Red Skies and Red Blood Stains

[The Muri]

Closed to Dr. Why. Brief, light bunnying approved at my end

Yet another fight?? Heck, I keep getting healed after each fight and I still am feeling exhausted! What? ... Why another fight? I came to the Citadel because I was curious, not to become a battle master - although that would be nice... Either way, I thought I would take this one anyways...

... The reason why? I have no idea?

Thus, I entered yet another door the monks had pointed to.

~~~

A red sky with clouds racing across at close to the speed of light was above me. I noted that first, then saw how the ground was not much of anything more rather than a rocky terrain that literally was reflecting the sky's colors off of it. A rough, rocky plain with several boulders and millions of tiny rocks scattered around was all that there was. This was no desert, but this was something similar...

If I could hear anything, it was the sound of how fast the world I was on was rotating. Somehow, gravity and friction was still playing their parts and I wasn't sent flying off this world immediately. However, a hissing sound that was similar to wind blowing violently past you or perhaps a cat letting out a low pitched hiss was what hit my ears. All I could do now was look up at the sky. It went by so quickly, it seemed as if a single second was equal to one day.

It made me feel light headed, I still was fearful that any moment now I would be carried away by something here... Yet nothing happened. I felt like vomiting as I looked up at that red sky... I just had to turn away. I pulled my head down and shut my eyes tight, attempting to calm myself down. Over time it worked.

I opened my eyes after a bit, feeling much calmer after shutting them, and reached for my sword Calcator which was hanging on my back. I placed my hand on the long, blue hilt, but nothing more. Now all I had to do was wait... wait for the person who wished to spill my blood like the sky above me.

[Dr. Why]

Time... It flowed like water through the oceans, rivers, lakes, everything. The deciding foci for all magicks. Within it was the combined stirring of new events, amongst the primordial soup of the past. It twisted, turned, winded and knotted, all converging in the great center of the universe, only to be repelled into the great dark Beyond for it to be recycled once again.

And Dr. Why was there to end it for one person.

“The monks told me that her name is Kaida, but she’s known as The Jet.” Timeslayer mumbled to the man walking to his right, barely matching the Kallian’s long strides. The monk handed the Dr. his staff and showed him a door, one that emitted a bright red light, not unlike the light of the star he trained for so long in. The door itself was an ordinary affair, banded iron, with scorch marks along the edges from the flames of previous duels.

The door swung open, and from it, a heat emanated, one that belonged to a planet with such a horrible sound, one that made him want to cower ing the deepest reaches of the earth, only to be hounded by the whistling of a planet hurtling through space. And the heat, it burned, far cooler than the heat of a dying star, but hot all the same. And the sky, it seemed to be as if blood, about to fall to the earth in scorching red droplets, to rain on their battle in thick crimson liquid. He walked in...

-----

“Well then! Let’s see, earth, lots of earth!” The Doctor exclaimed, rather oblivious to the many monks cocking their heads at the obvious statement. He strode into the chamber, slammed the door and looked around, seeing nothing but sand and tiny rocks. The sand itself reflected the sky, and seemed to have no end. Only tiny crystals of rock and some pebbles as far as the eye could see.

“Hello!” He yelled, waving to the woman standing in the desert, her hand on a sword, her eyes slightly squinted. Frankly, he thought it suprising that she could stand the heat, even if it was fairly mild.
“My name’s Timeslayer, I’m your opponent!

And so, the culling would begin!

[The Muri]

"Timeslayer, huh?" I asked as the man standing a whiles away from me finished his introduction, "Sounds epic!" From across the barren earth which was our battlefield, I revealed a smile. This smile, I hoped, was truly nice, as this man had introduced himself unlike my last opponent. His introduction pricked my curiosity. I observed his staff as I formed up my own introductory. "Hi!" I called out in the voice that was more childish than I wanted, "I'm called Kaida... with no last name."

I wanted to know what this man was made of before charging forwards with my sword swinging. I let my one hand loose of my blade and both reached for my packet full of five, sharp throwing knives which was located on my belt. These knives were jagged and had various points to the blade, so if you think that these blades going in would hurt... wait until you pull them back out! I unzipped the pack with one hand and reached in with the other. I pulled out two throwing knives, both clenched into my playfully crossed fingers. Given their sizes, I tossed one knife into my other hand quickly and prepared to throw them. My eyes narrowed in the seriousness of battle before darting towards him in an unusually fast sprint.

I actually raced past him before turning around. With my feet still moving, I swerved to where I was facing his back and still running the opposite direction. I threw one of my knives at him. With how close I was to him at that moment, I put a whole lot of muscle into my throw which made the toss almost twice as powerful.

After the first throw, I skidded to a halt several yards away from him. Whether I hit him or not, I pulled my remaining knife into a throwing position and raced back towards him. Keeping my momentum and concentration, I raced several feet closer to him and threw the second knife. I then halted once again and watched Timeslayer's reaction.

