[Last Time, on Battle High: Kairi's dead, and somebody at the school did it. Further, Principal Nagawa won't help at all, which forces our heroes to track down his killer if they would see justice done.] [Even worse, though, on the tail of this horrible news, they have a fight to appear at in sub-basement 5, against Mariah's boyfriend's team. [It was much easier to find sub-basement five, and it turns out that they were on the right track when they were sidetracked by the library with all its yummy resources. That stairwell was open this time, and led down, down, down, until it came out into a large room, big enough to hold a fight in all by its lonesome, where Principal Nagawa awaited.] [It is now approximately five minutes to the showdown, and your opponents still have not arrived.] [Session... START!] * Isaac looks around nervously. ~Are you sure this is a good idea?~ * Ao-Lang 's arms are folded, and she's frowning. She's been bouncing between angry, determined, and depressed the entire time. Seems she's settled on angry and determined now. "What, doing the fight? We can't give up now." * Mariah is standing at attention. holding her staff by her side. She's still stonefaced. "This is a fight we need right now. I know I need it." ~I'm just, um... worried.~ * The sound of feet stomping down the stairs, accompanied by soft voices, comes down the stairwell. * Ao-Lang whirls on Isaac. "There's nothing to-" And she stops at the sound, looking over. * Isaac jumps at the sound and turns to the voices. * Mariah turns to the voices. "... I'm going to guess that's them." * True to Mariah's prediction (maybe she's psychic after all!), your opponents tromp down the staircase and line up across the room from you. Quentin nods as each of the five enters. * Isaac 's eyes briefly flash red as he looks over the five of them. * Karasu glances that way, staring at them through his shades. * Ao-Lang eyes them and takes a few breaths. She's shaking a little. * Mariah looks resolute. She nods slightly but doesn't say anything. * Karasu looks calm and almost emotionless. * Quentin looks down each team's line, then says softly, "It's time to learn about the special conditions of this fight." * Ao-Lang turns her attention to Quentin. She closes her fists. * Mariah turns her attention to Quentin. * Isaac blinks and steps behind Ao-Lang, putting her between him and Quentin. * the other team looks utterly shocked, except for Clinton, whose face is utterly still as he watches the principal. Behind me is an immense underground complex, essentially a dungeon. Your fight will take place entirely inside the dungeon. Because of the cramped space within, it will be effectively impossible to hold a large brawl between the entirety of both teams. In addition to this, one team will enter first, with a head start of one minute. One minute after you enter, the other team will be loosed to hunt you down. The last team with standing members wins. It is up to you how you decide who will be first in, and who will be second. * Clinton looks across the floor separating the teams, straight into Ao-Lang's eyes, and says carefully, "We will allow them to choose." * Ao-Lang looks back at Clinton, then folds her arms, taking a deep breath to calm herself and looking down at the floor. We'll go first. * Mariah averts her eyes to the ceiling, apparently in thought. Yeah. * Ao-Lang looks back. "Yeah, we'll go first." * Isaac nods. I have no objections. * Quentin's lips twitch just a little, as if he would like to smile, then steps aside, towards Clinton. "Then enter. Your sixty seconds begins as soon as the last of you is through the door. * Isaac looks a bit worried, then over at Mariah. * Mariah meets Isaac's gaze. She nods shallowly, almost imperceptibly. * Karasu doesn't get looked at. He's probably angsting about it. * Ao-Lang thinks, then nods. She waves for her team to follow her, winks at Mariah, then walks in. "Karasu and Isaac, with me." * Isaac motions with his hands at Mariah. * Isaac follows Ao-Lang! * Karasu heads in! He turns his head and gazes at Mariah as he goes, but he doesn't change his expression. * Mariah stands back and waits. * Time passes slowly, oh so slowly, when you're waiting. * Mariah looks to be able to wait all day. She looks... composed. * Time passed nears the sixty second mark, Mariah can see them watching her, wondering what the hell is up. * Mariah shrugs. "I'll go in when I'm ready. I hope this isn't a problem?" * Quentin's lips twitch a little more than last time. You've only got a few seconds left. I'm... you know... communing with the dungeon. * Sekmet looks over at Quentin. "TIme's up, right? We can get her?" * Quentin levels an icy look at Sekmet. "The countdown has not yet started. If you go before I tell you, your team will be disqualified." * Sekmet and Kale both gape at this pronoucement. * Mariah idly twirls a loop of hair with the hand that isn't holding her staff. * Kale whirls to glare at Mariah. "That's cheating, you cheap little-" He cuts off as Yarslov's hand slams into his mouth, apparently prompted by a slight nudge from Clinton. * Mariah glances towards Principal Quentin. "I'm sorry, am I doing something wrong? I'm just trying to, you know, get the vibes..." Very