---

---

---

The skies of Rio were blocked at the blink of an eye. The people on the streets were very confused, until they looked up that was...

In all directions, there was a fleet of Humanoid robots wielding assault rifles.. Some ran and hid, while others were too awestruck to do anything. However, the wretched machines were all going in one direction: The Brazilian Fighting Cup. From all directions, these machines converged on it only on the orders of a woman.

"Bring me that piece," The Pariah spoke to all of them. "Kill anyone in your way."

On that note, robots wielding a missile launchers shot rockets at the roof of the building, and created gigantic holes in them. Causing rubble to rain down from the ceiling. Allowing a seamless entrance. The robots landed all over the arena, from the stands, to the stages themselves. It wasn't long before the screaming began.

The robots opened fire on the civilians, and the Nomads. The latter immediately went to work defending themselves, and the civilians, but they were just playing into the Pariah's hands.

The robots were going straight for where the "prize" was being held.

---

---

---

"Master!" Mikhail said as the tournament was suddenly interrupted by the robots. Rocks fell from the sky, everyone was screaming.

"I'll handle this," Sage said as they immediately materialized their wings as they hopped up in the air fast as they could. Before they also materialized their light swords. They had their eyes on a large falling piece of debris that was about to crush a poor family! When they got in range, they whispered.

"The forsaken..." Before dashing forward in a flash of light that only left behind a faint trail of light. The rock was slashing in half, Sage appearing on the other side. But they were not done. With another swift motion, they appeared on the other half, slicing the rock into fours. Like an X. It fell to pieces around the family. The angelic protector fell to the ground as the robots began their attack.

They hissed a swear as people were getting killed out here. Who would be behind such an awful thing?

Either way, the Heavensent had to use everything in their power to protect the people, and eliminate as many robots as they could. The blades disappeared, and a bow and arrow made out of light appeared. The Angel fired a few arrows that pierced the robots through the head, and brought them down.

But, they quickly turned their guns on Sage, and the bullets hit the angel. Fortunately, their ki saved them... but it still did damage to the Angel. They loudly grunted as they took a few steps back. The twin swords returned, as Sage whispered, "The forsaken." yet again.

They dashed through the enemies at the speed of light, cutting through the machines despite their injuries, and left them all falling over. They appeared in a crouching position, before they lifted their head up and looked over their shoulder.

More machines fell from the sky, and they shook their head.

How many of these machines must I fall before this comes to an end?

---

---

---

Despite all the Dinosaur's defense... that little trade definitely gave Brooke a shock.

Unlike the Korean-chick, Brooke knew how to take a punch! Or, rather, blunt brain trauma. Brooke just shook her head, and saw robots everywhere. First she thought she got hit a little too hard, but after the shock wore off, she realized that, there were, indeed, robots. "What the hell?" Brooke asked nobody in particular.

Why does all of Brooke's fights get interrupted by some weapons grade autism? God damn it. Well, for all the pussy shit this Korean chick pulled, Brooke only got warmed up. She grinned, as she ran forward towards the stands. She had to find Margot.

But, before she got there, a big ass fucking robot fell from the sky. Standing at over twenty feet, Brooke felt like an ant standing next to it! The robot cocked it's fist back, and threw a punch square at Brooke.

However, she was no bitch. When the punch got close, she quickly sidestepped it and grabbed onto the arm by wrapping her arms around it. She was knocked by a few feet, but she stayed on her feet. She tried to flip it over!

... But, that only failed miserably when the robot pulled it's arm back. Not budged for a moment. However, Brooke just let go of the robotic arm as she charged in. Her first charged with green ki, as she charged in. She threw a punch at the groin of the robot, but it was followed by the mighty roar of a Tyrannosaurus Rex. The robot was knocked over, and Brooke grinned as she ran past it.

She looked back at her opponent for a moment, and said.

"I'd get out of here if I were you," Brooke said, before she ran off.

All that was on her mind was Margot.

“Ah.” Yen nodded sagely. “These 'walruses' must be mighty, indeed, to allow you to develop to the point where you are competing in tournaments. I would be glad to get in some practise with a fellow-” She stopped, suddenly, at the sound of nearby explosions, and the screams from the crowd. She could hear the sounds of gunfire, as well, but she could sense nothing. “Listen, something is happening.”

She reached out gently and placed a hand on Calvin's shoulder, while turning her head about to try and triangulate the sounds. Some of them sounded quite close, and there were a lot of people in trouble. Several ki-users in the arenas had also suddenly switched targets. “I need you to tell me what is happening, and guide me to the opponents. They have masked their ki somehow and I cannot sense them at all.” A smile spread across her face, trying to reassure herself and him. “Instead of practise sparring, we will fight as a team, yes?”

Calvin flinched the moments the bombs went off. Staring towards the ceiling, he noticed several... Robots? Robots flying down into the stadium, armed with guns, that immediately opened fire. Calvin reflexively raised a curved Icewall that deflected any bullets that would fly towards him and Yen's way.

She placed a hand on his shoulder, and looked around the stadium. "I need you to tell me what is happening, and guide me to the opponents. They have masked their ki somehow, and I cannot sense them at all," She said.
"Uh... I don't think they even have ki. They look like some type of robots," Calvin clarified, staring at her hand on his shoulder, "But still. Follow me!"
Calvin ran across the stadium, gripping Yen's hand, and saw a man holding a child's hand, and nothing but a broken bottle, which he aimed with a shaking arm to five advancing machines. Calvin spewed a trail of ice in front of him towards the robots, and turned back to Yen. "Watch your step!" he warned. He slid along the ice. Just as the robots started to turn around, Calvin slammed his fist into one's face, with an icy blue trail of ki trailing his fist.

"Walrus Punch!" Calvin shouted. He raised a leg and kicked another one over and stomped on it's chest, as the other three prepared to fire upon him..

---

Hank grunted as he sliced up more meat. Surprisingly, he earned a lot of profit from this trip. And he didn't even have to sell orangutang meat! Just as he was about to hand out a chili dog, he suddenly lunged over the counter, shoving his customer to the ground, as a rocket landed directly in his kitchen, exploding every meat Hank had collected.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Hank fell to his knees in defeat.

One of the robots walked to the fallen Hank, pointing it's rifle right at the back of his head. In a sudden flash, Hank spun around and decapitated the robot below the shoulders with his cleaverblade. It's separated part flew and bounced, landing at the feet of two other robots that looked confused. Hank rushed towards them and performed a wide swing, decapitating both in one fell swoop. Hank had lost everything. Butchering every last one of these robots seemed like a good start. He rushed throughout the stadium, killing every single Robot that was close to him. In the middle of his carnage, he turned to the head and screamed in rage.

---

Jeremy casually walked through one of the stadium's tunnels. He didn't have any real goals, he just wanted to reduce suspicion of standing in a single spot the whole period. It was hard enough blending in when he was wearing a suit of armor.

"Hey, hey you" Jeremy heard behind him. He kept walking.

"Hey! I'm talkin to you!" The voice was louder. Jeremy turned, and saw three thugs. Two held pistols, and one held a spiked baseball bat, chewing tobacco. "You're a tough guy, aincha?"

"Well yes, I have proven quite capable. Already I have defeated two--"

The goon spat his tobacco out, as the other two loaded their guns. "Let's see how tough you are NOW!" He exclaimed, charging towards Jeremy. Jeremy shot his tail and pulled one of the gunners to the ground, He instantly retracted it and dodged the Batter goon, as he twirled and hit the second gunner with his tail before it returned to it's original length. The baseball bat glew green with Ki energy as it slammed into the side of his head. Jeremy stood in position, absolutely still. The goon looked proud that he dented this glitter boy's head, but... Shouldn't he fall to the ground screaming?

Jeremy started violently shaking, the large hole in his head cracking with stray volts of lightning. He felt it happening. The blow had hit his control chip, slightly wedging it. This meant that SYM-04 would take over. There wasn't even a hope of fighting him... "it" off at this point.

SYM-04's visor turned red as his head instantly snapped towards his attacker, who could only let out a helpless yelp before him and his colleagues were brutalized by the monster that had so long infiltrated the tournament. SYM-04 ran an all fours out of the tunnel. It was confused... Free for ten seconds and already the entire stadium is in panic? It felt a bullet hit him from the side. SYM-04 saw two things of metal holding guns, shooting him. They had no ki, atleast that he could sense. It let out a shrill cry of rage before he tore them apart with his bare bands. The things didn't even have any juice, either. Luckily, SYM-04 saw hundreds of people running in panic from the robots... As well as several Nomads, excersizing their full power. SYM-04 saw the entire banquet before him, and leapt into a group of panic civilians, signalling the start of his slaughter...

---

Hospital Samaritano
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

It had been a two hour operation to stitch the child’s stomach and cleanse the various wounds that streaked his skin like crimson zebra stripes. The nurse approached the child’s hospital room to check on him, verifying the name on the door with her clipboard. With a nod, she grasped the doorknob and opened the hospital room door only to freeze in shock in the doorway.

Her dark brows leapt up her forehead and brown eyes grew in surprise. Lying in the hospital bed was not a child but a man. He filled the bed and the white blankets were haphazardly hanging off his lap and the edge of the mattress. The nurse frantically looked over her clipboard before her startled eyes returned to the slumbering man. Quietly, she crept over to his bed, hoping to inspect the hospital band that had stretched to near snapping about his wrist. This was the patient!?

The nurse continued to investigate the person before her. The cuts that had streaked his body were faint white streaks against his olive complexion, and the bandages they had wrapped about his abdomen were split in some places. The fact that she could even see his bandaged midsection led her to the shredded hospital gown that protected what remaining modesty he had. What was going on?

Her eyes trailed back up his body to his face and the sight of his grey, gleaming eyes peering at her through cracked lids made her freeze like a deer in headlights. Gideon stared at the woman as he slowly drew himself from sleep. There was a surge of ki signatures spiking erratically and stirring him from his rest. It was a shame. The hospital bed had been the most relaxing and peaceful break he’s had since he escaped Daedalus. The staring and silence between the two of them started to become awkward and Gideon slowly peered down at his body to realize that he had reverted back to his adult self in his sleep. His wounds had healed quicker than what the nurse had anticipated, but they weren’t going to heal completely if he didn’t feed his cells.

“Food,” Gideon requested weakly. “…please.”

The nurse slowly backed out of the room. She briskly turned and started back into the hallway, and Gideon hoped that she did as he requested. Pressing his palms flatly into the mattress, he grimaced as he weakly sat up in the bed. His body started to shrink, his bones, muscles, everything contracting into a compact child state as his ki diminished. The last thing he wanted was to lure whatever chaos was going on nearby to the hospital. What worried him even more was he didn’t know how long he had been in his adult state, and if any of his enemies had tracked him down.

The little boy closed his eyes. His body felt heavy and weak, and he concentrated all his blood flow and energy into the reparation of his damaged cells. Upon opening his eyes, he saw the nurse return spouting crazily in Portuguese as she dragged one of the doctors over to his room. Her mouth fell open when she saw the little boy sitting in the bed, the same boy the doctor remembered. The doctor looked at the nurse as though she was insane. The nurse tried to show the doctor the strips of stretched and torn cloth scattered about the bed, but the doctor thought maybe the boy had been frustrated or troubled.

The doctor approached the bed and asked Little Gideon, “What’s wrong, boy? Are you all right?”

“Hungry,” Little Gideon answered.

“It’s okay. We will go get you some food. I’m just going to give you a quick examination.”

Little Gideon nodded and avoided making eye-contact with the nurse. Last thing he wanted was for her running around raising hell about what she had seen. He hoped that she would just forget the whole thing. The doctor pressed the cold stethoscope against his chest, asking him to inhale and deeply and exhale. Afterwards, he removed the broken bandages and inspected the stitches on his stomach, noticing that the boy’s skin had strangely started to grow over them.

The doctor muttered to himself in surprise, his eyes widening as he probed the injury gently with his finger. The nurse pointed at Little Gideon, speaking frantically in Portuguese. Little Gideon suspected that she was telling the doctor he was abnormal. This was why he didn’t like hospitals, but he didn’t have much of a choice. As soon as he got some food in his stomach, he was going to escape.

“Y’know son, typically people try to avoid falling off the side of the stage” A grizzled Doctor in a white coat said as he handed Lucas an ice pack.

“I t-think I preferred it better than the a-alternative” Lucas muttered as he pressed the back against the back of his head, he now sported several red marks around his neck and a large welt on his back that didn’t seem like it’d go down anytime soon.

“Point taken, open your mouth” The Doctor said, pressing a little flashlight…. Type…. Thing? Into Lucas’ mouth and looking around for a few moments “Well, after a quick once over, and I do stress quick once over, your vital signs seem to be well enough. Don’t know who you pissed off to get lumped against that freak but at least it’s over now.

Lucas looked around at the stark white and polished doctor’s office, usually used for more nagging injuries as opposed to immediate medical attention, even still Lucas was only here because he kept trying to get off the gurney staff had strapped him to after the match, chiefly because they strapped the damn thing way too tight and he was beginning to feel lightheaded.

Even though he was quite thankful he didn’t die, as thankful as once can be, Lucas still gave off a slight sigh. A regular fighter would have been irritated to lose sure, but they would pack their bags, resolve to get better and move on. Lucas’ performance was the absolute best he could do, and he still failed. He wouldn’t care so much had it not meant he’d have to continue doing this damn thing.

As the doctor was about to speak again a long scraping noise was heard outside followed by the pleasant sound of screaming. The doctor and Lucas looked at each other quizzically before they both rushed to the door to see what was happening.

In an interesting turn of events the Click-Clak came from three metal… Things, stood side by side advancing down the hallway, some patrons of the fight and less, gifted, Nomads running in fear from them.

