'mere!"

This wouldn't be -just- a headbutt. It would be the headbutt -of all- headbutts.

With Stephen's right arm currently grabbed with a vice grip that dug Malenexum's nails into it, and Stephen's left arm currently pinned under Stephen's own body (which only damaged his tricep even more), Stephen would find himself just as defenseless as he was in the choke, if not more. After that, he'd start to do the same thing he'd do after the choke: headbutt, and headbutt, and bite, and headbutt, and bite, and headbutt, and bite, and headbutt and headbutt...

Getting his opponent's face marred wasn't really in question here. If he really wanted to, it would happen even if he had to slash his own face half to hell.

What was really in question here was a particular person's pride...

...which was a sad thing to watch it be so badly defended.

It's the time for you to realize who's boss.

The battle's end is a few minutes from us.

It's such a pitty that you're such a loss.

[MP: 35/135]

XV

Of all involved, it was becoming entirely too clear that windows were the largest victims here.

He felt it give, he felt glass pour over him and saw it twinkle like sparkling confetti out of his peripheral.

Then a sudden impact, and they were home. With Stryphe in front of him, Max couldnt see exactly what they had landed on, but before he had time to pull back and look feet planted on his chest.

It was all too clear what was coming next. His eyes mismatched eyes snapped up to look Stryphe dead in the eyes, he looked as if he was about to say something. Maybe shout something. But he was across the car before his lips could part or a sound could echo forth, when his mouth did open it was on impact with the seat opposite the demon. Black sprayed from his mouth.

Max had tried to clench his hand as tight as he could, but it would never be enough. Infact, once Stryphe bucked he just might hear the sound of wet meat slipping against wet meat. That black ooze staining and pouring from Max's arm worked clearly against the Shadow. However as he flew backwards, he did make an effort to swing his arm from right to left, so as to spray a line of it on Stryphe.

Next to windows backs, as a whole, were clearly the second largest victim here. There enough blood in the air to override the smell of mold and mildew and subterranea that poured in from the open window and fill the room with the scent of iron.

Pain made one feel alive, it was absolute. You are in pain, or you are not. Being in pain was the realest moment anyone could have, and for Max it made him feel alive. But without pain, in the rush of combat, Maximos had the horrible habit of forgetting his injuries. Granted, at the moment his vision was blurry due to something warm and wet pouring down from atop his head, and tapering his navy blue hair down....And granted, his right arm burned as if its blood was fire having been forcibly broken away from its meal...but inside, Max's will power said it was time to stand up and fight. Period. No exceptions.

He quickly shoved both hands against and off of the seat and stood tall. And immediately felt exactly how bad of an idea that was. His back let out a series of pops and a blinding red flash, and his upper half immediately lurched forward. Something, a great series of somethings werent right and he hadnt the time to examine himself.

If he didnt look creepy before, he did now. He stood hunched forward, crimson pouring down his face, his hair flat against his scalp a mess of dark blue and red, which made patches look black. Head wounds just seem to bleed forever. His shoulders were limp, both arms hanging loosely in front of him, and a pitter patter of drops fell to the floor like like soft rain on a window. It was blood, and black ichor. Somewhere behind him he felt wounds weeping soaking into his jacket which. Black hides blood well.

You dont look so good...

And he was grinning. A white, black, and blood red grin. A pure smoke like wisp rose from his right eye, a gray tongue traced his bottom lip and the side of his mouth. The grin widened. A voice softly echoed, as Maximos took deep, wheezing breaths.

There was a moment here, where Max both men looked at each other. Both likely admiring the others handiwork. Needless to say, Maximos was what he saw. His fingers twitched. Indigo sparks danced up, and down Maximos' right arm. Then they seemed to echo in the black ichor on the ground, and wherever it had fallen on Stryphe.

Your not done already are you Stryphe?

Cinq de Dix-sept

. Five of Seventeen .

The Duke of Id Wrote:

What was really in question here was a particular person's pride...which was a sad thing to watch it be so badly defended.

It's the time for you to realize who's boss.

[align=center]The battle's end is a few minutes from us.

"No..."

Max watched the hand quizzically, as Stryphe jerked at the pole, and then nothing. What was that?

Meanwhile sparks continued to drip up and down Maximos' right arm, and black ichor. But the bleeding stopped.

