Dolor: Stigma Vitae (Pain: Stigma of Life) - RP Thread

[Zup]

Bird knew he wouldn't be able to keep his composure around Kors - killing him then and there was far too tempting. No, he would wait for his chance in the arena fighting. He nodded his head as he leaned against an alley wall down the street from where the humans were.

He would kill Kors at the arena.

Bird's scanners worked their way to reading the inner workings of Red, Raul, Camas, and Kors's bodies, and he analyzed that it was just about time for the humans to get some sleep. He chose to ignore their talk as best as he could, and so he shut off his hearing capabilities for the moment and closed his eyes. His computer brought up old video clips his creators had installed in his head to help him pass the time...

* * *

Red and Raul soon returned to Bird's sighed, yawning and stretching. They told the robot that they were heading off to sleep, and he nodded in response, guardian them as they slept.

* * *

As Bird sat there, waiting for hours, his computer picked up an immense and rapid rise in energy around him. He looked left and right, but the forces weren't visible. He switched his array of vision to thermal, and was able to pick up traces of the heat building up around them. He was just about to question what the energy was and activate his shield when the booming chuckle of Ujanmunt echoed through the air.

Bird was temporarily blinded - for a millisecond, perhaps - and when his vision was returned, he was in a completely different location. His eyes scanned the scene, taking it in.

The ground beneath him was a rather dark shade of purple, and hard as stone (as it was likely composed of). The area he was in was a rather large circle, bordered off by black streaks snaking around the shape at waist-height. His scanners quickly detected that there were others in the immediate area - Red, Raul, Camas, Kors, and Vulres.

Ujanmunt's laugh echoed in this strange place once again. "Contestants...welcome!"

Bird glanced to his left. Him, Raul, and Kors were currently in the center of the odd circle, forming a triangle. His eyes shifted over to Kors, who simply let out a "hmph," fixing his glasses.

Perfect...

"As you can see, you have all been divided into two halves of three, each half placed within one of these circles. Do not attempt to cross the black boundaries; it is futile." Ujanmunt chuckled again. "Or better yet, attempt and face amusing pain because of it.

"The three of you are tasked with killing one of the other two - the first to die shall be immediately thrown out of the competition, with the others staying behind to continue participation. However..."

Bird cocked his head to the side at this "however." What was the catch? What was that extra little detail?

"In order to make things more...interesting, I will occasionally bellow the name of a competitor from either circle...Should your name be called, you will then be transported into the other circle to fight the two within it...Now..."

Bird returned his attention to Kors. Killing him was going to be made a bit more difficult if the fighters would be swapping circles at Ujanmunt's will. He would likely have to go for Kors at every opportunity, and preserve energy for when he didn't have the chance.

"BEGIN!"

Bird's computer immediately initiated one of the low-level combat programs within the robot, and he was off. His thrusters zoomed him right to Kors, and he drew the lightsaber pike from his back, activating the plasma blade within.

Kors was not unprepared. That oh-so familiar stone wall erupted from the ground once again. To prevent himself from getting damaged from collision, Bird turned off his thrusters, landing right in front of the wall. His pike swished in front of him twice, completely decimating the stone wall. He stood in front of the rubble, staring Kors straight in the eyes.

"You die today...*click*....human."

"Hmph," muttered Kors, clenching his hands into fists. "Let's see about that."

Kors suddenly punched outward, and a ball of heat flew past Bird's head as the robot dodged it. He detected that it was similar in composition and bodily source as Raul's flames - Kors had likely copied the ability from Raul. Bird avoided the flames as they shot forward at him, occasionally slicing through one with the plasma blade of his pike.

Kors had bought himself enough time to awaken the twin hands of stone beside him. During the night, he had spent most of his sleepless hours planning how he could fight against Bird, and he was 100% concentrated on utilizing every ounce of his brain and energy to make sure it worked. If he made one slip-up, it would be a fatal one.

Raul burst into the scene soon after, punching three fireballs at Kors, who killed them off with flames of his own. In order to change his ineffective tactics, he soared into the air a few feet with his firebending before emitting a stream of orange and yellow flames that burned at one of the hands.

By this time, Bird was ready, as Raul was keeping Kors preoccupied. He loaded up a smart missile, alternating its path of fire so as to hit the boy straight in the back.

Unfortunately for the robot, he was interrupted as he heard Ujanmunt roar, "Kors! Camas!"

Kors vanished just before the missile would've struck - it instead exploded against one of the stone hands. A brief instance after, Camas appeared in a flash of light.

Bird clenched his fist, glancing in the direction he detected Kors, likely in the other circle Ujanmunt had referred to. Lucky human...

[Redhollowlives999]

Red jumped back, avoiding Vulres' attack just in time.

"Kors! Camas!"

Red's eyes widened, releasing a gasp, followed by him muttering a 'crap' under his breath. A flash of light caught his attention. He was now caught in a battle with 2 people he disliked. Kors is a little brat, and Vulres is just annoying. The biggest threat was possibly Kors but, after thinking carefully, Red attacked Vulres. "Ha!" Red swung his sword down at Vulres. Vulres raised his arm in defense.

"Vulres! Raul!" In less than a second, Red's sword swing was now aiming straight to a just arriving Raul.

"Crap!"

Raul rolled over to the side, managing to avoid Red's swing. "Darn it Red!"

Red clenched his teeth, "Screw you Ujanmunt!"

A loud thunderous laugh could be heard, but Red paid no mind as Raul shot lightning straight at Kors, who managed to roll out of the way. A loud rumbling interrupted the 3; a giant pillar of lava shot out in the distance. Red took a second to watch its beauty. He glanced at Raul, whose eyes started to glow a fiery Red. A loud crack could be heard from behind Red; feeling a sudden burst of power. He turned to see a white ray of light, Red recognized it on the spot; moon light. 2 small sewer ports opened behind him, Red sensed the water under, and brought it all out. Kors' eyes were glowing to a small extend as well, but he was knocked down by a bag that shot, apparently, from the sky. Kors opened the bag and found 2 imps; one fat, another small. An annoying smirk slowly grew on his face.

Red's eyes slowly started to glow blue. He looked at Kors with disgust. "What are you smiling at?"

