City of IF

[DeadManWalking]

WHOA!

just by seeing the list of character you control from the competition, I can conclude that there are

ONLY TWO NON-IM CONTESTANTS LEFT!!!!!


Aeger and Liane.

GO THEM!

EDIT: And i just noticed that those were the only two who were fighting this round. One of them is being teamed up on, and the other is fighting a character newly created (possibly just for him)

That's not good.

Is IM trying to knock them out of this fight as quickly as possible?

[Idea master]

Meany, Meany, Meany. Wouldn't it be slightly unethical of me to knock BOTH of the remaining competitors out of the competition? Especially when I promised them my ENTIRE fortune if they won?

But I will be recalling the characters I control from the island after this round and I will open up Round Four and after to ALL COMERS.

You got that right. For a mere 25 fable fee*, ALL CHARACTERS from ANYONE will be accepted. I will, of course, require a bit of definition in the realms of, say, their Name, Appearance, History (Not applicable to all characters, I realize this), Strengths, and Weaknesses.

For those that get those characters in before Round Three concludes, I will offer a 15-fable DISCOUNT. I must be going MAD!

Oh, no, wait, I was already there.

All applications must be sent by PM, preferably with the fables attached.

*Along with your soul, your future income, and your firstborn.

[DeadManWalking]

huh...

but isn't that mean to the people who have managed to survive thus far?

Would it not make more sense to conclude this tournament, end it with the being escaping or something, give perhaps a smaller reward for the winner than you had originally promised, and THEN start a new round open to all comers?

[Idea master]

Meany. I'm an evil mastermind. I can work it out. Trust me.

Well, okay, don't trust me. But do believe that this will work out.

Round three, FIGHT! This is Aeger's version of events.

He had been a hero once.

Aeger sat cross legged before the campfire, his eyes tracing the lines of the flames flickering in the wind that swept from the cruel heights, whistling through the sheer sides of the canyon below. His short brown hair quivered under the onslaught, but remained firmly plastered to his scalp by sweat.

He had been loved once.

He remembered a time when he walked through the streets and people called out in joy, who named him “Hero” and “Savior” and he was almost as holy as the priests in their robes. He remembered when he dined with kings of all lands. He remembered when he could end droughts with a spoken word and a waved hand, when he could lower floods with a different word. He remembered when he could call lightnings from the sky with a twitch of a finger.

He remembered the last time he called lightnings from the sky.

Aeger tore his gaze away from the flames, seeking to forget. He refused to remember, filling his mind with only the restoration of his lost power. The past was the past, and the future was what lay in wait for him. He looked down to letter and the crystal held in his hands, and read the parchment for his next fight.

Xavier

Aeger hadn’t seen this contestant on the parchment before, for some reason. Perhaps he’d only just noticed him.

Aeger returned to staring into the flames, trying to imagine what his next opponent would be like.

But, as always, thoughts drifted back to the Battle of Fonsflammae Pass. Or the Battle of Exitium Caeli, as it became known later. Exitium Caeli. Sky’s ruin.

He remembered standing alone at the mouth of the pass, Mt. Vulcan to his left and the waters of the Inland Sea to his right. He remembered looking across the volcanic plain, seeing the hordes that gathered.

He remembered a certain boy, one too young to fight a war, with nothing to lose but his life.

He remembered the eyes of that boy.

Aeger again wrenched his thoughts away from his past, sending his mind instead into the depths of the sandy earth around him.

The tattoos of his skin faded, his entire skin turning brown, the color of mud at the bottom of a water hole.

He was tired, and this was even more tiring. But he no longer thought of that battle, instead of the pulsing veins of earth, his mind riding on currents of stone.

Footsteps, vibrating down into the cool depths.

His mind sprang back to his body.

Aeger reflexively threw himself away from the fire, his tattoos reappearing, his crystal and letter forgotten near the campfire. He rolled, turned, saw a white-haired man with a younger face walk into the firelight, his eyes glittering.

Those eyes.

Those eyes were sparkling, dancing lights, above a grin that would grow as he slaughtered your friends. Those eyes whirled and jigged to their own private tune, watching the world in wonder as the hands they saw ripped and tore the flesh.

The man noticed the crystal and parchment and spoke,

“So you ARE a contestant. What a lucky day for me. Hmmm… Which one are you though? You aren’t the Nutcase with the Sisters, or the Sparkplug.”

He snapped his fingers.

“You’re the Cripple! Really, what luck! Just the man I was hoping to find.”

Those eyes danced back to the crystal, before leaping back to Aeger, a grin growing underneath.

“You seem to have lost your crystal. That is against the rules you know. As a fellow contestant, I’ll probably have to report this. But it seems like such an unsporting way to beat you; I mean it really wouldn’t be any fun.”

His grin widened even more.

“Let’s play a game shall we? If you can touch your crystal, I won’t report you. Then we have to really fight. But if you give up, I get to report you!”

He cocked his head, waiting for an answer, but received only silence.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

He simply stood there, waiting for Aeger to make the first move.

Aeger hesitated. He had trained almost the whole part of the last ten days. He was in no shape to fight.

But he was just standing there.

Aeger flicked a needle through the air, testing the reflexes of this smiling madman.

He moved his head, too slowly, a line of blood just missing his left eye.

He touched the blood, looked at it.

“That was a mean trick.”

Aeger threw two other needles, one after the other, both at the madman’s face.

He ducked, his eyes going down for a second to avoid the needles.

Aeger leapt forward, his left hand ringed with red and flickering with flames, taking advantage of his opponent’s mistake, intending to end it as quickly as poss-

The man’s hand blurred, and Aeger heard a crack, felt ribs breaking, felt himself hit the ground several yards away.

He coughed up blood.

“Well you’re going to have to try harder than that. And try not to be so gullible. I want this game to be interesting.”

Aeger staggered to his feet, touched one of the low plant that grew around the canyon like weeds. He concentrated, and his hand glowed green, before the plant withered and died. He felt his ribs healing some, enough that they would hold for a while.

“Hey! That’s the way to do it. Just keep on coming back. Just like a punching bag!”

Aeger looked up and concentrated on the fire behind the man. It roared up, engulfing the spot where the white-haired man had been.

Had been.

The man was already next to Aeger, raining punches and kicks.

“Way too obvious. C’mon! Make this interesting!”

Aeger stumbled backwards, shielding his face with his arms. He heard his ribs crack again.

Aeger suddenly dropped underneath a punch sweeping his legs across where the man’s legs were. Or had been.

The man simply skipped over them, stepping down hard on his Achilles heel as it passed under.

Aeger was back up in an instant, ignoring the pain in his ankle and ribs, pressing the attack.

The man dodged every single one, ducking weaving.

“Come on. I could fend this off with one hand behind my back.”

And then the lunatic put his left hand behind his back and took a fighting stance, his eyes dancing still.

Aeger attacked.

The man spoke.

“Downward chop to the right shoulder” He hit Aeger’s elbow as it was coming down.

“Sidekick” He simply stepped aside as Aeger’s foot went past.

“Close-range needle.” He caught the needle, his hand in place even before Aeger threw.

“Open-Palm Thrust” He moved the same hand, the needle piercing into Aeger’s palm.

“Another leg sweep” He simply did a backflip backwards, his eyes still glittering, his mouth still grinning.

Aeger had broken ribs, a bleeding hand and a hurt ankle, and he hadn’t even landed a blow besides the first. And that one had been given to him.

What was going on?

Then it clicked, and Aeger’s eyes widened.

He had been predicting the moves before they had happened. But then he could dodge everything!

The Man laughed, his head thrown back.

“So you finally get it. I am Xavier, Reader of Souls. And you’re about to die.”

Aeger took a deep breath, ignoring the pain of his cracked ribs. He concentrated, and his skin turned red.

Xavier’s eyes widened and he leapt through the air an instant too late.
Aeger’s skin burst into flames, creating a shield that would stop anyone from touching him.

Xavier simply stood helpless.

Aeger simply walked past, back to his crystal and letter. He would get those back first, then he could deal with Xavier.

He bent to pick up the scroll, near the precipice of the canyon. The Flames retreated from his fingers as they reached towards the parchment.

Suddenly Xavier was there, his foot crushing Aeger’s fingers against the ground in front of the letter, then darted up to break his nose, moving so fast that it simply wasn’t in the fire enough to be hurt.

Aeger stumbled back, the flames fading.

“It’s so fun to watch you lowly mortals thinking you can win. I love to see the hope in your eyes, just extinguish.”

Aeger panted, his face a mess.

Xavier’s predatory eyes still danced in the firelight.

Aeger saw himself in those eyes, saw the reflections of his own eyes in them.

A young boy, with nothing to lose but his life, charging at a man who threw the lightning and the waves around like pets.

Aeger remembered seeing himself through the desperate eyes of the boy, saw a terrifying monster with the sky’s power dancing on his fingertips that through lightning that burned the skin off of hundreds of farmers calling themselves an army.

He had faltered, and with a desperate swing, the boy had taken off his hand.

He had lost control off the waves, and the waters of the Inland Sea swept away thousands, but thousands continued down the pass to ravage the Imperial Cities, and no longer was he called “Hero” or “Savior”. No longer would the lightnings dance on his tongue or the clouds come to his call.

He had sworn an oath of silence, until he could finally regain what he had lost.

And always, he remembered the eyes of the young soldier as the lightnings danced along his flesh and the chain-mail melted into his skin.

He saw those same desperate eyes right now, reflected in the laughing eyes of the madman before him.

Xavier saw his despair and laughed again.

Then Aeger made his decision and Xavier’s eyes widened and he tried to move out of the way.

Aeger tackled him, sending them both off the brink of the Canyon.

They fell, next to each other, both searching for something to grab hold of.

Aeger looked down at the ground rushing towards him. He concentrated, and fifty feet down a plant wormed its way out of the wall, growing faster and faster, ready to catch-

Xavier pummeled him with fist and foot, the grin gone, the eyes no longer dancing, hitting him like a whirlwind, breaking his concentration.

As they neared the tree, Xavier grabbed at it, brushed the upper branches with his fingertips.

Then it burned like a bonfire, suddenly, and Xavier turned with a snarl and kicked Aeger again, sending him tumbling away.

Xavier brushed the canyon wall with his fingertips, the contact causing his fingers to bleed and his body to spin, tumbling down the steep wall at almost a vertical angle, seeking a handhold in the sheer side.

Aeger saw the ground before him, and closed his eyes.

His tattoos faded, and his skin turned to brown. He cast his mind out to the earth, became one with it, wove his being into the song and currents of the metals and stones.

Xavier hit the ground hard, almost his entire body pulverized into pulp against the harsh ground. By a fluke, his head survived untouched, the mouth no longer grinning and the eyes no longer dancing.

Aeger’s body hit the ground and sank.

He returned to his body, floating in the dark stone like it were water, his breathing labored and his ribs cracked, his lung punctured, his nose broken, his ankle shattered, his Achilles tendon snapped.

He concentrated, looked out with his mind at what remained of Xavier, then fell into a deep and healing sleep.


-----

And this is Xavier's.


Death.

That was all on Xavier's mind.

Killing things.

Just to eliminate the souls that he could see.

When all others were finally gone, he could relax, as there would be no more souls for him to see. Finally, the spirit world would leave him alone.

It was such a burden, such a curse, to be capable of seeing the souls of men. Not only could he see what they intended to do, but he could see all their deeds laid bare.

And it sickened him.

He would start here, with this contestant. He glanced at his letter, which read Aeger.

Who the hell names their kid Aeger? The kid won't be able to say it until he's at least five.

Xavier walked into a clearing, where there was evidence of a human once inhabiting this place. Xavier grinned. His Soul Sight only ran forward, but anyone could look at the evidence of the past and see where people where. He would follow the trampled underbrush to wherever it led.

A few hours later, Xavier found himself looking into a steep canyon. The tracks he'd been following were gone now that there was no underbrush. He looked around, checking to see if the man was nearby with his Soul Sight. Nothing glimmered, so Xavier turned around. Maybe he'd missed something.

And that was when he saw it.

People often asked him what it was like seeing things with Soul Sight. He never answered them, but he knew all the same. It was like seeing a series of ghosts of the same person, each one doing one specific action.

Thus, he was surprised to see a ghost jumping at him from the forest, bum-rushing him, and then plummeting to the canyon floor.

Fortunately, the person to whom the ghost responded to hadn't acted on it yet. Xavier figured if he turned around again, the person would try his supposed sneak attack.

Xavier looked at the distance between him and the trees and estimated it to be about twenty feet. A person could run that in about five seconds. Give it another five for whoever was in the bushes to be lulled into a false sense of security...so if he turned back around, he should count to nine and sidestep.

Xavier turned. One, two, three...

There was a small snapping noise. Whoever it was had left the underbrush...three, four, NOW!

Xavier dodged to the side and watched as the one-armed man plummeted into the canyon, a look of surprise painted on his face. Xavier grinned. "Too easy."

Xavier watched all the same, to ensure that this person was dead. He was pleasantly surprised when whoever it was sunk into the very earth and reappeared further down, none the worse for wear.

"A physical adept! This should prove interesting!"

Xavier nimbly picked his route down, carefully avoiding setting off any landslides or falling himself. It wouldn't do to die before the battle, after all.

Xavier finally reached his opponent and bowed slightly. He could see that the man would attempt to use a needle to do him in quickly, and as such, as soon as his bow was completed, he moved his head one foot to the right. The man seemed surprised when the needled whizzed harmlessly into the cliff face.

"Going to have to try harder than that."

The man looked worried for a second. Xavier took this chance to pull out his letter. "You wouldn't happen to be Aeger, would you?"

The man, still confused, nodded once. Xavier grinned. "Oh, well then, let's spar a bit, shall we? I wonder how good you are."