clever, Mariah. Well.. thanks, if you think so. * Mariah looks off towards the ceiling, as if at something invisible. "The energy fields... I got it!" She opens the door into the dungeon and takes off running. **Just over a minute later** * A resounding CRASH reverberates down the stone halls as one of those stout oaken doors shatters. The incredible echoing explosion is followed in short order by an equally loud bellow of rage as Clayton comes out on the other side. * Ao-Lang glances around in the room she's holed herself in, particularly the pillar behind her. She tenses slightly but doesn't move. * Mariah braces herself in her location. "Just wait for it, you have the momentum..." * Karasu slides around the corner and heads northwards, silently as he can. * Isaac stays behind that pillar! ~Do you know who that is, Mariah?~ ~I think it's Clayton -- he's the berserker, so... ~ ~That would make sense.~ * Not but two seconds later, Clayton comes barreling straight through the space that Karasu was occuping, not looking to the sides at all, just charging straight ahead like a blindered horse. * Karasu continues northwards until he gets to the corner, then checks to see if Clayton's following. * Ao-Lang backs up, snapping open her right tessen. ~If not engaged, it probably won't take him long to get here.~ * Ao-Lang steps right around a corner and glances down the other passageway. ~*nod* I'll be waiting~ * Clayton comes barreling around a corner in Ao's vision, skids to a halt just short of the wall... and looks west. Ao-Lang can -feel- his gaze locking onto her, like he's a cruise missile. * RDMgryphon is now known as RDMenchi * Ao-Lang doesn't hesitate as she spins, throwing her open tessen. "Sprial Wave!" Before long, all Clayton can see is spinning fan rushing for him, picking up more water and leaving a trail as it tries to circle, cutting him from all directions. ~Come on, take the bait...~ * The rushing water obscures Clayton entirely for a moment, and when the torrent clears, an even angrier Clayton is standing there, massive greatsword held behind him. He's soaking wet, breathing hard, but still angry as hell, and he's not gonna take it anymore. * Mariah turns north and tenses, bringing her staff to a horizontal position and narrowing her eyes. ~Waiting for it...~ * Karasu heads back down, flattening against the wall and glancing around the corner at Clayton. * Ao-Lang catches the tessen sharply, waves at Clayton, and backs up, rounding the corner north. * Clayton bellows in rage and Mariah, being far too close for comfort, can feel the sheer amount of power he's throwing off raising the hair on the back of her neck, and trying to raise all the hair on her head. * Mariah winces... but she takes a step forward and spins her staff in a sharp arc, projecting a cone of roaring flames that fills the corridor in front of her. * Clayton slams straight through the column as it goes off just a tad early. The power of the flame, though, seems almost to recoil away from his body as he charges straight through it. * Isaac steps forward and makes a swing for Clayton as he runs past, striking his sword against the wall as he steps forward, ignighting the green blade. ~Lambda strike!~ * Karasu charges down the southern corridor, towards his original position. But as he passes, e fires a dark bolt of energy down the hall at Clayton. "Raven Wing!" * Clayton whips his greatsword around from behind him as Isaac strikes. The blades slam together with a resounding ring of steel on steel, and Isaac's blade is very nearly ripped from his hand. * Clayton is, however, taken completely by surprise as the black bird of energy slams into his back, pitching him forward. He catches himself at the last minute, and turns to glare at where Karasu... was. * Isaac grips his blade with two hands. ~Gah!~ * Now that Isaac is up close, he, too, can feel the power rolling off Clayton in waves. He almost feels as though he could lose his grip on his body, but that's ridiculous. * Ao-Lang slows, sneaking around the corner and to the pillar Isaac was at originally. Wave is open and in her hand again, picking up droplets of water. She watches silently, waiting for Clayton to rush in one direction or the other. * Isaac backs away, mantaining a defensive pose. * Mariah readies her staff again, concentrating at the hallway in front of her, posture tense. * Ao-Lang throws her tessen, and it picks up water *again* as it streams through the air. "Spiral Wave!" she shouts as it crashes straight for Clayton. * The wave of water streaks past right over Isaac's head, streaming unimpeded into Clayton and past him into the wall beyond, even as CLayton's power takes another massive spike upward, so that even Ao-Lang can feel it, as far away as she is. When the stream finally dies away to nothing, all they see is a brief glimpse of Clayton's dry back as he streaks away up the hallway. ~What's *with* him? I think we should follow if he keeps running. He's set, and we're making noise here.~ ~I have NO clue! It's scaring me though.~ ~We have to take him down.~ ~I'm working on it!