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Alexander Krizak
The Ultimate Lifeform
Posts: 138
(6/9/02 2:05:55 pm)
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Rurouni Taikai Tactics - Round Five - The Return of...
I accidently closed the window, and lost all of my work! ARGH!
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Act Five, Scene One: Lost in Desolation
What had once been a prosperous city had been reduced to a wasteland, dotted with craters and scorch marks. A few buildings still stood, their burnt-out shells refusing to give in to the destruction around them. The streets were covered with a thick layer of rubble, and underneath the rubble laid millions of dead. They had once walked the city's streets - done their business there, eaten their food there - and now they were destined to stay in the city for all time.
It were thoughts like these that always brought a tear to the eye of Roland Connery when he looked at the former city of Zanerth. He could remember the happier times like they were yesterday, but it had been thirty long years since humans had accidently awoken the sleeping beast and brought the destruction down upon themselves.
He picked up his binoculars again, and continued to scan the city. He knew that one of the beasts had a lair somewhere in the rubble, and he was determined to watch the city until he discovered the exact location. Soon, however, he realized that he might have a bigger problem on his hands, such as the thirty-something people who had suddenly appeared in the city. They all seemed to be alone, and they appeared dazed and confused.
Dammit! Don't those people know enough to stay out of the city? Or at least to travel in groups? Roland picked up his walkie-talkie. "Angela, this is Roland. I need you to prepare about four Jeeps for a rescue operation. There's a bunch of people out there who are going to need help real fast." Just as he finished saying it, he heard a cry come from deep within the city.
The cry of the dragon.
---
Sponsored Teams
Disciples of Wind
Baka - Ivan from Golden Sun (Enchanter) - Level 3 (69 XP)
Soujiro Seta - Kuroki Kaze from Final Fantasy: Unlimited (Ranger) - Level 3 (66 XP)
Sylphid - Vivi Orniter from Final Fantasy IX (Enchanter) - Level 3 (64 XP)
Magic Blades
Dareon - Blue and Rouge from SaGa Frontier (Enchanter) - Level 1 (22 XP)
Dry31 - Garai from Chrono Cross (Warrior) - Level 2 (27 XP)
Twirdtwin - Ciran Uzuki from Xenogears (Warrior) - Level 1 (0 XP)
The Reluctant Ones
Kyo - Isaac from Golden Sun (Warrior) - Level 2 (49 XP)
Shizuyoko - Laguna Loire from Final Fantasy VIII (Adept) - Level 2 (33 XP)
The Virtual Cat - Yoshi from Super Mario World (Brawler) - Level 3 (60 XP)
Two On One
Mithrigil - Scarlett Welles from Final Fantasy VII (Engineer) - Level 3 (67 XP)
Slipstream - Gilder from Skies of Arcadia (Ranger) - Level 3 (61 XP)
Tenshi Kain - Ramirez from Skies of Arcadia (Warrior) - Level 3 (61 XP)
Fallen Teams
The Dirty Quarter Dozen
Anoat - Bowser from Super Mario RPG (Brawler) - Level 1 (9 XP)
AsylumXKP - Conker from Conker's Bad Fur Day (Adept) - Level 2 (39 XP)
Darkken - Yamazaki Shinnosuke (Aoi Satan) from Sakura Taisen (Warrior) - Level 1 (20 XP)
Holy Redemption
allenhill2002 - Golbez from Final Fantasy IV (Enchanter) - Level 3 (65 XP)
Izlude - Strago Magus from Final Fantasy VI (Enchanter) - Level 3 (67 XP)
Terra Lockheart - Agrias Oaks from Final Fantasy Tactics (Warrior) - Level 2 (40 XP)
The Kupo Kids
KyleIII - Falco Lombardi from StarFox (Ranger) - Level 2 (38 XP)
Merton Dew - Mog from Final Fantasy VI (Adept) - Level 2 (27 XP)
Munkwunk - Onion Kid Dath from Final Fantasy III (Adept) - Level 1 (17 XP)
Ragnarok
Bugenhagen - Billy Lee Black from Xenogears (Ranger) - Level 2 (40 XP)
Nova Quinn - Black Mage from Final Fantasy (Warlock) - Level 1 (5 XP)
Tyrus Alfudore - Kuja from Final Fantasy IX (Enchanter) - Level 1 (20 XP)
Snow Falling Quickly Down A Hill
Cirrus Velious - Link from THe Legend of Zelda (Warrior) - Level 2 (48 XP)
Exeter - Delita Hyral from Final Fantasy Tactics (Warrior) - Level 3 (53 XP)
Kellios - Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII (Healer) - Level 2 (33 XP)
Strange Company
Curley WEAPON - Cinder from Killer Instinct (Brawler) - Level 2 (57 XP)
Simplistic Hero - Ward Zaback from Final Fantasy VIII (Warrior) - Level 2 (42 XP)
Switchblade - Ryogo Kusama from Front Mission 3 (Ranger) - Level 3 (60 XP)
Thrill Seekers
Daigohji - Ryo Hazuki from Shenmue (Brawler) - Level 2 (41 XP)
Kojichan - Shadow from Sonic Adventure 2 (Adept) - Level 2 (38 XP)
Mintaka - Lise from Seiken Densetsu 3 (Warrior) - Level 1 (22 XP)
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ROF-J17-018: The Ruins of Zanerth
Start Time: 1:45 PM MDT Sunday Afternoon
End Time: 9:00 AM MDT Monday Morning
Special Rules: Only Human Redux
Mini-Games: The Dragon's Lair
You have awoken to find yourself alone in the ruined city of Zanerth, separated from your teammates. The city used to resemble 21st-century London, before it was demolished. A few burnt-out buildings reach towards the dreary grey skies, and linear scorch marks criss-cross the rubble that covers the streets. Outside the city limits is an ancient castle where Roland Connery leads a small group of survivors. About 50 men, women, and childen live within the castle, where there are no modern amenities like running water or refridgeration. Bits and pieces of military hardware are scattered around the castle, but don't expect anything fancy, like rocket launchers or laser cannons; the survivalists have only what they need to fight off the dragons.
The dragons are the cause of all of this destruction, and they continue to actively seek the extinction of the human race. They are as smart as human, and can communicate complex ideas to each other using body language and vocalization. They come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colours, but they are all Western dragons: four limbs, a long tail, and at least one pair of leathery wings. There is one dragon who is larger than most and coloured blood red; this is the mother of all dragons, and you may not kill her. Other dragons are alright to destroy, but beware, for they have skin that's stronger than titanium plating, and a devestating fire breath formed by mixing two highly flammable chemicles and exhaling.
Special Rule
Many people requested this, and I aim to please, so in this round you are Only Human. Your character will find that the host has taken all of their powers and abilities, and so you will have no weapons or supplied, you will be incapable of using magical, special, or innate super-human abilities, and you will be unable to recall any special combat training that you have ever had. In other words, you will fight like an ordinary, untrained human. Fallen will retain their force fields, but they, too, will lose their weapons, abilities, and training. While you may find new weapons in the field, remember that you will have absolutely no skill with them whatsoever.
In this round, you do not have your usual allotment of votes. Instead, Sponsors will have eight A-Votes, and Fallen will have four. There will be no R-Votes or Abilities cast in this round. At the end of the round, only one team shall be eliminated.
Mini-Game
The Dragon's Lair: More information on this will be posted at 9:00 PM MDT Sunday Evening.
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And finally, here's a picture of Roland, because I'm too lazy to describe him. As you can tell from this round, I'm really excited about Reign of Fire.
 ~ I am you, and you are me ~ This defies reality ~ Whether this is false or true ~ You are me, and I am you Edited by: Alexander Krizak at: 6/9/02 2:38:06 pm
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AsylumXKP
RTT::Conker
Posts: 64
(6/9/02 2:35:49 pm)
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Minimalist
Conker found himself looking around. He was suddenly saved from the fire giant of last round and into a ruined city. Bowser was nearby, his claws over his eyes.
"Bowser. The giant is gone." Bowser looked around.
"Where are we? What happened?" The turtle looked around. In the corner of his eye he saw a flying creature zoom from the clouds and behind a castle. Bowser did a double take, realizing nothing was there.
"I dunno. But I feel alot weaker. I think a nice brew should calm our nerves!" Conker reached back. To his suprise nothing happened.
"What the? Oh heck. I lost my powers. How about you lunch box?"
Bowser let out a pathetic burst of steam from his jaws.
