Nightshift 44: The Coliseum

[nobleman]

[Warped in from here.]

When Guy's eyes opened, it was almost as if he was waking up, and yet he knew that wasn't the case; he was standing, with a weapon in his hand, and somehow feeling far more comfortable than he had in weeks.

His gaze was on his feet, and it took him a few seconds to let everything sink in. He was wearing boots. His boots. And while being back in familiar clothing wasn't so new to some people, it was definitely a big change for him.

His head then snapped up and he realized just what he was holding. It wasn't Ashton's sword, but his own, the Jewel of Gardios -- and on top of that, Guy realized that he felt more powerful somehow. Did he have access to fonons? He had been working without them for so long, but it was almost as if he could feel them in the air now.

All of those changes didn't matter as much when he took in his location. The sphinx had warned them, of course, but the huge coliseum still impressed him, and what was even stranger was the way sunlight seemed to be filtering in from overhead. Was it actually day? This almost felt like he was in some sort of dream.

But that theory was torn into shreds when he eyed Sync, also in full form, standing across the arena from him. So what, they were supposed to fight? Guy didn't have a problem with that (it was what he'd come down here intending to do, after all), but he knew there had to be some kind of catch.

As he glanced to the side, he saw that Claude and Dias were in similar positions, except facing each other. "Wait," he muttered under his breath. No way were those two going to fight each other except in a sparring capacity, so what was going on? He wasn't sure where Anise and that other girl had gotten off to, but maybe it was for the best that they weren't here...

Comments

[gald_digger]

[from here]

"You bastard!" Anise shot at the Head Doctor from where she stood. "Nobody agreed to play by your stupid rules!" Carefully, she pulled her hand away from the wound, holding it in front of her. She then began the slow and exhausting process of gathering fonons at one point. Landel was going to regret showing his face to her.

The only way to stop this was to kill him. She was sure of it.

Even as exhaustion turned to pain, Anise kept her focus. The blood loss was wearing down her endurance, which meant she was only going to get one shot at this. She was going to squeeze every bit of power she could possibly get out of her body. It didn't matter if it hurt. She had to kill him!

"I'll rip you to pieces!" the girl snarled as she unleashed the spell at last. High above the south end of the coliseum, the air began to move. At a single point, it converged and twisted as it took on a red color - like blood.

It would have been impressive, and hopefully intimidating, if the end result wasn't so damn small. For a fonist of Anise's level, it was kind of embarrassing, really. She had a feeling nobody would believe her if she told them that was her best attempt at a Bloody Howling. Precision usually wasn't a concern with Anise's artes, but her few attempts to use them at Landel's had taught her that with a tiny range of effect, she had to be extra careful about making sure her spells hit their mark. Luckily, the Head Doctor didn't have a lot of room to move as the crimson whirlwind descended toward his balcony.

Anise watched with anticipation, but her vision was growing dim fast. It wasn't until it was too dark to make out Landel's figure that she acknowledged it, and reached out to grasp the edge of the rail in front of her. She rested one arm on top of it for balance, but even as she did, she kept her eyes looking to where she knew the Head Doctor was. The first thing she wanted to see when her head cleared was that bastard's bloodied face.

[the-head-doctor.livejournal.com]

The Head Doctor seemed to be watching the fights with a kind of detached curiosity, tapping the railing of his balcony with one hand as if there was somewhere else he'd rather be. It was a far cry from the intensity with which he'd watched past combatants, but perhaps there were other things on his mind after the whole debacle from the night before.

In fact, the Head Doctor didn't even seem to notice when Anise launched the weakened fonic arte, and when it seemed to hit an invisible wall a few feet in front of him, he startled, even jumping back slightly before he regained his bearings and narrowed his eyes at the girl.

"Did you really think that would work, Miss Tatlin?" He paused and then smiled slightly. "So much anger. Perhaps if I told you how much I make in a year, you'd warm up a little to me?"

[gald_digger]

The wailing of the whirlwind was cut short once it slammed into the barrier. It whipped fiercely against the invisible wall for a few seconds before exhausting its power and fading into nothingness. Anise was experienced enough in using artes that she knew what she was hearing. When her vision returned, her fears were confirmed. The Head Doctor was protected by a barrier. Hurting him was impossible.

It was useless to even try.

"Shut up!" she snapped, her frustration over the attack's ineffectiveness making her even more agitated. "I'll kill you!" Her breathing was heavy and irregular, and Anise had to inwardly acknowledge that it was an empty threat she just gave him. She just exhausted herself by using the most powerful arte she could manage, and she was still losing blood. If she tried another arte in her state, she'd wind up unconscious at best - and dead at worst.

The girl looked like she had more to say, but the sound of metal clanging and clattering grabbed her attention, and she turned her attention back to the battles below, fearing that one of the swordsmen had been disarmed.

[going back here]