“What do we do!?” Lucas asked fearfully to the doctor.

“See ya kid!” he faintly heard as he looked over to see the Doc running franticly to the hall on the left with a bag full of medical supplies, syringes and other appliances spilling out the side.

Lucas let out an annoyed groan before turning back to the, now closer, robots. His expression turned to fear as he comically looked left and right, his feet constantly moving in a haywire of orders to flee. Suddenly he bolted to the right corridor, one robot seeing this and breaking off from the current slaughter to deal with the small fearful child.
___________________________________________________________________________


The spurs of Voyt’s boots gave a slight jingle as his footsteps echoed through the empty corridor, ordinarily he wouldn’t even register them but the place was so devoid of noise that it felt maddeningly loud. The place should at least have some form of noise from the wandering spectators or the monitors.

’That’s, probably not a good sign.' Voyt thought to himself, a thought that proved correct when the wall next to him smashed open, a man in martial arts gear fighting off several robots flew past Voyt, crashing through the wall to Voyt’s other side.

“...Hrn.” Voyt grunted as he squinted his eyes in annoyance. He glanced back towards the first created hole in the wall to find some more robots pouring out of it.

Voyt took a good look at them and frowned, they appeared more mech like than anything else. Regardless Voyt drew his revolvers and brought them to his face.

“Incendiary.” He said barely above a whisper, he spun the cylinders and began firing at his attackers, the bullets crashing against metal with an audible bang, the rounds heat and ki enhancement pushed the mechs back and even brought down a couple but more were quick to take their place, stepping over the bodies of their fallen comrades as they approached Voyt.

The gunslinger continued backing up as he lay down an endless volley of firepower at the robots, behind him three members of that Brazilian gang who’d been no end of problems for the Nomads during the time of the tournament appeared around a corner and behind a retreating Voyt.

Knowing that he couldn’t really keep this up forever Voyt formulated a new plan, pulling one of the grenades out from his poncho Voyt threw it towards the wall and fired at it with his gun, causing an explosion that brought down another section of the already weakened wall and collapsing a portion of the above level on top of Voyt’s robotic adversaries, now having cut off his attackers who would no doubt go to seek some more worthwhile prey Voyt allowed himself an exhale of relief before he turned around.

Right into a group of three members of the O Massacre De Soldados.

“Well look what we found boys, another fuckin’ Nomad.” One said with an evil grin “Good of you freaks to keep runnin' right to us, like shootin’ fish in a-”

The “Soldado” never got to finish his cliche as Voyt wordlessly fired one of his guns at a monitor next to them, the bullet ricocheted off into the first one’s head, passed through into the other’s before lodging itself in the taller and final member’s neck. As the gang member struggled on the floor, choking painfully on his own blood, Voyt walked over them and looked into his satchel.

’Six vials. After dealing with all this shit today I’d say that’s more than enough…’ Voyt thought to himself as he neared the arena’s exit, it seemed like Brazil was to implode at any minute and Voyt was not going to stay to get caught in the fallout. It was time to see ‘The Jackal’ and finish the job...

---

---

---

"In your house... I long to be..."

If one didn't notice the assault rifle strapped behind her back and the combat drone worryingly circling around her, it would have been excusable to think that Lucie Bardot was just some idiot listening to their music way too loudly. Leaning against a lightpost, singing along to her song while bobbing her head to the beat, that charge was still fair. She was just some MAVERICK idiot who was listening to their music was too loudly.

"Room by room... patiently..."

Still, it's not like anything has happened since she was assigned guard duty for this Nomad tournament. The last place any Nomad terrorist would want to attack is a large gathering of Nomads all primed to fight and try to maim each other. Sure, it may be a lucrative target, but it was simply too hard of a target to hit. Besides, if someone tried to bomb the stadium, or heaven forbid, there was a rampage by a possessed Nomad or something to that degree, Lucie would have heard it. Definitely. There was nothing to worry about.

"I'll wait for you there... like a stone..."

Lucie wished she could have joined the tournament herself. She would have kicked so much ass in the stadium. Do you think those idiots in there were prepared to get a nice grenade or two in their face? They're completely unprepared for the type of warfare that Lucie would have brought, while she was specifically trained to take them down. It would have been a slaughter. A metaphorical slaughter. It would have been great.

"I'll wait for you there... alone......"

Suddenly, Lucie felt a tap on her foot. Shot out of her daze, the Frenchwoman glanced downwards, seeing Asterix lightly driving into her. She sighed as she saw the little rascal try to point the stand where its gun would be into the sky. What could be so interesting in the sky? The MAVERICK agent looked upwards, and saw robots with assault rifles parachuting into the stadium. And she saw an explosion rip open the stadium, although strangely pretty silent.

"Alone...", the song continued with Lucie. She quickly turned it off, bringing up her comm links with command.

"Stadium roof Lima Lima Mike Foxtrot, blown up. Tangos enveloping the AO, class Romeo. Too many to count. Requesting permission to engage, over".

A voice responded, "Permission granted. Lock and load."

"Acknowledged. Over and out."

Turning off her comm link, Lucie turned to her robot companion. "Meet me up at the fallback location, Asterix. Hopefully I won't be needing you."

The robot "nodded" with its stand, before driving off away from the stadium. Lucie ran her finger across the top of the upper receiver, making sure her FAMAS was cocked and ready to go. Then, as a crowd of civilians started to run out of the stadium, Lucie ran into the burning building.

When she entered the building, the Frenchwoman saw groups of mechanical war machines slaughtering fleeing civilians. Lucie felt a wretched reaction in her stomach, but there was no time to feel sick. She had to be their hero, or even more people will die. She slid behind a floor sign advertising food prices, before leaning out and firing her gun at the closest robot. With its back exposed to her gun, the robot went down quickly.

Of course, this only attracted the attention of the other robots in the lobby, who (rightfully, of course!) saw Lucie as the greatest threat in the room. They started firing a hail of lead at Lucie, pinning her down to her location. However, the Frenchwoman seemed not that phased, even donning a faint smirk.

After all, those bullets aren't going after civilians now...

---

---

Yeong-Suk could only stand dumbstruck as her former opponent demolished a giant colossus of a robot with barely any effort. Well, there might have been some cursing in Korean mixed in.

Was Brooklyn holding back against her the entire time? Could the yankee tell how injured she was before the fight began? Yeong-Suk felt like she was winning the fight, but now-

No, this isn't the time. Not with giant robots killing everyone around her.

The ravenette wished she could just take Brooklyn's advice and leave the place, especially in her battered state. However, Yeong-Suk knew she couldn't just simply run away. There was a film crew from Pyongyang that was supposed to be filming her fights to make propaganda back home. If they died, or worse yet, the tapes destroyed... that would be her head on the platter.

Scanning her eye across the stadium, she looked at various press booths at the top, trying to find which one contained the people she had to save. It took a few seconds, but she found a booth draped with a North Korean flag. Some robots were firing from the stands into the booth. Yeong-Suk had to act fast.

Letting blue ki rush to her feet, the Korean dashed forward, with the blitzing speed of the white deer. When she got to the edge of the stadium, she jumped into the air, allowing the ki to envelop her entire body, slamming her foot into the closest robot. Landing, she pulled out her gun and fired at the next closest robot, emptying the magazine but it finishing it off. She threw the empty pistol at the next robot, before running forward and performing a jump roundhouse kick as it was momentarily destabilized by the thrown pistol.

While there was many other robots in the arena, those are all the ones attacking her fellow compatriots. Collecting her pistol, she barked an order at them from the stands.

"여기서 나가!"

One of the filmers questioned back, "어디에?"

The ravenette irritably groaned. "가장 가까운 것이 무엇이든지. 나는 호텔에서 너를 모두 만날 것이다."

The crew grabbed their belongings and started to scuttle out of the booth. It would take too long for her to climb all the way up and try to meet up with them. She was just going to have to trust them to not run into any killer robots in the meantime and get out safely on their own.

Now, it was time to plan her own escape. Yeong-Suk ran in the opposite direction, towards the lockers that she entered the stadium from. It would be the quickest way to get to the lobby, and from there the exit. She dashed, but was horrified to see that the entrance back to the lobby was blocked by rubble! She was going to have to find another way to get out of this massacre, and find a way fast before the robots catch up to her.

There was a hallway, labelled medbay, where badly injured fighters were taken after their fights. Thinking that as good as any other path, Yeong-Suk ran through the hallway. There has to be a fire escape or something along those lines that she could use to get out of here.

Crossing a corner, the raventte saw what appeared to be a small child that was slowly being closed in by a marauding robot. This shouldn't be a concern, except that the robot was inconveniently in her own way crossing the hallway.

"Move, kid," Yeong-Suk yelled as she slammed her foot into the ground, creating a fissure that jettisoned rocks. These pillars of stone collided with the robot, turning around to face the Korean, splitting it in twain.

Seeing as the kid was trying to go the direction she was coming from, she felt obligated to at least make sure he wasn't running into his own death. "That way's blocked off. We have to go forward."

---

---

---

Well, with a little bit of roughhousing from their wolfgirl friend, they managed to get the information they needed. Brenda merely stepped back, and put a hand on her hip as Otsana wrapped the mook's mouth with duct tape, and just left him there. Well, Brenda saw him as a huge liability. She took a moment, and socked him out cold with not a ki or stone infused fist, but her good old fists. He hit the ground, and she shrugged as she put her hand back on her hip. Just in case he wiggled free, or somebody found him, he can't say a peep. They'd kill him if they found out he snitched, so they're doing him a favor. She rolled her eyes up into her head.

That resolved one problem, but left another little issue dangling. The strange and sudden appearance of a tiny, blonde-haired, stranger. Brenda thought he was a girl at first until she heard him speak. She knew he was a foreigner... nobody from Brazil would ever look like that. But, she found it weird that he just came out of nowhere, and ask for help. She wasn't the type that'd place her trust in anyone that walked up (Well, she was taking a risk with Jonas, but she at least had the pleasure of fighting him at first). Most importantly... she didn't like the looks of him.

And what didn't help was the fact that Otsana was welcoming him with open arms. Good grief. She had to roll her eyes for this one. Brenda quickly grabbed onto Otsana's arm to catch her attention, then stared her dead in the eye.

"Hey, I don't know what's running through your head, but," Brenda started off, as she briefly glanced at Askin, "It'd be in our best interests if we don't get every gringo involved in this. We already basically have a child to cart around." She tilted her head towards Brown.

Otsana turned towards the taller woman, making no movment to break her arm free, instead holding her other hand up plactatingly. "Chill, chill. This guy's obviously a Nomad and can handle himself, " she dropped her voice to a whisper, "But I agree it's a little convinent for him to show up out of the blue like this right now. It'd be better to keep him close so we know he isnt getting into trouble rather than letting him run about unsupervised. Same goes for Brown. Almost a little too perky." She picked her voice back up, and broke her arm free of with a quick roll of her arm. "Besides, we'll need all the help in dealing with the bombs."

"Alright..." She begrudgingly agreed, as she didn't feel the need to argue with her when they're on a schedule. Still, "getting all the help they can" means that they were just getting a subpar quality. She narrowed her eyes at Askin... she just didn't like the looks of him.

"HI! I'm Brown, what's your name?" Brown gave the stranger an oblivious wave, her smile wider then usual as the pat on the shoulder by the wolf-eared women reminded her of the loving affection she typically received from her own animal eared mother. She made note of how Otsana had threatened the thugs testicles and got what she wanted very quickly before returning her focus to the stranger. "The game we're playing is find the detonators, stop the stadium from being blown-ed up, and beat the bad guys up but down't crush their skulls or snap their spinal cords or anything even though that'd be really easy given the right-er, yeah don't kill them.

[color=FBDE41]"Oh, boy, yeah, killing isn't my thing, don't worry." Like the others, Brown was visibly strong, and like the wolf-woman, not especially clothed. Um, thought Askin. Uh. With dark eyes and blood staining her face and knuckles, Askin wasn't prepared for the girlish and rappidy-quick burst of conversation that came out of her. A little off-putting, but, Askin reasoned, there couldn't be anything wrong with having a little more friendliness in the world. "Oh, I'm Askin La Askerrone, by the way. Nice to meetcha, Brown. And, uh, you all too."

He kept an eye on the dark-skinned woman. She didn't seem very happy, and had just muttered something quick and short into the wolf-woman's ear, though Askin didn't hear what.

"Aksin lu askie... Brown rolled the full name in her mouth before spitting it out like a wad of rotten chewing tobacco. "Uh, I'm just gonna call you Asker!" She announced her new name for him with the same smile she had on her face before. "Also don't worry if you're not good at killing, I can help with that if you need any of that done. Though we're not supposed to kill these bad guys, so it'd have to be someone else who is also bad but not trying to blow up the stadium."

Askin hoped the bloodstains on her face didn't have too much to do with some of the things coming out of Brown's mouth. [color=FBDE41]"Well, never had to before, hope I won't anytime soon, but, uh, appreciate the offer."

Askin looked to where the bomber lay, knocked out by a sharp and punitive punch. Aw. Geez.

"Hey, uh, boss," he said to the dark-skinned woman. Fishing through his jacket, he produced a glittery brass lamp, small, maybe the size of a fist. It looked the prop taken from a high-end theater. "I know what's up, right? I might be a Nomad hired by the bombers? Here to stop you from saving the day? That'd make more sense than a random guy popping up out of nowhere to give a hand. I know, not trustworthy, that's cool. But..."

He fingered the lamp. It had a warm, tickling heat inside. Like he was holding a little living bird between his hands. "I, uh, haha..." Askin thought of more and more clusters of bombs, more than enough to make up for the one bunch he bottled away a few seconds earlier. "I really don't want anyone to die. Let me help. So, here, take this." He offered her the lamp, glanced around to make sure they were alone, then muttered quietly, "As long as you have it, I have to obey you, anything you say, anything you want. It's gotta piece of me in there. No wasting time with a debate about loyalty--all you need is this."