~ * Mariah doesn't move from her stance from the waist down, still tense... but in one smooth gesture she swings her staff forward, the air around it crackling with energy and releasing a lightning bolt down the corridor in front of her. "Shock Bolt." It's less a battle cry than a declaration, her focus making her voice flat and firm. * The bolt lashes out, lighting up the entire hallway that Clayton is running down. It slams directly into Clayton, or seems to, anyway, and then he's gone in a blur down the hallway. * Karasu does the crazy thing and swirves around the corner, closing in with Mr. Nasty. He gains his dark glow as he goes. * Ao-Lang dashes on an angle through the room, rushing for Clayton, too. She throws both tessen for him as she goes. * Isaac steps out from behind the hallway, striking up a spark and sending it Clayton's way in an overhand slash. ~Sonic Stream!~ * The tessen sweep down the hallway, then are caught up in the Isaac's attack. To Ao-Lang and Isaac, it appears that the attacks hit, but Karasu can see them stop bounce off somethign about a foot away from the charging berserker. * Mariah doesn't dare break her teammates' line of fire, so she holds her tense position, waiting for any sign of the other team. * Clayton keeps right on charging, changing direction only slightly to charge straight into Karasu, whipping his sword up and around from behind him, taking a chunk out of the wall without slowing in the least. * Karasu blocks the attack, staggering back from the force of the blow. * Clayton rebounds up off of Karasu, leaping up into the air. He whips his sword around overhead, slashing a large gouge into the ceiling, and at the height of his leap screams almost incoherently, "RHINO DOWNHILL!" He lashes downward with the greatsword straight down Karasu's centerline as he falls, and by the rage in his eyes, this might just be intended to kill. * Karasu blocks this attack, too, staggaring back and slamming into the wall. * Karasu falls to a crouch, breathing heavily. Then his head snaps up and he looks at Clayton. He charges in, thrusting a hand at Clayton, fingers pointed at him. "Raven Calamity Crimson!" * Clayton makes no attempt to dodge, if he even CAN, as Karasu's pointed fingers slam straight into his chest. A spray of blood gushes out, splattering brightly across Karasu's black-on-black outfit. Clayton stops dead in his tracks, eyes going dull. * Karasu doesn't stop, though. He withdraws his hand as he spins, leaping and throwin a roundhouse at his neck. "Raven Nine-Needle Slasher!" * A blade of dark energy sprouts on the leading edge of Karasu's leg, and once more, Clayton makes no move to dodge or block. The blade slams straight into his neck a moment before Karasu's leg sends him flying across the floor to slam into the wall, then down it, slumped in unconsciousness. * Karasu lands, gasping and clutching his chest with one hand. ~... Karasu's badass.~ ~Good!~ ~Okay, look lively everyone! The others are somewhere in here, get to a secure location and prepare for their attack!~ * The door right behind Mariah opens, and she can see Yarslov standing there, holding a beach chair in one hand. He raises the other from the doorknob and waves slightly. "Yo." ~We should head in the direction Karasu and Clayton went. Sweep straight ahead. If they split up, we ca- here we go.~ * Mariah looks back at Yarslov, position not changing. "-- hi! Care for some tag?" * Mariah is off like a shot, zooming up the hallway and then down in the direction of Karasu. * Yarslov looks confused as he steps out of the hallway. ~Luring him out... shoot if you've got it!~ * Ao-Lang stays where she is, both tessen out and open, waiting. ~Have fun~ * Isaac prepares to fire when people show up! ~Ao, I can't exactly see very well... Move up when you have the chance, could you?~ ~Ready to.~ * Karasu runs southward, launching an attack at Kale when he sees him. "Raven Wing!" He then proceeds back north. ~Tell Mariah to get ready.~ ~Get ready Mariah!~ ~I'm ready...~ * The black bird streaks across the small clearing, seeming true right up to the last minute, when it slams into the slightly curved wall next to which Kale is standing. * Mariah braces herself, once again choosing to focus on the corridor ahead of her. ~Okay... when they come out, let's make them run the gauntlet.~ ~Don't hit eachother with your fire.~ * Yarslov steps out into the hall, seeming totally at ease as he looks down to Mariah. ~Fiiiiiiire!~ * Ao-Lang takes those few steps forward and shouts, "Chaos Stream!" as she cross-slashes directly into his back. A spark forms where they meet, shooting the torrent of water through with lightning. * Isaac motions with his hand, trying to distract Yarslov with the power of his MIND! * Mariah grins and steps forward as Ao does, her staff flashing forward to focus glittering motes of ice crystals, forming into a savage-looking beam aimed at Yarslov's lower legs and feet. "Hope you like Freeze Tag. Frostbite!" * The beam of ice tags Yarslov's folded beach chair, freezing it into a large chairsicle just as Isaac's grab takes hold of the chair, wrenching it even further down than the added weight did. * A split second later, Ao-Lang's Chaos Stream slams into Yarslov's back, and for an instant Mariah can see his skeleton outlined through his flesh. Then his resistance fails and he's sailing down the hall, right through the air at