Before anything, before the match, in the breathless moments before the previous match had even been decided, there came a knock at the door of the Vigilantes locker room.
Michael was sitting down on a bench in the locker room, thinking about the various strategies for the match. A knock on the door broke him out of his thoughts, and he went over to the door to see who it was.
When Michal opened the door he found a spindly young man standing there. He quickly shoved a folded note into Michael's hands. "A scary girl told be to get that to you." He said, before running off like escaping from a blast radius.
On the top flap, scrawled in black marker, was the word "Wolf."
Wolf wasn't far behind Michael when someone had hastily delivered the note. A note that he quickly realized had his name written on it. A scary girl had wanted this delivered? That made him think Vera, but he couldn't imagine Vera bothering with something like this. Besides, she'd had all the time she needed to talk to him earlier that morning... not that she had.
"May I?" he asked, but he sort of just took the note without waiting for an answer. It had his name on it and he wanted reveal its secrets while he still had time before their match began.
There was only one, hastily written sentence on the inside:
I think you're in danger
-RiaWolf's eyes widened. Danger? Him? Why!? It was usually everyone around him in danger these days, not him! It made no sense. He was about to go into a match. Meredith was to be one of his opponents, so obviously she wouldn't do anything. Ria was warning him, so he found that unlikely. That just left their third unknown. But what the hell would be a stranger's motivation?
Well, with such a vague warning, there wasn't much he could do. He'd just have to be on guard -- more so than usual these days.
"That's not ominous..." he said aloud with a sigh. Why did everything have to be so hard?
Nasearph glanced over his shoulder at his words, shaking his head at the note. "Probably just mind games. You know how she is." He said. "This is a fight. No matter how many safety precautions they put in place there's always going to be some element of danger. So it isn't, technically speaking, a lie. Don't let it cloud your mind." He looked forward as the signal went off to call them to the field. He stepped up, striding with an eagle's focus toward the door. "We're halfway up the mountain now, and the fall will only be more painful the higher we've climbed."
Michael examined the note as Wolf took a look himself. The message itself was short and vague. Michael wondered what the purpose of it even was, considering the timing. If Michael recalled, Ria was one of people on the opposing team in their upcoming match. Maybe Naseraph was right, and the message was merely a trick. It wouldn't do to be unfocused in the middle of the match. Still, an open mind and a bit of caution never hurt.
"In any case, there's no need to fear at the moment," Michael added as they walked. "On that note, I'd like to go over our roles one last time. I'm on defense, laying various Trap Arts around our flag."
Wolf took a breath and focused.
"This match will pretty much be a two-on-two battle for you guys. Meredith will likely focus on me. If not, I'll tack her down and keep her busy. I know how to deal with her tricks." He closed his eyes, looking thoughtful. "I don't think she can beat me. If I defeat her before the match is over, I'll do what I can to help you with the rest of their team." Nas and Michael wouldn't know a thing about Meredith's glyphs, and he didn't have time to explain everything. It was best he deal with her himself and, if he was right, Meredith wouldn't give him a choice in the matter anyway.
Besides, the last thing he needed was Meredith putting Nas and Michael to sleep.
"If she gets to you before I can stop her, stay out of arms reach. She she only needs a second or two to put you to sleep with her magic. You'll know she's trying to if she has blood on her fingers," However, he could at least warn them about that one.
"I suppose that leaves recovery to me." Nasearph said. "If you handle Meredith I don't think the witch and Ria are going to be to much of a problem. Especially Ria."
Michael/M&B (Scar)08/20/2018
"So we're all agreed," Michael said. He then lifted his hand, forming his paintbrush. "And I almost forgot, I still need to buff you two." Without waiting for a reply, Michael got to work drawing the necessary symbols.
On Wolf, Michael drew many symbols that primarily focused on increasing his speed and reflexes, with a few minor bonuses on his durability and stamina. With Wolf's armory, it was unlikely he needed the last part, but extra protection would not hurt.
As for Naseraph, Michael drew buffs that were primarily meant to augment his powers. Further efforts were made to help minimize the drawbacks of potential overuse of Naseraph's powers.
"Done," Michael said upon completion of his Body Arts. Michael made quite the effort for them, and he hoped it was enough. Looking them up and down, he knew it would have to be, and wasted no further time applying Body Arts to himself as well. This time, Michael focused on increasing stamina and speed, with a minor amount of durability.
The entire process took about 30 seconds. "Ready," Michael said once he was done with his preparations.
As the paint of Michael's body art seeped through their clothes and settled neatly onto their skin the call came in. They were to report to the field.
Ria, ironically enough, didn't have the worlds best poker-face. It was actually really bad. Blame it on years and years of being up front with how she felt, but the art of subtlety was lost on her. When she wanted something she told you, when she was worried it couldn't help but show up on her face, and if she was watching you it was obvious because she stared.
She was staring at Meredith now, and had been for most of their time together, and the more she stared the more her face sank. It was good, of course, to be yourself. To throw off the shackles and restraint that tied you down so you could be the you that you truly wanted to be, no matter what your friends, society's, and gods on the matter. If it made you happy in the long run, pursue it. If something makes you laugh feel free to laugh. If someone makes you angry, take it out on them. It was good for Meredith that she was finally embracing the parts of herself that had closed off and Ria wished her the best in her future pursuits, really she did!
But as she'd watched her, and watched her watch Wolf, she grew more and more certain that there was a sort of crookedness to it. A dangerous crookedness. Sometime it happened that was when you shattered the old you, you cut yourself up on the shards and got all delirious from metaphorical blood loss. It was a dangerous thing, changing yourself. You could go all weird for a while trying to get to know who you were now, push at your limits, strain your psyche. Overshoot. Ria was, at heart, a Vigilante. So it only made sense to protect her interests, even if it meant scribbling a quick little note while Mer's focus was elsewhere forcibly conscripting dweeby little wannabe peeping toms as her messengers. If you were free to go after what you wanted, Ria was free to try and prevent you from getting it. That was the way this worked.
They would be gathered there, she knew, on the other side of that wall. The boys were probably planning to blitz them. She hoped they put an end to this quick. It wouldn't be healthy for anyone to draw this out.
Wolf gave a nod to Michael, leaving the flag to him. As the match started, he headed around the side, aiming to go through one of the forested areas to reach the enemy team's side. In a way, he'd been enjoying the tournament so far. Technically this made him weaker, but Michael made up for it. And that was just it, he hadn't had to rely on his powers much at all so far. Occasional use of his trident, but that was it. He'd not had to use his armors once.
At the end of the day, he detested his armors. It took him at his worst to bring them out, and then it felt like he locked those feelings in, swimming in them, constantly feeling like he was losing it. Most days, the power it offered didn't feel worth it. If possible, he liked to avoid using them, so he was glad that today he hadn't even had to consider it so far.
WHAM!As he tried to pass through the forest, he was suddenly intercepted by... a foot. To his face. He tumbled back onto his team's side of the field, clutching his mouth. He looked up to see Meredith walk out of the forest after him.
“Oh! Sorry, Wolfie! I didn't mean to sucker punch
you!” Well it hadn't really been a punch, but the end result was the same. “But I guess I should have known you'd go first!”
Wolf stood and dusted himself off, “So... where were you?”
“Training! Didn't I tell you?” She spoke so lightheartedly. It was just like her. So why did it feel wrong?
“Maybe. But I don't buy it. You're leaving something out,” Wolf accused, eyes narrowing. She'd disappeared after their last meeting, and then all she'd ended up doing was training for the tournament? It didn't add up.
“It's not important, Wolfie! Come on, let's just have fun!” She unsheathed the large “claymore” that had been strapped to her back, one of her father's swords. Honestly the monstrous blade defied classification. He supposed he was glad it still wasn't as big as her father's current blade.
