Five lucky Commenters have their work featured on this week's RPGP Winners page - send in your best Comments at the Arena, cross your fingers, and YOU could join them! Lezard Valeth vs Ramirez DragoonJay@excite.com: "Don't take this foe lightly, Ramirez." Galcian warned before the match. "He has the ability to supress your magic, and his own is nothing to sneer at. I found that out the hard way." "If all else fails, I still have Silver Eclipse to draw upon. I will win this battle." replied Ramirez. Even before Lezard could take his first step onto the arena floor, the Silvite was rushing towards him, prepared in one quick strike to finish off the Flenceburg's finest... Only to run into the first strike of Mystic Cross, which dutifully knocked Ramirez back to a safer distance. He went to use Lunar Blessing, to heal the minor wounds he had received from that volley, but then Lezard's Dampen Magic took hold. Not wasting a second, Ramirez rushed forward again, catching Lezard with a solid blow before he was forced to dodge a Prismatic Missile. "Hahaha! This foe is a joke! Is that all you have, fool?" mocked Lezard, as he tried to gather the energy necessary for another spell. "DIE!" replied Ramirez, not even bothering to quote his speech. "Silver Eclipse!" The attack landed dead on, with a sheer force that even Silver Binds would have been hard-pressed to match. There was no doubt that Lezard wouldn't have been able to survive this. Except he did. "Wha..." Ramirez started, moving back in sheer terror. "Did you not expect me to be prepared for such a tactic?" said Lezard, as his pre-cast Guard Reinforce faded. "Such a pity then." As Lezard's Fire Lance impaled the unfortunate Ramirez, he took a moment to reflect on his victory. "They say one should not speak unkindly of the dead, so I say nice try." Lezard: 154 Ramirez: 131 GrandmastaBrick@aol.com Claude is vastly supreme to Ramirez, therefore, Lezard takes this match with ease. Jeff1089@mail.com How the HELL did Lezard beat Claude!? He should have been able to dodge those blasts with those bunny shoes---But then again, Prismatic missle is quite fast...Which means that Ramirez probably won't be able to dodge it either. He's going to be glowing the colors of the rainbow from Lezard's magic when he's done with him. Anastasia Valeria vs Ghaleon MoogleEmpMog@Laguorok.org: Anastasia had gotten a welcome break from actually having to fight, thanks to Genevieve's folly the previous week. Indeed, she was so well rested that the prospect of marching into the Arena for another fight that, all things considered, would do about as much to save the world as playing Uno with Lucied. Besides, although she wasn't entirely sure *why*, she thought it would be awfully nice to have an RPG Playoffs trophy to keep her company in 'The World Where Anastasia Is.' So it was that she entered the Arena with something akin to a smile on her face, Argetlahm held high. Ghaleon was seated in the center of the arena, not clad in the arcane armor of the Magic Emperor, but in a simple purple tunic. And in place of his 'Ghaleon's Sword,' he had his lute in his hands. His elegant elvish fingers began to strum it, sending a haunting melody wafting through the Arena. Anastasia frowned. This was... unexpected, to say the least. Ghaleon smiled, just a little bit. She took a step toward him, clutching the Argetlham, wary of whatever trickery her sorcerous foe intended to employ. But Ghaleon just raised his eyes to hers and smiled wider. Upon seeing those eyes, feelings flooded into the maidenly pure heart of the Sword Magess (not to be confused with that of Chu-Chu) that made her blush crimson. Goodness, she thought, what a ridiculously goodlooking gentleman this Ghaleon is. "Um..." said she. He set the lute down. "It's a pity that such a lovely lady intends to fight me. I do so love blue hair, you know." Anastasia blinked. He took her hand and kissed it, his lips lingering for a moment. Then he leaned forward and whispered something in her ear. Argetlahm felt terribly heavy in her other hand. Quickly, she pulled away from Ghaleon and grasped the blade with both. But it was no good - it felt every bit as heavy as it looked, as it was for everyone else. She couldn't hold it at all. She looked to Lucied, sitting on his haunches outside the Arena boundary. He shook his head and psychically projected, *What am I supposed to do? I am the Guardian of Desire, you know?* Anastasia gasped. "It's not like that...!" But deep down, she knew that it was... and that it would be quite awhile before she purged her thoughts of such improprieties. Anastasia: 162 Ghaleon: 170 Lackshmana@aol.com The fact that the remaining Godlikes are all relatively evil bodes well for Anastasia...its not IF she beats Ghaleon, its WHO does she beat next? ruinchaser@shaw.ca Ghaleon chuckled. He had studied his opponent very carefully. In fact, he had decided what attacks to use, and in what order, a long time ago. 'She will Impulse me, then heal, then Impulse, then heal, then Impulse...' It was a laughable scenario, to say the least. Ghaleon got the first hit, laughing that she would never have enough time to heal after going into Impulse... But Anastasia guessed that he would do this, and was going to heal herself right off, not attack. Stunned, Ghaleon redirected all of his powers into setting up barriers that could ward off the powers of Impulse. Sadly, he didn't ever think that the Sword Magess would decide not to use the Magess abilities. Ghaleon was thrown back as she slashed into him. Hastily, he threw himself at her, mustering all of his force as he saw her drawing on Impulse. But then, his will faded. Behind Anastasia, in the stands, was Althena, shaking her head. And Ghaleon knew then that he was finished, as if it wasn't bad enough that Anastasia was drawing power from all those who wished that he fall, as if it wasn't bad enough that so many wished his downfall, but something more subtle. The Sword Magess was drawing power from Althena as well. That meant that even the goddess Ghaleon loved so much wished his loss. He stood stoicly as the Impulse blasted him, and embraced the loss that he had been dealt. Next time, he swore, his worthiness would be shown against this girl. If there was a next time... Cloudfft78@hotmail.com Ghaleon has done many evil things. He enslaved the 4 dragons of Althena with the flick of his wrist. Their powers didn't even come close to comparing to the Magic Emperor's. He made the Goddess Althena herself, his lovetoy. He