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

[Zup]

Bird twirled as he rocketed to Red and Kors, his hands opening and closing to his sides. His computer was whirring into action, immediately trying to make up for lost time. For some reason, there was no stored data for the past few minutes. Not to mention, Bird was absolutely confused - as if he had missed something.

Reloading...##94...safety para-a-meters...

The two circles had been joined...and Vulres was nowhere to be seen.

Health sca-a-an in progress...Red...ollow...health levels...54%

Nevertheless, the robot continued on his course, naturally jumping back into the swing of things. His HUD had completed rebooting and he was able to return to adequate functioning. His weapons were online, his battery was charged, and his suit was out and ready for combat.

Health scan in progress...Camas Rikehart...health levels...68%

Health scan in progress...Raul Sado...health levels...75%

But...something was different about him. Something only the observing and ever-knowledgeable Nesster could see.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...39%

* * *

Nesster had returned to the Overlord watch room, chuckling as he strolled in, hands comfortably tucked behind his back. Woray was the first to notice him, and she raised her eyebrow, tapping her bottom lip. "What's so funny, Nessie?"

Yobolo was bouncing in his chair as Nesster took one of the empty seats beside him. "Enjy livils! Rawbit! Rid! Coors! Veddy veddy hai!"

The Overlord of Thought looked back to Woray, who was still eyeing him suspiciously. He straightened his tie as he did so, peering down into the arena below. His eyes instantly locked onto the speeding robot. "He has changed."

"What do you mean?" Zyereon asked, voice monotone and flat. "Because of that...barbaric episode?"

"Of course," replied Nesster, tugging on his collar. "I have...restructured his mind."

"How so?" Ujanmunt questioned, glaring at Nesster. "I do not want any more interference than is necessary, Nesster."

"Oh?" came the response. "I thought you'd enjoy my making him more...violent? More combative? More...destructive."

Ujanmunt growled. "What are you talking about? He's fine, now. Look at him. That lightning bolt fixed him."

"Wrong."

Yobolo nodded energetically, flicking the pizza in front of him. "Rawbit enjy livils at maxmim! No dams!"

Woray sighed, pouting her lips. She leaned back in her chair, throwing her legs onto the table. "What do you mean by "dams?"

Nesster held up a finger to silence Yobolo. "Allow me." The skeletal Overlord stood up from his seat, eyeing the fighting every once in awhile. He walked over to the wall behind him and traced a line across it. As he did so, a glowing green trail appeared. He then flicked downward on the line every few inches, and these were shown through vertical blue lines. There were three in total.

"This line," began Nesster, referring to the green. "Represents Bird's energy output. How he would react to situations. What he is capable of. He is not human...he is not organic at all. This is why his energy is constant - it is something even his...genius creators could not overcome. Now...

"These three blue lines represent different levels of...concealment. Containment. Control. These are the "dams" that Yobolo is referring to," Nesster motioned to the little green Overlord while tapping on the wall. "These lines were installed in him as safety precautions. He is capable of unspeakable destruction...that would not be ideal to his creators. He would destroy them...or try to.

"Will you get on with it?" Ujanmunt growled, slamming his fist on the table. "We have a battle to watch. What did you do?"

Nesster nodded, tapping his chin. "Certainly. Now, these three "dams" have actual, specific functions. This first one keeps him from using more energy than is necessary. This was installed to keep him from burning down the woods when he was required to light a campfire.

"This second keeps his mind and computer in check. It forces his mind to contain its range of thoughts. It is this "dam" that has been keeping him in line during this whole tournament. Whenever he would be pushed to extreme retaliatory thoughts, this "dam" would send him back into this part of the stream." Nesster traced his finger across the green line between the first and second "dams." "Think of it as...a loop of sorts. Perhaps a reflector would be more appropriate."

Zyereon nodded slowly. "And the third?"

Nesster chuckled. "The third is...complicated."

"How so?" Ujanmunt asked.

"It performs several functions at once. The first is an emergency shut down. When that dam is broken without the will of his creators, he will temporarily shut down until they return him to a working state. However, because we are far more powerful than any of his creators, we can glaze over this.

"The second function is to limit his energy output overall. It is to prevent his weapons from...well...destroying mountains and whatnot. He has the capability to override this function in dire situations, but only if the second "dam" is broken."

Ujanmunt broke into a smile, folding his hands together. "And that is what you did."

Nesster nodded, rubbing his chin. "And the final function..."

"What is it?" asked Zyereon.

"...to keep him calm, curious, and childlike. It keeps him emotionless."

"Wait...does that mean you...?"

"Watch and judge for yourself."

* * *

Bird ducked underneath Camas's sword as it sliced the air above him. At the same time, he threw out his leg into a kick on Camas's left side. As his foot struck, he grabbed Camas's free hand and twisted him around, easily hurling him a few yards away.

Kors pushed his palms in front of him as Camas was removed from the encounter. Because he had drawn Bird's ability, he was able to launch Bird backwards with ease. To continue the attack, he threw in a straight punch, emitting a stream of fire at the robot.

Re-calibrating weight distribution...

Bird's computer rewired his system, easily allowing Bird to regain his balance in midair, instantly. As he landed, the robot opened his palms, calling upon the force field that surrounded him in a glowing purple bubble. Kors's flames dissipated against the defense.

Red and Raul stood at the side, still ready to spring into action but not actually doing so. The latter was still rubbing his rear, having received a slight electric shock from Bird when he had tried to help the robot out. Red sighed as Bird leaped high into the air, firing off smart missiles to keep Camas and Kors moving and distracted. "I guess he doesn't need us."

The robot landed right in front of the two boys, his gold-and-maroon suit opening hatches and panels in the back and shoulders, revealing hidden guns inside. "I do...*click*...not require assistance."

Mini-gun targeting system reallocated to...Camas Rikehart...Auto piloted foot thrusters functioning...path traced...

Before they could reply, Bird kicked on his thrusters and zoomed towards Kors, still facing Red and Raul. At the same time, the mini gun on his shoulder made sure to shoot a rapid stream of bullets at Camas, keeping him at a distance. The black-haired boy blocked the bullets with his sword. He didn't have time to try anything else with the constant pressure.

Scanning...Kors Wulone...telekinetic energy output...Force...manipulating at basic levels...Threat level...mild.

Kors grabbed out at Bird, aiming for his throat. It pleased him to see the attack work, but he was still a bit confused that Bird was still attacking. His mini gun still kept Camas at bay, and his hands still straightened, palms open, firing blue energy beams at him.

Kors released his grip on Bird, erecting a stone wall before him as quickly as he could, barely in time to block the beams. Unfortunately for him, the strength behind the blasts were far stronger than before, and they broke the wall with ease.

"Camas!" Kors called.

Red and Raul watched as Camas finally tried to get to the offensive. The black-haired boy scowled and rolled to the side. The mini gun followed him, but he had just enough time to roar "Wolf's Flame!" to destroy some of the streaming bullets as he charged towards Bird.

"Should we get in there and help?" asked Raul. Red simply yawned and fell onto his back.

"Nah. Too lazy."

Raul rolled his eyes, still contemplating on entering the fight. "But what if they overpower-"

Red chuckled. "C'mon. Look at him!"

Raul did, and he was put a bit at ease as Bird leaped into the air, twirling until he was upside down. He fired three beams - two at Camas and one at Kors. He landed on one foot, the other kicking out at Camas with the thruster, simultaneous keeping Camas away and shooting Bird towards Kors.

Scanning...Camas Rikehart...interference levels: high...predicted openings: Insufficient time allotted...booting Hyper-Velocity Impact combat program...20%...30%...40%...

"Camas! Stop him!" Kors roared, shooting more fireballs at the incoming robot, who simply twisted to avoid them, absorbing their heat to keep his battery charged.

