City of IF

[Idea master]

"Hmm, well, I see you've listed the types of security you offer to keep some characters confined, but I'm not sure that this place is best for our old ones."

King Key placed the pamphlets back on the desk and looked back at Dr. Crooked, the insufferable large, toothy grin of the man staring back at him. The doctor was dressed in a large white lab coat and had long gray hair falling to his shoulders. Dr. Crooked removed his glasses, polished them, and replaced them on his face.

"My dear King," The doctor said, "We understand. And many of the characters that are sent our way who have shown they are reasonably sane continue to lead healthy lives here on Grimmore Island. Our most notable achievement is the successful treatment of several of the Grimm characters. Puss in Boots runs our security department."

"Yes, well, some of our old ones most assuredly are not sane or safe to be near. How would you handle them?"

The doctor pushed a button, revealing a man in green sitting in a cell, tied up, whispering something about 'The rats, the rats...'

"This was the Pied Piper. Ordinarily, he'd be doing pest control. However, he showed that his kidnapping children streak still ran strong in him, and as such, we couldn't rehabilitate him. Eventually, as more restrictions slammed down around him, he broke, and we were forced to contain him. We have several facilities for draining magic from people and keeping them in check. Indeed, allowing him near any sort of wind instrument would prove most unwise."

The King nodded and got up. "Well Dr. Crooked, you've shown me all I need to see. Good day."

Dr. Crooked nodded and pushed a red button. Two lumbering security men walked into the room. "Please follow these two to the front door, there is a bit of a problem in one of the wings. And I most certainly wouldn't want you to walk into it when it is at such a delicate state."

The King nodded again and wobbled out of the room. When the door had closed behind him with a soft click, Doctor Crooked said "Well?"

A magus in fine blue robes walked out from a dark corner of the room. "He bought it. It will take time for him to agree to give you our old characters, but when he does, I'll see to it that some new ones are sent your way as well. Maybe some of the original authors."

From another dark corner of the room, there was another person revealing themselves. He was just as round and portly as the King, but far more smooth and white. "I don't like this arrangement, Dr. Crooked. It's far too convenient for me. This man shows up with all this knowledge, and he hasn't asked for anything in return. It stinks of trouble."

The magus chuckled. "My dear, dear Mr. Dumpty. I only want one thing, and you all will learn of it in due time, believe me. Now then, good doctor."

Dr. Crooked looked at the magus. "Hmm?"

"I do believe that I will be needing some way to let the populace at our city know of this place. I was thinking a tournament announcement. I will be needing to know when the first boats will arrive at our city."

The doctor smiled. "Ten days from now, we'll send our boats to your city. For those characters that are genuinely supposed to be here, we'll escort them right here to the Asylum so that they may be studied and treated. But for those that you lure here...They shall be free to roam."

The magus grinned. "Through forest and wasteland, through gorge and bluffs, over wall and over moat, eh?"

The doctor kept smiling. "Indeed. And should any find their way into the asylum...the chance of them ever leaving is rather small."

The magus smiled as well. "Dear doctor, I'd have it no other way. I'll get our first victims ready now."

The magus vanished, leaving Humpty Dumpty and Dr. Crooked alone. The doctor merely said, "Well?"

"He bought it."

-----

Ready for the tournament of your life?

At Grimmore Island, all sorts of characters from the old great stories can be found in various states of rehabilitation. And they'd like to duel YOU!

This is merely to test your skills, and any and all contestants may leave at any point in time. There is no chance for fatalities, but they won't go easy on you. Come prepared to win!

If you are interested in joining this tournament, please take one map from below.



1. The Asylum - Everafter is a monument to either genius or mania in terms of its design, combining the practical banality of a medical institution with the grandeur of gothic architecture. This includes all the standard parts of any given asylum, kitchens, inmate corridors, administrative offices, laundry, medical wings, etc. Feasibly, your character could spend every match in here. It’s quite big.

2. Misty Woods - Most of the island is covered in thick forested areas, with crisp, cool fog blanketing what areas trees don’t possess. Visibility is quite poor.

3. The Moat - As if cells, reinforced doors, armed guards and gigantic walls weren’t enough, the heads of the asylum thought it best if they dig a tremendous moat around the perimeter of the asylum. That’s cold.

4. Craggy Canyon - The canyon is basically a big rocky area with a chasm running a length of a ways through, with rough, uneven footing.

5. The Bluffs - The cliff area outside the great walls don’t lead to very much, outside of a couple hundred feet drop into the ocean. But then that’s one way to defeat an opponent..

6. The Faculty Residence - Being on a remote island for work either means you get yourself a dormitory, or face a four to five hour commute coming and going. Most of Everafter’s grunts, nurses, janitors and such have a tiny housing area to call their own when they aren’t mopping up limbs or sedating gibbering flesh-eating youths.

7. The Labs - A large compound for experimental medicine, research and technology, as well as an animal stockyard. Surrounded by a giant protective fence on all sides.

8. The Wall - The perimeter of the island is dominated by gargantuan walls, stuck together quite haphazardly like great fused sheets of metal.

9. The Control Tower - If a tornado managed to pick up about four dozen gothic cathedrals and slammed them all together, it’d look like the Control Tower. This is where the most esteemed of the asylum’s faculty remain, making sure things stay honky dory in the asylum from afar. It is the tallest establishment on the island, a tapering spire reaching far into the overcast sky.

10. The Port - For public relation purposes, the asylum holds tours now and then to display their technological prowess and good intentions. And most nobles from the mainland don’t like traveling Air Big Bad, so a port suffices.

THE RULES:

All players must notify me within ten days of this announcement if they'd like to partake.
All characters must start at the port.
Every round shall be a match against your fellow men, or if you're in the Asylum, against Grimm characters.
Every round requires that both sides write a story of the encounter, to be PM'd to me for posting.
You are not to say which character is yours.
Every round shall be decided by the voting public.
There will be five days between rounds. During that time, your character may travel to any location. If there is nobody there but you, you have an 'off' this time around. If there is one other person there, then you must fight them. If there are a multitude of characters there, then I shall decide who fights who.
Almost all character applications are accepted. You must have the following:

Name
Background
Detailed description
Definition of their strengths
Definition of their limitations

All of that shall be sent to me via PM, along with a small 5 Fable fee.
Characters may team up together after rounds conclude. Keep in mind that this makes you more of a target.