almost destroyed the world of Lunar single-handedly. He was the most gifted out of the 4 heroes. It took 2 trys for Alex and his party to finally take down Ghaleon. That didn't keep him down. He came back to wreek havoc upon Hiro and his party. He made Leo look like a joke. It took the combined efforts of 10 freakin people in all to put down Ghaleon for good. All the prayers in the world couldn't save Anastasia. Ghaleon wasted no time waiting for Argetlahm to get to full strength with the prayer's of Ghaleon's victims. He casted Fatestorm folled by a Hellwave which sent Anastasia hurtling out of the arena. snooginsmn@aol.com Never get into a magic contest with Ghaleon tylorh@hotmail.com Ghaleon's success comes in large part from his complete and utter ruthlessness. The fact that he does whatever he has to to get what he wants no matter whose toes he has to step on, no matter whose dreams he has to shatter. This, is usually the edge that guarantees him victory. Sadly though, Anastasia is the one person capable of taking the detritus left in such a man's wake, and using it against them. Ashley Winchester vs Edgar Roni Figaro tylorh@hotmail.com: In the battle of gadgets and knicknacks between this Musketeer and King, Edgar holds the edge. Sadly, edge is an understatement for KnightBlazer's dominance of Edgar. Ashley: 182 Edgar: 156 DragoonJay@excite.com Edgar stood face to face with the feared warrior Ashley Winchester. "So, you're Edgar. I must say that you've got a lot of guts to come out here to face me when you have no chance of victory." said Ashley casually. "What makes you think I'm Edgar?" asked Edgar. "Well, why else would you be here?" "I'm his... his... his servant Yes, I'm his servant, and I was instructed to tell you that Edgar will not be fighting you today, so you might as well begin training for the finals." "Really?" Ashley mused. "Well, if you're not Edgar, then what's your name?" "Gerad." Edgar said quickly. "Well then, Gerad, you can send your king my thanks." Ashley said as he began to walk towards the arena exit. Edgar turned his back, so that in case Ashley turned around, he wouldn't be able to see his grinning face. Unfortunately for the Figaroan king, that also meant that he couldn't see Ashley's transformation into Knightblazer, or the Last Burst heading straight for him. Completely unprotected from the strike, Edgar was rather painfully vaporized. "I'm no fool, Figaro." Ashley said, as he continued his walk to the exit. ospreymr@hotmail.com With Claude now gone, Ashley is the man! Never mind the feminine name, he's got the killer game! ARMS rule! angelicus85@hotmail.com I really cannot say what amount of Fanboys must have come out to help Edgar win last round, but I have a feeling all the Fanboys in the world can't help Edgar when Knightblazer comes out to play. chipstick85@aol.com Edgar walks into the arena with a bunch of roses and stares at Ashley. "Hey you son of a B***H where is Ashley at?!?" Ashlley seemingly confused explains to Edgar how his mother wanted a girl to name Ashley so bad that when she had a boy she still named him Ashley. Seemingly pissed off at this Edgar threw the roses at Ashley who was punctured in many spots by the thorns at TKOed. Just for fun Edgar gave him an Air anchor as well. Miguel vs Grahf nemoincognito@hotmail.com: Miguel, knowing that he is confronted with a far superior opponent, wastes no time in setting about Grahf in a berserk offensive. *Slash slash Meteor Storm slash Holy Light slash slash Holy Dragon Sword.* After pulling out all the stops and draining his stamina gauge to the equivalent of -40 Miguel collapses to the ground, convinced his opponent could not have survived. But lo and behold, when the magical pyrotechnics clear Grahf is standing there, his suit torn and slightly burnt, but otherwise unharmed. "What a simple-minded opponent" the Seeker remarks, "I'm obviously wasting my time here." The thoroughly exhausted Miguel is unable to even stumble away as Grahf slowly approaches, places one hand on each side of Miguel's head and sharply presses inwards, resulting in what we in the business call "the watermelon effect". Miguel: 149 Grahf: 186 MoogleEmpMog@Laguorok.org Grahf begins the match on the defensive, parrying Miguel's blows and using the occaisonal elemental deathblow to keep the field properly mixed in color. Finally, Miguel grew fed up with this and launched into his Holy Dragon Sword combo. TurnBlack (just in case), WeakMinded, and the Sword itself, all slammed into the Seeker of Power. Grahf just smirked. "Your power is fake," he sneered as the first two attacks slammed home. "Do you think you can win?" Miguel paused for just an instant, Holy Dragon Sword glittering in his outstretched hand. "Yes, actually." And with that, he made Grahf see the light. superjo_21@hotmail.com Grahf's previous fights have proven that there is no match for for him in heavy and he should be returned to Godlike where he belongs, and poor miguel here is just another stepping stone for Grahf to help him reach his goal. Like it has been shown in the previous matches, Grahf's omnipotent Deathblows and Combos(not to mention his ether power) can send nearly any foe to his demise....So can Miguel stand up to the mysterious and powerful grahf?.......no A few Super Guided Shots and a deathblow or two would easily be enough to dispatch Miguel, and bring Grahf one step closer to his Haavy Championship and send him back to the Godlikes Drumbkb@aol.com Grahf's prescence inexplicably turns the entire arena red, ruining Miguel's all-white field as well as his hopes for a championship. GrandmastaBrick@aol.com Grahf will win Heavy Championship. neoelfboy@hotmail.com Grahf and Miguel... a pair of Heavies at the peaks of their respective fields. Grahf, an extremely fast, ruthlessly powerful Black-element physical attacker. Miguel, an extremely fast, ruthlessly powerful White-element magical attacker. Both can absorb plenty of punishment, and both have access to effect magic. There is, however, one key difference between the two... Miguel can doublecast. So the Black-Element Grahf will no doubt feel plenty of pain when Mig's Weak-Minded spell is followed up immediately by a devastating Holy Dragon Sword. tylorh@hotmail.com Dark elemental villain + Uber Strong White Elemental attack = 1 Fried Grahf. Fratley vs Taya DragoonJay@excite.com: "I've seen quite a few summoners in action here, and let me tell you, I was not impressed." began Fratley. "I offer you the chance to concede defeat