NEPHTHYS vs KIRIN
Co-written w/ ArmedBlue
No... no, this shouldn't be the outcome. Even foresight couldn't have predicted this.
The priestess was raring to go again, appearing as though she were at death's door, yet acting nothing like it.
Hadn't they lost last round? Where had this unprecedented degree of endurance come from??
The gardevoir bared her teeth as her eyes narrowed into thin, angry slits. Volatile fissures of violent energy began to permeate from Nephthys' fists, curled tightly as energy crackled up and down her arms.
Kirin's jaunt was followed up with a swoosh of her arm, throwing five more talismen at the ground around the gardevoir. Another arc chain to gain a mobility edge? The answer was a resounding "no" as a burst of what Neph recognized as psychic energy swelled from Kirin, seemingly activating the talismen - and producing identical clones of the battle priestess.
They dashed in, closing in from all angels. Nephthys crossed her arms over her chest, the shuddering energy spitting sparks across her body. The Kirin Klones swung their blades - but a burst of power was expelled from the center mass of the gardevoir, violet psychokinesis shredding the klones like paper - though they seemed to be ready to dispel anyway.
Nephthys shot from the ground, leaving a cracking crater in her wake, a trail of lavender light departing an aggressive streak in the air, the gardevoir upon the priestess in a moment, her hands grabbing Kirin's neck. As the milliseconds slowly ticked by, they blasted through the remains of the warehouse, the air thundering with the sound of desperation. Neph held Kirin like a battering ram, slamming her through buildings, oil tanks, hillsides, and concrete walls, one after the other.
BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM!
The Pokémon throttled Kirin, before she swung them downward - and slammed the human into the earth, dragging her along. A shredded scar was traced along the ground as Kirin was buried in earth and stone, but the gardevoir refused to let go, her violent streak continuing as the ground gave way to magma - igniting their oil-drenched bodies.
Two flaming missiles streaked through the air, white bursts of air thudding from them as they blitzed through the sound barrier. Nephthys didn't care that her form was alight - she fully intended to destroy Kirin. She refused to come second again. She refused to be proven that she wasn't whole without her trainer.
She refused to lose.
The potion was being put to the test here - despite its potent effects, Kirin could feel each impact gradually chipping away at her body, the bright flames around the two filling their vision in a bright orange-red. No words needed to be exchanged for the intensity of their battle to be felt. Neph refused to stop her assault, while Kirin refused to go down.
It was an unstoppable force against an immovable object.
Grasping her red-hot blade as the two soared through another building, Kirin swung from below to target the arms holding her neck, but she was met with a powerful psychic barrier, attack bouncing right off. So she swung again, approaching from a different angle - a feint the enraged Gardevoir did not see coming, for the real attack was a knee to her chest. Neph's grip faltered ever so slightly, allowing Kirin to rear her head back, and when Neph attempted to grab her again...
CRACK!
Skulls cracked as their heads collided, the Adept taking advantage of her increased defense. Swordplay and talismans alone wouldn't cut it - she needed to stop relying on those tools. She needed to think outside the box, to push past her limits.
The gardevoir reeled back with a hiss, letting go of Kirin. While Neph slowed to a stop, Kirin was left to fly through the air - and crash through the side of another building. Her shoulder slammed into the interior wall once inside, and she dropped to the ground with a grunt. However, Nephthys didn't seem interested in giving either of them a breather. The flames that engulfed them had since died down during their blitz through the air, but it had left both combatants blackened and singed - the Pokémon more than the human.
The hole Kirin had left in the wall was greatly widened when the gardevoir crashed through it, a bubble of potent psychic energy around her to leave a circle-shaped hole in her wake, before she surged downward. Kirin raised her arms on principle, and the barrier connected with her palms. Kirin dropped to a knee as Nephthys pushed and pushed. The concrete began to crack beneath the heels of the priestess. The potion was helping, but the enraged Pokémon was giving every ounce of unbridled power she had.
Kirin grit her teeth as she was forced to the ground. If there was something Neph held over her at this point, it was raw power. In this kind of confrontation, the Pokémon would be sure to come out on top. There was no way to overpower Neph, but perhaps...
Perhaps she could close the gap through a different method.
