2 v 2 Morituri te Salutant v. Celestial Warriors

[Call me J]

This battle ends in 2 weeks. Good luck to the four of you.

[streak101]

"I'll go." He said when they had asked if anyone would participate. The ancestors and patriarchs had requested the members of the House of Sora to step up and participate in the new tournament that would be held. The team would consist of four, one to lead an army, one to battle alone, and two to compete side by side, the rewards were extraordinary. Not many stepped up, but it was still quite a number, too many, but he made sure he became part of this team. He had to redeem himself, his loss at the Gisela was embarrassing at the least, not to mention the embarrassment he caused to the House.

He wouldn't compete in the army battle, that was an obvious choice to forget about, so he decided to battle with someone else, a fellow member of the House to remind him why he was here, and to motivate him to battle impressively. He had a good feeling when Alberdyne was chosen to lead the army, his friend was a powerful and intelligent leader, he was certain that Dyne would lead victoriously. The woman chosen for the one man battle was a newcomer to the ranks, he didn't know much about her but either way she must have been confident in her skills. Along with him, Kara became his partner, he met her before, whilst working for the House, she was skilled and complemented his fighting style's which only made it the better.

Now Banda stood on what was to be their arena, the place where blood would be shed, if only to be returned to its owner later by the monks. If Banda lost here, then he would embark on a long vacation so as to train, to become stronger for his House. If he won then he would continue to help the House as best as he can. He scraped his foot against the gritty dirt of the plains. The sun was blaring down upon them, it was a drastic change to the cold of Salvar and its snowstorms. The sound of rushing water hinted at a nearby stream, and there was a strong breeze that cooled his face, flowing through his hair, he had taken off his bandana and tied it around his arm, just as Enetrad did it.

Banda drew his claymore and boomerang, newly repaired. Dyne had fixed the weapons for Banda awhile back, when they first met in Corone. He grinned, Dyne probably had gotten better at his craft. He looked around for Kara, he couldn't see her, she was either not here or hiding somewhere, waiting for their enemy. "Think I'll head for the stream." He said casually. His thoughts returned to Dyne, "Good luck, friend."

Banda, are you sure you are ready to return to fighting in these tournaments? Remember the Gisela. Banda nodded, but him and Saffron had different meanings of the saying. Banda's gaze was a serious one, one of an avenger. "Yes Saffron indeed, remember Gisela."

[Abomination]

There he was. The opponent of The Homunculus. There was a bit of distance between the two, but it looked like Homun saw him first. The plains were vast and empty with few exceptions, so it wasn't that hard to pick out something that didn't belong. Either way, he didn't see any sign of the partner he was allegedly supposed to have. He had only been in Sine Nomine a short time before he was chosen for this mess. When he heard that he had been assigned a teammate, he became angry at the notion of having to rely on anyone, but eventually decided he could simply ignore him. Not only that, but it was some child with toys. If it wasn't for the fact that there was a distinct possibility of meeting powerful assimilation targets here, he wouldn't even be involved in Sine Nomine. For Tobias' sake, he better not show up to ruin Homun's fun.

He slowly made his way to his target. Banda had a faint outline around him, but he could tell it was at least as good as he was, if not slightly stronger. Good enough, but The Homunculus preferred to tango with someone who would give him massive amounts of strength or power. Either way, Banda should have noticed him by now. The wind blew from behind him, and he marched with his mouth slightly open and his sharp teeth shining in the sunlight. His eyes were half-closed, his glare could be described as a cross between boredom and agitation. He wanted to kill his opponent, to tear his limbs off and pop his head like a watermelon. To kill and devour this person who dares to stand in his way, to tAkE apaRt hIS....

He shook his head. If there's anything he learned from fighting, he had to stay at least somewhat calm during a fight. At least for now. Too slow. Too slow. Too slow! He couldn't just casually walk up to his enemy. He had to attack! Chop him into tiny pieces, and chop those pieces into even smaller ones! He pulled out his short sword from its sheath with his right hand and started running. Yes! This way the way! No more waiting! No time for conversation! Rip a hole and let the blood pour out! He held the sword above his head with both hands, ready to strike down on his opponent as he ran.

[streak101]

Banda's ears pricked up, the sound of footsteps behind him, but whose? He turned around, it would've been a good sign if Kara had already showed up before their enemy, a strategy could have been developed... "Oh well." Banda sighed as the stranger rushed towards him in a mad state. "Why is he running at me so...recklessly?" He asked himself, this was a new kind of opponent. Banda twirled his boomerang in his hand and threw it in the general direction of his opponent. He spun his sword with both hands, he was prepared for the fight.

