Shit was so cash (T1 free for all transcript)

[Nayt]

(23:24:28) Nayt: The great arena of Greoul was an interesting beast, truly . . . and the man in charge of it was just as interesting. His skill was a peculiar one: he could create illusions to the effect of imitating absolute reality. Combatants could enter and experience the sensations of existences that were simply never there. Today, his creation, particularly for four combatants recently partaking in battle, was that of a city. The crowd would be invisible to them; the coliseum walls, even, would cease to exist as soon as they stepped foot into the live arena. There was only the city, the massive expanse of seemingly boundless structures, structures which would all feel quite real to them. They could touch them, break them, even stand on them if they so desired. They were all Xexorian structures, however; ponds of water dotted the metropolis, but thick city blocks would be visible from the sky, all built out of sandstone and other such raw stone materials easily accessible in the desert. The sun was pounding, and would even provide a bit of fatigue and pain to those that stood within it for far too long. Indeed, the illusions cast by the arena master were far too accurate to be those of any mortal man's, but to the four combatants today, that would be the least of their worries . . .

(23:31:43) Syntaphar: Walking Unceremoniously into the ring, Stuart Macgregor checked the weapons he had brought with him. In his possession were two hammers, a rubber mallet, a small hand saw, two screwdrivers, two sets of pliers and a pair of two-by-fours crosed on his back. A quick grin flitted across his face as he took in the scenery. An urban landscape would do nicely. As it was, the sun was beating down, quickly draining him, so he would, as his first priority look for the nearest defensible structure. His two hammers were drawn and ready to seek some blood.

(23:36:01) Zach_Kaiser: A lean figure stepped into the arena, wiping the sweat from his brow. Dressed in plain traveler’s clothing—a small cloak, a white shirt, and loose fitting gray pants—and with a gold-hilted bastard sword in a sheath at his side, he couldn’t have advertised his career as treasure hunter and adventurer better if he’d worn a sign. It was amazing, really—an illusion so well done that he couldn’t see through it. That didn’t happen often, and certainly not on this scale. If he didn’t know how it worked already, he would have sworn he was suddenly transported to the Xexorian desert. “Of course it has to be the desert,” Zach Kaiser muttered, dusting off his white shirt under his traveling cloak. “Ugh, this is going to be tough. Well, at least no one’s going to get dehydrated while I’m around.”

(23:42:12) Shin: The moment the illusion took him over he was immediately happy he had opted out of taking his large black and blue trimmed coat. While he was no stranger to illusions it was obvious this one was well beyond anything he could do possibly well beyond even what the prior Azure Enigma could do. Shin carefully studied the buildings, illusion or not this place was the battle field. Blue hair tied back, dressed in his blue and white kimono with the Shiden Blade on his side and another Katana on his back he was ready for the battle at hand. It was another test, something to test the Tenken blades. Shin took care to stay in as much shade as he could, the sun was hot and he was sure he would need all the energy he could keep for the up coming fights. "The desert? The rolling hills of Cizok would have proven a much better of an arena.." He snorted, going deeper in to the city.

(23:43:51) Nayt: "Ugh. I never liked it here." He groaned aloud. The empty Xexorian streets greeted Talis McCarthy with an expected sense of loathing. He hated this place with an unrivaled passion. It brought about nothing but death and despair for simply existing. Were it not for the fact that innocent people did, in fact, live in Xexoria, he would have felt that the place needed to cease existing in general. But alas, there was nothing he could do about it, 'less some ice wench from his past came back to bite him in the ass. And that was terribly unlikely. Talis McCarthy was a bigger man, but none of it was fat content. Standing at six feet tall, he was built like some sort of heavyweight boxer; without a doubt, a man that could punch out a behemoth with a well placed right hook--without any powers backing him. "The usual gear was a bad idea, wasn't it?" Too many clothes could kill a man in this heat. Before the man took a light stroll through the dusty, sandy street he had found himself on, he rid himself of the bulkier gear. Down the road from the adventurer, he'd see a man step foot into view from a road running perpendicular to his own. Talis McCarthy carried a casual pace, with his hands buried within the confines of his jeans. A loose jacket covered his torso, unzipped, with a black sleeveless shirt beneath. Most interesting about his person, though, was his dark red hair, long and pulled back into a bushy pony tail, and the dark sunglasses over his eyes. It wasn't every day that one saw a person with that sort of fashion taste, after all.

(23:44:35) Cataclysm: A relaxed stride brought an effeminate male into the confines of the arena, a mask, covered in red slashes, obscured his face from view, hiding his civilian identity for all, but at the same time allowing the man to maintain an almost notorious reputation throughout the world. His body was clothed in the traditional and typical garments of a Cizokian warrior, a samurai, specifically, but unlike his brothers and sisters from the nation--he did not use a blade from folded metal, but instead a large and foreign one. The man’s weapons floated just beside his body, mirroring his height of 5’11” perfectly, but even still shifting ever so slightly with each step. If one could see underneath the mask that covered his face, they’d have been greeted with a large, unsettling grin; his black hair was matted, unkempt, and showed signs of not being brushed for a long time. Still, as he stepped, he carried an immeasurable sense of himself, as if he were full of both pride and joy. This was not entirely untrue, even if it was gained at a glance, as he halted his step, his body language giving off an aura of honed skill and a thirst for battle. He was a monstrosity, or so he had been called, and he would perhaps prove it his day. Who knew? Only time would tell.