"I'm sorry," Kors put the Imps on his shoulders, "I owe it to those who have died to win."

"What a load of crap." Raul shot 2 big fireballs at Kors, who shot 3 to disperse the shots fired by Raul. A shot hit Raul on his side. The flame burned off his shirt, revealing another wounded, he clutched it in pain as he muttered, "Darn it Camas..." He coughed up alittle blood, but found the strength to get back up.

"I have an idea that could bring back everybody."

"Sure," Raul said unsheathing his blade. "Now he grows a heart."

Red slashed at Kors with his left hand, Kors jumped back several times and quickly scanned Red. "What are you doing? You're not left handed."

"Red, wait!"

Red stopped his pursuit to look at Raul. "What is it? You gotta stop me NOW?!"

"Sensor, now."

Red tapped on the side of his face, just a few inches off his eyes. Red soon saw small info on Kors. "He has 400 hp, looks like a Delta alone can finish him off."

"Lets go Beta."

Kors tried to scan Raul, figure out any possible strategy. He only had a half a second before Ujanmunt's voice boomed throughout the battle. "Red! Camas! Bird! Raul!"

"You Douch-" Red's insult was interrupted, he was teleported to the other side. All the water of the other side disappeared. Ujanmunt's laugh could be heard slowly dying. "-E!"

"Red! Focus!"

Red looked up, his eyes caught Vulres' green skin. "Raul, he has 1200 hp, you wanna make this quick before Ujamarmar pulls a BWWWAAAAKK!!! move again?"

"Alpha? Already?"

"What choice do we have, we can't end up with Bird, and Camas would be a difficult fight." Red wiped the beads of perspiration that formed over his forehead.

"Agreed. But wh-"

"Bird has him. Its more his battle than ours. Lets make this quick."

"Got it, go!"

Raul pointed his sword towards Red, "Haste!"

Red tapped the jewel of his Dagger and began his combo. Vulres found it nearly impossible to keep up with Red, he found no opening whatsoever. He knew that if it continued, he was gonna die. Vulres tried to think, but his mind was clouded by angry thoughts. Why am I losing to this weakling? I've grown soft!

"Don't worry, I'll make this as painless as I can Orc."

Vulres soon lost his ability to speak entirely, as a he suddenly started to emit a black energy, "Gorai Hadoken!"

A purple fireball shot out of Vulres' fist, Red barely had time to dodge, he glanced at the explosion it created when it impacted the floor. He looked over at Raul. "Raul?!"

Raul was in the middle of a song, he gave Red a worried glance as he continued the song, "Va neu va rei va neu va ze rei...."

"Rakan Dantojin!" Red managed to dodge the attack once again, barely. His Dagger's haste had died down when he got up. The attack hit Raul as a result of Red moving out of the way. Red reached his hands out to Raul. A tear almost fell down Red's face until he heard Raul mutter:

"Rei Rei!" A sudden light emitted around Raul, then Red. A small healing light enveloped Raul. Vulres was bombarded with several attacks, hitting Vulres in every corner possible. Red took advantage of the opportunity to bend the water inside the second sewer gate system Ujanmunt had set up for Red's advantage to freeze Vulres in place; leaving his head out in the open.

The ice slowly started to crack due to the beast flexing his muscles. Red quickly stopped time and slashed away at Vulres.

"5 seconds left..." Red took the all the water he could and tried to run as far as he could; which wasn't far due to the size of the arena. He surrounded himself in a barrier of Ice and prayed that he would somehow come out unscratched.








Red opened his eyes, his eyes were quickly scanning the area, Raul's hyperresonance caused little damage to the actual arena, but Red sensed Vulres and saw the power of that blow. "757..."

"Cure!" Raul was covered in a small light. He looked over to Red as soon as he gained his ability to stand up again. "Awe-"

"Raul! Camas!"

"No ag-" Within the second, Raul was suddenly replaced by Camas. Camas looked at Red and looked at Vulres.

"... Darn it, I left Kors alone..."

"Last thing you should be worrying about man." Red gripped his sword tighter as Vulres got back up, roaring in sheer anger. "He's almost down! But Raul's attack got me alittle too. I'll need your help."

"Fine." Camas raised his blade towards Vulres.

[Zup]

Nesster rubbed his chin as he watched the fighting below. He was studying each fighter's thoughts, intrigued as to how they would handle the twist Ujanmunt had given them. He watched as Bird flew around the enclosed circle he was in, firing off missiles and lasers at Kors and Vulres seconds before the white-haired boy swapped places with Raul.

Such an interesting mind, the Overlord of Thought contemplated. Simultaneously working out enemy weaknesses, keeping track of his own body condition, analyzing tactics, formulating plans of action for each scenario...Absolutely fascinating.

"Veddy veddy intressing," commented Yobolo. The Overlord of Thought turned his attention to the odd little god. His bony green finger was spinning a pizza over it in a perfect, flat rotation. "Engy flow es cnstent n contro'd."

Ryuenjin leaned back, rubbing a finger into his temple, eyes closed. "God it's annoying when you open your mouth. Can't understand a 野菜 thing you say, you bastard..."

Perhaps you ought to take a peek into the workings of his mind, Nesster telepathically communicated to the warrior Overlord.

Ryuenjin shrugged. Fine. But if I go insane, it's all on you.

Nesster chuckled. Oh? Is that so? I'd be more than happy to cripple your mind and make you susceptible to such a condition. Free of charge.

The Overlord of Combat scowled. Just...just show me already.

Very well...

Ryuenjin suddenly fell out of his seat, clutching his brain. His chest heaved up and down, having lost his wind. "What the the the the the was that?!?"

The other Overlords turned their attention to Ryuenjin, confused. Nesster chuckled to himself once again, returning his attention to the fighting below.

[Rammerrush]

Camas slashed at the hulking mass of green as Red slowed down time and began to work his annoying little magic. "HesalmostdownCamas!" Red said. In the heat of battle Camas could barely understand his sped up speech but Red was kind of hard to ignore.

The green behemoth let out a terrifying roar as he collapsed in on himself. Camas took this as a good sign and started doubling his effort to destroy him. Unfortunately, Camas was wrong, because before Camas or Red could get a single hit in He knock them both across the arena with some sort of energy wave.

