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Cromage "Hum.... are you sure this will work, sister?" asked a skeptical Myria. "That inventor's machine will work as specified?" "Of course--she was quite willing to prove her superiority over that overhyped Lexis. Supposedly it was one of her first creations, that she made a few adjustments to." Myria sighed to herself, then smiled. She still was not sure, but it was such a beautiful opportunity for mayhem. She found she had no further objections. ~~~ "Oh, of course I don't mean to harm him... just scare him. Consider it just desserts for what he did to you that one time." "Ah, I don't know..." replied the gentle-hearted Luna. "I'm not asking for much. Just a lease of your old outfit--and how much harm could I do with that little thing?" The songstress nodded. "Okay, if you say it's karma..." Edea smiled back. "Excellent. Good doing business with you." ~~~ Ghaleon strode into the arena with his characteristic swagger, mind filled with strategy and recently-practiced sword techniques. This would be his first true fight for well over a season, and he meant to be ready. Unfortunately, he would soon learn that some things in life there is no preparing for. Like having your clothes teleported off and replaced with--well, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Ghaleon's opponent floated in the middle of the arena, holding to the form of the young girl. To the experienced warrior, this made sense--it meant she would not commit to one form or another until the battle formally began. It also meant everything she said had an extra twist coming from the sweetly smiling mouth. "Why hello there, Magical Girl. Do you want to play with me?" Ghaleon stiffened, but he was determined not to show his discomfort. If she thought she could throw him off his guard with just that, she had another thing coming. He drew his sword and pointed it at the giggling goddess. "Prepare yourself!" But his opponent wasn't even looking at him. Instead, she seemed lost in thought. "Now, what should we play, what should we play?" Was she still trying to mess with him? Was she hiding something? Ghaleon paused, but decided worrying wouldn't accomplish anything. Better to meet whatever she had in store head on--or he might as well just give up now. (Little did he know the second choice was the better option) He leaped at her, sword at the ready. She ducked back from each slash, still with a dreamy look on her face. "What to play, what to play..." Suddenly, she brightened, and jumped high into the air, out of reach. "I know!" Let's play dress-up!" She raised her hand imperiously to the sky and snapped her fingers. It was like deja vu all over again for poor Ghaleon, as he found himself dressed in what seemed to be an exact replica of dark Althena's old costume. Shock turned to horror; this couldn't be happening! Not again! His opponent didn't even have time magic! Myria, in fact, had made no move after the initial snapping of her fingers. "Tee hee. Nice thighs." This was a dream. It had to be a dream. There was no other explanation. This was a terrible flashback. He whirled around, at the stunned audience, and noticed with some gratification that they were not holding camcorders already. But even that comfort faded as those who had thought to bring them along (past matches being an indication of potential future need) rummaged in their bags for them. "No...." he had to get away! Anywhere was better than exposed out on the arena floor. And with that thought, the brave Ghaleon, veteran of countless battles, and near-peerless with magic or swordplay, fled as fast as he could, as far away as possible. Somehow, he made it without being seen by anyone, but he kept running, ribbons falling off his hair and leaving a brightly colored trail behind. He stopped quickly enough however, as he ran straight into a magical barrier. "Ah, the premier of the Guild, magical emperor, how far you have fallen...." came a soft feminine voice from a shadowed corner. "Who's there?!" he asked, startled. "Is this a dream, or is this your painful reality? It is hard to tell, but I can give you one sure answer, if you wish..." A hand reached out towards him. "This can all be just a bad nightmare, something that no one will ever know about." This was probably a bad idea.... but Ghaleon didn't care anymore. He grasped the hand firmly, and Edea stepped out of the shadows. He barely had enough time to grasp what he had just done, before everything went away... Ghaleon: 24 CmdrKing