[Dr. Why]

The woman had spunk, and that was a very definite fact. She came rushing at me, but not nearly in time for an effective attack. I reached into the air beside me, and out came a stave, suitable weapon for this fight, or at least that was what I thought. In a flicker of movement, I swatted down the knife, and prepared for another counterattack, but in the end, she came rushing back.


Well that’s curious… I mused in my head, but as she passed, a grin was on her face, and seconds later, a sharp pain stabbed into my shoulder. It was as if an awl had been heated and pressed into me, burning my flesh, but no. It was a wicked knife, curved and hooked. As I yanked it out, more skin ripped off, but a small price to pay for what I might do. The wound, though, was spurting the silver blood of my kind. And for that, she would die. “Was that strictly necessary?” I said, puzzled at her lack of manners. One normally greets their opponent and bows before a fight.


She was, well, unconventional, even though one could say that the unconventional is conventional on this strange planet. So, just to match her, I went ahead and walked towards her, breaking into a run, then a sprint. I shifted my staff to my left hand, and in my right, a light formed. The light was startlingly blue, but barely bothered my eyes, which were accustomed to such brightness. It morphed into a gauntlet, which almost instantly formed claws of hard light, about four inches long, with serrated edges. In my sprint, I shoved my staff into the air besides me.


“You hurt me, I do the same” I whispered as I passed, the luminosity of my right hand sliding next to her, attempting to dig into her side. Now, all that was left to do was wait until I saw if I hit it right.


--


“Timeslayer…” I thought, tossing around the name in my head a few times before allowing it to roll off my tongue in a few syllables. It was almost a title. But it had so much more meaning than a normal title. Which was something given, not taken. This was a name, a part of me. One person could never say to me “You’re not Timeslayer anymore. Sorry” This name, wherever it came from. Was special in a way one could not imagine.


--


I turned my attention back to my wound. It was throbbing, bleeding, and overall being the shit that a wound was. “Well, we have a fun thing now. A bleeding hole in my shoulder, hooray.”

[The Muri]

I had some armor on her, but not for her thighs. I was so irritated when he aimed for my side with some magical claw. I acted upon what was buried in my mind, somehow I remembered how to fight without the lessons here. I could tell myself that before I woke up on that steady beach a while ago, I had a life of my own. But now, where was it? In battle with this man who wanted to kill me? I'd think not!

However, Even as I swerved aside from his attack, it still hit me. Several cuts cut through my leather battle suit and had slashed across my stomach. It stung like heck! It had off the bat screamed pain. And while one would think that I would be thankful it wasn't serious, it still freaking hurt! I hissed at the pain and turned back to him, I felt a scowl spread across my face, one of my eyes was half shut instinctively. I had no idea why, but my body was reacting that way... and even though the wounds were else where on my body, it made me feel better.

"Well, this is a battle... I was expecting you to dodge though; if you were a good oppo-" I realized what I was saying... it would make him angry, huh? I covered my mouth, "... Whoops..." The words had escaped my mouth from my mind when I hadn't meant them. Uh, yeah, if he wasn't ticked off already he probably was now... I sighed and pulled off my sword Calcator, yanking it away from the leather straps wrapped around my upper body. The leather straps fell to the ground as I gripped the heavy, V shaped sword with both hands. The large sword was too heavy and big for me to handle with only one hand despite my won excellent strength - which I know I have so don't tell me I'm not! I kept the weapon defensively covering my entire chest, against my will as I just wanted to grasp my cut up belly until it stopped bleeding. I looked at this Timeslayer with worried eyes, I had spoken too much... it may have just costed me my darn life.

[Dr. Why]

Blood would be spilled, only because I needed it to be. It'd happen. The insult that just spilled out of her mouth in such a foul stream. Those words would end up causing her death. I would make her pay. Pay for that insolent sentence.

"You. You little, insolent bitch. Your words, they will cause your death. They will see to it that you will not survive to see another arena, or by that, another day...."

I looked to her, then to my hands, which were enveloped in a sick yellow glow, that reflected my revolt over her attitude. Slowly, I grinned. My hands clenched, and swords replaced the claws. Blades of not mere durability, but those of pain that is not like any other. Pain that would rival the feelings of death itself. Pain that would make it so that she remembered my name. Remembered it until she was met with her final moments.

"I am no mere force to be trifled with. I am the Timeslayer. I have beaten those of power that matches that of a GOD!"

With my words, I charged, striking at her in an arc, then sliding to the left, stabbing at her spinal cord. My eyes clouded with my own blood, sprayed by sudden movement, though it ached, though it would bleed, I will not acknowledge it. I will make it so that I'm not some weakling. I am the Dr. of questions. I make them cower in fear before my blades.

"Girl. You are not one to be unwise. Submit now, and we'll see about a painless death. I can arrange it so that you will end up being in an. Accident. Something involving a slip of my hand while I tried to rescue you from an untimely death? "