* * *

"Huh...that's weird," noted Ryuenjin, still hovering high above the battlefield.

Raiji turned to the Overlord of Combat. "What?"

"Robot's not fightin' like his usual self."

The other Overlord scoffed. "I see him shooting his lasers like he always has. What do-"

"No, no, shut up."

"What did you say-"

Ryuenjin raised a finger, silencing Raiji-Sabumar. He stared down at Bird, narrowing his eyes. "Nesster...Gotta be Nesster..."

* * *

...60%...

Bird had now redirected his attention to Camas; he would have to if his plan was going to work. While Kors was happy with this, Camas couldn't say the same. His high leaps and boosted speed certainly helped him avoid Bird's pike, but the constant attack from the robot was wearing him down; after all, Bird would never tire.

"C'mon! Bird! Stop!" Camas growled as he blocked several strikes. "Kors has a plan! Don't do this!"

"Kors is...*click*...scum!" Bird barked back. Camas was surprised at the sudden outburst, as were the rest of the observers, particularly Red, Raul, and Ryuenjin.

...70%...

Red scratched the back of his head. "Uh...Raul?"

"Y-yeah?"

"Did Bird...just...sound pissed off?'

Raul nodded, swallowing a lump in his throat. "I think so."

"Oh boy."

Camas ducked beneath the swinging pike, throwing out a kick before pulling it back. Kicking Bird's body would not be a good idea...

"No! He has a plan! He can fix everything!" Camas replied, gritting his teeth. He held Essie above his head, struggling back and forth with Bird.

"No he...*click*...cannot!" Bird roared back. Again that odd, sudden outburst.

80%...

"He is deceiving...*click* *click*...you! You are a...*click*...fool for believing him!"

Camas took a few steps back, barely throwing Essie out at the right points to block Bird's ferocious attack. He glanced over at Kors fair behind, who was inching closer, apparently trying to get in an attack on Bird without alerting him of his presence.

...90%...

"No! He can bring everyone back! Including Clarissa!"

"NO!"

10...Hyper-Velocity Impact program booting paused...

The room instantly was enveloped in silence. Not only that, it was inactive as well, for just a brief moment. Bird had stopped his attack, and Camas was free to stand at guard, panting heavily. Even Kors stopped his approach.

The robot suddenly tugged at the air in front of him, effortlessly pulling Camas towards him. Instead of attacking, however, the robot simply stared him in the eye. As he spoke, Camas - and the others - could sense something wrong with his speech. Every few words were...distorted. Chopped and screwed. They came out far deeper than Bird's usual voice. They were low...angry...even...demonic? "Kors...will...die...I do not...*click*...care of your fate, Camas...Stay...out of...my...way..."

* * *

Ryuenjin's interest was instantly piqued. So much so that he and Raiji hastily returned to the Overlord chamber. He walked straight for Nesster, sword drawn and pointing at the Overlord's throat. "What the the the the the did you do to him?"

Nesster simply tapped his finger against the top of the blade, staring Ryuenjin straight in the eye. "I released all restrictions his...pitiful creators put on him."

"the the the the does that mean?"

"They kept him from his potential...I gave it back to him."

Ujanmunt laughed, admiring the scene. "And it has restored my faith in you, Nesster."

Ryuenjin exhaled through his nostrils and returned his sword to its scabbard, dropping into his seat. "What happens now?"

Ujanmunt clapped his hands together, chuckling. "We watch him tear Kors to pieces."

* * *





















...100%...Initiating Hyper-Velocity Impact Program...

As his computer activated the program, Bird's back hunched over once again. His body started to twitch once more, fingers extended into claws, dropping the pike onto the ground. His right eye started to flash red again, and his left shut down.

The program worked flawlessly. As it appeared to Bird, the entire battlefield had slowed down to a snail's pace. Camas was taking steps towards Bird, moving barely a fraction of an inch every second. To any outsider's view, the robot was moving at an unrealistically fast speed.

Kors Wulone...sighted...Initiating fatal combat tactic...

Bird whipped around, catching Kors in his good eye. He could feel...rage boiling within him. He could not truly tell if it was rage; he had never experienced it before. But it was an appropriate descriptor, at least for now. With that rage, he directed all of his attention on Kors, his computer already taking his body along its path towards Kors's destruction.

His thrusters fired him towards the white-haired boy, closing the distance with absolute ease. They shut off as he was in range, allowing him to grab the boy around the throat. He hurled him into the air, watching him somewhat slowly do so. His eye fired off its searing-hot laser, and it sliced upwards, severing Kors's right arm.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...22%

While Kors was still in the air, Bird leaped up, clenching his fists. As he reached the apex of his ascension, he slammed his palm down, throwing Kors onto the floor, cracking bones in his back and splattering some blood on the floor.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...13%

Bird landed a few yards from Kors. He called upon his inner Force abilities, lifting Kors's barely-alive body into the air once more. With everything set up, his computer stopped running the Hyper-Velocity Program, and to Bird, time returned to its usual state.

All spectators were in shock as they saw the mangled body of Kors, who was roaring in pain, screaming curses that echoed throughout the room. Camas took a step forward, but ultimately realized that it was too late. He simply heaved Essie over his shoulder and turned away, not wanting to observe any further.

"Murderer..." Bird's low, terrifying voice called to Kors, who likely barely heard. "You are a...*click*...monster...You..*click*...killed Clarissa...And now..*click*...you try to justify...*click*...yourself. Redeem yourself...*click*...You cannot...*click*...erase what you did."

Bird extended his other hand until it was parallel to his right. With it, he shot out a stream of electricity that tore into Kors's body, further dealing damage to the dying boy. His screams didn't help. Red and Raul turned away, shutting their eyes and wincing.

"Humans...I know...*click*...now that you...*click*...are disgusting, cruel...*click*...animals. You have been...*click*...gifted with...*click*...remarkable intelligence...*click*...yet you waste it...*click*...on slaughtering one...*click* another! On...*click*...wars and...*click*...struggles for power!"

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...6%

* * *

Nesster stroked his chin. "This was...unexpected..."

"Tch," replied Ryuenjin. "Why? Wasn't this your plan? Turnin' him into...some kinda 野菜 monster? Killing machine?"

Ujanmunt laughed. "I agree - very unexpected! But entertaining nonetheless!"

"No, not that," replied Nesster, peering at Bird's berserk handiwork. "What he just said..."

"Meh," Ryuenjin said, leaning back. "Insulting humans. He didn't even lie or anything. What's the big deal?"

Nesster leaned forward, chin resting on the backs of his clenched fists. "His creators..."

"What about 'em?"

"He...seems to have remembered them..."

* * *

Bird finished electrocuting Kors, ready to finish off the fighting. After this long struggle, he was ready to end it. He yanked his right hand inward, pulling Kors onto the ground before him, barely even conscious.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...3%

Bird glared down at Kors, still twitching. His fists were clenched. His computer was whirring at a rapid pace. It was finally done. Finally over. Vengeance.

Vengeance...

"Human...pig," growled the robot as he slammed his foot down on Kors's chest, crushing more bone and calling upon more blood.

Health scan in progress...Kors Wulone...health levels...0%

[Rammerrush]

"I suppose you're all wondering why I asked you to miss the ongoing fight to have this meeting with me." Basreonin sat in his intricate throne and looked down at his three visitors.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do in the world with his current form. He was some kind of cross between an Earthern giraffe and a rhinoceros. Instinctively he knew the name; he was a Cruskilon.

"Yes, I'd like to hurry this up so I can at least get to see the end." Alphen stood in the middle of the three and was clearly the most intrested in watching the fight. "It promises to be the most interesting fight yet. If I'm not there I'm afraid that Ujanmunt will interfere far too much."

