The ice smashed against a bright orange, hexagonal barrier only a couple feet away from Michael's form as he hovered in the air. The ice spread out across the barrier before shattering, spreading shards of ice across the air and onto the cracked ground. The barrier remained in the air for a few moments longer, completely impenetrable, before disappearing.

"You have got to do better than that," Michael said, unamused while looking down at Zhatsuroth.

Hexagonal orange barriers appeared all around Michael, defending him from the cold attacks before they could strike him. Ice exploded all around him as it shattered off of the barrier.

"Though, really, its not like you can do much to me while I'm using this," Michael continued, keeping his eyes on the being. "This is the light of my soul, after all... a sacred barrier in which no living thing may intrude. There's only two or three things that can get past this, and you have none of them."

Michael began to lift up his arms.

"Yeah... dead things can't really pass through either."

Michael sighed, and pointed a single hand at the creature. His eyes began to glow, and his hand, held open, began to close.

"If I am your master... then you will obey."

The word seemed to reverberate throughout Zhatsuroth's skull as Michael took advantage of Zhatsuroth's Curse of Power.

Dearg-du and Fass had stood staring at each other during the chaotic din of battle, sizing each other up. Suddenly, Dearg sighed and called over to his recently decapitated comrade.

"Bhiksu," he groaned. "This is what happens when you don't rely on the power of the virus." Bhiksu's headless corpse began to tremble. "But it's not over yet..."

Bhiksu's body pulled itself up and picked up the sword.

Dearg-due laughed, "I suppose I should let you know that the virus gives us all another ability. Bhiksu gets a second life: Even if you kill him once, his body will keep on fighting". He glanced at Aram.

((Sorry, just needed to keep you busy for one more post. Feel free to WTFPWN Bhiksu.))

Fass saw this as an opening and he sliced at Dearg-due's arm. His sword clanged off his opponent's arm as if it had been another sword. Fass tried again by slashing at his chest and then his face, all with the same result. Fass grinned. "Really?" he asked.

"Hmmm?"

"I may be a flamer, but I'm also a troll, and trolls know earth. That's a good technique, cover yourself in a shield of earth, almost like iron."

"Hah."

"Fine," he said, "if you want to make this serious, then I can make this serious."

"I'm sure you've heard of spirit swords, right?" he asked.

"Yes."

"And you know my friend X..."

"...has a perfect blade."

"Exactly," Fass grinned, "so you know what this is, then?" he asked, pointing to his sword.

"An imperfect one, probably."

Fass grinned again. He held his sword out in front of him and yelled, "Ignatius! Incinerate!"

The air around him heated up, the edges of his clothing began to smoke and the sword became wreathed in flame. He swung his sword releasing a crescent of flame that flew toward Dearg-due. Dearg-due made a seal with his hand and a wall of water shot up in time to stop the flame, creating a nice wall of smoke. Fass fired again and again, each time failing to the water.

Fass moved to go forward but almost fell. "What the...?" Then he noticed that his foot was stuck deep into the mud, all the water having softened it. Pulling his foot out, he jumped and pulled his sword overhead as though he were going for an overhead slash. He began to swing forward, and Dearg-due created a wall of water above his head.

"Nope!" Fass yelled and began to fall, hitting the shield of water. It collapsed, sending water all over Dearg-due. He attempted to dodge, but found to his horror that his feet were stuck in the mud.

"Lesee if that softened you up!" Fass yelled as he plunged the sword deep into Dearg-due's heart.

Edited by Mega X.exe on October 23, 2008 at 3:04:40.

The man arched an eyebrow and turned toward Matt and R.D.. "Well. There's more than one piece of Omega Essence after all."

Matt threw himself into a wide stance. "So, you're with Magister, huh?"

"Get them both," the man said. Two knights rushed at them, one bounding past R.D. while the other slashed at Matt with a stainless steel playing card.

"Fuck off!" Grabbing the knight's wrist, Matt pulled him foward before his fist crashed into the knight's side. It easily tore through, digging into what felt like chunky metal. A robot?

A scream behind him-the second knight had grabbed the girl by the throat and lifted her up.

Matt swiveled about, and his eyes shot open at who she appeared to be.

"Shit!"

R.D. turned and darted towards the speedy knight, his right hand reaching for his waist. Swinging it back and pulling the Phase Blade out, R.D. activated the sword, elongating the oval crystal into the sharp, indestructible blade, and made a quick, vertical slash at the knight's arm, cleaving through it in an instant. The knight fell back, revealing the circutry and cybernetics within, and the girl, arm still attached to her neck, dropped to the floor.