Camas slowly picked himself up and looked to where Red had landed. "You okay?" He called out not too worried, he knew the kid was strong.

"Yeahjustthrewmeforaloop." Red didn't pause for a second before charging back at Vulres. Camas, not wanting to be outdone followed suit.

Camas was half way to the hulking Orc when he saw Red get blasted back by some sort of energy blast. Camas stopped and called out to the injured water bender. "You still good?"

"Yup." He called as the dust settled. Camas watched as the kid picked himself up and dizzily shot back toward their opponent. Camas, guessing what was going to happen just stood there and wathced. Sure enough Red was shot back once again by the orc's energy blast.

"I think we need a new tactic, kid!" Camas called out as Red stood back up from the impact zone and rushed to Vulres. "Or... Not." Camas watched as Red got a few hits in but Vulres blasted him back.

"Screwnewtacticsi'llendhimnow!" Red said as he picked himself unhindered by the constant failures.

Red launched himself at the orc again and was rearing his blade up readying his attack when Ujanmunt's voice called off across the arena "Vulres. Kors!"

Instantly, the hulking giant disapeared and was replaced by Kors's small frame. "Crap." Camas said, as he saw that Red was still rushing to attack. He rushed to intercept Red and made it just in time. He blocked his sword with Essie and pushed him backward. "Sorry Red, truce off."

Kors shot an explosion from his palm past Camas's shoulder and Red struggled to dodge the blast. "You'll haveto do betterthan that." Red said, his voice beginning to slow to normal human speeds.

"I think we'll be fine," Camas said, readying Essie for a duel. He knew the kid could weild a blade, but there was no chance Essie would fail to such a flimsy blade. "You're starting to slow, that'll level the playing field."

"That's what youthink!" Red shouted as he rushed toward Kors, completely ignoring Camas. He had a target all set in mind.

"He's not who you should be worried about!" Camas rammed into Red as he passed him by, knocking him from his assault. "I'm your main opponent now, so worry about me." Camas held Essie out and slashed at the air between him and Red. "Wolf's Flame!"

[Zup]

Bird simply stood there, glaring at the spot Kors was previously located. His grip on the saber pike lessened a bit as his intended foe was no longer there. In an instant, Vulres took his place, chest and back heaving up and down in fatigue.

Health scan in progress...Vulres Hellscream...health levels...63%

Condition: functional...able to fight sufficiently...power build-up within correlates to decreased vitality...detecting...state of emotional anger...amplified strength output...adjusting system strength parameters to match physical output...

Bird returned the saber pike to his back as his computer systems increased his physical strength in order to match Vulres. It was a tactic Bird never really used except for lifting heavy loads, but it seemed...an appropriate response to Kors constantly being taken from him.

Besides, Bird's condition was still very high up - he hadn't taken much damage at all; he'd always been on the offensive. But now it was time for a change of strategy.

Bird stood where he was, not budging even a fraction of an inch. Vulres did as well, although he was moving very much so through heavy, controlled breaths. His foot suddenly began to scrape the ground behind him, knuckles cracking in the opposite hand's palms.

"You may be strong, bird thing..." began the orc chieftain. He bolted towards Bird, extending his arms to the side. "But you are not powerful enough to-!"

To the side, Raul's eyes widened in surprise and his jaw dropped a bit as Bird simply wrapped his metal arms around the charging orc, silencing him and lifting him into the air above Bird's head. The robot wasted no time, twisting his body around to hurl Vulres across the battlefield, slamming into the boundary, convulsing in burn and shock damage.

"Whoa, Bird..." Raul began, turning to the robot. "How did you...?"

Bird did not even give a fleeting glance to Raul. He simply pointed to Vulres, saying, "Fight."

Health scan in progress...Vulres Hellscream...health levels...61%

Health scan in progress...Raul Sado...health levels...84%

"Er...okay," replied Raul, turning to Vulres, who was now beginning to get to his feet. The boy ran for the orc, a stream of biting flames emitting from his fist.

Bird was not surprised when Ujanmunt's voice suddenly echoed around the arena, calling out, "Bird! Red!"

The robot's vision was restored to catch sight of Kors and Camas in the same circle as him, with Camas's previous attack shooting right at him.

Bird quickly kicked into gear, palm opening the force field in front of him. The blue flames licked the energy shield, and Bird's computer began to decode its inner workings. It was extremely hot, but something about it was...different from most flames, although Bird did not have time to focus on it.

Kors was in this circle.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...72%

Health scan in progress...Camas Rikehart...health levels...88%

Insufficient time to neutralize Camas before Kors...Setting first priority background targeting systems to Kors Wulone...

Bird stood up behind his force field, hand diminishing the shield. His eyes locked with the white-haired boy.

"You don't scare me, robot!" Kors returned, clenching his fist. He turned to his black-clad companion. "What are you waiting for? Kill him!"

Camas rolled his eyes but said nothing, instead dashing straight for Bird, leading the attack with a "Wolf's Flame!" The fires Bird had just encountered soared for him.

Instead of calling out the force field again, Bird decided to change up his tactics again. He crossed his arms in front of him, then threw them to the side. From his chest fired a blue-and-white energy beam that dissipated the flames from Camas's sword, although it failed to hit the opponent himself.

Bird then released a blue plasma sword from his wrist just in time to block Camas's attack. Oddly, Camas's sword did not suffer any significant damage - the weapons actually seemed to be of equal temperament. Nevertheless, the robot was not deterred. His arm crossed in the path of Camas's, matching slash with slash to prevent any attack from getting through.

Time remaining until fighter switch decreasing...

Bird caught sight of Kors a ways back behind Camas, taking a breather and watching the spectacle. The robot returned his attention to the black-haired swordsman in front of him, slashing down only to have his attack blocked.

Switching to burst attack pattern...

The robot felt the thrusters on his feet kick into gear and his sword return to its dormant state in his wrist. Bird opened up smart missile launch pads on his shoulders and began to zoom around the battlefield far too quickly for Kors or Camas to catch him. At the same time, the smart missiles fired from his shoulders, targeting different locations all around the black-and-white opponents.

The first few were just for distraction, and it worked, with Camas slashing at as many as he could. As the preliminary missiles performed their function, the next wave managed to hit the boys in the back and legs. The final wave served as a mix of the previous two, some scoring hits, others destroyed.