Wolf had to hurry to pull out his own blade as Meredith suddenly flew forward with a massive, vertical swing. He had to hold his sword up and brace it with his off hand, nearly bending over backward from the force of the blow.
However, he quickly shifted his weight, letting his blade slide off to his left and then turned his wrist, bringing the tip of his own sword around into Meredith's shoulder in a flash.
“Owie!” Meredith pouted and quickly pulled back. Wolf forced back and feelings of guilt. This was a fight they'd both agreed to, and Meredith more than most would heal. Already the flow of blood had effectively stopped.
Meredith seemed upset by the lack of any apology, but that only seemed to fuel her desire to continue the fight. She swung again, and Wolf had to jump back, at a disadvantage against Meredith's longer, heavier blade.
He dashed back in just as quickly, though. As Meredith redirected her sword, Wolf brought up his buckler to block and then thrust his own sword forward. Meredith leaned aside, but Wolf merely followed her movement, flicking the blade across her cheek. He once more made to thrust, but Meredith's wings sprouted and she quickly propelled herself backwards, panting from nerves more than exertion.
This time it was Wolf on the offensive, already following her. Meredith quickly stepped to his right and lifted her sword to thrust and ward him off, hoping to keep him from easily blocking with his buckler, but Wolf didn't slow at all. He swung his own sword into hers, pushing it aside just enough for him to move in twist the point of his sword up into her shoulder.
Meredith clenched her teeth, suppressing a pained groan. She let go of her sword with one hand, her left coming up to grab Wolf's blade and pull the sword from her flesh. A dark swirl of energy ran down her right arm and with only one arm she threw a crude, but brutal slash at Wolf, forcing him to retreat.
“You... you really did train hard... didn't you?” Meredith said, clutching her shoulder. “I guess I shouldn't have expected to beat you like this. I never did practice as much as you.”
SHTHUNK She suddenly stabbed her sword into the ground.
She crossed her arms over her chest and the same dark energy from before swirled around her and then crackled away, revealing her... changed. The illusion she wreathed herself in had gone away, showing off her new, slimmer shape. She almost sensually spread her arms wide with a flourish, her clothing changing next. Her top lost its sleeves and became more... low cut.
Wolf was confused. From his perspective he wondered if this new “form” was the illusion.
The crowd, however, didn't give it that much thought. A good chunk of them got quite rowdy at the sight of her. Meredith fed into it, giving them a little wave and blowing a kiss – and that really got them going.
She giggled playfully, “What do you think of the new me, Wolfie?” she asked him. “You look worried. Calm down. It's really not for them,” she told him, referring to the love-struck onlookers.
Even Wolf needed a moment to remind himself that her eyes were up there, but he recovered rather quickly, though the extreme change in both appearance and demeanor still had his head spinning.
“What happened to you!?” Wolf demanded. It felt like the Meredith he'd known had disappeared overnight. It was a lonely feeling to have with her so ironically close.
“It's really not a story worth telling. Not right now,” she side-stepped the question without a care. She tore her sword free from the earth with one hand. “Now come on, Wolfie! Let's have fun!” She licked her lips. “I promise I won't hurt you too bad.”
Wolf's eyes widened as her wings snapped open and she took off like a shot and then zigged to his left. Her swing was telegraphed but yet frighteningly quick. He lifted both sword and shield to block, but the impact rattled him to his bones and tore him from his feet – and his shield from his wrist.
He put an arm under him to lift himself up and looked at Meredith. It was clear to see in his eyes: he was lost. And then that look was gone. He'd told them he would fight Meredith alone, but more importantly, he didn't want anyone to interrupt. For the moment, for him, it wasn't about the tournament anymore.
This was his friend and something was horribly wrong. He needed to see this through.
Meredith grinned, “Oh come on, Wolfie. You keep looking at me like that and I might get the wrong idea...”
As he got back to his feet and brandished his sword once more, he took a deep breath. No matter what she said... this wasn't going to be fun.
with mild concern. Much to her credit, her poker face was
significantly better than that of Ria. She had just seen one of her teammates going on her merry own way without so much of a plan and following her gut instinct. Or something...else. It wasn't her business anyway. Just to further the fight with the ever-changing circumstances. She eyed Ria once more as she dug in her clothes, producing a vial. "Guess it's time I burn some resources, huh." She said to Ria. What was that message she had written? Was she throwing the fight or anything? It was a secondary concern though. With Meredith grounded chasing her opponent in what was probably an obsession with her prey, and two other teammates closing in fast, the assumptions she had made up until now, and the choice to preserve energy and resources would probably be off the table. She needed to use more reagents she'd rather use further down the road.
A whisper, and then, the familiar cracking of ice surged from the ground as the purified water of the vial hit it, enveloping the flag of her team in a thick dome of ice. A hapzard simplistic defense feature, but at least it should stall for time, Diana thought. She addressed Ria. "Well? Defense or Offense?" She asked, deciding to at least coordinate with her non-rogue team member.
Ria frowned. Even with her eyes, she couldn't see exactly what was happening with Meredith. It sounded like she was still at least fighting, and it was certainly getting the crowd rowdy, so it probably wasn't a one-sided slaughter. She looked over at Diana,
"You go on ahead, try and get to their flag. Meredith with keep Wolf busy for quite a bit I'm sure," Ria told her. "No doubt Naseraph will be coming for our flag, but I'll deal with that. That just leaves you with Michael. He's probably set traps, that's sort of his thing, but as long as you're careful I'm sure you'll manage to survive at least. Once I handle Naseraph, I'll help you. Think you can manage? Good," she didn't wait for Diana to actually respond. "Now get a move on, we have a match to win."
Her little conversations with Nas were about to bear fruit. As long as Meredith didn't get carried away and this Diana girl kept pulling her weight, this would be a nice little victory for her.
Diana pondered, as she pulled a second vial out of her clothes. "The rarest ingredient I have ever acquired. Blood from a Virgin Half-Succubus." She muttered out loud as she examined the contents of the vial. Could she be able to do it? It was a risky move but if she managed to pull this off. "They may rush in... but they don't have aerial superiority." Diana added as she began to concentrate her magical power, her od flaring to life. An eerie breeze appeared underneath her feet... as they took off the ground, her eyes now eyeing the vial.
"Well, all or nothing." She added, as she gulped
the demon blood. Immediately she regretted it, having to reinforce her body so she didn't explode from the demonic energy. "Guh". This would drain her stamina hard, as she manipulated the added energy creating a coat of dark Hellfire around her.
I can only maintain this power for minutes. If i don't flush it out soon, well they might need to scrape my bits off the arena.. She squatted mid-air... and then shot out like a black comet coated in fire through the air, towards the flag at a fast pace, for an aerial snatch.
Naseraph saw Diana shoot across the arena. She was making a lot of progress toward their flag. Oh well, he was sure Michael could handle that. If not, his traps should at least slow her down enough for Nas to deal with her later. For the moment, he had a trap of his own to spring. For the briefest of moments, a crooked smile tugged at his lips before returning to a simple mask of determination.
Making his way to the opposing side of the arena was easy, and there Ria was, waiting for him. As expected.
"Well well, all alone are we?" Nas chuckled. "Such good eyesight, but I'm not sure you see what you're getting yourself into." His voice was up and cheery, but he was sure Ria knew better. She didn't know everything, but she knew enough to know about the façade he kept up for everyone else.
"I guess we'll find out, now won't we, little birdy," Ria frowned. Cocky little shit. She was more than just a pair of eyes, he'd find out soon enough. Oh sure, she spent some time with the Vigilantes, so he might think he knew about her. But she knew all about him. She knew all about all of them.
She kept her compound eye covered, focusing her divine eye on Naseraph. There were no other opponents anywhere near, so all she needed to do was focus on him. As long as the other idiot girls on her team didn't fuck up, she'd run this boy ragged until he was helpless.
"Well, come on, don't keep a lady waiting," Ria crossed her arms impatiently.