now, and spare yourself the pain that I shall inflict upon your frail body." "Not a chance." "So be it, then." Fratley concluded, his well-honed leg muscles already working towards his trademark Jump. He lifted off, prepared to give the first (and last strike) to Taya... ...and Jumped right into the bottom of her Atlas summon's huge rock fist, which proceeded to crush Fratley into the arena floor. Taya sighed. "These Dragoons are so predictable." Fratley: 126 Taya: 164 ospreymr@hotmail.com Sir Fratlety leapt into the arena, confident of his victory. He was a gentleman and a fair battler. Just as Taya entered the arena, a hail of spears completely obliterated her before the match even started. "Hmm, I've got to remember smooth out things with Freya." he walked away, preparing for his finals match. wyrmspirit@hotmail.com unfortunately for Fratley, when he jumped, Taya cast Titan, the ascending Dragoon met several descending fists of stone, resulting in an instant win for Taya. MeyersDarkstar@cs.com As Taya floats across the Arena, Fratley stands there stunned by her beauty. Taya stops when shes 20 feet away from Fratley. Fratley..still stunned by her beauty starts to drool...as he started saying something she summoned Apollo and Neptune and demolishes Fratley. Taya says,"What Was That?....Oh Well" and then she exits the Arena. Brad Evans says to Jowy Atreides,"I Told You Everyone From FF9 Is Weak." Jowy Nods. Elhaym van Houten vs Cecelia Adlehyde nemoincognito@hotmail.com: Elly, confident for once after her earlier victory over Lemina, another middle mage, entered the ring with high hopes. To the surprise of all Cecilia didn't attack, but instead raised her defense and magic defense and then defended, healing whenever her hit points dropped low. "Why won't you fight me?" asked a confused Elly after a few rounds, knowing that she was usually the one who refuses to fight. "Because I'm petrified of your power, and I'm afraid if I attack it will leave me open long enough for one of your deathblows to kill me" replied Cecilia. "Really?" cried the surprised and delighted Elly, "is that true?". She had never struck fear into an opponent before. "Nah" admitted Cecilia, "I was just waiting for you to fill my force gauge." Cecilia then produced from her robe the Hope Rune, used Hi-Cast and watched in sadistic glee as a fully-powered Zephyr atomised Elly. Elly: 143 Cecelia: 170 ksoppy@yahoo.com Almost as if sensing the doom coming once again, Ellhaym "NOT related to Milhouse" van Houtan spent the night with her confidant, Fei Fong Wong. On the day of the fight, both enter the arena quite angry, as their match had been dubbed "Battle of the Stereotypical Female Staff Users". Elly definately had the power edge over her opponant. Her Psycho Staff was polished and ready for the fight, and her ether magics ready. However, Cecelia looked ready to defend herself with extreme force. Wielding the Dist Dims and clothed by the Pret-a-Port, Cecelia was on par with her equipment-wise. With the higher strength and better training however, Elly knew the best way to defeat her opponant was through physical means. As the match began, Elly charged in, dealing Cecelia a massive ether combo which seemed to seriously hurt her. However, a Hi-Heal later and Cecelia was back to full health. Cecelia smiled to Elly, laughing a bit. "So you want to play physical do you? I can play that game. HYPER!" With that simple spell, the small edge Elly had over Cecelia evaporated. Cecelia's attack power effectively doubled to far beyond Elly's. Elly could only gasp in horror as Cecelia rushed in to give her a beatdown, Filgaia style. DragonRiderX@hotmail.com Cecelia was nervous. "Up against a Xenogears character.. I doubt I'll win. Oh well, I just need to try." The battle started, with the Cecelia chanting a spell. Elly ran at her, brandishing her cane. She began the combo for Ameno Zap, but before she finished it.... "Prison!" Cecelia rose her hands at Elly as she did the last move for Ameno Zap. Elly found that she couldn't move. Cecelia let out a sigh of relief, and walked to the other side of the Arena. "I'm glad that worked... Saint!" She shot the blast of holy magic at Elly. The hold on the prison shattered as soon as the spell connected. Elly quickly got up, bearly phased by the spell. She smirked, and walked cooly toward Cecelia who was too busy casting the next spell. She quickly pulled off Aqua Frost, sending Cecelia into the near death status. "Just give up. There's no way you can win." Elly said as she began her next move. Before she could get in the first move, Cecelia muttered, "Hi...Vortex..." A Tornado engulfed Elly, sending her into the opposite wall of the arena. Elly weakly got up, dragging her bloody self to Cecelia, who was casting yet another spell. `She'll soon be out of MP,` she thought as she made her way to Cecelia. A bright light surrounded the princess of Adlehyde, restoring her health to full capacity. She got up and thrust her staff into Elly's chest, sending her to the ground. "Urk..." Elly squeaked out as she collapsed. "Hi-Break!" Cecelia used the last of her MP to manipulate the ground to destroy Elly. "I can't believe... I did it..." she fell back in shock, relief, and exhaustion. Chu-Chu vs Jelanda Artolia DragoonJay@excite.com: Jelanda was rightly pleased to hear that her opponent would be one that Yumei had already defeated. Since she was superior in every conceivable fashion (in her opinion) to that mermaid wench, it would be extremely simple to overpower this... whatever it was. Her overconfidence seemed justified as the miniscule Chu-Chu came into the ring, annoying several of the onlookers with her cuteness. Not bothering to give one of her traditional taunting speeches at the start, Jelanda launched right into a Fire Storm, grievously weakening the mascot. It was then that Chu-Chu got serious. "What?! Indeed you are stubborn!" Jelanda stammered as the Gear-sized Chu-Chu advanced slowly towards her. Looking around, she managed to find Lenneth on the sidelines. "Valkyrie! You shall toss me a Unicorn's Horn immediately!" "That would be cheating, Jelanda. I shall not do as you wish." replied Lenneth. "Sorry, Jelanda." taunted Yumei from the stands. "Looks like you won't be able to follow in my footsteps after all." "You... you..." Jelanda started, as a reddish glow surrounded her. All the pain, all the humiliation, all the anger she had tried in vain to suppress over her situation had finally coalesced into pure energy, with a singular