(23:51:12) Syntaphar: Macgregor uttered a silent chant inside his head ans he slipped into one of the buildings. Fatigue was an issue in this environment, so Stuart would have to lighten the load on himself somehow. when his mental chant was finished, all of the weapons and accoutrements he had brought would cease to weigh him down. Upon entry to the building, Macgregor would set up a defensive post directly to one side of the entryway on the inside. A careful ear would be kept out that would alert him to anyone coming near. Another silent chant would be uttered within to make himself feel lighter. if there was anything he had learned from watching coliseum matches, it was that every millisecond counted when forced to make a quick escape. If anyone happened to walk into his doorway, they would be met with a hammer to the shin.

(23:56:32) Zach_Kaiser: For a few moments he debated on the best strategy to go with to find his opponents. Should he create some big magic show to draw people to him? Try and hide and ambush someone? Or maybe he'd just pretend to be oblivious and let them think he was ripe for ambushing. As he was considering his options, a red haired man ran past him in the distance. He blinked and stared, wondering if the heat was making him see things already, before shrugging and jogging after him. He didn't actually attack or even draw his sword, though; he just kept pace some distance behind him, as though he was simply exercising.

(00:07:22) Shin: Shin casually walked down the side of the street, keeping enough wits about him to stretch out with his other senses to locate the other fighters in this arena. He felt to presences in the matter of seconds the first was on the other side of the street located in the building the second was slightly infront of him on a street adjecent to him. 'Impossible' He knew the second person, though he told himself it couldn't be. Carefully he began to walk down an alley, Zach would continue to walk away from him and by the time he got out very possibly getting out of view..but it didn't matter, Shin had his target now, he just simply needed to track him.

(00:08:52) Nayt: Heat could be a terrible thing, more often than not. Sure, it was great when you were curled up by an open fire with a good woman, but beyond that? Annoying. Painful. Dried everything out like nobody's business. Talis hated it. That was part of the reason he hated Xexoria in the first place. It was just too goddamn hot. Mirages always screwed him up. But could there be an illusion inside of an illusion? Probably. Oh well. It wasn't something he needed to worry about. With a mirage, sight was what one got mixed up, not sound, and by God, Talis heard a sound. It wasn't too terribly loud, but the man jogging behind him didn't seem to be putting forth any effort at all to mask his presence. Without a second's hesitation, a spark flickered about the front of his glasses, a spot the adventurer jogging behind him could not see. That was, after all, the only metal on his entire person. The spark died down quickly, but the charge remained--just in case. Slowly, he came to a stop, before turning somewhat to show his profile to the approaching man. His grin was wide, indeed. Someone else was coming, too. This was going to get interesting--and fast. “Hey there. Fine day, ain’t it?” Talis’s accent was an interesting one. He might have been a native of Greoul, but his was a south Zalioner accent.

(00:10:47) Cataclysm: “<Bamboo leaves are rustling, rustling, swaying close to the roof’s edge,” the masked man would begin his walk again; his particular area of the area was empty, devoid of life. It was, after all, a large illusion, an almost breathtakingly pleasant one, at that. However, it was because of this that he had grown bored; there was nothing worthy of focusing on, no fights, no opponents, no allies, or the like. All he had around him was sand, buildings, and more sand. This did not mean he was unable to locate anyone, of course, for as the man continued to sing, his body vanished, fading into the folds of reality, it would seem, but later appearing atop a nearby building, it was small, a dwelling for the common people, it appeared, but it served his purpose and allowed him to see a good distance off. “<Oh, how the stars are twinkling,>” peering over the expanse of the arena, or what he could see, at least, the man spotted a few worthy hiding places, some of which may have already been claimed, but he had no intention of doing such. No, instead he looked for where others might be drawn, whether to camp, or to look for an opponent. “<Twinkling, gold and silver grains of sand.>” His blades, still levitating on either side of his body, wavered in the sun, twisting almost with the air itself, as they became blacker, rotating around his body, almost as though they were emulating excitement, but this was not so, it was entirely the man’s doing, subconsciously, but still by his hand did they move.

(00:16:32) Syntaphar: Swiftly, Stuart would become weary of his hiding place and remove himself from it. That isn't to say however that he would subject himself to the harsh and continentally inaccurate sun. He instead would race up a set of nearby stairs and peer out a second floor window. He would look for any debris nearby that he could chuck out at his leisure, then default to stealthily scanning up and down the street and visible alley ways. While the defensive position was a sound strategy, it was proving to be taxing to stay in one place for any amount of time in this hot environment. If something didn't come across soon, he would take things into his own hands. In preparation, he would tie a length of rope to his rubber hammer for a plan he was cooking up. He was ready for most things, and that was good enough for him.