The man shook his head a little, obviously pulling himself together. The two opponents faced one another. One was a previous master of the elements, now working to regain what he had lost the day he'd lost his hand. The other still possessed both of his hands, as well as an ability to see into the realm of the spiritual.

The fight was very-one sided.

Aeger opened up with a fireball thrown at his foe, which Xavier neatly sidestepped. Xavier then moved in and performed a kick at Aeger's right knee. Aeger nearly cried out in pain and collapsed, trying to figure out how this man could have possibly dodged not only the needle, but the fireball as well. There was no way, unless...

Xavier began talking. "You know, a lot opens up to you when you can see into the spiritual. The paths people want to take, the things they've done. Everything is laid bare, it's almost maddening."

Aeger took in these words while looking at his foe. In those eyes, he saw an insanity that none could rival. That face of glee...this man had killed before, and enjoyed it. He had killed for no other reason than the feeling of the kill itself. And if what he was saying was true, then there was almost no way to stop him, unless...

For the first time in his life, Xavier cried out. He was nearly blind. The man before him was prepared to do ANYTHING. The paths the ghosts were taking were everywhere at once. The overlapping all merged into a bright white. Thus, he was unprepared for the fist to the solar plexus when it happened. Nor did he know about the chop to the neck.

However, when the kick to the ribs was about to happen, he had prepared himself, and for the first time, put up a defensive. Xavier grabbed Aeger's foot and threw the one-handed man down the slope, away from himself.

Aeger grunted as he slid down the slope, eventually landing in the river below. He panted slightly. His right leg still hurt a bit, but now, he could rest a moment while he gathered his thoughts. As he suspected, when he cast his mind out and tossed aside all plans, his foe was unable to predict what was to happen, and could not dodge. It also seemed to blind him a bit...Perhaps if he did it again?

Xavier groaned, slowly gaining back his sight. The first thing that he saw was that Aeger was now in a river, and there was a slight shimmer in the air. Aeger was using the same trick to try and catch him unawares again. There was one way to stop that...

Aeger called upon the water, and for the first time since that day, it answered him again like it had before. It was painful and draining, but it was like it had been. He commanded the small river up the slope, to surround and pull back the white-haired man, to pull him to the depths. To drown him.

Xavier had found what he was looking for. A pile of stone as old as the island itself, carefully kept on the slope by the fact that none had dared disturb it. Xavier moved to the back and the one thing no sane thing would try.

Xavier disturbed the stone.

It moved slowly, picking up speed as it went, until finally, fifty tons of rock moved with the fury of a beast disturbed. And it was moving towards Aeger.

The stream and the rock intercepted each other. But the stream could not win. The stone had gravity on its side, and the stream was not as large as the oceans Aeger had once commanded. The strain began to show as Aeger slowly collapsed, putting more and more of his energy into fighting the stone.

He failed.

The river fell back into its bed, and the stone followed. Aeger tried desperately to become one with the rock again. He may not have enough time.

There was a thud, and dust billowed while water splashed. Xavier grinned. "He was the first one in a while to figure out how to get around me. Maybe this island isn't a waste of time after all."

Xavier briefly considered checking if Aeger had managed to pull his trick of melding with stone again, but it was getting late, and he had an appointment elsewhere, it seemed. The letter's text shifted again.

Big Bad Wolf in the Asylum.

Slowly, the wheels of fate turn...But who will survive the crushing gears? It is up to you!

[Phantomfan]

These two were really great. Very well detailed...
I still have to say I liked Aeger's better though. The flashbacks were pretty cool- they added a sense of character that Xavier didn't quite have.

[DeadManWalking]

wow.

We aren't getting very many votes for this round, are we?

[The White Blacksmith]

When I last checked this, I couldn't seem to vote.

[DeadManWalking]

*pokes this topic*

*looks at the date*

*looks at the poll*

Why are there only four votes?

Who survives?
Aeger?
75%
75% [ 3 ]
Or Xavier?
25%
25% [ 1 ]

[Idea master]

Apologies.

Writer's block.

Next fight will be up by Friday.

[Black Hawk]

I can't vote but if I could I'd vote for Aeger

[Idea master]

Apologies for the lateness, but when writer's block strikes, it strikes HARD. Fortunately, with the aid of my muse, my iPod, and a jackhammer, I managed to smash it into tiny pieces. And may I present...

Round three, fight 2! Team Blitz and Spike versus Liane!

The following is Blitz and Spike's version of events.

The two had made camp in the forest for the second round. Spike was performing essential weapons care for most of it, along with taking inventory of what he had left. Hmm, he thought to himself. Ten clips, and the guns are still mostly clean. Along with a little bit of a med pack after I patched up the kid's shoulder. I wonder if we'll manage to survive this madness?

Blitz, on the other hand, merely meditated. It was essential to his powers that he exercise his mind, cast out with his electricity, see what there was to see. It was mostly plant life, and what few animals were left quickly became dinner.

Spike and Blitz were enjoying some deer across a campfire (Blitz had provided a small lightning bolt to get the fire started) when Spike decided to break the ice.

"So, Blitz. What's your story? Why are you here?"

Blitz cast his eyes up, and recited a poem.

"In darkness, in brightness,
In day, in night.
In shadow, in sun,
In dimness, in light.
We seek them here, we seek them there,
We seek them everywhere."

Spike was silent for a moment. Finally, he inquired, "Who?"

Blitz sighed. "Our mentors. My brother and I come from a land where humans have mastered the stuff of life itself. They studied, and cut, and studied some more. When they found the part of the genetic code that seemed to dictate the soul...they did what humans do best. They defiled it, twisted it, and turned it to their purposes. They created an entire new race of beings. Some died before they were born. Some died shortly afterwards due to massive organ failure. Some still sleep. Some live as their slaves. And a few...a blessed few...managed to escape with their lives, only to be shunned by humanity. Superior though we are, we are few in number, and we are still mortal. Some of us, anyway."

Spike was silent for a moment. "I knew you weren't an ordinary human, and you're defiantly better than average, what with the whole lightning thing, I'll give you that. But superior? Isn't that kinda, y'know, arrogant?"

Blitz laughed. "How else would you define me? 'Better than average' doesn't quite cover it."

Spike mulled it over for a second. "True. But what was it about your mentors from earlier?"

Blitz sighed again. "They taught us how to find and use our powers. They taught us how to harness the strength of our own minds. And they gave us understanding and patience towards the human race. I absorbed that lesson better than my brother did, sadly. They also gave us a final set of orders before..."

Spike waited a moment, and then prodded the conversation along. "Before?"

Blitz looked like he was trying to form something out of the very air while he explained. "Okay, maybe you should understand their powers first. They were captured and experimented on long ago, and during their incarceration, their souls were dragged through Heaven and Hell. After which, their souls and minds were melded together. They were as one being in two separate bodies. One had powers over the light, and the other over the very shadow. It turns out, though, that their powers were different from mine. My powers are bound to me. It uses strength from my body to produce lightning, and I will get physically weaker the more I use it. Resting will help, yada yada. Our mentors, however, were bound to their powers. So other way around as compared to me. They were merely the vessel for vast power, and no matter what, so long as they thought ahead and had sufficient strength of mind, they could do anything."

Spike looked awed. "Two beings with that much power? Wow. The age of wonders is not dead yet. But what happened to them? You never finished."

"Ah." Blitz was more upset each time he was asked. "Well, they gave me and my brother a final set of orders one day, and then...they vanished. Gone. Became one with their respective elements. We figured they have to still be around somewhere in this world, so we're looking everywhere. We came here because this island is a sort of in-between place. If our mentors are not in this world, there are a myriad of other worlds we can go to."

Spike leaned back. "Wow. That's an impressive tale."

Blitz sat down cross-legged next to the fire. "And you?"

"Eh? Oh, my tale?" Spike waved a hand. "Eh. I'll keep it short. I'm from the future and from Mars. I'm not supposed to go into the details because I might create a paradox. Came here from the future to escape the foes I have there, and so my girlfriend and I could have some peace. How's your shoulder holding up?"

Blitz flexed his arm. "It's fine, but I coulda done it myself. I keep a few batteries on me for such occasions."

Spike sat bolt upright. "You're kidding me. You mean to tell me that you could create a whole new shoulder out of the charge of some batteries?"

Blitz shook his head. "Nah. I could make a bandage, though. Watch!"

A small orb of electricity hovered in front of Blitz, and he shaped and molded it into a mostly flat shape. Blitz carefully removed the bandage already on his shoulder and slapped his electric one onto it. The thing stuck like Velcro and molded itself to the shoulder.

Spike was in awe. "That is so cool."

Blitz grinned. "Yeah, electricity is like my clay. I can mold it into anything I might need. To hold it there only takes my attention for like one minute every hour. It's kinda like saying the word 'Strawberries' for a solid minute. Hopefully when we get to the Asylum, they'll have something that's better than a bandage for my arm."

Spike waved with both hands. "Wait a second. I thought we were going to the canyon. Why mention the Asylum? And which one are we headed to?"

Blitz sighed. "We'll make a quick stop at the canyon. I saw my brother head that way when we separated to search the island faster. If he's not there, then we agreed that round four would be the Asylum itself. We want to search it from top to bottom, and if our mentors are indeed not here, we'll separate to search the infinite worlds."

Spike whistled. "Tall order, kid."

Blitz looked Spike dead in the eyes. "We will not rest. We will not stop. We will keep searching until they are found or until someone finally kills us. We have sworn to do just that."

The two went to sleep that night with mostly uneventful dreams.

On the morn of the next day, the two arrived at the canyon. Blitz looked down into the deep chasm of earth. "I don't like this, but it looks like it might be empty. Still, I'd better check. I'll go down to the bottom, and if you could watch my back, that'd be great. I'll be a bit busy and might not always be scanning for other competitors."

Spike nodded. "How you getting down, though? Handholds seem few and far between..."

A globe of electricity was in front of Blitz again, and it was rapidly shaped into the form of a small square. It hovered about one inch off the ground, crackling and zapping the foliage. Blitz carefully placed one foot, and then the other onto it. Satisfied it would hold his weight, Blitz exhaled. "I can only do this for about two minutes, which should be more than enough to get to the bottom. I should be back once my survey is completed. Keep a sharp eye out!"

Spike watched as Blitz rode his platform of electricity to the bottom of the canyon until Blitz was smaller than a grain of sand. "There goes one of the most powerful kids I've ever seen. I wonder if it would work for-"

There was a snap behind him. Someone was in the forest nearby. Spike raised both guns at the foliage, scanning the area quickly for imminent threats. "I heard that, whoever you are. Come out and I might not kill you."

A larger rustling, right in front of him. It grew progressively louder, until finally, a slightly tall woman in silver armor with a blue cape walked out of the forest, wielding a bow. Her hair was blonde, her eyes green. And Spike got the odd sensation that she was in fact a contestant, here to do one thing. She wanted to progress, and that meant killing people off.

Spike looked at her. "So I'm not alone. Mind showing me proof you're a part of this madness? That way, if you decide to attack, I'll feel justified in defending myself."

The lady reached for her belt, and Spike gestured with one of his guns. "Ah ah. Slow."

The woman hesitated, her eyes flicking around as though she were looking at something not quite here, before her attention finally returned to moving her hands, slowly this time, to a pouch on her belt. She pulled out a letter and a glowing blue crystal for one second before returning them to where they came from.

"All right, good. Now, how much did you hear?"

She smiled. "Enough to know you aren't alone, but my letter told me that already. You're up here watching for people while your partner is looking for something down below. I was hoping to send him a gift...of your head."

Her eyes had somehow changed color from green to silver, and the bow had been discarded in favor of a huge sword. Spike pointed his guns at her head. "Do you know what these are?"

The woman hesitated for a moment. "At a guess, a weapon of sorts."

Spike grinned. "These two could send small pellets of metal through your head before you could blink. And all I have to do is pull the trigger. One messy death. Now throw the sword away and get back in the forest. Don't make me kill you, and I won't."

The woman hesitated, and then the sword was also discarded. She slowly backed into the forest until she was hidden from view. Spike breathed again. "Well, that wasn't so difficul-"

There was a swish noise, and a thump from the chest region. Spike looked down to see a handle protruding from his gut. He carefully pulled on it to reveal a dagger slicked in his blood, with more seeping out. The only thing he could think to say was "Oh."

He looked up to find the woman back in his face with her sword again. "Oh indeed."

Another swish, a thump, and a few discreet kicks saw what was left of Spike Speigel tumble down into the canyon towards his partner.

The woman looked at the falling corpse and sighed. "And I forgot about the dagger."

Blitz, meanwhile, was examining unusual rock formations. "They appear to have been blasted with something powerful, but what could force a rock into liquid form? The only thing I know that can melt rock is molten rock, but that is in short supply. Unless...my brother could have done it, but it would have taken him ages to do this with his level of power. He might have been training on these rocks..."

Blitz looked around and saw a small, bloodstained Idearium crystal sitting in a pile of ashes. Blitz knew then exactly how things must have played out. "Blaze...was training here on these rocks, so as to avoid potential forest fires...someone...interrupted his training...and he...destroyed them. I thought we had sworn off killing..."

There was a distinct THUMP from behind Blitz. Blitz turned to see a small pile of assorted organs and meat, but most importantly, the shirt of Spike Spegiel wrapped around what was left of his torso, a dagger still piercing it. Blitz gasped and weeped for a moment, mourning his newest friend.

His tears dried quickly, his rage replacing his sorrow. Blitz cast his mind out, searching with his strength for the one who had destroyed his friend. It wasn't hard to find the electrical patterns he was looking for, seeing as the canyon was a mostly desolate place anyways. Halfway down the wall and descending was a pattern that was constant with humans.