"Great. Just great. Well, we better find out what's going on. Come on!" A large shadow appeared on the ground, the two looked up seeing a flying object. Bowser looked at it oddly.
"Oh, that's just an airplane. A machine used for flying."
"Kind of like an Airship?"
"Right, except an airplane uses large wings... that aren't sup-- osed to... flap... oh... my... God..." Conker looked at the large flapping beast. The squirrel swallowed, and backed away slowly.
"Th-th-that's not an a-a-airplane, is it?" Even Bowser was frightened.
"I think that's a... whatcha call it... Oh yeah! It's called a LETSGETTHEF#%OUTTAHERE!" The two ran once more, going different paths. (So technically while we started together, we were soon seperated. Yeah I know, it's a bit shady, but I wanted some dialog with my round intro.)
EDIT: Just some typos, and a question. Now when you say 21st, do you mean like modern times, or back to WWII technology? Just curious. I don't want to find a Thompson while someone else grabs an Uzi. That would be just plain weird.
EDIT2: Just saw Reign of Fire trailer. Hell... Yes... Godzilla ain't got shit on this movie :P I take it it will be modern weapons then? (Hehehe, where is a Blackhawk chopper when you need one?)
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna get tanked tonight!" Edited by: AsylumXKP at: 6/9/02 3:10:29 pm
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Kyo
RTT: Issac
Posts: 49
(6/9/02 2:49:22 pm)
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Act Five, Scene One: 'Memory, Lost'
"Ugh..."
The youth groaned and sat up to his feet, a migrane pulsing over his sense and disrupting his flow of thought. He couldn't remember what had really happened to him. Large hands of stone... crushing me? What a nightmare.
Shakily getting to his feet, the young boy stretched and wiped off his simple tunic. He couldn't remember for the life of himself where he was, or what he was supposed to be doing.
What am I supposed to be doing, anyway?
He noticed a bracer on his right arm that was emitting a strange yellow light. It looked rather alien to him, with all those complex designs on it. In fact, this entire place looked unfamiliar to him... after all, his home was...was....
I don't remember...
He tried harder to concentrate on what home was, and all he got was a strange static in his mind. He then realized that he couldn't remember having a name, either. He focused on that, and the same odd feeling rackled him...
Maybe I don't have a name? Or a home?
I'm...an orphan?
He blinked. This place looked too desolate for even orphans to hang out here. Maybe he had gone exploring and gotten hurt... and that could be why he couldn't remember anything.
But asides from the headache, there's not a scratch on me... and what is this bracer? Something...isn't right...
Utterly confused, the lost youth went off to survey his surroundings, hoping to find something to trigger his memory.
After spending some time wandering around, a small pocket of what had been civilization appeared. He approached a small set of houses, all with skeletons littering the dead grass yards. In fact, the houses looked like they had all caught aflame, save one that had been literally been ripped apart.
Something dangerous passed by here...I'd better find some way to protect myself in case I run into whatever destroyed these houses.
Reluctantly searching the skeleton corpses, he found one shattered body with a simple bar of iron in the ground next to it. It looked allright, but had a small curve on one end. He extricated it from the earth and wiped the excess dirt off.
Despite not helping the previous owner... it looks servicable. Maybe I can find some sort of shield, if I'm lucky...
Picking up the crowbar with easy, he slung the bar of iron over his shoulder and wandered off, trying to find more equipment to protect himself from whatever killed these people with such ease.
----------
He may have amnesia, but he's still got a crowbar. And Isaac has a reputation for picking things up quickly...
Edited by: Kyo at: 6/9/02 3:25:29 pm
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Bugenhagen
RTT: Billy Lee Black
Posts: 914
(6/9/02 2:51:23 pm)
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Lunch Time
Billy awoke to find nothing but rubble. He was surrounded by burned buildings, great chunks of concrete, and dust. Billy put his hand to the ground, rubbed it on the surface of a dark rock, then looked at his palm. Black ash covered it. The rock had been charred black.
Billy's eyes darted across the area. Overturned vehicles dotted the area, and broken posts and telephone poles laid across what once seemed to be roads. Billy's eyes focused in the rubble, and he spotted-
A human.
He was dead, long dead, it seemed. His chest had been ripped out by... something, and its top half only seemed to be connected to its bottom half by its spine. Billy turned, disgusted by what he saw.
His eyes fell on a similar corpse.
He looked around. His eyes had passed over them before, but now he looked, horrified. Millions of them... Too many to count were the bodies, scattered across the rubble. Billy saw that the corpse which he saw was unique. It still had its major limbs.
Billy was scared. He shook. What did this? Who would do such a thing?
Billy remembered what the doomed man had said. "Don't forget-" Yamazaki's voice was quiet, slow, almost inaudiable, but still passionate - "if you hate that which is evil... the evil within you yourself... will only grow!!"
I don't hate them. I don't understand why. But I just don't. Whoever did this, it was wrong. It was terrible. But there can always be-
Billy froze. The one thing that someone could do to stop evil without sacrificing his soul in the process.
-forgiveness.
Billy shook his head. Forgive the one who killed these people? And forgive the one who killed Emilia? I don't know how I could ever...
But he stopped. He knew, in his heart, that if whoever did atrocities wanted forgiveness, he would gladly give it to them. For everyone deserves a second chance.
Billy looked down at the corpses. He wondered what had killed them. Was he in danger? Was the enemy near?
Yes, and yes.
RRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWWRRRRRRRR
A loud roar, strong enough to split concrete reached Billy's ears. He fell to the ground, clutching the side of his head in pain. He glanced up. A great dragon, the color of blue ice, was descending upon him. Billy reached to his side and grabbed-
Nothing.
His gun was gone.
Billy saw the creature nearing the ground. Its great wings flapped, scattering random debris as it reached him. Its eyes looked at him, and he could see intelligence there. But most of all, Billy saw its teeth, the rows and rows of sharp teeth which gnashed together.
"In here!"
Billy recognized the voice, but he had no chance to contemplate it. He looked where the voice had come from and saw a small opening in the rubble. He scooted through it as the dragon landed. It snapped its jaws inches away from Billy's feet as he entered the small cavern.
There wasn't much room there, but it separated Billy from the dragon. He saw the creature glare in the hole, looking at Billy. It turned for a second, and Billy thought it was gone.
Suddenly, a large pole flew through the hole, missing Billy by inches! Billy screamed and dove to the side. The spear came out, then slammed back in. Billy could see the Dragon holding it in its mouth, using the pole like a javelin. Sweat poured down Billy's head.
Gunfire sounded from outside. The dragon turned, looked at someone whom Billy couldn't see from his point of view, and flapped off. Its meal apparently wasn't worth this big of a fight.
Before Billy's rescuer came there, he looked around the small cavern. He could have sworn that he heard her... she should have been right here...
The man in the uniform put his arm in the hole, to help Billy out. Billy could see a jeep sitting a little ways away. He heard the man saying something about more help coming.
Billy didn't pay attention, though. He took a last long look at the small cavern. He did hear her... no matter how impossible it seemed...
Emilia...
--
Sponsoring Billy Lee Black
Did you notice that the two great angels only have one wing each...?
According to a legend handed down in Nisan...
God could have created humans perfectly...
But then, humans would not have helped each other...
So that is what these great single-winged angels symbolizes...
In order to fly, they are dependent on one another.
~Margie, Xenogears Edited by: Bugenhagen at: 6/9/02 3:02:39 pm
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Exeter
RTT-Delita Hyral
Posts: 169
(6/9/02 3:17:51 pm)
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Curses, foiled again...
Slowly, as though he had not seen the light for ages, vision returned to the young man, providing him with the sight of a gloomy gray sky painted with dark, feathery clouds.
Though still dazed from...whatever it was that had happened, the young man knew enough to find relief at the normality of the sky's color, regardless of how dismal it seemed; at the amount of light; and of the light breeze caressing his skin.
Then a giant, blue-scaled reptilian creature flew by overhead.
After a moment, the word came to him. Dragon...?
The young man, with no little effort, managed to find his way to his feet again and looked out at the ruinous city surrounding him. He had a feeling that such a city was not unlike those he had seen in...Ivalice? Yes, Ivalice. Still, there was something distinctly foreign about it.
...And about himself. Thinking about it for a moment took effort, but such concentration was rewarded. He slowly became aware of the colorless aura surrounding him, swirling about like some kind of protective barrier. For some reason, he felt that the shield should have been a disappointment, and deserved a moment to recall an explanation for its presence, but the young man was now preoccupied with remembering this Ivalice, determined to bring whatever memories had been stolen from him back one at a time. He wasn't sure how he knew he was forgetting things, he just...knew.