purpose. "This is divine punishment! I invoke the rites of fiery Muspellheim..." "Aw crap-chu." muttered Chu-Chu. "...and give thy soul up to the inferno's embrace!..." "Impossible!" uttered Lenneth, before... "Ifrit Caress!" And that, as they say, is that. Chu-Chu: 134 Jelanda: 172 MoogleEmpMog@Laguorok.org Jelanda looked down her perky nose at the miniscule Chu-Chu. Marguerite had asked her not to hurt the thing too badly, or else they simply *couldn't* have tea, at least for a few weeks. Personally, Jelanda thought that Chu-Chu looked like something she'd be served in that awful restraunt Arngrim had dragged her to. "The nerve of that man," she said to herself, with a pretty little 'hmph' for good measure. "Wanting me to eat baby krakens." Chu-Chu's racial memory of her people being devoured by hungry Solarians was triggered by these words. With a cry of "Eat this, chu spoiled brat!" she grew immediately to giant size. Jelanda looked up at her and couldn't help but giggle. She'd done this to Yumei, too, and if that overhyped mermaid could surpass a giant pink ball of fluff, then so could the Princess of Artolia. "And what, pray tell, are you going to do about it?" Jelanda asked. "I shouldn't think to eat you, in any case. Fatty foods aren't good for my figure, you know." Chu-Chu reached down and grabbed Jelanda. "Want chu repeat that?" she asked, sounding, for Chu-Chu, actually quite menacing. "Um..." said Jelanda. "Oh, dear." Chu-Chu's massive maw opened wide. "Down chu go, lady," she said. "Eep!" cried Jelanda. "Arngrim, save me!" And, for reasons that will remain forever unknown but one suspects may be grounds for legal action in many countries, Arngrim *did* save her, and in a most dramatic, heroic fashion which would be much more interesting than all this but which there is no time to explain. Unfortunately for Jelanda, that rescue constituted rather serious interference, and what was left of Chu-Chu was declared victorious. shibakev@earthlink.net Chu Chu is covered with fur. Fur burns rather easily. "Fiiree Stoorrmmm!!!" GrandmastaBrick@aol.com Jelanda casts fire storm, end of match. neoelfboy@hotmail.com Chu Chu's massive build may be enough to get her past physical fighters such as Doc, but when it comes to mages, the old saying is true... size doesn't matter. It wouldn't matter if Chu Chu were the size of the Yggdrasil IV, as a single Flenceburg-strength Fire Lance would still kick her butt to the other end of the horizon. tylorh@hotmail.com According to folklore, both Fire and Ice have the power to end the world. And while the world cannot perish twice, Chu-Chu certainly can. Llewelyn vs Bolgan neoelfboy@hotmail.com: Llewelyn has a weakness for water. Fire is the opposite of water. Bolgan's only respectable attack is fire-elemental... which logically Llewelyn should not fear. Which means the unheroic Archer demi-god might actually have the courage to face the tough-looking Bolgan and defeat him with frightening ease. Llewelyn: 169 Bolgan: 148 DragoonJay@excite.com It's a simple fact - NOTHING in Light can survive a Layer Storm. GrandmastaBrick@aol.com This match is unfair. Not only will Bolgan never get close enough to Lilly to hit him, if he did, Lilly would just fall back, put more space in between him and the big dumb oaf, and Layer Storm his way to victory. Will it be a VP character vs. VP character championship? tylorh@hotmail.com Normally, given the weak defence and low HP rampant throughout light division, Bolgan's large size and accompanying high defence and HP are a huge asset. However, Llewelyn's Layer Storm becomes stronger the larger his target is. At least Bolgan can take comfort in the fact that he isn't Chu-Chu. Middle Miss-Match neoelfboy@hotmail.com: How do I kill thee? Let me count the ways. I kill thee with two slashes from my knives, The mere touch of which human ne'r survives Or with an Ultima spell end thy days. I kill thee after I your senses daze As Shadow Stiched your death quickly arrives. I kill thee as Allured your best friend dives Into the arena where you he slays. I kill thee with Stop Bracelet, which can't fail. I kill thee when Seal instantly makes stone Of thy flesh, then profit from statue's sale. I kill thee after my true form is shown And should Raise return thee to tell the tale, I'll kill thee o'er, and relish thy last groan. (with massive apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning) Celia: 231 Marle: 120 Veryslightlymad@hotmail.com The first thing the young princess did was to cast Haste. Not, of course, to actually help her in fighting. Marle cast Haste, because she wanted to run away. The young woman across the arena didn’t look particularly special. Marle had fought other girls that had many daggers, or powerful magic, or the like. One opponent with a simple pair of katana did not scare her. But what was scary was the unearthly taint in the eyes of the other. The evil stare, that spoke of murder, and of other fates, possibly worse. They were the eyes of a killer, and beyond that, something not even human. Worse was the audience. Instead of the entire crowd pulling for the Princess, as they usually did, there were many people in the audience that actively booed her. They stomped. They screamed. They howled. They wanted her dead. They wanted her dead. Marle had heard stories of what went on in Godlike, people getting killed left and right, and realized instantly what was going on. This was an assassin. People wanted her dead. They would likely be successful. So she turned around and she ran. She ran as fast as she could, but she didn’t think she was making any ground. She didn’t think she could make it to the exit. She was absolutely right. “It’s just a game… it’s just a game… Why do they want to kill me? It’s just a game…” These thoughts went through her mind. She silently screamed this, as her hair whipped across her eyes, her tears slid down her reddening cheeks. “Shadow Stitch” came a low, evil voice. It was devoid of emotion, empty of all remorse. It was icy, and Marle felt its horrid chill throughout her spine. She felt its casualty with increasing horror, as she suddenly stopped moving. “NO!” she screamed in her head, over, and over “No! No! No! No! No!”