...I think those rules are comprehensive enough.
The winner shall receive my entire fortune. Yes, you got that right. EVERYTHING.

Let the games...BEGIN!

[NeverNeverGirl]

oh ME! ME i want to play! YAYYAYYAYYYAYY

So its a totally original new character we create then? Strike that - i just reread the rules.. :P

*waits tensely*

[shy_blu_eyes]

Sounds interesting.

I'm In.

[shy_blu_eyes]

deleted

[Alegria]

Uhhhh, Shy, you're supposed to PM that to IM so we don't know which char you are....

I'm so in!!!!!

*goes off to work on Character*

[scissorkitty]

This is a great idea! I don't think I'm going to play this one, but I look forward to reading the adventures!

[Idea master]

Aw, come on, you lot. It's very cheap.

Could you at least spread news of this via word-of-mouth?

[DeadManWalking]

I'm in. Although, i don't think i saw this in the rules; if it was, I apologize for my mistake:

DOES your character have to be from an old story, or can it be completely new?

[Phantomfan]

Count me in!

[Warsor]

I'm spreading the word of this around by word of mouth. It looks like it'll be a lot of fun to watch.

[Idea master]

@ Deadmanwalking: Either / or. I have no real preference.

And now, an interlude! Titled:

What's IM up to on that island?

Deep in the Asylum's depths, there was a huge orb.

Inside that orb was nothing less than raw Imagination, drained directly from the characters the Asylum was treating. Power. Raw, unbridled power.

Atop that orb was a huge, shadowy creature. It might have once been anything, but it was impossible to tell now. It was slowly draining the power of the orb unto itself.

And standing in front of that orb was the magus in blue. "So this is their secret."

The creature laughed. It was a chilling, distorted laugh. It was almost as though it wasn't really one thing or quite another.

What are you here for, child?

The magus grinned. "I'm just wondering how much power you have. I can see that you've got the market cornered on Imagination, but what you may not understand is that I am the Idea Master. The realm of thought, dreams, and imagination is my playground."

The beast laughed again. I cannot be stopped, not even by the likes of you.

The magus kept smiling. "Oh, I didn't want to stop you. If anything, I'm here to help you."

The beast fell silent.

"You see," IM continued. "I could probably stop you. Oh, I know you're a Grimm and that you were well made, but if I put my mind to it, there's very little I can't do. However, it would be foolish to get rid of an entity of so much power."

An alliance? With you? What are you that you think I would degrade myself thus?

"I just told you, I am the MASTER of Ideas. And I would dearly love to try a few things out. You see, I've brought quite a few things with me, and I want to see how they react with you."

IM reached into his robes and pulled out a few spelled bags. He reached into one and pulled out a dull gray rock. The rock was placed close to the creature, and it howled. What is that? It burns!

IM smiled. "Thought so. That's a metal from my home, and it sucks up inspiration, and, as we just found out, Imagination, which comprises a good bit of your bulk. And if I reverse it..."

The dull rock was replaced in the bag, and IM brought out a shining blue crystal. The creature laughed. What is that? It is so tasty...

IM smiled again. "That's a different metal, and it enhances ideas. So, a treaty? I'll give you the ability to leave this island forever. In return...you're mine."

The creature laughed again. Why would I want to leave? There's so much here for me to do yet!

"And with that second metal, you'd have the power to do it all. Without me, you're limited to what little energy you can sap from the systems. And while I imagine other Grimms' energy is particularly tasty, wouldn't you love to go out there and sap everyone? I can give you that, but you'd have to agree to work for me."

The creature was silent a while. I am bound to this island. It will not let me leave. Not for long, anyway.

IM hmmed for a moment. "I'll have to create a diagram, invoke the right words, and channel power into the land if I'm to counter whatever's keeping you here. It will be tough, but I'll manage. Maybe if I give those that are to come a crystal each, I'll have enough to do this. They that fail...I'll take their crystals and start to prepare. Yes, I can get you free. But you still haven't answered my question."

I would be indebted to you if you did that.

"Good. Now it falls to you to make the contestants battle each other."

The creature laughed once more. I'm quite good at that. No worries.

"Then we have an accord. I'll get to work right away."

IM simply vanished from the depths of the Asylum, and reappeared outside the moat. "Best start locating where the focus of this binding spell is. It could be anywhere..."

[NeverNeverGirl]

WHoooaaa nice Interlude there IM (seems to be the buzzword of the moment huh?)


Idearium??


bring it on!

[tramp in a storm]

I've PMed ya with the donation and info!

Nens, Idearium is what we're drinking in our If water. It gives us ideas for stories.

[Idea master]

That's six *actual* entries so far. If I got a few more in, I wouldn't be worried.

Of course, there's no law saying that I can't throw in a few characters of my own just to mix things up a little...and to keep you all on your toes. I think I have a few that could do with retirement...

[Idea master]

Round one, START!

A welcome to Grimmore Island

IM was waiting near the docks. So far, he counted six characters holding the tell-tale Idearium crystal. Only six, though. However, six was better than nothing. He clapped his hands twice and hovered about ten feet off the ground. All heads, including those of the local nobility, turned towards him.

"Attention! Attention please! Could all those who have recently come from the City of IF please follow me? Thank you!"

The six with the crystals followed IM as he hovered to a nearby vacant lot that he had purchased for just this purpose. It did help to have a place to educate your helpers, after all.

"Welcome, one and all. Welcome to Grimmore island, home to the EverAfter Asylum for the Fantastically Traumatized, EverAfter for short. They that run the place have graciously allowed me to run this tournament on it. My name is Idea Master, IM for short. Now, I see you all have your crystals. Good! Very good indeed! Now, here is a letter for each of you containing the details of the tournament."

With but a gesture, IM conjured six letters for the contestants. Each one had a wax seal holding it shut.

"They serve another purpose than just educating you, naturally. That seal will show they that work here that you are a contestant. Afterwards, they'll try to aid you without disrupting their schedules. The rules for the tournament are naturally inside, as well as a spelled bit of parchment detailing how many contestants besides yourself are in the vicinity and how many others are left. You have some time before the first round starts, so spread out and get ready. Anywhere on the island is fair game for you to go..."