As his opponent grew closer, Banda's adrenaline became more apparent in his eyes, the sharpness and the intensity. A grin slowly spread across his face, "Let the battle begin." He locked blades with his opponent, the man had sharp teeth, unnaturally sharp, "This will not end like Gisela!" Banda jumped away and swung his blade downward in a diagonal motion at his opponent, his adrenaline was near its peak. "Let's go crazy!" He shouted.

[Abomination]

Something flew at him from the direction of his enemy. Homun couldn't make it out until it just a few feet away from him and just narrowly dodged it as he ran. His convergence of memories told him that it was a boomerang, but that's all it said. He ignored any further thoughts and continued running, now within striking distance of his enemy. He locked blades with his opponent, who was about the same size as him. The exchange didn't last long, as the young man retreated out of harm's way and then advanced with an attack of his own. He was talking non-stop the whole time, something Homun was not used to. It was annoying. It made him want to kill him even more.

At this point, Homun's sword was in his right hand and his hands were spread out, looking for an opportunity to grab some part of Banda for assimilation. Homun was about to defend against this attack, but then something hit him in the back of the head so hard that he lost his focus. What hit him was the boomerang, which would've naturally came back to the owner had The Homunculus not been in the way. It fell to the grass below behind Homun, and in the sudden shock he found himself defenseless to the oncoming attack. The claymore cut through his shirt and sliced open his chest, the blade cutting halfway through his skin but stopping just short of his ribcage. The sound that came from the attack was much trying to cut through a steel-linked chainmail. Blood sprayed out immediately and then slowly streamed down Homun's shirt. With his pain threshold very high, Homun merely had to regain his focus to continue fighting. He decided he would use one of his new 'tricks'.

His chest rumbled and shook, and out of its center a dagger bloodily burst right out and flew towards Banda. A large wound was made where the dagger erupted, but skin and tissue slowly spread across it in an effort to regenerate. Right afterwards, Homun jumped at Banda in an attempt to close some distance. If he crashed into the man, he would assimilate him, and if he didn't, he would thrust his sword deep into his enemy's gut. While he was thrusting the sword with his right hand, his entire left arm was stretching forward in order to block any sort of escape to the left. The arm would bend to the right in a wide arc in order to eventually cut off the man's escape and wrap itself around him, sealing his escape. By having multiple agendas at once, it was obvious that Homun was trying to get Banda close to him. His moves put his body into a great deal of risk, but if he managed to assimilate the man, most of his own damage would be undone.

[streak101]

Banda's boomerang had done its part. It connected with the back of his opponent's head and then fell limply to the ground. It disoriented his opponent and Banda was able to do some damage. When it didn't seem to phase the man that he had just been sliced across his chest was when Banda began to worry. Mustn't have been deep enough.

His opponent's chest began to twist and morph. "What are you?" Banda gasped. A dagger burst out from the chest as if Banda's attack was the trigger. Banda tried to evade it, but it was too fast. It cut into Banda's left forearm, he tripped and fell to the ground. The wound was deep, but it had not gone through the bone, blood trickled slowly down his arm. He looked up at his opponent, he had pounced at him, with his arm stretched out. He realized his opponent had done a similar attack before. Is he trying to touch me?

Banda pulled the dagger out of his arm quickly and as painlessly as he could. The blood that had built up near the wound sprayed out profusely and stained his bandana and the left side of his face. He threw the dagger towards the man's left hand and staggered up and away from his opponent. He unhooked the House of Sora chain from the sling around his waist, gripped one of the ends and lashed it sideways at his opponent to unravel it.

[Toy Soldier]

The wagon was dragged lazily on the pebble laden dirt road, with the sound of squeaking slow turning spokes and tiny bouncing stones being heard as the wheels pressed against the small rocks, lodging themselves in the wagon tires’ tracks. Tobias’s halfhearted grip on his ominous possession stemmed from the events that’d transpired in his life over the past several months when the residents of the Toy World began acting strangely. The smartest and most knowledgeable inhabitant of the wagon’s dark macrocosm, Talisman Grail had caught wind of a secret organization by the name of Sine Nomine whose goals perfectly matched the dreams and aspirations of the Toy World natives. Complete and total abolishment of all Althanian governing bodies. To learn of such a group was a dream come true to them. And because of that strong dream, Tobias’ friends began putting their plan into action.