The bags under Brown's eyes seemed darker in the bright Rio sunshine, even more so against her almost sickly pale skin. Yet they seemed darkest of all when compared to her smile which grew wider, almost twisting as she heard and mentally registered what the boy before her was saying. With fast hands Brown flung her arms out and snatched up the outstretched lamp from Askin's hands, giggling as she stepped away. "A magic lamp? Are you a genie? Do you grant wishes? OOOOOOOOH, now that I have this lamp you have to give me my three wishes!" Brown sprang up and down, bouncing between her two legs practically shaking with excitement.

"Ah!" Askin let out a little gasp, like he'd been shot him in the stomach. "No, um, not a genie. If you could be careful with that I'd appreciate it." His heart was still racing, after having the lamp yanked so unexpectedly from his grasp by unfamiliar hands. He felt Brown's hard, unfamiliar fingers wrapped tight around his heart of hearts.

Her fingers coiled around the brass lamp as she spoke over Askin's attempt to explain. "My first wish is to be the strongest Nomad in existence, my second wish is that my fox momma gets her missing arm back, and my third wish is that my parents arms and legs wither, they lose their ability to use their aura, and they feel pain whenever I want. Which is a lot so make sure to get that part right! Wait, that was three wishes right? Details don't count towards a wish, right?"

"No wishes," Askin said quickly, more loudly, more forcefully. A strange, shivery compulsion whispered at him, directing him nowhere and in no direction. It wasn't a proper order, but Brown's willpower still wormed its way through his body. "I'm not a genie. Just, y'know, a Nomad. Please, I dunno we have time for any of this, Brown, if you could give it to one of your friends..."

Brown stopped dead and locked eyes with Askin. Her smile withered and she stared him down as if he'd told her that her puppy dog had been run over my a school bus full of kids who were way cooler and stronger then her. For a moment her fingers dug into the metal of the lamp and she tightened her grip on it, twisting the metal slightly in her hands as her anger began to creep to the surface. She wanted to snap the lamp in half or simply began beating the possible-genie in front of her with it until he gave her the wishes that she wanted, that she needed. It was only the sincere look and sound of Askin's voice that made her realize that he wasn't lying, at least not about the wishes, and that he couldn't give her what she wanted. Askin shivered. Alright, yes, he decided, the unnerving and happy Brown was, by and large, preferable to the cold Brown with dark, unchildish things in her eyes.

"Fine. One of you take it then." Brown said, all passion and warmth drained from her voice as she tossed the small brass lamp onto the ground with enough force to cause it to skip across the soil until it clanked to a stop at Brenda and Otsuna's feet.

A tiny grunt from Askin. That, at least, he was expecting.

"... Now's our chance," Brenda whispered to Otsana, having watched these children have a playdate for far, far, too long. "We can leave them, and not have to worry about Brown doing something stupid."

"I'm ready to go. I just want someone I want to make someone hurt right now." Brown turned to Brenda, frowning as she managed to pick up the last little bit of what she whispered to the wolf-eared women.

Otsana patted Brown on the shoulder. "Oh, I'm sure Brown can take care of herself, despite the packed lunches."

Brown's face brightened at Otsana's touch but her frown remained. "What's wrog with packed lunches? Besides I offered to share them..."

The mercenary shrugged. "Nothing. They smelled delicious. It's just kinda funny to see someone trying to enter a tournament while carrying lunches their mom packed."

[color=A52A2A]"Oh. Well I'm sure you would have taken lunches here if your momma had packed them for you." Brown said, her disappointment and the mention of food causing her to feel peckish for a snack.

"I think it's very sweet," Askin said, feeling a sudden surge of warmth towards Brown and her mother's packed lunch.

Rubbing the bags under her eyes Brown looked to Askin with a flat face, unsure how to respond to the boy. Normally she'd have been happy for the support and positive feedback, but the mistake over what he was and what he could give her still left her feeling at odds with the lamp carrier.

Askin kicked the lamp up into the air with the tip of his foot. Spinning, spinning, then he reached out an arm and caught it. An involuntary shiver went up and through his body. He offered the lamp to the other two, the tall scary one and the other tall scary one. "So what're thinking, boss?"

Otsana cocked a brow as she looked at the lamp. "That your weapon? Pretty unique. I would love to have you tag along, but understand that there is a pretty high penalty for screwing up. You comfortable with what may happen if we fail, right?"

"Ah, yeah. Bombs go off, lotta people die, and we all go home to feel bad about ourselves. If we go home at all. But, uh, hey, I'm already here, right? Can't just run away. I'm ready when you are, whatever you need."

She pointed a finger gun at him. "Bingo. I'm all for extra help in this. Hit these guys hard and fast, with overwhelming force. That's the way we handled this sort of thing back in the Army."

"You'd know better than me. So where do we find these lieutenants?"

Brown nodded her head at the mention of 'overwhelming force' and began to tighten up her fists in anticipation for the coming fight.

"Let's just get this over wi-"

That was when the sky turned black as a shadow was cast on them. "Wait, what? It's like three, how can it be getting..." That was when Brenda looked up and saw the hundreds of robots descending upon the tournament. She was awestruck... as they smashed their way into the stadium.

"... We need to get back to the tournament," Brenda said, before she had another idea. "Or run."

Brown did just that and ran...straight towards one of the nearby entrances to the stadium. She had no idea why robots had shown up or what their intent was. What she did know was they were robots and they seemed intent on breaking things. Finding the bombs had already slipped her mind as her eyes went wide and her hands tightened into blood drained fist, as the hunger for something to kill took over.

[color=FBDE41]"Tournament it is,"/color] said Askin, taking off after her. He'd barely it twenty feet, however, before the coliseum wall exploded overhead. A squadron of robots had just smashed straight through the building above and the screaming of the crowd could be heard through the hole, while four others went straight down and landed with a crash between Askin and Brown. No time to react, a single fist crashed across Askin's chest and sent him flying into the wall of a nearby building. His form vanished behind the dust and the rubble.

Well, he didn't last long... Brenda thought to herself, before she shot a sharp glare at Otsana. 'Can handle himself,' my ass.

Otsana gave her a shrug from behind a vending machine, quickly opening her machine gun's case. "Okay, so I am big enough to admit I might have made a bad judgement call there. I owe you a beer."

Well, at least he wasn't in the way anymore. Her right fist was coated in stone, before it was quickly surrounded by lava. She had her eye on the robot that just clocked Askin. He probably died, but his spirit will rest happy knowing that Brenda avenged him. She charged forward, with her fist extended. She punched the robot into chunks with one punch! More than that weakshit fairy could accomplish. However, the rest of them turned their guns on Brenda, as she took one step back as she put her arms up. Covered with stone, the bullets were easily stopped.

After a moment of firing, the robots hesitated, Brenda's shield unimpressed by their barrage. Before they could change strategies, however, there was an explosion of sparks and a sound like grinding gears—the robots fell back, two of them riddled with swords hammered hilt-deep into their metal, the wounds shooting orange crackles of static and black splattery oil.

Behind them approached Askin, dusty and rustled-looking, but apparently unharmed. Beneath his cloak, he fingered one of the brass containers. Eight swords used, six hits. Seven shots left. Okay. Okay. Yes, sure, great, I can do this. From the folds of his cloak shot out another sword, this one nailing the unhurt robot in the arm. A barking laugh punctuated the bot's destruction.

Hmmmm. Brenda maybe jumped the gun when she made a decision on him. He took out all the robots, and Brenda just thought she'd be carrying him as if he was a load.

Bounding forward her eyes locked onto the remaining robot Brown yanked her Yo-you out and began to rapidly spin in as she closed distance. In mere moments the wooden Yo-yo and the white string attached to it became a blur and audibly cut through the air like the propeller of a plane. The robot she approached staggered backwards from the impact of Askin's sword. Despite the loss of one of it's manipulators its remaining gun arm was still fully operational. Sensors dilating it recognized the fast approaching threat and primed the high caliber machine gun to fire when-

Taikutsunakiba!!!!"

CRACK!

A sharp acoustic snap echoed outwards as the robot's steel head collapsed inwards. Precision optics burst, exploding outwards like shattered coke bottles as Brown's yo-yo pulverized the robot's cranium with a single blow. Blind and unable to see the death machine began to fire aimlessly, spraying high caliber machine gun rounds in erratic sweeps in front of it. Bullets wizzing past her head and between her legs Brown didn't so much as flinch as she pulled her yo-yo back and lashed out with it again. The wooden head of the yo-yo rocketed outwards and wrapped around the leg of the robot. Brown yanked the cord and the yo-yo string went taut, and the robot fell backwards as it's leg was pulled out from under it.

Blind and on it's back the robot continued to fire into the ceiling. Brown walked up to it, wincing only slightly at the unpleasant loudness of the gunfire before bending over and grabbing the robot's machinegun arm. Hands tightening around the metal Brown began to turn the gun. The robot attempted to resist, but despite the strength of it's servo motors Brown was somehow stronger and with a shower of sparks the robot's arm was snapped backward still firing as it was pointed directly at it.

Brown's eyes went wide with glee as the robot before her was ripped apart by it's own machine gun, it's chromed body convulsing under the force of the gunfire that tore through it's battle hardened frame like tissue paper. The gun quickly ran dry and produced little more then empty clicks, but by then the robot was beyond any state of recognition.

"Pathetic" Brown hissed, throwing down the empty machine gun and kicking the robot remains across the floor. "Anything designed to kill might as well be designed to fail."

Her joyous, jovial tone from before was gone. In it's place was a more even but harsher voice that oozed with a frustrated malice. Not bothering to check if Askin was alright she ran forward once more in search of more robots...

Lava and stone and single, obliterating punches—very stylish, very effective, very dangerous. Exactly the kind of raw power Askin would expect from someone like the serious-faced stranger, and he was sure the wolf-woman had something just as frightening up her sleeves (so to speak). But Brown's viciousness was like a power all to its own, like guns and fists and superpowers grounded down to the finest powder and transformed into some intangible anger, wholly unfamiliar with mercy or restraint. Askin looked to the shattered robot, then to the others, as though hoping they would answer some unspoken question lingering in the air. "Are, uh, are you guys alright?" The gunfire had scattered in every direction—hopefully no one was hit.

That girl was like an animal when she fought... there was something fundamentally wrong with her that Brenda saw as clear as day and night. If these were real people, Brenda would be turning her fists onto Brown right about now. However, she focused on the task at hand. She threw one punch, and knocked the head of a robot clean off, before she kept charging. She turned her head, and Askin asked her if she was alright.

"Perfectly fine!" Brenda had to shout over the mayhem. "Just focus on staying safe yourself!"

"Still think she's a kid? Otsana shouldered her machine gun and popped out from behind her cover to send a stream of bullets down the hallway, robotic bodies dancing as they were riddled with bullets before crumpling to the ground. Robotic limbs flew through the air as she smoothly moved to the center of the hallway, the ground becoming slick with oil. Ears forward and eyes focused, her buzzaw cut down the first row of robots, the deadly stream only stopping to avoid her allies in the fight.

The two other woman—I really need to get their names—dived straight into the fray without a second thought. Askin always forgot that real nomads were actually quite good at the whole bulletproof thing. Just nearby, the stone-powered woman was knocking heads; one punch, one decapitated robot. The wolf-woman was tearing through the enemy with a deluge of gunfire. Askin, meanwhile, was dodging where he could, but hits were landing, and he couldn't keep this up much longer. They were surrounded now, a sea of guns and fists and glinting metal faces. The entrance was just up ahead—if it's blocked, the civilians can't escape.

Askin ducked below the outstretched arms of the robots nearby, then uncorked his sword-container entirely. A sighing noise, almost inaudible over the clashing robots. Then, like partners in a hoe-down, seven swords sprang up around Askin in a spinning, twirling, eager-to-please circle, cutting at the robots around him, forcing back the quick ones and slashing open the unlucky ones. There, a gap in the fighting—Askin forced his way towards the nearby coliseum gate and shouted to the others as loud as he could, "The entrance! We gotta clear it so the normals can get out!"

"Heads up, I'm going to clear the way with a grenade!" Otsana waited for the others to get out of the way as she loaded the grenade into her launcher.

"Gotcha!" Askin fingered one of his newly-empty containers, whispering quick whispers of power and magic. Pulling back an arm, he made to throw the container aside, and in the instant before it left his hand, Askin vanished. The imperceptible brass container soared through the air and clattered some ways away, unnoticed by the robots. Brenda nodded her head, as she punched the ground hard as she could, and flipped up a stone wall to defend herself while Brown threw herself behind an overturned vending machine and jammed her fingers in her ears. Blood thirsty rage or not, she wasn't one to want to lose an entire range of hearing...

"Fire in the hole!" As soon as she said that, she fired right into the center of the mob of robots. The grenade's fuse kept it from exploding right away as it punched through a handful of their attackers, richocheing slightly. Despite this, the explosvie made it into the thick of the crowd, exploding in a show of pyrotechnic force. She didn't even flinch at the explosion, instead scanning the clearing smoke for signs of movement. The robots in the hallway had been reduced to scrap, and she casually walked past Brenda and Brown, pulling out her pistol to finish off a few crippled survivors. "God I love using that." Her ears perked up, picking up the tell-tale sounds of servos and clanking coming from behind them. "Come on, sounds like we got more inbound." She motioned down the hall with her head.

Nuzzled up in a dark world with an afternoon sky and a motionless sea, Askin counted to ten, the burst free from the container, appearing from thin air at the edge of the devastation, just in time to hear the wolf-woman's words. Damn. Fire and wreckage, body after body after body all around them. No survivors, of course.