"You're no lady." Nas sighed, but indeed, it was time to get going. He'd start off slow. He knew the pace she wanted, so he'd fall right into it. Right now, he was more dangerous than usual thanks to Michael, even without his powers active, but he pulled back. No doubt Ria would suspect he was reinforced by Michael, but would she know what that would look like? Regardless, he attacked without any of his own abilities active.
Ria didn't toy with him. And for that he was grateful. He didn't want to waste time waiting for things to get serious. That said, she quickly redirected a punch and than slammed her palm up into his jaw, setting his head spinning as he reeled back. This was going to be uncomfortable.
Ria meanwhile had to resist the urge to grin. Yes, just as she'd expected. He didn't want to use his powers against her. She could detect every movement of his body, so if he tried to go all out he knew he'd more than likely drain his tank and then get stomped. But if he didn't use it at all, he'd just be skipping the middle.
He'd get stomped anyway if he didn't power himself up. That's what Ria knew about him. That's why if he was alone, he was doomed. All the other fights were happening on the other side of the arena, so it'd take him a bit longer to recharge if he did expend himself. She had him right where she wanted him.
And that was how it went. She danced around him and punished every missed attack until the bruises started to show.
"Come now Nas, this is just pathetic. I thought you were better than this," Ria scolded as she torqued his wrist painfully. She then cocked back a fist and aimed it right at his throat. The impact hurt. For her. It was like hitting a brick. Then some sort of force tore her hand away from his wrist before he spun and swung at her, forcing her to lean away quickly.
Finally.
She grit her teeth, waiting for his next display, but he just paused for a moment and took a breath. He then launched at her with sudden speed. She couldn't counter this time, having to focus on dodging. He skidded to a halt and twisted, swinging a backhand at her that grazed her cheek, but just that stung like being cut by a knife.
What the hell was this? Why was he so fast?!
"Sorry about that, I may have misled you before. I'll give you a moment to take a look and figure this one out," Nas spoke, his voice cold.
Ria snarled. She'd gotten him talking once, and he'd told her how he wasn't the biggest fan of the second aspect of his powers, the ability to strengthen himself. That it weighed down his muscles in return for making them stronger. But she could see it now, analyzing him, that his body was coping just fine with all that extra power! The sneaky fuck had planned this, just in case they fought. Being able to see every move he made wouldn't matter if she couldn't keep up with them.
No doubt he'd know she'd try to deal with him by herself if she thought she could just wear him out.
"Fine, fine. It's my mistake for thinking I'd gotten you to be honest with me," Ria scoffed. Subterfuge wasn't a tool she enjoyed personally, not like this. Oh sure, she'd collect all the information in the world about someone and pore through it looking for weak points, but lying? It was just so boring and unreliable. She'd show him that right now. "I guess we're just doing it this way then."
As Nas began to move once more, Ria simply reached up and uncovered her right eye. The effect was immediate. Nas screeched to a halt, already beginning to sweat bullets.
He sunk to his knees, and then fell to his hands.
"Tsk, tsk. Your little trick only gets you so far." Ria shook her head. His head fell, breaking their eye contact. But it was too late, the paralytic effect wouldn't let go that quickly. The fear in his mind was already gripping tight. She stepped on the back of his head, pushing it down til' his forehead touched the dirt. "Just know... that I definitely do think less of you now. But what can I say, it wasn't much of a loss in the end." She pulled her foot back, but only to wind up a kick to his face that would end this fight.
"AGH!" Ria cried out. Before her foot had hit, Nas's hand had shot out and grabbed her ankle, clamping down like a vice.
Nas lifted his head up to look at her once more, "Just kidding." He squeezed until she cried out again, then letting go as she staggered back, trying to keep her balance with her foot no longer willing to support her weight. Nas stood up and dusted himself off. "Well go on, aren't you going to run away? Tire me out?" He glanced down at her hobbled foot. "Oh, right, that. Sorry. Why don't you take a break then."
He surged forward, slamming his fist into her gut. There was no cry of pain, just the sound of all the air escaping her lungs as she choked. She doubled over, but he kept his arm there, holding her up. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear, "And I need to tell you something. You're an arrogant bitch. Just wanted you to know." And with that he let her collapse to the ground.
She was going to feel that for the next few mornings.
Naseraph dusted himself off as he walked past Ria's fallen form. It seemed she wasn't the only barrier in his way. There was a more literal one before him in the form of an ice wall. Or dome, really. He took a breath to focus himself and threw a punch at it...
". . . ow." Nas grumbled as the wall held firm. Fine then. He sat down, cross-legged, and centered himself. He was going to need a bit for this one.
While the others made their way to the enemy flag, Michael got to work. His brush transformed into a roller with a long handle, and he ran in two large circles around the flag, one within another. The standard for a simple Trap Art barrier. It wasn't particularly powerful, probably lasting about 5 minutes at best, but it would buy some time. His real task would begin now.
Michael began to draw another Trap Art, followed by a multitude of crossing lines. This one would be smaller than the barrier, but it would serve his purpose well enough. As he was doing this, he looked up from his work, checking to see if any of the opponents were approaching. A movement in the sky caught his eye, and he raised his head to see Diana approaching fast. Michael wasted no time activating the barrier, covering him, the flag, and a sizable portion of the land in a black, semitransparent film that acted as the barrier.
Michael felt that time was no longer on his side. Morphing his roller brush into a flat brush, he got to work drawing one last Trap Art, even smaller than the last so that it was in close proximity to the flag. A large quantity of circles lined the inside, and the rest of the Trap Art's inside was given a light shade of gray. Michael sighed as he finally finished his preparations. If Michael was right, he suspected that it wouldn't be long before his confrontation with this intruder began.
Diana's flight came to an screeching halt as she did not dive in just as soon as she entered the enemy's territory, merely standing in front of the vast expanse that the flag of the rival team. Somehow, she wasn't sharing in the confidence and playfulness of either the cocky and Cynical Ria, nor she was overtaken by a lustful feeling like the half demon. This team they were facing was no joke. At least for what she had gathered during the tournament and the intel she could barely scrape. She was appalled she was the only one who tried to always get information on their opponents before a match. The other two... seemed far too short-sighted.
Now, this trap artist, for what she could have gathered, his gift was very much some of the things she did as part of her trade. It would probably take effort to conquer. And obviously, rushing headfirst was out of the question. She instead started to ascend. These traps required ways of channelling the power. Drawings, probably. If the drawings were to be disrupted, the traps would lose their effect to a great degree. The thrumming energy that was enveloping her began to accumulate in her right arm.
Just like military doctrines spoke. If you do not know where the enemy is, you just carpet-bombed the place to flush him out. Ria had said they would try to rush the flag, so she could linger a bit in the air not fearing for ranged attacks. "Trap master, if you can hear me... It's best if you take cover." She said out loud. This was going to be rather powerful. She didn't want grave injuries to happen.
"O Herald of Ruin, O Indra's Damage, Lord of the Drought, Heed my call. Grant me your might to bring my foe to heel. Fang of Vritra, turn to dust!" She proclaimed, the demonic energy finally leaving her body concentrating in a fiery lance of dark flames.The spell, much to her chagrin, was already eating part of her good set of clothes, having incinerated her right sleeve all the way to her collarbone, and exposing partly the intricate brassiere strap underneath. She had hoped it paid off, as she saw the projectile arc in a brutal and fast arc towards its objective.
The ground underneath the flag. It exploded with fiery intensity, blanketting the area in dust and fire, and cracking and pulverizing every single inch of the surface. This should have ruined any traps, thought Diana as she then began to advance carefully and mindfully throughout the cleared ground towards the flag.