Tobias wasn’t aware of this scheme or the details that were entailed. Although Raiaera was under the attack of the wicked necromancer Xem’zund, he was happy to be in the presence of people that actually cared about him. Stout and honorable Bladesingers and Istien teachers that sought to raise the boy in the way of a song mage and see to it that he become an upstanding, righteous, and noble gentleman. Battalion was a long way away from becoming any of that, but he was thrilled to be on the journey.

But, that all came to a screeching halt.

Some time after the events in Pezra, Dheathain, where he and his colleague, the Bladesinger Feanaro Elensar pursued the wanted Raiaeran enemy Luc Kraus, Tobias returned to Raiaera alongside Elensar in order to help the people in their time of distress. Many individuals had been displaced, but Tobias aided other loyal Raiaerans in providing such people with transportation to the safer towns and cities of the continent. But at a time where tensions were high and chaos reigned supreme in these safe havens due to the grief that the saved carried because of their lost loved ones, Tobias involuntarily opened the door to his wagon’s evil world. Because the young orphan loved the people of his new land, his emotions would sometimes do that. Nothing unfortunate ever happened from such an occurrence, but that had not been the case in this situation.

Talisman Grail was well aware of Tobias’ weakness for the elves. His plans to have the Toy World residents escape, apprehend, and coerce the boy to join Sine Nomine were based on this character flaw. Therefore, when their small window of opportunity presented itself, they struck while the iron was hot.

Tobias didn’t know what hit him. Several of his companions leaped from the erected wagon door and grabbed him before he could gather himself mentally to close the unwanted gateway. Because this took place in a crowded Raiaeran town full of Eluriand escapees, many people including Elensar witnessed Tobias’ kidnapping. Naturally, the Bladesinger rushed to the child’s aid, but it was too late. The wagon suddenly disappeared with Battalion having been pulled through the door.

Sometime later, the orphan was freed from the dark imprisonment of the vile world and spit back out into the real realm, specifically Corone. He’d obviously received a lifetime’s worth of verbal abuse, but he was used to it. In the presence of all of Toy World, he reluctantly agreed to become a member of Sine Nomine even though Talisman had already telepathically contacted Virtue, the organization’s spokesperson stating that Sine Nomine would receive a new recruit. The boy’s answer of acceptance did not match his sentiments, but to quarrel with his allies would do nothing but bring pain and suffering to his loved ones. The Toy World denizens would bring complete destruction to any bond that Tobias’ established if their needs were not made a top priority.

Everything was already prepared like usual. He was told that his proving ground would reside in the Conquest Trials tournament so he went to the appointed battle site. Tobias hated tournaments, having acquired nothing but bad memories from them. But if being forced to compete would spare the lives of Feanaro, Ost’Dagorlin Headmaster Amroth Ancalimon, and any one else the child cared for, then it would all be worth it.

The longer Tobias walked down the country road, hugged by uncultivated farmland, the more he realized that the terrain was actually familiar to him. An unsettling feeling poured over him as his skinny legs covered ground, but the sensation reached its apex when the lonely road broke wide over a series of hills. “No, it can’t be…….” The child began shaking underneath the clear azure skies that matched his widened blue eyes. Johx, a Toy World resident had taken it upon himself to travel with Tobias and took notice of the boy’s consternation.

“Ooooooh!!!! Why does Tobie look so scared???????? You should be happy!!!!!!” The stringed oddity bounced joyfully alongside the orphan, juggling a knife and the crown that he usually wore on his head. Under normal circumstances, Johx’s antics would’ve incited laughter from Tobias, but the chlld remained silent, knowing that his stringy ally was well aware of the reason behind his anxiety.

They were in Woodsy Green, Corone. The rural town that housed Oak Grove, the orphanage that Tobias hailed from. In fact, the very area that the child found himself in was the area where many of the social workers took the children to play during the summer. Small and large hills, clean streams, and vastly open plains were a paradise for energetic and rambunctious youngsters.

“Heeeeeeeeeeeey Tobie-Toby! Look,” Putting the crown back on his head and pointing forward with his knife, Johx brought Tobias’ attention to two men fighting on the plains. The child quickly pulled his companion down low, ducking just above the eye line of the top of the hill that they were on.