T.G. Nevareh
Kay Fei can dance circles around Seymour, but won't be able to dent that massive defense before being blown away. Seymour: 42 CmdrKing
Cromage "Mm, I suppose you're right. He's so *old* though." "Excuse me?" replied Deis indignantly. "4000 years is quite young, I'll have you know. More than young enough for a man of quality." "Oh, I didn't mean it that way," Edea was quick to assure her friend. "But you must admit, there is something charming about the... inexperienced. Too young to know their limits, they believe the sky is the limit." "Eh, I suppose. And...." Deis shot a sly look at Edea. "I guess it makes your task easier, hmm?" The sorceress had the grace to blush. "Oh, not that much easier. Young people's vulnerabilities are so much more.... universal than that of their elders, but every man has a weakness if you but know where to look." She paused, thinking of how best to phrase her next sentence. "But it's really not youth or attractiveness that's so enticing anymore. The DL is full of such men. No, they're a dime a dozen, and so terribly easy to persuade." She sighed in self-pity, drumming her fingers on the armchair. "No challenge in them at all." Something clicked in Deis's mind. "So that's why you chose to accept that red-headed hero. I was wondering; he's not up to your usual standards." "Indeed. You should have seen the expression on that girl's face. Truly priceless. Yet, I feel that the best is yet to come." Edea paused. "Tidus, unfortunately, proved to be more difficult than I expected. I was hoping to get him under control before I had to face Yuna, but he managed to evade me until he could hide behind her. Who should be the next member of my fanclub, I wonder....?" Deis grinned at her. "If you're looking for attached, handsome men.... I can think of one right off the bat. A powerful man with a host of very devoted sorceress bodyguards--not to mention a goddess--that will doubtlessly raise a few objections if you were to go after him." Edea looked quizzically at her. "Powerful man.... hm.... Oh! You can't possibly mean...." She laughed. "An ambitious goal, indeed." "But if it is Do you accept such a challenge?" said Deis. "....Sure," replied Edea after a moment's hesitation, rising to leave. "You only live once, and I intend to live fully." Deis hid a smile, following her. Myria owes me one for this, she thought. No one saw hide nor hair of either for the rest of the day, or the next. Well, almost no one. ~~~ Now this story, you may believe, doesn't involve Kratos at all. And you'd mostly be right--the hapless agent of Cruxis continued with his training and life as if nothing had occurred. Until his match of course, when Edea decided to do a bit of target practice with her new toy, and he wound up flattened by two Fate Storms. A delighted Edea flew off to test his "performance" on other fronts, never actually stepped foot in the arena, and so was disqualified, but that fact didn't make the pain stop before the healers arrived. Kratos Aurion: 31 CmdrKing For all that she's actually quite a bit older than the rest of the Tales of Symphonia cast, Presea still has some of the heart of a little girl. As it turns out, a deep love of stuffed animals is one of those. Sure, finding a new Onion Knight will be annoying, but hey, can't argue with cute puppy dog eyed little girls, especially when they're willing to pay in match-throwing. Lulu: 41 Kay
Halbarad Lo Wen entered the match (notably) on a full stomach. The bizarre behavior of her opponent over the course of this season was under investigation, but with no leads to any sort of cheating in place, there was no reason to disqualify the 'bot. So it was with no small measure of trepidation that the bandit leader entered the arena for her match. To her relief, Worker 8 was not apparently carrying any kind of food or cooking implements, although as she neared her place in the ring's boundaries she did note that the robot's legs gleamed a bit more than the rest of its battered casing. Shrugging it off, she faced off against the bot, and the judges blew the whistle for the match to begin. Keeping her distance, she let fly a shot with the morningstar, only to have it batted aside by Worker 8, now approaching her in a lumbering charge. Just before reaching her, the robot let