Rookie Tournament [MALTHUS]

[Rocket!]

[ This is a Closed Quest. Only Prythian's Malthus
may participate, unless otherwise invited. ]

Oi.

Phil rubbed his forehead again.

Rookie tournaments-- the Big League Ticket as some of the more hopefuls kept calling it, the shrimpy wannabes-- had a tendency to give Phil headaches. All the tykes who kept banging on his door, hoping to fulfill some kinda dream, absolutely insane the lot of 'em-- sure, the Heartless are largely under control, but this satyr didn't become the satyr he is today by taking risks with lives!

Not when he couldn't avoid it, anyhow.

Phil started jotting down on the chalkboard.

Sure, winning the kiddie rounds here might give you the oomph you needed to try into the serious ones, but that was a rare thing. Most of the folks fighting in these, they can barely handle the Heartless. Hafta keep Herc on standby just in case one of the tykes goes rigid.

After culling the kiddies from the crowd, Phil found a tougher bunch than you might expect for a rookie tournament. One extra, too-- usually only managed to get up to four on a good day, and today there's five rookies in the ring. That oughta be a good sight, right?

Anywho.

Phil put the chalk down and squinted at his work.

Yeah, that should do it.

MALTHUS --------
                | -- ________ -- |
SHADOW STEP ----                 ----
                                     | -- ________ -- |
PRELL ----------                 ----                 |
                | -- ________ -- |                    |
DOUBLE TROUBLE -                                      |
                                                      | -- ______ -- |
VIR --------                                          |
            | -- ________ -- |                        |
HEAVY STEP -                  -------                 |
                                     | -- ________ -- |
YATUSATARI -                  -------
            | -- ________ -- |
SEPHIROTH -- 

~Round 1~
-- SHADOW STEP --

[ Rookie Tournament Rules: ]
Each Tournament Round will last
for 7 rounds max. This is a
rookie tournament, folks.

The 1st RP round starts with the first
attack, and the first side to attack
starts the posting order.

Most damage dealt at Tournament
Round end determines the winner.

Defeating your foe(s) before time
ends will also result in a winning mark.

You must post at least once every
two days. If you don't, your character
will be in a presumed BSOD, and Herc
will jump in and remove your character
from the tournament, for the character's sake.
[/center]

And here it is-- the Rookie Tournament!

A mild turnout for the first round, a spattering of mainly families are in the crowds, waiting for the opportunity to cheer.

The grumpy old satyr is sitting off near the gates, by the chalkboard, watching with studious intent. Hercules-- who needs no adjectives to his name-- is also sitting and watching the first round.

A whistle goes off-- Phil, maybe?-- and a spattering of black swims across the field.

Five Shadows await after the mist falls.

Time to go to work.

[prythian]

Malthus stiffened in shock. These things! Last time he'd seen them had caused him to rethink a lot of things, and generally made him uneasy. On Twilight Town they had seemed completely wrong there.

It seemed they were more places than Twilight Town, and he didn't doubt he'd see more of them in the future. Five of them... yet, he knew from experience that his knives could do fine taking them out before they got too close.

Three flings, each with four knives held between his fingers, and he'd sent four knives (and one set of two knives and two daggers) at the three closest to him. As a Ranged Weapon Student, he could be accurate when he did this.

Burning Horizon appeared in his hand, and he got into a combat stance, waiting for the Shadows to come.

[hp=70/70]

((4 ranged weapon attacks * 2 = 8 damage each))

[Rocket!]

[GREAT GOOGLY MOOGLY THERE WENT THE DIFFICULTY CURVE!]

BAMF! BAMF! BUMFT!

Two bursts of fine black mist erupted from where two Shadows had stood not moments before. Now, there stood four throwing knives each planted face first to the dusty yellow stone. [Two Shadows down.]

A third Shadow took a heavy brunt of the remaining blades-- two landing direct hits, a third-- a dagger?-- glancing off, but the second dagger-- and fourth blade-- ended up knocking into the other dagger, big as they both are, and awkwardly bumbling out of harm's way. [6 damage to 3rd Shadow.]

The remaining three Shadows immediately took to the ground as Malthus reared his Keyblade, dashing forward in rapid circles-- a pattern, each different, swirling for and around the tournament entrant.

[hp=0/8]
[hp=0/8]
[hp=2/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]

[prythian]

Malthus looked around at the three Shadows moving on the ground. He had two feelings about his situation... one, that the enemies would attack him as soon as he made for the knives; continuing his ranged assault WAS an option, through his jumping skills, but probably not the best one... and two, that attacking them when they were 2 dimensional wouldn't do any real damage.

He inhaled, concentrating, and focused. One hand curled into a fist. Time to try out his new weapon against these creatures, and his plan was to do a mixture of fighting with his feet and the blade. His eyes focused on the Shadow that he'd already damaged, planning to destroy it the moment it rose up, taking Aim.

He would show them just how flexible and quick he was, and he was ready for them to attack.

[hp=70/70]

[Rocket!]

The damaged Shadow was still doing a merry jig in a circle-- oval?-- in front of Malthus' concentrating eyes when a very very healthy Shadow took to the 3rd dimension to Malthus' right, and charged forward!