I'll get you, Blitz vowed. Quickly, Blitz choked back his nausea so that he could search what was left of Spike's body. The guns and ammo were intact, along with the backpack they were carried in. Blitz also took the dagger and stuck it between his belt and pants. Finally, he grabbed the letter and crystal Spike had been issued and then he looked for a cave to hide in. While in there, he removed the electrical bandage and replaced it with the one Spike had used for him earlier. He had just finished up when he sensed that the person had finally arrived on the canyon floor.

It's a quick job, but it'll hold for now. I can fix it after this fight. If I hurry, it won't be any trouble at all.

Blitz stepped out of his hiding cave, holding Spike's guns, mostly for the symbolism. He glared at the lady now examining his friend's corpse. She was looking for something, most likely the dagger. Blitz pointed Spike's guns at the woman.

"Did you kill him?"

The woman whirled around fast, already holding a sword. She was obviously startled by the sudden realization that she wasn't alone, but she was ready nonetheless.

"Do you have-"

"DID YOU KILL HIM?!"

Blitz overrode the woman's question with his own. She was a little stunned by this, but set her face sternly.

"Yes. Do you have my dagger?"

"Yes. Did he explain how these work?"

"Yes. Are you prepared to die?"

"No. I don't plan to. I am far superior than you are in almost every way. Are YOU prepared to die?"

"No, I also don't plan to. I guess one of is going to, though. Ready?"

"Yes. You, however, couldn't be less ready for me."

"I doubt that. Will you toss the weapons aside?"

"And give you the advantage? I hardly think so."

The two stared at each other a moment longer. Blitz was having some difficulty convincing himself to pull the trigger.

It's just a gun just pull the trigger and all your problems will disappear no need to worry and HOLY SHE'S COMING AT ME!

It seemed like the woman had finally gotten fed up with waiting and advanced. Blitz pulled the triggers quickly, trying to hit her, but she had raised her sword to block the path of the bullets. He tried to move, but couldn't do it fast enough to get cleanly away. The woman sliced, and all she managed to get were the guns. They both fell to the ground, large gashes on the side of them, Blitz now off to one side, obviously scared out of his mind.

"Another question, if you don't mind!" Blitz was busy dodging and still somehow found the time for banter while dealing with a madwoman.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Why? Why do you do what you do? Don't you have a reason? A purpose?"

The lady halted for a moment. "I...I..."

Blitz took this as a chance to use his improvised 'Throw her dagger back at her' attack. In a split second, while this lady was still contemplating the question, Blitz managed to get her in the shoulder with her own dagger. She cried out and dropped her sword from the pain, and Blitz took this as another chance. He crouched and activated his super-speed. Moving faster than the eye could see, Blitz grabbed both sword and dagger, wrenching the latter from his target's shoulder, and placing both of them in the nearby cave. He then returned to in front of the woman, who was now looking around for the missing weaponry.

"I am Blitz, master of the electric. And you are going to die."

The woman grimaced as she reached behind her with her good arm, quickly drawing her bow and nocking an arrow. "I'll put an arrow through your heart, boy, and roast it for my dinner if I have to. You'll not get the better of me!"

Blitz sighed. "On the contrary. You've killed my friend. You're delaying me from finding my brother and completing this tournament. And you're ready to kill me too. Worst of all, you don't have a why, a reason for it all. I think I'm about to do unto you what you have done unto him."

Blitz reached out with one hand, forming a spear of electric power. Hoisting it over his head, he quickly threw it through the lady. It passed through her, frying her hair, disintegrating the bow...and stopping her heart.

Blitz turned his back on her once she fell to the ground. He then picked up the guns and checked them over. Just a really big ding...doesn't seem to effect their function at all. Should pick up that sword and dagger as well...along with her crystal and letter, so that management knows who to send a 'We're sorry, but your offspring has died' letter to.

Blitz looked up at the top of the Canyon. Once that climb was over, he knew where to go next.

The Asylum itself.

His brother was waiting.

-----

The following is Liane's versions of events.

The sun beat down upon the canyon with such force that one could almost see the waves of heat rebounding off the ground. The large rocks shimmered with heat, creating a rather glaring effect.

Liane sat slumped next to a pile of rocks, panting with exhaustion. The walk had tired her out, not to mention the excessive heat and distinct lack of water. Her sisters were bickering, as usual.

‘Let’s go to the canyons!’ Brilliant choice, Liane. Really fantastic. Karakel said, sarcastically.

Aye, Neve agreed. ‘We were in a beautiful, cool forest with plenty of things to eat and see…

Not to mention things to hide behind, Ria added. This is such an open space…

Yes, well, not all of us are comfortable being surrounded by trees all the time Neve, Liane said wearily, fed up with the constant arguing. And Ria- you’ll just have to get used to openness.

But it’s not a good thing, for thieves like me-

“There is no more ‘like you’, Ria! There is only us!” Liane shouted out loud, unable to contain her annoyance any longer. She took a deep, calming breath. Look, already we’ve nearly been killed twice. We were lucky to get out of that last one with only a bad arm. We need to work together in this if we’re going to stay alive.

There was a brief silence.

Aye, Liane is right. We do need to work as one to survive. After all, we are one. Neve murmured.

I suppose… Ria grumbled reluctantly.

So. Who’s next? Karakel asked, rather cheerfully.

Liane sighed and pulled out her letter wincing as she bent her injured arm.

Spike Spiegel and Blitz. They’re putting us against a team, it seems.

I’m starting to really not like this Idea Master guy- he seems to be very intent on killing us all off. Ria muttered.

Yes, well, that’s kind of the point, isn’t it? Liane shot back. After all you’re the one who got us into this thing in the first place.

And now I’m rather regretting it.

Karakel intervened. Can we please just get on with the fight?

Fine, Liane replied, calming down. Ria, would you mind getting us around quietly?

My pleasure. Ria took control, eyes darkening to a muddy brown. She bent down low, stepping quickly and silently, as a thief would in the dark of night. She walked along the edge of the deep chasm, picking her way silently among the rough and uneven ground. Suddenly, she stopped.

Neve, do you hear something?

Eyes now green, Neve listened closely. Yes. There are two people- most likely male, over there. She pointed directly ahead of them. Behind that pile and down below.

Liane took control once again. Alright then, let’s see if we can do this. She walked forwards slowly, careful not to make a sound, until she reached the pile of rocks Neve had pointed towards. She cautiously peered around it. Yes, there they were, talking quietly with each other.

One was blonde and rather tall, with a kind of shining aura around him. The other… the other was strange. His hair was a kind of dark green, and he had something round and smoking dangling from his lips. Around his hips were… Liane edged forwards, trying to discern the strange objects. As she did, a lone pebble dislodged itself and clattered down the edge of the cliff. Both men stopped talking immediately and looked towards the source of the noise. Liane yanked her head back around the pile and stood there, praying they hadn’t seen her.

Great, go ahead and give away our element of surprise, why don’t you. Karakel said, sourly.

Liane ignored her sister and strained her ears intently to try and hear what the men were doing. She vaguely heard one say “I got this one.”

He’s coming! Liane said urgently. What do we do?

Neve took control and grabbed her bow and arrows. She knocked one and edged around the pile- only to find the weird man sitting alone in the middle of the canyon.

Wait… where’s the other one? Liane asked, confused.

“Hello.” A voice sounded directly behind her. Neve spun around, drawing the bow tight and wincing at the pain in her arm. There was the man, a few feet behind her. He looked at the bow and tutted. “Can’t have that, I’m afraid. He leaned forward and became a blur. Neve’s bow and arrow was yanked from her hands, only to appear again atop another rock pile, over thirty feet away. The man appeared again, panting slightly. “I’m Blitz, by the way.”

Neve blinked, bright green eyes filled with surprise. Did he just… how-?

“Well don’t just stand there,” Blitz said, sounding annoyed. “Do something! Make this entertaining!”

Liane’s eyes changed back to a purple, and she stayed stock still- unsure of how to react to this.

The man leaned back slightly. “Mmmm… why did your eyes just change?”

Liane remained silent.

He sighed with exasperation. “You humans are all the same. Lazy, stupid, and rude. Well, if you won’t tell me…” he grinned and raised his hands. “I suppose I can make do.” His eyes began to glow yellow, and his hands were suddenly surrounded by a crackling, blue-white aura of energy.

A bolt of power shot towards Liane’s head, and she only just managed to duck in time. Another one came, and another, and another. Liane was forced to jump and duck continuously, and began running pell-mell away from this crazy Blitz guy. She ducked behind another rock and looked back. No Blitz. She turned around and shrieked.

There he was, grinning maniacly. “Hello again!”

He’s got some sort of power over electricity! Ria said, breathlessly. That’s how he can run so fast- and he’s shooting at us with pure energy.

Well then how in the bloody hell can we get rid of him? Liane replied, frantic.

One could almost hear the grin in Karakel’s voice. Let me.

Liane’s eyes faded to a silver gleaming with bloodlust, and she drew her sword. Blitz frowned.

“There you go again, with that weird eye changing thing. Why do you do that?”

The only response Karakel gave was slicing at his chest. He ducked out of the way almost quicker then the sisters could see. “Naughty naughty- no stabbing Uncle Blitz now.”

Karakel cut at him again, and he ducked out of the way- reappearing directly behind her. “Stop it.” She whirled around, and Blitz placed a hand lightly on her shoulder, creating a bridge of energy pouring into her body.

Fire, flames, burning, pain… the smell of burning hair filled the air, and Liane was struck rigid as the electricity ran through her body. Her arms wouldn’t move. She strained even harder, barely able to focus as the power rattled her brain. She pushed as hard as she could- and suddenly, her eyes turned a bright, pure blue. The four sisters all pushed their arm with the sword forward- directly into the neck of Blitz.

Eyes wide, the yellow power faded from them and he fell backwards onto the ground, a golden kind of liquid pouring from his wound. Released from the hold of the electricity, Liane slumped forwards- eyes a purple dull with pain and fatigue.

What on earth was that? She gasped.

I think… I think we managed to all take control at the same time… Neve said, wonderingly.

Well it certaintly worked, Ria said.

That’s one down, only one more to go. Karakel commented, happily. Let’s get him!

Liane stood slowly, stumbling back slightly with exhaustion.

Wait, don’t step back- Her sisters cried as one.

Liane’s foot slipped over the edge of the canyon, sending her tumbling down into the abyss with a loud scream.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Liane opened her eyes slowly. A dull ache filled her body, with an especially sharp pain in her left leg. She sat up slowly, wincing, eyes slowly adjusting to the bright light in the canyon. In front of her stood the weird, green haired man.

“You need a hand?” He asked, reaching one out. She accepted it and pulled herself to her feet, grimacing with pain. Her ankle was most definitely sprained, if not broken.

“You’re Liane, right?” She nodded. “I’m Spike, Blitz’s partner. So, as much as I would like to get all chummy with you and become friends, I have a tournoment to win. And in order to do that, I’m going to have to get rid of you.” He looked up to the mouth of the canyon. “Blitz? Blitz, come on down buddy. I got her!”

Liane shook her head. “Dead,” she croaked.

Spike jolted in surprise. “Dead? Blitz is dead? How on Mars… well, never mind that, I suppose. I guess it’s just me versus you then.”

Her eyes changed from purple to green, brown, then silver as her sisters took control in quick succession, just long enough for Spike to notice them. He jumped back. “Creepy… well then, seeing as you’re hurt, it doesn’t seem fair for me to just go right out and shoot you.” He drew a gun and turned it over in his hands as he spoke. “I’ll give you a fifteen second head start. How does that sound?”

Confused, Liane opened her mouth to ask something. “Fifteen. Fourteen. Thirteen.”

She turned around and began hobbling away as fast as she could. Well, that’s pretty much it, isn’t it. We’re doomed.

No- look! Neve replied urgently. There’s a small turn over to your left- perhaps you can hide in there!

Liane limped as fast as she could around the corner- and skidded to a stop.

Dead end… commented Ria, coolly.

Yes, thank you for stating the obvious! Liane replied furiously. The end of the chasm ended in a sheer, almost directly vertical sheet of rock. She was stuck in a small pathway that was completely cut off from the view of everywhere else. Spike’s running footsteps sounded closer and closer. Frantic, she looked around for someway to escape. What to do, what to do…. There was no way she could scale the wall in time even with the help of her sisters, and there was only one small overhang…. She whirled around, unwilling to give Spike the easy target of her back. As she gazed at the pathway, waiting and despairing for what came next, something caught her eye above it. A plan suddenly formulated in her mind.

I’ll do it, Neve said quietly.

Are you sure you’ll be able to? Liane asked, concerned. We don’t have a bow-

I’ll use Ria’s dagger. Neve replied, more insistent. Trust me, it’ll work.

Liane turned control over to Neve, eyes turning a bright green. Neve unsheathed Ria’s dagger and twirled it, crouched slightly and ready to move.

Spike paused before rounding the corner. He couldn’t hear her footsteps any more… either she got away, or she was waiting in ambush. He slowly and silently poked his head around the corner. He couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw her predicament. Dead-end, eh? Just my luck I suppose. But where- Ahhhh, there she was, glaring defiantly towards him with bright green eyes and dagger twirling between her fingers.

He pulled his head back around the corner with a slight shiver. There was something about the way her eyes changed color that creeped him out. She had managed to kill Blaze too- something he hadn’t deemed possible. Better to kill her now. Spike stepped entirely around the corner, guns up and ready to fire. Before he could pull the trigger however, the girl threw the dagger with such speed that he could barely see it. With his own inhuman speed he dropped to the ground, only to watch the dagger soar far above him, towards the top of the canyon. He laughed. His luck had held up once again.

Still chuckling slightly, he got to his feet to face his now-weaponless opponent. He raised his gun and pointed it at her head, ready to fire. The girl, however, was not looking at him at all. Rather, her now purple eyes were still fixated towards the place she had thrown the dagger. Confused, Spike glanced up.