Bird shut off his thrusters and closed the missile pads, landing on the ground a ways away from Camas and Kors.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...58%

Health scan in progress...Camas Rikehart...health levels...79%

Just then, Ujanmunt's voice erupted into the air again, and unfortunately for Bird, Kors was spared further torment. "Kors! Vulres!"

[Redhollowlives999]

Red grunted as he got up, Darn it, adrenaline getting the better of me.... Oh well.





Red was knocked back a few more times when Ujanmunt switched Vulres with Kors'. Red rushed to attack regardless, but his attack never hit as Camas blocked Red's attack.

"Sorry Red," Camas said, lifting his blade at Red, "Truce over."

Figures....

Kors fired some strange explosion from his palm past towards Red, who struggled to dodge the blast. "You'll haveto do betterthan that." Red taunted, he finally started to lose speed.

"I think we'll be fine," Camas taunted back. Camas looked at Red's sword and gave off a slight chuckle. "You're starting to slow, that'll level the playing field."

"That's what youthink!" Red shouted as he rushed toward Kors, ignoring Camas altogether.

"He's not who you should be worried about!" Camas rammed into Red, knocking him away from Kors. "I'm your main opponent now, so worry about me." Camas held out his blade and slashed at the air between him and Red. "Wolf's Flame!"

Fire started to come out of Camas' sword, Red wasn't impressed. Kors yelled at Camas from afar, "Wait Camas! Not yet!"

Red stabbed his blade on the ground, he widened the width of the blade with his bending and froze the sword, creating a small barrier.

"BIRD! RED!"

"What?!" Red was in the other arena faster than the blink of an eye. "Oh right..." He unfroze the sword and reshaped it to its original form. He looked to his side to see Raul fighting Vulres.

"Any day Red!" Raul dodged an attack by Vulres, he was slowly growing tired.




"Kors! Vulres!"

Ryuenjin grunted, his face grew more annoyed every passing second. "Ugh," he finally said, causing everybody to look at him, "This battle is going too slow!"

Raiji looked back to the battle, "What do you suggest?"

"I'll do better than that..." Ryuenjin disappeared too fast that the lower ranks barely saw him move until his after image disappeared. He reappeared in the arena; far from the actual action. He broke a bigger hole in the wall, revealing the rest of the moonlight; Red lost his limit.

Ryuenjin clenched his fist and the lava grew hotter; Raul lost his limits. "Huh?" Raul looked towards the source, "Ryue-!" "Hmph." Ryuenjin teleported under Raul's view.

Ryuenjin made his way to the actual lava and grabbed a big ball of it, he then hurled it not to far from where Bird was, saying "Bird Recharged."

He teleported right next to Vulres, and whispered something into his hear, suddenly Vulres gave a powerful scream. Ryuenjin patted him on the back, "Stop holding back already, what the the the the the did you think they put in you?" Vulres' strength increased two-fold.

He then teleported right behind Kors and took one of the skinnier Imps, Kors eyes widen with shock. "Don't even think about it, your muscle will melt if you even think about it. Poor thing," Kors swallowed a lump, he knew he wasn't kidding. Ryuenjin raised the skinny Imp, "You must be starving. What is Ujanmunt feeding you." Ryuenjin reached into his pocket and pulled out a green seed. He fed it to the little animal and set it on the ground. The little Imp then started to shake and jerk. As soon as Ryuenjin turned, the beast gained muscle mass, growing alittle bigger than Kors himself. "Kors' power, increased."

He then set his eyes on Camas. He walked up to him with a menacing smirk. "Who the the the the the are you?" Camas said in confusion and anger.

"Hi, Ryuenjin's the name, but I'm sure Red and Raul have already told you about their favorite Uncle." Red and Raul could be heard in the background, both yelling 'As IF!' Ryuenjin muttered a hmph as he snapped his fingers and Kors' beast got bigger and it attacked Red and Raul."

Camas' eyes twitched in confusion, "What the [Phunk] is going on?" Camas clenched his teeth and gripped his sword tighter; ready to attack this stranger.

Ryuenjin flicked on Camas' head and blocked a slash from essie with his pinky. "Nice swing, straighten out your elbows next time, and quit looking so tense. I'm not killing you- yet."

Camas jumped back and gripped his sword with both hands, it only took seconds to realize that he was higher in the air than he originally intended to be. "What?"

Ryuenjin gave a small chuckle, giving a very smug face as he walked away. "Hmph, Camas' bone's: lightened."

"Light... bones?" Camas experimented by lifting Essie in the air; his movements were quicker and more agile. He didn't require as much muscle to move Essie, and himself, as he previously did. He smiled and raised his blade at Bird, "A guy can get use to this."








Ryuenjin pulled his seat forward. "And thats how you do it."

Nesster's bony fingers followed his jawline to his chin. "Interesting."

Ujanmunt looked at Nesster, "? Didn't really do much, I could have done that."

A laughter echoed in the room; it came from Ryuenjin. "Ha, if I let you do it, then I wouldn't have done it. That's more than enough reason for me to do it."

"So..." Nesster looked up to Ryuenjin. "You gave Red a boost in his water bending so he can start blood bending people, mainly Kors.

"You boost Raul's power so he can use more creativity in his fighting style...

"You told Vulres what they overdosed him with in the hospital; which was Steroids.

"You gave Kors a bigger Imp just because.

"You boosted Bird's battery life because you didn't want him to run so soon (I think we all don't want that)...

"And you made Camas' bone's light because you couldn't think of anything wrong with him during the battle?"

Ryuenjin sneered, "Jeez, because everybody loves a noisy know it all. But yes, that's it."

Raiji growled, "Alright everybody shut the funk up now, I'm finally not bored."

"Great minds think alike." Ryuenjin said with a hint of sarcasm.

Raiji held back a growl, after all, Ryuenjin was one of the only people he didn't hate.

Content with the destructive power he had bestowed unto the rather boring contestants, Ryuenjin looked at all the women on the room. "Now... which one has the biggest breasts..."

[Zup]

"Gogogogogo rawbit!" Yobolo chanted from his seat at the Overlord pantheon. His odd display of pep for Bird drew some raised eyebrows, mostly from Ryuenjin, Woray, and Ujanmunt.