Basreonin let out a long animalistic sigh. "I'm sure the fights will go fine and fairly, Judgement." His group of Overlords had been arguing since he started them and he was starting to grow tired of it.

"Equality." The Overlord of Overlords started. "We'll start with you since your likely to get uncomfortable when Beauty shows up."

"Oh yes, your trouble with uneven numbers." Parremus politefully pointed out from Alphen's other side. "Is there any way I could help you with that my dear?"

"Oh please it is fine, I do not need your help." Quirassa replied sharply. Basreonin was always impressed with her ability to resist Parremus's charms. She was one of the few people that could actually not like her.

"Equality, I called you here because I need you and Beauty to prepare an exquisite creation for me." The rhino-giraffe shifted in his seat. "More gorgeous than even this beautiful place you two have made."

"What exactly is it you want made?" The Overlord of Balance and Equality crossed her arms, already deep in thought.

"A champion's arena." He started. "Expect three fighters, and I want it filled with entertainment. That means traps, enhancements, any thing you think would give you guys a good show."

"What is this for?" Alphen asked.

"You'll see, Judgement." Basreonin pointed to the door with his oddly shaped hoof. "Now if you don't have anymore questions, please leave and get Beauty, Equality."

"As you wish." Quirassa left through the door, leaving Parremus and Alphen to get their orders from Basreonin.

"You can leave as well, Judgement."

"What, why?" Alphen asked. He didn't sound angry but not neccessarily happy either. "Didn't you have something for me?"

"Honestly, no." Basreonin started. "I only needed you because without you it would be uneven."

"I suppose I understand."

"Enjoy the show Alphen!" Parremus called as Alphen stomped away. He reached the door as Minera opened it. He slipped past her whispering good luck before closing the door behind him.

"You called for me Basreonin?" Minera walked up to Parremus where the Overlord of Love gave her an assuring pat on the back.

"Yes. Now I assume Equality told you what I asked of you, correct?"

"She said you wanted us to make an arena for you. Something about a tournament area for three people."

"Yes, this relates to that in a way, and I need both of you for what I have in mind." The two Overlords look at each other, not quite sure why he needed both of them.

"Well If there's anything I can do I'd be glad to do it." Parremus said entwinning her arm with Minera's. "I'm sure whatever it is we can handle it together."

Basreonin stood up and, still on two feet, awkwardly made his way down the steps in front of the throne. "As you both know, we have a spot missing in our ranks. Where we usually have 16 members we only have 15. We need to fix that."

"Why are you telling us? How can we do anything about that?" Minera asked confused about this whole situation. Basreonin asking for a beautiful arena wasn't too far fetched, but this was different.

"I intend for the winner of that match to take the place of our late friend and fellow Overlord." The news was welcomed by a few exclaims of surprise, which Basreonin quickly quieted. "That is not the issue I need your help with, I have decided already. The reason I'm telling you is because I want you both to be prepared to lend this new member a helping hand."

"So you want us to babysit the new meat?" Minera asked a little disappointed.

Parremus was the opposite. "I'd love to Basreonin." She cheerily began to jump in place and clap her hands, arm still locked with Minera.

"Now Beauty, I understand you'd much rather tend to your gardens, but you and Feelings seem like the perfect team for this." Their conversation was interrupted with a series of knocks on the door. "Come in!"

The doors opened a crack and Nys popped his head in. "Hey Boss, just wanted to let you know the fights have finally come to an end. Kors and Vulres have been cut!" Without waiting for leave to exit, Nys slipped out.

"Well I suppose I've held you long enough." Basreonin made his way back up the stairs to his throne, but turned as the girls reached the door. "It goes unspoken that neither of you will say a word to anyone."

"Of course sir." Minera said.

"No problem." Said Parremus.

With his visitors gone and Basreonin alone he was free to lean back in his chair and try and get some sleep. Maybe when he woke up he'd be in a form easier to move in. Not that he had any control over that.

====================*+*+*+*+*+*=================

Camas heard Kors' body falling to the ground and Bird delivering the killing blow. He let out a sigh and shook his head. "I couldn't save him."

"Camas it wasn't your fault. It was his; his past caught up with him. He did bad things and a bad thing happened to him nothing more. It's karma." Essie said, trying to make Camas feel better about the situation.

"Thanks Essie, but that doesn't help." suddenly Camas was swept up in a blinding light and for a few seconds he was completely blind and unable to move as the wind carried him away.

A few seconds later, though it felt like forever to Camas, he could finally see again. He was now in a large banquet hall with a gorgeous table with 12 plates set in the middle.

The room felt empty, all those place settings and only Camas, Bird, Red and Raul were there to fill them. Camas moved silently, giving the kids and Bird the cold shoulder, and sat down at the head of the table.

"I don't know about you guys," he said lifting his silverware. "But I'm gonna enjoy the food."

[Redhollowlives999]

Raul slowly bit down into the piece of chicken, he stared at Camas, "Red..."

Red had a mountain of food infront of him, inhaling thousands of pounds of food. "W-wuht."

"He's giving us the cold shoulder. Should we approach him?" Raul's question made Red stop eating for a few seconds.

"Let it go, too late to make nice." Red continued to eat. His eye caught Bird. "What about him?"

Raul sighed, "Forget him, let him... er... Cool down... Before we talk to him again."

"That was still weird, that's the first time I've heard Bird talk like that."

Raul threw his food back to his plate, and grunted in anger. "They must have done something."

Red put down the bone he was gnawing on, "Yeah, when we get out of this, lets kick the crap out of Ujanmunt."

"Ryuenjin too."

"Why, he's not smart enough to mess with Bird like that."

"Heh, I guess you're right."

A mysterious voice echoed right behind the two. "That hurts." Red and Raul jump alittle in their seats. "I could mess with that Bird if I wanted." The voice walked into the light, to reveal Ryuenjin. "I just choose to mess with you." Ryuenjin walked up to the table and snatched Red's mountain of a plate and began to eat his food; much to Red's dismay.

"But," Raul started, "Why? Why us?"

Ryuenjin removed the garments covering his mouth and devoured a turkey leg whole; Sucking on his fingers to savor the flavor. "Because," he burped alittle, "Whoa. Because, and its rather simple..."

Red reached for another turkey leg, which Ryuenjin took from his hands as soon as he grasped it. "Ugh, What do you mean simple?"

"What I mean is this: Bird showed no emotions until now, so it would have been no fun messing with him. Now he's all serious, so it probably won't be fun either.... I don't know.... I'll have to test him maybe..."

"What happened to Bird?!" Raul barked, being careful not to alert Camas, and if he still hasn't heard, Bird.

"Oh, I don't know myself, Nesster tried to explain it, "but all I really got was something about him remembering his past or whatever. Looks like his hatred is directed towards Humans, so that'll be fun I guess." Ryuenjin devoured the rest of the food on the plate, then handed it back to Red, "Be sure to refill that."

Red grunted in anger, but something made him do as he was told. Raul simply responded to everything with a 'mhmmm... I see.' He turned back to the table, Camas caught his attention again. "What about him?"

"I don't know, he's done nothing interesting."

"You're just full of 'I don't know's today aren't you?"

"I'm just here for the free food kid, by the way, you have not been following my advice. CREATIVITY!"

"Shut up, they'll hear."

"I don't care!"

"Why do you always- ugh, both us?!"

"You make it too easy!"

Red punched Raul before he responded, "Here, enjoy."

A loud stop could be heard echoing through the room. A weird energy entered the room, an energy that sent Red and Raul into a bowing position. Red and Raul both yelled a "Master!" when their head ended its trail to between their legs.

"At ease." Raiji appeared from the shadows. "Get back up already."

Red and Raul did as they were told, despite Raiji's appearance, Red and Raul were powerless to fight the urge to hug him. "Master!"