Directly above him sat a small rock. This rock had been there since the first small river had run through the canyon. Over time, larger rocks had fallen atop of it- thanks to earthquakes and other erosion occurrences. It had balanced this weight atop of itself for over three hundred years- until a sharp, shiny object had flown out of nowhere and knocked it free. With a groan, it finally released its heavy, deadly load--- onto the head of the green-haired man below.

When the dust finally settled, Liane was standing in the center of the clearing, facing the large mound of boulders. A hand was sticking out from under the heap, unmoving.

Hm, she thought. That went pretty well, compared to the other ones.

Aye, it sure did. Karakel agreed.

Now we just have to get out of here. Ria said.

Good point… Liane mused.

Neve laughed slightly. Those rocks serve not only as a weapon, but also as an escape route.

Liane looked up. The pile of rocks nearly touched the top of the edge of the canyon. Ah, they do. She glanced at the hand once again, then stepped towards the boulders and sighed. Well then… shall we?

Her eyes turned a bright green, and she began working her way up the mound.

-----

One shall live. But which one?

[Idea master]

Liane wins, Blitz dies.

Round four: Aeger the elementalist VS. Liane in the Asylum. Winner will go on to face the Big Bad.

Also, the new blood, Henry Chatfield, will go up against Edward, the roaming angel, in the forest.

In the meantime, another interlude!

This is risky, Mage.

IM looked back at the beast from the edge of the chamber. "Yes, but required. I gave them life, and I may require them to give it back to me."

IM then turned his attention back to the tank of viscous liquid. Inside were the remains of Blitz, gathered freshly after his last battle. IM had to use an illusion spell and pretend to be a nurse to get them. Sitting next to it was another tank, this one holding the floating body of Rathier, and beside that, the meaty chunks of Xavier were slowly bobbing up and down.

Not all of them, Mage. Not all of them. Some are NOT yours.

IM grinned. "And it's because of that fact that they are so important. You will see why."

A few tanks further down held ashy remains, all that was left of Mikeal and Ratfink. Small spots of blood left on their crystals had provided samples of DNA. A little ways down, Spike Spegiel and Liathel floated serenely.

"I was skeptical at first when you said this facility had means to bring the dead back, but now that I know, I think I'm going to enjoy it! This means that my plan can be altered and succeed on a more drastic scale!"

I fail to see how, Mage.

"Think on it for a moment. These are Characters. They have a link to their Authors, whoever or wherever they may be. I'm the Idea Master. I can find and trace that link. In what way is being able to invade Author's minds NOT a good thing?"

The beast laughed. They will be yours? How delightful. This whole thing was a trap after all.

"Indeed. And the best part is that they won't be able to see it coming until it's far too late. The fights were fun and all, but now, it's time for the real prize. Control and domination over my homeland, and from there, with your aid, EVERY land."

[The White Blacksmith]

Ooh! Twisty and Turny plot time!

So what, this is going to be an If-tale?

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Well, well, what do we have here? You intend to seize IF?

And some newby blood to shed too. :lol:

[DeadManWalking]

does this mean the authors of the characters will make entrances?

As mind-zombies or something.

[Idea master]

Well that's the secret, isn't it? Whichever of the two that live can TRY to stop me and the Big Bad from our dastardly plan.

If they fail, then it will fall to Henry Chatfield.

And if HE fails...you're all in a heap of trouble.

[DeadManWalking]

no chance of any of the characters deciding he/she/they want in on the plan?

[Idea master]

I'm evil that way.

They're only useful so I can find their Authors.

So no, not really.

[The White Blacksmith]

Surely if the location moves to If, other Ifians will have a chance of stopping them?

[The Meaning Of Fear]

But I doubt IM would be willing to make his move on IF before assuring himself of the location of the authors of the competitors, double, and triple checking. Not to mention it will probably take some time for the Big Bad to reach IF, or even get off the island. I trust that IM won't be mobilising without it's help.

[Idea master]

Well, your first fight this round is a bit of a disappointment. It seems- wait, getting ahead of myself. I'll let you look.

Round four, fight one! Aeger VS. Liane. The following is Aeger's series of events.

Aeger limped towards the ominously looming fortress of the Asylum. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t actually a very tall structure, but it just had that quintessential feel of loominess, that surpassed its diminutive size.

Aeger winced as he foot hit an unseen rock. Despite three day’s of restive slumber, not all of his injuries had healed.

He leaned on a makeshift shaft, feeling the rain from the storm that only added to the ominous feel of the night around. Only the bright lights of the Asylum kept the world from complete darkness.

Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, and Aeger looked up to the skies, feeling the air currents that towered to form a massive thunderstorm more ominous than any human creation.

Lightning flashed again, and Aeger reached out and… tweaked. The lightning struck the ground beneath his feet, and the mud sizzled as the world turned a sudden blinding white.

Aeger almost laughed in exhilaration. The last twenty days on this island, hellish as they had been, had put him leaps and bounds closer to what he had once been.

Thunder rolled.

Aeger walked forward towards the squat buildings of the Asylum, almost slipping in the mud. He looked up at the winds and the storms, and frowned, concentrating. Then his mind left his body, and he was one with the winds, soaring up higher and higher. He hovered there, a wisp of thought, watching the patterns of the sky and the storm. Then he started to reach out, to tweak the clouds, so that the moon could shine down and the rains would stop.

He almost didn’t sense it. If it had been a second later, he probably wouldn’t have, complicated as the winds were.

But his ears heard a slight whistling, and his mind sensed a parting of the air, and he tore his mind away from the silky sky and back to his body and he leapt backwards, abandoning the makeshift staff, felt a line of fire slash across his chest, and tumbled into the shadows carved into the world by the lights of the Asylum.

Lightning flashed, and he caught the outline of a figure with a bow. It walked forward, an arrow at the ready, green eyes peering into the darkness.

Aeger concentrated, his palm touching the ground as green ink became a mass of writhing vines that slid across his skin, and the staff he had abandoned flowered and bloomed, growing branches that creaked oakily as they grabbed for the figure.

It must have heard the creaking, or it may have simply sensed danger, but it leaped away, turning with a black sword suddenly in hand, so quickly drawn it seemed to appear from the night around it. The figure didn’t jump quickly enough, however, as the bow now stood wrapped in solid fingers.

The figure whirled around again, scanning the woods like a starved tiger, silver eyes gleaming despite the lack of light, ignoring the mud and the rain.

Aeger snuck around the side, moving slowly, trying to synchronize his sounds with that of the rain and of nocturnal animals. He must have succeeded, for the figure didn’t turn. He waited for the figure to turn to scan the darkness opposite, then he charged, red tattoos on his hand bursting into flames.

Lightning flashed. Aeger noticed his opponent was a woman, tall, with a long braid. His eyes saw the picture and saved it, and the world was moving in slow motion, because the tip of the woman’s black sword was up and he couldn’t dodge it, and his mind had jumped into hyperdrive. The silver-eyed woman was grinning, her eyes gleaming with a predatory light, and he was about to skewer himself on the sword, and he was moving too fast to stop….

He tripped over a branch hidden in the mud, and he tumbled into her and the glistening black point went over his head and then they both tumbled to the ground struggling. He had hold of her arm, but she was wearing armor which refused to give. Thin trickles of metal were running down in rivulets away from his burning palm, and he got a glimpse of bared teeth….

Then he saw stars as her other hand hit the side of his head, and he rolled away over the mud.

His vision cleared and he stood, facing the black sword and its silver-eyed wielder, watching as she licked her lips and sent the sword tip weaving and bobbing slowly, waiting for him to crack.

Aeger pointed his hand forwards and concentrated, his eyes closing for a mere moment. He found the power of the sky building, waited for it to stab down towards the ground, and about a hundred feet before he hit the ground, he deflected it, sending it towards where the woman stood.

He probably shouldn’t have closed his eyes, because when he opened them to the roar of thunder and the crash of lightning hitting the ground before him, he also saw the lightning silhouetting a sword leaping towards his throat. He leaped backwards, out of reach of the sword, ducking and weaving to avoid the black metal. But the woman kept on coming, her silver eyes smiling. He was driven back through the mud, unable to do anything useful, for if his attention wavered at all he surely would have been skewered by the sword that blended in so well with the surrounding night.

His back hit something, and he ducked, and heard a thunk where his head had been. He looked up to see the sword stuck deep into a tree.

This was his chance.

The flames on his hands extinguished themselves, and the red flickering tattoos became deeper, more solid, and a dark brown color, though it looked black in the darkness.

He swung his rigid hand forward, using the new weight to his advantage and his petrified hand hit the armor, denting it and sending the woman flying backwards.

He got up, returning his hand to flesh, and walked to the woman lying in the mud, her silver eyes closed. Her black sword lay next to her, and-

Wait. The sword had been stuck in the tre-

Her leg shot out and caught him in the knee, and he fell backwards, his fall cushioned by the mud. But before he could scramble to his feet, she was standing there, her sword at his throat.

She laughed a laugh with a predatory edge that spoke of enjoyment and savagery.

She pulled the sword back for the killing thrust, her silver eyes laughing along with her voice. The sword came forward….

Then her eyes seemed to flicker purple for the briefest moment, and her sword hand twitched, and instead of entering his heart it entered his stomach, and the pain was like a red hot lance.

Horrified purple eyes looked out at him from the woman’s face, replaced quickly by brown eyes that looked disdainfully at his slowly dying body, before crouching down to go through his pockets expertly. She searched his pockets, missing the dark brown pouch he wore around his neck.

His thoughts roamed as he laid there, his blood mixing with the mud as the rain pattered down.

Incoherent thoughts rambled through his head, as his mind seized on everything but the blood soaked up by that dark hungry blade.

The clouds, the rain, the trees, the woman.

This woman was curious. Her eyes….

He had seen four different people in those eyes, each with a different color. Green, silver, purple, and brown. And each had been a different person. He hadn’t seen the face of the green-eyed one, but with the other three…. In the same way that men can look at clouds and suddenly see prancing horses, her face had changed. Nothing had really shifted as such, but a predatory face suddenly became that of a timid teenager, then a cold-eyed thief.

They each had remarkable personalities, he thought, as the brown-eyed figure started checking his boots. It reminded him of…. What was that game? He had used to play it all the time, back before that battle. It had been a way to hone his mind, and every gentlemen had needed to know how to play.

The green-eyed one was like the Hawk, a piece that floated around the board, scurrying around. It was piece mainly used in the defense of the Royal Pieces, neatly slicing out the heart of enemy movements.

The silver one was like the Wolf, an aggressive piece that could move in all directions. It was a piece often used as sacrificial, but skilled players could defend it simply by using it to destroy all the threats before they could attack. Like the Wolf, the silver-eyed one kept death away from herself by dealing death to others.

The brown-eyed one was like the Minister, or, as Eastern Versions called it, the Spider. It was a piece that didn’t have that much use as a single piece, but its move style meant that it was used in almost all of the most complex strategies. Only the simplest strategies didn’t use the Minister as a support piece.

And the purple one…. The purple woman was a mystery. Only a glimpse of her, but she had showed mercy. When the sword had stabbed down, she must have shifted the sword away from his heart. Much good that had done. Perhaps she was like the Prince, or the Princess, as some called it instead, a piece of little use, unless you got it across the board, where it could become a third member of the Royal Family.

His thoughts turned inward as the Spider, as he now thought of her, gave a grunt of disgust.

What was he, exactly? He used to see himself as the Emperor. But that was before he lost his hand, he used to play all the time. But since then…. He hadn’t had the time.

He should play sometime.

Oh, right. His mind was brought back to his condition as the Spider flipped him onto his face, to search for pockets there.

As his nostrils began to fill with mud, he remembered a piece that he had never really used. The Torch Bearer. Or the Worm. Those who used it had always used it almost independently, and, in the style of the fables of poor palace stable boys and such who had risen to great heights, it shared a similar pattern with the Princess. When it reached the end, it would become a Knight, or the Dragon in the Eastern cultures, a piece almost of the Royal Family, but not quite. To summon the Knight, one had to sacrifice every other piece on their side. Anyone who got a Knight could almost certainly win the game, even if they had lost all of their Royalty, even despite the other handicaps. Since the Knight had so much power and was such a versatile piece, the rules stated that anyone with the Knight would have to destroy every piece of the other side, instead of simply the Royal Family.

He heard another grunt of disgust, then felt a foot kick him over.

The Spider gave another grunt and started to go through his blood-soaked pockets again.
The pain was excruciating, but it halted his incoherent thoughts for a second, and he heard…voices.

Whispering voices, insane voices, that talked of death and dying, or previous lives, whispering over and over and never stopping, hundreds of voices, which came from… from the Sword.

Hundreds of voices, all talking about death.

He was going to die. He, the hero of so many battles, the advisor to so many kings and emperors, the ruler of the elements, was going to die.

And all he could do was lay there and wait.

His vision was blurring now. He could barely see the stars.

His eyes closed, and his breathing slowed.

NO!

Some hidden fragment, a coal banked, roared into flame and refused to die. The part of him that had sworn his oath of silence, that had decided that he WOULD return to his former self rebelled against the thought of entering the dark divide, and he reached out his hand…

And caught the Spider’s ankle, and his arm glowed with a mishmash of strange lights, and life was pouring into him like a waterfall.

Then, the figure kicked out, and his fingers separated from her ankle, and he still lay in the mud, a broken man. Except he wasn’t as broken as before.

His hand grasped the whispering sword, and he pulled it out, and the skin below it became unbroken, and pale. He noticed it, clean and black, then threw it aside.

He tossed the sword aside, staggering as pain from his torn organs hit him. Healed skin was the limit.

The Spider drew a long dagger, a small blue stone set in the pommel. It twirled expertly between her fingers, flying from hand to hand under the hands of the experienced hands of a street brawler. But her brown eyes, cold and calculating as they had been before, were nervous now, and he saw her lick her lips.