(00:17:58) Zach_Kaiser: Kaiser stopped and grinned back. It was always nice to find someone who shared his attitude when it came to battle. “A little dry for my taste, but I guess I’ll manage,” he called back. “I don’t suppose there’s anywhere around here with some shade, is there? I like working up a sweat, but not because of heat.” He was a little disappointed; he’d seen the red hair briefly, but the man was not the broomhead he’d been looking for. Running a hand through his dark brown “mop top” which hung to his shoulders, he asked, “So, what’s your game then?”

(00:22:49) Shin: They hadn't gone out of sight at all, just farther down the street. Shin didn't bother trying to hide himself, he moved to the center of the street under the harsh sun. Walking directly towards Kaisers back, the red haired man could probably see him, but that didn't matter. Shin wasn't the type to try and kill someone all sneaky like anyways. Shin managed to get within hearing range of Kaiser, a smile creeping it's way across his face. "Game?" Shin spoke, his voice deeper then one might assume for a man of his short and diminutive stature. "This is no game Kaiser." As he spoke he crossed both arms across his chest, casually walking towards the two using a stance he had learned from the previous Azure enigma.

(00:23:57) Nayt: A song, a song . . . behind his sunglasses, Talis peered up. It was distant, but it sounded familiar enough. He must have heard traces of it earlier, too. That man was making no effort to conceal his location, either. However, the glare of the sun bounded glare off of metal, and it became downright impossible to discern the location of the song. Oh well. Talis figured, If I make a big enough explosion, it'll just have to come to me, won't it? But, of course, behind his sunglasses, his eyes were concealed, and as such, the direction in which he glanced. Nonetheless, he glanced back to the adventurer, Zach Kaiser. "Ain't no such thing as good shade here," Talis replied with a shrug. A second, very brief, spark flashed across the frame of his sunglasses--but the first one the adventurer would have the chance to see. "Yer gonna work up a sweat no matter what. But it's up to you--" Talis trailed off. It was about time the third one joined them. "--guys." Both hands were removed from his pockets, and left to hang by his sides. "Ain't no such thing as a clean fight, after all."

(00:28:47) Cataclysm: Out of the corner of his eye, the masked man would finally see what he was seeking, what he had sought from the very beginning, an opponent, and this one seemed particularly unconcerned with his surroundings. Not that the man, Akeno, cared, he wasn’t going to judge the man for it, that would not have been a very nice thing to do, after all. And regardless, it offered some fun, a relief of boredom. Now, with a target in sight, Akeno would once again fade, his body instantaneously shifting from the dwelling, onto the ground, and atop another dwelling. This would be different than last time, however; as Stuart would be able to see Akeno, the masked man, standing directly in front of his window, albeit a distance away. “Aha!” He shouted, trying to gain the other’s attention, his hands cupped to where his mouth should be, but this did not mean the other would hear the man. Actually, he very well might have chosen to ignore Akeno, but this would probably aggravate the warrior. That wouldn’t have been cool. Regardless of Stuart’s actions, the masked man would eventually lower his cupped hands, his right reaching upwards and grasping the hilt of his blade. He wasn’t one for foreplay, he wanted to get right into the action, in fact; Stuart was lucky that he was given a warning at all before the attack. Kumamoto was feeling particularly generous this day.

(00:38:43) Syntaphar: Stuart took a minute to register what had just happened. All of his plans had just been trampled into the dirt by some guy who seemed to just materialize on the roof. When he was done registering, a small stream of obscenities began to pour out, quite revealing of the fact that MacGregor was a carpenter in normal life. He began to enact a small backup plan. He would put away his hammers and quickly pull one of his near weightless two-by-fours. He would begin a quick chant in his head that would make the plank far surpass it's normal weight for about a second upon the chants completion. However, rather than waste it, he would stop the chant in his head just before the last syllable. That way, when this playful swordsman appeared, he would swing it as though it were a feather and speak the final vocal component before it landed. As force equals mass times acceleration, it would be a truly devastating blow if it landed. The last thought he had before he prepared for the attack was "Batter Up."

(00:45:35) Zach_Kaiser: "Heh...fighting shouldn't be dirty! It should shine!" Though, even as he spoke, he noticed something from the red-haired man. Was it a...spark? Great...if he uses electricity... Even before he could finish the thought, though, he whirled around at the sound of a familiar. "Shin?!" he exclaimed with a frown. "Hmph...you know what your problem is? You take everything way too seriously. If you live to fight, don'tcha think you should at least enjoy it?" He turned again, assessing his situation. A possible electric user on one side, Shin Shiden, royal pain in the ass on the other. Not a good set up. A bit of sweat began to break out. "Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you two fight, then I'll take winner?" he asked with a nervous chuckle.