The adrenaline was rushing through Brenda, and she had everything she needed to clear out these machines. Her arms were covered in solid stone as she moved forward. Seemingly leading the bunch until Brown charged ahead of her, tackling robots and swinging her Yo-yo about, pounding metal and crushing servos under her feet. She breathed in the smells, sounds, and vibrations of the fighting around her and was driven forward with an unspoken thirst...

---

---

SYM-04's carnage continued within the stadium. He howled as he tore through both robots and people, occasionally KO'ing an unexpecting Nomad and draining them of their Ki.

"Freeze!" A voice shouted.

Four Nomads had surrounded SYM-04, crunching their fists into their palms.

"You're rampage stops here, you freak!"

All four of them lunged towards the Symbiote, Who charged his claws as he spun ina complete circle, tearing into each of their abdomens, knocking them back. His claws vibrated as they absorbed the Ki they stole, feeding them into his body. All four of the Nomads lay on the ground, clutching their clawed bellies. SYM-04 shrieked towards the air in victory, as his tail extended and grabbed one of his "attackers" by the Neck, lifting them off the ground as it drained every ounce of ki from their body.

"My goodness..." Mikhail said as he witnessed the massacre take place, he was pushed back a bit by Sage's hand. The Angel figured this was one of the more advanced machines... capable of draining someone's light. It was frightening. Sage had no choice.

"Mikhail, get back, I'll handle this." They said, as they narrowed their eyes at the beast.

Their wings sprouted from their back, and they leaped high up into the air assisted by their wings, and they manifested a bow and arrow made out of light. They shot the arrow square at the machine's back, hoping to get the drop on it, and destroy it before anyone else had to die.

SYM-04 abruptly dropped his prey as he felt something shock his back. He turned backwards, and saw a human holding a bow, hovering with wings of... Pure... ki... flaunting it at him...

SYM-04 bounded towards Sage, and lunged into the air with a shriek, his ki-draining claws outstretched as he swiped at them. The Angel let out a slight gasp as they used their bow as a defacto shield, parrying the claws with ease, before kicking the robot away. SYM-04 hit the ground with a loud CLUNK. He got back up, and thrusted his tail towards the Angel, wrapping it around their waist and slamming them into the ground. SYM-04 then leapt into the air, claws out, as he descended onto his opponent.

The Angel thought quickly, as this was no ordinary machine. It was coming right for Sage...What if they gave it something else to land on? Sage materialized their spear straight up, so the machine had nothing to look forward to other than death. SYM-04 groaned as he impaled himself on the holy spear. He stood a single foot from Sage, his claws hanging at his sides. For a moment, time slowed down for SYM-04. But then, reality came screaming back to him, as he grabbed Sages spear with a powerful shriek, lifted them off the ground by their spear and tossed them to the side. SYM-04 fell down to one knee as he covered both ends of the hole with his hands to stop his dark-brown vitriol from gushing out. He growled silently to himself, draining the ki from the spear in his chest. He roared loudly as he infused his fists with Ki, ripped off the armor on his thighs, and tore them into wide, flat sheets of metal, which he slapped over both ends of his wound, and used his Ki to weld them, screaming the whole time. He then looked Sage straight in the eye.

"I HAD WORSE." his distorted robotic voice bellowed.

"That's what they all say..." Sage narrowed their eyes, and created another spear of light. "... Before they are punished by the lord's light."

The ambiguous Angel lunged forward, and used their entire body to throw their spear at SYM-04. The spear swung so fast, it was like a disk. Sym-04 hopped over the spear, curling up his tail. He sprinted towards Sage, and performed a low sweep, followed by a ln uppercut right in their chin.

"I FEAR NO LIGHT" SYM-04 retorted. He once again attempted to wrap his tail around Sage, trying to drain her of ki. However, what the robot didn't account for was for the spear coming back to Sage like a boomerang. It went straight for SYM-04's back. He shrieked as it hit him in the back, letting go of Sage with whatever ki he managed to drain. The spear faded as Sage materialized one singular blade, and charged SYM-04. They swung their blade, aiming at it's face. SYM-04 roughly grabbed her sword, and absorbed it's ki. He then charged his fist with that ki, and slammed it right into Sage's cheek, sending her to the ground. SYM-04 ejected both claws, crackling with ki, raising them over his head. Just as he was going to tear them into the Angel beneath them, three bullets streaked by his head. He saw the familiar armor of the Horizon Frontier guards that had never strayed too far, making sure he was doing everything he could. He roared as he sprinted towards them, and swiped his claws, cutting a deep hole in both of their chests, sending them flying to the ground. Those were only two. He had eight. He glared at his foe from behind his visor, as he bounded like a predator towards the exit, and fled into the streets of Rio.

The fight Sage got into was interrupted by armed men. They kept their blade in hand, but the machine ran off. They were tempted to chase after it, but they had to make sure the people in the stadium were safe. .

Four guards ran up and examined their dead comrades. Then they looked at Sage.

"Don't worry ma'am. We'll track that thin-- I mean guy! Track that guy down. We advise you leave the stadium immediately."

"No..." Sage replied. "I must protect the people who have not escaped yet."

Sage created a spear made out of light, as they turned around to witness the anarchy getting much worse. They had a plan in mind, but they were not sure if it would be effective if attention fell on them.

Two of the guards looked at each other, and nodded. "Alright, we will permit you to stay so you can try and help. Can we atleast get your name?"

"... Sage Pimm." Sage replied, as they generated wings out of light, and leaped up into the air. They were above most humans to begin with, so they didn't need "permission." That said, it probably reassured them.

As soon as they were out of sight, the guards left. "Let's find that damned thing. I'll be sure to report her to the higher-ups".

Yen was confused. She could sense all of the people in combat, but robots, having no ki, was going to be a problem. And to what purpose would they attack the tournament? the only thing that came to mind was that they were attacking a gathering of Nomads, since anyone with enough money to field an army of machines was not likely to be after the prize money, no matter how much it might be. Focus, Yen, she thought to herself. Priority right now is survival and saving civilians. But how do I fight what I cannot perceive? She was being hauled along by Calvin, and she could 'see' his ice powers as he used them Ah!

"If you would be so kind," she said, trying to avoid rubble and stepping where he seemed to be placing his feet, "A layer of frost on any of them might help me find them, and then I could be of some use." She reached back and removed her fan from its sling with her free hand, charging herself and it with ki as she prepared to do whatever she could to aid her companion.

“Move, kid!”

Lucas heard these words and for a brief second was not entirely sure what they meant and who they were meant for, both questions were answered as he allowed himself a brief second to glance back at the robot, finding it far too close for comfort now. The mechanical... thing was suddenly split clean in half by an eruption on the floor, revealing the inner workings of the machine inside. Lucas’ eyes widened as he turned around completely to see the jutting out pieces of floor an inch away from his body, he took a mental note that he should probably call his dad more, suddenly the person was speaking again.

"That way's blocked off. We have to go forward."

He took a good look at her now. He vaguely remembered her from watching the monitors when he first arrived, up close she was a lot more terrifying despite her small frame. Her no-nonsense attitude and pristine (as much as it could be given the situation) uniform gave Lucas pause for a moment before her words registered. The main exit was blocked, lovely. Lucas began trying to stammer out a response.

“R-r-right f-....f-forward.” He looked around before giving her a fearful smile “Y-you uhm, wanna l-lead the way?”

Yeong-Suk sighed as this childlike-person attached to her like if she was his mother. This was not the time to get bogged down having to take the responsibility of saving this kid from the next big robot that came in their way. The first robot in this hallway wasn’t expecting her, but that doesn’t mean she’ll be as lucky in the future.

“Look…. kid…,” the Korean trailed on as she started to walk away, with or without the ginger, “I’m not waiting for you. Keep up or get lost. I don’t care.”

Lucas was taken aback, mostly for this woman’s stand offish demeanour but also that she seemed quite well composed despite what was happening. Suddenly, like a stiff breeze carried her forward she was gliding down the hall, telling Lucas to either follow or find his own way out. Lucas could already tell they weren’t going to buddy up and tell each other personal stories but he didn’t much fancy his chances getting out of here solo, he jogged alongside the raven haired woman and began walking alongside her, matching her brisk pace.

“Lu...L-Luca-” Lucas shook his head in an annoyance, choosing his words slowly and deliberately “I’M Lucas b-by the way.” He didn’t really expect a shake of the hand or even a response but the silence and their footsteps was making him uncomfortable.

Oh god, is this really happening? Can this idiot not even introduce himself without sounding like a useless moron? As soon as they were safely out of this building, Yeong-Suk wanted to ditch this kid as soon as humanly possible and just return to the hotel, and get out of this damn country. But manners are manners.

“My name is Chung Yeong-Suk,” the ravenette stated matter-of-factly. “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”

She paused for a second before continuing, “And it’s Yeong-Suk. Stupid bloody westerners always calling me by my last name...”

Lucas looked lost for a moment, he didn’t expect such a full reply nor did he really ask for it, he looked ahead with his standard expression of dumbfoundedness and fear.

“Oh.” was his simple reply.

There was a good minute’s silence between the two after that. Lucas considered himself patient, to an extreme fault even, but this silence and the squeaking of Yeong-Suk’s polished shoes were making him very paranoid, both of them could be attacked by a machine at any point and it was not a comforting thought.

“Uhm…” Lucas verbally said aloud, excellent start, “I urhm, I liked your fights” He said, which was a lie, he couldn’t even remember any of the fights because he was terrified of battling against that robo-maniac from earlier “I t-take it you’ll be b-back to Korea w-when we get o-out….?” This was torture

Yeong-Suk couldn’t help but smile as the yankee starting complimenting her. Was she actually getting fans out here just from one tournament? I guess nomads could recognize talent when they see it, even beyond political borders. A slight chuckle was let loose, buried between the the squeaking of her shoes.

“Thank you, Lucas,” Yeong-Suk said, her annoyance at the situation still in her voice, but not seemingly directed at the American. “If you want, my producers recorded my fights. I can get you a copy of the final product.

And yes, I am going back to Pyongyang as a hero for being undefeated.” At least, she hoped she was going back as a hero, and not a failure for almost losing her second fight.

Lucas thought he heard the dark haired women mutter something, or sigh or probably something needlessly rude but he couldn’t quite hear over her damn shoes. Nonetheless, when she spoke her words were oddly thankful despite her still annoyed tone. Lucas took that to mean she wasn’t the compliment receiving type.

“W-well that’ll be g-good at l-least” he said with a weak smile despite Yeong-Suk staring straight ahead “I n-need to call my D-dad and tell him I didn’t w-win….Again” Lucas seemed downtrodden as his stutter began to subside slightly.

“I mean, I’m not trying to win or anything I just…. I can’t really do anything else I guess.” He gave another faint smile and tried to lighten the mood “M-maybe your tapes m-might help me out” he said, this also was probably a lie, Lucas had a DVD player and even then he couldn’t find most of his blue rays these days.

Yeong-Suk almost felt a tug of sympathy towards Lucas. Almost. He was still, after all, just an annoying petulant yankee child who was probably going to get her killed, but given Yeong-Suk’s own doubts she had throughout this farce of a tournament, it’s not she didn’t understand where this kid was coming from.

“Don’t try to win,” Yeong-Suk found herself having to intervene. “Just win. The more you think about a fight, the less you are in the fight. Don’t think. Just act.” That, of course, is exactly how Yeong-Suk fights, and it served her well so far.

Lucas took in her words for a moment, the crux being “Just don’t think about it” which, the more Lucas thought about it, didn’t really help his situation. He was about to say something further about his limitations but paused for a moment, he gave a genuine smile and glanced over at Yeong-Suk.

“Thanks.” he said honestly. More because, despite this woman’s rather abrasive look and personality, she still tried giving him a piece of advice without talking down to him…. Not explicitly anyway. Lucas looked ahead once more as the two continued their way through the halls of the now mostly empty arena

Meanwhile, from another hallway a few feet ahead, a squadron of robots overheard the conversation going between the Korean and the American. Before Yeong-Suk even knew what happened one of the robots fired a swift burst at her chest, knocking the ravenette down flat on her back. Three robots behind it followed suit, unleashing a stream of lead at the two.

Yeong-Suk groaned as she laid on the ground. All of the injuries from her previous fights, on the streets with Jaden and with the dinosaur lady, she just couldn’t force herself to get up. At least not immediately. All she could do is look back at Lucas, before trying to grab a nearby door handle to force herself back on her feet.

Lucas reacted in fearful surprise as Yeong-Suk was suddenly sent to the ground by a burst of gunfire, he then followed suit as three robots let loose another volley of bullets towards the two. He crashed back first into a wall was the main thought he could muster.

Thankfully their bullets weren’t ki infused and Lucas’ surprising tenacity enabled him to struggle up to his feet with speed that defied his frame, even still his chest and stomach hurt like hell and his back was creaking in places it probably shouldn’t. He looked over at Yeong-Suk struggling to get upright and then looked towards the robots now training their guns on the Korean woman to finish the job.

With a groan and slight shake of the head Lucas charged forward, he slid under the leg of one of the robots who attempted to take him down and began scaling the one behind it, causing the one in front to turn and attempt to aid its ally…. If these things understood that concept. The robot trained its guns on the one Lucas was climbing and fired, proving that no, they did not.

Leaping from one robot to the other Lucas escaped being caught between two bursts of gunfire, clambering onto the robot in front, he thought to himself he was very lucky that had panned out the way it did, he then though ’What the hell am I supposed to do now!?' Lucas thought back to his fight with Jeremy and suddenly he had an idea, he closed his eyes and held out his trembling palms, allowing a faint green but pulsating glow to spread across his hands, he then slammed them down onto the machine, causing it to let out a mechanical noise that seemed to indicate it was not a fan of this current action. Lucas tried holding on but the machine moved around with such ferocity he was thrown off and collided painfully with the marble wall, the boy slid down as the two robots closed in on him.