No...it couldnt be....Is he really? It has to be but...

Max could only chuckle, or rather, chuckling was heard but Max's lips stayed still. By his tone, it was entirely clear that he was not laughing at Stryphe's failed attempt, no he was laughing at something entirely different.

CRACK.

Oh dear...Oh dear me...

Maximos, was, is, has always been, an honorable man. While a monster in his own right even he followed a code. He did not draw his weapon, and would not draw his weapon unless his opponent did so. Likewise he would have no involved supernatural attacks unless his opponent did so. The Soul Taker being an exception that Maximos could not turn it off.

At heart, the Shadow of Death was and is a swordsman. A blade wielder. It was his passion. And now, Stryphe had handed him a sort of permission to revel in such.

"...but thanks for the warm-up, Maxi."

There was a metal pole swinging at his head, with every bit of the force necessary to crack or crush his skull. And Max quite liked the shape of his head, exactly the way it was.

Stryphe swung, the air screamed as the silver blur that was the poll careened toward its goal.

Maximos right arm snapped to attention, fingers curled inwards. His baggy sleeves which hung loose, now seemed to be filled with some sort of lightning fast spiral motion which whipped them into expand.

The motion raced up his arm, out of his sleeve revealing itself to be blackness, a shiny wet blackness that moved like ribbons covering Maximos' hand and then quickly becoming dull afterwards. One out of the sleeve began work on his and fingers. Meanwhile a cross shaped split began to form in the palm of his hand, but was immediately smothered.

My...

FWOOSH!

...pleasure...

The poll ripped over Maximos' head as he bent at the waist, the knee, and would have normally bent at the back as well had it not already been hunched forward and very very resistant to the idea of being overly used or used at all. It missed by less than inches, and in the wake there in Maximos' burst into motion.

With a smack, Max' brought his left hand up to lay on the inside of Stryphe's bicep. One one powerful stride Maximos' stomped forward and brought his weapon to bare.

Quote: Crepusculum Macies | Twilight Gauntlet - Once awakened, the arm forges a black gauntlet around Maximos' right arm composed of the same mysterious metal as his cursed bones. The small hands seen lashing out, each lay down around the limb, squishing the sleeve and creating the piece of armor. At its center, the eye of Datho Mere Sunstrike which appears visibly as an eyeball in the palm of either form able to roll and see in 360's of the palm. The gauntlet is armed with talon-like fingers, and infused with superhuman strength. Though only in the one arm. And only when motivated as such. Maximos while in total may only be able to life 300lbs, can lift up to 600lbs with his right arm only.

The train's cameras were looked on the brawling men as millions of spectators watched the fight ensue. Of all the Gaians watching, there was a single pair of gray eyes that watched the fight with an immense feeling of dread. The owner of those gray eyes watched the bout with a wide, unflinching gaze as two demons began their deadly dance, in shock.

When Stryphe and Maximos grasped hands, Sey felt the sudden change in the atmosphere of the car as though a cold winter breeze had suddenly blown through the train; a chill creeping down her spine as she shuddered in her pearl empire dress and ribbon luv sleeves. When she and Sam went clothes shopping in Durem she should have dressed herself with warmth in mind.

Stryphe Wrote:

"So you couldn't have been too disappointed that it was me who took your hand..."

Something was wrong. It had taken so much of her will power to look away from that right arm when they had first spoken and now she knew why. Standing up and grabbing the nearest pole as she saw Stryphe start to laugh, the little White Mage opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by the guttural roar that erupted from the Lancer as he and his opponent suddenly went crashing through the subway windows. As much as it was fear induced, the shock at the half demon's actions was replaced by... Awe.

"STRYPHE!"

She always seemed to be screaming his name - kind of like some cliche anime involving a half demon and some priestess that trapped him with a necklace of blessed beads.

Sey wasn't stupid. As soon as she managed to move her feet from underneath her, the Priestess grabbed the monstrous halberd with both hands and hefted it onto her slight shoulder - she had come a long way since they first started practicing with polearms - and sprinted to the door of the car behind them. Reaching the end and nearly breaking the glass with the weapon, she and slammed it open and pricked her ears to listen desperately for the sounds of the fight. If anything happened to Stryphe...