A stab of pain brought him back to the present.
What...what is that?
A hand on his forehead proved a somewhat effective remedy, dulling the pain noticeably, but he was left unsure as to the original source.
"Oh well."
Feeling as though he were missing something more than a collection of random thoughts that still eluded him, the young man began to trudge through the dust toward a pair of large buildings, one of which was a great deal more intact than most of the surrounding structures.
Supposed to...look...for someone.
*******
Just giving ol' Delita some amnesia long enough for me to write about what happened in the hellish nightmare in the mirror last round...
Edited by: Exeter at: 6/9/02 3:18:55 pm
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TenshiKain
RTT :: Ramirez
Posts: 42
(6/9/02 3:24:09 pm)
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Humans Without Heroes
"Hfff...hfff...hfff...hfff...oh..."
Apart from his labored breath, the first thing Ramirez noticed was the damp cloth that was bound around his chest and back. He was propped up against a something hard and hot, like metallic debris; as his eyes eliminated the darkness that had taken him upon the hundredth floor of the tower, Ramirez found his surroundings reflecting that estimate. All around him there was smoking rubble, the ruins of some highly-evolved city that had been annihilated. Whether by war or gods or something else, there was little left- piles of debris and blackened dirt were coated by a thin veil of ash that surrounded everything he could see. It was a cloudy afternoon, but even with the heavy gray sky, Ramirez knew dimly, somehow, that there would be no soothing rain to kill the awful pain raging in his chest. His teammates were nowhere to be found.
He parted his blood-parched lips to gaze down at the heavy white bandage that covered his body from his collarbone to the hem of his pants. His shirt had been torn asunder, the Valuan badges of honor and pride gone with the sorceress's tower. Ramirez dimly cringed at the look of the bloodstain there that had made the bandage dry and still-dampened in some areas. Gilgamesh's swords had cut deep, almost too deep...
Someone...put this on me, I remember. There wasn't anything else they could do...the wound was so strange.
Ramirez sucked in painfully, finding the sword wounds had almost completely robbed him of his strength. He was propped up against a pile of the rubble, in the corner of a niche in the debris; so if anyone was still around, they wouldn't be able to see him. Nonetheless, there was still something wrong about the place, emphasized by the fact that there was no rain looming on the horizon. And if he didn't move quickly, the wound would become even worse...
"Aah...aah," he grunted, his pale fingertips feebly pulling on the sticky debris. No sooner had he staggered to his wobbly legs, than they buckled and he fell forward to all fours. He bit his lower lip until more of the blood came from the stinging split there, gasping in pain- Zelos, he felt like he was dying.
He realized feebly that the Muramasa and the Ginken were nowhere around him. Out of frustration, he hit the ground- and it was dampened by the subsequent realization that he had no idea what had happened to them. In fact...he couldn't remember anything of the fight. As though his entire training had been wiped away.
I'm still too weak to remember. The fights with Yamazaki, and Gilgamesh, and then the Sorceress...Scarlett, lying wounded and hurt, but ever insistent as her fingertips touched my lips. And this place...it all must have fatigued me. I can't remember anything of Ginken Ryu...
Ramirez's vision seemed to swirl then, and his elbows bent as he began to fall forward. He was going to black out. At the last minute, he locked his elbows again, forcing his head to stay up with every muscle screaming in protest. He couldn't allow himself to faint, not with a wound like this. If he went to sleep, there was a fair chance that he would never awaken again. So he pushed himself up again, biting back the anguish in his body as he hauled himself upright.
Then the debris pile behind him growled and gurgled.
Ramirez swallowed with a wince, slowly turning to lay his eyes on the scaled, iron body of a dragon. There was no doubt in his mind about what he saw now- it was indeed a dragon, a beast of lore that rivalled even the Gigas. The one he saw before him was relatively small, probably no more than a pup, but it was nonetheless intimidating. Its serpentine neck attached a demonically animalistic head to a long reptilian body that had to be ten meters from its smoking snout to the barbed tip of its tail. Charcoal black with dark maroon-skinned wings folded in over its scaled body, the dragon's head was settled against the dark ground, sleeping soundly. Claws from lizard-like legs were retracted, but not completely, as were the deadly incisor fangs that poked from beneath an upper lip that was caked with blood.
He'd been sleeping against a dragon's head.
Ramirez was backing away now, keeping his footsteps quiet, slow. The dragon was indeed sleeping, cuddled against the pocket of debris that formed its "lair", but not for long. Its snout flared, then, its lips curling to bare fangs that were a myriad of white, ash, and blood. It smelled the third trait, and blatantly, its oddly-shaped tongue ran over its impressive teeth to savor the taste as it slept.
Slightly alarmed, Ramirez glanced down at the bandage, and with horror realized that it was smelling him. Quickly he bent down, grabbing a fistful of dirt and smearing it over the bandage. He had to bite his tongue to keep from grunting, the foul ash doing nothing to help the wound. But still, he covered himself further, smearing the dirt over the bloodstains on the paper that bound in the wounds of Gilgamesh. Sure enough, the dragon's head curled with its neck, the crown of its head pressing to the floor as its forepaw curved up against its ribs, as a cat will do when fully asleep. Its tail flickered like its domesticated mime, and its chest puffed out, and it snorted smoke as it breathed, and maintained a deep sleep.
Ramirez breathed in relief, turning to sneak out of the debris niche. He staggered around the corner quietly, his footsteps taking him to a wide expanse of rubble again. A valley of ash ran over what had once been lush hills, the sylvan air now replaced with smoke, fire, and rubble. Ramirez could see spots where bodies had decayed, and saw two skin-and-bone crows feasting on what looked like the remains of a human ribcage. As he walked through it, he glanced around for any sign of life. There was none-
-except for the giant red head that poked out at the very end of the valley.
The Silvite clutched at his dirtied chest, quickly staggering behind a giant slab of what had once been a clocktower. Ramirez swallowed, hearing the ear-piercing roar of the giant dragon that stumbled out into the clearing ahead of him. Hesitantly, he gazed through a small hole in the clock slab, watching it. A Gigas...it has to be. Nothing could be that big...
Tremendous and magnificent, it was an enormous red dragon. Black horns ran from its crown like a devil's diadem, as blood-crimson scales covered its entire mind-boggling length. Its head alone had to be the size of a scout ship in Arcadia, its wings as long as Galcian's infamous ship-crushing Hydra Cannon. They were tucked in to its sanguinary-colored back, but Ramirez knew they could block out sunlight over a brigade if they stretched out. Talons crushed into the ground, and it passed rumbling through the head of the valley, its incredible length taking a full fifteen seconds to completely pass through the clearing. Ramirez counted each one as the beast padded by, its roar almost popping his eardrums as it proceeded on. He thanked Zelos that it had not seen him.
"Perhaps the mother or father," he murmured quietly. "Or the king...emperor..."
Ramirez twisted his lip, glancing around the slab of tower. He wouldn't last a minute if he continued on like this- once one spotted him, it was over. They could fly, he couldn't, and he had no energy left in him to perform any magic. With his tongue in his cheek, he bent down and searched through the rubble. His fingernails bled as he clawed aside pieces of books and desks, chewing the inside of his cheek as he rummaged through the blasted remains. He found a long wooden spike and tossed that aside- if wood could kill these things, he doubted the city he was in would have been demolished. He located a scalpel and groaned, thinking he'd had enough "surgery" to last him for a while. Pens, pencils, scissors passed over his dirtied hands as he scoured further.
He found a deck of playing cards- a "Setzer Jumbo Index"- and decided to hold onto them, sliding them into his pocket. Maybe he could throw them at the dragons if he had to run...
At last, behind the clock slab itself, he found something metal and shiny poking out of the dirt. Another moment was all it took to claw the thing out of the ground, and he breathed in relief- it was a handgun. Old, obviously, but judging by the weight, it had only been fired once- probably before the clock slab crushed whatever poor soul had been unfortunate enough to use it. Below it in the dirt was an extra clip of ammunition, labelled ".50 Action Express". Ramirez knew very little about guns, but a .50 anything was probably pretty good. He tucked the clip into his pocket, holding the gun ready if circumstance required it. At least now he had a good chance...