"Matt, hurry it up!" he yelled over his shoulder. "Don't just stand there!"

===NationStates General===

Upon hearing Dearg-du's words, Aram looked back at the body, hearing it shuffle, only for himself to jump backwards as the headless corpse swung its sword at him. Undead! he thought frantically, parrying another blow with his sword.

Luckily, the corpse didn't seem to be as good at combat is Bhiksu was in life. Aram pushed the sword back and slashed again, striking the headless Bhiksu's sword and knocking him back with the strength of the blow, then made a quick chant as he held his arm forward, the palm of his hand open. The chant completed, and a small, yet brilliant sphere of blue-white light lanced from his hand, throwing rays of light in every which direction, before slamming into Bhiksu's chest.

The corpse was propelled backwards by the force of the Holy Bolt, and sacred energies electrocuted the body, causing it to shudder with convulsions. Aram's armored boot slammed down on the corpse's lower torso, and Aram took the King's Sword of the Heavens with both hands, blade facing downwards, and plunged it through the corpse's heart.

The entire body shuddered once, then laid still.

===Genesis===

"I'll find a use for you, Zhatsuroth," Michael said, grinning down at the being. "Have no worries. You'll have your role soon enough."

The expanse was covered in darkness for a brief moment, and then the two of them were gone.

Fass pulled out the blade. It was covered, not in blood, but in a black syrupy liquid.

"Ow" said Dearg-due, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He pulled his hand back and punched Fass in the face, knocking him into a nearby house.

~~~~~~

Andaras walked away from the makeshift tomb that he had just created. He heard a rumbling behind him. Turning, he saw the rubble beginning to shift. Wedo stood up, completely unharmed.

"That was a nice warm-up." he said.

The girl landed with a thud, glancing up, wide-eyed, at the young man who had saved her.

"Focus, Matt!" Hugo shouted.

"But that's-"

"Deal with it later!" Hugo lifted his pickaxe. "Laser Option!"

The blades on his pickaxe detatched, unfolding into angular sentries that floated of their own free will. Brandishing emitters, they shot foward, firing thin, piercing beams that carved through the robotic knights, releasing their hostages.

Matt cursed and faced the man in the black suit, but he had already brought a playing card to the Asian man's neck. "Attack me and Mr. Hiroshi dies."

"If you kill him, I'll take you down," Matt said.

"But are you going to risk it with someone's life at stake?" the man said.

R.D. walked away from the girl, more concerned about the task at hand. He held his Phase Blade low at his side, looking warily at the card--it might have been a card, but damn did it look sharp.

"Matt, take care of the other people," he said, walking past him. "Let me deal with the nutcase."

===NationStates General===

Not content to leave the corpse where it could attack again, the knight pushed himself off of the body, and aimed one hand down at it, chanting for another spell--he didn't like using magic so often, as his mana reserves were rather small as it were, but he had no choice. As the spell completed, a large gout of flame washed out from his hands, covering the body and consuming it with fire.

He turned from the cremating body and noticed his two brothers-in-arms being held back by their opponents, but he himself was free of a challenger. Grabbing his shield and helmet and reequipping both of them, Aram ran towards the house, hoping to get to Tracer before Tracer could get to X.

Edited by RisingDragon on October 22, 2008 at 20:40:35.

Dearg-due made a few more seals with his hands and a giant stone slab rose out of the ground, blocking Aram's path. Dearg-due himself suddenly appeared next to Bhiksu's head. Picking it up, Dearg-due pulled down his face covering slightly and the head momentarily disappeared under Dearg-due's hood. It wasn't clear, but it almost looked like a kiss. Then Dearg-due threw down Bhiksu's head and picked up his sword, charging at Aram.

~~~~

Tracer and eX dodged in and out of rooms, swords clashing.

"I see it isn't breaking this day, is it X?" Tracer taunted.

"I'd be a little more concerned about your blade, stupid!" eX replied.

Sure enough, cracks were beginning to form on Tracer's weapon. "maybe it's time to switch gears" he thought to himself. He pressed a button on his shoulder and activated his minigun.

"You must not have been paying attention," the man said, pressing the card into Mr. Hiroshi's neck until a thin train of blood trailed toward his collar. "Don't try anything."

"Try what?" R.D. said, tightening his fist around an object he had surreptitiously pulled out of his satchel when he turned from the girl containing the Omega Essence. "I just want to say two words, that's all."

Oh lord, I hope this still works...

===NationStates General===

Aram skid to a halt as the wall came up, and growled in anger. Hearing the attack coming in from behind, he side-stepped and brought up his shield, deflecting Dearg-due's attack. Countering, he lashed out with his sword, swinging out horizontally at Dearg-due's chest.