Still, her fingers remained firm,

He concentrated and flames sprouted from his hand, coiling up his arm and around his back, to end with a reptilian head, a dragon of flame. Raindrops sizzled as they hit the serpent’s head, creating steam that surrounded him in a shimmering veil.

He walked forward, and the Dragon belched out a tongue of flame, that lanced through the rain towards the Spider. Flames obscured the area totally, tree branches catching aflame in that inferno.

Then, a flicker of movement off to the left, and the Dragon turned its head, sweeping the flames across the clearing in front of the Asylum.

But the Spider was faster, keeping ahead of the flames, running in a tighter and tighter spiral until she was almost on him, then....

The Dragon lunged from behind his head, its fiery jaws opening wide to reveal flickering teeth.

The brown eyes widened in terror, the dagger coming up to meet the Dragon’s teeth.

Where that icy blade was, flames simply winked out extinguished by tendrils of frozen air, and the blade simply cut away the top half of the Dragon’s head.

The Spider saw a hole in the cage.

But then the Dragon grew two heads from the severed jaw, and the hole shrank.

Both heads were smaller, but they roared with the same furor of the old, and the struck like serpents, driving the Spider back.

Then, the Spider’s hand snapped back, then forward, and the icy of sliver of metal whizzed towards his slowly healing stomach. The dragons snapped at the dagger, but simply extinguished themselves, only to grow to four heads, then….

Aeger grasped the dagger in his hand, wincing as the icy blade ate into his tattooed hand. He had tried to grip the handle, but he had misjudged the speed.

He felt frozen tendrils wrap themselves around his fingers, numbing them, then an arrow whizzed through the air and hit him in the shoulder.

He stumbled back, looking up towards the Hawk, who held her now freed bow nocked with another arrow.

He snarled with effort, and the arrow in his shoulder started to burn. But instead of the fountain of flame he had hoped for, it was a pathetic smoldering.

Icy tendrils wrapped themselves farther up his arm.

He couldn’t feel his arm anymore. Flickering flames of ink gathered around the arm, fighting the ice, but inch by inch they were pushed back.

The Hawk hesitated, arrow aimed for his face.

Again he saw the dark divide, and he took a risk to avoid death.

The world went negative for a second, at least for him. He saw the white Asylum with its dark windows, and he saw the Hawk’s green eyes turn orange. Black was white, dark was light, the world was spinning, but….

Red was blue.

The world snapped back to the way it was, except that the flaming tattoos on his body were now a delicate snowflake pattern, in a frozen blue, and the icy tendrils had become a Dragon of Ice, a slithering gleaming clear serpent that nevertheless felt warm against his skin, and he dropped the dagger, the blood dripping from his hand freezing.

Then the Dragon, again one-headed, shot ice shards from its mouth, a withering blizzard of razor hail that could strip a body faster than a pool of piranhas.

And the Hawk fell under the storm; he saw her take cover behind what had been his staff, and was now a flourishing tree, as ice dug furrows into the wood.

The Dragon closed its jaws, and Aeger stepped forward, a sword of frozen water extending from his hand.

He walked forward through the mud and the rain, walking around the tree to find the Princess, the purple-eyed one, with a spear of ice in her leg, glaring at him defiantly.

He raised the sword, the fire that remained in him roaring for blood.

Then, he remembered the purple glint in the silver eyes before the sword had gone off course, then the horrified stare as she saw what had happened, and the icy blade evaporated, mist rising as the rain came down. He looked to the Dragon, which also evaporated into mist, but held its form for a moment, slithering between the raindrops up into the air, before becoming simply evaporated water.

Perhaps he was not so much like the Dragon after all.

He almost laughed for a second, as an amusing thought strikes him. Of all the people he has fought so far in this tournament, the woman below him, with four persons in one body, is the most sane.

He held out his hand, complete with blood dripping, for the woman to take.

She hesitated, then grasped it, his blood staining her armor.

He hoisted her up.

She winced at the pain in her leg, but stood straight despite it.

They both were silent for a second, before she spoke.

“Well I guess I should give you these then….”

She reached into a pocket of her armor and produced the crystal and the scroll.

He reached out to take it, but then the adrenalin evaporated and the world turned black.

The woman tries to catch the one-handed man as he falls, but her leg crumples as she catches him and she falls to one knee. The purple-eyed woman lowers him gently to the ground, then listens for a heartbeat. Satisfied with what she hears, she collects her weapons, sheathing first the sword, then placing the bow in her quiver. As she picks up the bloody dagger of ice, she hesitates, glancing at the prone figure of her opponent. She doesn’t move for almost a minute, arguing within, before wiping the dagger and returning it to its sheath. She returns to the man, hoisting him up with her arm, leg quivering under the strain, then turns to the lights of the Asylum and enters.

-----

The following is Liane's series of events.

Liane stepped noiselessly through the bright corridors, purple eyes flicking back and forth warily. The cleanness and sterility of the white walls unnerved her and her sisters, who were used to forestry and darkness.

So… who are we looking for again? Ria asked, in an attempt to take everyone’s mind off of the uneasy contrast between their own dirtiness and the walls cleanliness.

Aeger.

The name resounded in Liane’s mind as her sisters echoed it after her. Aeger… a name that sounded full of power and fire…

What do you guys think? Liane asked quietly. Do we have a chance?

Well, Karakel replied. We’ve made it this far, haven’t we?

Aye, Ria said calmly. But so has he.

Silence followed this statement as the sisters considered this. Their earlier fights had ended well for them, though this was partly due to luck.

I think we’ll just have to se what happens… and fight till we no longer can. Neve said slowly, still concentrating on walking silently through the asylum.

Still talking with her sisters, Liane rounded a corner and found herself in a wide, rectangular room with glass walls. As she stepped forward cautiously, a shrill scream laced with pain and hatred shattered the silence. Instinctively Liane unsheathed her sword and fell to a defensive stance, looking around wildly for the disturbance. There- to her left- a contorted face pressed to the glass wall of what she now saw to be a kind of cage. The mouth of the creature was wide open with the force of the scream, showing brown and broken teeth.

This… thing was once a man! Liane thought, too shocked to do anything but stand there gaping.

Another scream joined the first as another face pressed against the window of the cage to her right. This one had the vague shape of a woman, but it was all wrong; sharp and angular where there should have been curves, and her eyes… there was no sense of humanity in them. They were filled only with fear and dementedness, one that seemed extremely familiar..

Liane took one look at the things eyes, then turned around and ran. The eyes were just like hers had been, eight years ago. That fear, that confusion- memories rose unbidden to the surface of her mind. She ran blindly through the seemingly endless maze of corridors, trying to put those horrible eyes behind her, out of her mind. Her sisters were silent for once- stunned at the familiar sight.

She rounded another corner running full out- and was sent sprawling backwards. Bewildered, she looked up, unsure of what she had run into. Directly in front of her stood a man, clothed in loose trousers and a white shirt. All along his body ran a swirling tattoo, covering his arms in intricate patterns of blues, reds and greens. He was, however, missing his right hand. The man’s startled expression told her that he was just as surprised at the interruption as she was.

Neve took control for a brief second, just long enough to analyze the man as thoroughly as only a tracker could.

An aura surrounds him- filled with the magic of the elements, she said quickly. There is an especially strong aura in a pouch around his neck- most likely the crystal. I think this is definitely the Aeger guy we are supposed to fight.

Well then, Karakel said. Let’s get started. Liane could almost hear the grin in her voice.

Wait- she exclaimed silently, straining to keep Karakel from taking over. He might not know we’re a contestant-

There was a slight whistling sound followed by sudden pain in her shoulder. Liane looked over to see a golden needle quivering, impaled in the small place between her armor. The man was crouched in front of her, another needle in hand and ready to throw.

He knows, all right. Ria said.

Liane shuddered slightly as Neve took control, announcing her presence with bright green eyes, ever the same. She bent backwards and pushed herself up into the air, landing the back spring perfectly with Karakel’s sword in hand, the dark metal glistening eagerly in the bright light. The man’s eyes widened, but he remained silent. He seemed to concentrate for a second, tattoos seeming to glow a fiery red. His right hand burst into flame, and he looked up at Liane with a smile on his face. Before she could react, he leaped forward, blazing hand out and reaching for her throat. Neve sliced wildly at the man’s arm, forcing him to pull himself out of the way. He stepped backwards slightly, then raised his hand to a vertical position, the flames growing larger and larger.

Liane was filled with fear as she realized what this Aeger person was planning. Neve- run! She cried silently.

Neve took a single glance at Aeger, then turned tail and began running down the corridor, all thoughts of being quiet dispelled. A great wall of fire followed her down the hall, filling it with heat and the crackling of flames. Neve grimaced and bent her head, sprinting as fast as she could, just barely staying ahead of the flames. There- an open door. Neve leapt through it, somersaulting as she hit the ground, sword falling out of her grip and skidding across the floor. The fire passed the open doorway, continuing down the hall before dissipating.

Panting, Liane lay on the ground. Her eyes were flickering between green and purple as Neve lost the capability to stay in control. Footsteps resounded in the hall, getting closer and closer.

Liane cursed under her breath.

Well that was just swell, she muttered.

Interesting… Ria mused. Another fighter with control over the elements.

Aye, like the first one, Neve said, coughing. Except this one doesn’t use any visible way of controlling them, so we can’t cut him off from them.

As her sisters bickered, Liane clambered to her feet, reaching for her sword. She looked up, and froze.

The room was filled with the same glass cages as she had seen earlier, but there were only two large one\s, on either side of her. They were filled with the same creatures as before, their dead eyes fixed on Liane’s every movement. She stood in the middle of the room, sword hanging loose in her hand. Another small whistle- Liane ducked quickly and watched three or four needles fly over her head, impaling themselves in the far wall. She spun around to face Aeger where he stood in the doorway, his single hand now dark brown- almost black. Before she could attack, the man stepped forwards and swung his arm, hitting her in the stomach with a hand that felt like a rock. Winded, Liane stumbled backwards, bent nearly double and gasping for breath. Her thoughts seemed to disappear, save for one voice.

My turn, Karakel said, that maddening grin in her voice again. Unable to stop her, Liane felt her eyes change to a shining silver as her oldest sister gained control.

Karakel straightened and stood still for a single moment, enjoying the brief sense of control. She grinned and whirled around, sword lashing out and biting into Aeger’s side. He fell backwards, catching himself with a hand on the doorway. Karakel struck again, this time slicing his shoulder. She pulled her sword back, and stabbed at his heart- only to find her sword unmovable. Surprised, Karakel looked at Aeger. He was grimacing with pain, but he had caught the shining blade before it had reached his chest. Closing his eyes, he gripped tighter, and flames began leaping down the blade towards her hands.

With a wild curse, Karakel let go of the sword and leaped backwards. She drew her dagger and twirled it between her fingers, glaring furiously at Aeger. He glanced at her, then hurled the sword at her. She ducked, the sword flying over her head and burying itself in the wall behind her, cutting off a few stray hairs en-route. Enraged, Karakel stabbed at Aeger with the dagger, only to trip over his outstretched foot. She fell forwards, smacking into the glass wall. The dagger in her hand had made a deep scratch in the glass- a scratch all the creatures inside were looking at intently. Karakel glanced at them, then at the dagger, then back to the glass, silver eyes glinting.

Without a single word, she began gouging at the glass wall. The creatures followed her dagger, hungrily. More and more deep scratches appeared in the thick glass.

What… what are you doing? Liane stammered.

Karakel didn’t reply- focusing her energy on pushing the dagger as far into the glass as she could. There was a bright color in the corner of her eye- Karakel ducked and rolled away, grabbing at something as a punch from a flaming fist soared over her head, smacking directly into the deepest crack. Time seemed to stand still for a single moment; all the creatures pressed against the glass, Karakel on her knees a safe distance away, Aeger’s crystal in hand and triumphant look on her face, Aeger looking at the glass, a horrified expression on his face. Then, with the sound of an iceberg breaking away from a glacier, the glass shattered.

A bright light shone in the eyes of the creatures. A strange man stood in front of them, the feeling of fear around him. The bonds that they had none since infancy were gone. What was there left to do but ---

Fight.

As one, the creatures leaped out into the room, tackling Aeger and screaming like wild animals. Karakel ran over to the other side of the room and drove her dagger the glass wall, shattering it in a single blow. A second group of creatures joined the bloodthirsty mob of the first, burying Aeger under a screaming pile of murderous animals.

Eyes once again a pained purple, Liane looked at the crystal in her hand.

Just leave him, Liane. Ria said quietly. Now that we’ve got his crystal, he’s of no use to us. Better for him just to die.

Aye… Liane looked back towards the wild melee of squirming bodies. A flaming hand covered with familiar tattoos pushed it’s way through the mass, only to be covered once again by another three creatures.

It’s not like we’re the ones that are responsible for this, Karakel said, sullenly. I mean, it’s not our fault if he can’t fight his way through a bunch of measly-

“Oh, for the love of Marayna!” She yelled exasperatedly, both inside and out. She ran over to the wall where her sword was embedded and yanked it out with a tremendous effort. With a single cry, she ran towards the bloody, screaming pile of creatures and began hacking her way through. Clawed hands grabbed at her legs, but were unable to pierce the small plates of armor. They quickly lost interest in her, allowing her to cut her path more easily. Through the tangled mass of body parts, Liane glimpsed an arm covered in blood, underneath she could just barely see a black pattern. She threw her sword aside and grasped the arm with both hands. Grimacing as the blood stained her hands, Liane stepped out of the melee carefully, pulling the body of Aeger with her. The creatures didn’t seem to be interested in either her or Aeger, preferring to rip each other apart. Liane dragged the body out of the room, leaving a path of smeared blood behind her.

When they were finally out of the room and back in the corridor, Liane dropped the arm and fell against the door, slamming it shut. She slid her back down it, falling into a sitting position, purple eyes gazing at nothing.