Mariah. * Mariah reels back, managing to avoid the brunt of Ao's Chaos Stream down the corridor... but in avoiding it she's unable to avoid the Yarslov-projectile, getting knocked flat by the impact of the other fighter. "oof!" * Yarslov looks down at Mariah, or would, if he wasn't dizzy as hell from the sudden pounding. "Why hello, pretty birdy." * Down the hall, Karasu can hear his two targets skittering away, their armor making stealth somewhat difficult on the stone floors. * Karasu moves back down the hall, pecking away at Kale again like a good raven should. "Raven Wing!" * Kale raises both his arms in front of his face as the bird arrives, but he's much too slow to get out of the way, or even make a really good block, and he's knocked back several steps, his breastplate and mempo badly cracked in several places. * Karasu throws another one as he retreats! "Raven Wing!" * The second bird slams into the exact same spot the first did, tearing a fist-sized hole through the upper breastplate and digging deep into the chest and neck, even as the mempo cracks fully down the center and falls away, revealing Kale's ugly mug to the world. * Kale teeters for a moment, the sheer inertia of his armor keeping him up, then he tips a little too far and crashes down onto his back. * Ao-Lang keeps running for Yarslov, sweeping with one tessen for his still unguarded back (since he's looking down at Mariah) before ducking around the corner. The air ripples behind it as it completes its arc. "Strike of Flowing Water!" * Mariah stumbles to her feet. "You should be careful what you say when Clint's around. Thundering Staff!" Her staff is surrounded by crackling, barely-visible sonic energy, and with no further ado she slams it down at Yarslov while he's still prone. * Wave cuts through the back of Yarslov's loose shirt and digs deep into his back, not drawing blood, but still leaving the impression of a terrible wound. When the tessen finally leaves his body, he shudders and slumps down onto the floor. An instant later, Mariah's resonating staff slams into the back of his head, ensuring that he'll wake up with one hell of a headache. * Isaac steps forward to an intersection in front of him, looking down the directions. ~Do you notice anyone else?~ ~No. Stay alert. Everyone's coming in at once now.~ ~Uh, and tell Mariah I didn't mean to throw him into her.~ * In the sudden silence after Mariah's thunderstrike, Isaac's voice nearly drowns out the soft, feminine steps coming from the other hallway, but it's not hard at all to hear Clinton's soft voice as it raises to cry, "Shearing Wind!" * An instant later, a semi-visible wave of wind comes from outside the hallway in which Ao-Lang stands, even though there's nobody there to throw it. * The crescent of air smacks into Ao-Lang more lightly than she'd expected. * Ao-Lang winces, the wind cutting through her shirt, a number of slashes appearing along her body. "Answers that question," she says aloud. * The clomp clomp clomp of Sekmet's armored boots is getting closer, and Karasu's ears pick up the sounds as coming from the north. ~Clinton up ahead?~ * Mariah narrows her eyes and glances around. "I don't know..." * Karasu moves north cautiously to investigate. ~Yes. Southeast!~ * Isaac 's eyes flash red briefly. ~He's also surprised we took down the others already.~ ~He is? Well, I can't blame him, but...~ ~We're smarter.~ * Ao-Lang glances around the corner, then runs straight for Clinton. "Here!" she yells, allowing the others to locate her as she nears, slicing up for Clinton's face with her left tessen. "Falling Star Strike!" * Clinton whips his staff up and around, blurring as he stabs the edge of the tessen, thrusting it up and away from him to carve into the wall. * Isaac steps around and does the distraction thing, trying to prevent Clinton from effectively defending again. ~Take Clinton down, Mariah!~ * Clinton frowns, just a little, as the bo in his hands jerks, then he jerks it back, snapping Isaac's tenuous control. * Mariah charges down the connecting corridor and into the room with Clinton, her feet kicking up dust and debris -- a little too much dust and debris, honestly, given that it's rising to hover around her staff. * Clinton watches Mariah come, and says softly as she nears, "So this is how it will be." Defiance and determination seem to almost light up his eyes as Mariah closes in, and he drops a step back, waiting eagerly for the attack. * Mariah spins her staff in an accelerating over-under-over-under circle, the debris accumulating at its center. "It's nothing personal, okay?" She snaps her staff forward, and the debris-cloud flies at Clinton. "Pebble Spray!" * Clinton's staff moves in eerie near-synchronization with Mariah's staff. As the pebbles launch from her control, he whips the staff into a wild spin, and a sudden gust of wind gathers visibly about the tips. Just barely above the sound of the sudden wind, you can hear Clinton's voice call out, "Gentle Breeze Deflection." As the spray of pebbles meets the barrier, they are swept into the swirling gust and quite abruptly redirected... ...straight at Ao-Lang. * Ao-Lang 's eyes widen, then harden along with the rest of her expression. Her tessen immediately snap closed as she brings them up. She moves, and they start to blur as she deflects the pebbles - every one - individually, sending them flying past to dent the walls and floors. * While the pebbles still bounce along the ground, settling after the attack, Clinton plants his staff into the ground, launching himself up at the wall. He bounces easily off it, riding a gust of wind that wraps around Ao-Lang, carrying him back past Ao-Lang and Isaac. He skids to a stop at the door, grins mischeviously, then ducks inside. ~Ao, take the south door, I'll take the north. Mariah, you have the east!