JasonPaul
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Posted: Sat Jun 12, 2010 9:33 pm Post subject: 020 - Turn Off the Light and Murder the Dawn |
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"It is 1999
The human race has to face it
They are confronted with the truth
It's secret -- mysterious
A surgeon said it in the news
The human race is dying
But the result is no disease
Searching for--"
[p:2zgpwubo]Akira stopped singing after his guitar was playing notes that he did not intend. He cursed to himself and tried playing the passage again, but the notes came out as an inaudible mess.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Miwan, can you come here for a second?"[/p:2zgpwubo]
*****
[p:2zgpwubo]"Aliens, huh?" an emerald haired felinefolk said in the next room. "Just my bad luck. No one will remember my tournament victory."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Miwan chuckled a bit at her friend. "A bit ahead of ourselves, aren't we Ming Na?"[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"If I believe there's even a slight chance that I may lose, then I have no business being in this tournament," Ming Na replied.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Well, you always did like to get in over your head," Miwan replied with a smirk. Ming Na had quite a history with Miwan. She was, at one point, what the Kendou referred to as a "praetor", which was something between a police officer and a judge to the Kendou. She specifically was tasked with judging Miwan herself many years ago, for violating one of the Kendou's oldest rules: "Do not leave the island." Times had changed within the Kendou, however, due to the Righteous Dilemma, and that rule was no longer in effect. Ming Na herself didn't have much of a purpose as a praetor anymore. The world had changed, and the Kendou changed with it.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]This was Ming Na's third attempt in the tournament. She fought (and lost to) Miwan in one of the earliest tournaments, although she entered with the purpose of arresting Miwan and bringing her back to Kendou Island, rather than winning. She was also in last year's tournament, although this time she entered to win. Again she lost early in the tournament to Miwan. She had hoped that Miwan would be in this tournament, so that she could prove that she was the better fighter, but Miwan declined to enter. Even so, Ming Na still wanted to win one for her own tribe.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"So who's my opponent?" Ming Na asked.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Jun," Miwan replied. "Good luck. You'll need it."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"I don't believe in luck. From my experience you either win or you lose. If you say you lost because of luck, then it means you weren't prepared for every possible scenario. If this man is going to defeat me, then it will be because he is a better fighter than me."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]A masculine voice spoke from the other room. "Miwan, can you come here for a second?"[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]After a brief glance at each other, Miwan spoke to Ming Na. "I'll go see what Akira wants. You'd better go get ready."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"I shall," Ming Na replied as she left the room.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Miwan went into the other room to see Akira playing his guitar. Or attempting to, at least. "Out of sync again?" Miwan asked.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Yeah," Akira replied. One of the common problems with bionics was the tendency for them to go "out of sync" with the rest of the body, thus it was common for those with bionics to do exercises with them to keep them in sync, such as writing letters, typing on a typewriter, or playing a guitar. Akira's right arm, which required a replacement after the ordeal with Krill, was the part giving him problems this time. While most of Akira's bionics came from TECH itself, the new right arm was fitted by Gades Short, who admitted to having only a limited knowledge of bionics. It worked very well for the first few months, but had lately gone out of sync at fairly regular intervals.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Which string is it supposed to be?" Miwan asked.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Fourth one," Akira replied. Miwan then placed Akira's fingers to the fourth string.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Like this?" Miwan asked.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Akira tried it out, and played a much better melody this time. "That's perfect. Thanks."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"This has been happening so often," Miwan asked. "We should really get a professional to look at it."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Well, what can we do? Gades is the only capable man I trust. And it's not that big of a deal as long as I've got someone to help me right myself."[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Miwan nodded. "I just hope that this doesn't happen at a bad time."[/p:2zgpwubo]