The second fully healed Shadow, too, rose up-- but not particularly close. It waddled towards the Keyblade wielder from his middle-left.

[hp=2/8]
[hp=8/8]
[hp=8/8]

[prythian]

"Humph!" Malthus didn't have the benefit of his aim, and was taken by surprise, the claw of the Shadow finding its mark on his side. He retaliated by moving in a quick pattern and then attacking with a Precision Stab, followed by Burning Horizon disappearing as he began several punches with a Flash of Fists.

To deal with the other Shadow, Malthus finally jumped into the air, landing next to some of his knives and grabbing them, quickly whipping around and flinging the four knives he'd picked up at the other Shadow.

[hp=69/70]

[Rocket!]

[Flash of Fists pr'bly woulda been enough... >>;]

Pounded into oblivion, the attacking Shadow dissipated into a wave of black dust. [Another Shadow down. Jeez.]

Malthus' second attack, the second coming of the throwing blades, was also well met. Two of the attacks met the waddling Shadow's backside, while the other two landed at the side-- very clearly a result of this target moving, the shoddy little... [4 damage to the Shadow.]

All the while, the very damaged Shadow came up from the ground. Though perhaps a little dazed-- going around in circles will do that-- it caught sight of Malthus and started for him, not so unlike the other Heartless left on the field.

[hp=2/8]
[hp=0/8]
[hp=4/8]

[prythian]

Malthus charged for the Shadow he'd damaged in his initial barrage, Burning Horizon appearing in his hands in time for him to deliver another Precision Stab on the run as he went past it, turning to go for the Shadow he'd hit with the knives last round. He jumped in the air, bringing up Burning Horizon for a downward stab directly on top of the Shadow. He would follow that up with a couple of kicks just in case it wasn't finished.

[hp=69/70]

[Rocket!]

Brrsh! First Shadow, down with the stab!

Malthus' second blow deals a comparatively unimpressive 2 damage-- wait, a coupla kicks and whoosh More black mist!

Round 1 complete![/b]

The audience-- though measly, being mostly parents and the like-- clap respectably. Most of them seem to be fretting a bit-- he's so strong! I hope he makes it through so my little boy doesn't have to go up against him next time...

Eh.

Herc, on the other hand, seemed rather impressed with some of the showmanship-- he clapped too, maintaining heroic modesty enough to not go up and greet the boy, but it was clear he was surprised-- and in a good way.

Phil was unreadable. He seemed to be jotting something down though.

~ROUND 2~
--PRELL--

The sun is shining, the crowd is starting to thicken, and it's time for the second round!

After a brief reprieve between rounds-- where Malthus was explicitly taken back into the waiting room, so as to prevent any unfair witnessing of other participants-- the stage was set for the second round.

Malthus took to the field, facing Prell-- a blue-robed girl perhaps a year or two younger than Malthus himself.

She seemed complacent. A happy sort of person, maybe a little cloud-cuckloo-landerish. But it was fairly obvious she had no weapon-- not one that was visible, anyway, what with that robe.

Phil's whistle went off-- the crowd cheered--

Prell smiled wholeheartedly at Malthus.

"You can start," she said in a sing-song voice.

[prythian]

Malthus examined her. Something about her reminded him of someone...

Oh. Eve. His opponent reminded him of Eve. And Eve had been... a mage. That had to be the case here. There were rumors of robed sorcerers going about in Twilight Town. Always had been; it was a fantasy archetype. This was... too obvious.

He suspected a trap. Better to wait and see if he was right than to walk right into it.

"On the contrary." Malthus gave a very small, mocking bow. "Ladies first."

[hp=69/70]

[Rocket!]

Prell frowned, sorta, tapping her upper lip with her finger in though.

"Hmm..." she hmmed to herself... "Okay!"

Poof! A sudden burst of dust kicked up around Prell, and-- she was holding some kind of brown bag. Empty now, she tossed it aside as a blue aura appeared around her. [Item used: Impressive Concoction]

"Now," Prell tapped her chin, thinking, "What next?"

She shrugged and started strolling towards Malthus in an insultingly nonchalant manner. "Ah, well, one thing at a time, right?"

Something wasn't right. Whether it was the white edges along her blue robe, or her frankly eerie attitude towards the fight, she seemed... untouched by the last round. No harm, dust, or anything.

Ehhhhh.

[hp=52/52]

[prythian]

Malthus narrowed his eyes. Something did not seem right about this. But he recognized that effect. Eve had done the same... it had seemed to protect her from damage somehow. So he was facing a mage after all. And with the tournament rules in play...

Okay. A mage versus a physical fighter would ordinarily be stacked in favor of the mage in this tournament. Malthus thought to himself. Magic has accuracy plus range, and is therefore easier to stack up damage reliably, while the fighter has power but typically not much else. But... He did NOT have just power. He had speed and the ability to dodge like no other. He had his plan. Just like Eve! Keep an eye on her and you should be prepared for whatever spells get thrown at you!

But he was going to start out by doing as much damage as he could possibly do in the beginning.