Her sisters, who had been silent from shock through this entire time, now exploded with fury.

Are you out of your MIND? Karakel yelled, livid. This is an enemy! Not someone to just go and save!

We don’t even know if he’s alive or not, Neve pointed out.

If he is alive, he may actually be of some use later, Ria said thoughtfully.

But-

Aeger’s eyes cracked open, stopping the sisters’ arguments. He blinked once, revealing eyes of pure blue, then seemed to focus on Liane. She matched his stare, to exhausted to do anything but look. After a long moment, the edges of Aeger’s mouth twitched upwards in a sort of smile. Liane started, then smiled back. Aeger suddenly twitched, eyes rolling back into his head as he collapsed, unconscious. Liane grabbed his wrist, feeling for a pulse. Satisfied with what she felt, she replaced the arm on the floor and leaned backwards, resting against the door.

What comes will come, she whispered to her sisters. Any help we can get… She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-----

Welp, it doesn't look like much of a poll this time around - Aeger and Liane are teaming up no matter which way you vote! So there won't be one, sadly. In two day's time, the fight between Henry and Edward shall be up, and that one will have a poll.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

These two are smart. They figured the only way to stand a chance against the Big Bad was to team up on him.

But how in the world will you figure out who's writing the battle with the Big Bad without a poll? Unless they're both written by the same author, it seems rather impossible. Have you arranged them to meet and discuss their new round, perhaps?

[DeadManWalking]

i liked them both.

Except that the first had the weird game references and didn't actually take place inside the Asylum.

And the second references his right hand bursting into flame (i thought he only had a left hand?) and also the whole breaking teh crazies out of prison.

But besides those nitpicky things, both were pretty cool.

And I also wish to F5 Meanie's question.

[Idea master]

I will figure it out. Trust me.

Well, okay fine, don't trust me, but trust that I have a plan. Because I do.

[BlackAmaranth]

Ooh, tricky, tricky, you two o-) I'm looking forward to seeing where this goes...

[Idea master]

All right, guys and gals, here's round 4, fight 2! Henry Chatfield VS. Edward the Angel! The following is Edward's series of events:

Edward roamed through the forest, looking for something. He wasn't sure what just yet, but he knew something important was here. He could feel it. It was like someone was playing 'Hot-cold' with him. Every time he turned away from the direction the thing was, he got colder. Every time he was pointed in the right direction, he got warmer. There was this tingling anticipation all over, like ants were crawling on his skin. Whatever it was, he was close now...

And then Edward saw that it was not a thing he was looking for...but a man. A human, by the look of him. One that appeared to have stepped out of the middle ages. As Edward drew closer to this strange person, the tingling anticipation, along with the warmth, returned, and Edward now knew what they meant.

The man had not seen Edward yet, so he decided to introduce himself. "Hello there! Who might you be?"

The man turned to face Edward, and Edward saw that this man was probably only slightly older than himself, if that, by the lack of lines on the man's face. The man looked over Edward, probably making similar observations. It was only at this point in time that Edward noticed the man had a sword strapped to his belt. Normally that would be something you look for right off, but Edward was more interested in the things about this man that could have both attracted and repulsed his Angelic nature.

Edward snapped back to himself when he realized the man was speaking. "I'm Henry Chatfield. Who might you be?"

"Edward. Are you new here? I didn't see your name on the roster when this started."

"I just signed on. This place attracts all sorts of interesting people, I was hoping to find someone like myself."

"Oh?" Edward inquired. "And what might you be? I'm quite interested, myself."

Henry looked back and forth, scanning the environment, for what, Edward wasn't sure. Finally, he looked back at Edward and answered the question. "I'm sort of a mixture. I started human, but was turned into a vampire, and through weird happenstance events, also have the blood of an Angel. It makes for an interesting life, I'll tell you that much."

Edward hmmed a bit. "Holy, unholy, and in-between. I must admit, it does explain a few things. Like why the parts of me that are Angelic were both drawn here and repulsed from you. Why I feel a kinship with you, and why you don't seem to be beset by vampire hunters. Now let me explain a few things about myself."

Edward began climbing a tree, and while he was doing so, he talked to Henry. "My life was the ordinary, dull gray everyone has. Grow up, get educated, find a way to make a living, produce the next generation, grow old, and die. However, I was more of a thinker than the world had planned for. When I had time to myself, I would contemplate the nature of the world, life, and everything."

By this time, Edward had found a sturdy branch and was hanging upside down. "I eventually found the secret to being happy. I tried to share it with people, but they dismissed it as being stupid, and me with it. I grew more frustrated, and then turned to God. He heard my pleas, and molded me into an Angel, giving me the sight to see the spiritual. I saw that there were demons on the people, keeping them ignorant of the simple truths that I had found, and I swore that I would kill them all and spread the word wherever I went."

Edward swung back and forth on his branch, looking at Henry. Henry looked like he was taking this sudden rush of information in a bit slowly. "So you're here because there are demons here?"

Edward sighed. "If only. No, I'm here because God sent me here to destroy a source of great evil. I know that it's in the Asylum itself, but I need another crystal to open the door. Who or whatever is running this installed a security system recently, and those without two crystals can't get in to the depths. And since you've told me you're a contestant..."

Edward dropped from his branch and landed in front of Henry.

"I'll have yours."

Edward raised his coffee mug to his lips and gulped audibly, draining it dry and looking at Henry. Edward's eyes were alight with holy power, and his wings unfurled behind him. Edward casually tossed the mug aside and charged at Henry, his fists clenched and blazing with power. Henry managed to dodge Edward's attack, but only just.

"Look, if you'll wait for just one minute-!"

Edward didn't wait. It was no longer in his nature. He had one objective: Get the crystal, so he could get into the depths of the Asylum, so he could complete his mission that God had given him. There was no longer any reason, just the thought of doing what he had to do.

Henry didn't want to have to hurt the kid. "Gah! This isn't working! And the rules state I can't lose my crystal without being disqualified! There has to be a way..."

He was then struck by an idea. One that probably would work in his favor. Henry turned to the Asylum just barely visible in the distance, and ran. Due to his somewhat unique heritage, he could run farther and longer than any human. Edward would have to work to keep up with him, and hopefully, by the time he got to the Asylum, Edward would be willing to listen to reason. Maybe then they could form a truce and see what was in the depths of this place.

Time would tell.

-----

The following is Henry's version of events:

Fiddling absent-mindedly with my scarf, I looked over the letter again… Edward, eh? This competition was really something… They give you the name of your opponent, and leave you at that. Thank goodness it wasn’t being held in a populated area, or I’d never find-

My train of thought was broken by yet another obtruding root in my path. Stumbling and then quickly regaining my balance, I swore and kicked the offending plant. Even my heightened senses weren’t of much use in this area… What use was superior vision when there were about fifty trees blocking your line of sight at any time? And the fog… don’t even get me started on the fog. Luckily, when you’re in the woods, you’re mostly protected from it… mostly. There’s still enough to obscure the countless, absolutely endless amount of branches and other similar objects that I always seem to trip over.

I sighed, and continued my sluggishly slow walk. It wasn’t only the poor visibility, either. These woods… heck, the entire island… It gave off a feeling, a stench, of secrecy. It was almost as if every single inhabitant or visitor here had some hugely horrible secret they would take with them to the grave. Shivering, I put my hand on my trusty Comet’s hilt for comfort.

Just then, I heard a voice somewhere close by. I focused on it, and realized that it was some sort of song, albeit a horribly off-tune and childish one.

“We all live in a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine, a yellow submarine!”

It seemed to be getting closer, but very, very slowly. It looks (or, rather, sounds) like whoever was coming has the same problems as I did when it comes to tripping over things.

Turning to face the direction of the song, I squinted. There was what appeared to be an old forest track extending out before me, and about fifty or so metres in front, was a kid (well, closer to teen, but you know what I mean), whose clothes were, to say the least, tattered. He didn’t seem to be much of a threat to me, except maybe destroying my sense of hearing, so I relaxed and walked forward to greet him.

“Hey there,” I called out, trying to sound friendly. I figured anyone would want a companion in a place like this. I certainly did.

The boy stopped his singing (Thank God!) and looked at me with a sort of peculiar expression.

Then he grinned in a rather disturbing, but non-threatening way, and was about to say something, when all of a sudden, he froze. His eyes probed me with extreme concentration. That piercing gaze felt like it was staring to the very depths of my soul. A strange, nostalgic emotion came over me, and I realized I’d been looked at like this before.

Elizabeth’s mother was like this, too… I thought, This is an angel.

“Excuse me,” he said, his expression now something halfway between confusion and curiosity, “For not replying right away. Are you Henry Chatfield?”

“Yes,” I replied, trying hard to look him back in the eyes (and failing), “You would be Edward, then.”

He quickly retrieved a metallic-looking container, which I presumed to hold some sort of beverage, from his person.

“Before we start, I think I’ll ask you something,” he said, eyes warily watching my sword, “What are you? You feel holy, but at the same time, you feel like a sinner, or evil of some sort.”

I was only mildly surprised, and even then I shouldn’t have been. My various meetings with angels (or, specifically one angel and a half-angel) had familiarized me with some of their lower powers, and this rather keen perception is no exception.

“You’re right,” I replied after a pause, “I guess the simplest way to explain is to tell you that I’m part vampire, and part angel.” I hesitated, and then added “Part human too.”

“Do you come here to do His will?”

This rather abrupt question startled me. “No,” I replied, “I’d heard that there were some peculiar people coming to this competition, and I wanted to know if any of them were vampires. If there are any, I guess I’d try to convince them to go back with me…”

“Can’t you just give me your crystal? You’re angelic, at least in part, so I don’t want to be killing you, now.”

Nor do I want to kill you, I thought.

“No,” I answered after a lengthy think, “I don’t think I will. If there’s something important enough here to dispatch an angel for it, I’d like to take a look, too.”

“How’d you know what I am,” he asked, looking for like he was just in a casual conversation with some sort of passerby, “Well, who cares. I’ll try not to kill you too badly.

With practiced ease, I drew Comet and held it in a position where it would be easier to parry any of my adversary’s attacks.

“Whoa, hold up!” he cried, lifting his mug to his mouth, “I haven’t had my coffee yet!”

He drained the contents of the strange looking mug, sighed contentedly, and stared at me with insane eyes.

FOOLISH MORTAL! YOU HAVE DEFIED THE WILL OF GOD AND WILL NOW BE PUNISHED!

Angelic wings sprouted from behind him, unfurling to their full glorious length. He swiftly raised a hand, and shot glowing bolts at me.

With years of experience of having things flung at me, I dodged to the side and took cover behind a tree. If it weren’t for my increased reflexes and physical ability, though, I would’ve been toast. Well, maybe not toast, since I’m rather resilient to holy attacks, but I’d still be slightly warm bread.

I heard his wings flap, and immediately I could tell that he had taken flight. That was definitely not good for me, because I could never outrun a flying person, and because, since I couldn’t fly myself, it was almost impossible to attack him.

He flew unimaginably quickly around to my side of the tree, and shot some more divine energy at me. I dodged to the side again, the ball of energy missing me by a hair’s breadth. Instead, it hit the tree, and smashed a large section of the trunk where it hit.

No longer able to take its own weight, the remaining wood cracked, and the tree began to fall towards Edward. Unfortunately he was able to dodge it with ease, but now it looked like I had a method of retaliation!

Taking cover behind another of the huge plants, I waited for him to fly around.

“You must be stupid! How can you think I would fall for a trick like that?”

He and his glowing wings flew around again, but this time he flew in a sharper curve, and was charging in from my right side, rather than my front.

Oh Cr-

A strong blast hit me in the flank and propelled me a number of metres away, where I lay on my back, gasping for breath. It wasn’t the divine force of the blast that bothered me; I could deal with that. It was the sheer impact of it. It didn’t seem to have broken any ribs, but it had burned into my clothing and my flesh. This kid must really be something!

I couldn’t just lay flat on the ground and admire his powers, though. I got up as quickly as my wound would allow, and picked up Comet, which lay beside me, with my left hand. With my right, I covered my wound with my coat.

“No more playtime!” I roared. To be honest, I sounded far more menacing than I felt.

After narrowly dodging two of this maniac’s attacks, a taking one in the side, I’d gotten slightly more used to his attack pattern. He was doing some relatively low flying, and only using his wings to boost his speed rather than his height. That gave me a tiny opening right when he does his straight charge at me, right before he fires his bolts. I figured it was worth trying, but it would probably only work once before he knew what I was trying to do.

Once again Edward did another of his fly-bys, swooping in a curving arc around me, whilst wildly blasting off golden balls of energy at me. I ran parallel to him for the most part, jumping over and ducking under his shots. Then there was a sudden change in his movements, as he prepared to close in on me.

That’s my cue.

Instead of dodging to the side like I did before, I ran forward to meet his attack. He didn’t seem awfully surprised at this, much to my disappointment, and he held out a hand to intercept me with a projectile.

In this, however, he was wrong. Previously, while I had been trying very hard to avoid his attacks, I never really did run, opting for rolling and similar movements to dodge his ranged attacks. This boy had been counting on an ordinary pace for my run (not to mention not being able to jump high enough), and if I was human and how somehow survived all his other attacks, I’d probably had been fried.

But I’m not human. I’m… well, a vampire-angel-human thing.

I had gotten close enough to him as he was preparing to shoot me, and so I jumped. I ducked my head under his outstretched arm, pointed the tip of my blade to his heart, and thrust.

I’m not exactly sure if what happened next was a blessing or a curse, but at the time, it seemed a whole lot like a curse. To be specific, Comet stopped moving.

I felt my sword stop within an inch of his breast, and now instead of running him through and then impaling him on a tree, I couldn’t stop my momentum, and did a rather awkward full-body tackle, knocking Edward out of the air.