"What's that?"

"Chaos..."

He suddenly tossed the red Chaos Emerald upwards into the air, spinning it end over end, a no-doubt distracting action, and then snatched it and thrust it forward once it dropped, focusing on the power and on Mr. Hiroshi.

"... Control!"

Brilliant rings of light were absorbed into the Chaos Emerald, and energy flared out around it. Blinding green light burst out from the gemstone and around Mr. Hiroshi, teleporting him--R.D. was only able to manage a short distance, and the Asian man was deposited roughly at the other end of the room.

Tossing the Chaos Emerald back in his satchel during the commotion, R.D. pushed off the ground and charged at the man in the red glasses, his Phase Blade cleaving downwards at his brow.

The man's eyes widened. A jolting dodge was all he could manage to avoid the sudden slash. Backing away, he brandished his card again, and produced another in his spare hand. "I guess we'll do it your way."

"Come on, Matt!" Hugo shouted, as the Laser Options returned to him. "Let's get these people out of here!"

"What about that guy?" Matt shouted.

"Forget him!" Hugo swung his pickaxe to direct the partygoers, who were already rushing toward the stairs. "Come on, MOVE IT!"

Matt's eyes shot back toward the staircase-where was she? He couldn't spot her among the rushing, tight hairstyles. He grabbed the bewildered Mr. Hiroshi by the shoulder and pushed him onwards.

R.D. held the Phase Blade in front of him with both hands, glaring forward at the man. "So, who're you supposed to be?" he asked, while readying every bit of swordplay skill he had amassed since the start of his amnesiac life.

"Oswald." The man rushed at R.D., slicing the air with a card. Light caught on the card and reflected.

Wow, this guy was quick. Or was it his own speed that was diminished? R.D. dodged to the side, but grit his teeth as a flash of pain struck, and looked down at the welling blood on the cut on his cheekbone. Stepping back, R.D. attacked, slashing upwards with the Phase Blade using one hand, following up by grabbing the second and swinging it out as he activated it.

Oswald flipped backwards to avoid the slashes. He threw his cards at his opponent-straight ahead, cutting toward him with their sharp edges.

R.D. leaped backwards just in time, though the cards cut into the front of his shirts and across his bare arm, drawing more blood. Pivoting as he landed, he brought one Phase Blade up and infused it with Lumiya's energy, causing its blue blade to glow green. Slashing downwards, R.D. fired off the Kougenjin blade beam at Oswald, running after it to follow up.

Oswald rolled under the beam. Charging in to meet R.D., two new cards flipped into his hands, and he slashed in precise arcs at R.D.'s body.

R.D. reversed the grip of his second Phase Blade and brought it up to bear against the slashing cards, blocking one while ducking under the other. His foot swept out in an arc at Oswald's feet, intending to trip him up.

Oswald's heels slipped out underneath, and he tumbled. However, he quickly shot a kick at R.D.'s stomach.

Unable to dodge in time, Oswald's foot connected solidly with R.D.'s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He staggered backwards, gasping, and shaking his head slightly.

"Okay, I'm done being nice," he growled, leaping backwards. As he did, particles of blue light streaked around his form and solidified, forming the Dragon King Armor. Looking at his opponent with a fierce glare, the front snapped down, covering his face with a dark-colored, T-shape visor. His eyes flared yellow behind it for a brief moment.

Wrists snapping downwards and embedding the blades of his swords in the floor, R.D. shot forward, chambering a hand back as it exploded with the bluish-white energy of Godhand. Nearing Oswald, he shot it out like a bullet.

Oswald stood and threw out his hands. Cards snaked out from his sleeves and spun around him, faces outward, their outlines charged with blue energy. R.D.'s Godhand smashed into the shield of cards, with a monstorous crackling impact.

His eyes shimmered behind his glasses. "So am I."

Oswald dismissed the formation with wide gesture. The cards coiled out before arcing back toward R.D., this time leading with their edges.

Backpedaling away from the cards, R.D. held his right arm out, and the Godhand was absorbed into his hand, replaced by a ring of light hovering around his wrist, and several hexagonal pistons of orange energy extending out of his forearm, aiming backwards.

Clenching his gauntleted hand into a fist, R.D. aimed the arm cannon at the cards and began firing--as each piston slammed down, a single green beam of energy sizzled through the air from his fist. Where the beams missed hitting the cards, they punched sizable holes in the walls and furniture.

Oswald weaved to avoid the shots that tore past him and into the walls. He waited until there was a clean opening-there! A card shot at the arm cannon, intending to disable it.