Wind rippled over his face as he gave one last search. Eventually, he found a kitchen knife under another book, and picked that up for good measure. With his luck, he probably wouldn't be able to throw it as skillfully as he'd have liked, but if a wound required amputation- or more extreme- it would come in handy. He used a piece of old leather to carve a sheathe for it, and slid it into his pocket beside the playing cards and ammo clip.
All the while, his wound seemed to throb a little more.
He hugged an arm to his chest as he finally stepped out of the clock slab, hearing a distant draconic scream somewhere to the west. He held the gun solidly in his right hand, bringing it to eye level to point up at the sky in safeguard. And with the weapon prepared, he slowly creeped along the debris field, and cocked back the barrel into a ready-to-fire position. The wound ached, and his eyelids flickered, but he did not stop as he crept through the valley of ash.
Gilder, Scarlett...stay alive.
---------------

Sponsoring Ramirez, Skies of Arcadia, Team Two-On-One. |
Baka
Wind Seer
Posts: 133
(6/9/02 3:36:19 pm)
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Act 5, Scene 1 - "Silence"
Ivan opened his eyes to a new world. A world of scorched earth and devastation. Overhead, the sun beat down on him relentlessly.
And a few feet away, a huge scaled tail twitched gently.
Ivan froze in mid-action. Only the tail stretched out from behind a wall, but it covered half of the cobbled street. He reached out with his mind to the creature, to see if it was awake -
- and couldn't -
His psynergy.. was gone. His equipment... was gone. The Shaman's rod... was gone.
Gone.
It was just a simple oak branch, carved and whittled to a curve, but it had been entrusted to him. And with it, the fate of his world.
And he had lost it. The reason he'd joined Isaac and the others, his role in the prophecy.. everything.
His Djinn were gone too...
..but mostly, his Mind Read abilities.
He was alone, in a sea of silence... no longer connected to people like he had been.
(And there was a dragon very close to him... and it was dawning very fast that he was in a lot of trouble...)

Baka // Wind Seer // Salva Nos
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Slipstream
RTT: Gilder
Posts: 68
(6/9/02 3:36:43 pm)
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Back in the 'Hood
Gilder's heart sank lower than it ever had before, as his vision cleared and the new location revealed itself before him. A vast ruined city, lost and abandoned by its previous occupants, and the roars and bellows of great beasts echoing in the background. For all that the broken buildings around him were of a higher level of technology than he was used to, it hadn't saved them from the menace that roamed the broken streets and screamed cries of battles into the dusky sky.
Even the war-torn city of Treliam that they'd visited in the third round had been full of life, screams and shouts as the two opposing sides battles for the final victory and the city they aimed to possess for themselves was slowly destroyed. But not here. Like Malorné, it was a place where humanity no longer had a place and the monsters had made its architecture their lair. And as the lack of human sounds made themselves known, he realised his teammates weren't with him as before.
"Scarlett! Ramirez!" he shouted, cupping both hands to his mouth to his lips as he let the cry ghost over the ruined city. They were both injured badly, as far as he knew from his vivid recollections of the last round, and he needed to find them. "Either of you guys out there?"
Immediately the call was answered, not by one of his teammates but even by another human, but a great roar in the distance and then a heavy pounding of feet that swiftly turned on the spot and then charged in his direction, the beast recognising a human voice and apparently thinking of it as prey. Gilder swore at himself for his own stupidity, for calling a monster straight to him as he pretty much had in the first round, then ran behind a nearby wall as the thing burst into the clearing.
Ack. And I thought Lower Valua was bad, but at least I didn't have to face these guys when I fought and killed to survive.
The dragon - and Gilder knew roughly what a dragon was, since flying enemies abounded in Arcadia for obvious reasons - sniffed the air, flicking its ears while attempting to reason out Gilder's location through its senses. It stood solidly on four clawed feet, scales covering its entire body with only a small spot beneath its belly as a vulnerability. That belly was covered by its bulk, however, and in normal circumstances there was a better target for his bullets.
Go for the eyes, Gilder. Go for the eyes.
Gilder cried out a challenge to the dragon while rising from behind cover, getting its attention as its head looked directly at him and its eyes staring with startling intelligence at the air pirate. Intelligent or not, however, those eyes were big and a perfect target to disable the dragon. Gilder's flexed his body, he braced his feet on the low wall for balance, and his hand dove into his coat pocket for his pistol.
Which wasn't there.
"No, no, no!" the gunman without a gun cried in alarm, his hands diving for the holsters but finding nothing but empty leather there. Not even a healing crystal or a spare bullet to distract the thing's attention! "C'mon, dragon-man," he shouted to the skies, "how the hell are we supposed to survive against these things without our weapons?!?"
The dragon - the four-legged one which was more of a threat at the moment - saw that no attack was coming and breathed in deeply. As Gilder quickly moved away from the wall, it breathed out a vast cloud of gas which it sparked by grinding its teeth at the back of its throat, and the gas ignited as the dragon attacked with a rippling sheet of flame. Gilder almost made it, catching the tongue of the flame across the back of his coat, and dropped and rolled to extinguish the flames while screaming blue murder.
His roll ended in what appeared to be a wrought iron fence, six foot tall spears of metal topped in a leaf-shaped blade which was probably intended to look pretty, and incidentally to stop trespassers from intruding on the upper-class house which it used to guard. Nothing would stop the city's current intruders from reaching those houses, however, and now a large part of the fence had been torn from its moorings and trampled into the ground.
Gilder saw his chance to the left, and while the dragon was recovering its breath from the fiery attack he scrambled over the uneven ground and reached the broken end of the railings. The end-most spear was still largely straight apart from a curl in the butt-end, and its tie to the rest of the railings was weak and rusting.
"C'mon... c'mon, "he muttered feverishly, as the dragon regained itself, put its head down, and ponderously charged him. Gilder wrapped both gloved hands around the spear, pulling it as hard as he could while trying to ignore imminent death. "Give it to me, you damned thing, you don't need it anymore..."
He could hear the dragon's breath coming up behind him, footsteps shaking the ground.
"C'mon..." he said angrily, bracing a foot against the next one along and trying to push the two apart.
Scales creaking against a vast body, teeth clicking in anticipation, and those eyes all too intelligent for his liking.
"C'mon!!!" Gilder shouted, finally tearing the railing spear away from the fence just as the dragon hurled itself towards him, and he fell backwards to the ground as it plowed headlong into the fence he'd just been vandalising for self-survival. From this position, lying on his back with the dragon directly overhead, he could see the soft underbelly and he wasn't going to hesitate.
"Diiiiiiiiiiieee!!!"
The gunman's scream mixed with the dragon's as the leaf-shaped blade thrust into the flesh, not penetrating far enough for a kill but more than enough to badly injure it. As the dragon threw itself backwards in pain, tearing the spear from the wound and widening it, Gilder abandoned valour to the winds and ran like hell clutching his new weapon. He could still hear the thing in the distance after running almost two hundred metres, but it was far enough.
"Huff... huffff... haaaaaaahhh..."
Some might have considered it cowardly to run away from a wounded enemy, willing to take the chance and finish it off, but until he knew more about his newest enemies Gilder wasn't going to take chances. Survival meant more than defeating all enemies, it also meant knowing when to fight and when not to, and at least Gilder's bitter childhood had him better prepared for this than most. Picking up several chunks of stones as he regained his breath, for possible distraction or attack, Gilder stuffed them into his coat pockets and set off into the city once more.
---
Gilder is armed with a six-foot spear, taken from a iron railings fence, which has a short leaf-shaped blade at one end.

~~~~~ dance ~~~~~ for ~~~~~ me ~~~~~
Edited by: Slipstream at: 6/9/02 3:49:06 pm
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Switchblade
RTT- Ryogo Kusama
Posts: 66
(6/9/02 3:42:58 pm)
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He's not magic and I'm pretty sure his name isn't Puff
OOC: Weird, Slip and I had pretty similar ideas.
Ryogo awoke with a start, feeling something hard jabbing him in the ribs. His senses slowly returning Ryogo was alarmed to see a large reptilian monster standing next to him, obviously trying to decide whether or not the wanzer pilot would make a nice snack. Moving faster than he ever remembered having moved before Ryogo leapt to his feet and ran for cover behind a large rock. Even as he ran the beast spewed a small ball of fire at him. Mercifully the fireball struck his cover, exploding in a small burst of flames that scared the hell out of him but did no other damage.