*****
[p:2zgpwubo]Ming Na was already in the ring waiting on her opponent. She swung around her weapon, a pair of four foot long metal rods attached by a chain. Despite MIng Na's confidence in her skills, the simple truth was that she was a 40 to 1 underdog to win the tournament, and her opponent, Jun, was considered one of the odds on favorite to win it all. Hardly surprising, considering that he was not only Midnight's son, but also carried the powerful blade Ragnarok.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]Jun was announced and strode out to the ring. Ming Na had quite a bit of concentration, but Jun moved like a statue, paying no attention to the roaring of the crowd, his eyes focused only on the ring, and on his opponent. It reminded her of that one time she fought Akira, not too long after he started dating Miwan. Ming Na still had a few scars across her chest from that encounter.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]The referee brought the two to the center of the ring and explained the rules to both participants. Jun drew a huge slab of onyx with a handle--the dark sword Ragnarok. Aside from the sword (which made Jun a dangerous threat immediately), Ming Na didn't know what else Jun was capable of, but if he was the son of Midnight, she could expect superhuman strength and agility and some minor magic spells at the very least. Her own weapon gave her a reach advantage, but she couldn't hope to match the damage output of Jun. She would have had to avoid his attacks as best she could and counterattack.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]The bell rang, and Ming Na immediately jumped backwards to the edge of the ring. With a great deal of distance between herself and Jun, she thrust her rods at Jun quickly. The first thrust was dodged effortlessly, as was the second one. He ducked under the third one and brought Ragnarok up. The chain wrapped itself around the great sword, and Jun immediately pulled forcefully on it, sending Ming Na flying towards him. Her face connected with his boot, and she was quickly thrown back where she came. Ming Na had precious little time to recover, as Jun rushed towards her, quickly bringing his sword down. She raised her metal rods late, almost too late, to deflect the attack. Jun raised his sword for another attack, but Ming Na quickly slid between his legs. She leapt to her feet, but Jun swung his sword quickly at her head, forcing her to back away.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Tough one," Ming Na thought to herself as she thought of a new plan of attack. She swung her weapon at an arc, aiming for Jun's feet. Jun leapt over the rod, but Ming Na quickly swung the rod upwards. It connected with Jun's chest, knocking him backward. Jun landed on his feet and quickly drew a rune into the air. He incanted a spell and four wisps appeared from where the rune was standing. Ming Na had seen Midnight do something similar to this before, and knew the wisps would seek her out. She quickly ran along the edges of the ring to avoid them, but only found herself backed into a corner as Jun himself approached. She quickly twirled her rods to deflect the attacks, then struck out at Jun himself. Jun parried the blow with his sword, then swung in a downward arc. Fortunately Ming Na saw it coming and leapt over him, landing in the center of the ring. Jun turned around to face Ming Na, but the felinefolk had already prepared for her own attack. She held her weapon by the center of its chain and swung both rods at Jun. Caught off guard, Jun was wrapped in the weapon's chains. He struggled to get out, but to no avail. Ming Na smiled. The man was at his mercy.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]At least, she thought as much until Jun screamed as his body began coursing with black lightning. His eyes, which had been shut the moment Ming Na imprisoned Jun, suddenly shot open and glowed a deep red. As soon as they did, Jun forced his way out, breaking the chain that held her weapon together as if it were wet tissue.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"Oh shi--" Ming Na mouthed before Jun struck like a viper, swinging at her with an underhanded slash that caught the felinefolk completely off guard. The cheer of the crowd was quickly cut silent as the sick sound of a blade cutting flesh resonated throughout the arena, and Ming Na was struck down to the ground amid a flash of crimson. The felinefolk clutched her body and tried to cover a grievous wound that extended from her hip to her neck. Jun was poised for a second attack, but the referee quickly intervened.[/p:2zgpwubo]
[p:2zgpwubo]"It's over! It's over!" the referee shouted as he awarded the match to Jun. Jun put Ragnarok back on the harness on his back and left the ring quietly. Several medical doctors and Mystic healers quickly put Ming Na on a stretcher, preparing to send her to the infirmary. Ming Na cursed this, wanting to at least leave the tournament on her own too feet, but that could not be helped. She had lost a lot of blood from Jun's attack, and quickly greeted unconsciousness.[/p:2zgpwubo] |
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