Looking up at the floating enemy, Michael made a quick deduction as to who he was facing. This was certainly not Ria, as she did not have the capability of flight. And he highly doubted Wolf would be easily defeated by his opponent, Meredith. So by process of elimination, this could only be Diana. Like Diana, Michael did what he could to dig up information about the opponent. Diana herself was apparently a magic user, but shouldn't have been too much of a threat, power-wise. He was still wary about any tricks she could pull.
As it turns out though, he wasn't wary enough. After her initial warning, Michael tensed, but stayed his ground near the flag. Whatever attack she had planned, he figured it would've been blocked by the barrier he had set up. He was caught off guard, though, when the ground beneath him exploded. Michael was sent flying from the force, landing several feet away, face down.
"Ugh..." Michael groaned as he unsteadily pushed himself off the ground. He coughed, and a small blood splatter appeared on the ground.
That could've gone better, Michael thought to himself as wiped his mouth. His legs were throbbing too, but he didn't think they were broken. He looked up, and saw that Diana was approaching the flag.
Ok, Plan A failed. So much for trying to keep Diana inside a cage and prevent her from escaping with the flag, Michael thought to himself.
Time for Plan B.Michael began to draw. Michael knew he was weak against ranged opponents, so he had looked into what ranged weapons he could use. He had tried a small variety of weapons using his newfound Creation Art, but he worried about the skill it took to wield them, as well as potential legal issues of creating lethal weapons. In the end, though, he reasoned that in the world of magic and other strange powers, simple firearms were the least of peoples' problems. As for his lack of skill, he could compensate a little by using his Body Art buffs.
Michael finished drawing and produced a pair of weapons, one of which he placed in his waistband. After getting up from the ground, he raised the other, a pistol, and began firing at Diana. Of course, the pistol contained rubber bullets to reduce lethality, but that wasn't to say that they wouldn't hurt. As he fired, he ran forward, determined to keep Diana focused on him rather than the flag. Accuracy was unimportant. When he got into melee range, he would drop his pistol and summon his paint brush in an attempt to placed debuffing Body Art onto Diana.
Meanwhile, Meredith was swinging her sword like a toy, her eyes set on Wolf as she pranced and jumped around like she was a ten year old with a new toy. "Oh come on Wolfy, don't be so sour. We're here to have fun, aren't we? Speaking of which, what do you think it happens when you give a dolly cute witchie a part of your blood?" She grinned impishly, as the hot air from the massive blast hit her back and ruffled her hair a bit. "Then again, Hellfire is -my- thing, isn't it." She added as she cut one of her fingers, scribbling a hellfire rune in her massive blade, before wolfing down (ha) on her little Wolfy.
Wolf was panting and his arms were going numb. He was rapidly approaching exhaustion. Meredith had suddenly become a lot stronger. Not only that, but he couldn't get his head straight. He was just as worn out mentally as he was becoming physically. The giant explosion that suddenly went off over their flag didn't help. He was left reeling, concerned for Michaels safety, as Meredith suddenly fired up her own weapon. Literally.
So now she was willing to go that far!?
If it wasn't for the instincts his father had almost literally beaten into him with his spartan training, Wolf might have lost right then and there. Instead, his sword slipped from his grasp, falling to the ground -- replaced a moment later by his trident, popping into existence. He held it up with both hands, blocking the blade, though falling to a knee in the process. She hit hard. He tilted the weapon to one side, allowing the blade to slide down it as he let go with one hand. The trident stabbed into the dirt, and once the blow was fully redirected, Wolf rolled aside, now abandoning that weapon as well.
Finally, he lashed out with the trident's sibling, the net. He aimed it at her leg, hoping to entangle her and/or pull her leg out from beneath her.
He might not have been the warrior his father wanted him to be... but if he was even half of it, then maybe he could still do this.
"Oh, a trident! That brings me memories, tee-hee" Meredith said, as she interrupted her brutal swings to catch a glimpse at the change of weaponry of wolf. She was winning this, her little Wolfy would finally see how strong and awesome she was. The sword was sent flying. She was going to win this. Then why her leg was actually shooting upwards? When she realized, she had already fallen on her backside abruptly, entangled in the net. "Bondage, wolfy? That's neat!" She added, furiously trying to tear the net apart to no avail. "Now why don't you go further hmm? Make me bleed. Make me feel... alive. I've been dreaming for so long, and now I see the truth!"
Wolf grimaced at Meredith's words. She was so off. So different from normal. She reminded him of her mother, but more manic. With a tortured look on his face he recalled his trident, the weapon returning to his hand in a swirl of smoke. He stood over Meredith, and lifted it. He glanced away for a moment, needing to steel himself.
"Sorry... but you need to stay put..." He looked back at her, grit his teeth, and took aim at her leg. It was Meredith, she could heal from almost anything. If he could actually stab her with the weapon, the paralytic effect would take hold more quickly, and more permanently. Within a few seconds, she'd be totally immobile. He knew it would work. After all, he'd just decided that he had to stab his childhood friend. No doubt the effect would be near peak strength...
Meredith watched Wolf lift the weapon, a wicked grin in her mouth. Her eyes met with Wolf. He was in pain. Like her.... Her expression turned to that of fear and sadness. She started to tremble. "Help me...Wolf". She added weakly, before the trident touched her flesh. And she seemed to tilt her head as the numbness spread. And then...
"Bleh"
She had bit her own tongue, skillfully drawing a glyph with her own teeth and blood on it. The glyph of purification. "Did you really think I would let you scot free, wolfie?" She added, her claw seizing the trident as a black mist-like energy began to gather around her. "Kabloosh." She added, before releasing her demonic energy in all directions in a fierce shockwave.
Wolf's eyes went wide.
The next thing he knew, he was facedown in the dirt... and everything hurt. He groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, recalling his weapon. Wait, he shouldn't have done that. What if it had somehow remained lodged in her? Well, it was too late now. He stumbled, clutching his ribs. That had hit him dead on. Any stronger and he probably wouldn't have stood up again. He took gasping breath after gasping breath, trying to keep his knees from shaking...
This was turning into a real bitch. Kind of like Meredith...
Meanwhile Diana's eyes had been scoured the recently devastated battlefield, her eyes going back and forth through the dust she had kicked up out of her own spell. She advanced cautiously, looking for any leftover traps. And then the shots came. She flared up her od, guarding her frame somewhat and numbing all the pain. It told her his opponent was running out of options if all he could do was suppress fire . She only needed a last stretch and that was it.
He closed in rather quickly, eliciting a surprise reaction on the witch for the first in the tournament. He was going to rush her in melee, she could not let that happen at all. She scrambled quickly in her clothes, as she pulled a bunch of assembled bones which reacted to her blood, animating themselves readily. "Go! My servant!". The undead rat lunged at Michael's face obscuring his vision and generally being an annoyance, while Diana used a burst of od on her legs to try and fly away. It only made her gain a couple of meters, before staggering back into the ground.
So I am out of od for flying, it seems. She grimaced as she scrambled as fast as her legs allowed her towards the flag, rushing through her other spell components.
Michael followed the rat's trajectory through the air and tried to swat it aside with his arm, but managed to mess up a movement and get a face full of the undead rat as a result. The new distraction caused him to stumble and roll onto his side while Diana ran past him. Michael wasted no time grabbing the rat with his left hand and throw it to the side. The rat recovered quickly and went for Michael again, but Michael was quicker to draw up a mallet and crush its ribcage with it, rendering it out of action.
Michael was beginning to feel the exhaustion. Creating so many tools and using up so much energy on the initial Trap Arts, as well as the Body Arts he had given himself and his team, were taking a toll on him. Still, he had to persevere; he was
so close to finishing his task.
Michael returned his attention Diana, who was within milliseconds of reaching and taking the flag. It might seem like a desperate time for Michael, but he still had one more card to play. He pulled his last drawn tool out from his waistband: a taser gun. Yes, everything had been planned up to this moment. Plan A was expected to flop, while the rubber bullet gun and the melee rush were merely distractions. The rat was an annoyance, but it still helped to serve his purpose, as he was now behind Diana while her attention was focused on the flag. His hands were shaky, but he believed he could do it. Michael aimed the taser gun, and fired the electrodes at Diana, hoping it was enough to take her down.