~ ~Understood.~ ~Got it!~ * Isaac projects mental images to them of the locations as he mentions the positions. * Karasu turns around and makes his way back to the others. Let the guy run if he wants. * Karasu comes out of the tight passage and heads south, then spies out of the corner of his eye, just tot he north, Sekmet. * Karasu spins about, firing. "Raven Wing!" * Sekmet watches in horror as Karasu spins and fires. The bird travels only ten feet before it slams into his chest, tearing through and leaving him flat on his back, barely breathing. * Karasu hurries down the hall towards the others. * Isaac runs over to his door and, keeping tabs on Clinton's mind, waits for the others to take position. ~He's waiting for us.~ ~Thought so. Careful when you open the door.~ * Mariah nods, absent-mindedly. ~Right. Just tell me when, okay?~ ~Know what he's planning?~ ~Okay.~ * Mariah runs to the door and waits, hand poised to open. ~Almost there.~ * Ao-Lang runs for the southernmost door. * Karasu sees a flash of black, green, and red armor ahead to the west as Sekmet dashes out of the hallway. ~Defending. Probably going to try that trick, or countering again.~ * From behind him, almost too late to do anything, there comes a hoarse scream of "DEADLY POISON!". Out of the corner of his eye, Karasu spots what is probably the oddest attack he'll ever see, six small japanese swords, linked end to end, lashing for him like a whip while glowing with sickly green energy. * Karasu throws up his arms in a hurried guard. The attack makes him stagger a bit, but he stays standing, albeit... wobbly. * Karasu charges in that direction, opening with "Raven Wing!" as he sprints. * Sekmet whips two of his shortswords up into the path of the blast, cutting it into four parts before it slams into his breastplate, which doesn't seem to do a whole lot. Somehow, the other four swords have got back into their scabbards on his back. * Karasu closes, spinning and throwing a kick right at his chest. "Raven Nine-Needle Slasher!" * Sekmet's eyes go wide an instant before Karasu's foot passes just beneath his crossed blades to slam into, and THROUGH his breastplate. His eyes bulge as all the air leaves his lungs in a hurry. * Karasu spins again, throwing another roundhouse with his other foot. * Sekmet barely notices as Karasu's foot slams into the side of his head, throwing him down the hallway to crash loudly into the wall. A separate set of clangs would seem to indicate that his helmet was knocked off by the double impact. * Karasu glances that direction to make sure he's down. * Sekmet is slumped at the base of the wall, not moving. ~Is this our cue?~ * Isaac takes a deep breath. ~You got the door Ao?~ * Ao-Lang keeps running. ~Almost!~ ~Then let's blow this wide open!~ * Ao-Lang reaches the door. ~Now!~ And she yanks it open, jerking back and out of the doorway as she does so. * Mariah opens the door and charges in, staff held at the ready. * Isaac opens the door and charges in too, sword in a low-guard position. * Ao-Lang *doesn't* charge in, oddly. * Clinton stands there, right in the intersection of the hallways. He's turned towards Isaac, bo held angled downward behind him, looking at Mariah. He raises one hand to her, and waves her on. "Bring it." * Isaac charges forward, striking his blade on the wall as he does so and swings sideways and upwards at Clinton's midrift with his weapon. ~Lambda strike!~ * Clinton whips the bo up and around, catching it under Isaac's blade and thrusting it up over his head to dig deeply into the corner. * Mariah opens the door and rushes into the room, stopping abruptly at the midpoint of the hall and slamming her staff down to stir up the dust and debris of the hallway, sending a cone of said dust down the hallway in Clinton's direction. "Pebble Spray!" * Clinton thrusts the other end of his bo into the cloud of dust just as it comes within reach. Even in the close confines, you can feel the wind whip up as he pulls that end of the bo straight up, spinning it around, taking the body of the attack with it. He continues spinning the bo, forming a ring of speeding wind-bourne pebbles following the ends of the staff. * Ao-Lang *now* rounds the corner and dashes in, a determined look on her face. She gets just one step into the hall before spinning, throwing one tessen and then the other Clinton's way. * Clinton spins around to face Ao-Lang as she skids to a stop, and even as she steps forward, he's moving the bo into position to block the throws. When the throws finally get to him, Wave smacks into the haft of the staff, while Bolt goes high and slams into the still trailing cloud of pebbles. The tessen is