. She couldn’t move, she couldn’t even flex her fingers, but she could hear. Footsteps were approaching her. The other woman didn’t continue to run, after Marle was incapacitated. She simply casually strode in to finish the job. “Oh god…” she thought. “It’s just a game. I thought it was just for fun. I didn’t want to die… Daddy… Daddy, you’ve had to put up with assassins before. You have to have… But you were never alone, Daddy… you always had people to save you. You had your guards and your knights, and your lawyers, but who do I have? Send me someone, Daddy. Please, Daddy, Crono, anyone, don’t let me die… I’m sorry. I don’t know what I did, but I’m sorry…” The footsteps drew closer, and Marle saw a flash of white light, then red, to her back. She could not turn around. She could not crook her neck. If she had any movement left, she’d use it to curl into a ball. There was a horrible screeching sound, like steel across steel. There was a scream. Marle stopped paying attention, by this point, her thoughts were gone. Her mind was gone. She was alone in a state of abject, complete, endless terror, because of a game. Because someone else was jealous of how well she did in a game. She stopped caring. At that moment, Marle was completely incapable of any thoughts other than “Why?” and “No!” and finally, a dull, blank scream. A scream that had she had been able to move her vocal cords, would have curdled the blood of all the audience in that arena that warm, August night. And then it was over. Marle collapsed on the ground, and started to cry. Through her messed up hair, and her red, puffy eyes, she made out familiar faces. From the grim visage of Frog, as he wiped his blade, to the angry scowl of Ayla, as she kicked the corpse of a hideous demon, she saw the faces of her friends. There was Crono, looking concerned, and there was Robo, repairing his systems, and there was even Magus, who was already very nearly out of the arena. And finally, there was Lucca, who stroked her hair, and crooned into her ear. “It’s ok. It’s over now. You are safe; it’s ok.” Marle didn’t feel safe, or ok. She very nearly died. It didn’t register with her that this was interference. Marle did not even realize that she was even supposed to fight, today. She just continued to cry. She continued to sob again, and again, as the pain simply did not go away. Her friends had interfered. She had lost the match. She had lost her dignity. She had lost her innocence. But she kept her life. And she kept her friends. Perhaps in the coming days, she’d realize that that was what truly mattered. That she had everything she could ever want. Lucca led her out of the arena, after she had gained the strength to stand. She never looked back. DragoonJay@excite.com Celia stood silently in the arena, keeping her mind focussed on one thing. Victory. Defeat was not an option in this match. There would be no rash mistakes. There would be no overconfidence. All there would be was a quick kill, no more, no less. Celia's plans changed as Marle entered the arena... with Frog. "What exactly is the meaning of this?" asked Celia. "Well, you didn't expect that I would actually fight in this match, did you? Not when I have knights to defend me!" retorted Marle. "This is completely unfair! Not to mention illegal!" "I'll allow it." said the Star Dragon Sword simply. "All right, Frog, go kill that assassin!" ordered Marle. "'Tis a pity to do this, since thou hath done nought to me, but the commands of my liege are absolute." said Frog quietly, as his first slash was easily avoided. "Since when is she your liege?" asked Celia, jumping back to avoid yet another half-hearted attack. "I thought she was from a much later time than you." "Aye, but..." "And wouldn't she have been born long after you were dead? Meaning that your oath to protect the royal family wouldn't apply to you?" "Maybe so..." "Frog! Quit talking and start killing her!" Marle screeched. "Not to mention that she's an annoying brat." finished Celia. "Well, when thou sayest it that way..." The two combatants turned towards Nadia, with devilish grins on their faces. "Frog! Why are you looking at me like that... No! You can't be serious! I command you to not kill me!" "Perhaps if thou would cease to treat me as a slave, and more as an ally, I would have. Mayhaps thou shall remember that next time." Marle backed up against the wall. "Stop! Stop right now! Crono! Come save me!" >From the stands, Crono leapt up to defend his love, only to be knocked out from behind by... "Lucca! Why did you do that? Now Crono can't save me... oh." Marle whimpered. "Of course. Who did you think hired her?" cackled Lucca, as she left Marle to her gruesome fate. angelicus85@hotmail.com Gee, someone who can throw a few ice spells, or someone who can say "Shadow Stitch" and stop Marle in her tracks before anything else happens. Gee, I wonder... luisfe56@hotmail.com Celia can kill Ramza with ine hit, Marle cannot win this one. motorcitymadkat@hotmail.com Marle entered the arena happily where a mudpit had been set up. She quickly got into fighting stance and saw Celia. "So you wish to tango?" "Not really" Celia bitchslapped Marle's head off and left for a night of vampiric partying with Elmdor. hellbringer@seanbaby.com My god, I don't even need to EXPLAIN why Celia wins this one. Drumbkb@aol.com As expected, Celia proceeded to kick the crap out of Marle. However, veteran princess protector and St. Konoe knight Agrias Oaks still holds a grudge against the two assasins for killing her off in my game. She led a bevy of FFT players to exterminate once and for all the horrrific cheapness that is Use Hand. Xellos49698@hotmail.com Marle going to get her *** kicked, but I still voted for her away. Why? because despite Marle's ovbious weakness to status effects, this is a popularity contest. Which means it doesn't really matter whose's stronger. RamzaOrlandu@aol.com As Marle walked into the arena, she could see all her shiny trophies over on the other side of the arena. There was no sign of Celia. Marle walked over to the Trophies, hoping to steal them and get out before the bloodthirsty Assassin could make a appearance. However, as soon as she touched the first championship trophy, a big flash of light appeared behind her, and Ceila appeared behind. "Now, let's see how strong you really are!" Ceila said and she took out her two Katanas. Marle readied her bow and prepared to cast Haste. Before she could, however, Ceila cried out "Shadow Stitch!", and she found she couldn't move. Marle shook as Ceila moved on closer and closer, her two katanas almost thirsting for blood. But then, the arena burst open as hundreds of hundreds of Marle fanboys, made a gallant attempt to save the rebellious princess from the Assassins hands. Meanwhile, Stop wore off, and Marle ran