Moving cautiously Ryogo peered around the rock, only noticing in passing that it was actually the remains of a brick wall. The small dragon hadn't moved, it simply stood still, carefully sniffing the air for sign of its prey. Unfortunately for the dumb beast it was about to meet its match. Without taking his eyes off of the creature Ryogo reached for his gun. Only when he found his holster empty did he remember what had happened in the dungeon. He had lost his temper and emptied the gun into Pham's face, only to watch as the bullets passed right through her and slammed into the wall. Then he'd dropped the gun and grabbed the crossbow, which he had also dropped when he lost consciousness after Cinder and Ward had saved him from that rock troll. He was unarmed.
"Great," he sighed, "Why couldn't dragon-boy let me bring my wanzer. If I had that here I'd… I'd…" Ryogo paused, he didn't know what he'd do with his wanzer. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't remember how to pilot a wanzer. If he was able to climb into one right now he probably wouldn't even be able to find the ignition switch. Was there an ignition switch? Or did he have to turn a key? He couldn't remember. "Oh, this is so not good," he sighed, resting his back against the wall and sliding down it until he was sitting on the ground.
"Out of the frying pan and into the fire," Pham suddenly spoke up. Ryogo looked upwards. Sure enough there was Pham, sitting on top of the wall and looking down at him with a smile on her face like she hadn't a care in the world. "I don't," she said, "It's hard to worry when you don't exist."
"I thought you were gone," he said.
"Huh, you wish," the redhead laughed. "You're insane, remember? And as long as you are I'll be here."
"I can't remember how to pilot my wanzer," Ryogo stated, "Is that your fault?"
"Nope," the girl answered, leaping down from the wall and sitting down next to Ryogo. "You haven't really forgotten," she explained, "You're just being prevented from remembering. Don't worry, it's not like your piloting skills are really that important here. No, you should really be more worried about that." Pham pointed to the far side of the wall, where the small dragon's head was even now appearing. Not hesitating a second Ryogo got up and ran, heading off towards a large pile of rubble a few yards away.
Seeing its prey fleeing the dragon launched another fireball, still small, but very, very fast. In fact it seemed that Ryogo was done for when the mistress of dumb luck paid him a favor. As he ran the wanzer pilot's foot snagged on something and he fell face first onto the ground, allowing the fireball to whiz past over his head. "Whew," he sighed as he climbed back to his feet. He quickly spun around to look at the dragon. It wasn't following him, it was just standing there again. "This is very weird," he commented.
"Not really," Pham said, "It looks like the dragon needs to rest for a moment after it breathes fire, he'll probably be after you again any second now."
"Great," Ryogo sighed. "Could you at least try a little optimism?" he asked Pham.
"It doesn't look very fast," the girl pointed out, "It's possible that you could outrun it."
"Yeah, maybe," Ryogo agreed, "As long as I don't trip over any more of these." Ryogo looked down at what he'd tripped over. It was a long piece of blackened metal with a sharp point at one end, possibly part of an iron fence or gate. Suddenly Ryogo got an idea.
His mind racing Ryogo looked back at the dragon. It had started towards him, but like Pham had suggested it wasn't very fast. Working quickly Ryogo bent down and grabbed the metal pole. After he dug it out of the rubble he smiled. It wasn't very long, only a couple of feet, but it would work perfectly for what he wanted.
With a confident smile on his face Ryogo turned back to the dragon and placed himself directly in its path. "You do know this is a very stupid plan," Pham said, walking over to stand beside him.
"Do you have a better idea?" he asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I do," the red-haired girl replied, "It's called run away and try to find someone who can actually fight that thing. Someone with a better weapon than a piece of refuse."
"And what if I don't find them?" Ryogo asked, his eyes not moving away from the dragon that even now was stopping.
"Then keep running!" Pham yelled, surprising Ryogo by having actual concern in her voice.
The dragon inhaled a deep breath and Ryogo tensed, ready to move at a seconds notice. With a barely audible "whoosh" the dragon spat forth another fireball. Moving with a speed that surprised even him Ryogo leapt aside, the fireball quickly flying through the space he had been occupying. Without missing a beat Ryogo climbed back to his feet and raced over to the dragon. Like before the beast had paused, recharging after his last shot. With all of his strength Ryogo raised the metal spike and plunged it through the dragon's snout. Running away as the beast gave a muffled roar of pain.
Once he was a few yards away, however, Ryogo stopped running and instead turned to face the dragon. The beast tried for a few moments to pull the spike out with one of it's claws, but was ultimately unable to do so. The monster then turned to face Ryogo, hate filling its eyes. Silently praying he was right Ryogo stood his ground. Acting instinctively the dragon inhaled another deep breath. Ryogo smiled as he saw his gambit had worked. The dragon breathed another ball of fire, or more accurately tried to breath another ball of fire. The metal spike held the beast's jaws shut and no sooner did it try to exhale than its entire head exploded in a blast of flame and gore.
"Yuck," Pham remarked as she watched the now-headless dragon's body fall to the ground.
"Hey," Ryogo said, turning to face his imaginary partner with a self-satisfied grin, "It's me. I may not remember how to pilot my wanzer, but I still remember that dragon movie I saw as a kid. The guy in it stuck a spear through the dragon's mouth and when it tried to breathe fire it exploded."
"Was it that messy in the movie?" Pham asked as the two turned and started walking away from the dead monster.
"Not really," Ryogo answered, "It kinda blew up into this cloud of purple smoke. Guess life doesn't always imitate art."
The wanzer pilot and his hallucinated partner continued through the blasted ruins of the city for a few minutes when they were suddenly halted by a loud, commanding voice. "Halt!" Ryogo turned around to see a pair of men driving a jeep pull up next to him. "Get in," the man riding shotgun barked, "It's dangerous here!"
"Yeah, no shit," Ryogo replied as he quickly climbed into the jeeps back sat, Pham following close behind. "Driver," he said, "If you'd be so nice as to kindly get us the hell outta here?" The jeep's driver laughed at the wanzer pilot's nonchalant tone and quickly turned the vehicle around. Slamming his foot on the accelerator the driver zoomed away from the ruins.
If anyone doesn't understand what Pham is doing here then shame on you for not reading the Fallen's round 4.
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Shizuyoko
RTT::Laguna Loire
Posts: 110
(6/9/02 4:34:38 pm)
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Laguna Loire: 5-1
Laguna Loire: 5-1
This Is My December
Laguna rolled onto his back, flinging one forearm over his eyes to keep out the bright light. “Mnnh,” he groaned as his hip protested the change in position. Pain from the hip brought him the surface of consciousness and he removed the protecting forearm, staring up at the blue sky above him. A few fluffy innocuous clouds floated across his vision, and it occurred to Laguna to wonder where he was.
Where am I?
With some little difficulty he sat up and looked around him. There was no more darkling castle, no more white-clad sorceress, but the sight that met his eyes was still a desolate one. He was sitting in the middle of what appeared to be a park of some sort. The ancient live oaks that had filled the area were all blasted and torn. Great mounds of earth had been ruptured from the roots of the gigantic trees as they’d been ripped from the ground. The grassy areas were all charred and blackened, and a wrought iron bench was a twisted ruin yanked from its cement base.
Laguna slowly turned his head to look at the area and yelped when the muscles protested and a stab of pain shot down his spine.
That’s right, the sorceress. She… beat me.
The memory of being slammed against the wall came flooding back and Laguna raised one hand to feel the back of his skull. It seemed to be in one piece, but his entire body hurt.
And I don’t know where I am, either. I guess the next round started, but where are the others?
Laguna grabbed a protruding branch of the massive tree trunk beside him and used it to maneuver his body upright. Getting higher didn’t make the situation look any better. As far as he could see there was only destruction, and no teammates to be found.
Looks like I’m on my own for this one. He looked down to see what he had with him, and then began frantically patting down his jacket and pants. Nothing. No potions, no machinegun, nothing, just that damned bracer the dragon-boy had given them all. Laguna raised one hand to scratch the hair at his temple.
This one is not going to be easy, not a bit of it.
The ex-Galbadian soldier walked over to the twisted metal of the former park bench and began tugging on it, hoping he could get something reasonably weapon-like. The bench was having none of it, though, and was successful in staying as much in one piece as it already was. Laguna cursed it rudely and began hunting for something else.
Whoever or whatever did this is not friendly, and I’m damned sure it’s not going to like me either.
Finally he managed to get himself a fairly good-sized, fairly straight tree limb. He stripped off the smaller branches as best he could considering that he didn’t even have a pocketknife on him and then he had a good simulacrum of a quarterstaff. Not perfect, but functional.
