Cage Number Four

[INDK]

Damon watched as it seemed that Asuka had suddenly transformed before his eyes. No longer was she the confident warrior that the boy had known, but a strange, zombie like creature who seemed completely emotionless. Damon cringed. While he couldn’t be certain, he was more than sure the little white creature that had leeched onto her calf was responsible. For the moment, Damon saw himself in a particularly tough dilemma. Even with his aid, this cage would be a particularly difficult one for Ashiakin to win. While Damon didn’t know any of the other participants personally, he was aware of their reputations. If Asuka had been slowed down by some kind of fuzzy white creature, then it would make things easier on the ice demon. However, Damon was fearful for the girl’s soul. At the end of the Cell, all the fallen competitors would be healed, but unless he did something, it would be likely that Asuka would remain possessed.

The boy resolved to help, but this resolution came a bit too late. A rather diminutive demon seemed to be prepared to take care of the matter. If that was that, Damon could move on to other priorities. Asuka would likely be too busy recovering from the impact of her sudden brush with being an automaton.

“Time to move on,” Damon figured. However, he hesitated shortly making this decision. “What if the demon is unsuccessful?” he wondered. And even then, if the demon was successful, what kind of havoc would the little red creature unleash once the fuzzball was in his possession. There had been a mention of friends willing to pay, and Damon shuddered at the idea of the kind of friends a little red demon like that would have.

It was a moment that transcended everything that the dramaturge had spoken about in the introduction of the battle, save for honor. Honor dictated this matter and it called upon each and every person in the cage to drop their individual battles for a task much greater. They had a common enemy now in the cell, a fuzzy little creature that could take over any one of their bodies.

Damon climbed up the mesh cage until he was a good fifteen feet above the ground. He then turned around so he was facing the cage, and cleared his throat before he spoke to the entire cell.

“Excuse me people!” Damon demanded. “I know we’re here to fight each other, but there is a creature in this cage that can destroy us all. It takes over our bodies, and is white and covered with fur. We all have to destroy it if any of us are going to survive!”

Certain he’d made a convincing case to the rest of people in the cell, Damon smiled at them, expecting that his call to action would soon be received with a unanimous cheer of solidarity.

[Lavinian Pride]

After the slap came across her face she snarled as she rocked back with a punch to underline the fact she would not be the bitch of this engagement. Sending Storm reeling away she shook her hand gently to let the stinging leave her knuckles. As she began to calm down from the attempt on her pride she turned to look about the arena. Her grey eyes scanned for her next opponent, expecting someone to pop out and jump her with the element of surprise.

The result was she saw the fur ball launch an assault on the girl. As an eyebrow rose in curiosity she watched the show unfold. It was like a tale from childhood, of the possessing fur balls from another plane. Shaking her head slowly she was completely off guard to anything Chelsi the witch would be doing. She didn't even hear the sounds of the bokken as it was raised. The screaming and yelling a perfect cover for the approach of the Brotherhood reject.

Watching the seen she found she almost couldn't turn away as a demon attacked the fur ball which had clung to the girl's leg. Grinning slightly at the being's words that babbled across the field she sighed as she brushed a stray strand of hair from her face. It was then she began to relax, not even bothering to look for an opponent. She was confident she could stay out of the fight for a little while and join the fray again a bit later, perhaps with Storm's help.

She had no idea the murderous intent of that damn witch...

(Chelsi, first hits free, make it a good one. Following that don't expect another chance without earning it...)

[AsukaStrikes]

AAHHH!!!

Asuka screamed as the ghastly tendrils latched onto her, squeezing the maiden's ethereal form and trapping her within the deep recess of her own mind. She had no idea where she was, nor how long that thing had locked her there. It was dark, but not cold or moist like the cellar she was locked in back in Serenti. There was no wind, either. No sound. No air.

LET GO, YOU STUPID STRINGS! The lass kicked and scream, to no avail. But the strange thing was, she could still see and feel everything that was going on inside the Cell as well. It was not normal, that she knew. But how unearthly things were going, she would have no idea until later on.