off to a safer placed. She hid behind a pillar, and attempted Haste again. Meanwhile, the sounds of the fanboys being cut to ribbons by the Assassin's wrath wrang home. Marle took a look, and saw the Assassin was vulnerable. She took her Bow, and aimed at the heart. The resounding death cry rang through the arena. Their job done, the few remaining Marle fanboys retreated, leaving Marle to recover her trophies. As she went over to them, she took on last look at Celias body. It was gone. She whirled around, but it was too late! "Dark Auroa, Exhale Bloody Air! Dark Holy!" And Marle saw no more until she woke up in the hospital, while Celia rejoiced with Lede over her new upgrade. HolyAjora@yahoo.com Celia seems strong because she has help from other demons and her sister. By herself, she will be iced by Marle. Marle is weak in a sense, but she can still take Celia down. Maybe Seal will give Celia a chance, but I doubt she'll get in range before a block of ice kills her. And Celia's demon form will just give Marle a simple case of Haste, cure, ice, win. grigori_01@hotmail.com Cora Meliamne Presents: The Duel of Celia, assassion of the Marquis Elmdor, versus Marle/Nadia, Crown princess of the kingdom of Guardia. Celia stood in the middle of the arena, a confident smirk on her lips as she watched the young princess of Guardia enter the circle. "You do know you won't leave this arena alive right?" She says plainly, her hands resting at her sides, not making one motion to reach for the swords strapped to her back. Marle scowled at the assassin, her crossbow laoded and ready to fire as she circles Celia. Celia, on the other hand, doesn't bother raising a defense, her arms now crossed over her chest as she follows Marle with her eyes. When she has circles enough to get a clear shot at Celia's back, Marle raises her crossbow and fires off a bolt, intending o ending the fight easly by disabling her. But to her suprise, Celia spins around and halts the dart from reaching her by the barest of margins. The bolt, held firmly in her hands, is then crushed. "Wha? How?" Is all Marle could stamper as the assassin the raises one hand, slowly an aura forms around the assassin as she then pushes her hand forward towards Marle. "Shadow Stitch!" Celia shouted, and Marle's entire body seizes up, each and every muscle forzen by the assassin's Open hand skill. "Well... That was easy, I though you'd have more of a stronger edge on you, princess..." Celia says, her tone, that of dripping venom, stated. As she reaches up to her shoulder and drew one of her ninja edges. "Well, no matter, my sister and I have a date with The Heavy class..." Celia was right close to Marle, her sword nearing the princess' neck as a voice rang clearly in the empty arena. "IGNIUS UNUS!" Celia deftly backfliped away as a larhe gout of flames appeared where she stood. Turning she saw Lucca, but not just her, Glenn and Crono also followed. Weapons drawn and ready to help their friend. A cat-like smile crossed Celia's lips as she saw the group. "So, you want to play?" "I shalt nay let a harlot like thee to harm the crown princess of Guardia." Glenn stated as he drew his legendary sword GrandLion. Crono, stoicly silent also drew his sword, the ranbowed blade glimmering all the colors of the spectrum as he fixed the assassin with a deadly glare. Celia mearly shrugged as she then quickly re-sheithed her sword. "Come and get me if you want then..." Crono was the first to run into the arena, his blade low to the ground as he was preparing to slash diagonaly upwards. as he brough the blade towards her though, Celia easly caught it between her hands. Crono's gaze look up to meet a positivly happy looking Celia. "Do you think I could fall from something as easy as that?" "Nay, but it makes for a nice distraction!" Glenn calls from above, Celia looks up and sees the Knight leaping at her. But, again her agility makes this a for naught. Celia ditches Crono, as she backs up enough to put distance between her and Glenn so his attack misses, but it leave sher with an oppertunity. "Stop Bracelet!" Reaching forward, Celia grabs Glenn's head with both hands, and with a sharp twist, the arena is filled witha sicking snapping sound, like a head of celery being twisted till it breaks. Releasing Glenn, Celia lets his lifeless body hit the ground as she easly side steps a shot from Lucca's hand gun. "!!!" Crono scowls darkly as Celia as he rushes at her, his blade gleaming as he gets a lucky hit, and again, and again, and a fourth time. "Confuse... so... that was confune..." Celia mutters as she kneels slightly. "Now, it's time to pay for what you did to Glenn!" Lucca cries as she tosses a ball of flames to Crono, who effortly catches it on his blade, and with a great leap, he preforms Flare sword. "Bah..." Celia mutters as she, standing up quickly grabs the nearby geinus and holds her as a shield. Crono, unable to stop his attack, slashes his ally deaply with the flame elemented blade. And with an effortless toss, Celia hucks Lucca across the arena, to land in a burned heap. "So..." Celia states cooly, as she draws her twin spell edges. "I guess it's just you and me... for now..." Crono only nods as he reassumes his Rune stance. Celia assumes a more relaxed stance, her blades held losely in her hands. The duel was fast and fierce, Marle, still under the effects of Shadow Stitch, could only stand and watch as the twin bladed assassin took her time at carving her hero up. True that Crono was a skilled user of the katana, the fact he used his sword with both hands greatly lessened his ability to deflect both of Celia's blows. Little by little, the slayer of Lavos started to slow, multiple cuts and laceration to his legs and arms were impeeding his ability to react faster to Celia's lighting quick attacks. 