out a pneumatic hiss, and a huge shower of brown dust erupted from the bot in all directions, covering the bandit in powder. There was unfortunately little time to worry about that, however, as the robot was upon her and the battle was joined in earnest. A few minutes of exchanging blows, however, and Lo Wen was quite ready to grab the chance to heal. Deciding to use her more powerful healing first - either would be sufficient to heal her fully, she waited for a moment when Worker 8 was far enough away not to hit her immediately then invoked the magic of Kindness Rain. The mystical water filled the arena temporarily, healing her wounds.... and more. As the magic faded, the bandit woman leapt forwards towards Worker 8 - or tried to. Unnoticed by all until she made her attack, the ground was now covered by several inches of sticky brown goop - and falling into it headlong in her rush, Lo Wen was the first to discover exactly what it was. "Chocolate pudding?!" Again, there was little time to think, as Worker 8 approached - having little difficulty moving in the sticky morass himself - a quick succession of blows left the bandit captain completely unconscious. Worker 8 continued his work in the arena past this point, however... Finally, several minutes later the shocked judges declared an end to the match, Worker 8 clearly the victor. And in the center of the arena stood a masterfully sculpted pudding a la Lo Wen, her ball and chain arranged artfully on top like a rather vicious cherry. Worker 8: 50 SageAcrin *Four days before the match...* "We've gathered you all here to witness something. Just so you don't kill yourselves." Piastol announced to the crowd. "Every single one of you have either attempted something perverse against matches at some point. Some of you have been hard to pin down..." Piastol said, glaring at Yuri, who simply grinned back. "...but I know who you are. I have brought you here to witness your end." She said, gesturing to the cowled figures behind her, as a worried murmur sprang up from the crowd. "Are you ready for the ceremony?" Piastol said, turning to them. "Yes." Rosa said, pulling off her hood. "I am." Was heard chorused, as five seperate Ninas pulled off their hoods at the same time. The crowd stared, stunned, as the mysterious people pulled back their hoods. Kukuru, Lyonesse, Riddel, Priscilla, Relm, Mara, Nara, Porom, Aeris, Garnet, Alma, Kyra, Rena...female mage after female mage removed their hoods and declared they were ready, leaving only two people still hooded. "It would seem appropriate for you two to lead this ceremony." Piastol said to the remaining two. "Alright!" Lilka said, removing her hood. "Sure." Marle said. "I hate these scratchy hoods anyhow." As the crowd fairly drooled at the amount of women in the arena, Marle and Lilka started chanting, and joined hands with the other women. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but as time went on, a kind of flickering light could be seen. Runes started to etch into the ground around the edges of the arena, and onto the arena walls. Finally, a green ball of light appeared in the middle of the circle, and, in a frighteningly fast rush, expanded. Most of the crowd ducked or cringed as the light rushed towards them...as it stopped at the arena's edge. "This barrier is your doom." Piastol said, laughing. "Anyone trying to break this barrier with perverse thoughts in their mind, or anyone using any spell or technology to try to pierce it, will pay. How they will pay is directionally proportionate to how hard they try; An eye for an eye, so to speak. After a short test period, these barriers will be brought up in every single arena." "The Duelling League will be free of your childish, idiotic behavior once and for all." Piastol said, her laugh, and the laughs of the other girls, ringing into the silent, stunned arena... --- "We can't let them do thish to us!" Sten yelled at the other people around the table, slamming his empty glass down. "I don't see what choice there is." Seigfried said, drinking a little from the large bowl in front of him. "We fight, damn you, you silly horshie! They aren't the only magesh in the League!" Sten cried. "Hmmm. Teaming up, eh." Zelos said, sipping his drink. "Not a bad idea, at that. But we don't know how that barrier works." "Ha! Any barrier falls if you hit it hard enough, enough times. We'll make a conshentrated strike!" Sten