“That must be them,” Battalion recalled Talisman saying that the first round would entail a two on two match up. Grail described the boy’s partner to him, stating that he was a violent, mongrel type being with an insatiable desire to kill. Tobias’ gulped nervously upon witnessing the ferocity of the fellow that matched that description. “I don’t know if I can do this……”

“Ooooooooooooof course you can!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This will be fun! FUN, FUN, FUN, FUN, FuN!!!!!!!!!!” Immediately, Johx grabbed Tobias and sat him in the wagon, right in front of the large box that he always had with him.

“What are you doing!?” Tobias asked, as he attempted to get out of the red vehicle. However, his comrade hastily sat the child back down, before pushing him and the wagon a couple of feet to the very top of the hill.

“Here weeeeeeeeeee goooooOO!!!!!!!” Johx suddenly pushed the wagon down the fairly steep hill, but not before hopping aboard on his box. Tobias screamed at the top of his lungs, holding the sides of the wagon in sheer terror. He wanted to leap out, but knew that to do so at the speed they were traveling would be foolish.

There was a small ramp that was posted against the edge of the stream that separated the hill from the plain that the two Conquest Trials competitors were battling on. Ironically, Tobias along with his friends had constructed the crude ramp a long time ago, serving as an elevation to propel them over the stream when speeding down the hill on wheeled planks. It was at this time that he wished he’d never made it.

“Ahhhhh!!!!! We’re going to die!!!”

“Hahahahahaha!!!! You might be right Tobie!!!!!!”

When the expeditious wagon rode up the wooden ramp, Tobias and Johx soared high into the air, clearing the stream as they headed straight toward the two battlers. The youngster wasn’t worried so much about the well being of his unintended targets as he was about himself. In fact, the child hoped that Johx and him crashed into at least one of the bloodthirsty warriors since doing so would definitely break their fall. However, if that didn’t happen then……well………….

[Abomination]

All sorts of things went wrong. As Homun's left arm extended forward in an attempt to envelop Banda, his own dagger came flying at it and pierced into the palm of his hand, sending the entire arm off-course to the left, safely away from its intended target. Not only that, but when Banda removed the dagger from his forearm, blood sprayed everywhere- including Homun's body. He was immediately blinded by the blood and stopped. As he tried to back up to regain his composure, a chain wrapped itself around his sword and he lost his grip. He continued backing up, using his newly-freed right hand to wipe the blood out of his eyes and pulling back his super-stretched left arm. He looked at his left palm and there was a dagger sticking through it. At first he was angry, but almost immediately he became pleased to the point of grinning sadistically. Banda's blood was all over him and that dagger, assimilation was only a few moments aw---

CRASH!

The front of a red wagon slammed into Homun's head, sending both him and the wagon flying backwards until Homun hit the ground and the wagon rolled over him and down the plains. Startled by the sudden pain, he pulled himself up as fast and clumsily as he could, holding his broken skull together with both hands. His head was almost split in half, with half his face sliding slightly downwards and rivers of blood pouring from the many cracks. Huge globs of blood crept through his head and fell to the grass, his head hanging to the side like it was dislocated and his neck turning purple. He looked like some kind of broken doll, desperately trying to keep his head on his shoulders. He still managed to create a smile out of the broken excuse of a mouth he still had, because once the assimilation process started this damaged would be reversed!

True to his predictions, the pieces of his head that were barely attached started fitting together like a jigsaw puzzle. The dagger slid out of his palm and the hole closed up and stopped bleeding. Skin grew over the deep cut on his chest and also stopped bleeding. He expected, at any moment, for memories about his opponent to be rushing into his head. Memories that would prove valuable to defeating this... this... Nothing? He felt strange. Well, stranger than usual. His body, as well, as healing, was changing. He had no choice but to let this occur, as whatever force had infiltrated his body through the wagon was much more powerful than he was. Lines formed all over his body that sunk in at his joints and curves. These lines sunk in and the connections between his body parts seemed less like bones and more like strings. His skin semi-solidified and had a wood-like quality to it. Two lines started at the two ends of his mouth and moved downwards, all the way to his chest. His pale skin became stark white, his eyes became pools of black with a red, shining dot in the center. There were no memories to be had. No dreams, no regrets, no coherent thoughts to be examined. He lost all feeling, all emotion, he was like some sort of... some sort of...

Puppet.

The places where his skull cracked became lines, so his whole face looked like it was stitched up. With his body still facing forward, his head turned and turned until it was facing full backwards, staring at what had hit him. For some reason, he felt like he should do no harm to the boy.