'But,' he thought, 'I have an ace up my sleeve..' Crono, taking a one in a thousand chance, kicked Celia away as he sheithes his sword, and begain chanting. The assassin noticing what's happening, started her own spell. Raising his hands into the air, Crono finished his spell with the cry of, ""TEMPESTA LUMINAIRE!" Lighting rained down onto the still chanting form of Celia, who remained oblivous to the carnage being rought by the ultimate lighting spell. Soon, she dissappeared in a large cloud of dust. Thinking he won, Crono fell to his knees, and breathed a deep sigh. Untill he heard... "Open 7 doors to reach the tower of power! Ultima!" Within the space of seconds, Crono saw the Assassin raise her hands, then a ball of energy appeared and expanded at an alarming rate right infront of him, then all was black. Celia chuckles softly. "So... these were the people who defeated the "Mighty Lavos?" Ha..Gah!!" Looking down, she notices she has a crossbow dart stucking out of her side. Turning around she sees the Princess Nadia, free from the Shadow Stitch. "Hm. Time to die princess..." Celia then started walking calmly towards Marle, not even caring about her weapons now. Marle starts firing off more bolts, but the assassin simply slaps them away. Finaly Celia is right infront of Marle, and yanks the bowgun out of her hands, she then snaps it in two over her knee. "Sorry princess, you've lived long enough!" Celia grabs Marle in a headlock, her righ hand wrapped around Marle's neck, while her left is gripping Marle's chin. And with a quick twist, a sound similar to what happend to Glenn is heard. --- The Next day --- "What do you mean someone effortlessly killed the entire Chrono Trigger team!?!?" The Zodiac sword cried. "Just that sir... we found this note attached to two sword that were set in a cross type fasion above the princess's head." "Read it." "Yessir..." ['Dear Promoters,'] ['This is Celia, one of the contender in the Middle class, and the current winner of the Bonus match you set up.'] ['I would like to say, that I hope you hold up your side of the agreement in the stipulation for this match.'] ['I and my sister Leda are to be immeditly raised to Heavy class.'] ['Celia. Assassin to the Marquis Elmdor.'] --- Later that day, Leda and Celia, with heavy praise from the Marquis. Are awarded status in the Heavy class. tuahan@aol.com Before the battle started, Marle had some things to say to Celia. "Alright, I admit, I stand no chance of winning. Even Jack Power is against me," she began. "You, who fought so amazingly beside Elmdor and almost put an end to Ramza, deserve those trophies. In fact, there's one more thing you should have." Marle reached into one of her bags and pulled out a simple ring. "Ayla's people gave it to me for defeating Lavos. You surely deserve it more," she said and threw the ring to Celia, who put it on, along with an increased contemptuous grin. "Let me see your legendary skills in person," Marle challenged. The battle began, and as it turned out, the ring in question was, in fact, the Jogurt ring. After the ring took effect, Marle replaced Celia's eye with an arrow, and stood ready as Celia transformed, and shot again when Celia was ready. "I've taken more damage from a wizard's staff than from that puny bow!" the demon of Celia taunted. Then it used it's most ultimate, most demonic attack to utterly crush Marle's soul and leave some ashes where Marle stood. And it worked. Except for the fact that she, Robo and Crono had cast Life Line before the battle, casting Reraise on her. "You're getting your powers from Lucavi, aren't you?" accused Marle. "Then I don't suppose you'd mind if I got a little outside help, too." On cue, Magus and Lucca assisted in casting Dark Bomb, which did so much damage it wasn't even funny. The combined damage of Marle's arrow and the spell was just enough to turn the demon into a little statue. Marle collected her trophies and her "Most Improbable Win" dignification, and left. Out of sheer kindness, she left the Jogurt ring with the statue, but she still let Celia turn into a crystal. ruinchaser@shaw.ca Marle casts Ice 2. Celia sneezes. Celia casts Seal. Marle turns into a VERY surprised statue. The arena gets a new decoration to put outside the entrance. tylorh@hotmail.com Marle walks into the arena confident of her victory. After all, like Crono, she had mastered a new ability since joining the RPGP, allowing her to tap the limitless power of fanboys to make her effectively invincible. And so, given that she was made invincible by the power of her fans, Marle was cocky, and decided to let Celia do her worst before dispatching the annoying Assassin. And so, do her worst she did. Celia pulled out Shadow Stitch, Seal, Stop Bracelet, Ultima, and her physical attack for good measure. Marle merely stood there unscathed, laughing at the unfortunate Assassin. "How..." Celia stammered, unable to comprehend how this slip of a girl was surviving attacks that made even Godlikes quake. "My powers come from Altima herself! And yet they're unable to harm you!" Marle laughed and, in her supreme confidence, continued prattling, deciding to prolong the fight a bit more. "Ha! Your Altima didn't have that much power in your own world! And here there's a diferent god! Here the whim of the Fanboy determines life and death, and I am the beloved of the Fanboy!" Celia blinked as she pondered that for a second or two. It suddenly all made sense. Why herself and her sister were doing so badly while the likes of Crono and Sabin, mere fodder for Seal or Stop Bracelet, were up in Godlike. She also got an idea. "So, since I just got my nails done right before you swiped all my stuff, will you be kind enough to surrender, or will I have to wreck my nails by kicking your butt?" Marle asked with a bored tone. "It would be a blight upon the name of the Assassins to retreat without a direct order," Celia replied. "I shall fight." Marle got a bored 'I told her so' look upon her face as Celia started casting another Ultima. Marle wondered what Celia thought she was doing as it had already been proven that Ultima wouldn't even scratch her. Then the spell went off. Instead of detonating on the runaway princess, it instead anihilated a largish portion of the crowd right in Marle's largest cheering section. As Marle felt her strength ebb, Celia continued her assault on the crowd, finally leaving a rather empty stadium as the rest of the crowd had their survival instincts kick in. "So, not just the supposed 'hero's' can slay gods it seems. And, now that your 'god' is no more..." Celia didn't finish that statement, deciding to instead let Stop Bracelet do it for her. RChicken98@hotmail.com Celia has enough trouble making it through heavy... GrandmastaBrick@aol.com Celia was calmly waiting the arrival of her foe, Marle. Her victory was assured, seeing as Marle's only real damaging spell was the petty Ice 2. Woe unto her, as when Marle arrived, she had the Silent Death, Crono as her escort. A few Confuse's and Luminaire's later, Marle had her trophies back. QuietCannon@Yahoo.com Marle was furious when she stepped into the arena ready to take on the thief who stole her trophies. When she got there, she saw her opponent