Yeong-Suk cursed in her native tongue as she finally got back on her feet. She was lucky to even get back up at all. Where these robots really that bad of shots? They managed to hit her cleanly at the beginning. She looked forward, and the answer finally dawned at her. The Korean couldn’t believe her eyes as she saw Lucas was engaging in direct hand-to-hand combat with the robots! He seemed like he was getting easily overpowered, but he was certainly distracting the mechanical beings away from her.

Immediately, the ravenette rushed her ki towards her feet, letting it bask in a blue glow. A second later, she charged at the robots, jumping forward and slamming a roundhouse kick in the air at the closest of the mechanical death machines. Its head was ripped clean off from the rest of the body, breaking into a thousand pieces once it slammed into a wall. The other three robots turned to face the new threat. Expecting this, Yeong-Suk slammed her foot into the ground, launching a piece of the floor into the air. All the robot’s bullets harmlessly were lodged in the piece of earth, slowly being disintegrated through the sheer volume of fire.

Instinctively Lucas curled in a ball, sure his dad was going to be told his son wasn’t making it home from Brazil. The robots at that point turned their attention to Yeong-Suk who displayed a power that even Lucas had to stop and admire for a moment, realising she had created an opening he scurried behind the robots and out of their reach as their weaponry was stopped by Yeong-Suk’s earth bending.

With the makeshift cover all but disintegrated, Yeong-Suk immediately shifted to the next robot, kicking it right in the chest, before grabbing its rifle out of its hands. Pointing the gun straight at its head, the Korean finished it off with a pull of a trigger. She turned around to face the next robot, pressing the trigger until the magazine was dry. It knocked down a further robot, leaving just two more left to fight.

Yeong-Suk once again jumped into the air, allowing herself to be covered in an aura of blue ki. Aiming at the next-closest robot, she delivered a Flying Horse Kick, cleaving it in twain. After sticking the landing, she finished off the last robot by kicking sickle-shaped energy in placing, knocking it down and putting it out of commission.

Yeong-Suk sighed in relief as the last robot was finally defeated, before collapsing on her knees. She didn’t know what possessed her to fight so hard, but that took all the energy she had in her body. Her body couldn’t take any more of this; she felt like she could pass out any second if she keeps straining herself like this.

Looking over the destruction of these robots made a mental note of how fortunate he’d been that he ran into Yeong-Suk. He looked over to see her fall to her knees, in surprise he rushed over to the Korean’s side. He hesitated for a brief moment before holding onto her shoulder and arm and trying to pull her back up.

“I think we’re close to one of the exits! C’mon we have to go!” he said with urgency, his prominent stutter temporarily leaving him as the severity of the situation became even more clear, he’d have to thank this… Frankly, odd woman when they got out but neither of them could take much more so it was leave now or encounter something worse.

Yeong-Suk could hear that Lucas was talking to her, but she wasn’t really paying attention to anything that he was saying. The idiot almost killed her, as she knew he was going to. If he just shut up and just let her concentrate, she wouldn’t have been in this situation in the first place! This was her fault; she just should have told him to piss off from the start, and everything would have been fine and not feel like she was about to die.

Yet, she couldn’t feel too mad at him either… Somehow, this coward loser managed to munster the strength to try to defend her. He might have put her life into mortal danger, but he also saved her, in a way that likely took all the strength he possibly had. A westerner actually being brave and courteous… she almost didn’t even believe it.

A tense second passed, before Yeong-Suk rose to her feet again. She opened her mouth, considering saying something to Lucas, but decided not do at the last second. She merely just nodded, before limping as briskly as possible towards the sign that conveniently read “EXIT”.

Lucas stayed fairly close to Yeong-Suk, after her less than pleasant expression to him trying to get her back up he didn’t dare get too close but he was also half awaiting her to fall down again at any moment. Regardless the two finally made it to one of the side exits, Yeong-Suk went through first with Lucas following behind, he stopped for a moment and kicked over a rock under the door to hold it open for anyone else who might miss it, couldn’t hurt anyway.

Now with the sun of Brazil shining down on the two Lucas had to shield his eyes for a moment to let himself adjust. He looked over at Yeong-Suk and debated inquiring if she’d like him to take her to the hospital, though he figured the answer would be a terse no. He was about to extend his arm but again decided against it.

“I….Well, T-thanks for today. I w-wouldn’t have made it o-out of here without your help.” He said, giving her a thankful smile in the process “Do you need any help somewhere or?....” he trailed off, unsure on what exactly the proper code of conduct was for a situation like this.

Yeong-Suk’s organic eye too took a second to adjust to the bright sunlight, and she, perhaps suspiciously, only covered her right eye as she walked out of the building. She stopped to face Lucas, who seemed awkwardly trying to thank her for the help breaking out of the ruined arena.

“I have to go meet up with my entourage in our hotel. Make sure everyone is accounted for.” She paused, before bluntly adding, “I’d have to kill you if you’d follow me.”

It took a few further seconds to pass before realizing that probably not the best note to end on, so she hastily continued, “Korea -- I -- thank you for your help. If you ever need help with anything, I’ll remember your generosity.” Then, Yeong-Suk did something she thought she would have never done just a few minutes ago: she saluted Lucas, before walking off.

Lucas blinked slightly as he watched Yeong-Suk leave to meet her crew, he hadn’t been saluted, or even really complimented, in his life so that was something he let himself adjust to. To hear Yeong-Suk tell it he’d also earned the favor of the entire nation of North Korea so that was pretty cool.

Lucas gave himself a moment to stretch out his aching bones and dust himself off before walking out into the street, he’d have to get in contact with his dad at some point but he didn’t mind too much. Lucas stood at a nearby bus stop and checked around his pockets, pulling out some pieces of lint and a paperclip.

“Ohh…” Lucas moaned to himself as he hit the palm of his hand against his face.

"Layer of frost? How am I supposed to frost these guys when I can't get close without getting shot, and my snowballs cost as much to produce as they're worth..." Calvin looked around the stadium. Aha! He noticed, halfway across the stadium, a fire alarm. He created a path of ice in front of him, which he slid along.

"Cmon!" He called at Yen as he slid past dozens of robots. A giant one that looked like something out of Mechwarrior stepped in his way, and turned to look right at him. Thinking fast, he dropped as he slid right between it's legs, touching both of them to paint them for Yen to see. As his trail of ice melted to a halt, Calvin curled back onto his feet, crouching. Once he reached the end, he hopped and flailed through the air, right as he landed next to the fire alarm. He effortlessly shattered the glass (though he probably should have used the tiny mallet hooked to it) with his bare hand, pulling the alarm. Sprinklers all around the system activated, dousing robots and people all across it. Calvin pinched a small hole in the pipe attaching to the wall, that he saw connect to the sprinkler systems above. He then gently touched his finger against the hole, not only preventing water from spraying out the hole he created, but also lacing all the water that rushed out the sprinklers with low levels of his ki. Not enough to cause harm to the robots, but enough for Ki to vividly see the area around them.

---

Hank's rage against the machines continued. By the time, he had killed nearly 30 robots. But those still weren't enough. It took a firm voice from behind Hank to snap him out of his rage.

"Freeze!"

Two cops had pointed guns at Hank from behind. He grunted.

"Cmon guys... Don't you have like, a hundred robots to deal with?"

"We're not dumb enough to square off against them. But we're smart enough to know that just one Nomad is enough for a reward. Drop your weapon, and come with u--"

Both cops were shot by a single robot that had snuck up behind them. It aimed it's gun at hank, who improvised by throwing his Cleaverblade right in it's head. The robot fell to the ground. Hank retrieved his Cleaverblade, and ran towards the exit. Looking outside the glass doors, however, he saw an entire garrison of police officers had been placed. They likely wouldn't even bother going in there; It was a slaughterhouse. They'd just leave it up to dozens of Nomads to take care of the mess, then come in and escort people out. But if Hank, a wanted criminal went out there, they'd likely recognize him and shoot him on sight! He shouldn've known better than to hunt down the Chupacabra... In a wildlife reserve... With a dozen endangered Golden Bengals... Hank ran into the bathroom, and hopped out the window instead. He sneaked away from the police, as best someone with his gear could. Once he was a good distance away from the Stadium, he just returned to walking casually.

Alright, since shit was going down in Rio, it was time to bail. Honestly, he thought something like this would've happened at a fighting tournament with so many powerful Nomads. His best bet was to hop on a bus outta town. He saw one, with nobody around it. Hank casually sat down, waiting for the bus to come. He atleast managed to pocket enough change before his stand blew up.

---

Ivory sat upright at a mahogany table, in a featureless box room. A man in a black suit wearing sunglasses walked in, and sat opposite from her.

"Good afternoon, miss Ivory. I take it you're doing well?"

"Yes. Thank you for asking."

"Good to hear that. Have you been told yet?"

"I have not received any extraordinary information, no."

The man opened his suitcase. "Well then. I guess I'll tell you. Our latest "toy", SYM-04, has gone AWOL."

"And you wish for me to find him?"

"Well... Not yet, anyway. You're just filling in his position."

"Position?"

"Yes. He was reserved to be a field model, but... Now that he's gone... For the time being, you have the option to... "fill in" for him, you get what I mean?"

"You are going to kill him."

"Eh... Yes... We're... gonna deal with him in time... Anyway, if you're interested in... getting more sunlight, you know, you can."

"Thank you very much. I accept your offer."

"Great! I'll let 'em know. You can head back to your room now, we'll let you know when you're on your first actual field assignment. You excited?"

"I am overjoyed."

"Um... Yeah... I'll keep in touch."

The man left the room. Ivory sighed as she stood up and left out the same door. She had returned to her quarters, very upkept and orderly. She knelt down in front of a tall shelf, with dozens of books lined up. She searched for the book she was currently reading; Which was absent from it's spot. Suddenly, she felt a presence behind her, and sighed in mild disgruntlement.

"Yes, Haunt?"

She stood up and turned around. Haunt was present, an extremely tall and slender figure, with one diamond-shaped eye that stared directly at what would have been her face. In one of it's long arms, it's clawed hand held her book out to her. She took it from her.

"Thank you, Haunt. Now return to your chamber before the guards see you've escaped."

Haunt tilted her head.

"Yes... That is a command.

Her face glew orange for a moment, as did Haunt's eye. Haunt turned invisible, and Regalia heard it clamber back up the vent it crawled through.

Ivory sighed, and returned to her armchair. She pressed a button of a radio on the table next to it, and it started to play calming, ocean sounds. Regalia opened the copy of Frankenstein, and continued where she left off.

---

---

---

There was little to no time to waste, Brenda punched aside the debris that was blocking the lobby with one single burning right.

Stone was sent in all directions, and even trashed a few of the bots. These things were easily a dime a dozen, and easily dispatched. Brenda was more annoyed that they were in her way than anything, but they had to stay focused. They needed to make sure Jonas' ass doesn't get filled with lead. Brenda lead the charge through the halls of the tournament, punching every robot that got in her way. Until they made it to the stands. Brenda leaned over the stands, searching for Jonas.

However, a giant shadow was cast over the arena, and everyone had no choice but to look upwards as an enormous silver pod - the size of buildings - floated over the arena. Everyone could see it over the massive hole in the ceiling. The pod floated over the arena via the thrusters mounted on it's sides... before they cut off, and the pod fell to the earth like a brick.

It caused a shockwave that knocked over even the strongest of Nomads. The dust settled, and a light appeared at the top of the pod, as gigantic legs unfurled from the machine. It quickly transformed into a gigantic insectoid machine made out of sleek armor.

Brenda raised an eyebrow... since this was something that she had zero prior experience with. In front of the wretched automaton, a massive black orb appeared similar to a black hole. Suddenly everything that wasn't nailed down was being pulled towards this singularity. Even the Nomads were helpless to stop it.

Brenda first noticed it being subtle... then becoming overwhelming. She yelled as she was literally pulled off her feet towards it. She slammed her hands onto the ground finger first, and coated her hands in stone. Binding her to the ground, but there wasn't much to save her friends.

Anything (or one, for that matter) that got pulled close to the singularity would float around it harmlessly. Before it faded, and the real battle begins.



_{Also when the robot fell into the arena, a rock fell onto Askin's head and killed him. rip}

---

"Oh come on..." Margot had to rush to change out her damaged cape and to clean her sword before the blood dried, and now was kept in 'the green room', waiting for her foe, Walter Duncan to show up. The other fights had already started, and Andre had made apologies about how Walter was on his way. Now she watched on a the tournament's feed as Walter gave an interview to a reporter.

"Mr. Duncan, have you seen the footage from your opponent's last fight? Aren't you worried?"

The giant of a man bellowed out a laugh. "Not at all Bill, not at all. It's going to take more than speed and some sharp sticks to take me down."

Margot turned around as she heard a laugh from beyond the door. "Oh you're kidding me."

"She's got one gimmick, her speed. Can't even grapple as far as I can tell. Just watch, I'll be done in under a minute."

"Really? That's how long you can last? I'd expect more endurance from you." Duncan turned around as Margot stepped out of the green room.

"Ah, Margot, we were going to talk to you next. What do you think of of your opponent?" Margot balked a little as a microphone was shoved in her face.

"I think he's been keeping me waiting far too long. Now, are you going to keep flapping that sorry excuse for a moustache or are you going to head to the ring?" She walked past them towards the ring, only stopping to add, "By the way, it's 'Renard Bleu' to you."

---

"GERMAN SUPLEX!" That was about five minutes ago. Right now Margot was getting very well aquianted with the ground. Her sheathed sword fell out of her grip, coming to a rest a few feet away.