Nesster, on the other hand, simply chuckled and rhythmically tapped his finger against his jaw, digging through the complex tunnels of the eccentric Overlord of Energy's mind. He was always fascinated by the inner workings of Yobolo's brain, constantly finding something new to probe and analyze.

It was something the other Overlords did not provide him. No, the way their minds worked were not astoundingly different from any other thinking being's, though they were certainly more knowledgeable, at least on a grander scale.

"Death..." Zyereon faintly began. His sudden talking drew attention as well, as the Overlord of Death usually kept quiet. "It has no meaning...to the metal one..."

"That's not...quite true," replied Nesster, more to himself than any other. He gazed down to watch the scene below, observing Bird hurling the mighty Vulres with ease. "Those thoughts just do not revolve around himself, is all."

"He's boring to watch," Ryuenjin groaned, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair. He glanced over and briefly made eye contact with Woray, who giggled and batted her eyelashes, biting her lip. He simply winked before scowling at Yobolo, staring at the spinning pizza. "Hardly ever fights with that pike. Just flies around and zaps things. Lame."

Ujanmunt nodded, laying his palms on the table before him. "I certainly do enjoy how destructive he can be."

"Enjy veddy contro'd n powful!" Yobolo chipped in, bouncing in his seat as Bird unleashed energy beams from his body. "Unlie Rooenjin n bed, rye Whoaray?"

Another round of laughs at Ryuenjin's expense. The Overlord of Combat growled, gritting his teeth under his mask. He rapidly kicked his leg out, throwing the chair from underneath Yobolo. At the same time, he hooked his foot around the green Overlord's ankle, yanking him towards himself, where he caught the little green Overlord in a choke.

"I'm sick of your idiotic-"

Ryuenjin suddenly released Yobolo, hands clutching his skull, eyes shut. Woray jumped to her feet, fingers over her open mouth. "Ryu, are you okay?"

The Overlord of Combat released his hands, muttering under his breath. He glared at Nesster, who was feigning ignorance by flapping Yobolo's odd pizza in front of him. For a brief instance, though, he returned the gaze to Ryuenjin, shaking his head as a warning not to harm Yobolo.

"Knock it off you fools," Ujanmunt spat, eyes glued to the tournament action below.

Nesster handed the pizza back to Yobolo, resting his chin on the knuckles of his fingers. He looked back to Ryuenjin, who was trying to control his anger by grinding one of his many swords against the edge of the table, though the blade was easily cutting through it.

He returned his attention to the tournament, already lurking in the minds of the competitors.

[Rammerrush]

Camas began to test out his new weight, he bounced around on each foot getting used to the enhanced speed his bones now brought him. "Odd power, but I can't complain." Camas said, cracking his knuckles.

He turned to his opponents, he had to choose between the enraged monster of a man, Vulres or the cold, calculating death machine Bird.

That's when Vulres charged at Camas, balls of energy forming from his palms. Camas flipped out of the orc's path only to catch sight of more of Bird's missles heading straight for him.

Camas held his hand palm up above his head. "Lightning!" dozens of blue arcs of electricity rushed from his palm and headed straight for the approaching missles like they were tiny flaming lightning rods.

The sky filled with the deadly fireworks, but Camas had no time to enjoy his handiwork. Not to be outdone by Bird's missles, Vulres launched ball after ball of energy straight at both Camas and Bird; clearly he had decided to take his anger out on each of them.

3 charges of energy were headed straight for Camas, one after the other, only a second or two in between. "Wolf's Flame!" Camas slashed forward and let his fire render the first ball to nothing.

As the second blast closed in on Camas, he threw Essie into the air causing her to spin higher and higher into the air. The blast was inches away when Camas threw himself forward, flipping straight over the energy.

Camas landed on his feet, and jumped back an inch or two seeing the third blast rapidly approaching. Without needing to look, Camas grabbed Essie as she feel back down to him and struck down at the destructive ball. "Wolf's Flame!"

Camas heard before he saw Vulres rushing full speed at him. "Blaze!" He punched out toward the charging foe and hot red flames rocketed toward the green man.

The flames struck the orc at the same time that a bright white blast struck him. The combined power of the two blasts sent Vulres rocketing backward.

As the dust settled, Vulres appeared more angry than damaged. He punched his fist into his hand and screamed what could only be described as a terrifying battle cry. However, the cry was cut short when Ujanmunt's voice broke through the fight.

"Vulres! Red!"

[Zup]

As Red popped into the circle, Bird simply took on a passive pose in the back. Kors was no longer in range, and he didn't particularly have any hostilities against Camas; only in retaliation. Besides, Red was an ally for now. No need to wound him.

Instead the robot calmly waited, arms folded across his chest.

Curiously, the fighting in the area completely stopped. Camas stood opposite from Red, eyes narrowed and sword at the ready. Red was a bit more confused. He looked ready to attack, but also like he was forcing himself to stop moving.

"Why aren't you attacking?" he called to his black-clad opponent.

Camas scowled. "Why aren't you?"

Health scan in progress...Camas Rikehart...health levels...74%

Bird eyed the two fighters back and forth, his computer running several different functions at once. He noticed the lighter bone structure and weight of Camas - he was able to move faster and more fluidly than before. Couple that with the physical strength of his sword...it would not be an easy fight.

Health scan in progress...Red Hollow...health levels...76%

He moved his gaze to Red. The energy flow throughout his body was...different somehow. His computer did not understand the key components of its source in the first place, but it appeared to be more violent than before. Bird was not certain what that meant, but it likely would make Red a bigger threat than before.

Ujanmunt's voice broke the silence of the stare down. "An inactive circle? That's no fun..."

Bird's computer tried to track down exactly where the vibrations in the air were coming from, but it was unable to. He even had to shut down the hectic scan before it overheated something. Ujanmunt was not in the same area as they. No...he was watching from afar.

Red tightened the grip on his sword, still staring down Camas. "Y-you heard him."

Nervousness. Increased body temperature.

Camas twirled his sword in his hand, exhaling a deep breath. "F-"

Ujanmunt interrupted the boy with a booming laugh. "Not you two...the robot."

Bird's head cocked at the voice, but it was too late. Ujanmunt had triggered something inside of him...something malfunctioned...something...