Only the bottom portion of his mouth opened and closed, his sharp teeth disappearing in the blackness of his insides. As his mouth clattered, it sounded distinctly wooden, and in his doll-like eyes a deep glare directed at the boy. The intensity of the glow in his eyes dimmed and shone like a flickering torch.

"Hoo-hoo!" came from his mouth in a voice similar to Johx, the boy's little string companion.

Homun couldn't fight the feeling that he could deal with the boy later. For now... a more pressing matter. His head turned back and stared at his true opponent. The wood-like quality of his body was hard to tell with all the blood he was drenched in.

"Hoo-hoo! Let's have some fun!"

He lifted up his right arm and pointed his palm at the sky. Suddenly, his right hand detached itself and fell limp to the side of his arm, still hanging on by a string. The fingers clattered as they hit each other, and inside the arm it was hollow and dark. FWOOSH! Fireworks erupted out of his arm and flew up into the sky.

"Look at the pretty fireworks, hoo-hoo!"

They became brighter and brighter, and before they became blinding light, The Homunculus opened his mouth much wider than he usually could. The bottom of his mouth disappeared into his neck, so the opening was long and deep. It was like his entire body was hollow. He aimed at Banda, and twenty daggers flew out of his mouth toward the young man. Homun could not control where they flew despite his best efforts, but at least some of them should fly toward his intended target, while others could potentially cut off his escape route. During the first critical stage of the assimilation, it seemed another had taken affect before Banda's could. It's not certain whether it's Tobias or Toy World that was assimilated, but The Homunculus had a piece of Toy World within him. The individual dolls were dangerous enough, but what would happen if they were all together in one body? It was unknown how much of Toy World was in Homun, but one thing was for sure: The world that was locked away from Althanas had just extended a hand into this one.

[Toy Soldier]

When the front of the wagon violently collided into the skull of his monster-like partner, the young orphan truly believed that he’d killed the fellow. The sound of flesh tearing and bone cracking was almost as loud as the child’s boisterous outcries. There wasn’t much time to react to the clearly injured man however, since the aerial descent upon the grass fields bounced Tobias and Johx roughly, sending them tumbling nearly twenty feet afterward.

Upon the chaotic tumbled ceasing, Battalion only found a few minor abrasions on his legs. His stringed companion had somehow intertwined himself through all four wheels of the toppled wagon, laughing as each tire spun until the stationary position of the red vehicle eventually brought the revolving wheels to a complete stop. Dents and nicks littered the child’s wheeled possession. The crimson paint exposed its steel frame underneath and the spokes distorted in such a way that when rotated, the annoying squeaking sound that it routinely made when dragged was ten times worse.

“It looks like I’ll have to get Nathaniel to fix this,” Tobias sighed, examining the red wagon briefly. The only items that seemed to be in good shape were the stringed individual’s box and Tobias’ shield. The wooden paddle that he’d grown accustomed to using as a weapon had snapped clean in half. The orphan picked the two pieces up and joined them together in a futile attempt to make it whole again. In frustration, he squeezed the worthless chunks of wood and hurled them into the nearby stream. “You just had to be an idiot, didn’t you Johx!! Why do you always do stupid stuff like that!?”

By this time, the crown wearing, box-lugging jokester managed to free his tangled self from the wheels. When he rose to his feet, he stared into the orphan's eyes, not saying a word. The stringed creature’s strangely solemn behavior startled the boy, nearly erasing any indignation that he harbored, and for good reason. This was the first time that he had actually seen Johx serious.

“Johx….I didn’t mean to…”

“BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I got you!! I got you gooooooooood!!! You should’ve seen your face!!!!” Truncating his laughter, Johx imitated the Toy World gate opener’s expression before bursting out into laughter once again.

Tobias crossed his arms, adopting an irritated countenance for the second time. He should’ve known that at the root of everything Johx did was comedy. Wishing to not deal with the prankster for the time being, he waved his hand down at him before walking in the direction of his Sine Nomine ally in order to check on his condition. However, several steps had been all that Tobias walked before freezing in terror, observing the eerie man’s head rotate 180 degrees. Battalion had seen films on the pictabox where zombies did grotesque acts like that, but never in person.

“Wh….what are you?” The young mage backed up slowly, utilizing his peripheral vision to locate his steel shield so that when the time was right, he could dash toward it and pick it up in order to defend himself. But the freakish thing simply spun his head around, gazed at the enemy, and screamed something incoherent.