As you might well imagine this was by no means comfortable for either of us. He landed a couple of metres away, quite winded, and struggled to recover. I, while probably better off than he, had only just gotten back on my feet, and was trying to figure out just why Comet didn’t pierce him. Could it be that my holy blade refused to kill the holy?

I limped over to the boy, still lying on the ground. His wings were actually giving him trouble this time round, being rather unwieldy, what with them being all outstretched and him being sprawled on the ground and all.

I raised my blade, and stabbed downwards. Seeing his danger, Edward flinched, and tried to roll to his side. This movement was also impeded by his wings.

Much to his surprise, and my despair, Comet once again stopped. I’m deprived of my only weapon whilst fighting an angel, I thought, Great. Just great!

And, as I stood there lamenting my poor fortune, the little freak folded his wings, sprang up, and tore Comet from my hands. As soon as I realized what happened, he was attacking. He started with a horizontal slash from his right (badly pulled off, too), which I ducked, and followed up with a thrust, which I neatly sidestepped. His movements were slower, now, which encouraged me to no end. At least I knew he was getting tired too.

I still didn’t hold the advantage, however, as he was the one trying to cut me up with a sword, and I was the poor unarmed person trying to not get cut up. Fortune smiled on me, though, as this boy was a poor swordsman (compared to me. No, this is not blatant boasting), and I could avoid his slashes and stabs with ease.

“What’s the matter, squirt?” I said, trying my hand at a bit of goading, “Caffeine running low on you?”

It certainly had a larger effect than I ever dreamed of. I’m not sure whether he took offence at this, or I’d simply hit the bulls eye, but he attack with renewed vigor and a roar. At this rate, I couldn’t outlast him.

I saw my chance to turn the tables when he tried to decapitate me with a vicious overhead swing, which I once again sidestepped. I didn’t give him another chance to follow up, though; I grabbed his wrist, and with my foot I hooked his leg which made him fall rather comically to the ground. I retrieved my sword despite its complete uselessness in this situation, and crouched next to his fallen body, with the idea of knocking him out in mind.

I’d completely forgotten about his bolts, though, and it was at this moment that he reached out a hand, which glowed with the power he was putting into his attack. The air practically vibrated with the intense concentration of energy.

I was shocked at the sheer strength of the imminent blow, and when the realization came that I should run, it was too late. Edward’s palm glowed like a shining, bright aurora, and it looked like I was a goner.

Before he could shoot me, though, he gave a groan, and passed out.

I couldn’t believe my luck. The kid ran out of power at the last moment.

Heart still pounding from the unbelievably dangerous situation, I began my search for Edward’s crystal. I found it in a few seconds, as there weren’t really that many places to hide it on his person. At the same time, I found his letter, too, which I decided I should pocket as well.

I was just rising to leave, but it felt a bit unethical to leave the poor kid, with all his tattered clothes, on the ground. I wrapped my scarf around his neck, which was more charity than I thought he deserved. Whilst doing so I saw his coffee-container laying on the ground in rather poor shape some metres away.

I kicked it viciously for all the trouble it gave me, and set off with my first victory. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized it wasn’t such a good idea to give him the scarf.

Elizabeth is going to KILL me!

-----

No death, but who goes on? I leave it to you.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

I like Edward's background info, but his part is a bit shorter than what he used to have.

Would Aeger, Liane, and the survivors (well, that's not quite right. Made-it-out-of-there-ers, shall we say?) of this fight meet in the Asylum? I understand its a rather big and weird building and all, but since their all going to the same place.

[DeadManWalking]

huh

Edward seems reluctant to actually have a real battle.

I kinda liked Henry's version of this; i couldn't help but noticing, tho, that he seems to have the only first person perspective in this competition so far.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Well, if IM isn't going to say it, I might as well do it.

*Steals wizardly clothes and pointy hat*

The poll is closed, and the winner has been decided!

Edward wins and moves on to the Asylum's round (although, in accordance to his story, Henry will be the one leading him... confusing).

*Takes off old and dusty mage clothing*

Kinda regretting not voting in this one now.

[Idea master]

True, true. I was waiting for the poll to close on its lonesome.

Anyways, now for an interlude! Titled:

Something old, something new

IM sat in the depths of the Asylum as usual, contemplating the rune patterns. Hmm. This one like so...had he made an error? The patterns would do the job, yes, but maybe they could do it more efficiently...

There was a woosh noise from behind, and IM knew what it was. "Ah. Come to see your brother, have you?"

Blaze walked into the room, a bit confused at the sight before him. "How did you know it was me?"

IM turned around and smiled. "Because, dear boy, I made you. With these hands, I piled the materials needed. With this mind, I gave you form from my innermost madness. You are but a Character, and I...I am your Author."

Blaze reeled as if struck. "No. No, that can't be true! I have a mission, a life, a purpose!"

IM waved a hand. "I planted those in your mind to give you a greater sense of self. Not all Characters are as lucky, you know. I took great pains to make sure you were mostly complete. But all I have to do is say one thing to make your mind shatter."

IM glared at Blaze. Just as he was about to open his mouth and deliver the final words, Blaze fired off a fireball at IM's head. IM easily dodged the flames. The flames continued to travel and puncture one of the chamber's many orbs. This would later be regarded as the point when everything changed.

The Grimm Characters are unique in that they have a sort of energy that no other Character possess. It is this energy which makes them respected and feared. It has been appropriately labeled 'Grimm' and, when extracted, becomes a sort of blackish ooze. When exposed to air, the Grimm gives off a black mist that slowly rises. This energy is what has fed the Big Bad Wolf for the past centuries.

When Blaze punctured the orb, he unwittingly opened a point for Grimm to escape, which it did. It also leaked into the runes in the floor, changing them from a pure white to dark black. The black coloring quickly spread, racing towards IM. The moment the Grimm reached IM, he knew what it was. It was old power from the realm of Idea, tainted and twisted by the Grimms long ago, and left to ferment like wine. And just like wine, it had grown more powerful with time.

IM absorbed the power of the Grimm, and laughed. The evil energy had upset his already fragile mind, causing him to fall into madness.

"Heheh. So, my creation fights for his non-existent life, eh? Well, since I'm in a good mood, I'll share with you a little secret about life I learned a while ago."

IM charged up a spell behind his back, letting Blaze see the growing black of the runes in the floor. Blaze suddenly realized that this was a Bad Thing, and moved to run.

IM, however, was done with his spell, and pointed one hand at Blaze. "The secret is...LIFE! IS! PAIN!"

A bolt of dark energy slammed into Blaze, knocking him into the distant wall and binding him there with more darkness. The Big Bad Wolf laughed his distorted laugh at this turn of events, and IM walked up to the bound Blaze.

"I'm in no mood to deal with you, but you're not just going to give up, are you? So I figure, I'm going to kill two birds with one stone. YOU'RE going to go out and stop one group from getting to me right away, while I deal with the other one. This way, I'm not overwhelmed. And it really doesn't matter to me if you live or die, so for me, it's a win-win! Now hold still..."

IM looked up at the Big Bad Wolf and nodded. The Big Bad laughed and cast one hand at Blaze, small chunks of the dark beast breaking off and sinking into Blaze's head. IM quickly cast a spell on Blaze, one that almost any Author could do. It was a spell of Character Domination, and it was used to make the Character do exactly as directed in the story.

"You will go to the entrance of the Asylum and stop the two of Angel blood from entering. Confirm."

"I will go to the entrance of the Asylum and stop the two of Angel blood from entering. Confirmed."

"Good. Execute."

IM snapped his fingers, and the bonds of darkness dissipated. Blaze fell to the floor, and when he looked up again, IM was very pleased. Blaze's eyes had been replaced by blackness from the Big Bad. Blaze stood still for a moment, and then he turned and left the way he came in, looking for the entrance to the Asylum so he could take up his post.

IM smiled to himself. "Now the only ones to worry about are..."

There was another Woosh noise. Another door had opened, and Aeger and Liane were behind this one.

IM turned to them and smiled. "Ah yes. You."

Round Five! It's getting to the endgame!

Aeger and Liane VS. The Big Bad and IM!

Henry Chatfield and Edward VS. Blaze!

Due to the circumstances, I will inform the Authors of Aeger and Liane who the other one is. This way, they can write a chapter together that might, conceivably, be capable of stopping my plans.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

You don't sound terribly convinced that they can beat you. :lol:

Anywho, best of luck to Aeger and Liane in their fight against the Big Bad and IM.

::EDIT::

100th reply to this thread. I feel specialz.

[Idea master]

...Due to...unforeseen delays, Henry Chatfield will lead Edward in a battle against Blaze. Soon.

[Masterweaver]

Whilst thou create another asylum?

[BlackAmaranth]

Ooh, that'd be fun, I didn't have a chance to enter this one...

[Idea master]

Oh, right. Story thing. Sorry.

Round Five, Fight 1! Henry Chatfield and Edward VS. Blaze!

Why yes, I AM putting off the Big Bad fight until later, however did you guess?

The following is Blaze's series of events:

Darkness.

All that was left was darkness.

He could see his body perform, but he was no longer in control.

In a small, dark corner of his mind, all that was left of his will and sanity was curled up and sobbing to itself. There had been a time for fighting, but that time was past.

Now, he could do nothing, nothing to stop himself, nothing to stop the creature that had taken control of his mind.

He was as a puppet on a string.

-----

Henry and Edward had finally worn themselves out by the time they actually reached the Asylum proper.

"Hah...haaaah...Now will you listen to me?"

Edward, lying about three feet away from Henry, twitched his arms a little.

"You're just...lucky I can't...reach you..."

Henry groaned and propped himself up, casting his gaze onto Edward.

"So I suppose...You'll have to listen, then?"

Edward turned his head in Henry's direction.

"I suppose...so..."

Henry managed to prop himself up against a tree, and looked down on the exhausted adolescent.

"Now...whoever or whatever is behind those doors you mentioned earlier, it's a safe bet that they're a dangerous foe. I'd rather meet it with a friend than alone. So, shall we call it off and be partners for the time being?"

Edward tried to look furious, but couldn't pull it off, and merely sighed.

"I suppose. Now, if you'll kindly drag me inside to the nearest source of caffeine, I'll be of greater aid than as I am."

Henry grabbed Edward's upper torso and started to drag the young angel inside.

"You'll have to point it out for me, though, as I've no idea what it looks like."

-----

A few hours later, Edward put a mug of warm coffee to his lips, drank a little, and sighed.

"That is exactly what I needed. Now for more."

Edward finished off his cup, and then proceeded to drain the entire pot dry. Henry looked on, wondering if this was safe.

"Are you sure that you're going to be all right? That's an awful lot of coffee..."

Edward wiped his mouth on his sleeve, leaving a very large brown stain on his otherwise white clothes.

"I've drunk more than this before and lived. Now, if I recall correctly, the door into the depths should be in this direction..."

Edward got up from his chair and began going through the halls of the Asylum, tracing a path that would put a lab rat to shame. All the while he was muttering directions to himself, probably so that he wouldn't get lost. After ten minutes of walking, Edward and Henry stood before a set of doors that were roughly twenty feet high. On either side was a small hole, about the size of the Idearium crystal Henry still carried.

"Well, you got us here. What was your plan for getting us IN, though?"

Edward shot a dirty look at Henry, and gave a curt 'Working on it' as he turned back to the door. Just as he was about to resort to 'Plan B for Blast', there was a rapport of 'clicks' from the door. Edward and Henry looked at each other, and slowly backed up.

A wise move.

Two seconds later, the massive doors ground open, and standing on the other side was a young man, clothed in red with fiery hair to match. He was looking at the ground in front of him very intently, but when Henry and Edward attempted to draw closer, his head snapped up. That was when his eyes became apparent, for they were not normal human eyes, but holes into darkness.

"My master," the boy hissed, "Bids thee welcome. I am your doom."

The boy clenched both arms, and fire appeared, dancing over his skin, but not consuming him.

Edward and Henry looked at each other. And, in unison, they assessed the situation.

"Not good."

-----

Blaze raged against the intruder in his mind again. "You can't make me do this! No! NO!"

The creature laughed. I made you for this purpose, Blaze, and you will fulfill it! I will have you fight them until you or they die. Rest assured, even if you win, you will die anyway, by my command! Enjoy your last few moments of life, for only now shall I unlock your TRUE potential!

Inside his mind, the last scrap of his free will and identity that was left of him became a puppet, and the creature that had taken it over had become the sadistic puppet master. And all the while, the creature laughed and laughed.

-----

Edward and Henry had enacted plan C, which was now being creatively labeled. The action, however, remained the same: RUN AWAY.

It didn't help that they were being followed by a sentient firestorm intent on their destruction and capable of reading heat-patterns.

"We've got to do something! He's too fast to run away from, even for us!" Edward's only advantage were his wings and caffeine high, and both were capable of fading.

Henry had his inhuman strength and speed, but even he recognized the futility of the situation. "Like what? What could we possibly do?"

Edward attempted to shrug his shoulders and nearly tripped. "I dunno, let's split up and see if he chooses one of us over the other. Maybe the person he doesn't go for can sneak up behind him and try to catch him off-guard? If that happens, I've got a few tricks I can pull that might snap him out of it!"

"Snap him out of what? What are you blathering on about?" Henry was, at the very least, confused.

"Didn't you see his eyes? They were black, which, I think you'll agree, is not normal for humans. It is normal for possessed people to have differently colored eyes, since 'eyes are the window to the soul'. I've normally only dealt with red eyes before, but hopefully black ones indicate a weaker demon than I'm used to."

The two fleeing angelic entities were coming up on an intersection.

"Okay, fine kid, you've got a point. I'll go right, you go left. Hopefully he can't come after both of us at the same time. With my luck, it's a very real possibility."