"Didn't I say at ease?" Raiji spat.

"Why haven't you pulled them away if it bothers you?" Ryuenjin said, as he finished off a third of the table's food.

"Mhmmmmm." Raiji left Red and Raul their for a few more seconds before he ordered them to end their embrace. "How have you two been fairing?"

"Eh," Red started, "No fun, most of his has been an emotional fight, not really physical. Been using new strengths."

"I see. Just remember all powers are linked, one powers the other. If one is weak, use the other one on-top, and you'll be fine."

Raul continued, "Ugh, this battle is annoying. Ever since I've seen what we're up against, I've been constantly changing strategies."

"Change all you want," Ryuenjin said, "Just never forget..."

Raiji interrupted, "The basics." He glared at Ryuenjin, "Why are you here again?"

"Just here for the food..." Ryuenjin continued to eat everything, even the actual table.

"Anyway, you'll be here for about a good 36 hours. Ujanmunt, Nesster, Aphen, and Minerna are working hard to make this next world big, dangerous, tricky, fair, and most importantly, different."

"I see." Red whispered.

"This room is just a small part of a bigger building. There are bedrooms, running bathrooms, and 3 big gyms for you all to train in."

"Do we all get our own then?" Raul asked.

"Correct. Bird gets his own, Camas gets his own, and you two will share one."

"And guess who's coaching you all!" Ryuenjin said, who just finished off half of the table. His yell caught everyones attention. "You hear that Bird? Camas?"

Camas pretended that he didn't hear and continued eating a soup he had infront of him. Bird leaned against the wall, reviewing every single piece of new data that he found inside his system. It interested him too much, he instead got up and scanned the building. "Found it." Bird said, chirpless, shocking alot of them.

"That guy gives me the creeps now," Ryuenjin said, "Thats why I really like him now. Better than that fake childish machine from before. Still, not sure I like what Nesster did to the poor thing."

"Its none of our business." Raiji spat.

"Whatever. Since he's going out to his training early, I guess I'll help him first. Red. Raul. Raiji." Ryuenjin looked at Camas, laughing, "Camas, and I'll be seeing you very soon Essie."

"Essie?" Raul pondered aloud.

"Bastard..." Camas muttered.

"Forget what he said." Raiji said as he turned Red and Raul's head back towards him. "Camas." Roared Raiji. "You should go to your training hall as well."

Camas pondered it. He got up and left after making up his mind. He looked back and muttered, "I'm tired. I'll be heading to bed." He exited the room quietly.

"He's lying," Red chuckled.

"Of course," Raul also chuckled.

"Enough." Raiji said, he crossed his arms. "Get your rest, you will be training in 2 hours." Before Red and Raul could argue, he disappeared.

"Not like we ever got a say." Red said with a grin.

"This training is gonna be brutal," Raul sighed, but he his sigh into a big grin, "But, I can't help but feel excited!"

"Lets finish eating."

"But..." Red ran to finish the rest of the food, "I'm done... Whatever, I'm gonna go to the my bedroom to lay down. Assuming I have a room, otherwise, just head straight to the hall."

"Right." Red stuffed his face with the nearest thing. He looked for the second nearest food; a bowl nearby. "Ugh, Pork."

[Zup]

"You're not very friendly, are ya?"

Bird continued his march through the hallways of the facility, picking up and storing information along every step of the way. He wasn't exactly sure why or how, but his computer was running faster than ever before. The robot did not even award Ryuenjin a glance in his direction, instead continuing his scoping of the area. "No."

"Tch," scoffed the Overlord of Combat, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He kept his eyes glued to the robot in front of him, sizing him up. "Saw that little...'episode' of yours. Back at the arena. Pretty 野菜 brutal."

Health scan in progress...Ryuenjin...health levels...ERROR

"I do not know...*click*...what you are talking about."

Ryuenjin started to whistle as he strolled, not even the slightest bit intimidated at Bird's cold demeanor. "Don't remember, huh? Well the rest of us sure do. Tore those suckers to shreds. Specially that last kid."

Oddly, Bird's right fist clenched, though he showed no other outward signs of...irritation, was it? Perhaps so. Was it justified?

Perhaps so.

The rest of the walk was silent, with Bird following his computer's route to the training gymnasium and Ryuenjin following him, trying to piece together as much as he could about the inorganic fighter. When the two finally arrived, Ryuenjin teleported to the center of the gym, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Bird scanned the room, but detected almost nothing. It was simply a large gym with a hard floor, no windows, and a high roof. Nothing else was in the place. He turned to the Overlord.

"Welcome to the training room," Ryuenjin introduced, drawing one of his swords and impaling it in the ground, leaning on it. "Here you'll be put to the test to fully develop your combat skills for when things get serious. There are three steps to your training, and they are-"

"My weapon. My suit. My...*click*...force."

Ryuenjin nodded. He held up his left hand and snapped his fingers. In an instant, Bird's computer picked up on portals opening to either side of him. Out stepped several human-sized warriors wielding different weapons - swords, staffs, axes, spears...

Scanning...twelve unknown hostiles detected...Threat level: medium to high...

Bird quickly reached for his pike, eyes darting back and forth between the two incoming waves of foes.

Suit functions...now shutting down...

Bird could see the different functions on his HUD disappearing in a flash as the first two opponents charged at him. The plasma blade was awakened in the midst of Bird's downward slash, easily cutting the first target in half. The second was able to avoid Bird's follow-up, even turning the offensive-defensive situation around.

The robot ducked beneath the horizontal sword slash, impaling the mysterious fighter with his pike before kicking the corpse away. He whipped around and blocked the chopping axe, pushing the weapon away.

From the center of the room, Ryuenjin furrowed his eyebrows. There was definitely a noticeable difference between Bird's fighting now than it was earlier. Before, the robot chose to rely on the suit, using the pike only as a defense in order to make time and room for the missiles and lasers.

But now...the fighting skill was escalated. It was not just that Bird's suit was taken away - no, it completely altered his fighting style in general. He was no longer on the defensive. He was no longer shoving enemies aside.

He was using the deadly plasma blade on the end...and going for the killing blow with each strike.

Ryuenjin chuckled, observing as Bird side-stepped before thrusting his weapon through the body of the newest victim. He was still quite slow on his feet.

Within a minute later, Bird had come out on top, with all twelve of the opponents easily defeated. The robot had suffered no damage, even though he was clearly outnumbered and slower than his foes. Nevertheless, he stood before Ryuenjin now, eyes locked on the Overlord.

"Not bad," Ryuenjin commented, removing his sword from the ground. "My turn."

Bird readied his pike to block the incoming attack, but Ryuenjin's speed was far too much. Instead, the robot felt a slash against his back, even buckling forward, ready to fall. He rolled instead, dodging three stabs that were too fast for him to really even see.

"Aw," said Ryuenjin, holding a sword over his shoulder. "What happened to the ferocious killer that slaughtered these guys? And the orc? And that Kors guy?"

Bird leaped forward, pike swishing through the air several times, but Ryuenjin simply folded his arms across his chest and dodged them, even yawning at how easy it was for him. The Overlord of Combat kicked his foot up behind him, and out popped one of his many swords from its scabbard. He caught the weapon between his index and middle fingers, on the blade, then jabbed the handle at Bird, shoving it into the robot's chest and throwing him to the ground.

"You're ever gonna win like that," Ryuenjin commented, pulling his mask down to spit on the floor. "You're too 野菜 slow."

Bird jumped back to his feet, picking up his pike again. It really did seem pointless, however. He knew Ryuenjin was far too powerful for him. There was absolutely no way he could win against an Overlord. Why, then, was he fighting him in the first place?

"Why...*click*...are we fighting?"

The Overlord of Combat twisted his sword until the point was balancing on his finger. "What do ya think? To make you capable of taking on those other guys."