Laguna knew that at some point in his past he’d seen quarterstaffs used. In face, he was pretty sure he’d used them himself, but he couldn’t remember anything at all except for the fact that they were made of a long, straight piece of wood. He hefted the wood and looked at it consideringly.
Why can’t I remember how to use this? Did the sorceress really do a number on my head? The effort of thinking made his head ache even more and he gave it up as a lost cause. It doesn’t matter whether it’s the head blow or part of the round, either way I’m in a bad position. I’ve got to find my teammates.
He threw the hunk of wood over his shoulder and made his way out of the park. Just beyond the fallen stones of the wall that had enclosed the park he found a city street – a city street that had been utterly destroyed. There was little left standing and motor vehicles of every conceivable type were tossed about into piles of wreckage. Laguna whistled as he surveyed the area.
What the hell is strong enough to do this kind of damage? And where is it?
He looked up and down the street and then randomly picked up as the direction in which to go. He began to whistle as he hunted for the others, hunted for weapons, hunted for anything, even the evil that had destroyed this city.
Anything would be better than being alone.
~~~
Laguna Loire – Adept – Level 2
Remaining:
8 A-Votes

 "I don't want to start any blasphemous rumors, but I think that God's got a sick sense of humor." |
Mithrigil
RTT--Scarlett Welles
Posts: 72
(6/9/02 4:48:45 pm)
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Dungeons and...wha...?
Scarlett woke up with her arms wrapped around the ramains of a crepe stand. The grimy plastic canopy had tangled around her arms and, for a moment, she thought it was Laguna's windbreaker.
Laguna...
She groggily pried her eyes open. Last she knew, she had been attending to him...leaning his head on her knee, parting his lips, trying to guide the restorative into him...his eyelids had started to flutter, and she'd smiled...and a sound had escaped his throat...
That was then, she hammered into her head with practicality. What's now?
She wrung her way out of the tattered plastic, clawing at the strewn debris and bucking the poles and flats off her back. as soon as she could, she shook her hair back, and the comb came clattering out, skidding a few feet away.
With a grunt, she pried her legs out from under the rubble, and heard the back of her dress rip. Her eyes flashed open at the sound. "Oh, fuck..."
S soon as she could wriggle her feet free, she tore away from the stand, crawling. The dry wind rustled the remains of her dress, caught on a sharp sheet of metal. Instinctively, she wrapped her arms over her chest and pressed her legs together.
Shit, shit, shit...
She quickly took inventory of what was on her person. Two stockings, thigh-high and with more runs than a whole season of Chocobo Derbies. A black thong. Her necklace. The comb was sitting a few feet away.
And that was it.
She suddenly felt very, very cold.
Still with her arms over her breasts, she got to her feet, slipping on the remains of her stockings and trying to flick the hair out of her eyes. A few specks of dried blood melded with the wind as she took in her surroundings.
She was standing toward the side of a square that looked like a post-apocalyptic Wall Market. The glass in every store window had been reduced to stock-graph shards, like the silhouettes of mountain ranges. She noticed that her tattered dress wasn't the only despreate, forlorn piece of cloth fluttering in the wind and pinned to something sharp. To her right were dozens--perhaps a hundred--stands like the one she had been trapped under, with labels written in a multiple languages and wares ranging from cheap jewelery to tarot readings (whatever those were). To her left were more proper stores, in a building that made up the center of this square. Squinting, she could see that it wasn't a building, but a stone overhand covering yet another square-within-the-square. Most of that had been completely totaled, but she picked out a twinge of red wood under that structure--a musical instrument.
She notied that on all the sides but the one she was on, there were the remains of streets.
She let her arms hang and sighed. Dragonboy, if I get out of this alive, so help me Satan I will--
--I will what?
For a moment, her mind went completely blank. Then she realized.
This is your game today, isn't it, dragonboy? Taking away anything that sets us apart from the herd?
Angrily, she started to rip off what little was left of her stockings and head for her fallen comb, thowing them behind her.
Well, you can't take away my mind, asshole. I'm the only real, magic-free, shit-with-sword human here and you can't take away my brains, you fucking pervert. She picked up the comb and contemplated the ribies on it. "I gather this doesn't work?" she asked the air, sure that the host was watching her from somewhere. She smirked and pulled back her hair with her free hand, pinning it with the comb. "Well, no matter. I'll make do with what I've got."
Angrily, she walked over to the tattered scarlet fabric dangling from the Crepe Stand's husk, then thought better of it. Perhaps, if there were any humans in the city, her near-naked state would score her a few points. And besides, she added in thought, if I'm gonna fight, I'll need to be able to move. Instead, she ripped a thin strip of the dress away, enough to serve for what was--barely--formulating in her mind.
She picked up one of the poles from the rubble, a thin metal one maybe four feet long. Light enough, she realized when she lifted it. And leaving that all behind, she carefully made for the nearest proper store, keeping her eyes on the ground the whole shile to watch out for glass.
As she neared the stores, the shards of class she was avoiding became larger and larger, until she found one that suited her purpose. A thick, curvaceous triangle, straight on one side and nastily shard on the other two. Gingerly, she picked it up, and backed away to the relative safety of the fallen marketplace, already tying the three together.
As soon as she sat down, her bare back against a cloth-covered column, she was able to concentrate a bit more through the primitive haze in her mind, and bind the glass to the pole, biting her lip. Her fingers came out with a few tiny cuts, but she knew what she was doing would be worth it. All of it--the nudity, the weapon, and the taunting of the host.
If she wanted to survive, that is.
Which, by now, she did.
As soon as the weapon was complete--she couldn't think of a witty name for it just yet--Scarlett stood back up and went off in search of anyone who could possibly help her.
Anyone.
She chose the best-lit street to walk down, gripping the makeshift glass-scythe. Who knew what waited for her in the shadows?
With my luck, dragonboy's got something to make this worse.
---------
Scarlett is armed with a big piece of glass bound to a metal pole with red silk. In other words, a small and easily breakable scythe.
She is also wearing only a black thong and her comb.
If someone finds her stockings, then great! Keep them as a souvenir.
Scarlett Welles
Only Human / 8 A-votes
Guess who Ms. Sexual Repression USA is playing in RTT?

Isn't the irony lovely?
Some things money can't buy. For everything else, there's Mithrigil.
(this links to LT)
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Baka
Wind Seer
Posts: 134
(6/9/02 5:10:11 pm)
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Act 5, Scene 2 - "Dragon"
The dragon was beginning to worry Ivan now. At one end of the street, its tail could be seen, and at the other, now he looked, the rubble of a crushed building faded into the scaly green hide of what could only be described as a dragon. Most likely the same one - and as that was its midsection...
A sick feeling started to build up in Ivan's stomach. I'm surrounded.. aren't I...
Standing up, he looked around for something to climb. A tall pole sprang to mind, with a cracked light at the top that flickered sporadically. Ivan jogged over and stared up at it.
Now.. how do I climb a sheer surface?
Clutching at it, he scrabbled for a foothold, but it was no use - the pole was sheer. Then he hit on an idea. Running over to the rubble, he pulled out the remains of a table and dragged it over to the lamp-post - wincing at the noise all the way. Finally, he climbed up the ruined table and made a grab for the top of the pole.
Still too tall.
It took him two attempts to jump and grab the overhanging part of the post, but he managed to pull himself up to the top. Balancing carefully, he stood upright and looked around - and nearly fell straight off! On all sides, one huge beast lay among the rubble. Its sides heaved as it breathed in and out, but the eyes were firmly closed. From time to time, a puff of smoke emanated from its nostrils. Its head was firmly rested on the end of its tail, forming an unbreakable circle of dragon that worried Ivan very, very much.
A movement caught his eye, and he looked down at a building nearby. Yes.. there it was again. There was someone in that window...
...but who?
----------
Open invitation there.

Baka // Wind Seer // Salva Nos Edited by: Baka at: 6/9/02 5:12:30 pm
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AsylumXKP
RTT::Conker
Posts: 65
(6/9/02 5:17:29 pm)
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Woohoo!
Conker ran as fast he could, fearing the dreaded beasts that may follow him. He jumped over torn stands and rubble. An object tripped the red squirrel. After a few expletives later, Conker grabbed the object.
"A frying pan. Not as big as the one I had, but it'll do." Conker waved the cookware around, taking practice swings. He realized his abilities with the frying pan had atrophied. The squirrel was severely weakened by this sick game. A glint caught his eyes, and he found a bottle of wine. Conker tucked away the bottle, saving it for later "Use". The ground behind him rustled. Somebody was behind him.