(00:54:20) Shin: Shin casually looked from the Talis to Kaiser, he didn't care all that much about the Red-haired man but he was still a threat and one that he didn't the capabilities of. Kaiser on the other hand, Shin had a decent idea of he could do, though he was sure the water using man could say the same thing about him. On the other hand...Shin began to grin from ear to ear. "I enjoy it, on a more personal level. But I believe we have a score to settle?" Shin came forward at the moment Kaiser turned his attention back on Talis, he dashed forward using only his natural speed to close the distance between him and Kaiser. As he neared he unsheathed the katana on his right hip in his classic Iaijutsu strike, which while properly aimed was at least six inches short of reaching Kaiser... the powerful slash of 'air' that came from his blade would create a deep cut if it struck Kaiser, even if it missed then Talis would have to deal with current of air, though it wouldn't be very effective beyond the red-haired man.

(00:58:47) Nayt: "Heh . . . hah . . ." Talis's laugh was slow and methodical. Clearly, he was feigning his laugh. Yes, without a doubt it was a fake laugh, uttered strictly to either patronize the adventurer or let him relax a little. After all, it was never fun when a person didn't laugh at your jokes. Though, Talis did shake his head a little. He was indifferent towards it, though, specifically because of how little it truly mattered in the end. Either way, the joker was attacked, and either way, Talis experienced a rush of wind, kicking up sand in its wake, a sandblast which was more effective than the gust of wind would've been on any other day, at any other place. Talis had simply grounded his left boot into the dry sand, letting that act as his anchor to keep him from stumbling. The sand, however, temporarily blinded him. Sunglasses had their drawbacks, after all. As much as they made seeing easier, especially for him, they equally made it harder under specific circumstances. Not that it mattered either way. Hidden behind a very brief gust of sand was another, much larger spark. Those two could duke it out for now; that'd be perfectly fine. It just meant they'd have a harder time dealing with him in just a few moments . . .

(01:00:59) Cataclysm: Puzzled by the other man’s actions, bringing out what looked to be a piece of timber; Akeno could not contain his curiosity and proceeded to investigate. Normally, he would have simply appeared, right in the other’s face, and begin to thoroughly pummel them to death with his bare hands, occasionally making use of his sword, or his feet. But this time would be different; he just couldn’t help himself, and would appear in range of the other’s attack. Indeed, this would be where he finished his chant, swinging the 2x4’s in an attack against the masked individual. It would most definitely make contact with Akeno, it was too sudden for even him to dodge, he really wasn’t expecting to be attacked by lumber, and especially not lumber with this much force behind it. Indeed, he just barely blocked, bringing his sword down, the ebony blade glistening in the light of the sun, and making contact with the lumber. Surprisingly, the 2x4 did not break, instead, by some manner of sorcery, it actually withstood Akeno’s blade, forged from the very energy that made up life itself, and did not so much as splinter. This was as perplexing as they come and while others may have been disheartened, it merely increased Akeno’s excitement, by a ton. “Oho! This one’s full of tricks, isn’t he?” Akeno said, sliding his hand further down the hilt of his blade, which was held upside down in a block, and with an exertion of force, he would push the blade forwards, bring it backwards, and shuffle a few steps back. When the two things clashed, a vibration had run up his arm, most likely doing the same to Stuart, but Akeno wasn’t concerned with that. Finally, as the man finished gauging his opponent, observing how he handled the block, whether or not he was surprised, Akeno finally let go of the blade held in his right hand, opting for the smaller blade to his left. “This’ll be fun,” he remarked, bringing the second, smaller blade to his front, both hands firmly grasped upon its hilt. Ultimately, this blade was a foot and a half smaller, it was more of a companion blade, complimenting a two-sword style, but with the sheer size of the primary weapon, one would have to wonder just how they were wielded. Theoretically, they’d have to weigh a lot, after all; and if Stuart was able to put that together, then he would most likely have a very slim idea of his opponent’s fighting style.

(01:12:57) Syntaphar: Ouch. Stuart had encountered this sort of vibration before, when he had brought a mass-increased sledge down on a reinforced piece of metal that refused to budge. Like then, it felt as though is arm had caught fire for a moment. Another stream of obscenities flew from his mouth like a flock of alarmed birds. He immediately began going over his options in his head. He decided he would go for a snare. Intimidated only slightly by the size of the prankster's blades, he would subtly draw his rope/rubber hammer combo and fling it around in an arc. Using the same tactic as before, he would increase the mass of the 2x4 as it came across. However, something trickier was planned for the hammer. He would increase it's mass too, but also prepare a weight decreasing chant to be cast through it. It was intended to trip the swordsman up as the rope wrapped around his legs while the plank distracted him. Finally, Stuart would cast indirectly through the rope directly on his opponent, making him lighter and easier to trip. The wood had defense on the upper covered, while any low attacks would be met by a sudden durability and weight enhanced boot.