"I am already capable of-"

"Not in a close-quarters fight. You may be able to cut through useless fodder, but when it comes to a skilled swordsman, you're pretty much nothing."

"Do not speak to me in that-"

Ryuenjin suddenly dashed forward, right in front of Bird. The robot reacted automatically to protect himself, but the Overlord easily kicked the robot back down. To keep him from getting back up, Ryuenjin stomped his foot on Bird's chest, keeping it there. "No. You don't speak to me like that. I'm the almighty, all-powerful deity here. Not you, rust bucket."

"Get off of...*click*...me."

"Oh I will," replied Ryuenjin, staring down at the robot. "After you learn to fight better."

"How?"

The Overlord of Combat chuckled, snapping his hand again. "I think this gentleman can help."

The robot detected another life force entering the room via another portal. He turned his head in the direction, trying to understand what exactly it was that Ryuenjin wanted from him.

"Bird? Bird is that you?"

"Hey, Bird," said Ryuenjin, slowly removing his foot from the robot's chest. "Say hello to your creator."

[Rammerrush]

Camas walked through the door, into the large empty room. A bare shelfs on either side of the room, but besides that nothing. "What do you think; training, or sleeping?"

"If we want to have a chance against Bird we should definitely train." Essie said, a hint of worry in her voice. "You weren't watching what he did to Kors but I saw it all, he's lost any shred of patience and humanity he might've had. It's like a wall has come crashing down, letting his destructive nature wreck havoc."

"Sounds interesting," Camas said sarcasticly while looking for a door that might lead to a bed.

"Are you even listening Camas?!" Essie said, the stern face she would be making evident in her voice. If she could she'd be hitting him to get his attention right now.

"Of course I'm listening," he replied, trying in vain to get back on her good graces. "But you know that technical talk never interests me too much. I know I can take him if it came right down to it. We both know that we still have that ace in our sleeve when worse comes to worst."

"I thought we agreed never to use that power, we don't know what it could do to you in the long run..." The anger in Essie's voice now turned to worry at the mention of using Camas's "Ace". They hadn't used it since they escaped as children, mainly because afterward Camas slept for three days straight. Essie couldn't help but worry that the next time he used it he wouldn't wake up afterward.

"Essie I-"

"Sorry to interrupt you two love birds!" The voice echoed through the room, familiar yet alien to Camas's ears, but he didn't have to wonder who it was for long. With a flash of light and a bang the familiar form of the man that saved him appeared. Nys.

"It's not like that!" Camas shouted unsheathing Essie and slashing out at the wolfish man. But the blade met with nothing but empty space, as Nys repositioned himself onto the ceiling.

"Really, I thought I told you to work on controlling that anger Cammy." He shook his head as if he was disapointed in the swordsman.

Camas pointed Essie straight up toward Nys. "Maybe I just don't like you. BOLT!" An arc of lighting shot out of Essie and straight at the trickster. He was easily able to sidestep that attack as well and jump back to the floor, behind Camas.

"You know I'm playing with you, right?" He chuckled behind flicking Camas between the shoulder blades, sending him rocketing toward the door he'd come through. His face made contact with the stone door with an impact that should've shattered his skull, but he barely felt it. "Evident by the fact that you didn't just die."

"Camas, he's right. Even I felt that. Just calm down." Camas nodded his head and turned himself around so he was sitting against the door. "So what do you want, Nys was it?"

"Yes, Nys is the name, Mischief is the game." He bowed, and when he raised his head he was in a completely different form. He was wearing the same clothes, a red cloak and some intricate white clothing, with noticably puffy pants. But instead of the once odd human features that adorned his face, he now wore a white mask over a beastly head. Much like a wolf at a costume party. Looking down, Camas noticed that his legs and arms had changed as well to those of some kind of animal. At first Camas was surprised, but with this tournament, and all the weird things he's already seen, that didn't last long.

Nys offered Camas a clawed hand to help him up. Camas took it, not as worried as he would've been at the start of this contest. As he got to his feet Nys said, "I'm here to train you."

"You're here to train me?" Camas asked. "What about that other, hungry guy with the mask?"

Nys looked down at Camas and for the first time he noticed how much taller this new form was than himself. "No." The masked beast said with utter finality.

"No what?" Camas asked, confused.

"I'm not here to train you Camas Rikehart." Then faster than Camas could move to stop him, Nys reached out and swiped Essie out of Camas's hand.

"Hey what are you doing!" Camas reached for the monster, but he swiftly moved out of his way and with a jump he was back on the ceiling. "Give her back!"

Camas fired off a couple spells, but they succeeded only in singing the ceiling. "Hey, don't give up, maybe you'll hit me with the next one." He shot a few spells at him, but Nys easily danced around them, not a care in the world. "Oh too bad, I guess ot. Hey do you know what the definition of insanity is, cuz I don't. Come to think of it I should look it up, people keep calling me that." Despite the constant spells being thrown at him Nys avoided each and everyone while pulling out a large book. "Oh here it is! Insanity; a deranged state of the mind usually occurring as a specific disorder. Hmmm.... I wonder what deranged means. Let's look it up!"

The strain of casting so many spell insuch a short amount of time was starting to affect Camas. If he'd been using more advanced spells he probably would've passed out a long time ago. He slumped his shoulders and collapsed to his hands knees trying to catch his breath.

"Ah here it is, Derange; to disturb the operation or functions of. Well that just makes no sense, everything goes so smoothly with me." Nys, noticing that Camas's assault had stopped looked down to see him all puckered out. "Oh come on I'm sure you would've gotten me with another... few... hundred spells." Nys slowly floated back down to Camas with a wide, wolfish smile.

"Just... Give... Her back." Camas managed to say between breaths.

"Oh Camas, you must learn to trust me." Nys kneeled next to the breathless man and put a clawed hand on his shoulder. "Now, this will only hurt a bit."

"What?!" Camas asked the second before Nys raised Essie and plunged her deep into his back. The last thing Camas heard before he blacked out was Essie as she screamed "No".

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Noooooo!" Essie could only watch in horror as her blade stabbed through her friend like a hot knife through butter. "You bastard, I'll kill you!"

Nys chuckled. "That sounds so funny coming from a sword. What are you going to do, speak me to death?"

Essie's vision began to blur, she felt shaky, she felt like she was dying. She might as well, could she really live without Camas, worse even knowing that she was the one to cause his death? "Camas... I'm so sorry..."

"Wow this got a lot sadder than I meant it to be," Nys said, scratching his head. "I thought you two would be out simultaneously. Oh well, It'll get all cheery later."

Essie could just barely understand the words coming out of the bastards mouth, but she didn't care, she hoped she would die too, she didn't want to live with her best friend's blood on her hands. Even as her vision blacked out, Nys's cruel smiling face was burned into her mind. That is until she passed out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Essie's vision returned, and she was astounded, she really thought she was dying, and part of her was disapointed when she remembered what she did to Camas. If she could've cried she might've dwelled on the pain, but instead she focused on the hate, on the anger. She had to kill Nys one way or another.

"Welcome back Essie." Nys's voice sounded loudly throughout the room making her cringe. Wait what was that? There had to be something still wrong with her sight because it had gone dark for a split second... There! It happened again, what was going on, was it Nys?

As if on que, Nys poked his head infront of Essie's vision. "You son of a-" Wait that felt weird. What was going on, it seemed almost harder or something to speak. And theres that 野菜 blackness again! "What's going on? Wait is that my voice?" Her voice sounded so foreign to her own ears. "What did you do to me?"

"Why not ask, "yourself"." Nys came out of view, and Essie tried to follow him but it didn't work. So instead she was forced to wait until he returned holding a frame with an image of herself in it.