"Oh god how is he so sweaty already?" She rolled out of the way to avoid a stomp from his educated feet, picking up her sword and standing up unsteadily. "Alright," she held her sword up at him, "You're giving me more trouble than I thought."

Walter panted as well, his body covered in bruises, his right knee in particular feeling stiff. "I gotta admit, you're a pain in the ass." Margot smirked at that, and was about to quip back when the stadium shook from an explosion. "What the crap was that?"

They both looked up in time to dodge a chunk of concrete that buckled the stage, sending them both flying off at the same time. They landed on their feet next to each other. "Looks like the tournament's on hold"

They both looked around at the landing robots, gunfire erupting around them. "Goddamnit, what the hell do they think they're doing?" He flipped over the water station table, the two barely ducking behind it to avoid a spray of bullets.

Margot unsheathed her blades, pointing back to the locker rooms. "Let's head back that way, we're sitting ducks here."

Duncan nodded and got ready to spring. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three!" They both dashed towards the door, a spray of bullets A few robots landed in front of them to try and stop them, but between the mountain of a man and her quick cuts, they were no obstacle. They were almost scott free when a lucky ricochet hit Duncan in the calf. He howled as he fell to the ground, skidding through the doors which Margot closed behind them. He clutched his leg and hissed. "Crap, bastard got me." He crawled to the wall and sat against it. He tried to stand up, but his attempt was cut short as soon as he put weight on it. Lifting his hands off the wound, he grimaced. "I've survived worse, but I can't walk like this."

"That bullet shouldn't have done so much damage to a Nomad. Looks it was made of that anti-ki alloy." She touched her stomach without thinking. "Let's get you patched up." She stood up and looked around, checking around the corner before helping Duncan into the lockers. Then she helped dress his wound."Looks like it's relatively quiet here. I can try and find help, and hopefully other survivors. I'll send help when I can."

Duncan was quiet for a moment, mulling it over. "Fine, but don't go dying on me. You still owe me a proper match"

"Wouldn't dream of it." She smirked. "Let's focus on getting out alive before we talk about rematches." She stepped to the door and turned back. "Good luck." Before he could respond, she was already heading down the hallway, trying to find a safe way through, and hopefully more survivors.

@Dojo

---

One rock, two rocks, three rocks—Askin couldn't blow the rubble away with a single punch, but his containers could shift aside boulders with relative ease. He and the others had cleared a side exit, but with the main entrance clogged up there was little hope for the non-nomads escaping.

It was chaos, of course. He hadn't been expecting anything else, but in person it was all very overwhelming, and Askin was finding trouble concentrating. Robots and screaming and blood, and nomads and ki blasts and dust everywhere. Askin had just dispelled a piece of wreckage the size of a minivan when one of his new companions was suddenly there beside him. One punch, and the entrance was clear, a blast of rock and mortar and pure, fiery power that blew Askin's hair out of his face and sent his cloak flapping like a great angry bird.

"Oh. That's, uh, one way to do it."

Askin decided it was time to stop trying to take the lead, and just be content as one of the sheep. As the tall, dark woman hurried off, Askin followed her, calling out behind him, "The exit is clear! If you're not a fighter, get out, run!"

Up on the bleachers, with a fuller view of the arena, Askin lost track of his friend(?), but before he could look for her, or maybe help one of the others, a great shadow fell over the heart of the arena. Askin didn't have to look up to know this couldn't be good.

The ground exploded as a silver sphere dropped from the heavens and crashed to the ground in a shockwave of air and rock and metal. A chunk of rubble thrown up from the impact cracked Askin across the head and sent him tumbling down the bleachers, head over feet, then feet over head. For a moment, everything went black, and his vision spun in a thousand directions. Blood ran thick down the top of his head and across his face. When his vision cleared, Askin found that the ground had gone out from beneath him, and he was being pulled through the air as though in an invisible river. The huge silver sphere wasn't a sphere anymore, but a robot, a fat, insectile thing with great thick legs, and at its head was a black sphere of shivery somethingness. Whatever it was, like some child-version of a black hole, it was sucking him towards it.

He swung his hands through the air, trying to grab on to something, anything, but it was too late, he was already nearing the metal monstrosity. Others were being plucked up from the ground and pulled towards the shadowy sphere as well. Change of plans: dynamic tactics, go with the flow. Askin opened up a container and unleashed the brunt of a winter storm around the sphere, crashing ice and snow and wind all around the singularity. For a second, parts of it froze up, and the gravitational pull faltered—then, the ice was broken up by the irresistible pull, one of Askin's strongest moves turned to nothing more than slush and water and snow. Ah. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, okay, alright. Dynamic tactics, he told himself, just roll with it!

Askin kicked his feet, ignoring the sinking disappointment growling in his chest, and released a burst of wind from one of his other containers, shooting quickly and suddenly towards the singularity sphere and the silvery, many-eyed head of the robot. Suddenly up against the mechanical monster's face, Askin threw out the now empty container that had once held a winter storm. With a sound like a sighing old woman, the face of the robot rippled and twisted, and suddenly the heavy metal plating armoring its face was vanished away, exposing the eyes and wiring beneath.

"Shoot the face, shoot the face, someone!" Askin yelled, floating wildly through the air. Blood from Askin's head injury had dripped over his face again, clogging his eyes and blocking his vision.

@wxps350

---

Bus Stop
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

A catastrophe was happening in Rio. The streets were filled with the howling sirens of police and people were clustering, talking about a possible terrorist attack. It was the best distraction for a young boy. One that was hardly noticed walking through the streets in nothing but a hospital gown, and beneath his gown was his slightly tattered American flag boxer shorts. Brown, unkempt hair and tired grey eyes, the boy padded toward a bus stop where a lone man was seated on a bench. Suddenly, there was a thunderous boom in the distance that Little Gideon felt vibrate through the soles of his feet.

The boy paused and stared down at his toes, wiggling them slightly before he turned to gaze back first in the direction of the hospital, and then where he believed the arena was.

I gotta get out of here, Little Gideon thought. The longer he stayed, the more drama seemed to appear. The ache in his stomach reminded him of his lingering hunger. The hospital had provided him with dinner: plantains, rice, goat with gravy, steamed cabbage and a roll. It should have filled a boy of his size up easily—if he had been an actual child. Little Gideon approached the bus stop and the closer he walked, the more details he was able to make out of the man seated there. The child stopped about two normal arms lengths away from Hank and stared at him openly—not even discreet in what would usually be deemed bad manners. Little Gideon had first regarded the massive cleaverblade at the man’s back and then the frying pan, and hook (and if he had a shank of meat attached to it at this time or not. I will assume no for this post). The combination of objects were logically tossed about Little Gideon’s brain like a math problem until he came to a logical conclusion—one that made his grey eyes swell with curious excitement.

“Mister, are you a cook?” Little Gideon asked.

The strange kid stepped closer to the man, breaching the personal space to…sniff him. It had only taken two sniffs for Little Gideon to place the scent to some odd meat smell. He leaned back away from the man and told him—what he might have already known: “You smell like meat! Do you have any on you?”

---

---

Honestly, he thought the break until the next match would last a little bit longer, but eh, he had to adapt. Staring at a passing restroom, he pondered on if he should go into one of the stalls and make a double of him to assist the other Nomads. Jonas frowned as he trudged on, his eyes eventually breaking from the entrance. As much as he wanted to, a passing contender could possibly figure out his skills and later on turn the tide against him. Yeah, not taking a chance there.

Unsurprisingly, there was the same torrent of fighters that rushed and dragged him forward, albeit with a somewhat weaker flow in the mix. Thoughts invaded his mind over whether or not he should better cleanse his knife as it wouldn't be very sanitary if he just left them this way.

Pulling out one of the five knives he rushed on, he gingerly stuck his arm into his satchel and procured one of the rags. Ah, ol' reliable number thirty-nine, how you would be useless soon. Whistling as he slowly polished his blade, he felt someone bump his arm again and winced a little when that resulted in his thumb being accidentally cut. Oh no, they injured him, how ever would he be able to participate in the tournament now?

Chuckling at that minuscule and stupid thought, he made sure to completely clean the knife before setting it back into the sleeves of his coat. Shoving an arm into the bag once again, his eyes distance themselves around before noticing a familiar face near the back of the group.

The giantess. Welp, now was his chance! Forcing himself against the current, Jonas made sure to gently apply the bandage with a few seconds before holding his hand up.

"Yo, Klara," he shouted over the chorus of fighters and Nomads as he repositioned himself beside her. Looking up frozen Amazon, he gave her a quaint smile. "Glad t'see your face again; where'd ya run off to?" Despite his, erm, inherent friendliness, he did recall her sharp question over what this partnership would involve. She was a little like Brenda, which means he was walking on eggshells.

Hmm... how would he recruit her to the cause?

"Ah, hello again Doctor!" Klara shouted back amicably, breathing heavily from her jog towards the match area. "Good to see you as well! Pardon my absense, the large man with the knife proved to be a good challenge." She gestured toward the tear on her top where the blade pierced her earlier now devoid of the unpleasant injury, laughing as she did so.

Jonas eyed the tear in her clothes with a certain morbid curiosity. Staring intently at her chest before meeting her eyes, there was no doubt what he was thinking.

"I'm more surprised you sustained a wound, let alone recovered so fast; how'd ya manage that? Was it a superficial cut or something," he chuckled a little, though he was mildly curious if said knife was plunged even deeper in in contrast to his current thoughts.

"It was no mere scraping, I can tell you that." Klara said proudly. "I was worried I would not be able to fight, but thanks to a fan of mine I am back and ready to prove myself again!" Klara internally debated calling the green-eyed woman a "fan". She had fans before, but most of them just fawned over her or gasp in amazement over the stories of her accomplishments. The green-eyed woman was different though, too methodical and calculating to be just a fan. Still, Klara didn't feel much like discussing the woman with Jonas, maybe because the way he methodically looked over her reminded her so much of the woman in question.

A... fan, eh? Jonas raised his eyebrows as he glanced at her chest and back up at her. If this was as deep as she inferred it was, then this fan was definitely either a stalker or a Nomad. Glancing forward, that gave off the vibes that while this fan could be useful with their healing capabilities, he didn't know who they were.

"Regardless of who they were, glad t'see ya back in the ring. Maybe if I finish up whoever I have to go against, maybe I can see how you handle things," he kept smiling, changing the subject. "And then I could get an edge on ya when we do cross fists," he chuckled as he whipped out one of his knives and twirled it around before cleaning it. "Or blades for that matter... after all, if ya know your enemy and know yourself, you won't fear a hundred battles."

"You would make for a fine skarl, my friend!"

As he spoke, he felt the sun beat down on the duo as they entered the roaring arena. Most people were heading to their respective arenas as Jonas stared at the big screen which listed who would be clashing with who. He kept his eyes peeled, waiting for his respective name to pop up.

""It is a shame that the Dragon warrior was knocked out," Klara mused, waiting for her name to pop up as well. ""I would have enjoyed brawling with such a beast. Perhaps if I fight his opponent..."

"Our next pair of fighters...." Andre shouted over the tummult of the crowd. "Klara Grimolfdottir, the Ice Queen of the North, going up against a man with only a title to his name, the enigmatic Doctor!"

""...well then," Klara responded cryptically, glancing towards the stage then back at Jonas with a look of anticipation and curiosity.

"... huh, that's a lil' too coincidental..."

Jonas tapped the side of his chin, staring up at the televisions as their name in turn appeared on the screen, along with their listed stage, which consisted of strange statues, a pseudo-fog enveloping the place, and rolling hills. Hm. While this was nothing to be really suspicious about, it was somewhat funny that both of them were to square off. Eyeing Klara for a few swift seconds up and down before turning back to the screen.

It would of been inevitable, regardless. He would either of done battle with her in a future round or one of her opponents who knocked her down, but still... but still, but still... ooh, now that he thought about it, this presented a perfect opportunity to recruit her...

If he could knock her off the stage.

"Well, best we get goin', the tourney nor those goons are gonna wait for us," Jonas took one step forward as he receded back a bit, arms shot up straight into the air as he stretched. "Time to see what we both are made of..."

Klara followed Jonas into the boundaries of the arena, the interior obscured by etheral mist. As the cloud parted and closed behind her, Klara felt a cool temperate breeze on her face, different then the humid, warm winds of Rio de Janeiro. She was in a green field, its boundaries defined by ethereal smoke, almost like it had been cut out of a hillside with a burning blade and set in the center stage. Rubbing the residue of the clouds from her eyes, great white shapes popped into view, elegant columns, their sharp edges word down by time, human figures cut from great white stones in elegant poses, their eyes blank and featureless. Some held weapons or tools in their hands, others had their limbs or heads removed.

"Impressive," Klara mused ""These organizers certainly know how to set up an arena, don't they...doctor?" Jonas had vanished in the time that Klara was looking over the area. Keeping her guard up, her gaze fell on the statue that was in Jonas' place. A woman with the lower body of a snake coiled around the base and serpentine shapes curled around her head, her mouth in a wide snarl. The ice giantess stared, finding something familiar in the statue's venemous eyes...

...

Same procedure as before eh? Jonas just patiently observed the arena above as he circled it rather swiftly to reach the opposite end. From the looks of it from all the way down there, there was a sort of mystifying beauty to it - solemn green hills, but a nice little mist that seemed to block his visage of the battlefield. Musing over what they would prepare this round, Jonas reached the other side of the area and began ascending to his place in the arena.

... damn, this was really thick, he honestly could cut a piece out with his knife and eat it! Stretching a hand out, Jonas furrowed his brow as he brushed aside the ever present mist in this arena. Focusing, he decided to get a good glimpse of where her energy was. While this arena was cool, he did discover a large, ever present warmth emanating from the opposing end. Other than that, analyzing the battlefield was somewhat of a chore, especially with this creepy snake statue by him.