Asuka's feet dragged lazily across the hard, dirt floor, stirring up a tiny cloud of brown dust in her wake. The sensation was strange - she never dragged her feet even when walking at all. And what's more, Kazeryu laid in the dust, discarded with little regard. She couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't believe she was jumping into the fray unarmed, swinging her arms about like a drunk. It didn't feel natural. It was as if she's just there for the ride even though she's supposed to be the driver.

That fluffy thing- THE FURBALL!!!

She could feel its searing tendrils coursing through her mind, but she couldn't do a thing to its form. Memories from her past flooded the girl's vision, bringing back old wounds that she had so badly suppressed for so long. The overwhelming grief at her father's deathbed, holding feebly onto the man's callous hand. Dark purple bruises from those bullies down the street who did nothing except plot and plunder. Losing control. Losing her identity. Losing her will to live.

No, she will have none of it. She vowed, ever since the day a dreary-eye man shot a firelock at her, she would never give in to anyone. Never give in to anything, be it Death itself.

She vowed never to lose again. Never.

GRAAAAAA!!!! GET! OUT! OF! MY! HEAD!!!

With every last drop of her willpower, Asuka staggered forward and slammed into the chain-linked fence right under the black-eye Damon, completely unaware of the tiny demon behind her nor the efforts of the other combatants in her cage. The lass wanted to end this on her own. She needed to end this, for the sake of her own pride.

GET! OUT!!!

[hushpuppy]

Asuka's emotions roared, a cyclone of fire and embers lashing against Meerplex's roughshod protections. Pulling strands of emotions and memories from her mind, the furball whipped them together like a net, throwing it against the warrior woman's roaring willpower. On the other side, pressing against Meerplex's presence, an icy wall of resolve was growing out from her soul. Cords of control growing out through Asuka's body, strung from the tips of her fingers to the lodelines of her mind, were pinching, consumed by fire and strained by the strength of her resistance. She was slipping away, a thick glass wall growing up around her mind, pressing the intruder back at three sides.

Seeing through her smoky vision, shrinking and fading to monochrome, Meerplex watched a creature float down from the top of the cage, a decidedly murderous looking creature. It voice was a high whine, buzzing indistinguishably as the woman's senses faded, her vision blurring to gray. As a vessel of attack, she was worse than useless now, her inner fire too strong, her resolve overcoming any baser emotions that could be dragged from her. Meerplex released from her, rolling down her leg, consciousness splitting, the world returning to its form and color. The furball rolled away, a weapon thrown from the demon bouncing off the ground, missing where the creature had just latched.

Meerplex searched the cage for a weaker target, one that could more easily be controlled and yet still strong enough to direct as a weapon. It sensed a beast lurking about the body of the unconscious farmer, dipping its hard black beak in the puddle of blood spreading from the man's mouth. The name "crow" surfaced from the fractured memories Meerplex had skimmed from Asuka and the farmer. A disciple of decay. Meerplex rolled toward it, quickly as possible, mindful of the demon floating in the air beside Asuka.

[Storm Veritas]

The legendary Kaosi climbed the cage, with each step Storm beginning to realize that this general disorder was actually not a trap, but rather just the entropic style of a free for all. The boy summoned them to attack the little white thing, informing them in a youthfully high but even voice that it could take over their bodies. It made sense, he supposed, but this seemed a bit too cut and dry.

Your savior doesn’t show up, and you want everyone to attack this little mystery puffball. F*ck that. We all turn our attention there, and then what?

His cynicism had reappeared, mixing with his paranoia. Across the cage several of them were clustered, with Damon, Asuka, and some… little… floating… goblin… thing. It looked vicious, and Veritas preferred his location opposite the cage. Even the deftly hopping legless rat was of little concern. He was bored. It was time to shake things up, and as the red-headed warrior hit the cage, his smile displayed large, white, teeth in a crooked and horrible grin.

Screw it. Party time.

With Dahlios over with the gothic themed witch girl, and the cloister of people lingering painfully close to the cage, Storm could no longer resist. He wrapped the bony fingers around the thin metal cage bars. He took a deep breath, and held the energy in. Letting it grow. Allowing it to fester. Build dramatically, a slow and steady excited state. And then the release.