She hated seeing her form, it just reminded her of what she'd lost. "Oh impressive, you can produce mirrors." She managed to say with her affected voice.

"Not a mirror." Nys said, the smile clear in his voice. With a snap the frame disappeared, leaving the image of the blade stabbed into the floor.

"So you can make frames disapear as well?" Essie was tired of this bastards games, she wished he'd just stop playing with her already. Couldn't he just go and get his kicks elsewhere.

"It's not a mirror Essie." Wait that wasn't Nys, could that have been Camas?!

"Camas?! Where are you!?" She tried to move her vision around but couldn't no matter how hard she tried, whatever Nys had done to her had affected her vision in more ways than one. And theres that 野菜 inconsistent darkness again!

"He's right it's not a mirror. This is a mirror." Nys appeared before Essie, in the space her mirror image once occupied. He slowly began to lower the reflective surface of the mirror in front of her. Somewhere deep inside herself she was begining to wish for one of those moments of random blackness so she wouldn't have to see herself again. But none came and she had to watch as the mirror lowered more and more revealing the image of... Camas?

[Redhollowlives999]

"Ah! I'm stuffed." Red said with a satisfied yawn. Raul chuckled as Red patted his stomach.

"You really gonna train with a full stomach?"

"Heheh," said a voice behind the two. "You don't need to worry about food where you're going." Raiji's voice was like a demonic giant behind Red and Raul, but they seemed unfazed.

"A world were we are useless. Is that all you have for us?" Raul asked, pondering what on Auldrant he could have meant. "That's very vague." Raul opened the door the training hall in front of them. "Huh? W-?!"

"Thats the point bro- ?!" Red was interrupted by a powerful force that sent Red and Raul flying straight into a dark abyss like portal.

"What? No screams of terror? I raised these boys too right... Whatever." Raiji jumped into the portal. "Lets get this crap over with."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"Wh- where am I?" Red said as he sat up, scratching his head. He clenched his teeth to endure what he thought would have been pain, but he didn't feel any pain at all; not a scratch on him. "What?" Red looked at his hand... No... Red was looking right through his hands. "What the the the the the?!"



*************************************

Raul looked around. His blade was nowhere near him, and his surroundings was merely swamp. "Tch, great." Raul started to crack rusty joints in his back, knuckles, and etc as he thought of what to do. "Oh crap." Raul thought for a few seconds, remembering his master's words...


"So..." Red said as he gnawed on a bone. "What type of training are we doing?"

"You're an animal when it comes to food man." Raul said, who was just finishing his first plate. "You're on your 5th plate."

"I will say this," Raiji muttered, "You'll be put in a world where you are useless."


Raul let the heat build in his palm and punched the space infront of him; nothing, no fire. "Hmph, Figures. Guess I walk around."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"NO! THOSE FIENDS!" Red ran around frantically, "They put me in a place WHERE THERE AREN'T ANY BATHROOMS!" He was in a river, on what appeared to be an island. "Oh, and I can't bend... Darn it... Maybe..." Red ran behind a dying tree.



"Thats better." Red washed his hands in the weirdly colored water. It smelled/looked fine. He couldn't bend it so he wasn't stupid enough to drink it. "All I could find is my dagger, ugh hate this." A loud roar filled the air the island, causing lots weird animals to run the opposite way. "What the...?" Red walked towards the sound.

He took caution with every step, not sure what to expect, until he saw something moving behind the trees. Something big. Red walked closer to have a closer look, What is that thing? Is it hostile? Why hasn't it seen or attacked me yet? W- Red's thoughts were silenced by a cracking sound; he stepped on a twig. "Oh, for a second I thou-" A sudden blast of blue energy came at him in the shape of an 'O' and blasted Red all the way to the coast line, and a little further than that..

"What the..." Red muttered as he tried to float on the water; it wasn't until a few seconds later that he realized he wasn't in water. It looked like water, but it might as well have been air.

"I walk not to far from it and it doesn't notice me until I step on a twig and say something? Of all the ⌂_⌂..." Red tried to maintain some sort of control by kicking his legs. He some how managed to kick himself back up after a few attempts. After awhile he just started to walk on it as soon as he got out. "I guess I'm some type of soul sinc-" Red was interrupted by another blue blast coming from the island, but Red was abit more prepared this time. He planted himself to the weird surface and got ready for impact.


***********************************

"Hey excuse me!" Raul waved to a nearby figure, "Can you help me?"

The figure was sitting on a platform up in the trees. Raul quickly caught its shadow. "No."

Raul's left eye twitched, "No?"

"Yes."

"Errm... Is that a yes?"

"NO!"

"..." Raul made his way up the tree.

"Don't come up here!"

Raul ignored the figure's screams and continued to climb up the tree. Raul was shocked to find out that the figure was a monkey, meditating in lotus position. "Uh... Can you help-"

"No." Said the monkey, "Go away!"

"I need help, do you know where I am?"

The monkey opened an eye and pointed to a glowing orb flying away, leaving a trail of glowing dust behind it. "That can answer your questions, now follow it and leave me alon-"

Raul grabbed the monkey by the neck in a headlock, a vein was visibly throbbing on his forehead. He was prepared to snap the neck. "You think I'm stupid enough to follow a bug?"

"Uhhh uhh okay okay I'll help!"

"That's what I thought." Raul released his grip.

The monkey took a bottle and opened it, he pulled out a scroll and threw it. "That scroll will help you, go get it and leave me alone."

Raul knew he wasn't gonna get any good answers outta this old baboon, so he thought What would Red do? He showed a small smirk and clenched his fist, he picked up the animal and threw him of the tree. "Thats incase you're lying." Raul jumped down behind the monkey, landing gracefully as the monkey fell down hard.

"What have you done?!"

"What? You were being a BWWWAAAAKK!!!, so introduced something called Karma."

"NO! YOU IDIOT!"

Raul raised an eyebrow in confusion. A load roar shock the surface beneath him. "Whats going on?!"

"I've been meditating for 1200 years to keep this beast in check. Now that you've ruined the focus I've had-" Raul grabbed the monkey and barely dodged a falling tree.

"Its loose... That's what I get for acting like Red..."

[Zup]

Bird rocketed straight for the armored man standing on the other side of the room, confused. Though the man had more than enough ways to defend himself, he chose not to. Was it through fear? Confusion? Did he understand Bird's rage?

It was truly a combination of all three and many more factors. Victor "Winner" Cole was no slouch in the brains department.

Bird's vice-like iron grip clutched onto the opposite wrist as his arms ensnared Winner. His thrusters continued to push on, allowing the manic robot to lift the armored inventor upward, crashing through the roof. They rocketed upward even more, tearing through floors and ceilings alike, carving a way towards the top of the building.

Due to the Overlords, however, it had none.

Upon realizing this and through the addition of his growing irritation, Winner ended the ascent by activating a bubble shield around his suit. The sudden burst of energy tore apart Bird's grasp, simultaneous forcing the bird-like robot to turn off his thrusters to make a safe landing.

Winner slowly descended downward, rolling his head and arms to warm up his joints. He stared straight at Bird, his silver-and-white armor shining in their current room's light. "What the the the the the happened to you?"

Bird clenched his fists, returning the stare at his creator. Without warning, his hand shot out, and Winner was thrown backward, although he did recover quickly enough. "I am...stronger!"

Bird's second blast was easily dissipated when Winner activated a function in his suit to increase his weight, thus dropping him through the floor and into the room below. As he landed, a flamethrower extended from his shoulder and released a stream of fire, burning through the ceiling at Bird. "You're also stupider. Who shut down your-?"

His question was interrupted as Bird launched a punch to the chest. To add to the attack, the robot had allowed the flamethrower's fire to light his fist, thus breaking through Winner's barrier. The surprised inventor grunted as his back hit the floor and three more punches struck his upper armor.