* * *

"the the the the'd you do?" Ryuenjin asked, raising an eyebrow at the sight of the robot clutching his skull, twitching left and right. "Guy's freakin' out."

"Tampered with his mind," replied Nesster, crossing his arms over his chest. "Ujanmunt's orders."

Ujanmunt chuckled upon hearing that. His fingers were circling around the image below him, directly over Bird, like a puppet. "Yes, well...This battle was lacking in excitement.

Raiji growled. "What exactly did you do, Nesster?"

The skeletal Overlord started lightly tapping his fingers on the table before him, eyeing Bird the entire time. "I broke him."

* * *

"B-Bird?" Red asked, looking over his shoulder. Even Camas was a bit confused. Bird had suddenly dropped to his knees, clawing at the top of his head. The robot's body was twitching all about, sometimes coupled with a small blue spark.

Health scan...ress...Ca-ca-ca-mas Rike...shutting d-d-down...4...emerg...defensive...bypass...over-override...

From above, Ujanmunt howled in laughter once again. "Let the fun begin once more!"

Red looked all above him, concerned. "What are you-?"

The boy stopped as he felt a blunt impact in his stomach. He fell backward, dazed for an instant before regaining his composure. He looked to where he had been struck down to see Bird with his palm open, having shot him with one of his energy blasts. "Bird what are you doing?!?"

Fails>##0...argetting..|\[...0000..ERROR...dete...

The robot didn't hear a single thing. His knees were bent and his back was arched forward. His left eye had completely shut off and the right was flashing red. His fingers were curled sharply, taking on the appearance of claws. He was still twitching as well, and the blue, electric sparks traveling around his body had increased in frequency.

Camas had seen the attack, and though he was confused, he had enough time to block the incoming missile with his sword, cutting it into pieces in front of him. Unfortunately, in that brief instance the sword blocked Bird from his view, the robot was able to jump in, emitting a blue beam at Camas's chest, scoring a hit.

...ctivat...%**\0443...ERROR...

Because he was lighter, Camas was thrown backwards more than he normally would have. He was, however, also able to get back to his feet quicker as well. Just in time to block Bird's downward-chopping pike.

Red scrambled into a dash at Bird, not sure whether he should attack the crazed robot or sit back and wait for things to work out. He did cringe at one particular twitch that would've broken bones in a human body.

Cooling...#@22\...[~~]...64...arissa...*&...

"You gonna help or what?!?" Camas growled, trying to use his sword to push away the pike it was crossed against. He then released his tension and leaped up and over Bird, causing the robot to dash forward into the barrier, receiving some shock. "Red c'mon!"

"But Bird is-! I mean..." Red tried to answer. He watched as the robot's eye flashed a bright red, shooting a thin laser beam straight for him. He barely had time to roll to the side.

Launch....override...ERROR...946...P[[]3..11...

Bird simply moved his head in Red's direction, pulling the laser with it. He was unable to score an actual hit, though, as the boy was careful with his evasion.

"Wolf's Flame!"

The robot collapsed to his knees, halting his laser eye as the biting flames struck him in the side. He looked over to see Camas charging at him with a downward slash.

..No acc%(#ess...:41...*5``...##enter c-c-c-ode...value...uka...

Instead of pulling out his pike, the robot increased his strength output and slammed his palms together.

He caught Camas's sword in between them.

At Camas's confusion, Bird yanked the blade away, tossing it to the side. He then clutched Camas around the throat, slamming him into the ground. He raised his free hand over his head, and the blue energy sword shot out from his wrist. He stabbed it down, only to see his opponent disappear with Ujanmunt's "Camas! Vulres!"

The blade stabbed into the ground a brief instance before Vulres appeared beside the robot. The powerful kick to his side sent the robot spiraling, almost into the barrier.

...heated...ERROR...ERROR....8(missile)....una##...coordinates...

"Well, bird thing," Vulres growled, fists clenched tightly. "Have you finally decided to actually fight?"

Bird stood back up, back still hunched over. The orc raised an eyebrow. "Bird thing?"

Vulres's eyes rolled backwards and he struggled for breath as Bird held his hand out, slowly tightening it around some invisible object. Red stood in the back, mouth agape. What was he doing? How was he hurting Vulres from that distance?

...minimum...ou*33put...")717...ener...

The robot continued to tighten his hand in front of him, and Vulres began to slowly ascend into the air, trying to rip something from his throat...but it was no use.

Bird's other hand reached out towards his pike, wide open. To Red's surprise, the weapon shot from the ground and landed in Bird's waiting grip. The robot flicked the switch and out came the bright plasma blade.

...force...force...orce...ERROR...magnetic---395.../?#5...9...9...

"Finally," said Ujanmunt to the other overlords. "The first death."

Bird held the pike out to the side, still eyeing Vulres and choking him from afar. He then pulled the weapon back a bit before hurling it forward. The pike straightened at the robot's will, and the plasma blade on the end pierced through the orc's chest, instantly killing him. To end it, Bird lifted Vulres's corpse higher into the air before violently slamming him down, causing even more flesh to break and blood to splatter.

Ujanmunt's laugh was enough to silence and still everything in the arena. "THAT! THAT IS WHAT I HAVE DESIRED! VULRES HAS BEEN SLAIN BY BIRD!"

....janmunt...Clar...*&&^...thony...#@64...Win...Ole...*90|``|...|

Red was still in shock. What possessed Bird to end Vulres so...violently? The boy looked over to the gory mess that used to be a proud orc warrior. He could only manage that glance before turning away disgustedly.

"NOW THEN!" called Ujanmunt. "IT IS TIME TO MERGE THE CIRCLES!"

The spinning rings around the boundaries of the two arena circles straightened until they connected with the other opposite it. The circles had now been expanded into one massive one, and Bird and Red came into contact with Camas, Kors, and Raul once again.

...rogram...rew##*<rite..over...ERROR...!!*...passcode...instaaaaaaaaaa....ERROR

"FIGHT FOR YOUR LIVES!" Ujanmunt roared. "ONE MORE OF YOU WILL BE SLAUGHTERED! WHO SHALL IT BE?"