GODDAMNIT IT. She couldn't see anything but the train, hear anything but the screeching of the goddamn thing careening over the tracks. Heart racing, blood thundering through her ears as she desperately searched for a sign of the brawlers Sey raced through the subway cars without a care for anyone or anything else. With the fighters gone, the music was paused - the absence of their violent movements leaving an eerie silence in the subway car air.

"... Stryphe!?!"

A flash of recognition shocked her senses as she felt a pendant sized speck of white magic zoom to her right as the car she was just about to enter shuddered and a window gave way to it's two newest occupants. Eyes widening as the duo separated violently and composed themselves as quickly as they made their entrance, Sey slammed the door open with her right hand catching the tail end of their brief exchange.

Maximos Wrote:

My...

FWOOSH!

...pleasure...

The sight of him covered in blood made her stomach twist, Sey clenching her teeth as her grip tightened on the massive weapon in her hands, the urge to wield it as the Stryphe had taught her and send it piercing though Maximos' chest with a sickening crunch shot engulfed her senses. Maybe the Falician pendant had kept her from truly experiencing all of the violent emotions that she had been so used to keeping at bay, but Sey felt bloodlust like she had never experienced before. Bloodlust that was aimed at one person and one person only.

"STRYPHE YOU BETTER NOT ******** LOOSE!"

Though she was yelling at the half demon her gray eyes were trained and narrowed on the dark figure he was battling, hands clenching around the demonic halberd and nearly flashing with light as the normally serene tempered ex-Priestess thought of a million curses to call him, the creative verbs overheard from her corrupting companions.

((Non-sense! I wont hear it! You worked hard, then immediately after work I'm sure very tired, you got online and have spent the last few hours posting. Your allowed tired. And your "tired" RP is still damned awesome!))

Maximos was ready for what was to come. He could taste it.

He had to hold himself back of course, lest he find himself ripped off a train and victim to even more broken, bruised, or what have you ribs than he already had. But he was ready! He kept blinking away blood. But he was ready!

It wasnt a surprise to see Stryphe's left arm. But Stryphe didnt mean it to be. Maximos fully expected some sort of defense. And he had a counter in the wings.

His arm was still sparking. It was time for the Crescendo to this dance macabre.

The half-demon's left arm sprung to life, strained and slow, while Maximos right arm was extremely powerful and working fully as intended. It clunkily bowled into the gauntlet, probably to be interpreted as some half-a** block (and it was).

However, it served it's purpose.

Yes it had.

The gauntlet was deflected off course, the blade skimming over Stryphe's abdomin and leaving a long gash...

And then three things happened. Two things of which had been in waiting for quite some time now.

First. Stryphe would find that just a breath after Maximos' claws scrapped his flesh, they did something horribly off of what he might have expected.

They grew.

Roughly 1ft in length. Half way through their rake, Maximos' fingertips were suddenly not butcher blades. They were spears.

Quote: Dark Grasp | Atrum Occupo- On command the Twilight Gauntlet is able to extend the reach of each of its digits creating a deadly raking claw. Each fingertip extends in a sharp thin blade with frightening cutting power. The fingers may be aligned like a spear, or shield, or quickly burst forward to impale to a maximum of 6ft, though at more extreme lengths only the increased strength of the cursed limb makes effective damage and control possible.

"Grk!"

Stryphe's eyes shot wide open in shock as the footlong claws punctured his lower right abdomen, just under his ribcage. The gauntlet's deflected course was halted by the half-demon's muscles and guts. His grip on Maximos weakened, and he slacked forward, weakening.

"Hah," He hacked, "Maximos you bast-"

Boom.

The black ichor peppering his chest exploded, knocking the wind from him instantaneously. Black crept into his vision, his stomach roiled and raged with hot blood and bile. With his lungs empty and a belly full of cursed, black steel he could feel his lifesblood welling up in his gut, threatening to spill forth from his mouth in a molten torrent of red.

The Lancer had pushed himself to extreme limits- he'd left himself open to so much, and the dark warrior had far more up his sleeves than Stryphe had expected. Now he was done for, finished. Too damn far, you've let this go too damn far. You already knew what he was capable of, and he gave you more than you'd counted on. This is the price. A shrill cry finally met his ears, amidst all the pain and skewering. The preistess.

His lungs filled with air and his right fist clenched around Max's gauntlet.

BOOM!