Winner managed to get his foot underneath Bird's chest, quickly throwing on the thruster to blast the angry robot from him. He jumped to his feet as soon as possible, emitting a few beams of energy.

Bird whipped out his saber pike in the nick of time and sliced through each blast, utilizing the plasma blade to deflect the shots.

As the intensity of the shots and deflections increased, both fighters had to quickly activate their energy shields, which killed every single blast that touched it. When the room was clear, Winner let his hands hang at his side, showing no hostility towards his greatest creation.

"Put the pike down, Bird."

"No."

"Put it down."

"No."

"I'm gonna count to three."

"No."

"What?"

"No."

"...You can't stop me from counting to-"

"Try me."

Winner shrugged, slightly shaking his head. His computers detected no signs of Bird ready to spring into action, but he could never be too sure. He almost chuckled, but he did not want to break his serious composure to Bird.

He really felt like a father at that point.

"One..."

Bird still did not move.

"Two..."

Still nothing.

"Thr-"

Winner was caught completely off guard as Bird's hand shot up and clenched around the air in front of him. He felt himself rise from the ground, and he could say nothing. His computer detected that he was being choked - and rapidly at that. Bird somehow had the ability to choke him from a distance...somehow. It wasn't taking up his battery in any way. It wasn't putting a real strain on his systems at all.

How the the the the the did he learn to do that?

Bird continued to hold his grip, and Winner continued to choke, feeling the effects much faster than was usual. He still had control of his body and thus, his suit, but something told him to just allow Bird to continue. To allow him to release his rage.

After all...he did deserve it.

[Rammerrush]

"What's going on?" Essie shouted at Nys. "What happened!?"

The masked wolf shook his head and sighed. "Do you really not understand? Wow, I expected you to be a little brighter than your friend over here." Nys motied to the sword stabbed into the floor.

"Shut the 猿が大好きだよ up you bastard!" That was definitely Camas, Essie would know that voice anywhere. "I swear I'm going to kill you!" The sword started shaking and Essie could see a faint reddish aura begin seeping out of the sharp edge.

"Oh this is so much fun," Nys said with a sort of girlish squeal, an odd sound from a creature like him. He turned to Essie and snickered. "Still don't get it?"

"You switched our bodies?" Essie asked, the situation starting to make sense to her. She was in Camas's body and Camas was in her's. "You sick son of a Miley Cyrus."

"Call me what you will, it doesn't change the situation you two are now in." Nys pulled the blade out of the ground and began to play with it; slashing the air between him and her, thrusting in every direction, even tossing it, spinning into the air and catching it perfectly by the handle. "Now, I'll leave the two love birds alone to get... reaquinted." A sound like thunder rolled through the room followed by a bright flash of light, and when the light disappeared Nys was gone and Essie could see her own body stabbed at Camas's feet.

"Camas," she said, fear clear in her voice. "I'm scared."

"Don't be Essie, just move your arm and pick me up." Camas said, surprisingly calm about their predicament.

"I... I don't think I can." Essie said, her... face... starting to get wet. Was she crying? The feeling was so foreign to her she couldn't tell. "I don't remember how." Involuntary sobs began to escape her lips.

"Yes you do, It's there in your soul. You'll never forget how it is to be human, it's all instinct Essie. Just try not to think about it!"

Essie closed her eyes, realising now that those sudden flashes of blackness were blinks. "I can't!" She cried out.

"Don't be such a baby!"

Why was Camas treating her like this? Sometimes she just wanted to wring his neck. "You're so mean sometimes Camas!"

"There see, just like that!" Camas said, his voice suddenly less hurtful. Essie opened her eyes and saw his hand gripping the hilt of the blade stabbed into the ground. Somehow she had moved it. "Just let your natural instincts take over."

"Camas you idiot." Essie muttered. He was just annoying her, his advice wasn't helping her at all. But something was pushing her on. Something inside her wanted to stand up and retrieve her pride. She was just a crying sack of uselessness in her present state, she needed to show Camas that she could handle herself! She needed to show everyone.

Before her very eyes she started to move. Her legs and left arm picked herself up off the floor as her right arm began to pull the blade out of the ground. She sheathed the blade and started walking towards the door; every step brought memories of her old body back, how to move, how to act, how to live with a human body. She reached the door and waited for her arm to reach up and push it open on its own. But it never did.

"You can do it Essie." Camas said from her old sheath. And with that final push she knew that she could. She tried to lift her right arm, and it naturally followed her commands like it was the simplest thing in the world. And to anyone else it might've been, but to her it was the biggest achievement she'd made in years. The door opened up infront of her and Essie stepped through it.

As the door slammed closed behind her Camas spoke up again form the sheath. "I know it might seem weird to be in my body, but we're still in a tournament. That means you can't let the other contestants know, they'll take advantage of our weakness."

"What do you mean weakness?" Essie asked, placing her hands on her hips. She was moving in Camas's body as if she'd been born in it. "If you say I'm weak because I'm a girl I'll leave you here and win this tournament on my own."

"You know that's not what I meant." Camas sighed. "I just mean we're not exactly acustom to using these bodies."

Essie headed down the hall, back to where the glorious banquet had been. "Pish posh, I feel like doing somersaults!" And that's exactly what she did, all the way to the banquet, despite Camas's numerous objections.

[Redhollowlives999]

Raul grabbed the nearby monkey and dodged a powerful, huge fist that came at him and the monkey. The fist was nearly twice or even three times his size, "HOLY SH*T!"

"Charming..." The Monkey wiggled himself out of Raul's arm and dusted himself off. "Well I'll leave you to it..."

"What the the the the the do you mean you'll leave me 'to it'?!"

The monkey laughed before responding to Raul's question, "You started it; now end it."

"You're not gonna help me in ANY WAY?!" Raul yelled, he swore a stone formed in his throat, he couldn't swallow at all, and he stopped blinking all together. He readied himself for another attack.

"No." The monkey jumped back into the tree tops. "I'd get in the way anyway. Just keep him busy and I'll seal him again."

"Leaves me with the dirty work... Bastard..." Raul looked for the nearest thing he could use as a weapon; a stick. "Perfect..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Red struggled to stand back up, he was coughing up blood but nothing was hurting... He couldn't explain it. "Whats going on?! Why does my stomach hurt?!" Red ran to his left, avoiding the following blast. "I'll never land a hit this way..."

Red reached for his dagger, which was not where it should be. "What the- WHERE IS IT?!" Red looked down, the light gleaming from the dagger caught his eye. His ear twitched as he heard the beast loudly charge another blast. Crap, I have a good 3 seconds from what I've seen.

Red took a deep breath and dove, kicking and doing whatever is necessary to get to that dagger.

Red had just tapped the space right above the dagger when a huge shadow appeared above him. He knew what was coming, and it was gonna hurt somehow.

Red saw the blue O coming at him right when he had a grip on his blade. He started to run out of Air, he refused to breath in whatever he was in. The blue O came his way, in a panic, Red tapped the dagger a random amount of time, nervousness and fear did not allow him to process what he was doing. He let his instincts be, who knows? He was facing something he has never even heard of, his reflexes know what to do better than he does. He closed his eyes and got ready for anything.

**************************

"Really dad? I get no powers? What's next? You gonna send in Ryuenjin?" Raul said with irritation in his voice.

"Don't tempt me." Said a voice behind Raul. Raiji stepped out from the shadows with his hands in his pocket. "You got yourself in a mess, now I have to stand by."

"How di-" Raul barely dodged another fist, whatever was attack had barely begun. "Alright alright." Raul raised his stick, "So what do we do?"

Raiji started to chuckle, then broke into laughter, "HAHA WE! Oh hey did you hear that Uja? Ryu?"

Voices boomed throughout the area, "Ha! I heard it." Ujanmunt said.