There was really only one thing Bird's computer managed to salvage and make a priority upon Nesster's interference. It was not known to the robot why it was a priority, but he would - and could - do nothing to stop it.

T-t-targ...etting...Kors...W...one...

[Redhollowlives999]

Red swallowed a lump in his throat, his breathing became loud. He knew if he engaged Bird alone, he' die. He had no reason to engage Camas. Raul was out of the question. Kors remained. "Darn it Ujanmunt! WHAT THE the the the the DID YOU DO TO BIRD?!"

"Heh," The overlord chuckled, "I didn't do anything; you're just seeing the true Bird."

Red clenched his sword in anger. He was suddenly launched to the end of the circle by Raul, who was just launched by Bird. "Darn... it, has Bird's g... gone mad? One second I'm fighting Kors, and the next I get thrown out of the way!"

"He's gone haywire!"


"Wolf's Flame!"

Raul pushed Red out of the way, and retaliated to the attack with fire balls of his own. "Great, looks like its 3 against 2."

Red recovered, it all maddening. He's been in thousands of fights before, but none this personal. Red looked at Bird, who was currently battling Kors and Camas; doing a good job too. He took a deep breath, thinking of several battle plans. "Bird... He needs to calm down or his battery will die."

"What are you suggesting?"


"RED! RAUL!" A voice boomed throughout the arena. Red and Raul automatically turned and fell to they're knees, "Yes Master?!" Red chuckled, it was automatic, he remembered how they were punished for not doing it like so before. "Show no hesitation! No mercy! Red! You're excess emotion is why you are lost! Get over it and move on with the fight!"

Red cracked a small smile, even when its hurtful, he liked hearing his master talk about how to help him improve.

"Rau-"

A new voice interrupted Raiji's voice. "Use some creativity DANG NAB IT! YOU HAVE SO MUCH FREEDOM AND ALL YOU'VE DONE IS SHOOT FIREBALLS!"

Raiji's roar could be heard around the room, "RYUENJIN!"

Raul concentrated on what has happened, he hasn't been using the creativity Red uses in battle. Whether it was from his master or Ryu, Raul was grateful, and seeing how he really hated Ryuenjin, that means alot. "Yes master."

An 'hmph' boomed in the room; Red and Raul knew exactly what it was. Red looked over to Raul, even he knew that was an approval... no.... an ORDER to go all out. Red and Raul stood up and ran back into the fight. Red yelled, "Gamma 12!"

"Hai!" Raul slide to a stop and flipped back until he reached the wall, there we waited. Red ran in between the fighter, he took a deep breath and sensed everything. From the people to the level of water in the vicinity. Raul prepared his fingertips in case he needed to back up Red with a few bolts of lightning. He shot 1 at Bird so his battery would stay charged. "Don't do anything stupid Bird!"



Camas dodged another missile from Bird. Raul was hiding in a corner. Red... was just sitting in the middle... What is that kid doing?

"Camas!"


Camas turned to see Kors, struggling to fend of the angry Bird. He was quick to block a few of Bird's punches. "You okay?"

"Yeah... Not sure what they did to him, but they definitely did something. He's thrown his old consciousness and accuracy to the wind. But if you can get me close, I think I have an idea!"

Camas looked at Bird and back to Kors, "No problem." Camas threw Essie at Bird and quickly grabbed Kors and did the same.

Bird had no problem deflecting Essie. His head twitched as he extended his arm to grab Kors by the neck, which he successfully did. His entire left side started to twitch as he tightened his grip on the boy's neck.

Camas ran to Essie and shouted 'Wolf Flame'. What's Kors thinking?!

"That won't be necessary Camas." The flames that Camas shot stopped and disappeared in mid-air. Camas was shocked that Bird's grip didn't seem to affect his breathing, much less his speech.

"What the the the the the?" Camas looked at Bird, who refused to let go of Kors. He's definitely trying to squeeze the life out of him, so why isn't Kors reac-. Camas' thoughts were interrupted, Bird flew several meters across the arena; of course he stopped mid-air with thrusters and zoomed back. "Wh- How did you do that?!"

Kors chuckled, just as he started to explain the situation, Red's arms shot up. Almost right after, the whole arena started to shake.

"YES!!! THIS IS THE POWER I WANNA SEE!" Yelled Ujanmunt.

"Wh-?!" Camas clenched his teeth.

"That clever bastar-" Before Kors could finish his statement, water broke out from the ground. Within the second, everybody (Except Raul) were caught in a giant pillar of water.

Camas held his throat in the random burst of water. No problem, if that's all this Kid's got, then he's scr-. The water suddenly changed temperature, going from warm to freezing. What's that bastard doing?!

"Excellent Red." Raul muttered. He walked up to the pillar, tapping on the wall. "Yup. Frozen solid. Everybody from Camas to Bird."

Red laid in the ice, at first glance he looked dead.





Nys jumped from his seat, "They dead?!"

Ryuenjin cracked a small smile, "No you idiot, though I have to say, thats funking clever. Though that ice will only last another 15 minutes with all that heat. 5 with fighters like these."

"The point isn't to kill." Raiji said, his hands folded infront of him.

"That's right, its a containment maneuver" Ryuenjin added. "And a freaking clever one at that. As it stands, they can't breathe, and they will stay inanimate until their breathing reflex happens, which will be in another 10 seconds. Then comes the issue of getting out once they wake up, which would take any ordinary loser like 10-15 minutes; nowhere near enough time to get to fresh Air. Though with these people, its a different case. Bird guy doesn't need to breath, so he's actually conscious. Expect him to go berserk again as soon as he figure out what happened..."

"Sooner..." Nesster added, "He's within my control right now."

"Right..." Ryuenjin said with a slight annoyance in his voice, "Anyway, Camas might have to wait for the reflex, but that sword... Essie was it? Is already trying to reach Camas, and burning a way out for him as we speak.

"Then there's the kid... The kid is smart, but too scrawny to actually do something, so I have..." Ryuenjin brought his hand and held up 3 fingers. "3 theories. 1... Camas will save him. 2... Bird will free him in a fit of rage just so he can actually reach him and destroy him. 3... He will figure out that new little power he has there and free himself; though that one will tax him."

"Interesting analysis..." Raiji commented.