I looked at the girl named Kaida. I looked at her, and I saw myself. I saw arrogance, but something else. A deep feeling, something that was personal. A dread of failure maybe? A timely escape from something else? A friend, betraying you? I did not know, but she did. She could reveal that to me in a few words. Yet did I want to know the heart of another person? Did I want to see the soul of a fighter?

It seemed I had some delving to do myself....

[The Muri]

Yup... He was angry.

Although I did have my irritating wound, I was able to somehow dodge both attacks he made on on. And then he talked some more. The entire time, I tried to listen while I was still clenching my wound, my hand now was also stained by my own blood. It was so gross, I hated it!. I listened to him though, and saw that like me, he was one of those people who was easily offended.

I bit my lip again, it was a natural way for me to handle nervousness. Why it was I had no idea. Of course, this was linked to the same reason why I had no idea for everything else: no life. I had no life, I had no idea why and how I was even here. I kept searching, but found no answers. Nobody recognized me, nobody listened to me. However, I could infer that this man in front of me did... but was what I saw of it really a life?

I narrowed my eyes, the way I always do, and titled my head. Half in the pain from my stupid cut, the other within my own questioning, "I have no life at all," I stated, "I have no idea what to do for a living, but one thing I know I'll never do for a living is killing people!" I growled, finding some kind of determination in my own words, "I don't know anything about you, but you seem to be one of those maniacs who likes to kill for no reason at all!" I let go of my wound finally and gripped Calcator with both hands, "And yes, you may end up killing me for this fight - but the the monks will raise me up again. Is that was a 'Timeslayer' is, a murderer? And when fighting a person like you," I raised Calcator into an offensive stance with both hands, "I'd rather die with a fight than give in so easily to you!"

How did I suddenly feel this way, I had no idea. But deep inside, something personal came up. I knew I felt this burning before; the desire to avenge the innocence that had been lost to an unnamed enemy - but where? And the words just came out of me, I never thought about the types of 'maniacs' who killed for a living, but I always knew they existed. Where did I suddenly develop such strength, I have no idea. It puzzled me, but it also strengthened me. As the orange world whirled around me at speeds close to the speed of light, I found I was suddenly ready to fight this man to the absolute death...

[Dr. Why]

I grinned, my hatred boiling down into simple, bloody glee. It was a fine day for a killing, was it not? I clenched my hands into fists, and growled, sweat dripping onto the back of my neck in a fairly steady stream. Her eyes narrowed into slits, and her sword slipped down, forward, it crossed her body, edges out, blades sharp. It was a stance that was less defense, more raw power, power that would probably be forced into blows that would be aimed for me. I readied my gauntlets, straightened my suit, and stood up.

“You and I have a few things in common… Everything taken, albeit in different forms, excellent combat training, betrayal, hardship. We have no titles, no happiness. All that is different is why we fight. You fight to gain the upper hand over something, but I fight to simply see my enemy on the floor, at my mercy. Their lives are in my hands! Yet here? No, the monks bring it all back, they are capable of the impossible!”

I said this, my eyes glowing with fierce silver and gold light, my blades flickering brighter,

“Girl, in the end, one of us will give up, and one of us will be laying on the floor somewhere, contemplating their life.” I murmured, voice dropping to a whisper.

I stopped walking forward with a wince of pain, the wound on my shoulder knitting to a light scab. The silver blood yet lingered on my shirt, shining in the harsh red sun. The ground was loose, and the boulders large, maybe nine feet tall in some places. I formulated a plan in my head. A simple childish strategy that was such an old trick that one would never be suspected of using it. I grinned, the looks of glee returning to my face. I dashed towards her, legs pumping at a manic rate.

I twisted on my heels, and kicked up sand and pebbles, covering my sprint to a nearby boulder, which I crouched behind, hopefully forcing the girl to come to me, instead of me going over to that oh, so very sharp sword. I looked nervously around the huge mass of stone as the dust settled…

[The Muri]

I coughed as a spray of dust and sand flew into my face. A brownish orange cloud was all I could see. I felt myself wither up, I could only pull my hands over my face due to the harsh irritations. I growled when the dust cleared, this guy was beginning to tick me off... I glanced over to the boulder where I saw a shadow of him move a second earlier.

With a *click*, I turned to chainsaw part off for Calcator. I lowered the blade and glanced over to him. I knew better than to follow, he might be trying to drag me over there for some sort of trap, right? He was planning this, right? He wanted me to go over there, right?

... But I just couldn't help myself...

I ran over there as fast as I could. Feet brushing up against the sandy grounds. The feeling is rock crunching and being pushed behind; the sound of sand scuffling across the earth. I pulled my sword up and swerved around. I turned to where this man hopefully was and aimed a direct swing at his chest.

... Talk about not using your head! I may end up regretting this...