Except off.

-----

RULES IN EFFECT!

Those that signed on before NOW have five days to go to any location on the map. Those that have NOT yet signed on, but have expressed interest in joining, now have to pay a 10 fable fee as opposed to the original 5, but only have a 72 hour period to do so. They that do not wish to join at all must do nothing. However, since I can't keep track of who did want to join and who didn't, you all can TRY to get in even if you originally didn't want to.

To leave the island, you must be the last character standing.

Interfering with the normal schedule of the Institute is grounds for immediate disqualification.

Losing your letter or Idearium crystal is also grounds for disqualification.

Not PM'ing me as to where you'd like to go for round one is also grounds for disqualification, and I'll have one of my characters show up and kill you.

You may go anywhere, but you start at the PORT. It is very feasible that in five days of walking, you could end up in the Asylum itself, which is on the far side of the island.

Those that enter now must PM me not only their character and their fee, but where they'd like to go as well. Otherwise, disqualified.

Ready? Five days, starting from...

NOW!!!

[Idea master]

Round one, FIGHT!

Mikeal vs. Aeger at the Asylum

Liathel vs. Edward at Central Control Tower

Liane vs. Rathier in the forest

Spike Spiegel vs. Blitz at the labs

Ratfink McGee is disqualified...at the end of the day.

Participants shall be PM'd their opponent's list of strengths and weaknesses. All participants must write up their version of events and PM them to me for posting within five days time once they receive their PM.

[tramp in a storm]

So do we write the fight between our charcter and our oponent and say what our oponent does too?

[Idea master]

That would be the idea, yes.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Everafter?

Heh... Would be funny to see lil' red popping into this...

One question: wouldn't the asylum be inhabitated by the various workers and paitients? And, wouldn't these various workers and paitients get in the way or directly interfere with battles on the premises?

Although it would be funny if a hundred or so nurses and maintenance guys got sliced and blasted into bits... like what happens in Everafter...

~Holds Breath~
:shock:

[The White Blacksmith]

*thwacks Meany*

Oops! I thought it was Bob! I swear - Tramps' sig had me confused!

Anyway, IM, what'll your role in this actually be? Will you just be doing a short introduction to each chapter, or edit the inidividual fights into a proper chapter?

[Crunchyfrog]

Whilst taking part looks far too complex for my old braincells to get around, I'll be cheering from the sidelines. :)

[Idea master]

I'm the one keeping it all anonymous. I'm the one that posts the chapters that get sent my way. You lot decide which one you like better and then the person who wrote it wins, and that chapter becomes part of continuity.

[The Meaning Of Fear]

*Rubs head and elbows Whitey in the face*

Wait... So we get to read 2 chapters every 1 chapter and decide which we want to be the one chapter?

Wouldn't this be the target of much biase-ness and one-sidedness? Although we get that quite a lot here in IF.

[tramp in a storm]

I think that's the point of not telling anyone who your character is.

[Idea master]

Round one, fight one! Spike VS. Blitz. Spike's series of events are as follows:

Spike Spiegel opened a door into yet another laboratory. He peered in and checked out the room. The track lights that lit the lab were either flickering to a rhythm or completely out. Some were smashed and the glass lay shattered on the cold floor. It wasn’t a particularly large room. There were a few work surfaces, all sorts of sharp, rusty equipment lay about on them. There was a computer in the centre with different gadgets linked up to it and a power cable plugged into a socket in the floor.

Spike entered. He rested, confidently by the door, his laid back, lanky figure giving the impression of a flimsy, frail young man who really would rather be somewhere else. Yet, no matter where he was, or what he was doing, Spike could never be “bothered with this”. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out a cigarette. He then put his other hand in his other pocket to fish about for a lighter.

“Oh great...” He said, sarcastically to himself. Then he looked about him for something he could use to light his fag.

“Need a light?” A voice came from behind him and he jumped. He dived behind a work table to take cover. The voice cackled. The laughter filled the room and echoed off the walls. The lights overhead brightened to their limit and exploded from the overload of electricity! Spike covered his face and cursed aloud.

He didn’t bother to ask “what the hell was that”! In an instant his gun was in his hand and he was firing shots at the person that had entered from…where? How come he hadn’t seen him? Or heard him? How could anyone sneak up on Spike Spiegel like that? The shots fired, smashing bottles of chemicals that lined the cabinet behind the enemy, until the bullets ran out. Then there was almost silence. Only the fizzing sound remained, of the chemicals that were reacting as they mixed after spilling.

“Heh. You missed.” Spike turned behind him to face the man. “The name’s Blitz. And you are…?” Spike was stunned!

Spike quickly reached for his second gun. “What the hell?” was the only thing going over in his mind! He took aim at Blitz and fired. Why hadn’t he done anything while Spike reached for his second gun? Spike was fast on the draw, but he still gave the enemy a clear opening and a chance he should have at least tried to take!

“You really are slow on the trigger, aren’t you?” Spike turned again, this time to his right to face Blitz.

“My aiming’s fine!” Spike reloaded his empty gun and held one in either hand. He held them out directly infront of him and fired. As he fired he moved his arms outwards so that he fired in the two directions that Blitz was most likely to run! And indeed Blitz ran to Spike’s left. He ran so fast that Spike could not even see him, but… Blitz didn’t notice a stray stool which was in his way. He smashed int– through it and lost his balance. He reached out his hands to protect his almost comical, shocked, momentarily terrified expression from colliding with the rough floor of the lab. Spike smiled, aimed again. This would be the last bullet he would need to use. He fired.

As Blitz was falling he knew that this was Spike’s plan all along and that there would be a bullet burrowing into his back before would be able to get up. He also knew that at this speed his had a big momentum and making contact with the floor would be more than just extremely painful!

Blitz turned in midair as the bullet left Spike’s gun with a loud bang that echoed through the lab. He arched his back and swung his arms backwards into a back-flip motion. At the same time that he swung his arms back he pointed one finger at the bullet and shot a bolt of electricity at it!