(01:13:51) Zach_Kaiser: Indeed, Kaiser knew what Shin was capable of, but that didn't mean he could predict his moves perfectly. He expected physical slash and dropped low, ducking under it--he did not expect to Shin to stop short or for the gust of air to whip just over his head. He swore he saw a few hairs flutter down. Geez, did he get even faster? But outwardly, he kept his cocky attitude up. "What score to settle?" he asked as he leaped from his crouch onto a nearby, one-story building. He did not want to be trapped between two opponents if he could help it. "I seem to remember kicking your ass!" With that he extended one hand and unleashed a rapid barrage of water bursts--individually not very strong, but if they all hit it would be like being pummeled. Simultaneously he extended his other one and shot water through the dust at where the red-haired man was, too, just to keep him on his toes.

(01:24:13) Shin: Shins smile was replaced with a cold look, his opponent was Kaiser, not the red haired man. His attack had been evaded completely, but that didn't mean Shin stopped all together. He was an expert at reading his opponents, dissecting styles and finding weaknesses. Therefore, as Kaiser leaped into the air Shin was not far behind him. However, Shins leap took him to the other side of the street, leaving Talis in the middle. Kaisers individual blasts of water were easily taken care of, for each blast that came in his direction Shin slashed through the air at it, severing them in two and sending them to either side of him before they could get close enough to endanger him.

(01:35:32) Nayt: To Stuart and Akeno in the distance, there would be a sound--quiet at first, but growing quickly into a catastrophic mess. The sound was much akin to a meteor's fall; the veritable shattering of the sound barrier, blasting wind in all directions and covering perhaps the entire block in a mess of dust, in which it was nigh possible to see. The sound may have even distracted them from their own battle--not that it would matter, not to Stuart and Akeno, nor to Kaiser and Shiden. The latter two specifically, in a way most hypocritical to logic in general, as it concerned them the most! However, the problem they'd experience with the sound was that by the time they'd hear it, it'd be too late. They'd already be pushed down, kicked down in the most literal of senses, kicked in the head or shoulders, the torso--kicked so hard, so instant, so immediate that they'd only be given the chance to perhaps lessen the blow. Even Kaiser couldn't move this fast. It was in such a quick instant that both would be propelled down, struck with simultaneous pains that would barrel them down and into the roof-- the ceiling-- all of it, throwing them into the pits of the building, perhaps quicker than they could react, perhaps not-- perhaps quick enough for them to defend themselves? It mattered little, however, if they blocked the nigh visible kicks of a meteor of a man descending upon them; they would be forced into the building either way-- a building in which there was little safe haven, for the very moment they might have the opportunity to see the red haired man hovered over the new hole in the roof, the building would collapse, to fall apart in a righteous electronic fury, shattering at the walls as an unholy shockwave would tear through and spread almost as quick as Talis McCarthy descended upon them. And there goes them charges.

(01:42:26) Cataclysm: Quirking his head, Akeno was surprised again. He had fought many people, some not-people, and things he couldn’t even describe. Conflict entertained him, he was just that type of person, he enjoyed fighting, bleeding, and he especially enjoyed hurting others. But even though this entertained him, it wasn’t quite like this, it wasn’t like what Stuart was doing, offering. The masked man had half the thought to simply let Stuart do as he liked, setting up his little tricks, or whatever it was that he had planned. But … Could he? This was entirely new to the man, not killing his opponent out right, the last time he had this much fun, though, was when he faced Kanemeate. Unluckily for Stuart, he would find that the second he slung the rope, Akeno had become aware of its existence, and his body shifted yet again. This time, however; he did not appear a dozen yards away, instead, with his blade coming down in a slash, he appeared just to Stuart’s side, the suddenness of the attack had an obvious advantage, of course, but it was purposely slow. A great deal of control was credited to Akeno, as his sword came down, even if Stuart didn’t block, he would only be grazed by the weapon, a trivial wound, but he would also come away with the knowledge that Akeno was by no means a man who could be snared, at least not easily so. Even as the blade came down, his body’s momentum was just catching up with him, as his feet slid slightly, he was still in control, however; and his body did not go any further then he had intended,. Still, Akeno was not a fan of this particular setting, the area they were fighting in, in fact; he scarcely remembered how he had gotten to where he had, the curse of using his quick bursts of speed. Sometimes everything was a blur; it took a very strong mind to keep up. The next chance he got, he’d try and force Stuart back down the stairs and outside. Although, if he remembered, he‘d have to come back for the hammer, which had completely missed him. It could perhaps be a trophy. And then, still in mid-attack, Akeno would hear it, he would even be distracted by it, giving Stuart a chance to counter, or possibly chant a specific effect onto Akeno. It was curious, the sound, as it was akin to others he had heard in the past, sonic booms, he believed them to be called, but he didn’t know this for sure. To any effect, it didn’t concern him, but for it to have made him so sloppy as to become distracted--someone would have to die for that. Later.