standing just outside of the other end of the arena, waiting for her. Marle had her crossbow drawn, but as much as she wanted to go into a blind rage and destroy her opponent, she had to wait until she stepped into the arena, or else she could be disqualified. Marle was getting angrier as the girl just stood at the edge making Marle wait for her as if to mock her. All of her attention had been directly focused on the girl at the edge of the arena until the impact of a heavy solid object crashed into the back of her head sending her to the ground face first. The pain was unbelievable as Marle brought her hand up to her head. She looked back at her hand and saw that she was bleeding. She wasn’t sure what had just happened or what hit her until she heard something solid fall on the floor next to her. She looked to her side from where she was lying on the floor and saw one of her RPGP Light Championship trophies. And there was a small bloodstain on one of the corners. She looked up and saw that there was another girl in the arena. Marle had a mixture of anger and confusion in her mind as she yelled out to the other girl. “Who are you!?” She just smiled. “My name is Celia. I am your opponent.” This confused Marle even more. She looked out at the girl at the end of the arena and asked, “Then who’s that?” Celia replied, “That is my sister Lede. I will be joining her in the heavy rank soon.” “Then why was her picture on the event program?” Marle yelled back. “Deception is one of the things assassins do best.” Celia answered with an evil looking grin. “You really have no chance of winning. Had I wanted to, I could have killed you already. It would be best if you just left the arena and admitted defeat before you got hurt.” That was something that Marle was not going to do. Marle quickly used her magic to heal the wound on the back of her head, then picked up the crossbow she dropped as she got up. Celia just stood there watching as Marle lifted her crossbow to aim it at her opponent’s head and then pulled the trigger. Nothing happened. Marle looked down at her crossbow trying to find out what was wrong with it when she noticed that the string on the bow had been cut. She looked back at Celia who was laughing to herself while noticeably tightening the grip on one of her katanas. The look on Marle’s eyes showed that her rage had just spiked to a new level. She just threw away her crossbow and decided to attack her opponent a different way. “ICE 2” “Ultima”, yelled Celia at the same time Marle cast her spell. Both magic attacks hit their targets at about the same time. Celia was hit pretty hard by the Ice attack, but she was still on her feet. Marle on the other hand was back on the floor struggling to get up. Or so it seemed. Celia knew that her opponent had healing magic, so there was no reason for her to struggle with injuries that she could easily heal as long as she was still conscious. Celia also noticed a pathetic attempt at feigning injury. As an assassin, she had seen it before, had been trained on it, and knew how to spot an amateur attempt at it. Marle was most likely trying to get in a surprise attack while her opponent’s defenses were lowered. Rather than attack her with another Ultima spell, Celia decided to play along with it to see what this princess was capable of. She walked toward Marle and lifted one of her katanas as if she were ready to strike her. Marle quickly got up with an extra arrow from her supply in her hand held like a dagger as she swung for Celia’s throat. “Shadow Stitch” As soon as Celia cast one of her best techniques, Marle’s body stopped moving and came to a complete halt with the arrow in her hand no more than three inches from Celia’s neck. Celia just backed away from the arrow and put her katanas away. She then looked at her opponent who was just standing there frozen in place as she pulled the arrow from her hand. She looked at the arrow, brushing her finger against the tip and even drawing a little blood to see how sharp it was. She then held it from the other end and brushed the tip lightly on Marle’s neck to tease her as Marle just watched and panicked. Any pressure on it would have easily slit her throat. Right then Celia said her last words to her opponent. “I gave you a chance to leave, but you didn’t take it. So now we have to do this the hard way.” Celia then took a firm grip on the arrow and held it up in a stabbing position. As it came down, Marle just shut her eyes bracing herself for the pain that was to come. Seconds that felt like hours passed and she still hadn’t felt anything. She slowly opened her eyed and was surprised to see something so strange that she could not explain. Celia actually plunged the arrow into her own chest. As if that wasn’t strange enough, a blinding light started radiating from all over her body. Marle shut her eyes to protect them from the bright light. When the light faded, she opened her eyes and found that she was staring at the face of one of the most terrifying demons she had ever seen. The Ultima Demon roared and suddenly everything became dark. Marle couldn’t see anything that was happening, but she soon felt an explosion of dark energy emerge from where she stood. When the Dark Holy attack had finished, light had returned to the arena, except for Marle who lost consciousness and lied defeated on the ground. After the match, Celia returned Marle’s championship trophies and set them next to her lifeless body. Marle may have gotten her trophies back, but in that moment, she didn’t look anything like a champion. Lance_23_@hotmail.com No contest here. the only votes marle will get will be from the unadulterated masses who are idiots for not playing FFT and fanboys who look up marle hentai to drool at. Celia will get first move - marle needs a turn to cast haste. that one turn can let her shadow stitch for 100% stop then stop bracelet for the kill. you could even argue to put Celia in godlike for those two abilities...and don't forget allure on men. Do you want YOUR comments seen at the RPG Playoffs Online? Just send them in along with your votes and Mr. Cranbud and the RPGP staff will review them for publication! Please refrain from using vulgar or otherwise offensive language in your comments, since Mr. Cranbud will only accept such language if it is used for genuine humorous effect, and only on a good day. General BCp comments, comments about previous comments or multi-match comments should be directed to the BCp Visitor Forum on the main BCp site.