The crackle-snap was loud and echoing, quite an impressive sound as a massive pulse of electricity surged throughout the cage. He felt the circuit complete between his hands, and enjoyed every second as the sweet scent of ozone filled his lungs. It was delicious, awakening him, bringing him to life.

Turning his head back to the center of the cage, he didn’t know what would have happened. His false, stupid courage reinstalled, he didn’t much care. Perhaps Sarah Dahlios would need his help. Perhaps he’d singed a few of those that came to play.

Or perhaps there was the business end of a sword waiting for him. This is why he didn’t like surprises.

[INDK]

Damon could tell the electric charges were coming a minute before their creator had used his electricity magic. A vision of him frying on the cage wall and then his limp body falling down flashed before his eyes, and Damon knew if he didn’t move quickly, that would be his fate. “What… what, but why?” Damon wondered confusedly. He didn’t understand why he would have been attacked like that, especially when he had offered to help everyone in the cage. He could understand maybe a particularly evil person like Asuka being unwilling to help, but the boy figured that at the very least, most of the Cage would have at least let him go about his buisness.

The injustice of the action might have crippled the boy, had he not seen that Asuka was also against the wall. Then Damon realized that the attack was most likely targeted towards her, and to get the little furball away. Damon was just going to end up an inadvertent casualty, and if he moved fast enough, it might be a fate he could avoid.

“Quick think!” he realized, a slight bit of panic setting in. A few drops of cold sweat poured down his face, and Damon found himself distracted by the fact that his throat was suddenly dry. Already, he had probably wasted precious seconds off his minute, and his prospects for survival didn’t seem much better. He couldn’t climb down, Damon was going to have to leap. There was nowhere on the hard sand floor that would have provided a suitable landing point for the boy, and as he looked around, the softest place to fall seemed to be on the corpse of the defeated farmer. Even that would be a hard landing, but at the moment, Damon had few other options.

The boy leaped into the air moments before the entire cage began to shake with the force of electricity. The chains seemed completely solid, vibrating amongst themselves as they knew not what to make of the force around them. Sparks flew, the air cackled all along the air as Damon Kaosi flew desperately through the sky.

“Please… please…” he muttered to himself desperately. More than anything else, Damon was fearful that he’d fall to his death without making much of an impact in the Cell. He had been here to fight for Ashiakin, and now it looked as if he might pass without as much as destroying the little furball. If Ashiakin was not going to show, Damon thought it would be a complete tragedy if both members of Blank were to exit without a single great event.

However, as Damon sailed through the air, he saw the little white creature. It was still a few feet in front of the corpse, and Damon knew that if he could somehow adjust his trajectory then he could land on the nefarious creature. Then, at the very least, he would have died making a great sacrifice for the Cage.

As the air cackled and popped, Damon summersaulted in mid air, moving so gracefully for a moment it felt like it didn’t matter he would have to land. For brief seconds, he was hanging in air. Then, Damon headed back down to the ground, falling quickly, and straight onto the furball.

[Chelsi]

Damon's rallying cry was the perfect cover. With everyone pretty much united against the furball, Chelsi would be free to do as she pleased. Which at the moment, was striking Sarah Dalios in the back of the head with a long, hard piece of specially treated mammoth bone. Her first action came with a wave of her left hand, as she cast one of her most simple curses. One that would cause Sarah's eyes to well up with tears and haze, like she had just spent the afternoon in front of the sink, washing and cutting onions. The time and duration of the spell depended on the victims force of will, but would last at least five to thirty seconds. More than enough time to finish the busty young Lavinian.

But then, confident that her spell had taken affect, even though she could not see the young woman's face, a notion came over Chelsi. A silly one that defied all of Chelsi's pragmatic logic.

If the girl's neutrilized, why not go help the kid with the fuzz-ball problem?

...

Unfortunetly for Sarah, it was only a notion, and her arms were already in the process of lifting her weapon high over her head, and bringing it down into the back of Sarah's skull.

Still the immoral young witch felt something as her bokken decended. What was it, remorse?

Flickers of memory licked at Chelsi's subconcious, like the beginnings of a brushfire. Memories of a time before the sorceress resorted to petty goonery. Before she needed to. A time where she found herself surrounded by friends and companions. A brief period of contentedness where despite the bad reputation of her bandit allies, she was among people with good intentions and morality.