Blitz back-flipped and slid into another cabinet, the bullet crashed to the floor with a metal ting as Spike stared with disbelief. That was not the last bullet he would need, after all. He fired another as quickly as he could but he fired so fast that he didn’t take enough time to aim well. He missed his target which had been the heart and instead the bullet buried itself into Blit’s shoulder. Blitz yelled with agony!

Spike took aim again! Blitz moved quickly out the way, this time he made sure that he had a clear path ahead of him first. Spike shot again and Blitz moved out the way again.

“You’re getting better!” He panted, blood gushing from his shoulder. He held his hand to it, putting pressure on the wound to slow the bleeding.
“You’re getting slower!” Spike laughed back as he shot and Blitz dodged.
“But you still don’t have aim as good as mine!” Blitz smiled as he stopped behind Spike. Just as Spike was turning to face his enemy, Blitz pointed a finger at him and shot a bolt of electricity at Spike!

Spike was forced backwards and he crashed into the computer. His once dark green, fluffy hair now looked like a crispy hedgehog! And Blitz cackled another laugh. This time the computer turned on as electricity surged through it. But the power was too strong and it exploded, pieces of it hit Spike.

“I’d love to see you dodge one of these babies, Hedgehog boy!”
“Heh.” Spike’s voice crackled as he slowly and painfully pushed himself to his feet. He stood, shaking slightly mostly from the shock but partly from fear. When he was younger he had not been afraid of dying. But as his life went on he had adventures, met a woman and realised how much more was still ahead of him, how much he would miss if he died here, now. “I’m still alive.” He croaked and accidentally stumbled forwards a couple of steps.

Blitz was slightly surprised that Spike had survived the shock. He wanted to end this fast and get out of there! But obviously he hadn’t shocked him as hard as he had intended… “Oh no…not now…” he though. This was the wrong time for his powers to go haywire! “Concentrate” He whispered to himself. He could feel it in his gut; he knew that his powers were starting to mess up again. He breathed slightly heavier than normal and his heart beat a little bit faster to pump more oxygen to his muscles. He needed a large supply of oxygen and physical strength in order to be able to use his abilities. Especially his super speed!

Spike dropped his guns. They had run out of bullets and were useless now. Blitz saw this as a sign that he had the bigger advantage – his enemy was weaponless and he didn’t seem to have any magical abilities. And his second guess was true.

Spike noticed the slight newly found overconfidence in his opponent. This was his chance. He reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand weakly round a glass, sealed bottle. He stared at Blitz in the eyes and Blitz stared back.

The two stared at each other. Spike knew that this was his last chance. Blitz knew that if he didn’t kill his enemy with the next shot of electricity, his powers would be too weak for the next battle.

Two men, two final chances, only one survivor.

Blitz blinked, Spike pulled out the chemical and swung his arm out, Blitz’s eyes opened, the sealed bottle smashed on his forehead, between his eyes. Blitz blindly shot a bolt of electricity in Spike’s general direction, but Spike had already moved out of the way ducking and picking up his gun. He hadn’t used up all of his bullets at all. He took one last aim and fired.

The gunshot rang out through the labs. The lights that had been flickering in the lab lost their rhythm. The ringing from the gunshot died out. There was total darkness. And total silence. Only to be broken by the sound of Spike collapsing to the floor next to his dead enemy. He breathed heavily, yet relieved that this was over and he was still alive. This was his chance to rest before having to fight another opponent.

“My aiming might not be perfect” He whispered, his voice heavy. “But my luck is pretty damn good.”


And Blitz's series of events are as follows!

Blitz was sitting atop one of the buildings in the 'Labs' sector, casting his mind out like his mentors had instructed him. Focus, They had said, and be aware of everything. That is the easy part. The hard part is understanding every bit of information that is passed to you.

Of course, their strengths were different than his, so he couldn't quite match their power. All he could understand was the information that the electrical signals conveyed. The computers here provided him with a wealth of knowledge, but trying to link to the Asylum from this distance was proving...troublesome.

A familiar pattern of electrical signals entered the area. Human, he thought with disdain, and a violent one too. Best be careful around him...

Blitz got up from his mediative pose and looked over the edge of the roof. There was his opponent, walking down the streets below. "Hmmm...I wonder..."

Blitz jumped down onto a windowsill, and then onto another, and finally onto a protruding light. Spike had continued walking on, looking for something.

Blitz jumped down onto the street and looked up. Why was the light on? They had photogenic senors so that they'd only come on when it was dark...And then he saw the storm clouds. Blitz grinned. This was gonna be good.

"Now normally," Blitz said while Spike turned around, "I'd just attack and go back to what I was doing, but this tournament thing has rules. Are you..." Blitz pulled out his letter and looked at it, "Spike Spiegal?"

Spike grunted. "I assume you're Blitz, then?"

Blitz nodded. "Yup, that's me. To business, then!"

And with that, Spike pulled out two guns and began firing. Blitz jumped back onto the protruding light, and when Spike turned his aim there, Blitz began jumping onto windowsills, having to go higher and higher. Spike eventually had to reload, and Blitz looked down, gauging the jump properly.

Spike slammed two more clips home, and looked up just in time to get a face full of shoe. Blitz had used him as a mid-jump pole, and so while he didn't put his full weight on Spike, Spike still got hit with a ton of force as Blitz jumped to the other side of the street. Spike fell to the street, and Blitz jumped back down to the ground. Blitz turned to look at his floored opponent. "Well, this was very easy!"

"No, it's about to get a lot harder, boy," grunted Spike as he picked himself up and took aim at Blitz again.

"Oh, that again? You know I'll dodge it somehow."

Spike grinned. "True, but I have to wonder how good you are at that game." And both guns started to fire again.

This time Blitz crouched, and his eyes went from hazel to yellow. He was using a little more of his powers. He could see the bullets as they fired and traveled through the air, and moved to dodge using superhuman speed.

Spike was already on it, firing in more directions than one, and Blitz was forced into doing a myriad of moves that would look like a very awkward dance. Finally he finished, and to show off, he spun around, leaving his back open to Spike.

There was another gunshot. Blitz, in his haste, had neglected to count the bullets. Pain blossomed in his left shoulder. He rotated his head and saw a very gory scene: His shoulder had been ripped into, with bits of meat and flesh hanging off.