As the ground continued to cave in beneath the fighters, a hazy purple energy began to flow outward from Kirin's body, engulfing both combatants completely as a series of strange symbols faded in and out of existence, earning Neph's attention. She'd seen that sort of energy earlier in their fight. Small amounts of it were in the priestess' talismans, yet its exact effects were never known to the gardevoir - until she felt the bubble around her weaken.
Kirin smirked through the pain. This was the aspect that made her such a reliable fighter against Primal Dragons: her Septima, Radiant Fetters. The ability to seal other Septimas, advanced forms of psychic power, something her opponent caught onto at this moment.
She was placing a seal on Nephthys.
The barrier began to flash and flicker, and the uncertainty that registered on Neph's face only encouraged Kirin. Combined with the seal, and the gardevoir's moment of shock, her power began to be locked away. Neph struggled to fight against the seal, but without understanding how it worked, she didn't know how to combat it, instead forced to watch as both her barrier finally fell - and then her own power beginning to ebb away.
She dropped to the ground, gritting her teeth as she strained her mind to fight back. The gardevoir had peered inside of the mind of the priestess many times now - yet Kirin had done well at hiding this power from Neph.
< I... can't... lose... >
Even her telepathic voice was strained as it projected outward.
She raised her arms toward Kirin, quickly casting Mystical Fire in an effort to stop the human.
The flames struck the Adept, who winced at the pain, feeling her own power wane slightly against Mystical Fire's effects. The sealing process slowed, but it continued steadily. Despite her body catching on fire again, Kirin felt like she could finally breathe, her opponent's strained psychic voice reaching her ears.
"I'm sorry," Kirin replied, crouching down in front of the Pokémon, "but you're not the only one trying to win here."
She couldn't help but feel bad for Neph. It showed in the way she fought, especially when caught by surprise - there was a lot on her mind, though it was something she wouldn't let on. There was a reason she wanted to win so desperately.
"Why..." the priestess asked, interrupted by a cough. "Why can't you lose?"
Neph's hands dropped to the ground as her power continued to be sealed, her shoulders heaving with the strain of the entire battle now weighing upon her.
<I... have to win... I have to... prove... to him... to ME...>
She looked back up at Kirin, the strain of trying to retain her power evident on her face, but as energy began to surge around her hands - it was quick to dissipate, the gardevoir's control waning exponentially.
"I don't know exactly what you're going through, but..." Kirin spoke, looking up at the destruction around them. "I think you've proven enough. You're incredibly capable all on your own, aren't you? Whatever it is that's holding you back..."
After a pause, she placed a hand on Neph's back to show support, concern etching her gaze.
"...wouldn't it be best to let it go?"
The gardevoir flinched at the touch, but the loss of her psychic power was simultaneously a drag on her physical ability, and she was unable to move away, or react further. She bared her teeth stubbornly, eyes filled with a crimson defiance.
<You don't... know... I CAN'T... just...>
Her defiance seemed to waver, before she collapsed further, her helmet colliding with the ground as her body began to give out under her. This time, her shoulders began to shake with something other than exhaustion. It took Kirin only a second or two to realize her opponent had devolved into a fit of angry, defeated tears, mingled with another emotion the priestess couldn't quite place yet.
Kirin could only look on silently. Nepththys wasn't ready to accept this outcome, and she had to respect that. It was on her to face her thoughts when the time came. Slowly, the priestess' hand began to rub her defeated opponent's back, hoping to provide some comfort, even if she had a feeling it wasn't quite welcome.
"Let's get some rest, yeah?"
<I... don't WANT your pity...>
The telepathic voice snapped back. However, despite her continued defiance, the gardevoir was powerless to continue - and she was slowly coming to terms with that. The seal had done the job.
It was over.
<...I... concede...>
...
WINNER: KIRIN!
FJORRD THE CRUSHER
Auto-perms granted
"Surely that's not all!"
"You have no idea!"
Fjorrd grinned as the angel's wings flapped, lunging Pit forward. The nord's fists curled tighter. "Enlighten me!"
BANG!
The babel club struck its mark - meeting an ice-packed punch from the dragonborn, who'd thrown his fist into the incoming club. Pit pulled back his light-weighted weapon, and swung quickly from another angle. Fjorrd turned, and threw out his other fist-
CRACK!