"Well, well, well. I remember you squirrel." said a familiar female voice.
"Oh boy, not you again. Came to bugger my hearing again have you? You should know that I... Whoa!" Conker finally turned his head, gawking at the topless Scarlett. "Your attire... suits you... So uh, um... How you doin!?" The squirrel did his best imitation from a popular show back home.
"Are you fucking stupid?" Scarlett was holding her makeshift scythe menacingly. "Give me a reason why I shouldn't decapitate you? Or give you a glass shard vasectomy."
"I'm cute? I'm charming? I have a large... Frying pan? No, wait! I'm a fallen! Yeah. You can't hurt me, so nyeah!"
Scarlett punted the squirrel between the legs, sending him a few feet backwards. She then went off, infuriated.
"Argh... That hurt... More than I thought it would... It was worth it!" Conker rested next to a flipped over and burnt mini.
---
You should've known better to go around topless when there is a perverted squirrel running around
Conker is equipped with a frying pan, and a bottle of red wine, vintage 1981.
===8 A-votes left===
"Oh yeah, I'm gonna get tanked tonight!" Edited by: AsylumXKP at: 6/9/02 5:20:12 pm
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KojiChao
Customer
Posts: 50
(6/9/02 5:45:03 pm)
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Ramblings of a Hedgehog.
(Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, ow.... x_x That hurt. 42 votes. Ouch. -- Hmm, Daigohji, last night when I counted our votes, I had 16 votes, you had 13, Mint had 2. That's all I saw, mind you, I don't know the battle system as well as Krizak. ^_^; So, I may have goofed. At least now I don't have to worry about A-Votes! I can write freely!)
- - -
'Ultimate Lifeform...' Shadow thought to himself, lingering inbetween two planes of the rounds, 'Where did I ever pick up such nonsense?'
'Was it right, for me, to believe that I was such a venue; that I was created to be the best, when there are clearly others who are better, faster, and stronger than me?'
'I have much to learn, still... This isn't the end, but meerly the begining. For one whom started with such a pure mind, it has only been tainted with the same evil it's creator tried to keep from it.'
'Maria, I can see clearly now. My mind isn't clouded with thoughts of hatrid, or of pain. The world has opened up to me, and I see the beautiful wonders of the planet.'
'How I wish you could see them, now...they shine so brightly.'
- - -
Transversing through the rounds, Shadow was getting used to the feeling. But, this time it was strangely different. Along with the sensation of free-falling, along with the sudden impact of colliding with a hard surface. Peeling an eye open, to gaze at the surroundings, the bright light promptly forced him to squint his eyes shut again. It hurt, along with this throbbing headache.
He seated himself upright, kneeling as he rubbed his eyes. Blink. Hmmm..? The hedgehog glanced down at his wrist, and noted the black and gold colored bracer didn't have that same luster it usually did. Imprinted along it, were the words, 'FALLEN'.
'This is why I feel so sore... I must have taken quite a beating last round... Then, the rest of my team is down, as well.'
A simple sigh before Shadow looked around, trying to find his teammates. They were nowheres in sight. Standing on his own wobbly feet, he noted he felt weakend, as if something had taken something from him. He didn't quite know what, but found that he couldn't remember certain things, as if they were blocked from his mind.
Giving a slight shrug, he overlooked the possibilities, and began walking off insearch of his teammates....again.
(Thanks to thissideupxl for images!)
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daigohji
RTT: Ryo Hazuki
Posts: 37
(6/9/02 6:04:11 pm)
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...where the heart is.
Sleep. It felt like so long since the last time Ryo had truly rested. For the last few days he had been lucky to catch a brief rest between battles. He had not really slept since that night at Shen Hua’s house, the night before he had encounter the dragon man. He had slept that night, but even that had not been rest. Always his mind was on something, the future or the past … but always it was Lan Di, always his father’s killer. How long had it been since he had felt at rest? Not even when he had been at home sleeping in his own bed, even then he could not forget in the final days before he had left Japan. So many months since he had rested … until now.
Ryo awoke slowly, savouring the warm after-taste of slumber, his head nestled into his soft white pillow. Half opening his eyes, he could see that it was still fairly dark in his room. It must still be early. So, it had been a dream then. But how much of it? If he went into the kitchen would Ine-san scold him for staying out late. If he went out to the garden would he be able to hear his father laughing at Fuku-san tripping over his own feet in the dojo? Could his father really be alive?
And then he noticed it. As he stared, eyes still half closed, at the table by the opposite wall his heart sank … because his room did not have a table there. This was not his room. He rolled onto his back and breathed in deeply. Suddenly he was choking on the thick dirty air. He leapt up from the bed with a start, knocking up a thick cloud of dust in the process. There was dust everywhere, it must have been an inch thick. No one had lived there in years. But what disturbed him the most was that the place was not empty. Through the dust he could make out posters on the walls, rotten with damp but still recognisable. There were clothes in the draws, the fabrics worn down but the garments much like his own. There was even a half eaten bowl of cereal on the table, solidified and covered in almost fossilised fungus. Whatever had happened here had happened quickly. Whoever had lived in that room, something had appeared and destroyed his world in a single morning.
Ryo took another moment to look around the room, but could find nothing useful. Indeed, even if he had he would have left it alone. He felt that to do otherwise would have been … disrespectful. The teenager decided to check the rest of the house before exploring outside. Ryo opened the door onto the landing, walked out and almost fell twenty feet. There was hardly anything left outside the room, most of the rest of the house had collapsed. Slowly he edged his was along the wall over the broken and creaking wooden planks below his feet. The staircase was completely gone. Without warning one of the planks snapped and he fell forward. Desperately he twisted around and grabbed at another piece of wood jutting out but succeeded only in slowing his descent a little. Ryo landed roughly below, and moaned hoarsely as pain shot up through his legs.
He lay still for a few minutes, his eyes tightly shut, silently praying that he had not broken his legs. Thankfully the pain gradually receded and he shakily stood up. At length he explored the rest of the house and found that both the lounge and kitchen were still intact. As with the bedroom it was as if the people had simply vanished. There was a hairdryer and brush on the floor, still plugged in but silent. The electricity must be cut off, Ryo thought, or perhaps its been there so long that the mechanism has worn out. He tried turning on the television. To his surprise it actually hummed into life, though the screen showed only static. Then after a few seconds there was a loud bang and even that died, the back of the screen filling with thick smoke. For a moment Ryo thought that someone actually had fired a gun, but quickly realised that it was just the transformer exploding. After that he searched through the kitchen, but found himself becoming nauseous. He had to get out of that house.
The teenager ran out into the street, but found no sanctuary from the grey ashen smell of death. Even the warm breeze was thick with it. There were no birds, or insects or dogs barking. Life had abandoned the city. All but for a single unearthly shriek that suddenly rang out and echoed throughout the deserted streets.
Shadow :: Lise :: Ryo
We are Thrill Seekers
"Have you seen a black car?"
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Dry31
RTT: Garai
Posts: 88
(6/9/02 6:21:56 pm)
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Re: Rurouni Taikai Tactics - Round Five - The Return of...
*From the third story of an abandoned building, Garai looks out over a landscape from a nightmare...and an exceptionally twisted nightmare, at that. It might once have been a prosperous city, like Termina...but not any more. Now, the city is nothing more than a vast, hulking ruin. No people can be seen in the nightmare landscape...only the dead inhabit this place. Garai wonders what could have caused this...when he sees the probable cause...a dragon. It's asleep, fortunately...but unfortunately, it seems to be encircling the district Garai is in. Garai's mind goes to work, thinking of possible modes of attack with which to defeat the dragon...and comes up empty. Garai simply cannot think of any method of attack...in fact, he can't think of any kind of attack plan at all, or any of the advanced attack techniques he picked up so long ago. His entire knowledge of battle is gone...looking down, Garai discovers that his weapons and armor are gone as well.*
Garai: How can he expect me to fight like this?
*Garai spots some movement down below...looking out, he sees a young man trying to scale a wall, and not doing too well. He doesn't seem to have any weapons, either...*
Garai: Hmm...so he's done this to all of us, eh? But why...is this some sort of test? Why is he testing us? Come to think of it, what are his motives for holding this Tournament, anyway...?