Blitz tried to ignore the pain as he turned to face his opponent again. "You humans are all alike. You honestly think that's going to stop me? I won't let it!"

There was a rumbling noise from the clouds up above, and Spike realized going for a non-lethal shot was not a good idea. He looked frantically for two more clips.

"I've trained for so long to try and reach the same level of mastery as my mentors did before they left, and I'm not about to let it all go to waste!"

The clouds had gotten a lot closer. Spike had found his clips and was beginning to load them.

"I ought to strike you down where you stand!"

And then the lightning struck Blitz. It didn't harm him, seeing as his powers over electricity protected him, but the overload would be painful at the very least if he didn't get rid of it quickly. Blitz screamed as the lightning exited his body in both directions down the street. Spike screamed as it passed through him, burning off his hair and starting to feel his limbs go numb.

Finally, the energy flow stopped, and Blitz fell to his knees, panting.

Spike fell as well, smelling a lot like burning hair. There were holes in his clothes, and Blitz realized he could not feel the electric pulse that signified his heart was beating.

I could revive him, but why should I? He tried to kill...no, he didn't. He wanted me to surrender without a fuss, and I got mad. He deserves a second chance. And I could use someone to watch my back.

Blitz reached out with one hand, and an electric bolt jumped into Spike's chest, restarting his heart. Spike opened his eyes and gasped, feeling numbness in every limb. Blitz slowly walked over and turned Spike onto his back. Spike looked up with...well, Blitz couldn't pin the emotion on Spike's face.

"So, yeah, sorry about that. I had to get rid of that excess energy. And maybe you aren't as bad as I thought you were. I'm just looking for my mentors, and I thought maybe they were here. If you're willing to help, I'll get rid of the paralyzing effect the electricity left in you. Otherwise I could just leave you here."

Spike looked up and grunted, probably because he was trying to move his limbs, and then panted. Finally he looked at Blitz again. "All right, I call a truce already. Now help me up."

Blitz put a hand over Spike and small bolts of electricity reached down to Spike, helping to restart the nerves in his arms and legs. Spike grunted and sat up. "Maybe you're not so useless after all, kid."

Blitz grinned. "You should see my brother. He's way more deadly than I am."

The choice you readers have to make is which chapter is better than the other and deserves to be part of continuity? Four days of voting! Starting right after I edit my post at the top!

[Warsor]

Ooooh the first battle is up? They look like two great entries. It's going to be really hard to decide which to vote for.

[Black Hawk]

very hard to decide but finally decided to vote for the two to team up

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Very nice entries, whoever you two are. I voted for Spike, because (my) logic says anyone with spiegal as a last name and dual wields guns is awesome.

[Phantomfan]

Just a quick question- how long will the voting go on for each chapter?

[Idea master]

Voting closes tomorrow, actually!

[The Meaning Of Fear]

It's kinda tied, IM. How are you gonna get out of this mess?

[Idea master]

Simple: The first person who hasn't voted already that wanders in here and says which side they would have voted for will be my tie-breaker.

[Sabriel]

Yay! I wasn't too late!

[Idea master]

All right, Blitz and Spike are teaming up then! And now for fight two!

Aeger VS. Mikael

Aeger's version of events are as follows:

Aeger walked quickly through the halls of the Asylum, past gibbering maniacs and busily bustling medical professionals, absorbed in his own problems. Five days wasted. Five days with no training, dedicated purely to traveling over this island.

Aeger rounded a corner, almost bumping into what appeared to have once been a man. It did not appear to notice him, as its gaunt face muttered urgently.

“Need energy…. Haven’t fed in since I got to this island,” it held its shaking hands up to the light, watching as the trembled. “Gotta find someone. But if I take one of the nurses, I’ll be kicked out. And in the cells are the madmen, they won’t want me going in there. That might break the rules. Can’t break the rules, or I get kicked out. Can’t get kicked out or I can’t win. And I need to win, or the world won’t hear Mikael’s name. But I need to feed.”

Aeger cocked his head and backed up slowly. Looked like one of the madmen had escaped from their cells. Only this… thing talked about the contest. Did that mean it was one of the contestants? Should he attack? What if he was wrong?

The choice was taken out of his hands. Or hand.

The thing looked up, and its eyes lit with a desperate hunger.

“You’ll do!”

Aeger jumped back as the thing started seizure-like spasms, as what looked like a scorpion’s tail grew from its back. Needles appeared in his hand, thrown towards the neck, but the spasms made things hard. Several scored the thing’s back, and chest, and one came close to the thing’s eye, drawing lines of blood on its body. It snarled, more angry than hurt, but the tail continued to grow. Aeger concentrated, as fire coursed through his veins. The black tattoos circling his body swirled like living things, the green and blue lines slowly becoming overwhelmed by the red, as they slithered and leapt around and under the black lines, so that they converged on his left arm. His hand burst into flame.

Just as the scorpion tail grew, its dark red surface glistening in the antiseptic lights of the mental ward. It darted toward Aeger’s shoulder, its razor sharp point penetrating the skin just as his hand darted to catch it. They both screamed together, Aeger’s hand grabbing around the tail. Where it touched the flames, the shell of the tail turned black and shriveled. And where the tail pierced the skin, his skin turned pale white, the point of the tail glowing an unearthly color and pulsing. The pulsing color crept up the tail, ending at where his hand met it. That spot became a war between life and death, each pulse healing the blackened site, each second burning more away. Aeger felt the energy draining from his body, and he saw his opponent’s hunger increasing with every passing second.

It was time to end this standoff. Aeger squeezed on the tail. Or tried to. His body would not respond! Aeger tried to move, tried to do anything, to kick, to headbutt, or even to bite, but he couldn’t move a muscle. Why wasn’t that thing taking advantage. His eyes roamed the beast before him, taking in the grimace of concentration, the desperate focus in its eyes. It was trying to drain his energy with a fearful single-mindedness.

Again. Time to end this standoff. The black lines on his body started to ring the wound, closing in and becoming finer and finer. They weave themselves together with a spider’s intricacy, making of web of black lines, which slowly tinge more and more red. The pulsing slowed, and then stopped. A fireball erupted from the shoulder, dancing up the tail as fire raced to meet it from Aeger’s frozen fist, leaving only ash.