Diana gritted her teeth. Just almost there. Almost done. She only needed to summon a horse- and... the sharp in the back made her yelp, as jolts of energy coursed through her body, seizing her muscles up. She flopped undignifiedly into the ground, apparently disabled. And yet... in her hand she was gripping the flag firmly. She had grasped it and wasn't letting it go. With no small amount of difficulty she kept crawling at it, her limbs pulsing with ethereal blue circuit-like marks, the visible effect of od reinforcement taken to the extreme. Diana tried to talk but words wouldn't come out at first. Gone was her grace and demure, her dress torn and dirty in places. Her hair ruffled. Her mouth full of dust. She had lost control of certain muscles due to the weapon, and the unthinkable had happened as well. In front of everyone. And yet... she wasn't stopping. This last attempt spurred her even further. She reached deep in her pockets, what she had been saving up for the final.
"You... will regret...this, you...brute." She said, as she bit her hand, covering a blood-red jewel with runes inscribed with her own blood.
Michael allowed himself a small smirk of satisfaction as he saw Diana go down. His plan worked perfectly. There was no time for celebrating, though. The game was still going on, and Michael still had work to do. Michael walked over to Diana. The plan was to draw Body Art on her that would lock down her limbs, and then proceed to seal her magic powers completely.
Noticing the flag was in Diana's hand, Michael briefly pondered if he should kick it out of Diana's grasp, but decided he could do it later. Those precious seconds could be better spent sealing Diana up first. Speaking of which...
Michael began to draw up a barrier Trap Art around himself and Diana, effectively sealing them in an enclosed space. "Brute or not, I will do what it takes to win," Michael replied as he finished it and turned to face her. He then proceeded to move over to her to pin her down, planning to place a knee on her back to prevent from moving too much and summoning his paintbrush to seal away her movement. The gem in Diana's hand remained unnoticed by Michael, having been too focused on his task to recognize it as something potentially dangerous.
Diana let a whimper as she felt the pressure of the man in her back. How much would she endure the humilliation? Did this boy knew nothing of mercy? Was not he aware the eyes of spectators were upon him. "...Fool." She uttered a curse, as an arm shot from ground, grappling Michael tightly, like an industrial vice grip. It emitted a foul stench with graying skin hiding leathery sinews. And It kept increasing the pressure... enough to break bones had he been a normal boy. A foul mouth grinned at him as milky unblinking eyes stared with a cruel, cold gaze. It was tall, he would have been a veritable giant among men in life, and now he was clutching Michael by the arm, wrestling the paintbrush out of him. His other arm grabbed Michael by the neck.
"Meet Ulf the Vile. My champion Draugr. He excels in brawling and close combat. And you've enclosed him with you." Diana spat, as the Draugr roared, his bestial strength pummelling Michael like a dog trashes the good pair of socks. The ground, The barrier. His fists. Everything was a valid target to ram Michael into.
"What the- agghhh!" Michael yelled out in surprise as the arm grabbed him with a painful grip. Michael struggled to break free, but it was a futile effort, and the tables were turned on him within seconds. He continued to struggle, racking his brain, trying to come up with a solution, but he knew deep in the back of his mind that he had failed. He had let his guard down, and that had been his downfall. "Shit."
He no longer had any more time for thought as he was tormented by the new familiar. The pain ravaged him, and the only thing keeping him from losing consciousness was the thought that if he fell now, he would fail completely. His team would lose their Body Art buffs, and it would be his fault. He concentrated on staying awake, defending himself by curling into a ball as best he could while being pummeled.
Nas finally rose from where he sat. He looked at the wall for a moment more and planted his feet, taking a wide, low stance. He pulled both his hands back to his hips, but did not ball them into fists. With one more deep breath, he then threw his hands forwards, striking both palms hard against the wall of ice. He had to dig his heels in. He felt the power trying to reverb back into him, but he held his ground. With a thunderous crack, the wall of ice shattered and fell in chunks to the ground.
"Phew..." Nas straightened up and walked over to the enemy flag, and with one, exaggerated swing of his arm pulled it from its place. "Wonder how the others are doing." With any luck he'd have a nice, pleasant hike back to his flag post for their victory, because, quite frankly, he was running on empty again.
Meredith, on the other hand, with a mighty final push, tossed the net aside, and grabbing her sword once again she looked at it thoughtfully. "I don't even need this. Pointy sticks are... bad." Meredith said coyly as she drew her finger slowly to one of her still seeping wounds. "But you cannot help it, can't you, Wolfie? Well, I know what's perfect for you." She purred as she began to run to close her distance, bent on slapping a Sleep Rune in Wolf's face.
"A dream... where you get to serve me as your empress."
Wolf hardly moved as Meredith ran at him. At this point rather than brandishing the trident, he was using it to hold himself up.
"Dammit, Meredith," Wolf groaned tiredly. He'd hoped to enjoy this match against his friend, but instead here she was saying and doing things he'd never expected from her.
Then, moments before she was within arms reach of him, he vanished in a swirling cloud of dark smoke. The next thing that anyone knew, two massive, gauntleted hands burst from the smoke, aiming to grab Meredith's wrists...
Meredith smiled wickedly, she could almost feel Wolf falling victim to her tricks... when that blasted dark smoke appeared. Like a hissing animal, Meredith's smile turned into a snarl, and she did something Wolf could not have even anticipated. She performed an evasive backflip, her body and legs being now light enough to do so. Wings and tails sprouted as she landed, her visage now one of petty anger.
"The armor? You are ... no fun!"
Wolf's expressions could no longer be read behind the obsidian black visor of his armor. He now stood taller than Meredith and stomped out of the fading smoke with thunderously heavy steps.
"This stopped being fun a while ago..." Wolf spoke, his voice sounding like it was echoing out of a deep cave. He turned to look in Michael's direction and grit his teeth. With his own barrier up, Michael had locked himself away from help. For now Wolf would just have to deal with Meredith and worry about Michael later. That would be difficult though seeing as Meredith had evaded his initial grab. Paint buffs or not, he was still ponderously slow compared to her now. It was a defensive armor, after all. He was fairly confident Meredith couldn't beat him like this, but that wasn't the goal of this match so it was a fact that was quickly losing meaning. "So why don't you take this seriously and fight."
He could only hope to delay Meredith and wait for Naseraph to return to their side of the field.
Meredith was still on all fours, her wings extended and her tail upright. If one could see past the demonic features, she would remind wolf of a snarling cat that was really angry. And she started hissing. "Seriously? You want me to take it seriously? Fine! I will! No more playing around!" Meredith snarled, a twinkle on her eye, and batting her wings took to the sky. "Watch me WOLFIE! I am going to be serious and FLATTEN YOUR COMRADES before you can catch me with that slow-ass enchanted armor!". Meredith shrieked as she drew more blood, dabbing strenghtening enchantments on herself. "First is birdboy!" She said, and with that she took flight like a hawk searching for prey...
Meanwhile, Diana eyed the spectacle as she trembled like a newborn doe, her legs straining under the tiredness and the accumulated hits as she unstuck the flag from the ground, starting to use it as walking stick. "Ulf. Cease." She ordered, and the monster let Michael go, with a low key snarl. "Well then, the barrier I set up has fallen, so praise is to be given to your team, trap master." Diana said. "Still, I have figured you out." She eyed the barrier and the drawings, and with a quick leg movement and some cracking of the od, the barrier wobbled. "Your arts can be dispelled." She announced as she began to walk towards the other side of the field, only to fall down at the third step. "Drat. Ulf, carry me." She ordered the behemoth, which didn't move.
"...Fight. I want to fight..." The creature roared.