said, laughing. "Well, it's as good of an idea as any. I sure can't imagine this place being much fun if we can't get rid of that thing..." Zelos said, nodding. "Let's round up as many people as possible." "But don't any of you dare invite Edge or Yuri. There's no damned way I'm letting them in on this fun." Zelos warned... --- "Hum. Well, it was a nice run, eh, Edge?" Yuri said, stretching out in his chair. "The hell you say! I'm not finished yet!" Edge yelled, pacing around the room. "All barriers have some way to break them, it's a law of the universe!" "Are you saying the universe is fair, Edge?" Yuri said, looking at Edge strangely. "No, but barriers are. Name an exception." Edge said, smirking. "Well...hmmm...I...Gua-no, he doesn't use a barrier...Hm. I guess you have a point." Yuri said, frowning. "Even if it doesn't make a damned bit of sense. Okay, so we look for a weakpoint. But how? Neither of us are mages." He said, shrugging. "Simple, we go and get one." Edge said, grabbing Yuri's arm... --- "Hmph, you want me to help, eh?" Mazus said, frowning at Yuri. "Actually, no, we were trying to get ahold of Brey. But hey, the more, the merrier." Yuri said, leaning against a wall. "Hmhm. You know, I think I'll round up a few more mages, and drag Brey over here. This strikes me as an interesting exercise. I've never met anything I couldn't beat before, and I swear by the runes covering my body, this won't be it." Mazus said, chuckling drily... --- "Hmm. You know, they've already setup another one of those, over in Worker's arena." Brey said, sipping from his glass. "Really?" Edge said, surprised. "But they said..." "Well, I think they're afraid Worker will pull something. I have a suspicion about him...but never mind." Zhuzhen said, sipping his drink. "Mm." Crowley said, sipping his drink. "I have a theory about those barriers. They use the same magical wavelength to synchronize them all." "I'd noticed that." Mazus said, glaring at Crowley. "And you have a remarkable talent for stating the obvious." "Look, ladies." Edge said. "We're here for a purpose, and we need to get along. Besides, both of you are some of the greatest mages ever, and your reputation will grow above all mages but each other... if you stay in this project and don't huff off. Otherwise, one will win." "Hmph." Mazus said, glaring at Edge. "Well, then...look, if we synchronize the wavelength and the magical burst rate, we can form a semi-topological corridor using the Eldritch Corridor effect." Mazus said, pulling out a piece of paper and sketching rapidly on it. "But that would require a strong Ether Amplifier or something similar, and you'd need several powerful runes to compensate for the magical backlash due to the Palpunte Effect..." Crowley said, studying the piece of paper. "Do you have any clue what they're talking about?" Yuri said. "None." Edge replied. "Good, it means they're actually getting work done." Yuri said. *Four days later.* Piastol wasn't a fool. She knew her warning was just a challenge to them all. Which, of course, was exactly what she wanted. "Hahahahaha. Oh, this will be spectacular." She said, grinning from reserved box high in the arena stands, a privledge of former champions. "Look at all of them file in." She laughed, watching the crowd fill with people she recognized. And few others. Zelos had warned off anyone who wasn't aiding his group from entering the arena. "You don't want to be caught in a big explosion by accident, after all." Zelos said, lounging in his seat. "Nice of you to care." Edge said. "But we'll be fine." Marle and Lilka looked totally unconcerned. "Well, I guess we'll get a good lightshow." Lilka said, giggling. "Better not let it distract you. After all, they're going to get theirs, we don't need to worry." Marle said, smiling. The match was announced in booming tones. Both sides were asked if there was anything they wanted to say before the match started, both declined. A gong rang out across the arena, announcing the start of the match. A single fireball flew up from Zelos' hand, bursting harmlessly in the air. And all hell broke loose. "CHHHAAAAARRRRGGGEE!" Zidane yelled, leaping from his seat, his massive Ninja Sword grasped in both hands. "FIRE!" Sten announced, launching a Missile spell at the barrier. "Damn you all, fire!" Badrach said, pulling out his crossbow and launching a volley of shots. All at the same spot in the barrier. The