"HAHA! Oh oh is it big?" Ryuenjin said, laughing.

"Huge." Raiji said, clutching his abs. Ryuenjin could be heard laughing. "How about you Nys?"

"I GET IT!" Raul yelled. "I'm on my own again!"

"Hey hey hey Raiji," Ryuenjin started, "Tell me when he starts to cry."

"SHUT UP!" Raul dodged a punch that slammed its giant fist right on the ground. The shock wave sent Raul flying back to a nearby tree. Raiji, who had just recovered from his laughter, walked over to Raul.

"Seriously, you do have other powers, don't rely on the sword and fire. In this world, you cannot bend, at all. You get no sword, all you have if your horrid low level magic."

"... What abo-"

"Right there," Raiji stepped in front of Raul and pulled up his hand, stopping a very fast, very big fist that came at Raul, "I'M TALKING!" Raiji extended his other arm and delivered a powerful punch to the fist in front of him. The fist shot back and a loud cry of pain could be heard. "As I was saying. Right there, you immediately ask about Red.

"In war, you have no time to worry about your men. You only have time to worry about yourself, heck, you barely have time for that." Raiji turned away, "I injured it for you. Its left hand is broken, might as well be jelly now. Work with it." Raiji made his way into the forest, "Red himself has his own problems. It would make your problem look like Bird watching."

Raul didn't even get a chance to complain, as Raiji left faster than he could process.

Raul turned his head to the beast, who had now fully awakened. His height exceeded the tree tops; he had a sword to match. Raul was a pebble in the stream compared to this giant, he thought, as the stone/furry creature towered over him. "How is this better? Red can't possibly have it better than me!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Red opened his eyes and looked around, he inserted the acceleration command. Red managed to rush out of harms way. He watched as the now slowed down blast made contact with the earth beneath him. Red carefully observed, the blast did not dissipate, it bounced back; Sonar style offense.

Red swam back up, trying to beat the wave back to no avail. By the time Red got back up to the surface, the beast was ready for another strike. The beast was heavily armored with some type of natural metal, Red was sure his Dagger wouldn't pierce, it has trouble actually killing certain beings. Red looked up to meet with the beasts disgusting, beady, red eyes. "I can't pierce it..." Red said, in a very slow and pensive way which came out fine despite the haste he had triggered. "Darn it, you guys really left me limited..."

A giant bird flew over Red's head, Red barely had time to analyze it as the beast he was battling blew it to shreds. Ordinarily Red wouldn't care, but in that instant, Red figured it all out. "You bastard." He walked back, making some distance for the maneuver he was about to pull, "You've been pushing and pulling the energy right outta me. The reason why I haven't exploded is because I'm much stronger that bird right? Is that why I'm coughing up blood with no injuries?!"

The beast did not reply, it simply attacked without hesitation. Red lowered his head, his hair covered his face. "I have no choice," he clenched his Dagger tight. "Sorry Raul..." Red took his dagger and sliced his vein, running from his shoulder to his wrist. He flinched at the pain, but carried on. He flicked the the jewel of the blade off completely and poured what was in the dagger into the wound.





He didn't see an incoming blast.

****************************

Raul tried his best to keep up with the giant beast, but each dodge brought him closer and closer to death. There was no way Raul could get hit without dying. And there was no way of casting status magic without getting close to it. "Haste!" Raul jumped back as a fist went his way, he knew what to do.

[Zup]

Winner struggled against Bird's odd attack; though not at such an intensity to actually break the attack. The computer operating his technologically-advanced suit was already lining up several weapons to attack Bird with - missiles, lasers, bullets, and even a squirt gun, should it be necessary. But he did not authorize the attacks. Instead, he stared straight at his creation, trying to figure out what had happened to him.

No one spoke for several moments. In fact, the only thing that happened was Bird slowly clenching his fingers tighter together, the pressure on Winner's neck increasing with each slight movement.

What had happened to Bird? What had made him go berserk? Who shut down his inhibitors? How did he remember what Winner had done?

How the the the the the had he gotten here at all?

"B-Bird..." Winner gasped, his mouth barely opening enough to allow him to speak through clenched teeth. "Just...just...let...me...d-down."

"No."

Winner tried to sigh, but he felt his throat gagging and stopped the motion. "C-c'mon..."

"No."

"D-don't make me..." Winner clenched his right fist in order to try to relieve some of the pain and frustration. "Sh-sh-shoot you..."

"Do it."

"W-well...I asked n-n-nicely."

With that, Winner authorized his suit to fire upon Bird with a barrage of weaponry. Two missiles - one from each shoulder - burst into the air and angled down toward the bird-like robot. At the same time, small plates in Winner's chest opened to expose the thin barrels of four little guns, each firing a stream of bullets. He even allowed the squirt gun to shoot, but it didn't have a long enough range.

Bird released Winner in time to open up a force field to block the bullet stream. The missiles were smart, however, and they altered their path to move around the shield. For that case, Bird, through his telekinesis, called his saber pike to his fists, slashing the missiles down.

As he was released, Winner kicked on his thrusters and opened up two blue plasma blades in his wrists. He angled himself so as to fly straight over Bird, cutting down with the blades, only to have them blocked.

That was exactly what he wanted.

As his blades came into contact with Bird's pike, Winner activated one of their many functions - extending them and curving them so as to hook around Bird's weapon and carry him off as Winner zoomed through the endless rooms.

Winner carried Bird through several rooms before the robot released his grip on the pike, claw wrapping around Winner's ankle. The inventor sighed, twisting to look down at his creation. "Alright, you've had your fun. Grown-up talk time, now."

"No."

"Will you quit saying 'n-"

Winner was interrupted as Bird's hand released a stream of electricity coursed through his suit. It was enough to temporarily shut down his thrusters, sending the white-armored inventor crashing onto the floor, beneath Bird, who began to physically choke him. The electricity powered up Winner's suit, but what confused him was how Bird had done it in the first place.

It hadn't come from Bird's suit. Just like the odd telekinesis choking, it was a bizarre and mystifying ability.

"Before you try to wreck my face," said Winner, body flat against the ground under Bird's choke. "Can I ask how you do that choking thing and the lightning stuff? I'd Google it, but I don't know the password for this place's wi-fi. I mean, I could hack them easily, but I don't think that's a nice thing to do, seeing as how they were nice enough to give me a playdate with my favorite little robot."

"New....powers..."

"Okay, I don't wanna hurt your feelings, big guy, but I don't like the way you're acting right now. Where's the cute little birdie mannerisms? Without them, you're...just a heartless walking and or flying death machine. That's no fun. Everybody likes animals. Right? So how bout we-"

"You...killed....me!"

With that, Winner's witty banter was done. He sighed, nodding his head as best as he could from his current position. "Yeah... Yeah I did...And I'm sorry."

"No...you...are...not," growled Bird, claw pressing down onto Winner's throat.

Winner looked straight into Bird's eyes, feeling a slight discomfort in his chest from the red eyes that glared back at him. "Yeah, I am...I'm sorry, Bird. I'm sorry, but..."

"Do...not make...excuses!"

"I died, too, you know."

That was enough for Bird to release his grip. He stepped back slightly, rage simmering for a moment, confused. What did he mean he died too?

I died too, you know.

died too,

too,

You...killed....me!

How...how could that be? How could Winner have killed Bird, yet still be here? How could he have died too and still be here? With memories of killing Bird? What was Bird doing here? How did any of this work?

Winner breathed a sigh of relief as Bird took more steps backward, hunching over slightly. The odd vibrations had stopped. Bird was no longer visceral - his hands returned to their more relaxed state. His whole body did. His computer erased its gruesome battle plans. His red eyes faded and returned to normal.

"*Chirp*...*chirp*...Mr. Winner?"