The thing roared in pain, recoiling away from Aeger. It snarled, and the tail slowly started to grow back in preparation for another chance to strike. Aeger didn’t give it that chance. His flames around his hand died out, and the red ink on his shoulder wove its way over and under the black lines, flowing around the wound, ending up at his neck, where it became multiple collars of red.

Aeger breathed in, filling his mouth with air. Then he blew out flames, the fire racing through the air to bathe the thing in flames.

It gave a scream, an unearthly sonoration, as its skin became ash under those flames. But it survived, whimpering.

It stumbled, one of its knees giving way as the flames stopped, falling to the ground. It levered itself up with a hand, the stub of a scorpion tail starting to grow again.

Aeger frowned, and spit in his hand. The red rings faded into his normal skin, and all the black rings on his arm became a deep blue. Every single line crossed at the exact point of the moisture on his hand. He walked up to the writhing burned husk, and placed his hand on its forehead. He closed his eyes.

All the moisture left in the thing’s body froze in a single instant.

Water is unique among all the materials of the world in that it will actually expand when frozen. And most beings are made almost entirely of water. So thus, if much of a body expands to several times its normal size in a single second, the result is often pretty violent. And messy. Also rather colorful.

Aeger used fire to turn the remains into a fine ash, before sweeping it into a corner with his hand. The rules did state that it was against the rules to interfere with the schedule, and it was almost time for lunch. He didn’t want anyone to slip.

And Mikael's version of events!

The dark hallways of the asylum were like a maze to Mikael, his footsteps echoing softly across the stone floor. It seemed like days had pasted but time held little meaning for him, only the hunt and the reward. Of all the places he could have chosen to go on the island he had picked the asylum, seeking the heart of the dark mystery that surrounded the island like a fog. It wasn’t long until he found his way to an inner courtyard, a garden that perhaps the inmates were occasionally allowed to frequent.

An uncanny silence hung in the air causing Mikael to halt in his tracks. His head slowly moved back and forth, looking for something that was not right here. Numerous vines and stunted trees spread themselves around the garden, branches outstretched like crooked fingers frozen in place by some evil spell. He shook his head; it must have been his imagination. This body he now wore like a glove could be a bit unreliable at times. He took another few steps toward the far end of the courtyard when suddenly roots shot up from the ground encircling his foot. Nearly tripping forward Mikael let out a cry of surprise as another root sprung up to wrap itself around his legs. Struggling against his ensnarement he barely had time to register the rustling in the brush behind him as a flight of razor sharp needles whizzed toward his back. Unable to dodge Mikael twisted his body sideways and held his arms up to shield himself the best he could. Even so half of the needles planted themselves into his side.

Pain shot through him like an icy dagger, and while the needles could not kill a creature such as himself they would weaken him in great enough numbers. He let out a deep throaty growl as his arms lowered and looked toward the man that emerged from the bushes behind him. Aeger, the stranger, had pure blue eyes and worn loose trousers with a plain white shirt. One of his hands was missing but he quickly drew four more needles from a pouch at his side in his free one.

"So you’re the one that’s come to take my head boy? You'll need more then these roots and some needles to kill me. It’s a coward's tactic to stand back and wait until I've bled all my strength away." Aeger’s eyes narrowed in anger and Mikael returned the look with condescending calmness. Two more roots sprouted up shackling his wrists as Mikael continued struggling like an animal caught in a trap, which was exactly what he was. Gritting his teeth Mikael's mind raced as the one handed man threw more needles into his body, determined to take no risks.

Then their eyes locked and Aeger froze for a moment, for what he saw in that instant was not human. The roots loosened for a moment and Aeger's eyes suddenly widened as Mikael's body shifted. An orange furred tabby cat leapt from the center of the roots even as the desperately tried to contain the animal. Its paws hit the ground running as Aeger swung his arms franticly through the air, twisting and drawing forth more roots as fast as he could from the ground but he could not grow them quickly enough. Mikael began to shift again, only this time his shape was black, exoskeleton like an insect. His eyes turned to pools of black while a scorpion-like tail tore itself free of his spine. Aeger released his control over the roots and lashed out with a last desperate attempt to keep Mikael from reaching him with the vines that hung like rope from the trees nearby. Whipping out like snakes they snapped around Mikael's arm holding him on a leash even as he continued his horrific metamorphosis. The vines wrapped double and thick around the arm squeezing tighter and tighter to ensure no more escape. Aeger's lips turned in a smile which was cut all too short by a wet popping and ripping noise.

Suddenly Mikael was flying toward him again his arm torn from his shoulder to escape the vine trap. Black viscous fluid squirted out from the stump but Mikael lunged forward slamming into Aeger with such force that then both went down upon the ground. Unnaturally heavy blows rained down upon Aeger as the men fought. Aeger pressed his feet under Mikael's stomach and thrust him backward with all the strength he could muster. Falling back for a moment Mikael righted himself with his remaining arm even as his tail weaved back and forth behind him. Before he could strike a wave of heat washed over him. Only his experience saved him as a blast of flame hit the ground where he had crouched moments before. Panting heavily Aeger whirled toward the circling shape of the necromorph and let loose another blast of flame. Cursing Mikael threw himself aside at the last moment, rolling across the ground. Aeger quickly regained his feet and thrust both hand and stump this time toward Mikael doubling the size of the fire blast. To Mikael's dismay the flames seemed to spread out into an ever growing cone leaving him no escape.

The flames washed over the spot Mikael stood obscuring everything from view. Tree caught fire and bushes burned to a crisp. The flames continued onward carving through the garden until they hit the wall of the asylum, leaving a blacken scorch mark from the ashes of all that it carried with it. Finally the mighty blast died away leaving only the fading sound of rushing air and the crackling of burning wood. The destruction of Mikael was complete, leaving nothing aside from a few ashes on a scorched wall.

Sweating profusely Aeger stumbled to a tree and leaned against it. That had been tougher then he had expected but he had won. The creature he had fought had been too bloodthirsty, too reckless. But in the end it was the winner who got to go home and the loser whose ashes lay on the earth. He crossed the garden to the scorched wall and reached out with his one good hand, closing his eyes in a moment of silence for the fallen.