*Garai ponders these questions...but then notices that the young man below is again trying to scale the wall. Figuring that it would be most unhealthy to be anywhere near when the sleeping dragon wakes up, Garai runs down the stairs and exits the building. He walks towards the young man...*
~dry31~
(Pay no attention to any of the above.)
Luna: The PLACE
http://pub88.ezboard.com/bluna83999
---
 Other teams may have snazzy quotes...but actions speak louder than words. *Falls down.*Edited by: Dry31 at: 6/9/02 7:19:13 pm
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Kyo
RTT: Issac
Posts: 50
(6/9/02 6:33:00 pm)
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Re: Act 5, Scene 2 - "Home"
The youth had quietly moved further into the dead town, his eyes taking in the otherwise morbid scenery. He saw several houses in a row, all reduced to nothing but a few blackened walls among the piles of ash. He could see sidewalks, in serious disrepair and partially scorched from whatever had torne through this place.
Up ahead, he saw a house that was still standing, albeit the general scorch marks that plagued everything around here. The windows were barred, save one that had a small candle alit at the top. The young boy was filled with a strong feeling to meet whoever had lit that candle, to meet someone else in this wasteland of a city.
Moving quickly, he ran up to the house and shoulder-charged the door. He was suprised at his own strength, for the barred door gave way easily. The interior of the small residence was quaint and simple--or at least, was. This house seemed to have suffered more form the inside from anything else; there were deep slash marks through wallpaper, furniture, and floor.
Running up the stairs, he saw an equally devestated hallway with light enamating from the last door. He moved slowly now, stepping over the gaps in the floor, careful not to slip and lose his balance. The door was in front of him now. He opened it--
To find a children's room, unscathed by the devastation of the rest of the house. There was a single sheathed candle burning by the window. Issac ran up to that window, unaware that another person had observed his presence, and scanned the street to see if someone had ran away during his noisy entrance. Seeing nothing, he flopped down on the moderately large bed in the room.
Well, at least I can rest here. I wonder how this room; this house wasn't destroyed? Oh well. I'll nap for an hour, and move on. I don't think I want to stay around here too long.
The 'candle' continued to burn, oddly not dripping any wax.
Edited by: Kyo at: 6/9/02 6:57:49 pm
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Baka
Wind Seer
Posts: 135
(6/9/02 6:56:37 pm)
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Act 5, Scene 3 - "Sock"
And from another building, an armour-clad warrior rushed out, stopping in the street. Ivan did a double-take, then, letting out a low cry, dropped off the lamp-post, landing smack on his back. Sitting up, he rubbed at the sore spot.
I'm sure that hurt more than usual..
Standing up, he held up a finger to his lips, shushing the armoured figure, then called him over. The figure approached cautiously, but Ivan held up his hands, showing he had no weapons. When he got close, Ivan whispered "sssh!" and pointed to the dragon. Garai looked puzzled. Booming "What?!", he turned to look in that direction - and noticed the dragon was asleep.
"THAT!" Ivan hissed. "We don't want to wake it up!"
"That's true, at least." The armoured figure grinned, but at least he was a little more quiet now. "So why shouldn't I just hit you and run?"
Ivan's face gained an instant exasperated expression. "Look, I know we're supposed to hit each other. And we may have to later, but for the moment, we're surrounded by a very large green dragon, and if it wakes up, it's going to eat us all. Now find a weapon, then we'll go and see who that is over there." He pointed at the original building he'd seen, where a figure was now quite obvious in the window...
Garai wandered off, looking for some sort of makeshift weapon. Ivan himself knelt down in the rubble and removed his shoe. And his sock. Then put his shoe back on. Rummaging around, he located a decent-sized half-brick and hefted it in one hand. It seemed to be a good weight, so he dropped it into the sock and swung it around his head a few times for good measure. Dangling it by his side, he walked over to meet the newcomer.
As he drew closer, a light fizzled on in the house. Lit by the sudden light, Isaac looked quite lost...
"Isaac?"
Breaking into a run, he stormed through the ruins of the door and ran up the stairs. Flinging open the door, he grabbed the unsuspecting Adept by the shoulders. "Isaac! You're here!"
"What the hell are you doing?" Isaac responded. "And how do you know my name?"
How do I... eh?
"I-Isaac? Are you ok?"
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Ivan is now equipped with a Half-brick-in-a-sock
Viva Terry Pratchett!

Baka // Wind Seer // Salva Nos Edited by: Baka at: 6/9/02 7:09:14 pm
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Bugenhagen
RTT: Billy Lee Black
Posts: 917
(6/9/02 7:07:25 pm)
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Modesty
"Stay here and wait. The dragons usually don't come to this area. You'll be safe here until we get the rest of you people out from their nest."
"What'll I do if the Dragons do come?"
"Take this machine gun. Use it if they come by."
"How... how do I..."
"Use it? Just point it at them and pull the trigger. They're not that hard to miss."
--
The man had left him a while ago. Billy stared out across the rubble. I wonder if he's coming back...?
One thing was for certain. He wasn't going to sit here and become dragon bait. Billy picked his way across the stones and bodies, trying not to look at all the corpses which lined the ground.
Emilia's here, he thought. I don't know how in the world she could be. But if she's here, I'll find her.
Billy scanned the area. He didn't see any girl with long red hair. Only bodies on the ground, decapitated, missing parts of their body, and crushed bones.
Billy closed his eyes and shook his head. Even in my world, Dragons don't have the power to destroy this much. True, we once had a problem with a Rankar, but this...
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Krizak: Sorry, Bugenhagen, but she asked you several times...
--
Sponsoring Billy Lee Black
Did you notice that the two great angels only have one wing each...?
According to a legend handed down in Nisan...
God could have created humans perfectly...
But then, humans would not have helped each other...
So that is what these great single-winged angels symbolizes...
In order to fly, they are dependent on one another.
~Margie, Xenogears Edited by: Bugenhagen at: 6/9/02 9:17:34 pm
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Dry31
RTT: Garai
Posts: 89
(6/9/02 7:14:00 pm)
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Re: Rurouni Taikai Tactics - Round Five - The Return of...
*Garai wanders around, looking for a suitable weapon, taking care to be quiet...which is rather difficult for him, since he is, after all, huge. He spots a gleam from the corner of his eye...it seems to be coming from something buried under a small pile of rubble. Garai sifts through the rubble, finding several useful items. Garai takes a chain, on impulse, and begins thinking of possible uses for it. He also takes a rather large and sharp looking axe, and heads back towards the young man...*
~dry31~
(Pay no attention to any of the above.)
Luna: The PLACE
http://pub88.ezboard.com/bluna83999
---
 Other teams may have snazzy quotes...but actions speak louder than words. *Falls down.* |
Dareon
Mister Mage Mon
Posts: 50
(6/9/02 7:17:33 pm)
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Caput Draconis? Not just yet...
With a low groan, the purple-clad mage opened his eyes. The last round... What happened? We feel stronger... And weaker at the same time... We? Where is... Blue? Rouge? We are... all... here? One body, one mind?
A low rumble from nearby brought the confused mage out of his reverie. A brown hill thrust up out of a nearby field of rubble. The mage looked closer... And the hill opened one eye. AHH! Dragon! Think! Think! Stumbling backwards, the wizard worked his mind through a series of mental exercises.
Dry up and blow away! VermillionSand!
Nothing happened. Shocked, and braced against the rush of magical power, the violet-robed man fell backwards, landing in a pile of rubble and raising a dust cloud. ReverseGravity! MegaWindblast! Implosion! EnergyChain! Saber! SunRay, ferchrissake! ...Nothing. As the dragon shook itself and turned its head towards the colorful morsel, the young magician scrambled backwards, abrading his hands on the chunks of rubble. Nothing! Nothing! The magic's never failed me before...
The ground abruptly collapsed under the man, and he fell backwards, to land with a slight splash in... A sewer. I should have known... Standing and brushing himself off as best he could, he started off in one direction, only to stop when he heard the dragon rooting around in the rubble above him. Suddenly, the dragon's head poked through the hole. "Oh, sh-" A cloud of flame erupted, and the mage scrambled into a side passage, sweating as the fireball scorched his eyebrows. A thrashing from the main tunnel caught his attention, and he peeked out to see that the dragon had no way of fitting through the hole.
Suppressing a chuckle, the mage walked calmly down his chosen path, hoping to reach a manhole that wasn't either covered in rubble or in the presence of draconic occupants.
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All right, I really need to get a name for this guy out. Hang on, that post'll come later.
Edited by: Dareon at: 6/9/02 7:26:48 pm
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