(01:55:19) Syntaphar: Stuart wasn't all too surprised when Akeno phased out. It was a common tactic among those who could do it in the many matches he had watched. However, that he could almost see it coming was no substitute for preparedness as the horrendous sound of sword through flesh began to tickle MacGregor's ear. However, a plan would come out of it, just the same. Stuart's powers were increased when both affecting synthetic objects and touching them directly. Therefore, when Akeno's blade touched him physically, Stuart could unleash his mass-decreasing spell. This spell has designed with extra power in mind to overcome the handicap of both hitting an organic target and hitting it indirectly. The spell would flow into the sword, making it many times lighter, sparser and most importantly, frailer. Then, fortune struck. A loud noise came from across the battlefield, distracting even the swordsman! Stuart had learned long ago to no longer be distracted by loud noises. Working in construction practically demanded it. As fortune would have it as well, his trusty hammer was still arcing around. So, with a mighty blow from both the hammer and the 2x4, both with increased mass upon impact, the severely weakened sword held by the distracted owner would receive a humongous blow, possibly even shattering it. At the very least, Stuart thought, It would be punched through like cookie dough. If all went as planned, then his prankster opponent may be severely handicapped soon, without his main sword.

(01:58:53) Zach_Kaiser: Shin may have split the attacks around him, but that didn’t eliminate the danger. Kaiser grinned as the water gathered behind his opponent, and Shin, with no sense for magic, would likely be oblivious. “Gotcha.” And that was when the sky seemed to come down on top of him. Protecting his face and upper body, he managed to block some of the attacks more through luck than anything, but in the end he was still launched down through the ceiling. However, miraculously, he landed on his feet. He growled; ignoring the pain from multiple serious bruises and the aching protest of his legs from landing, he immediately shot back up into the air in an attempt to plant his fist into his opponent’s gut, figuring after something like that his opponent would not be expecting an immediate counterattack—especially one that had the unplanned but fortunate side effect of being boosted by the sudden shockwave that occurred immediately after he jumped, accelerating him into his opponent.

(02:05:22) Nayt: McCarthy had been looking down into the hole in Kaiser's roof; however, the dust kicked up into the air made it damn near impossible to see much, especially with his sunglasses on. Oh well. His shockwave had a bit of an unfortunate side-effect, one named Zach Kaiser roaring his fist into Talis's gut, igniting only a vague grunt from the man, but it was nothing as bad as Kaiser was getting himself into. It wasn't even half a second following his fist blasting into Talis's gut that he was grasped by the wrist. Of course, the first problem he might notice was that he barely moved Talis at all. He may have been seemingly hovering, and thus easy to throw in one direction or the other, but in reality, he was being drawn towards the electrical movement down below at a much stronger rate than Kaiser was throwing his punch. "That all ya got?" Was all Kaiser would hear before electro-static noise: the flow of static from a massive electrical pulse that created an awkward effect to the ears, one usually heard just a moment before the inevitable electrical pulse that could very well put a man like Kaiser down. He might not have expected it, but the shockwave carried its own gargantuan charge, paired now with a charge from Talis McCarthy himself.

(02:08:42) Cataclysm: The sound of the sonic boom would become deafened as an increasingly annoying ringing sound erupted throughout Akeno’s head, he barley had a moment to register that his blade has become lighter, when it was ran through and shattered by the hammer and 2x4. A bolt of electricity seemed to course through his body, as he leaped back in obvious pain, his back pressing against the nearest wall, his left hand hanging limply to the front of him, his right, still clutching the hilt of his shattered sword, eventually released its grip on the thing, allowing it to fall to the ground, where it turned to dust on the spot. Blocking his instincts to grab his other weapon, Akeno instead begin to close the link he held with the larger blade, feeling as the metaphysical vein, the connection he shared with his weapon, became smaller and smaller with each passing second. Instead, the top-half of his clothing would begin to deconstruct, turning into globs of white, luminescent energy. This energy, as time passed, would become triangular in shape, but they would not leave his body just yet, instead they’d hover about him, linking together, almost like a chain. A very unhappy masked man made no movement towards his enemy, admittedly he may have underestimated Stuart, a mistake he was not going to make again, but the other would have to be punished for breaking his weapon. This had only happened once before, against another who shared Akeno’s abilities. He could not yet attack, however; and this was in Stuart’s favor. It would take time for his chain of triangles to form, not to mention, even as he did so, he was still closing off the link he shared with his weapon. This, too, would take time.

(02:20:04) Syntaphar: Uh-oh. Stuart had struck a major blow towards victory, but it seemed he was in no way out of the woods yet. His opponent seemed to be amassing energy right in front of him. In the matches he'd seen, MacGregor noted that about half the time, such last ditch masses of energy were ignored, and that same half of the time it turned the fight around. Stuart couldn't let that happen. He would bring in the hammer as quickly as he could and tie his carpenter's belt full of his specially attuned tools onto the hammer's handle. He would decrease their weight as normal, and begin whipping it in a circle effortlessly like a bull whip, gathering as much centrifugal force as he could. Upon seeing Akeno not attack, Stuart came down with what should have been the final blow. The man's torso would be impacted by a tool belt full of incredible heavy tools (imparting a huge mass) brought down after several rotations (providing a huge acceleration). The resultant force would demolish a normal human, and as Stuart hoped, would finish off this abnormal one. The 2x4s would be kept on emergency reserve.