"You will do... as I say." Diana commended, and the beast jerked, obeying her in haste, but not breaking sight with the fallen Michael for even a second. The monster scooped up the witch in a bridal carry and the flag, and began running towards the side of her team.
All Michael could feel was pain. The monster did its job, and Michael barely even heard Diana call it off. He only managed to return his attention to the world when the pain subsided to an unpleasant throb. Diana was little more than a blur in his cloudy vision, but it didn't take too much to guess that it was her. His hearing confirmed it when she spoke. A quick movement later, and the Trap Art barrier fell.
Dis... pelled...? Michael thought to himself in disappointed shock.
Damn...Michael lay on the ground as Diana's creature ran off with her and the flag. There was nothing he could do to stop it, so Michael used his remaining energy on keeping his mind active, still trying to stay conscious. He could feel a strong pain in his arms, and he suspected that those were sprained, if not broken. His chest hurt as well when he tried to breathe, and he wasn't even sure if he still had all his teeth. The Draugr really did a number on him, and all he could do now was wait for the end of the match.
Nas slung the flag over his shoulder and began his march back to his side of the field. Meanwhile, Ria's eyes fluttered open. Her whole body hurt. Nas had really laid into her with that punch. She looked up, pulling her face from the dirt to see Nas walking with her flag!
"You... don't think you'll- GAH!"
"Shhh!" Nas lifted a finger to his lips as he... stepped on her head on his way by.
"Wh-" Ria had to spit dirt back out of her mouth.
"Payback for earlier," Nas said as he kept walking.
"Ugh..." Ria couldn't quite summon the energy to stand just yet.
Wolf couldn't do anything about Meredith. He'd failed. He told himself this and forced himself to accept it. He'd have to worry about it later. For now, he had to make sure there would be a later. He recalled his trident and then took aim.
He saw Diana and her draugr making a break for it with his team's flag in hand. He pulled back... and then flung the trident, the weapon sailing through the air and then planting itself into the ground -- right as the draugr would have taken its next step.
"You want a fight, creature? Fight me!" Wolf called his challenge, slamming a fist into his breastplate loudly for punctuation. The monster had made its desires clear, Wolf having heard its roar even from a distance. Whether or not the trident had tripped up the draugr, Wolf hoped he would have its attention.
Like a larger raptor, Meredith's powerful wingbeats gave her speed and altitude, her eyes scanning the signs for prey, anyone who wasn't Wolf. She took notice at birds' eye of the scuffle that was happening between the team leader and her prey, birdboy. Smirking maliciously, she hovered for a bit, getting ready for a lunge like a monstrous, human sized hawk. She could not contain a giggle, seeing the otherwise smug Ria's ass sprawled in an undignified manner. But she was still her teammate... and besides, she had said to Wolfie. She would flatten the others. But seeing that birdboy had the flag... an idea gestated on her mind as she initiated her swoop.
"YOINK!" She said as her claws grabbed the flag in an airborne sweep, the demonic glyphs of enhanced strenght crackling. "Lesse if you can fly like a bird, birdboy!" She added as she attempted to take the flag -and probably Nas-into the skies.
Nas saw her shadow first, and then looked up to see her swooping in. His eyes widened, jaw dropping in shock. She'd gotten the drop on him!
Or not.
Just as she was almost on him, his surprise turned to a smug smirk. He planted the flag into the ground before him, deploying the shield, aiming to leave Meredith much like a bug on a windshield...
Wolf stomped forward, slowly gaining momentum as the draugr charged at him. He lifted one arm to take the dragur's first swing, and without halting his stride, threw his other fist forward to full force punch the draugr with all his weight and momentum.
Meredith emmitted a sound grunt, her entire self pressing against the barrier exactly like Nas' prediction, the excessive pressure that her torso was subject to it popped a few buttons of her shirt (but still made a formidable effort to maintain meredith's assets covered). The half demon seemed to slid comically into the ground, as she slumped, her face seemingly groggy and aiming into the ground "Owieee." She said, slumping into the ground.
Diana eyed at her summon, who had been frozen, like Wolf's words had been some sort of paralysis spell. Her stern factions showed some sign of alarm when she realized what the knighty boy had said. "Don't". She tried to command her summon, but the creature chucked her away like one throws garbage overhead, flag and all. She yelped slightly as she fell in the ground, pitifully but still clutching the flag.
"We...well played." She added, as her now out of control summon stared at Wolf... and doing a gesture, a weapon of ashen mist materialized in his hand. An ax, darkened and rotten. "Still... you roused him."
"HAHAHAHAHAHA" The creature said. "At last! VALHALLA AWAITS, WARRIOR!" The demented draugr charged into Wolf, his ax making quick and brutal moves towards the knight's armor.
Meanwhile, Diana clenched her teeth once more, and began to stagger into a lurching position, very much like the undead she used to summon, her left had still clutching the flag, but having not enough energy to even lift it from the ground. On a closer look, it was evident how small and delicate her frame was, and how it seemed that she was just going on on pure willpower at this point, dragging herself towards her own side. "Well... nothing risked nothing...gained." She clenched her teeth, as she pulled a horseshoe with inscribed runes on it. She had never tried a double summon before... but it was not too late to try and force her luck.
The Draugr roared as he took the punch, a hole being punched through the desiccated corpse, the might of the armor doing its work... even thought the Draugr didn't seem to sustain lasting damage, as his now free arms swung the axe once more directly into the neck junction, right next to Wolf's ear, in an attempt to stun him with the sound.
Diana meanwhile, seemed to stagger as she did something with the horseshoe... eventually lurching forward and exposing what she had eaten earlier this morning due to a combination of physical and magical drain. Gone was the stylish look that she entered combat, with her clothes torn, her face dishevelled, bruised and dirtied, she looked like a hag-like witch more than ever, as she still struggled to maintain her footing and carry the flag.
Clonk. The axe struck the armor and earned a surprisingly dull sound. Wolf then tore his fist free from the draugr's midsection and took a proper fighting stance. Then, suddenly, the draugr might notice something. A peculiar... weight. It's whole body suddenly becoming twice as heavy as it stood in Wolf's shadow.
Wolf then raised an arm and swing it like a club, aiming this time to floor the creature. The only problem being that Wolf didn't have any momentum working in his favor now. The move was horribly telegraphed, as even simple movements for him required a wind up.
The beast cackled as it staggered, the limbs feeling like lead. It seemed to hesitate for a while, then ... a dark mist enveloped him, closing his wounds. His axe seemed to disappear, as he raised his fisticuffs, his rotten muscles straining and bulging under his shirt. The ground under his legs crackled as his hand connected with his guard. "Weak...alf...boy. You're weak!" He seemed to taunt as against Wolf's expectations, he became nimbler than what was humanly possible under that weight, his other hand seizing his helmet and pushing backwards. "What's the good of that slow magic armor, alf-boy?"
It was when his skin began to disintegrate. "Curses... Volva... this is your doing!" The monster roared, eyeing a strained Diana. "I am not done with this yet!" The witch seemed to heave as she pressed the horseshoe against the ground. "You cannot cut me off!" The monster protested as he let go of Wolf, and turned his back into the witch... before disintegrating into mist. Another summon wasted, but such was the price of defiance. When her teammates failed, she had stood proud and fought the share of two at least.
Panting, seizing the flag to not topple over, a monstrous destrier of zombified flesh appeared at her side... and deftly picked the witch with its teeth before throwing her into her rump, and startings its gallop. "My best summon gone to waste... damn" She cursed as she fleed to her side of the field on horseback.
Nas did the math. Meredith in front of him on the ground and Ria behind him, likewise easting dirt. That meant on both sides of the field it was 2 to 1, home team advantage. In his case, he was the unfortunate 1. And he was running near empty, with no chances to quickly recharge currently presenting themselves. But, at the very least, he could still feel Michael's magic strengthening him. That gave him an idea.