arena shook violently as burst after burst slammed into the barrier. At first, it looked perfectly solid. Then, suddenly, it started rippling. The crowd gave a cheer, and the assault redoubled, while Piastol frowned down worriedly. "Hmmm. It can't be that easy to break, can it?" She said. "I gathered the most powerful mages I could find. If it's that ea-" The barrier, still rippling, suddenly flared into light, massive beams shooting out from it. And into the attacking crowd. A massive tower of flame engulfed it. "...Well, that's better...wait..." She said, looking down as the smoke cleared. At the protective barrier that had saved them. They were still attacking. And still being bombarded by the beams. "How long are they going to keep that up?" She said, stunned. Seats had literally melted under the massive heat of the counterstrike, as had the stone floor of the stands. Part of the arena literally no longer existed. But the assault kept coming. Ignoring it all, Marle and Lilka slowly fought a battle of healing and attrition. *Five minutes later.* "Damnit, how long can this thing hold up!?" Zelos said, stunned, as the barrier's ripples became longer and longer, as it became thinner and thinner at the attack point...but still wasn't pierced. "We can't hold this up much longer!" Gandar yelled. "This barrier will soon collapse!" "Damnit! Even with the Claudia and the Enterprise and Raja in the Land Rover backing us up, we still can't break through!" Badrach said, coughing from the acrid smoke of the flames. "It has to break! It's still getting weaker!" Zelos yelled. "Just hold up a little lo-" The entire barrier evidently had had enough of this. For the beams, for one stunning moment, stopped. Then a massive burst of energy struck the force assaulting it. *Two weeks earlier.* "Wait, what do we do if the barrier can't hold up under an assault?" Rosa said, puzzled. "It isn't perfect." "Simple." Nara said, giggling. "We leave it to chance. Or, rather, Chance. I'm sure Sofia wouldn't mind helping..." --- Piastol's jaw dropped, as the light sliced into the crowd. Many people simply disappeared. Others turned to stone, turned into frogs, shrank, simply dropped dead, or smacked each other in a confused daze. Many of the mages simply stopped casting spells, silenced or suddenly out of magic power. Three beams of pure light struck out at the distant assaulting machines. The Land Rover burst into flames. The Enterprise turned into a giant duck-to the regret of Cid onboard- while the Claudia suddenly sparkled in the sun, it's entire mass turned to pure gold, as it made an incredibly rapid decent. "...Hahah. It really is over." Piastol said, giggling. "I've finally paid them all back." "Oh, have you?" Edge yelled up at Piastol. "Damnit, Edge, learn to keep your big mouth shut!" Yuri yelled, as the four mages chanted behind him. "What are you doing dow-...YURI!" Piastol shrieked, leaping from her seal, scythe in her hands and a murderous gleam in her eyes. "Damnit, you guys better do this fast!" Yuri said, fusing into the form of the Seraphic Radience. "I can't hold her off long!" --- Amazingly ignoring all of this, Marle quickly whipped her bow around to bash Lilka in her face, her magical power exhausted. Lilka, unfortunatly, was just not as good at concentrating. Watching Piastol attempt to slice Yuri was a little too much for her, and she moved a little too slowly. The blow caught her in the face, knocking her cold. --- "It's no good!" Mazus panted out a minute later. "We need more magical power to initiate the workaround! Yuri could have done it, but..." "Damnit, I know magic!" Edge said, starting to work his way in. "You don't know anything about magical theory, and we don't have time to teach you! Amon could have worked it in a short period, but..." "Hmm. Thought I'd find you in that pile, Edge." A very familar voice said from behind Edge. "But it seems that I just have to wait a little while to see it." Rune said, watching Yuri deseperately try to break the headlock Piastol had him in. "Should be interesting, shouldn't it?" "Damnit! Look, Rune, this is more important than just us!" Edge yelled. "If this barrier stays up, what will they start making barriers against next? Maybe they'll start making people be polite in the ring? Or how about maybe banning magic so that it's more fair to some people?" "Ridiculous." Rune said calmly. "Makes no sense. You are an actual