His eyes jerked open, his body shuddering suddenly as a cold chill pierced his heart. Trembling he looked down and saw the tip of a spiked tail protruding from his chest. The cold was spreading now but he forced his head to turn, looking back in disbelief at the black inhuman figure standing there. Aeger tried to move his lips but already the paralyzing poison was affecting him.

"H-h-how?" He managed to say forgetting his vow of silence in the last moments as he knew his death was upon him.

"You gave me my escape with your careless tearing up roots in the ground. I simply assumed a smaller shape and dug in." The missing arm was already beginning to scab and shift as it slowly regenerated, the life drained out of Aeger restoring him. The last thing Aeger saw was the cold and calculating eyes of his killer as his life snuffed out.

Wow, these two are bloodthirsty! So, who walks away whole and intact from this one, loyal readers? The one-man elementalist, or the necromorph? Choose!

[Warsor]

Two most excellent entries. I had a real hard time picking between them.

[NeverNeverGirl]

wow. so far so good.

does one assume that as there are similar points in the first set of stories that you give them 'reference points' for each fight?

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Ouuuch. Whoever wrote Mikael must be pretty disappointed.

[Idea master]

Yeowch, Aeger wins by a landslide. Sorry Mikeal!

Fight three is now underway at the control tower! Edward VS. Liathel! Liathel's version of events are as follows:

Liathel glanced at his opponents and smirked. This would be too easy. As soon as the group was given the go ahead, he sauntered off, confident in his victory. He kept his amethyst eyes on his destination - the tallest structure on the island - the control tower. He walked up to the doors and slipped inside. He stared at the gothic carvings and paintings for only a moment, and then made his way to the nearest stairs he could find.

He climbed up and up for what seemed an eternity. He felt the buildup of lactic acids in his calves, but he ignored it with a smile. He had been through much, much worse in his life. If he could survive the death of his entire people, he could certainly survive a walk up a couple thousand stairs. He didn’t even think about using his harp to play a spell to ease the pain. That would be weak and wasteful. If there was one thing his past had taught him it was never to waste and never to show weakness- no matter the cost.

Suddenly, his keen elven ears caught a slight rustling sound. Thinking it was a bird of some sort, he glanced up to the roof of the tower. He only had a few flights to go, and the stairwell, where it once had been broad, was now quite a bit narrower. There was a problem, though, the birds, which sat at the top of the tower, were still and silent, looking down.

Liathel took out his harp. It was dark and in a place like this, he didn’t want to risk being caught in the dark by some winged creature. That would be stupid. The third rule of his life- besides never showing weakness or being wasteful- was to never be stupid. He played a single note. The note resounded, echoed, reverberated across the stairwell, up and down, filling the space with a single, sweet, dominating note. A small globe of light started to flicker in front of him, then another, and another, until eight orbs of light revolved about his head in a halo of sorts. They cast eerie shadows on the walls, created demons with malevolent eyes to stalk him in the darkness, but at least no one could sneak up on him. Anyway they approached from they would cast a shadow. Liathel would e ready to strike, too. He looked to his twin silver swords in his scabbards. They glowed a little, the way they did only when something magical or supernatural approached.

The rustling was getting louder. It was fighting the note for dominance. It was close. A shadow cast itself upon Liathel’s face. He looked at the intruder.

It was just some kid with wings and tattered jeans. The wings were pretty and colorful, to be sure, but they were nothing special except proof that the kid was on some quest from God.

Liathel didn’t want to be stuck on some stairwell with some flying kid threatening him; that was stupid. As quick as a flash his fingers flew over his harp and his voice rose and fell with the music. Two iridescent wings flowed out from his back and he took off quickly towards the top of the tower. The kid just stared at him, then started to give chase.

Liathel drew his swords and spun around, blades flashing, but he didn’t strike. He had to concentrate on keeping this spell active, or he would fall to his death. He only had 15 seconds left of flight even when he did pay attention. He beat the wings as hard as he could and flattened his body to become aerodynamic. The kid did the same.

Liathel had 10 seconds left. He wasn’t going to make it.

9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3…2….

Liathel grabbed the handle of the door and pulled it open just in time. The wings flickered and died, leaving his hanging over the abyss of the stairwell with the kid flying after him. He painfully pulled himself up and climbed onto the roof. Somewhere in the frantic flight his pony tail had come undone and now his hair was in his eyes. He pushed it out of the way and rushed away from the opening just before the kid burst through the door. He did a flip in midair and landed on the roof. The blue infinity stretched overhead. The kid’s platinum hair gleamed in the sunlight, as did Liathel’s alabaster skin. They stood there shining and panting for a moment.

Suddenly, Liathel played a note. The orbs of light about his head scattered and launched themselves towards the kid. He took off quickly and barely avoided the explosion the orbs caused.

Liathel smiled. “I’m Liathel, by the way.”

The kid smiled and nodded. “Edward.”

Liathel sent a jet of flame towards Edward. A trick he had learned back home, reading in the library… As Liathel ruminated over his idealistic childhood Edward dodged again and hurled his body towards Liathel. He hit Liathel full force, knocking his breath out. A trickle of blood snaked down from Liathel’s mouth. Liathel sang again and a net spread over Edward’s wings and they both fell to the roof with a thud.

Edward was up again in a flash and coming towards Liathel with a look of holy insanity in his eyes. Liathel drew his swords, magic wasn’t working.

They began a deadly dance, Liathel spinning for a time like a top, Edward backing away, Edward aiming a fist for the head, Liathel ducking and countering. Edward shot divine magic, Liathel quickly strummed up boulders to fall upon his opponent. Liathel used his swords like scissors right at Edward’s legs, Edward jumped and avoided. They fought for a time, bobbing, weaving, spinning, leaping, and suddenly Edward had grabbed one of Liathel’s own swords and had it to his throat. Liathel stopped moving, stopped breathing, and rolled his eyes to his opponent.

Edward looked at Liathel as if for the first time. “You don’t have a demon.”

Liathel glared at him. “And you don’t have a brain.”

Edward suddenly slumped down. He seemed diminished and exhausted. The sword came away from Liathel’s throat. The almost-killed elf stared.