(02:23:34) Zach_Kaiser: “All I got?” The punch didn’t do nearly as much damage or move his opponent nearly as much as it should have, especially considering he was floating. This didn’t bother him, though, at least not compared to the crackling of electricity below him, and the way it tugged at him. “Don’t ya got any sense of pacing?” Static or not, he didn’t much like the stuff. Moving more like a monkey than anything, his lower body flipped around as he planted his feet on the man’s chest. At the same time, his hand would suddenly become cold and slippery, difficult to grasp, followed shortly by impossibly sudden and strong force coming from the adventurer’s feet. He intended to shunpo kick the man down into his own shockwave, and propel himself the hell away from it.

(02:29:47) Nayt: This did not, however, prevent Kaiser from taken the charge from Talis himself, who had been holding onto Kaiser's wrist when he induced it. Direct contact--it was like grounding electricity, an instantaneous effect, but there was a chance, like all things, that it could be dulled temporarily. The man indeed swung around Talis and kicked off of him; Talis couldn't maintain his grip, but that mattered little in the end. By the point that Kaiser would be much higher than twelve feet above him, he might feel himself slow in pain, interrupted as the shock, temporarily dulled before, would come back to haunt him and stun him right where he was. A temporary stun, of course, and one that was accompanied by quite a bit of pain--but the temporary aspect may well have been ever-lasting. A temporary paralysis at that moment could prove fatal. "'Course I do!" Talis shouted contently as he was thrown back into the shockwave, "Ya just ain't strong enough to keep pace with me!" That, as he declared it, would come at the same time as Kaiser's momentary paralysis would, as Talis hit his shockwave with his right hand out towards Kaiser, where ever it was he stopped-- in the air, more than likely. Were Kaiser stopped from moving in a paralyzing pain, even for a fraction of a second, it would spell the end of the battle. Talis's hand, motioned like a gun, would release a spear of electrical current through the man, with the shockwave disappearing almost as soon as it touched him--no, no, the shockwave didn't disappear. The massive jolt of electrical current had simply been routed. Only under certain conditions could Talis McCarthy succumb to electrocution, and those conditions all required him to be grounded . . .

(02:36:16) Cataclysm: The hammer would bypass Akeno, who appeared to have not moved at all, but had actually side-stepped just that fast. It was to Akeno’s hope that the hammer would impact into a wall, if it didn’t, that was fine, too. Still, the man side-stepped, and as he did so the very last triangle, linked to the one before it was finished, and the chain would double up, the connection that linked Akeno to his weapon would also close, as luck would have it, and he would use his right hand to wield the weapon before him. If this one broke, it would not cause the death of the man, as it would have previously. Even if his chain failed to entangle the man, it was to Akeno’s advantage that it could possibly stop his 2x4 from being used as a weapon, at least for a short time, and if the man tried to change the properties Akeno‘s weapons again, the masked attacker would do his best to prevent it, through a series of furious slashes, assuming a measure of concentration was required on Stuart’s part. Regardless, if it came down to it, they were going to go for a very fast, very rough ride. The hammer would bypass Akeno, who appeared to have not moved at all, but had actually side-stepped just that fast. It was to Akeno’s hope that the hammer would impact into a wall, if it didn’t, that was fine, too. Still, the man side-stepped, and as he did so the very last triangle, linked to the one before it was finished, and the chain would double up, the connection that linked Akeno to his weapon would also close, as luck would have it, and he would use his right hand to wield the weapon before him. If this one broke, it would not cause the death of the man, as it would have previously. With the hammer having been dodged again, Akeno once again vanished, this time appearing in front of his opponent, the sword would, like before, be brought down into a slash, but this time it would have a considerable amount of weight added to it. Indeed, just as Stuart was able to manipulate the weight of his weapons, Akeno was able to mimic the effect, this, however; came naturally for the man. It took no chants or spells to bring it about, the energy that composed his weapon was his to rule, to manipulate, and so he did. But this was not the end of his attack, which if dodged, would shatter the very floor itself, but to compliment the attack--the chain that had been formed--would move from around Akeno’s body, like a serpent crafted from metal, and attempt to entangle his opponent’s arms, reducing maneuverability. Even if his chain failed to entangle the man, it was to Akeno’s advantage that it could possibly stop his 2x4 from being used as a weapon, at least for a short time, and if the man tried to change the properties Akeno‘s weapons again, the masked attacker would do his best to prevent it, through a series of furious slashes, assuming a measure of concentration was required on Stuart’s part. Regardless, if it came down to it, they were going to go for a very fast, very rough ride.

