Lords of Creation (Story Thread 2)

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Yes, actually. What do you thing of the competition so far, what did you think of your opponent, and, if you don't mind me asking, how did that blast of mud work?"

[Marvelous Miscreant]

"Well, quite honestly....I'm terrified of this competition. I'm way out of my league here and the only reason I'm here at all is to prove I am a worthy hero to Crav. That first round was brutal, Rhogar was more of a warrior than I and a very formidable opponent. I'm not ashamed to admit that he probably would have wiped the floor with me if it weren't for that lucky shot."

Aox glances down at his wrist where the hose was concealed.

"You're a Durhian, you'd appreciate the way this little gizmo works," Aox mused as he pulled up the sleeve of his right arm to reveal the nozzle and hose that snaked up his arm.

"It works be using pressure to force the mud out of this little hole here. When I pull the lever, the mud only has one way to go....out!"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

It was excellent, really excellent. For a second the Durhian in him took over. He leaned closer to observe.

"Where's the storage tank for this? Does it only hold mud, or...?"

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox continues his explanations, showing Pessimal the storage in his pack and where the mud is held.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Hmmmm, have you though about perhaps having more than one hose? I may not be a chemist, but I know that their are certain things which, if mixed together, can produce some startling effects."

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox stares at pessimal blankly for a second, the cogs in his head turning. Suddenly the light goes off.

"That's...that's brilliant! Brilliant!" Ao begins rambling on about the possibilities of this idea.

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"You could even have different combinations if you set in some panels in the storage tank like...This.... and you could have, like a switch, so you could change what you were..." Pessimal got this far before he realized what he was doing. He stood up quickly, placed his hand over his mouth, and began backing quickly away from the pack.

"Uh, thanks for the interview, Mr. Aox, I'm sure that the people back home will be ecstatic and I'm looking forward to your next match. As an aside, can you not mention me if anyone asks where you got that idea, that would be terrific! Pleasure meeting you, Aox, goodnight!" and then he backed out the door.

Once outside, he began banging his head against the wall/

"Non-interference." *Bang*  "Professionalism." *Bang* "Journalistic Integrity."  *Bang*

He stopped, and clutched his aching head. First he talks about himself to Emere, now this! It was this God business, it was throwing him off his game.

He staggered back up to the stands to find his crew, and found them watching the field intently. "What's going on now?"

"Special match." Replied Mileena.

"S'what it looks like, anyway." Chipped in Torbin, who had gotten the flash set up.

Pessimal squinted. He could just make out a pair of fighters in the foggy night. "Can't see a thing. Can't write about the match from here, and considering that we're likely the only witnesses..." he leapt onto the railing, "Then it's our duty to report this accurately for those that can't see it." Then he was gone, over the top of it and onto the dirt sidelines of the arena itself. As close to the action as you could get without interfering.

A second later, a heavy weight landed behind him. He turned to see Mileena picking herself up from the dust. Seeing his confused expression, she said "Danger zone. You shouldn't be alone out here." He started to say something, but decided that she was right and also much stronger than he was. He nodded, and the two made their way closer. As close as they could get without stepping into the actually arena. Probably closer than was safe.

[Marvelous Miscreant]

Aox returned to his thoughts as Pessimal left. It was strange, Pessimal had seemed upset about something. Aox didn't linger long on the thought, he had some fabricating to do on his mud hose.

[Philote]

Thorn walks over to his starting zone. "Yes, and you must be Taro, the one who can not enter the light" Thorn replies. "I would like one moment to prepare, I had not expected our battle to come so early."

-----------------------------

Pessimal and Mileena felt a presence behind them as Gilgamesh revealed himself, glaring at them. "You will not enter into the boundary of the arena or interfere with the fight, Am I clear?"

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

(7 motes previously +3 motes (daily) -2 motes (tourney, almost forgot, but Magnas and Gravas arrived), Total: 8 motes)

Gravas senses Pessimal and his assistants entering the arena area. This was an irritant that she did NOT need.

Gravas: "Kagehana, some people have entered the arena and Taro has his match right now. Please go check that everything is fine."

Kagehana: "Yeah, I'll go. I wonder who it couuld be?"

Kagehana goes in by way of shadows and appears right behind Pessimal and Mileena, "What do you reporters think you're doing entering the arena?"

---------------------------------------

As they search for the source of the divine power that had attacked Spectropolis, Mina fiddles with some metal that she had stored in the Shadowscape, but pulled out. As she does so, she uses fire and ice to slowly make it turn into a sword. She then put divine power into the sword, turning it into the Clone-Blade (-6 motes, Create Artifact).

(Total: 2 motes)

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Taro: "If you want, I didn't care when our battle would occur, so long as it wasn't during the day."

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Beside him Pessimal feels Mileena tense up. Pessimal, however, when confronted with a god and someone who may as well be compared to him, speaks frankly.

"It's impossible to see properly from up in the stands. To dark, to much fog. I assure you, we have no intention of interfering with the match itself, we'll stick to the sidelines here, outside of the ring proper. Just here to document what happens, so that people can know. They might feel cheated if they didn't know what happened with the match. So, instead of watching it, I'll produce a written record for them. But to get all the fine details, I have to be closer than normal."

He may be frank, but inside his knees are shaking. He had never dealt with these two before, after all. He had no idea how they would react. But, and he cursed his lips, curiosity drove him on.

"By the way, you're the winner of the last match. Would you mind answering a few questions? Just general thoughts on your opponent, the tournament itself, and the like?"

[Zaleramancer]

"They moved the match because one of the competitors is a vampire." A rather hoarse, but very female voice said.

From behind the Kagehana came a very large woman.

A woman dressed in a fur coat that struggled to contain her mass. A woman with blackish hair, mostly covered by a large floppy black hat. She wasn't a looker, with a board face, piercing eyes and ten-tons of arrogance in her gaze.

She flounced past the two interrupt to sit next to the reporters.

"I won't miss this match. No need to get huffy, Shadow Hero. I'll make sure they mind their manners."

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

Pessimal isn't sure what to make of this women. Whoever she was, evidently had no fear. He found his tongue. "Vampire" he asked, "and...what is that? And, not to sound ungrateful, but may I ask your name as well?"

[Zaleramancer]

"Vampire: Typically an undead being that fears the sun, and must drink blood to survive. I'm fairly certain he practices blood magic." She said as she fished through a large purse for something.

"I am Madame A. Gant." Madame Gant said as she raised a flask of some alcoholic beverage from her purse.

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana: "Huffy? Why would I be huffy? I just won my first match and now I need to prepare for my match against Aox."

She turns back to Pessimal, "You said you had questions for me. What would those questions be again?"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Pleasure to meet you ma'am," he says, his voice slightly hollow. This woman, where had she come from? Kagehana's question brought him out of his stupor.

"Ah, yes, Miss Kagehana. Just you opinion of your first opponent, the competition your feelings on your nest match, general queries like that."

[Tsubasa & Wen Tien]

Kagehana: "Hmmmm, well I would say that Tirion was an interesting opponent. He had a good fighting style, but he appeared to rely too much on trying to make 'Light' defeat 'Darkness.' If you're going to fight, then you need to concentrate on your opponent, analyze them, then utilize any weaknesses you see. As for Aox, I think he might be amusing to have as an opponent. He's a Durhian as I recall. Same as you, right?"

[Gentleman Vaultboy]

"Correct." Pessimal says, taking her words down carefully in the dark.

[Zaleramancer]

Gant sipped her brandy as she peered out into the dark arena.

"If they don't hurry, night will end, and they'll be sweeping up the ashes of the vamp."