caught up in the wind for an instant, then escapes on the downswing and clatters across the floor halfway back to Ao-Lang. * Karasu is, meanwhile, leaning against the corridor wall quite some distance away, pausing to catch his breath. But only for a few moments. Then he stagger-jogs towards the others. Given how far away he is, it'll probably take him a bit to get there. * Clinton whips the bo back up over his head in an instant, and the wind picks up noticeably as he says loudly, not quite shouting, "Hurrican redirection!" The bo stops dead in its tracks as he clamps down with both hands, and the swarm of pebbles splits in two, lashing out to either side of him, at Ao-Lang and Isaac. * Isaac whips his sword, twirling it around and blocking a good portion of the pebbles with it. Some still get through, as evidenced when they impact him. * Ao-Lang takes the full force of the attack, staggering back and wincing as the tiny pebbles slam into her face, chest, and legs, leaving sizable bruises and welts where they hit. She looks considerably paler once the attack clears, and she's definitely breathing heavily. * Isaac 's eyes harden as a blue aura surrounds him, causing him to move and anticipate actions much more quickly. * Clinton plants his bo into the ground, thrusting himself up into the air as he whips the staff just barely out of the path of the striking sword. * Isaac frowns and, taking his sword in both hands, wheels it around over his head and tries to bring it down on Clinton, trying to pin him closer to the ground. * Clinton pivots in the air, clearly stretching the laws of physics, and bats the sword away from him as he touches down lightly on the balls of his feet. * Isaac charges his weapon blue as he thrusts it forward, calling out ~Time Gash!~ as he does so. * Clinton brings the bo around to slap the blade away, and makes contact for an instant, then rather abruptly the blade isn't there anymore, it's a couple inches away and drawing a long bloody gash up his right forearm. He jerks back away from the sword, almost releasing the staff from sheer surprise. * Mariah drops into a ready stance, staff held out in front of her like a pike in preparation for whatever Clinton might have brewing. "... I can wait as long as you can." * Ao-Lang shakes her head, then she rushes forward, snatching Bolt from the floor in a flash of movement that doesn't even slow her. She snaps both tessen open and brings the cutting edges to Clinton in rapid succession, first high, then low. * Clinton ducks under the first tessen swipe easily, and as the second approaches, he jabs the tip of the bo straight into Ao-Lang's wrist, numbing the hand in an instant. Her hand spasms and Bolt slides across the floor towards Mariah. * Ao-Lang winces, drawing her hand back and resisting the urge to grab at her right hand. * Ao-Lang tries to flex her fingers, then glares at Clinton when they refuse to cooperate. * Karasu arrives around a corner, skidding to a halt and watching Clinton carefully. * Clinton wiggles his eyebrows, looking for all the world like he's having an incredible amount of fun. "Pressure point strikes, you'll be fine in a couple hours." * Clinton pulls the bo straight back, cradling one end in the gap between his thumb and index finger, almost like a pool cue, aimed straight at Ao-Lang's forehead. * ... and as soon as Clinton's attention seems to have dropped from his defenses, Mariah's staff snaps forward, energy growing in its arc until a flash of lightning erupts from its tip at Clinton. "Shock Bolt!" * Clinton bends over, pulling a Limbo Man, holding his back parallel to and barely an inch off the ground as the bolt sizzles through the air right past his nose and on down the long hallway to finally splatter on a wall quite some distance away. * Karasu takes this opportunity to execute his own attack. "Raven Wing!" * Clinton straightens up and smiles broadly as the dark bird sails toward him, passing just over Isaac's head. He brings his bo up right under the bird, disrupting it not at all, then pivots as it begins to pass him and adds all the muscle he can throw behind it, screaming "WIND IN YOUR SAILS!" The attack diverts just slightly from its path, angling down a tad and heading straight for Ao-Lang with a little extra oomph behind it. * Ao-Lang 's eyes widen at Clinton's scream. "Shit!" she manages to get out just as she backs up one step before bringing her arm up. The attack tears right through her rather nonexistant defense before going into the rest of her, and she's slammed backwards on an angle, unconscious and into the doorframe. * Ao-Lang 's grip loosens, and wave falls from her left hand and clangs to the floor. * Isaac glances past at Ao-Lang as Clinton diverts the attack. He locks his eyes on Clinton again, swinging his sword at Clinton's shoulder and taking up a green spark as he does so. ~Lambda Strike!~ * Clinton bends his midsection out as far as he can and the sword slashes just an inch or so short of gutting him like a trout. It -does- manage to cut a short slit in his shirt, however. * Isaac leads after that attack with his weapon glowing pink as he brings it downwards, determined to put it through anything that gets in his way. ~Siphon Soul!