Stryphe was blown clear across the subway car, blood spraying from his abdomen in a crimson arc. In the last remaining instant before the half-demon's insides were blown to pieces, he'd wrenched himself to the side and kicked away from the Reaper. The action had barely been enough to allow him to take the attack on the outside of his body rather than the inside. His grip on Maximos' gauntlet had been the only thing keeping his insides from being completely lacerated during the maneuver.

He was still plenty roughed up.

The impact from the blast was too much for his fragile stomach. He coughed, hacked, and vomited blood and bile onto the floor, all the while struggling to restore regular breathing.

"Sey!" He called out, breathless, agonized, head hanging as he propped himself up on his good right arm. "My spear, if you would..."

She was moving already before he even had to say a single word.

Blood... The blood was everywhere as she ran towards Stryphe, screaming as she saw Maximos' attack hit him in the stomach, bile fighting to erupt as she heard the sickening squelch of impaled organs. Somehow she remembered to punch that button on her FIGHTER as she ran with her teammate's monstrosity of a weapon, hands reaching up to the blade of the halberd and slitting her right wrist horizontally.

Blood... There was so much blood.

Sey roared as the blood consumed her vision, fury fueling her steps but was caught completely off guard as Stryphe suddenly flew towards her and she stopped violently, dropping the spear on the half demon's left side, blade facing her, and moving around to place herself between Maximos and Stryphe, falling to her knees to meet her injured companion. Holding her bleeding right wrist to his stomach and locking gazes with the half demon, Sey's eyes were still filled with anger and fury... Though other emotions were there as well.

All the while, the Priestess was healing the Lancer, giving him a transfusion of her own blood to make up for her lack of ability to regenerate bodily fluids. Thankfully, she was blood typed as a Gaian Universal Donor - half demon recipient or no.

The White Mage's work filled the car with blinding light, working diligently in her limited amount of time and not holding back on her powers at all. She didn't care if no one else could see - as polite as Maximos was, he wasn't very high on her favorite people's list, Compassion Incarnate or not.

Stryphe would find that as soon as Sey laid her bloody hands on him he would begin to heal - first the smallest flesh wounds and burns, and then the more serious puncture wounds to his internal organs and maimed appendages. As his injuries involved primarily tissue which was the easiest to heal, Sey worked fast, proving to any Falician Clergy watching the news feed that she was still deserving of the title of High Priestess, Apostate or not. She was hard pressed on time though - as her FIGHTER beeped in warning of the time limit, Sey gritted her teeth and stood, arms flaming with white, righteous fury in the form of pure white magic, Stryphe's bones would still maintain their bruising, his injured flesh closed and covered only with a thin, bright red skin.

Fists clenched so hard that her white knuckles were covered with more of her own blood, Sey glared daggers at Stryphe's opponent as she backed away from the other combatant on Stryphe's right.

"MAXIMOS...!"

Tl;dr: Stryphe was healed to a position of better health then Maximos, though he was lacking an almost same amount of blood (slightly better due to her transfusion) and his bones were still fried.

(( Post Edited for the colors and a smaller pic~ ))

(( - PIME TARADOX!! - ))

Maximos Wrote:

...Maximos' fingers snap...

That was all Ryugi needed. Without a second thought, with a grin, he pushed the Defensive Striker button on his FIGHTER, and reached his hand up to grip a certain cord marked "Emergency Stop," then braced for the jolt...

...

Yank

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!!!

Stephen blinked. The last few moments had been a blur, not really sure what happened. I... it was over?

He stood there and looked at himself, covered in sweat and blood, a right mess. The train rocked and rumbled as it ran down the tracks, the lad's hair swaying with it.

He took a deep breath. Everything seemed... different. Ryu paid back his earlier insult, he had his face in tact, he had a victory under his belt. His mind was swimming with information, trying to process it all at once.

What he really needed right now was a medic and a stiff drink.

He walked past his opponent, but stopped for a second.

"Hey. Dunno if you're conscious enough to hear me but..."

Pause.

"...next time you wanna fight, leave my family out of it."

The look on his face said just as much as the spit at Ryugi had before the fight, but with a fiery passion, one that he held closely and dearly. He wanted to say more, so much more, but he didn't. He couldn't.

Without a word, Stephen walked to the car door and left.

[Fight Over]