His eyes drifted between the the statue and Klara's hot presence, pondering on if there were more of these things around they couldn't see. But for the most part, she had stopped in full silence. Her aura, her soul, he ki... it didn't move, as if it was affixed in one place. Frowning, Jonas tilted his head as he gave the same studious gaze to the fog before something tore between the white gloam of the arena.

"Hey Klara, this would be a pretty nice lookin' place without the fog machines, wouldn't ya agree?" Those words reverberated across the arena as Jonas began small talking. The fight hadn't opened yet, so there was still some time to get the bet under way. As he shouted out to her, he kept his traditional, fabricated smile up to nothing more than the encompassing mist.

"It looks like some sort of afterlife! But yes, the fog is an annoyance." Klara shouted back, trying to pinpoint where her opponent's voice came from.

"Actually, I would describe this place as more of a... highlands area..."

... and yet she thinks of a graveyard for this arena? That's one way to describe this place as he was overtaken by the fog of the arena. As if he had a fake goatee, Jonas began stroking his chin, as if deciding whether or not to raise or check. Letting a knife out of his sleeve, he began tapping the steel for a moment before placing his bet.

"Anyways, before the Announcer tells us to start, how about we spice things up with a good ol' fashion bet? High stakes, high reward; right up yer alley?" At this point, Jonas felt like a sleazy car salesman trying to pawn off some Honda that lacked the pieces that were advertised on it to some unwitting teenager.

"A wager on the outcome? You seem eager to lose!" Klara boasted, only half-joking in her tone. "Is it about this group you're looking to build, Doctor?" Frost spread from her heavy footfalls as she charged up her energies for the coming battle.

"I wouldn't be gambling like this unless the odds were most definitely in my favor," Jonas shot back, raising his arm up into the as he popped the knife back into his sleeve. Frowning, he put one hand on his hip and nodded to the nothingness. "Yes, it dooeess have to do about that... but it's more involved with you. He pulled his hand into a gun-like appearance, aiming at her presence amidst the field.

"If I win, you join the group, no questions asked... I'll still explain t'y'all about the partnership I've conceived... on the other hand..." Jonas paused for a few seconds, tapping his lip before continuing on. "You win, I spill everything about myself; some things I wouldn't like t'tell anyone either... at least not at this point." He whispered the last portion to himself before staring out into the fog, awaiting an answer.

It was a while before Klara responded. "Hmm, secrets are an interesting trade, and if my wolf friend is in your group, it sounds like it could be quite a spectacle." Indeed, she didn't know much about this group that the doctor had only mentioned briefly, but she didn't feel the need to ask the most important question to her; without a doubt, she would find many an opprotunity to test her skills against a worthy challenger! Her mind was set!

"Very well, I will accept your offer," Klara responded after very little deliberation. "To the victor, the spoils, as your saying goes!"

Well then, this was working out more favorably than he expected, albeit too favorably... "Well, if anyone's gonna be spoiled, it's gonna be me," he tossed a boast that was similar to Klara's tone right back at her as he let two knives swing haphazardly out of his left sleeve. Hopefully this wouldn't be the match where he displayed his full potential, but then again... hmm, nah, too risky, pluuuus...

He moved closer to the statues, he inspected them much more closely and found something interesting about the statue. Inside its mouth, there was a camera that constantly rotated in a 180 degree angle.

"Three."

Interesting, but enough time for that.

"Two."

Backing down and into place, Jonas stared down the field.

"One."

... let us open the game. Dashing forward a little, Jonas, with his left, tossed down two knives onto the grass. Both were embedded in with a single sliver of string tying them together as Jonas then jumped back, careful to avert tripping over it and threw three knives in Klara's direction. They were primed to miss, save for one that he aimed at her leg. One would fly past her left shoulder, the other her right leg.

Klara was prepared for the starting attack, but his speed caught her slightly offguard. Briefly freezing herself to counter the knives flying at her, she quickly swung back and lobbed a ice battleaxe in his direction, stomping to summon an ice totem for cover from anymore knife attacks.

"So Klareee-" as Jonas landed with the string still attached, he narrowly pivoted out of the way as a huge iceborne axe was hurled at him from across the stage. He swore over the action he heard a minor thunk as he... cripes... now what? Did she realize his knives were attached to some string? He felt the two knifes swing upwards and had no idea where they would exactly land... but ugh, was she catching onto him?

As if cutting off the twine from a marionette, Jonas allowed the his fingers to be alleviated of the thinly veiled strings. Alright, Plan I was definitely coming to play next, but the inquiry would continue.

"Anyways, Klara," he shouted out, knowingly giving away his position as he drew two knives into his hand. "Are ya related to Andre the Giant or somethin', because with those looks, you are pretty massive." As he question the blue beauty, he immediately tossed the knives to his side as a back up plan, letting the tripwire settle in to the highlands.

"Andre the Giant?" Klara repeated. "With a name like that he must be a fearsome warrior." In between the banter, Klara made a game plan in her head. The good doctor was slippery, and if she wanted to be competative in this game she'd have to keep moving. It was playing a little bit outside of her comfort zone, but what good was a fight without a little challenge? Placing a boot on the ice totem, she sent it sliding forward with a heavy push. "The last man I knew called Giant claimed to have torn the scales of a Frost Wyvern with his bare hands! An incredible tale!"

... ok, so both of em' were speaking about two completely different things. "I think we're talking about two different giants Klara," he spoke back, drawing three knives from his left sleeve and two intertwined ones from another.

"Andre had gigantism and was primarily an actor and wrestle- ok then!" Jonas shouted out as a giant piece of ice nearly body-slammed him out of the arena. If he didn't have the reactions he did now, nor the power, he would probably just be a bloody mess on the side of the arena as he dodged the attack, via launching himself right, flying over one of his three traps.

Then as the totem passed alongside Jonas and moved behind him, it shattered into a humanoid form and quickly took on Klara's features as she relocated.

And then, in an instant, that hot ki energy he felt was suddenly in front of him. It was like the wham sensation a person would get if the door was slammed directly in their face. Like a straight wham as soon as she appeared directly in front of him.

"And you are correct: I am indeed massive, compared to you." Klara joked, charging in for a decisive grapple.

From what he gathered, she teleported and closed the distance... and that block of ice... that was a catalyst... maybe. "Well, I'm going to be dreaming of big, beautiful women tonight," Jonas grumbled as he analyzed her up to a certain point as she spoke.

Well, before she decided to get "friendly" with him (he saw the look in her eyes). He was not getting his ass tossed out of the arena this early and easily. Of course, as much as he wanted to give her the "oh no, panic" bs face, he had no need for such emotions.

As soon as he saw the large lady start to topple, he withdrew his knives. The saying the bigger they are, the harder they fall would fit here, but that was way too friggin' cheesy.

... and of course, there was the fact that she was falling and he didn't want those lines to be his last thoughts! Death by snu snu was probably ok for other's, but nuh uh, not him. As she began to topple over, Jonas immediately pivoted out of the way as he felt a woosh past by him....

There was a crash and a cloud of debris as Klara plowed right into one of the statues, shattering the cheap plaster masquerading as elegant marble to pieces. Slightly dazed, the ice giantess slid to a halt to stabilize herself, feeling the fabric of the doctor's coat gripped in one hand. The doctor was remarkably light, she thought to herself as she prepared to hoist her opponent onto her shoulders and hurl him from the ring, but as the smoke cleared she got a good look at her quarry, or in this case the lack therof. She had not caught Jonas; only his rather nicely made lab coat.

"Haha, almost had you didn't I?" Klara remarked with amusement, weighing the jacket in her hand. "It's a bit heavy, what do you keep in this, doctor?"

... great, there went his coat and his friggin' plans... as Jonas began to regain his balance from her blatant attempts to try and grapple him, he capitalized on what moments he did have. Shoving his foot, he quickly completed the roundabout as he spun and landed on Klara's back. "I'm gonna pray she can hold her breath just as much as a lightweight holds their beer."

Wrapping his arms around her neck, he brought the giantess into a choke-hold, putting pressure on her neck as he attempted to deny her oxygen.

"An assortment of knives; originally fifty, added on over the years so I've sorta lost - hnng - count!" He shouted the last as he tightened his arms around Klara's neck. "Anyways, back on the subject of giants," he grumbled as he grunted to keep control over the lady.

"A penchant- ugh - for blades then?" Klara said, grunting as the Doctor put her in a chokehold. Not the most sporting strategy, but it was a strategy nonetheless, and Klara wasn't going to make it easy for him. "Not...bad...but what of giants?" she asked, still sounding amicable despite simultaneously being choked and attempting to throw him off of her massive shoulders.

"Frost wyverns, blue skin, penchant fer the cold," Jonas mumbled rather loudly to himself. "I'm guessin' that yer some sorta' actual giant versus a person who has gi-" his sentence was rather cut short by the enormous hands that began reaching towards Jonas. Without further ado, he decided to infused his teeth with ki and lunged at the closest hand.

"NOM!"

With one swift chomp Jonas bit savagely into her icy blue flesh.

"Sjettsjur!" Klara swore violently. "Did you just...?" The ice giantess withdrew her hands and stared disbelievingly at the wound on her hand.

"Pthew! Yeah, I did," he said, sneering with a little blood on his teeth. "I know, people expect dinner first 'fore any bitin'."

"Devious..." Klara remarked, relieved that she managed to get a little bit of breathing room as he focused on the bite. "Well if we are...hrrk...going in that...direction...allow me to retort!" Putting on a burst of ki-infused strength, Klara stomped the ground, causing a totem of ice to erupt right behind her, and slammed her back into it, sandwiching Jonas between ice and ice giantess.

"GACKPTH," Jonas cried out, grinding his teeth as he felt not only the sheer cold, but he was feeling that blow! Ouch! Like holy hell! Jonas redoubled his efforts and squeezed even harder to keep his grip. This... was really a stupid idea in hindsight.

"Urp, 'm not... masoc... bleh... anyways, urgh, gigantism, y'don't have it, but I'm guessin' your some sorta giant?"

"J-Jötunn, to be exact," Klara replied, pausing as she slammed Jonas into the ice totem again. "Borne of the giant...Ymir....in Niflheimer,...glorious tale...surprised you don't know it...would have assumed... lineage to the Trickster..." Running out of air again, Klara drew on her ki to keep going and continue slamming her back into the icey obstacle, trying to shake the Doctor off from around her throat.

"Arplp, urgh, y-you're speakin' of the Edda's, an' are ya-" before he could continue finishing his statement, he squeezed his eyes shut as he braced for impact, biting the bottom of his lip. While he was holding on tightly, there was no way in hell he could keep this up... unless...

No, no, not yet... he had to hold out.

Another sharp pain throbbed in his back, the icy cold sent shock-waves up his spine. "Ghkug, i-implyin' that I might be related t'one of the creatures Loki bore?" Now that he thought about it, he bent his head downwards as he stared at his pants for a few seconds before letting out another yelp as he was slammed into the ice.

"Urk... w-well, I have one of Sleipnir's qualities, buthpth!"

"I was more...complimenting your cleverness...not your lineage," Klara gasped out as she slammed the doctor against the Totem again, this time drawing it towards her and shattering it to bits at the same time she struck it. "Did not mean to suggest you were... comparable to Sleipnir...not a mistake I would make, ha..."

"AUGH!" He let out a ferocious shout as he was slammed into the ice, breathing heavily as he kept his grip solid. For a few second he was battered and motionless. Jonas kept his teeth clenched as his breathing slowly came to a halt. He winced, his back numb after that experience... but he was still smiling in the end.

"Heh, w-well, I c-can safely say that th-this was the only t-time you didn't make a m-mistake... n-no way that h-horse could c-c... huh?"
In an instant there was a bloody explosion somewhere! Did a nomad bring an rpg with em or something and hit some of the audience members because there was a bunch of screaming echoing around him. And Jonas thought Andre was somewhat insufferable, urgh...

... and in an instant it turned out to be the opposite as he heard the cracking and crumbling of mortar behind them. And within a few seconds, the fog cleared, the means by which all was revealed...

"By Odin's beard...."

"What the hell..."

At this point Jonas released his grip from Klara, falling to the ground and nearly stumbling over as he put one hand onto his knee, eyeing the large mechanical monstrosity before them both. He watched as the arena was penetrated with more explosions as a bit of debris fell onto their platform, crushing one of the statues.

Regaining his balance, he saw something through the broken holes in the stadium's heading - hundreds of other robots swarming into the arena like locusts. There were truces being settled between the other combatants in the arena as he heard the first shots...

The arena was lit up with a blaze of gunfire as Jonas ruffled his hair.

"Oh good... someone pissed off Mecha-Moses..."

And with that said, the giant robot turned to face the duo... and began walking forward as it cocked its arm back and launched its humongous fist at both of the nomads.

Incredulously, Klara began to laugh, her voice still scratchy from Jonas' attempts to knock her unconcious. "Ha! Just when you think things couldn't get more fun!" A confident smile etched across her face, she turned to look at Jonas. "We'll settle this later, then?"

Jonas tilted his head a bit as he acted as if he was muttering to himself. "I guess we will." Before the fist could make contact with Jonas, Klara slid into the robot's path and froze her arms in a defensive block. Steel crunched against ice as Klara strained to maintain her footing, the frost on her arms spreading to the hands of her steel enemy. Looking like she was already having the time of her life, a flash of inspiration took hold of her.

"Doctor! Have you ever wanted to fly?"

"If ya haven't heard, there are things called airpl-"

Klara interrupted with a mighty stomp, and an ice totem erupted from the ground right under Jonas' feet, propelling him skyward with very little warning.