~ * Clinton slides his bo in right beside the blade, catching the handguard and stopping the blade just as he cuts through his shirt into his shoulder. His eyes go just the slightest bit glossy as the attack takes effect, but the shakes it off quickly. * Isaac grins as he shifts his grip on his weapon with his right hand, pushing it up with all the strength of his forearm as he whispers in everyone's mind as he dashes past Clinton. ~Time Gash.~ * Time seems to slow down as the first strike lashes out for Clinton. He raises the bo and whips it into the path of the first strike in time to block it. As Isaac pulls back and lashes out with a second strike, Clinton brings the other end of the bo into play, managing to get it into the path of the sword well before it would connect... and then the sword hits the staff and the staff, weakened by Ao-Lang's earlier tessen strike, snaps. * Isaac's blade continues on, hindered only slightly, plunging straight into Clinton's leg, then it withdraws and slashes three more times in a literally split second, leaving three deep gashes across Clinton's chest. * Clinton stares down at his chest, dumbfounded at the sheer amount of blood pouring out to stain his shirt, then falls on his knees, clearly unconscious, though not fallen. * Isaac sighs as he finishes, spinning to face Clinton. He looks like he's about to fall over from sheer exhaustion. * Mariah runs down to the junction. "Is he.. is he out?" ~Not yet, he needs to fall.~ * Karasu holds himself up with a wall. * Principal Nagawa claps three times, slowly, as he appears in the doorway where Ao has fallen. "Well played, Alexander 103." * Isaac stares at Nagawa. ~Have we won?~ * Karasu glances at him, expressionlessly. I thought that was just a metaphor. * Mariah looks back. ".. thank you, Principal." He's unconscious. The fight is over. * Isaac relaxes, nearly falling over. I am sure the tape of this fight will be the most requested for the next week. ~Hey, I'm a movie star... Is it okay if I lie down now?~ You may. I expect you will want to go to lunch, though. I understand the cafeteria is serving roast chicken and macaroni and cheese for lunch, and you have three quarters of an hour before they stop serving. I could go for some food. We'd better take Ao-Lang back first, though.. * Karasu nods. * Isaac nods and motions to Karasu. * Karasu nods again! * Mariah walks towards Ao-Lang. "Isaac, can you help me with her? Or get the tessen..." * Isaac picks up the tessen, looking over them carefully. Okay. Miss Shen should come around soon. Carry her through the cafeteria and she will likely awaken just from the smell. * Mariah holsters her staff and attempts to lift Ao-Lang relatively carefully. * Isaac waves his shirt as pebbles fall from the small number of holes they created. * Isaac starts to head to the lunch room, almost subconsciously navigating the maze. .. sorry about the pebble stuff. I didn't know. * Mariah starts to follow Isaac -- slowly, given that she's carrying a teammate. * Karasu heads after last. He's not looking too good but, all things considered, he doesn't look ready to collapse just yet, either. ~Ao-Lang really hates it.~ I'll remember it next time we fight Clinton, okay? * Isaac nods and smiles. ~We won. I knew we'd win.~ * Karasu finally asks a question he'd been thinking about for some time. "Where's Hope?" * Mariah pauses. "... I have no idea." * The trip back up the stairs to the main floor of the castle is hell on Mariah's legs, but one pair of rubbery legs and about five minutes later, they're in the main hall looking back at the open doors of the packed cafeteria. It takes about five seconds before someone spots them, and five seconds after that, the cafeteria goes dead silent. Huh. Weird. Do I have something on my shirt? * Isaac blinks as he looks at the rest of the population. ~What?~ * Isaac winces for a moment. ~Let's go get food and a seat.~ ~They're in awe of our ability to win.~ * Half the cafeteria stands up from their seats, Ryo, Arthur, and Kento among the first, and begin applauding as you start down the hallway. * Karasu ignores the looks and heads towards the cafeteria counter. * Mariah breaks out in a grin. She looks like she'd bow were she not carrying Ao-Lang as she shuffles into the cafeteria line. * Karasu smiles! But just a little bit. * Isaac starts down to get food. Every once in a while he makes eye contact, flashing his eyes red. * The other half, whose expressions range from a slight frown to outright scowls, must have bet on the other team. * Ao-Lang takes a deep breath and stirs in Mariah's arms. "Wha?" she asks, her eyes half open, and then they widen. "Where's my weapons? Hey!" She flails, falling from Mariah's arms and tumbling to her feet. * Isaac smiles and hands Ao-Lang her tessen. ~We won.~ * Mariah lets Ao go once she seems to be able to support herself on her own power. "Yeah. You want some lunch?" * Ryo hops over the single table between himself and the doorway and springs up the hall to lend Ao-Lang his support on her victory walk. * Ao-Lang blinks as she takes the tessen. "We won?" And then she stands, subconsciously taking Ryo's arm to help herself up, and looks around at all of the people. ... Guess we did. Standing ovation can't be normal. Isaac... well, whatever Isaac did, it did the trick! * Ao-Lang looks briefly puzzled. "It... who took out Sekmet and Kale?" * Isaac points at Karasu. ~I told you they were scared of him.