Another collision. The icy axes remained on Fjorrd's belt - he didn't seem to deem them necessary for this. Ice began to cling to the babel club with each moment it made contact with the nord's fists, the club swinging with more weight and speed than its size and impact should have indicated, but the vigilant dragonborn answered each strike in kind with a matching punch, canceling out the momentum of both of their swings in a moment's notice.
However, just as Pit was trying a swing from another angle, Fjorrd suddenly opened his mouth, and he spoke - and the voice of the dovah came forth. The thu'um!
"YOL TOOR SHUL!"
With each syllable, a cyclone of flames jettisoned straight from Fjorrd's open mouth, the inferno carrying a force behind it as it surged forth with the strength of dragons and the fury of stars. It was continuous, the dragonborn turning his head with whichever way Pit potentially moved, the fire a persistent and deadly breath.
After a few seconds, the nord closed his mouth, frost still dropping from his hands. "Now it's my turn," he chuckled, before he charged forward like a predator that had just seen its opportunity to close in on its prey.
DART FELD
The Warlock seemed as though he'd completely lost it, stammering on and on with his threats. It almost made Dart feel bad for the guy. At the very least, he'd be revived after this was all over. Maybe the Red Warrior could think of something nice to do for the grumpy Mindripper to make up for this admittedly embarrassing current display.
However, a swarm of Lost were closing in, and Warlock hadn't seemed to notice. This might have been an evil guy, and he had probably done some pretty evil things - but a fair fight was a fair fight. Dart refused to let these neutral obstacles take away the Warlock's chance for an honorable defeat. The mercenary believed his opponent deserved to hold on to at least some of his dignity.
Dart quickly dashed ahead, and the Warlock swiped with his arm. Psychic energy bursted forth in an attempt to swat the Red Warrior aside, but Dart dropped to the ground, sliding across the earth on his side, the attack sailing directly overhead. Launching himself off the ground with his left arm, his right hand grabbed a ball from one of his pouches. A while orb containing what looked to be some kind of smoke or fog.
"Stay behind me!" Dart called back to the Warlock before he hurled the orb into the sea of enemies.
T o t a l V a n i s h i n g .
The orb shattered, and time seemed to suddenly slow around Dart and the protected Mindripper, the Lost all slowing to a stop mid-run as a mist began to drift lazily into the air, like a ghostly specter observing the encroaching swarm.
The sound of metal ripping and shredding against more metal split the air as a bright light erupted from the slim tower of fog. A cleansing light washed over the battlefield, so bright that Dart shielded his eyes. Lost after Lost were consumed as the light spread, before it suddenly all disappeared as quickly as it had come.
What remained of the Lost were only a few of its more powerful units, now crawling weakly toward Dart and Warlock on the ground. Every other one of the beasts had been simply erased, and given the Warlock's state - he might have been, too, had Dart not guarded him.
Quickly, the Red Warrior dashed forward, and in quick succession, Heat Blade had dispatched the few stragglers of the once mighty Lost swarm.
Dart turned back toward the Warlock, his brows knitting tightly together. "Just you and me, now."
KASSANDRA
"That's it, use up that energy..." Kassandra muttered to herself as the knight bombarded the great gear with lightning, before launching it back toward the misthios. Given that this was a three-dimensional plane - she simply moved a few feet to the side. The electrified gear rolled past her, a few sparks of lightning stretching for her, but just out of range from making contact.
The gear continued to roll away, disappearing into the distance as the misthios began to circle Alter Knight, trading out the heavy Hammer of Hades for something more sophisticated. The Sword of Perseus was the most natural feeling in Kassandra's hands. She tested its familiar weight as she continued to circle her opponent, a temporary break in their combat for this stand-off. "I once knew a god who commanded lightning," the Keeper spoke. She stopped circling Alter, now raising her blade before her, getting into a combat stance. "But you are no Zeus."
Kassandra's movements were sudden, though undoubtedly expected, as she closed the distance between them. While her approach was aggressive, her style with the sword of Perseus was a little more intricate. Rather than attacking for damage, or aiming for weak spots, Kassandra instead focused on keeping Alter blocking and parrying, aiming to physically tire the woman out with the rapid, unrelenting assault. The sharp blade of Perseus was a deadly tool, much sharper than any other weapon in Kassandra's arsenal. It cut tear through most metals with relative ease - it would only be through trial and error to see if the knight's weapons and armor could withstand such lethal precision.