threat, none of the rest is." "How about this?" Edge yelled desperately. "If you can manage to get this spell to go off, I'll announce publicly that you're superior to me!" "...What?" Rune said, stunned. "This means more to me than you can possibly imagine, and anyone that can break this barrier will be known forever as an incredible mage! And I will admit publicly that you are better than me! Now, will you help?" "...Fine." Rune said, walking up to the mages. "But you will pay eternally if you go back on this." Rune said, his hands glimmering with light. A few seconds later, the barrier shimmered and pulsed with light. Piastol noticed a little too late, a little too intent on her semi-concious prey. When she noticed, it was too late. As the barrier glowed, a massive burst of white light shone from it. And, as the light cleared, Piastol, Marle and Lilka were gone. The barrier still stood, but it was a shade of sky blue instead of green. "Okay, so what the hell did that do, anyways?" Edge asked. "...You don't know?" Rune said, snickering. "It aligned the barrier's wavelength with that of another, and teleported everything to the other barrier. Along with everything outside of that barrier inside. But I didn't pick up the specific limiter it used on targets..." "Women." Crowley said, grinning. "Well, this will be interesting." Rune said, smiling. "I believe that the other barrier they setup was in Worker's arena, yes? There certainly are a lot of women there today." "...Rune, you actually enjoy watching women in a catfight? I wouldn't have expected anything so human from you." Edge said. "I just came from there. There's a little more going on than you know..." --- "...I don't believe it." Yuri said, watching Rydia, covered in chocolate pudding, punch Lilka in the face. "...I thank all the gods that are listening right now, and those that aren't, that Worker 8 decided to cook desert today." Edge said, sighing happily as Rosa grabbed onto Nina the Fourth's blouse, causing an...unfortunately placed...tear in it. "I think I've seen enough." Rune said, smiling. "Just make sure you give me the credit I deserve, Edge." He said, walking off. "Oh, you'll get the credit you deserve, Rune. You will indeed." --- Zelos' head swam as he came back to conciousness. All he could remember was a bright light, then hitting the ground hard twice. "Uhhh." He said, opening his eye. To women wrestling in chocolate pudding. "...This...this has to be a dream. A wonderful, sticky dream." Zelos said, dizzly, as he rose to his feet. And noticed a strange shifting sensation on his chest. As he looked down, it became unfortunatly apparent that "he" was no longer an appropriate term for Zelos. "No....no, this...this has to be a dream..." Zelos said, touching her chest. Then reaching down lower to confirm a certain lack. "Damn...damn you...this...EDGE! I KNOW THIS IS YOUR FAULT!!!" Zelos shrieked in frustration. --- "And so, that's the story of how the barriers were brought down." Edge said into Ultros' camera. "And, before I kick you through a wall for your magnificent achievements, is there anything you'd like to say?" Chisato asked. "Of course. First, you'll have to catch me to kick me." Edge said, grinning. "Secondly, I owe this all to Rune. Without his massive perversion, none of this could have happened. His twisted, horrific mind is truly an Escher-like maze of turns that no one could ever hope to understand." "Rune is truly my superior at perversion. Yes, everyone, you heard it here. Rune is the greatest pervert alive." Edge said, quickly dashing out of the studio before Chisato could crush him. "..." Rune said, staring at the screen. "...why did I even expect anything different?" He said, shaking his head. Lilka Eleniak: 23 RadLink5 And they say it takes skill to make it to the semi-finals. Evil Gaia: 22 superaielman What does one expect from a battle between two light divas? Tears, brutal damage exchanges, and lots of torn garments. Instead, the two settled their differences in the classiest way possible- a drinking contest. Flare chose Salt Water as the drink of choice, and kept using Wind of healing to cure the poisoning effects of it. Opera.. well, she at least managed to finish several shots before needing medical attention. It's something. Flare: 30
Movies for Gamers Who Like Movies: ONi Hey hey hey. Orlandu owns all okay. ;) Orlandu: 30 108 Stars: 16 Death to Highland: 21 |