He pulled the flag free and heaved it back, like he was going to use it as a weapon. And then a subtle shift in stance and it was clear exactly what he was up to. HIs magic surged forth, what was left anyway, and reinforced his muscles once more. Between that and Michael's magic, it was more than enough to send the flag flying like a javelin in a ballistic arc up and over the walls.
He had no idea where to aim, but the odds were in his favor that it would end up near a teammate and not Diana.
"Well well, look at you, all thin and... demon-y," Nas said to Meredith now that the flag was making its journey elsewhere.
'And here I am... tapped. Good. That's good. Great.' This might hurt.
Meredith opened an eye before rising up, completely unfazed by the earlier blow, minus a barely-holding shirt who was exposing even more of her skin than what a school uniform would normally allow, her gaze narrowed slightly. "You threw the flag, you little sparrow shit". She said in a bout of profanity. "Not that it will be save you, because I told Wolfie I would stomp you." She arced her claw-like fingers, like one of the demons most Vigilantes fought, her eyes staring at Nas. "Now let's see, can little bird boy fly?" She added, lunging at him claws first in a flying jump.
Nas ducked low, hoping to avoid the attack or maybe even trip Meredith up by taking out her knees. If all else failed he was ready to dive clear. Her first lunge at least was easy enough to get away from.
Afterward he took a few steps to get some distance, but he knew better than to run. She literally flow in, he'd never get away from her. But maybe he could mess with her. It was really more Ria's thing, but maybe he'd picked up a thing or two from her.
"Really now? How vicious of you," Nas said, smiling. It was hard to say if he looked more smug or if he was just feigning friendliness. "Quite a change of pace for you. Can't imagine Wolf is happy about that. In fact I'd wager he'd be pretty upset right now. Thing is though, Wolf doesn't get mad easy. I don't think I've ever seen him snap back at that rude little minx of his even once. So I'd guess he'd be pulling out that black armor of his. So, tell me Meredith. If he gets his hands on that flag in that armor, what chance in hell do you think you have of getting it back?" His smile widened. "Well, there's absolutely no chance at all if you're wasting your time here with me..." He wasn't sure he should be attempting to put her attention back toward Wolf and the flag, but he also knew he was screwed if this fight went on like this. He could always regroup with Wolf if he at least had some breathing room for a minute.
"Shut...up." Meredith said, her expression now more and more demonlike. She was trembling after the first missed attack, but not because anything that Nas had ever done. "SHUT. UP. " She added, before drawing more blood and starting to paint glyphs, but not on herself on the ground. Summoning Glyphs. "Fine then, you don't appreciate my company... I will give you another dance partner. Or half a dozen of them. Hint- They like to eat people's faces! I would blast you, but Ria told me about your magic absorption." She said, Imps popping out from her glyphs with their vicious, high pitched snarls.
"CHEW ON HIS BONES" Meredith said, before taking flight once again, this time heading back for Wolf...
". . . women are a pain." Nas's eye twitched. At least he'd been able to K.O. Ria. Meredith was just being aggravating! He took a cautious step back as he warily eyed the imps. He took another step... and then bolted sideways, aiming to loop around and run back to his side of the field. His hope was to either pass this problem on to Wolf, or at least let his energy slowly recharge until he could deal with this himself.
The flag plummeted back to the earth landing somewhere between Diana on her fleet footed steed and Wolf in his decidedly not fleet of foot armor. The only difference being that, at current, Diana was moving away from the flag.
Wolf had to take a second to process this, but then recalled his net and trident before pushing himself back into stomping motion. He might need them if Diana decided to turn around...
Diana was getting an increasing headache and blurred vision as she gripped the mane of her undead horse with the remaining strength she could. Keeping the other flag in her hand was a struggle. Keeping on top of the horse was a struggle. But she was making way into her team's territory. She had to burn through her summons to defeat one of these team members, plus meredith wasn't even doing anything remotely cooperative from the start of the match. And Ria was out. She was just on a desperate effort to avoid the tide turning against her team...
And then her team's flag flew past her, nailing itself in the ground between Diana and the knight. "You gotta be kidding me. What is that -idiot- doing?" Diana muttered under her breath, seeing how Mer not only had failed to keep Wolf at way, but also failed to get the other teammate. She spurred her horse. It was the turning point now. Her team was falling apart, and she could not trust Meredith enough because of how obsessed she was in trying to get that knight of hers in her clutches. She was, at the end of the day, alone.
At least she had made far enough for the smug trio to shut up a bit, in her presence. She... turned her horse, and stood tall, only willpower sustaining her now. She was dishevelled, but still proud, one of the arms without any hint of clothes, and dirtied and scraped all over. But still, her silver hair and demeanor, coupled with the flag under her arm, made her seem some sort of Valkyrie rather than a witch. "Well then, sir Knight. I think you've won." she addressed Wolf. "But I can't let you have the victory without trying until the end." She readied herself for a charge, the repulsor on her flag activating.
"HAH!" She said as she charged Wolf, with a cavalry charge, intent on getting to the flag first.
The girl had a surprising amount of grit, he had to give her that. He might actually have enjoyed this if not for Meredith souring everything. But that wasn't important right now. Michael and Nas had done their best to get them this far. It was his turn now, his turn to make up for letting Meredith get away. His turn to make sure their effort wasn't wasted.
He'd seen the flag first, or at least it seemed so, and Diana had taken a moment to speak, so Wolf had gotten a head start... but still he knew he'd not make it in time. That horse was much faster. However, at least he wouldn't be behind by much, and with her one hand already full, he knew exactly what route she'd have to take to grab the flag. And in order for her to grab it, the horse would have to run
past the flag.
He couldn't beat her, but he could intercept her after the fact. He lowered his head and pushed himself harder, the weight of the armor pulling him forward more than his legs were propelling him honestly. He put his shoulder forward and aimed to meet her charge.
He wasn't going to worry about aiming his weapons this time. No. He was gonna tackle the damn horse head on.
Diana charged forth, spurring her horse. Wolf was in the way... She was going to meet with him after picking up the flag. Changing course on the horse seemed impossible. That damned durable armour was going like hitting a wall head on with her steed. Fine then, she would do it. Besides she was too tired already, and Mer was probably growing slowly out of control. So, not prolonging the fight would be for the best. She gritted her teeth, summoning the last embers of her magic, as tears of blood appeared in her face, and blood trickled down her nose. Reinforce Body. Reinforce Spear. Reinforce Horse.
The telltale lines of reinforcement shone once again, as the spear flared up to life? Tackling the horse head on? Why not tackle the repulsor head on! She thought as she aimed the charged tip to Wolf's face. She needed not to overpower his armor, needly just tilt his head way off his center of mass to cause him to fall into the ground.
"Please...pierce!" She pleaded as she charged, activating the repulsion of the flagpole.
Wolf realized a little too late to change course what Diana was doing. She was gonna joust him. Armor or not, that could be trouble. Not much time, what could he do? Just take it? No. Dodge? No, he'd be screwed if he just threw away all his momentum and let her go. Parry it? Yes. No! Not quite parry...
When he was barely an arms length away from getting struck by the flag point, he whipped his net out. He aimed past the tip, avoiding the repulsor. It wrapped around the flag, its magical weight and momentum dragging the point away from Wolf. The girl was exhausted and looked somewhat frail to begin with. He doubted she could keep it aimed true after that.
After that, braced himself for impact. The question was whether the horse would be colliding with a pile of bricks, or a still standing brick wall.
"Oh cr-" Diana was cut off, before the net interferred with her charge, throwing her off the horse and catapulting her across the air, the horse itself crashing sideways as its rider was yanked off and causing it to veer of course. The lithe witch tumbled several times, bouncing off like a ragdoll and whimpering at each tumble and would have broken bones and gotten a really nasty cracked skull if the reinforcement wasn't active. She laid in the ground, immobile, the flag finally letting go of her hand.