The thoughts were almost overwhelming, and for a brief moment, Chelsi yearned for those moments again. But yearning wasn't enough, and the backstab was complete, as her blow connected with a solid "THWACK!"

Chelsi reeled slightly, as her weapon reverberated in her hands from the force of the impact, sending a sharp pain up the length of her arms, just as Storm unleashed his electrical assault. Chelsi's hair begain to rise as the static energy in the arena began to increase rapidly. She released her grip on her weapon with one hand, and tried without success to smooth down her hair, choosing vainity over over defense.

Somethings never changed.

[Ter-Thok]

Ter-Thok scowled as his blade missed it's mark. He pulled the Electro-Prod roughly from the floor and began searching for his erstwhile quarry. In accordance with the words of the young boy who had, until just then, failed to register on the demon's radar, Ter-Thok spoke, "The theatrical man-child is pretty much right, really. Whatever that thing is...oh, none of you are listening. Yeah, I should have expected that. Right." He prodded the fallen woman with the butt of his weapon, then shrugged and let his hooves hit the floor, finding himself suddenly in the Mystical Forest of Crotches. He did not dwell on this fact, as the joining of the hips held little significance to a genderless organism.

Scanning the cage, which Ter-Thok insisted had not been part of the original plan for this tournament despite all evidence to the contrary, the demon's eyes immediately focused on the slimy gent whose fingers were caressing a steel cage bar like...something hard and cylindrical that a human male would enjoy caressing; perhaps there was a snappier metaphor available? Ah well. Even if his literary devices were not as sharp as they might be, Ter-Thok knew that tell-tale crackle in the air as voltage poured out of the sleazy creature's hands. Stamping his hooves gratefully in the warm, insulating dirt on the floor, Ter-Thok levered his own instrument of electrocution, the spear-like weapon glinting as the demon charged towards his latest target, the ball of fuzz momentarily forgotten.

Up in the stands, occupying somewhere in the neighborhood of five and three-quarters of a seat, was Hans, Ter-Thok's loyal ooze employee. The seven-foot, cohesive ball of crimson slime's interior was marred with dozens of containers of rapidly dissolving snack food, several species of vermin common to public arenas, and the hat of one man unfortunate enough to fall asleep on the ooze's side. Said man shifted in his fitful slumber, and slumped to the spectator on his left, a rather regally dressed elf, who sighed and shook his head. Summoning up all of his strength (of which there was, indeed, a surplus), Hans shouted encouraging words towards the cage.

"WOOOOOOOO! GO BOSS! HANS KNOW BOSS CAN DOES IT!" the ooze turned to his right, beaming mouthlessly at the middle-aged orcish couple who had turned out for the fight, "DAT HANS' BOSS OUT DERE. HANS TOTE LEE PURD OF BOSS. BOSS SAY TO HANS, 'HANS, YOU GIVE PEOPLE DESE C'LECT BULL TRADE CARDS OF BOSS, DEN DEY HOOKED FOR LEAF. 'SPECIAL LEE CHILLINS," The orcs gingerly accepted the small, laminated rectangles of cardboard. The husband peered over his mousbone spectacles, seeing what appeared to be a picture of Ter-Thok holding a very large, green fruit. The caption read "Uh-Oh! What A Melon!". The orcish hutwife was equally confused, as hers showed the demon in a seedy bar, using a pool cue to bludgeon a small man. Quite incongruously, the caption went "A Wonderful Day for A Birthday!".

"What seven hells be dis?" she inquired in a feminine, phlegmy rumble, as she smoothed out her monkeyskin frock.

"Me not know, deer ist. But me sud'nlee want 'nother one."

"HA HA! GREENYMAN AN' LUVELY LADY HAVE WAIT 'TIL NEXT ROUND!" the ooze laughed as he turned to give his pitch to a now quite conscious man wondering, all at once, why the elf next to him was so annoyed, why there was a red stain on one side of his face, and where the devil his hat had gotten to.

[AsukaStrikes]

Release.