The two angelic entities split up, and Blaze was forced to stop and look down both hallways. Down one, he sensed the same life-sign he'd been tracking, whereas down the other...nothing.

And so, Blaze went running after Edward, an avalanche of flames following closely behind.

Henry looked behind him at the receding firestorm. "Well, I guess that means I better sneak up behind the bugger and surprise him so the kid can do his thing."

-----

In Blaze's mind, the little puppet that symbolized all that was left of him smiled. "Hah! I knew it! You were tricked!"

Impossible, child. I used your abilities to find them, and I shall use your abilities to END them.

"You forgot, I can read heat signatures, but that only applies to things that are alive."

The being that had taken Blaze's mind was befuddled for a moment. But...then that would mean...

"I clearly saw two beings in the hallway, and I clearly saw them split up. Maybe you should take better inventory, huh?"

The thing controlling Blaze let out a howl, and all was black again.

-----

Edward kept running. Hopefully he would be able to find a big enough room, or one with something in it for him to hide behind. This firestorm couldn't follow him forever!

Edward ran into a room with huge tanks of green fluid. Hopefully this would make a good place to hide from the inferno-causing kid, and maybe he'd be able to perform the exorcism without backup. It was unlikely, but he should at least read the rites, in case help wasn't coming.

Edward peeked out from behind one of the tanks and saw the flames enter the room, carrying the boy with them. Slowly, they died out, and the boy cast his gaze around. Even as those eyes fell on him, Edward shuddered, for it felt like they had pierced his very soul. Edward began reciting the rites of exorcism, all the while wondering where Henry was.

"I know you're in here. I'm just looking for your friend. Don't get any illusions that I could be caught unawares by anything you could do. Your friend is another matter. Apparently, I can't track the dead, but when I find him, I will burn him to ash."

At that point in time, Blaze got clonked upside the head with the flat of Henry's sword. The fire-wielding kid turned around to face the hybrid, and growled. It was at that time that Edward jumped out from behind the tanks of green fluid and cast his exorcism at the fired-up youth.

Edward did NOT expect the result of his spell to drag him into the young one's mind. Usually, the demon was just cast out, and the person was whole again, and afterwards, there was much rejoicing. More difficult ones made him physically exhausted. To be able to drag him in meant that he was fighting a very powerful demon.

And what's worse, I'm not prepared for it!

-----

Suddenly, within Blaze's mind, there was a light to pierce the darkness. It seemed to stem from a new person, one with wings. Blaze tried to move closer to whoever it was, but found himself incapable. So he'd have to resort to talking to get this person's attention.

"Whoever you are, help me! I can't control myself anymore! I'm just this thing's puppet!"

Edward groaned and got up, looking about for the voice. There, at the edge of his vision, was a puppet very much resembling the boy he was fighting. Whoever or whatever had possessed this boy had almost completely subjugated him to its will. It was therefor his duty to save this boy and cast out the evil spirit.

As Edward drew closer to the boy, he noticed some of the puppet-like traits vanishing. His joints reappeared, and he wasn't as wooden or stiff. Finally, the strings burst into flame, dropping a human boy to the ground. Edward was pleased with his work for a moment.

Then he heard something above him shift and growl. Edward looked up. He did not like what he saw.

Somewhere between the ceiling and the floor was a magus in blue robes. He was holding the other end of the strings that had been attached to the young man. However, that was not what troubled Edward.

What troubled him was that the ceiling was made of darkness, and in the darkness were two eyes and a mouth. And protruding from the darkness were long, thin strands of more blackness. And they were attached to the magus in much the same way the strings had been attached to the boy.

Who's controlling who? Edward thought. And then the magus spoke.

"I made the both of you, I can control you or unmake you at my will! YOU WILL OBEY!" The magus reached down one hand to pick up the boy, only to be blocked by the light Edward radiated.

"Even if you created me, you do not control me. I am my own person, by the truths I have found and by my faith in God, and I tell you now to leave this child alone! BEGONE, DEMONS!"

The light pulsed and expanded rapidly, forcing the darkness and the magus to leave the mind of the fire-hurling youth. Edward knelt by the young boy and tried to wake him up. With a few slaps and assorted groaning, the youth sat up and looked at Edward.

"You saved me?" Blaze was, at the very least, stunned.

"Yes, but from now on, you'll have to save yourself."

"I can't. He's too powerful. He has a gateway here at any time."

"No, he doesn't!" Edward grabbed the young man's head. "No man has the freedom to enter your head without your approval. You let him in, unknowingly. You can keep him out. Whenever he tried to take control, just repeat this simple truth: I am my own person. I am me. No matter who or what I sprung from, it does not control me. Keep on that tack, and he'll be forced out every time."

Blaze smiled, and then everything faded out.

-----

Edward groaned and woke up, seeing that Henry was sitting nearby. "Did it work?"

Henry nearly jumped out of his skin when Edward spoke, but quickly calmed down. "Yes, it worked. He fell unconscious, and I dragged both of your sorry behinds to a nearby break room. After a few minutes, the darkness left his eyes, but other than that, he's still been asleep, doing not much of anything."

Edward groaned and sat up. "Well, he just had a demon or some such exorcised from him, give him time to recover!"

"I have."

This time, BOTH angelic beings jumped as they watched the young man sit up. He turned to the two of them and smiled.

"My name is Blaze, and the person at the bottom of this place holds my brother hostage. If I could join you and put an end to him, I would be greatly honored."

The two angels looked at each other, then at Blaze, then back at each other again. Finally, each one stuck a hand on one of his shoulders, and announced their verdict together.

"Deal."

----------

The following is Henry Chatfield's series of events:

Just a little more!

Even whilst running at a flat out pace, Henry was finding it hard to shake off Edward’s pursuit. Not that it was his plan to shake him off in the first place, but it would’ve been nice if there was a brief respite from the constant barrage of holiness.

By his reckoning, and from what he remembered of the crude map he’d seen at the dock, Henry figured that he should be very close to the Asylum. Clearings in the forest were now getting larger and more comfortable (less branches and roots), and even as he was running he passed through a space which, with a fire, might even prove hospitable. Now would be a good time to rest up before entering the depths of the gloomy building.

That is, if there wasn’t a crazy angel following him!

Edward was hot on Henry’s heels, his wings more than making up for the difference in athletic prowess. Projectiles of a holy and powerful nature flew from his outstretched palms, but Henry managed to dodge these and continue on his way. If Edward wasn’t in a caffeine-induced craze, then he probably would’ve been irritated.

Abandoning attempts at trying to hurt his hybrid opponent at a distance, Edward put on a burst on speed to close the gap between them. He succeeded in doing so, and crashed into Henry’s back, forcing the both of them into a scrap on the ground, Edward on top and Henry on the bottom.

Edward threw a punch laden with holy power, which Henry barely caught. The attack from the angel was then replied with a savage kick aimed at his side, which Edward batted aside with his other arm. The brawl continued with similar movements, as well as many underhanded attacks from both sides which also failed to reach their targets.

By a stroke of luck, Henry’s foot ended up in front of Edward’s chest in all the commotion, and with a vicious thrust of his leg he propelled the insane boy into the air and away from him.

Before Henry could feel relieved, however, a ball of fire flew through the place where the angel had previously occupied, and landed a ways away from the vampire on the ground.

Henry gulped. Edward, now hovering with his wings quite high in the air, looked around for the source of the flames.

He didn’t have to look for long, as the source of the fireball walked out calmly into view. Their assailant was young man, wearing a bright red jacket with an equally red shirt underneath. His trousers too were red, but appear to be worse for wear; dust and all manner of untidy things clung to them, presumably originating from the depths of the Asylum. Many compressed fireballs floated around him, both threatening and yet strangely, disconcertingly peaceful.

Just as calmly as he had revealed himself, he proceeded to fire two more balls of flame out, one upwards to Edward, and one to where Henry lay on ground.

Both dodged; Edward threw himself to the side with a flick of his wings, and turned towards the newcomer in a dive; meanwhile Henry rolled to his right and flipped back up, pushing against the ground with his arm, whilst drawing his sword in the same fluid action.

The flame-wielder focused his attack on the rapidly approaching Edward, and threw ball after ball of fire at the Child Angel. Balls of compressed holy energy were fired in retaliation, and soon the area was alight with flames and auroras of energy.

Henry took advantage of the new enemy’s diverted attention, and dashed in, intending to turn the tables with close-quarters combat. He got up close enough seemingly without being noticed, and swung in a wide horizontal arc.

To his shock, the assailant ducked under his sword. That face, now turned to face him, still held that same expression of apparent tranquility, but his eyes, that Henry saw properly for the first time, were pitch black, filled with years of cunning and malice.

A hand aimed at him by the stranger before Henry could even finish his swing, and a ball of flickering flames shot out and exploded, throwing him a fair distance away. He lay sprawled on the ground.

In the few seconds that it took for the battle, if the one-sided clash deserved such a title, Edward had been gathering almost all his holy power in front of him. The result was a much larger orb of crackling energy, which shone with an intense light.

By the time it was noticed, Edward had already launched it. The great orb almost seemed to warp the air around it with its furious energy. It sped towards their opponent, forcing him onto his knees with immense pressure.

With the same nonchalance as before, he dealt with the incoming projectile the only way he could: by meeting it with his own fireballs.

Every spark floating around him suddenly ignited into brilliant, flickering balls of flame. They were sent simultaneously onto a crash course with the crackling sphere of holy energy, morphing into a giant inferno when they met on their intersecting paths.

The two conflicting forces met and seemed as if to stop for a moment, their energies pushing at each other’s forms. No more than a few seconds could have passed during the short contest of power, but it seemed to last forever.

Then, abruptly, the balance between the two collapsed, and the inferno dissipated before the might of the holy powers. Now freed from its struggle with the conflagration, the shining orb, although somewhat diminished continued on its intended path towards the flame-wielder.

Thoroughly unfazed by the defeat of his mighty attack, he instead began to aim and throw more fireballs at the threat. One after another they took to the air, much inferior to the blazing inferno before, but still fearsome to behold if one were a normal human.

It was in vain, however; the sphere of energy was not to be stopped. Its glowing form reached Edward’s adversary and exploded in a storm of outwardly-expanding forces, blowing its target into a nearby tree.

Both his legs had been blasted clean off in the explosion, and now his lifeblood leaked profusely from the two stumps that remained. What was left of his clothes now covered his wounded body in rags.

Silently, slowly, Edward moved in for the kill. He loomed over the fallen opponent, raised his arm to deliver the final blow…

… And fell over backwards, unconscious.

Even at the brink of death, something drove the now-legless pyromancer to continue what he started. Something forced him, even in his pitiful situation, to lift his arm, to snap his fingers to ignite a spark.

Something was driving him to kill.

The fire crackled weakly on his palm. It flickered, almost died out, but slowly began to grow in strength. The last of the dying man’s life energy, imbued into the flames… to snuff out Edward’s own life…

The ball of fire was aimed. Unconscious and powerless as he was, Edward would not be able to dodge or withstand this attack.

A booted foot was brought down, stomping on the flame-wielder’s wrist with an audible crack, and causing the flames to burn out with a whoosh.

Henry’s face showed only pity as he lifted his good arm (His other one was injured by the fireball), his sword held in hand.

He brought his arm down.

The first human he’d killed. It was exactly the same as the first time he’d killed a vampire; nauseating and sad. No matter what the race, if you could help it, you should never kill.

This time was one of the few times he couldn’t help it.

A groan behind him notified him to the awakening of the coffee-addict.

“Uh… Where am-” Edward noticed Henry, but didn’t seem terribly concerned, “Oh, right, it’s you.”

“You…” Henry gasped as his wounds hindered his breathing, “…you don’t seem terribly… affected to see a person you were just trying to kill.”

“I’m just surprised you’re not actually dead,” replied the Child Angel in a frustratingly calm voice. He took a glance at something red he spotted behind the swordsman, and stuck out his tongue in disgust.

“Ewwwww! Did you do that?”

“You took off the legs… but yes,” Henry replied, head down, perhaps in shame, “I killed him.”

“Awkward.”

After a brief silence, Henry continued the conversation.

“Anyway… as I was saying before you started trying to murder me,” this remark was accompanied by a vehement glare which was ignored by Edward, “We should team up, to fight whatever’s down there.”

“I don’t know,” said Edward, dubiously, “you look like a bit of a useless ally at the moment. You know, wounded to the point of being trash and all.”

“Why you little… I wouldn’t be like this if not for you! I even saved your life while you were unconscious, you ungrateful brat!”

“Besides,” continued Edward, who completely ignored Henry, “Are you sure you want me to come with you? I’m out of coffee, you know.”

Henry helped Edward get back up. “I’m sure there’ll be some at the Asylum.”

The vampiric angel reached out a hand towards his former angelic opponent.

“Partners?”

Edward looked at the outstretched arm. He grinned.

“Partners.”

-----

So does Blaze live to challenge what lurks in the basement? Or does he get killed off? YOU DECIDE!

[DeadManWalking]

erm...

poll?


EDIT: nvr mind.

I think i somehow managed to access teh page after the fight but before the poll was put up.

[Idea master]

It DOES take time to put the poll up.

It just means you were lightning-fast!

That, or the stars have aligned. If it's the latter, then I'm going to need to get my demon-summoning components ready.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Now THAT was very unexpected. A team of three?

It seems IM made a mistake when he was creating Edward... Does that small scene in Blaze's mind, incidentally, mean IM < Edward?

If the three of them team up, they're sure to win!...

Right...?

Well, I think I'll put off voting for either of them until I've made sure it isn't IM's evil scheme!

[DeadManWalking]

i believe IM controls both Blaze and Edward.

I may be wrong about that tho.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Well, my vote won't make much of a difference anymore, will it?

Good luck to Aeger and Liane during their fight with IM and the Big Bad, whenever that may be!