Meanwhile, Meredith was fuming. She was beating her wings furiously, as she coursed towards Wolfie, who still had the armor on, and had just tossed the little witch to the ground. She gritted her teeth, but choose not to emit a single sound this time. That idiotic dolly witch had failed, but at least Wolfie seemed distracted... she had a little more blood to slap a rune on him...
Wolf retrieved the flag that Nas had thrown and then walked over to where Diana and their own flag had fallen.
"Don't feel bad, you fought alone and you fought well," he told her.
He bent over, taking now the second flag, seeming oblivious to the approaching danger -- until suddenly he just planted the flag to deploy its barrier as Meredith was almost upon him. She'd been in too much of a hurry. Once the sounds of battle had faded, he had heard her wings rapidly beating. Some people might've missed it, or not put things together fast enough, but he knew the sound. In the past he'd looked forward to it...
Meredith was unable to stop in time as the second barrier deployed, only curving her flight upwards in a last ditch attempt to not suffer the same fate as the last time. She skid across the top of the barrier, having a rather difficult landing as she ended up face first into the ground, her choice of underwear (which would could witness had changed for her usual tame stuff to much more risque) up into the air for everyone to see, as her tail twitched for a few seconds.
"uugh, not again!" Meredith fumed, as she quickly rose to her feet. The shirt, against all odds, was still unbroken. "Damnit Wolfie! Why must make you things this unfunny!" The half-succubus jeered, as she noticed the lithe body of the witch. "And you were kind of useless in the end, huh." She added, words coming from her mouth that seemed that didn't belong to Wolf's oldtime friend. She then looked at her, defenseless, unconscious... and she reached for her forehead with a claw.
"She still has some juice, Wolfie... I will need all of it to beat you up, heeeh." She smiled as she inflicted her worst technique on her teammate, the Empress of the Night.
She really had changed... It was Diana on the receiving end but it hurt Wolf just to witness it.
Wolf took a lumbering step forward, when suddenly his armor vanished. However, with the clunky armor gone, Wolf closed the remaining distance much faster. He thrusted forth with his team's flag, aiming the repulsor right at Meredith's forehead.
Whether he cared for Diana's well being or not, it wouldn't do him any favors if Meredith recharged.
Afterward though, it would be clear just how exhausted Wolf was underneath the armor. Skin pale and clammy and his hair stuck to his face with sweat...
A black burst of energy met the repulsor's own blow, as Meredith stood there, her arms limping forward, like someone really exhausted or really livid, the technique on Diana cancelled. "Always...save the girl, uh?" Meredith whispered, harshness in her words. "But no matter how I tried to reach you... It wasn't the same anymore. And then he did that to you... you were in no position to do anything." Meredith started to babble, her walk slow and ponderous, as she begun to advance towards Wolf. "So I tried my best... and failed. And then I listened to my other side. I should've done this long ago..."
In a surprise turn of events, Wolf dropped both flags, letting them clatter away from him.
"Fine... You've got my attention..." Was this really what she wanted though? Like this? "Come here." He held out his hand. It almost looked as though he'd soon fall over if no one took it and held him up.
He was just about all out of fight, so dealing with Meredith was the only thing left for him to do.
Meredith's expresion relaxed for a second, as her tail swished frantically... her eyes shot upwards, a blush appearing in her face. "Bweeee...." She let her characteristic whine escap her lips, as she was clearly confused by the maneuver. Hesitantly, she extended a claw, and seemed like she would help Wolf stand up, like she would have always done before.
But as soon as her claw grabbed Wolf's hand, she pulled the man towards her. "No. You're trying to toy with me. It's too late, Wolfie. I will have now by force, what I could not get by being nice." She added, her claws rebuking him, and emitting a hiss, making a dash to grab both flags. "You could have had the human me anytime... but now, you're dealing with the demon me."
As Meredith tried to dash past, she would realize she was still attached to Wolf... Somehow.
Just as she had grabbed him, he had grabbed her wrist, and his grip still had a surprising amount of strength to it. Then the smoke returned.
A weight settled down on Meredith as the towering black armor loomed out of the smoke. There was a small window where he could bring it back after dispelling it, but this time he'd made sure to have her in his grasp first.
He made to pull her back in, aiming to wrap his arms around her from behind while also grabbing her wrists to keep her hands under control.
If he succeeded, he planned to take a seat and let the armor's weight keep her still and trapped on his lap for the rest of the match.
"I said you have my attention, Meredith. I'll stay here with you until this is over... Like it or not," his voice echoed out from the armor.
"I knew it..." Meredith gasped, as she felt the weight of the armor. "But you're forgetting something, Wolfie." She chuckled, slightly... "Mother has told me how to do amazing stuff, with the tongue." She added as she bit her own tongue, hard, and then licking a sleep symbol on the armor. "Let's have a sweet time, shall we? You're a much better target than Diana."
Wolf's only saving grace was that at the angle Meredith was at, she couldn't place the glyph closer to his head. Well, that and she'd literally warned him it was coming.
His head dipped slightly before he grit his teeth, then biting the inside of his cheek, the pain helping him fight it off.
"Not... This time..." His voice showed just how close it had come to working, though. "Last time you did that you ended up like this..."
Meanwhile... Nas ran onto the scene, shouting loudly. The imps were all over him, clawing and biting. He managed to rip one off his shoulder, throw it to the ground, and punt it away, but the others still were making his life miserable.
"Taking this back!" He announced hurriedly, snatching up Meredith's flag before jogging haphazardly toward the end goal, now trying to use the flag as a backscratcher to remove the remaining imps... "OFF, DAMMIT!"
Meredith snarled furiously, as she suddenly startled to rattle and struggle like a wild animal "LET ME GO!" She could vocalize between snarls and bites, having devolved to what she originally behaved as, before she had been civilized. "YOU IDIOTS! GET THE OTHER FLAG!" She commanded to the Imps, who scrambled among themselves to obey Mer's orders, but started to fight among themselves to see who was the one to get Wolf's team flag.
At this point Meredith had ceased to be able to say any kind of meaningful sound. Furthermore, it seemed that her shirt also refused to hold on any further. Good thing Wolf was obscuring most of the view...
imes their height and they had to drag across over half the arena. Nas, by comparison, had longer legs and a shorter distance to cover. The brushed off the last imp clinging to him by ramming it against one of the L-walls on his way by and then batting it away with the flag. He then made a haggard jog, bleeding from over a dozen bites and scratches to the goal. In the end... that had been much harder than expected.
Ria had given him much more of a beaten than expected while he'd been laying his trap, Meredith had gone full psycho, and he had no idea what Diana had done but Michael looked like he was barely conscious at this point.
". . . if that's what you want," Wolf replied after some delay, setting Meredith free. He then got to his feet and stepped back, his armor vanishing in a swirl of smoke. He swayed slightly, looking ready to collapse but somehow keeping his feet. He just stared sadly at Meredith, not saying another word.
The silence was short lived.
"And that's another one done with, folks!" The MC's voice suddenly blared over the loudspeakers. "The Vigilantes have taken one from St. Laurel's!" Nas had indeed finally reached their team's flag zone.
"That they have," Gloria, the other MC, spoke up. "Now, dear, please cover up, you're quite indecent at the moment," she was of course referring to Meredith...
"Yes, while wardrobe malfunctions are to be expected and appreciated by some, this
is technically a family event," the first concurred. "Anyway, with the match over, medics will see to those who can't walk themselves out. Coming up next we have a rumble between Mephisto's and St. Laurel's to look forward to! Will St. Laurel's fare better this time? Only one way to find out!"
Meredith scampered off like a rather angry cat, only to realize with mild dejection that her shirt had finally given up. She had lost, her team had lost. She gritted her teeth and turned to face Wolf, an arm trying to cover the revealed goods. "Stupid Wolfie." She spat, brooding over the loss.
