[h3][center]Frenzy Plant's Elite[/center][/h3]

After a few moments, the six soldiers drew apart.  Silence reigned for a moment, but Dmitri could not suppress himself forever.  A low chuckle escaped from his lips, and his shoulders shook in laughter.  [color=E32636]”So that's the plan, huh?  I'm full of energy...fit to burst with excitement!  Seriously, I'm amazed.  How do you come up with this stuff, Zander?”[/color]  A wide grin adorned his face as he held his hands up in wonder at the Ruby Knight.

While Zander's face only shifted slightly, gripped as it was by his overwhelmingly serious attitude, he permitted some satisfaction to slip into his voice.  [color=E0115F]”I'm not the guild's Number Two for nothing, hot shot.  This plan of action, executed in coordination by all of us, will ensure a tremendous triumph.  That said, keeping the five-man team limit in mind, not all of us will be participating.  Xyster, you fought bravely yesterday, but I ask you to bow out of the arena this morning.”[/color]

[color=9ACD32]”What?”[/color]  The Dullahan's wan face turned from eager anticipation to pouting.  [color=9ACD32]"Put me in, coach!  You know I'm good for it!”[/color]  Imploringly, she glanced around at her teammates for support.  [color=9ACD32]”Why me?!”[/color]

Zander frowned.  His comrades couldn't see the expression behind his new helmet, but they could hear the edge in his voice.  [color=E0115F]”Can you truly think of nothing?”[/color]

Suddenly realizing, Xyster slid a hand up toward the right side of her face—or rather, the lack thereof.  Yesterday, an ash-imbued uppercut had blown an entire third of her head, including her right eye, into smithereens and then cauterized the wound.  Even now, her injury was rife with ash.  Had she not been a deathless monster, Nolan's overblown attack would have killed her then and there, though no doubt he only used the move because of his opponent's undeath.  [color=9ACD32]”Oh!  My face.  Well, I might not be as pretty as usual, but you know what they say: in the land of the blind, the one-eyed...”[/color]  She withered beneath Zander's gaze.

He shook his heat gently, clasping his hands together.  When he spoke, he endeavored to keep all traces of condescension or meanness from his voice.  [color=E0115F]”From a critical standpoint, Xyster, you would offer the least utility to our strategy.  Besides, we do not wish to test your endurance any further.  We'll be counting on you, our only supporter, to cheer us on from the sidelines.”[/color]  For a moment she considered his words, but it was a brief one.  Filled with a sense of duty and understanding, the Dullahan tossed her head up, caught it on her shoulders, and nodded resolutely.  Then, calm and serious, she returned the way she came.

That left five soldiers on the field: Zander, Indigo, Hyun, Dmitri, and Owen.  They listened closely the the proclamations of the Game Master.  Resentment smoldered against Sheldon's remark that the match today would decide the winners—it meant that none of what Frenzy Plant, or any of the guilds, had accomplished in days prior would matter.  Indigo gave a bright, cheerful laugh when he said that the city of Crocus would serve as the battleground today.  [color=007FFF]”As if!  We have everything we need to win right here.”[/color]

A sagacious grunt marked Zander's affirmation.  [color=E0115F]”Indeed.  Ours rivals do not fight as guilds, but as collections of individuals.  Perhaps two or three may band together, but none have lived the lifestyle that will allow them to work in harmony as we do.  Because they fight alone, or as loners forced to compensate for one another by circumstance, they will hinder one another, become frustrated, and in the end, bitterly blame each another for their defeat.  Today, Fiore's guilds will receive a stern reminder of what truly matters as they face the well-oiled machine that is Frenzy Plant: unity!  And it will go down like clockwork.”[/color]  He fell silent for a moment.  The very atmosphere of the arena was full of tension.  [color=E0115F]”The bell will toll imminently and our battle will begin.  Indigo, you know what to do.  Everyone, get ready.”[/color]

Instantly, a cracking noise rang out—the sound of crunching stone.  As Dmitri cracked his knuckles, heatwaves emanated from his igneous forearms, and droplets of lava fell to sizzle on the earth.  With long, delicate fingers, Indigo slipped a tome from her book bag, and it fell open in her hand.  Owen went to work strapping his buckler to his left hand and adjusting the ties on his clothing and armor.  Not a moment's hesitation prevented Zander from drawing his ruby arming sword, which he held in a reverse grip with two hands.  Hyun slowly slid her sword from her left scabbard.  Rather than a katana, she instead held a flamberge.  This 'flame-bladed' weapon, with its unique jagged blade, was an instrument to counter other sword users.  Its many edges would saw right through clothing and into flesh, while the jagged steel would send numbing, painful reverberations into the hands and wrists of swordsmen who tried to lock blades with her.  In the place of her second katana was another new weapon: a parrying dagger with an upturned crossguard and basket grip.  Today, it seemed, Frenzy Plant's supreme swordswoman had relinquished her traditional weapons in order to gain more effectiveness.

After this, the elite of Frenzy Plant stood still, poised and waiting.  The game was ready to be played, and each of the players knew his or her role.  All that remained was the bell.