"-aaaayynes!" In an instant, Jonas was launched up, caught a bit off guard at what the heck she was thinking for the first second before catching on. Not a bad plan, not a bad plan at all... Putting aerodynamics to work, he bent his body in a certain way that allowed him to flip and twirl in midair at the same time.

That was gonna disorient him a bit, but damn if it wouldn't look cool.

"Oh, and I'm callin' off our lil' bet with this interruption, hope y'understand," he shouted, spinning through the air. While the robot was busy recovering from its first attack, Jonas landed with a thick thud on top of the machine, hand planted onto its head, one foot settled, and one knee lying on its top. He felt like one of those badass action movie stars, except with no special effects.

"Heh, nice." Upon landing, Jonas began manipulating his ki to put out the bear minimum for making a clone... and within those few seconds, one peeled away behind him, like a snake shedding their skin.

As the robot turned its attention to the unwelcome addition to the top of its head, Klara used the distraction to shift her stance, turning her defensive posture into an attack as she gripped the arm of the mechanical beast and pulled with all her might. Tie down the limbs and throw someone at the head. Classic tactic for facing all sorts of massive creatures back home, and Klara figured it would work nicely here, even if she was the only one holding it down. The robot fought back though, its arm creaking ominously as the intricate parts were deformed to the breaking point as Klara strained to keep the machine crippled, ice particles in her hair melting and running down her face from the effort.

As he surveyed the area on top, he took note of the uneven surface they were on, courtesy of Klara tugging at his arm. Jonas was certain he would fall off, but he bent down, stabbing a knife into the machines head. His clone grabbed onto Jonas' arm, taking a few seconds to regain their even footing.

She was struggling from the looks of it, but that robots arm was extending... unnaturally...

So Klara was doing that? Huh, she would definitely be a strong addition to that team. He heard it... and now he got a taste of it... But with the way that arm was moving forward, he barely made out the sound of the robot creaking and Klara struggling.

Within that moment of clarity he had an idea conceived...

... but he would have to act quick as the other arm began navigating itself towards the head. Jonas swiftly powered up the knife he jammed into the automaton, ripping it out like a sword to a stone and tossed it to the clone. It nodded and knew what it had to do, where it had to strike. The orders given... they were absolute as it jumped off of the robot, and landed on the mechanical menaces metal arm, plunging it deep into its arm as it began forcing the knife through, carving through it at a medium pace...

The sound of creaking metal turned into a jagged crescendo as the steel plating gave way, the circuits in the arm sparking and hissing as they became detached. Finally, with a roar of triumph and a burst of ice-tinged ki, Klara finally ripped the robot's arm clean off, using the momentum to fling it outside of the arena like a bag of potatoes.

... and with that said and done, he drew two knives from his sleeve as the arm began coming down like a meteor. Jonas decided the best course of action was to use the small openings between the fingers to his advantage as it swung downwards. He chuckled as he tossed the two interconnected knives upwards, both swinging around as Jonas evaded the crushing blow with a simple sidestep.

Capitalizing on the opportunity Jonas hopped onto the arm, catching the two blades as he quickly infused them with ki and jammed them into the robots head. It was up to those two now to finish the job while he kept this malicious machine from interrupting them. The doctor held on with dear life as it tried to yank its hand out, the knives slowly carving the surface as he inched closer and closer to the edge...

And then without warning, the robot started toppling backwards, an imbalance ensuring as he saw her wield the arm victoriously, and threw it out of their arena.

"Heh, well, seeya later ya piece of scrap," Jonas shouted as he gave a mocking salute to the robot as he jumped off, sticking the landing as it crashed behind him.

"Klara, lets destroy this thing for good!" Jonas fleetingly stood up as he drew some knives from his sleeve, pivoting around to face the downed and somewhat helpless machination.

"Back to the workshop for this infernal machine!" Klara shouted in agreement. "Ready for a second trip?"

"If it gets the job done, then lets go."

The robot lurched suddenly and propelled into the air, not by its own means but by an ice totem, positioned perfectly for the ice giantess to grip the doctor's arm and hurl him towards the machine, preparing for a leap of her own as he did his work.

As he flew Jonas began manipulating his ki by sending them straight into the knives as he eyed the midsection. Taking aim, he began tossing some knives, one at a time at the midsection. Each one hit its mark as he landed on its head and dashed towards the center. Raising his arms into the air, he brought down hell onto the bot with his remaining knives as they were plunged into its midsection.

... in those seconds, he swore he saw a shadow above him and looked up to find not only multiple generic robots flying around the arena like hornets, but Klara who was coming right down... on where he was standing.

"Well, this'll definitely get the job done," he uttered as he stood straight up and simply launched himself off the side of the wretched machine.

"ODIN EIER DEG ALLE!!!"

With a thundering boom, the ice giantess slammed into the robot, hitting the dead center of the carvings the doctor left behind, capping off the killing blow and splitting the battered robot into mangled bits. Metal chunks flew through the air, tearing up the idyllic hills and smashing the few faux marble statues still standing, making the humble arena look more like a war zone then it did before. Standing tall in ground zero, Klara Grimmolfdottir, bruised and bloodied, her face damp from overexertion, celebrated the great victory by loosing another war cry to the heavens in celebration.

Heh, celebrate all you want for now, but they still had othe- hm? Looking behind him, he saw the mangled mechanical beasts eyes still glowing... with one piece popping out as the latter powered down. As it rolled towards him, Jonas brought his foot down onto the glowing piece of machinery as it powered down with a satisfying crack.

There.

"Hey, great job Klara, but lets get outta here and find th-uhm and there's more..." Jonas let out an exasperated sigh as myriads of those white coated robots soaring 'round landed onto their platform, separating the giant from the doctor. Great, just when things seemed to be getting better...

"Oho, more challengers?" Klara mused, preparing to brute force her way through more mechanical opponents. "Today is going to be a day where legends are born, Doctor! Let us show them how a true warrior fights!"

Whatever, he bet these things were like those goons he faced the other night with Otsana... except with armor and sleeker lookin' weapons... wonder if she could get any use outta these? Eh, thoughts for another time as he drew three knives from one sleeve and held out his fist with another...

Lucie took a deep breath.

The sign she was hiding behind was surprisingly being more resilient than she would have initially assumed it would be. Either that, or the robots were just terribly bad shots. Either possibility, Lucie is getting hit by stray bullets a lot less than the Frenchwoman honestly should be given her current predicament. That doesn't mean she was in a sustainable position. Far from it, actually.

A ticket booth was slightly up ahead. Much more stable of a piece of cover than the sign. Lucie knew she had to forward to get behind something that can actually stop bullets aimed at her. She hurridly reached for the case of grenades at her hips, and pulled out a smoke grenade. Flashbangs would be less than useful versus mechanical targets, so she needed something that would block their line of sight as she pushed forward.

The MAVERICK agent bit the pin off the smoke grenade, before gently rolling it slightly in front of her planned route. Lucie immediately ducked back into cover, groaning after hearing a bullet whizz just past her ears. In what felt like an enternity, the Frenchwoman waited as smoke bellowed from the container, breaking the robot's line of sight. Now it was her time to make a run for it.

Lucie sprinted as fast as she could forward, taking a few potshots at the last known location of some of the robots before she too lost line of sight due to walking behind the cloud of smoke. She reached for another grenade, this time a fragmentation. Violently pulling the pin, she lobbed it at a location where she guessed there was a bunch of robots. The civilians either were dead or fled, at least as far as Lucie could tell, so... nothing to worry about, right?

The explosion of the grenade should not have been as powerful as it was. Before Lucie realized it, there was dust everywhere, and she was knocked on her back, her gun at her feet. The MAVERICK agent quickly lunged for her rifle, before going to fire bursts at the robots. However, as the dust settled, something far more threatening was in her peripheral vision.

There was a giant pod right in front of her! And not only that, but some metallic insect.... thing... was trying to climb itself out of it! Lucie brought her gun to bear and fired at the robot insect. It didn't seem to react to Lucie, as it just continued to look straight forward as it created a singularity in front of it.

A second later, Lucie yelped as she was lifted off her feet again, straight towards the singularity. She aimed her gun again at the insect's head and tried firing, but all Lucie's effort brought her was the being's glare as she was consumed into the singularity...



Yeong-Suk was relieved when she saw that her entire crew was in the hotel lobby as she walked in, with all of their equipment intact. While the massacre was a tragedy, the fact that no one she was personally responsible for died in that bloodbath meant there was no way their deaths could be pinned back on her. By tomorrow morning, she'll be on a plane back to Pynongang, and she can forget this mess happened in the first place. Except, of course, when the state turns these events into a propaganda film starring herself, but she can cross that bridge when she gets there. For now, she just wanted to drink soju and finally rest.

A quick wave of Yeong-Suk's hand dismissed the rest of the posse to their own devices, while she decided to board the elevator to go to her room on the 3rd floor. No way in hell she was going to walk the stairs, she did enough walking around today for her tastes. After punching her number, she leaned back on the wall for support as the elevator slowly made its way up. Some tourist family from god knows what country were couped up with the Korean, visibly worried at the sight of a woman in a North Korean uniform in the same vincity as their children. Yeong-Suk could hear them conversing among each other in whispers, but she couldn't care less on what they thought of her at that moment. The fact that she was finally here was all that mattered.

When Yeong-Suk got to her floor, she quickly left the family behind and entered the hotel room. She placed her hat and gloves on the counter as she opened a cabinet for a bottle of soju. Yeong-Suk swore she heard something outside in the distance as she poured her first shot, but there was nothing immediately obvious when her eyes darted to check the window. With a sigh, the ravenette took the shot. It sounded too far away to concern her, whatever it was.

Afterwards, Yeong-Suk took off her jacket and tie as she walked towards the remote for the television in her room. If there was any news about the events in the stadium, she wanted to know as soon as possible. With a click of the button, the Korean was greeted to live footage of the stadium; every major network in the Rio market was likely pulling their scheduled content for a special report on the terrorist attack. However, what was being shown surprised even Yeong-Suk; there was some giant metal behemoth that crashed into the lobby, and was sucking up people. The ravenette glanced at her empty shot glass, before going back to the television.

Yeong-Suk cursed when she realized that this was real, and almost instinctively got up to get another shot after that revelation.

"Not. my. problem."

---

"Ooph!" Askin swung in great, wild loops around the singularity, half-blind from the blood in his face. Frantic scrubbing knuckles managed to free up one of Askin's eyes, just in time to see a dark shape come in from the side and knocked into him, sending them both spinning.

"Oh! Um, hello!" A woman in all black swung by him, her hands in a deathgrip around a long dark rifle. Askin waved as he went by.

They were on the end of the singularity opposite the monster, but they must have had seconds before it was time to come back around. Askin fingered the container he'd use to rip off the monster's face. Okay. Okay okay okay, let's try something else.

Askin swung around again, and the monster's red camera-eyes came into view. Electricity flew from the exposed wiring of its newly-naked head. Whipping his thin arms down in as hard a punch he could throw, Askin opened the bottle, and the robot was struck across the head with its own stolen face. An explosion of sparks, and the grating sound of metal on metal; the robot's head lurched to the side.

"Damn!" It looked a solid hit, but the sharp end of the robot's armor hadn't penetrated its head like he'd hoped. How could you aim like this? Askin was upside down now, spinning faster than before from the force of his attack. This isn't going anywhere.

She felt her companion slip off, and he called out for her to follow, but without his guidance, she was stuck. Knowing he had had an idea to help her, she waited, snapping her fan open, ducking behind it and feeling the rattle of bullets hitting it. If it only held out until whatever it was he did went trhough, she would be alright. He touched one, and she immediately triangulated it's position. Those are legs, then. It is massive.

And then the cold rain of the fire suppression system came down, infused with just a touch of ki, and Yen's whole world lit up around her. For a moment, she was disoriented. She was in a hallway, the entryway to the stadium perhaps? And now she could find her enemies. It took her but a moment to formulate a plan, and she put it into hasty action, seeing as Calvin was stuck against the wall and exposed right now.

The fan whipped around, and with it came the gale force wind she had charged up, the ki infused air blowing projectiles out of the air as if she was swatting flies. She used the momentum of the swing to fling herself up and forward, right foot snapping out as she passed one robot, pushing air like a blade out from her toes. She must have hit something vitals, as it fell like a puppet with its strings cut, though the light dusting of ki didn't allow her to see the details of what happened.

As she came down in the middle of a rough half dozen, she bent forward and swung the fan around in two wide circles from her back, using it as a shield from the hail of fire now aimed her way. On the second round, she slid along the ice Calvin had left behind, throwing kicks the whole way and pushing herself with a gust so she moved just a hair faster. Several more of the inhuman drones faltered and fell, legs crippled at the knee joints.

As she slid underneath the large one, she launched herself up with another gust, resembling nothing more than a wire-fu actor. But instead of flying through the air like an idiot, she landed lightly on the back of the things lower leg, then swiftly ran up its side, landing punches at any spot that didn't seem heavily armoured. She didn't seem to be doing much damage, but the incoming rounds from its compatriots did. Armour piercing rounds slammed into the thing from multiple directions as the others tried to track her unnaturally fast movements.

Reaching the top, she decided to try something that she never would on a human. Snapping her fan closed and sheathing it, she put both hands flat against the camera housing that acted as the things eyes and pushed with the air as if she was doing so against the ground, but she hardened it as well. Screaming, whistling air flowed forth through the gaps in the things head, and sparks flew out of nearly every joint as she flew backwards, slowing just enough to land neatly next to Calvin and smile at him. “Told you I could be useful.”

Her 'awesome' image fell apart as she felt her left leg falter a bit. She had been grazed across the knee and thigh, and blood oozed out of more wounds on her torso and right arm. Snapping the fan open as a shield for them both, she muttered to herself, “Damn. Not fast enough yet.”

@wxps350