~ Karasu did it? I just won a hundred bucks. .. wow. Nice job, Karasu. * Ao-Lang laughs. "And you owe me ten. Quentin told me about the teams." * Ao-Lang focuses on Karasu. "Good job." * Karasu makes no response. He's busy getting food. :9 * Isaac smiles at Mariah. ~Thanks.~ Hah. Okay, I'll pay you out of my winnings. I knew I was right to bet on you guys, even down a man. Well, a woman, but still. * Mariah is making with the food-getting as she talks. "Glad you were confident..." * Ao-Lang flashes a grin at Ryo as she's helped along. "So why the ovation? We won, but it's been a hell of a morning. Hope missing, and Kai-" She stops, then sighs, before blinking and backing up. Wait, you knew she was gone? * Isaac gets whatever food looks healthy. He doesn't bother with sauce, if it's something you pour on. It was hard to miss her carrying her bags out the main doors. Wait, *what*? * Karasu does look over at that. * Isaac blinks. * Ao-Lang stops, staring at him. ... she left? ... oh, *geez.* * Mariah stops in her tracks. ~Not good.~ * Karasu heads out of the cafeteria. He even leaves his tray right where it was. Karas- Karasu! Where are you going? * Ao-Lang starts after him, then stumbles. She curses. * Karasu doesn't answer! He's gone. Karas-- nnnnnn. * Mariah looks to have successfully mood-crashed. "Yeah, this is what we need right now." * Isaac sighs, takes his food, and finds a place to sit down. hopefully with people he 'knows'. No. * Ao-Lang goes back to walking for the food. "*She* is still alive. We will win without her. We've done it before, and we can do it again." We won today, right? I don't see why we can't keep it up. Yeah. Did she say why she was leaving, Ryo? I'm going to try not to get discouraged. ~We will keep on winning, too.~ She wouldn't say anything to anybody. She flattened Max Alber when he called her a coward, too. I think the peps have already cleaned his blood off the wall, though. * Ao-Lang nods, thinking. Huh. Guess she took it hard. Then... that's what she's gonna do. I'm sorry to see her go, but there wasn't anything we could do, I guess. * Ao-Lang finally reaches the food and grabs some roast chicken and veggies. No macaroni and cheese. ~She couldn't handle losing.~ * Mariah has a little of everything, but mostly vegetables. I'm not sorry I did it. * Isaac nods and starts eating. * Ao-Lang stumbles over to the table and has a seat in front of Isaac. She weakly pulls Ryo down to sit next to her on the assumption he wasn't going to already. * Mariah sighs and sits down to dig in. * Arthur quickly swaps seats to be beside Mariah. * Ao-Lang clumsily starts to eat - still doesn't have a hang of those forks yet - and frowns when bits of gravel fall from her hair and onto her plate. * Ao-Lang flicks it off and tries to ruffle the rest out of her hair and shirt. * Mariah nods to Arthur, but for the most part she seems to be occupied with eating and looking vaguely troubled. Not totally in that order. * Isaac thinks while he eats, mostly at Ryo. ~So did people think we'd lose?~ A lot of people, yes. Especially once the word got out that you were down a man and the odds changed. Figures. ~They couldn't win.~ I want to know how you managed to pull out a victory down by one person. We were smart. * Ao-Lang picks up her fork and knife again, looking to Mariah. "Sorry about the Chaos Stream, Mariah." She sounds serious. * Mariah shrugs. "Looks like Clinton paid that back. So we're even, I guess." I guess. Next time, we'll coordinate better. * Isaac nods. ~I just would like it if some other people where here too.~ Well, I didn't even know Clinton could do that, so... next time we'll know. * Karasu reemerges in the cafeteria. He's looking even more out of breath than before. ~He didn't know I could do that, either.~ * Ao-Lang looks to Arthur. "We were smart and they screwed up," she says, giving him a fuller explanation. "We kept our heads togehter, and we didn't let our fear rule us- there's Karasu." She waves him over. * Isaac blinks and looks back at Karasu, waving. I can see this is going to take video to explain properly. * Karasu walks over and takes a seat. He doesn't even bother to get any food. It was a pretty complicated fight -- hey, Karasu. What's up? She's gone. * Ao-Lang sighs. She cuts off a piece of chicken and spears it with some veggies. "All right. Who's leader?" * Karasu glances at Ao-Lang. Do we have to do anything officially? Or do we just decide ourselves? We decide ourselves, but we need one with Hope gone. I didn't mean to chase her off. * Ao-Lang eats. * Mariah nods. "I think it's best to think about it, you know? Especially with everything that's happened." * Isaac thinks while he's eating. ~The one that'd make sense would be with either Ao or I as leader.~ Probably. I'd at least like to hear if you guys have plans. ~I can't do much about that.~ ^^; It's okay. We'll give it time. I need to think, anyway. * Mariah keeps eating. "I think we all need to think." * Ao-Lang nods, going back to her food. * Isaac eats again. * Karasu does not eat. [Fight... WIN!]