Never had the word sounded sweeter to Asuka than the moment that... thing relinquished its hold over the swordmaiden's body in the presence of her fiery willpower. The creature's simple mind was surprisingly difficult to understand, however, as the only think the lass was able to make out during her few secinds of captivity were swirling colors and incoherent noises surrounding the core of its own mind. What was it? Where did it came from? What were its motivations, its thoughts, its will? These questions would linger long after this little brush with death had ended, even though the girl would rather forget the entire ordeal. She had no intention of reliving the experience of being the slave of another. No way she was going to let herself turn into a zombie ever again.

The steel mesh bars rattled in excitement the moment her limp form struck the cage, bouncing weakly against its solid hold. The girl was completely unaware her intended target was now directly above her, dangling precariously ten feet above her head and rallying the others to slay the evil furry beast. Asuka would rather slice the boy's leg open for attempting such a useless tactic had she not been completely drained of all strength. Fighting in the physical realm, clashing blades and trading blows with the legends around her, was already taxing enough for the young girl. Fighting for control her body, even though it was a purely spiritual experience, was just too much for the lass.

The weary Akashiman didn't even have enough strength to push off the steel mesh when the Defiler's searing shock erupted around the entire cage. She didn't even have the strength to open her eyes and see the blue-white tendrils racing along the chain links like bees to honey. She had no way of escape.

The pain came at her with loud Crackle Crack in its wake, paralyzing the girl's entire body as her arms tore away at odd angles, the matted copper locks fraying and standing on ends. Asuka couldn't remember much of anything during the ordeal except that she screamed. Screamed like those ungodly harpies that once followed her out of Akashima. She thought those voices were beyond annoying already, but then again the phrase "Above the skies, there is a sky" proved its worth for her to see.

The electrocution lasted for only a few seconds, feeling more like an eternity, as the lass was launched twenty feet across the arena like a discarded ragdoll against the unforgiving Autumn gust. A strip of dust erupted as the writhing body collided and rolled, bouncing inhumanly into the air a few turns before coming to a rest at the foot of a Dahlios thief. Asuka felt like yelling at the top of her lungs as her blood boiled and shot through her teeth, painting the brown arena with blobs of vermillion worth a few healthy gold coins as abstract art. But she didn't care how much it would fetch in the art market, anyways. All the lass could think of was the sheer pain ripping mercilessy through her fractured body.

The shock therapy, a strange, inhuman way, revived the lass for a few seconds just enough to look up at the other combatant inside the Cell. Peering painfully through watery eyes, Asuka could have sworn it was that elusive Lavinian thief she had met back in the Serenti.

"... S... Se... th...?" That was all the fried fighter could muster before collapsing into unconsciousness, crimson drips trickling out through her ears and nose. The lass was down for the count, battered and well-done. For the time being. Until she would rise again to return the favor to the bastard that electrocuted her.

[Lavinian Pride]

Thwack!

The sound resounded through the arena as Sarah collapsed on her hands and knees. Pain rippled through her slight frame as she closed her eyes fighting back the stinging tears. Shuddering as it traveled down her spine and back again she held back the groan of pain, not even giving her attacker the satisfaction of hearing her reaction. Shaking her head she fought through the pain trying to lessen it as she felt something hot on the back of her neck.

Before she had even a chance to say anything she saw a body collapse before her. The girl was a red head, and someone she didn't even recognize, yet the girl looked at her. Her glassy eyes held a far away look that seemed to see right through the Lavinian, as she looked upon Sarah. The fallen warrior’s eyes focused as best they could, before she spoke the one name she never wanted to be called again. Seth.

Reaching back there she felt the beginnings of a genuine goose egg bump. Something she had only heard related to her when talking about parent’s old scolding and beatings. Still it amazed her how much that simple bump hurt, and even worse how much blood it had drawn. As she looked over her shoulder she saw the culprit. Chelsi, the Brotherhood reject had backstabbed her.

There was only one course. The girl was obviously off guard from the electricity that coursed through the arena. Growling lowly letting a bit of the anger at being called by that bastard's name from the dying warrior she drew a thorn before she lunged, stabbing right at the black haired witch. As she did so she growled between her lips, "Next time make it metal and save me the headache!"

She was infuriated by the attack, and the fact she had to endure such a disgraceful act, was something she would not forgive.