(02:44:31) Syntaphar: As it stood, the hammer would not break through the wall. It would, however, break most of the floor, likely causing the both of them to tumble down. Stuart, in the heat of the moment, had forgotten to cancel the spell on his foe hammer, and thus was pulled quickly to the ground. However, with a bit of quick thinking, he would nearly neutralize his own weight, all but negating any major wounds suffered from falling 10 feet onto sandstone rubble. If Akeno jumped down after him, MacGregor would try another last ditch plan. He would reverse the polarity of the mass magics on the tool kit, rendering it much lighter than air. Then, as Stuart coughs up blood from the mental strain, he would reverse it again and esentially turn the upwardly speeding tool belt into a wrecking ball. If even that failed, he would roll onto his stomach and hobe the two-by-fours were enough to stob the oncoming thrust.

(02:58:43) Zach_Kaiser: While he'd succeeded in getting airborne, he hadn't completely avoided damage--lingering electricity that had been flowing through his opponent had jumped to him, and as attuned to water as he was he felt the shock much more than the average person. He was stunned for just a few seconds, but those few seconds would be long enough for the lance of electricity to reach him. It crashed, sparked, and crackled, a massive jolt enough to take down any opponent, let alone one vulnerable to electricity. But when the crackle faded, there would be Kaiser, a bit singed but otherwise fine--and around him, a nearly transparent bubble, still flashing with a few stray tendrils of energy. "Y'know...I really didn't want to have to pull this so early. You're supposed to work your way up to this kind of thing, y'know?" Holy magic, which specialized in defensive and restorative abilities--though Kaiser was better at the few offensive options the magic had, he could still throw up a shield when he needed to. Paralysis only affected the body, after all--it did little to his control over mana other than make it tough to see where he was aiming, if he used offensive magic. "The radiance to pierce the strongest defenses," he chanted, a bright light appearing in his hand even as he hit the top of his arc. "Holy Lance!" A great spear of light, thrown as fast as lightning, like divine judgment coming to smite Talis.

(03:12:05) Nayt: "Hah," Talis smirked as his foot touched the floor of the former building; a building which now lay in ruins around him, "Work yer way up?" The stray static around Kaiser faded quickly--disappeared, just like the shockwave before . . . rerouted. It was the lingering electricity in the vicinity, electricity which allowed Talis McCarthy to thrive in combat. Once upon a time, in the midst of war, he was a hellion in the sky: quite literally absorbing the elecricity running through airships, jumping to the next, and absorbing the electricity of those just as well, using them as some form of sadistic leapfrog-- and the Covenant ran. Kaiser's lance of light struck true to the floor, hitting the floor dead center, where the dust remained from Talis McCarthy's movement. A breeze of air would be all Kaiser would feel, but no attack would come of it. Rather, there was only Talis, hovering once again, just feet behind him. "If I ain't mistaken, that's a warmup for me." As Talis flashed a grin once more, another flicker of electricity cast about his sunglasses . . .

(03:13:29) Cataclysm: “Huh,” the masked man sounded, as he jumped back from the hole forming in the floor, having to do so twice, to avoid falling to the base level of the building. That was most definitely not something he was expecting to happen and as it turned out, Stuart was an extremely lucky guy, a second or two too late and he’d have probably been killed or something. “Re~source~ful, aren’t you~, friend?” Truthfully, getting close to Stuart was a very good choice, whenever he did, Akeno risked some ill effects from the man’s magic or whatever it was that he used. But, ultimately, the masked man was also a close range fighter, he was faster, by all means, but if both his swords had been destroyed … He’d be dead, right now. Done in by a carpenter of some sort. For a mass murderer, that was perhaps as close to justice as he’d ever get, but he wasn’t quite ready for that to happen. “So, … Uh, what do we~~ do now? Do I jump down, attack you a few more times, have my weapons destroyed, kick you, ram you into a wall at high speeds, and then see which of us can take the most beating in the shortest amount of time?” Akeno kicked a few debris down, towards Stuart’s general direction, making a well accented tsk sound as he did so. The man kneeled at the edge of the hole, supporting his weight onto the tips of his toes, like a child staring at something of interest upon the ground.
“Well …,” he started to speak again, delinking one of the triangles on his chain, throwing the bladed object at Stuart, almost playfully. “Another time,” he finally said, after a moment’s pause. “I like you, like you. We’re going to have a lot of fun, you and me.” Today was a strange day for the man, he was actually behaving somewhat calm, something that didn’t happen often, mostly because his opponent wasn’t a warrior, but … Something else. His profession did not seem that of a killer, Akeno simply did not get that feel from him, that vibe that sets off his animal instincts, but … That did not mean Stuart MacGregor wasn’t a dangerous person. For a relatively normal man to keep Kumamoto Akeno on his toes, that said something. Sadly, this also meant Stuart was now marked for life. Saying nothing further, literally, nothing, the masked individual would leave, fading out almost instantly after vocalizing that he intended to continue this at some point. This was not to say that he left the arena, of course. He may have been resting, choosing to strike another time, or he may have left all together. Stuart would have to find out the hard way, wouldn’t he?