"We'll soon find out then." Ujanmunt said with a yawn. "So long as I see some blood thirsty killing. By the way, Raiji, want to tell me what kind of ⌂_⌂ you decided to pull off there?"

"No. As a matter of fact, I don't wa- no, I'm not to telling you 'What kind of ⌂_⌂ I pulled off there'."

Ujanmunt released a slight moan of annoyance. "No matter."

Nesster moaned a simple "Mhmmm..." Every time he found interesting data in Bird's mind. "This robot isn't as boring as I imagined...."

"Okay this got boring again." Ujanmunt groaned.











Red inhaled/exhaled the water with ease, he unfroze the water around him and swam out. He grabbed his blade and let it take in as much water as he thought me might need for healing. He was greeted by a dry Raul. "Whoa, this was bigger than I thought it'd turn out!"

"Lets see what happens."

"You think of anything while you were in there?"

"Well I came up with 4 things.... A Hyperresonance could kill all of them."

"No, I'm not strong enough for that. I've run out of Mp. And I'm not wasting that healing water thing when I still have a good arm."

"Then 2 is an all out assault on somebody..."

"What else?"

"3... No...."

"...."

"Four is to let Bird do his thing, who knows, he might be able to do this himself."

"Not allowing that." Raul prepared himself for battle as the ice prison started to crack. First came out Bird, flying several feet above the ice. Camas started to wiggle free himself. "Bird!"

Bird looked down and greeted Raul.... with a missile.

"Son of a-" Raul moved his arms around and shot a lightning bolt at the missile. It made contact and destroyed the missile in the explosion. "Bird stop! Is this how you want to honor Clarissa's memory?!"

Bird responded with buzzing, but the word 'Clarissa' echoed in his mind. Cl....*Buzz* *Chirp*...Arissa? His second eye came back online for a split second. What's happening? Recording data..... Data complete. ERROR CODE:2435130DF834QYA83 ;DFA93U33]4[2]3\

"!? I think something worked."


A voice boomed across the arena. "NO MORE WATER!" The water containing Kors and Camas evaporated completely; leaving nothing for Red to use.

"Cra-" Red was lifted in the air, clenching his teeth in pain.

"You think you're so clever...." Kors stood up from the ground, his arm extending his arm at Red. "Camas, keep Bird busy."

Raul's jaw dropped, he lifted his sword to attack Kors, but Red stopped him from doing so. "N..o.... Get BIRD! C...A...LM HIM... DOWN!"

"But..."

"Y-You under.....eestimate me."

"Right..." Raul turned to help Camas calm down Bird.

"I think.." Kors said, pushing up his glasses, "You're finally out of ideas."

"Idiot." Red's fingers started to twitch, almost soon after, Kors' neck started to twitch.

"What are... ! Funk!"





"Finally." Ryuenjin got up, "ACTION! HAHA! I LOVE IT! I NEED TO GO DOWN THERE AND SEE THIS FOR MYSELF!" He turned and made his way towards the exit.

"That idiot..." Muttered Ujanmunt.

"Actually, I want to see it too." Raiji said with a chuckle.


"You too?"

"I'm going too."

"NESSTER?! That's a first!" Ujanmunt finally took his eyes off the battle. "Whats with this sudden change?!"

Ryuenjin turned his head, "I'm having fun."

Nesster kept walking. "I want a closer look."

Raiji ignored Ujanmunt all together. Nys slammed his hand on the table. "Why you all leave?!"

"Let them go." muttered Zyereon.

Ujanmunt thought to himself for a few seconds. But then he allowed it. "Whatever."

Raiji, Nesster, and Ryuenjin appeared about 500 meters over the Arena, but they caught every single second of the fight. All there to see what will happen. The mad robotic Bird vs The Fiery Raul and The Quick and Deadly Camas. And then the most interesting one. The Force User Kors vs. The Dark Artist Red. "Ohhh!" Ryuenjin said, "I'm bursting with excitement here! Who will win, Red or Kors?!"

"Calm down." Raiji muttered; though even he was interested.

Nesster remained in Bird's head. He lost some control the first time, but it won't happen again; he's made sure.









Kors started to levitate in the air; his grip on Red still firm. "I-I- see... So I guess its a question of who can hold their breath the longest."

"C-C-hild's play." It hurt both of them to speak, but they pretended like that wasn't the case.










Raul pushed Camas and jumped out of Bird's way. Camas ran after Bird, "I can dodge attacks myself." He said to Raul with a tone of irritation.

"Sorry, Red's given me that habit."

"Whats that kid doing?" Camas looked at Kors and Red, he was alittle surprised, but Kors asked to be left alone. So that's what he'll do.

"Forget them! Its a battle of endurance now, we have Bird to deal with!"

Camas took a step back, "Get ready kid, this is gonna hurt!"

"Wait.. Wuht?!"

Camas clenched his fist and yelled out a "Tornado!" A sudden breeze blew in, it started to spiral. Within the minute, it turned into a full blown tornado.

Bird struggled to maintain control in the gust, using up more power to fly in the opposite direction.

Raul and Camas remained in the middle; back to back. "Bird's gonna waste his battery like this..." Raul muttered.







A voice boomed from above the Arena. "Can't allow that." The tornado disappeared and a giant bolt of lightning struck Bird. "Give him a chance. You guys have him cornered and its not fun."

Raul looked up and growled. "RYUENJIN?!"

"Yyyesss?"

Ujanmunt's voice boomed. "Hmm... Okay I approve. Carry on fighters."


Nesster sighed, okay I'm done, nothing interesting left.


Bird's twitching stopped and his eyes returned to normal. "*Chirp* Activating reboot sequence; Code sequence: Taeyeon&Ailee k!$$ ZuPPe 2 d3@th."

"...." Raul remained confused... He simply assumed Bird was okay and ran to help Red.

Camas ran to help Kors in anyway he could. Kors' face turned blue, and random body parts started to bleed.

"Reboot *chirp* successful. Scanning... Area. 3 major *click* threats located above immediate area; energy levels *click* unreadable. Energy reading *Chirp* over 2670 Hz *click*. Source *click* Red Hollow... Kors--" Bird didn't wait another second to rush to Red and Kors. He noticed he had data from 15 minutes ago, he read every Kb his suit offered; changing into his golden suit as he read.