Rapid Shot. All twelve knives flying at her. A quick jump to keep after them, and a followup of Flash of Fists once he was in range. Burning Horizon appears and whirls about to land with two Precision Stabs. Finally, jumping back to return to his original position.

[hp=69/70]

[Rocket!]

Prell ducked.

It was a difficult duck. She bent over, her robe flaring up in the sudden speed of the movement, and with a quick spin-- more of a dodge roll than anything-- managed to go under the whole of the twelve kniv--

And then she was punched. Many times.

A whopping eight rapid fire punches proceeded to slam into Prell's unsuspecting self. Thoroughly surprised-- she hadn't seen them as she'd been coming out of the roll-- Prell jerked backwards on autopilot. This left her open to the flash of the Keyblade, and its following two blows. [ 9 damage plus 4 damage = 13 damage; halved by Impressive Concoction for 7 damage ]

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..." Prell spluttered out, wiping at her nose a bit.

She sniffed a little.

However! She quickly stood back up and proceeded to not continue walking as she had already gotten quite close to where Malthus was, what with the walking she'd already done and him jumping back to his initial position.

And then she moved.

Her legs pushed off the ground, her robe bared itself, and she began to dance in a complicated flurry that really didn't seem to do much but leap for Malth--

And then her robe sliced into Malthus, the cold slivery white and sharp fringe moving forward in what was now clearly an extremely dangerous blade dance. [ Blade Dance (Weak Specialty, guarantees at least two hits, works with other abilities) plus Ice Aura (Basic weapon damage is 2, Ice element) plus Bladed Weapon Student (Attacks are 3x accurate, 2x power) = 8 minimum damage dealt, plus 4 for additional hits.]

Oh sh--.

[ P.S. I decided to remove her weapon ability Freezing Touch, which would've totally killed Malthus. Thank me later~ ]
[P.P.S. AND YOU THOUGHT SHE WAS A MAGE HAHAHAHAHA-- ]

[hp=45/52]

[prythian]

Definitely a trap. Malthus thought as the knives cut into his skin. He'd been too careless, launching the first attack. Now he saw it. Use of an item to mimic a magical effect. Robe to give off the wrong impression. She was as clever as he was. And, perhaps, more deadly.

But he would not lose this fight. He had his pride.

And he knew the first thing he had to do was get her off balance. Literally. As she followed in with a third strike, he was on the move, ready for her... and she would find him not there, having slid underneath the robe and around her, hand reaching out to her the back of her neck in a Disorienting Chop. Another Flash of Fists to follow up on that, Burning Horizon having already vanished in the meantime, and then a leap backwards to where his knives and daggers had ended up, grabbing them as quickly as he could to face Prell.

He wouldn't make the same mistake of throwing them all away this time. They could be useful if she had any more tricks up her sleeve. He did, however, throw 6 of the knives after tucking away his daggers at her.

[hp=61/70]

((Disorienting Chop, Weak Ability * 3 = 6/2 = 3, Flash of Fists, Weak Specialty *3 =9/2 = 4.5, 6 Knives * 2/2 = 6, 13.5, total 14 damage.))

[Rocket!]

Prell giggled as Malthus made to duck under the robe, straight into the path of her fast-moving feet.

Yeah.

Prell kicked out with her leg, smacking the boy (who himself had dived right into harm's way) with a good hard kick to the face. [ Regular old attack, 1 damage! ]

And that was when Malthus sent a big side chop at her. [ Taken 3 damage ]

Malthus' hand slid through the air, forcefully stopping right into Prell's shoulder. The force of the blow sent waves through the girl, as she flinched backwards. Her eyes spun in her socket like bees in a beaten hive, and her knees knocked like--

Boom.

Or so it seemed to Prell as a flurry of blows then proceeded to blast into her. [ Taken 5 damage ]

Do something do something! her manner of lung overuse seemed to scream.

She blindly rolled into a ball, ironically or luckily away from Malthus-- lucky enough to say she was able to forgo the experience of being on the wrong side of a slew of knives once more.

She stood, shakily and rubbing her eyes, as she tried to get a grasp on the situation.

Find the guy, hit the guy. The situation had pretty much devolved into that, the guy was that good.

She found the guy-- one look around was enough.

Hitting him would be hard, at this distance. And she didn't trust the way her hands shook just now, now after that whammy Malthus had thrown.

Time to switch tactics.

Prell waved her hand. She waved it dramatically. And a font of water gushed skyward. A geyser had (hopefully, Prell bit her lip) sent Malthus skyward! [ Weak Specialty Technique: 3 damage ]

She'd aimed very deliberately at Malthus and, hit or miss, she'd make sure to follow through with a much more difficult to dodge Ice Arrow spell. [ Weak Specialty Ability plus Ice Mage: 3 damage with reduced speed ]

And then, smart as she was, she got the knobby knees of hers moving out of expectation for the inevitable counterattack to follow.

[ Whee~ Currently round 3 of 7! Assuming Malthus isn't expecting magic, and the two spells hit, Prell will be leading by WAIT A TIE WHAT?! ]

[hp=33/52]