“Well aren’t you going to kill me?” A little part of Liathel wanted to die, wanted to leave this world of pain.

Edward squeezed his eyes shut. “No, I need more caffine.”

Liathel smirked. How pathetic. He grabbed Edward’s wrist and forced the sword out. “I would kill you, but I won’t strike someone helpless. Goodbye Edward. Thank you for the practice.

Liathel strummed another song on his harp, the wings came again, and he dived off the tower, landing softly on the ground.

Quick and simple, eh? And here's Edward's version!

Liathel walked through the lower halls of the control tower, looking for an easy way to the top. As he passed through the halls, looking for stairs or an elevator, whichever came first, he heard an odd noise. It sounded like someone...singing.

Better check it out, he thought, and followed the noise. It wound through many hallways and sometimes he was only following an echo, but in the end, Liathel found the source of the voice in a break room. It was a boy going through the frig. A boy whose shirt was ripped in back.

"We all live in a yellow submarine, yellow submarine, yellow- Aha! There you are! I knew there was some coffee in here!"

The boy held up a small package and turned towards the coffee maker. He also turned towards Liathel. "Oh! Didn't see you there. Hello, I'm Edward. You are?"

"Liathel. What are you doing here, Edward?"

The boy moved to the coffee maker and inserted way too much coffee. "Well, do you mean here in this room, here on this island, or here on this earth? I could give you the explanation for all three if you'd like."

Liathel made himself comfortable. "Well, I've not much else to do right now. Please, explain away."

Edward began looking through other cabinets and withdrawing random things. "Well, I'm here on this earth to spread the Lord's love and wisdom and smite demons that would stop me from doing otherwise. I'm on this island because I prayed to the Lord, and he said back to me that there was a source of great evil here, and that I was the only available agent of His to go smite it."

Liathel waited patiently, and then said, "And why are you here in this room?"

Edward smiled. "D'oh, forgot that one, sorry. I'm here because I need a caffeine boost, my energy levels are running kinda low. Can't be all holy without my coffee!"

The pot dinged, and Edward removed the pot from the holder, poured a travel mug full, and then added the other ingredients that he'd found. Edward stirred violently for a few seconds, and then tested his concoction. "Yep! That's the stuff."

As Edward drank deeply of the mug, Liathel began to think on what he had been told. "Umm, but how did you get here? Are you a contestant?"

Edward lowered the mug. "Yeah, had to enter to get in, and it's one of my greater fears that I'll be defeated and forced to leave the island before I do my Lord's work. But so long as I live and outmaneuver whatever they throw at me, I'll be fine. I hope."

Liathel cast another gaze at the boy. "You don't seem like much of a fighter."

Edward grinned. "Look again."

Liathel did as instructed. "What am I looking fo-"

He caught a flash of color out of the corner of his eye. Slowly he traced it and found that there was a wing on the boy's right side. Turning his gaze to the left, he saw a wing there too. "You're an angel?"

Edward smiled. "Pretty sweet deal, huh? I've a few of the strengths of an Angel, but I'm still mortal. I'll get the full set of gear once I've passed on. Usually you have to be in tune with the spiritual to see the wings, but if I'm all caffeinated and you're capable of using magic, then you can see it as well."

Just then, Edward's eyes blazed in a flash of holy power. Liathel waved his hands in front of Edward's face. "Edward? Boy? Hello?"

No answer.

"Huh. Well, I suppose I'll just go and..."

Edward's neck cracked as he looked at Liathel. His mouth opened, and he spoke with an authority that wasn't there earlier. "You have sinned and not sought forgiveness, you have done evil and not repented for it...as the Lord's agent on this earth, I now pass JUDGEMENT."

And that is my exit cue!

Liathel ran, singing to help alleviate the pain of running. Hopefully one of the boy's strengths wasn't super-speed, otherwise he'd have to change his song!

Liathel tore out of the tower's base and looked around for cover. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide...wait, the tower itself! Liathel looked up. Yes, there were gargoyles. Maybe this plot could work! He sang and flew up to where there was a gargoyle missing, barely making it.

Edward burst out of the tower's base, casting his eyes around, and finding only animals. He glanced upwards, knowing that this was the only place left for anyone to hide. Slowly, his wings flapped, and he began to circle the tower, looking for signs of life.

Liathel played his harp, creating the silent image of another gargoyle in his place and also canceling out the noise of him playing. It wouldn't be a very effective illusion if people could hear him playing, and he'd learned that trick a while ago.

Edward passed by, noticing that there was nothing out of place, and that was about when the holy insanity that had seized him wore off. "Oh my, but this is going to hurt..."

Liathel watched the boy plummet, wings no longer visible, and he bounced limply off the ground. Yeowch, poor boy. Well, I could look after him until he's healed, but after that I must be on my way. He likes that coffee stuff he makes quite a bit...

Edward came to in the break room, with Liathel watching over him. Edward moved and felt stiffness all up his side. "Ow, what happened? Can't remember a thing."

Liathel was dumbfounded. "Um, flying accident. Here." He passed Edward a cup of coffee that he'd managed to create after recalling how Edward made his.

Edward sipped it and grimaced. "Not bad. Not excellent, but not bad. So why are you here?"

Liathel shrugged. "I dunno, I was just hoping to get some training in."

Edward brightened. "Then how about going with me? I'm sure that finding whatever source of massive evil lurks here isn't going to be easy, and I could use a friend!"

Liathel scratched his head. "You really don't remember anything, do ya, kid?"

Edward shook his head. "Sorry, had memory problems since I was young. If it happened just before I fell asleep, I'm not likely to remember it. I don't remember a lot of important things."

Liathel sighed. "I suppose..."

Man, Edward is a nice guy. Almost TOO nice.

So who wins, my friends? Neither one of them killed the other, but they were still interesting chapters. Right?

[The Meaning Of Fear]

Voted for coffee-addicted little freak. Not a fan of coffee myself (I've never even tried it) but this was quite well written and I found it quite funny. Same for Liathel's author, too!

Although, in terms of well-writtenness, I'd have to say Liathel's side was better. Edward needs a bit more description in his.

I chose Edward's side because in the end, his result left more plot-possibilities...

[Alegria]

hmmmmm. We've already had two people pair up, why don't we leave some seperated????