“Hoo-hoo?” A puzzled expression washed over his face. Tobias didn’t know what to make of this, yet when the fellow’s apparently wooden arm unlatched and fired something into the sky, fear had once again established authority in his heart.

“Crap!!” The child sprinted toward his shield, diving for it and holding it over his head as if defending against launching arrows. From underneath the circular object’s protection, the world around the boy turned colorful and bright. Thoughts revolving around Johx’s safety entered his mind, but when he heard the jester’s laughter, he rolled his eyes and dismissed any additional thoughts of concern.

Quickly realizing that nothing was blowing up or consuming the fields with fire, lightening, or any other flashy tool of destruction, the eleven year old peaked underneath the shield. “Fireworks?” Tobias didn’t understand what was going on, but there was hardly any time to since Johx had wrapped his thin arm around Battalion’s hand and pulled him to his feet.

“Hahahahaha!!!!! Hoo-hoo!!! Hoo-hoo!!!!!” Johx emulated the nonsensical ramblings of the boy’s abnormal partner as he picked Tobias up and once again sat him in the wagon. “Hold this for a moment Tobie-Tobie!!!!” The large wooden box was slammed into Tobias’ arms. Verbal chastisement was locked, loaded, and ready to fire at the stringed prankster, but the sudden event of knives beginning to fly out of the orphan’s ally’s mouth caught his eye just before the illumination of the fireworks reached their peak.

“Johx, did you see that!? Something strange is,” Battalion looked over his left shoulder and didn’t see his companion. “Johx? Johx!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING NOW!?” Tobias’ eyes found him some fifteen feet away bouncing up and down, dancing to the crackling and popping of the fireworks.

“Tobie-Tob-Tob!!!!! It’s aaaaaaaaaa PAaaaaAAaAAaaRTY!!!!!” He continued to dance like a drunken fool before he abruptly stopped. Tobias didn’t say anything this time, but instead watched his cohort behind the protection of his shield. He knew Johx was about to do something unpredictable. “Tobie-Tobie!!! This is a party so we need dancing shoes! Right? RigHT!? RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!?!”

There was no time to reply, of course.

Johx ran over to the wagon and grabbed the back of it, pushing the vehicle forward with great speed. Tobias was still in it, precariously holding onto not only the box, but also his shield. Several of the daggers were still soaring randomly out of his partner’s mouth, which prompted the youngster to hold out his shield and deflect some of the incoming blades. It became quite obvious that the target was the bandana-wearing soldier. Battalion braced himself, thinking that yet another collision was about to take place. However, Johx’s unpredictability struck again.

With a hard kick, the crowned Toy World resident lifted the wagon forward, sending Tobias and his box flying at the vest-wearing warrior. Immediately after, Johx lunged for the individual’s feet like a possessed madman, seeking to latch onto the soldier’s boots and steal his footwear.

“GIMME those gray boots OkAy PleAse!?!?! I wanna dance and they will be good for dancing!!! Yup, yup, yup!!! GOoooooooD foooooor Daaaaaancing!!!!”

[streak101]

Banda sighed in relief, his counter attack bought him time to evade the attack, and his chain had successfully wrapped itself around the man's sword. A grin replacing the sigh, Banda pulled the sword out of the man's hand and wrapped the chain securely around the sword hilt. He held the other end of the chain with his right hand and spun it over his head. Combining the chain and sword Banda had created yet another weapon at his disposal. Banda swung the chain downward at his opponent.

Although he wasn't expecting the wagon. The vehicle had crashed into his opponent and negated his attack. The sword flew past the mercenary and pulled him backwards. Banda skidded across the sand. He quickly got up and assessed the situation. That wasn't Kara, but the wagon did strike the enemy, on the other hand, it could've hit either of them. But is the battle over? He thought, his enemy was most likely dead, he took a head injury. "Still..." Banda dragged the chain and sword on the ground and clutched his claymore tightly in his left hand.

He gasped, his opponent was gone, and in its stead was a new enemy. This opponent was much different, he was wooden for one, he resembled a puppet. Banda, this one...Your previous opponent and this puppet are one and the same, they are the same entity. Banda spit on the floor. "Shape shifter then? Just perfect." He looked towards the wagon its apparent driver was still alive.

Suddenly, his opponent shouted, and flares erupted from his arm. Banda covered his face with his sword, but the flares were sent up into the sky. At the same time, numerous dagger were released from the enemy's mouth. There was no specific direction, but some of the knives were headed in the direction of Banda. He immediately dropped his claymore and pulled his shield off of his back and switched the chain to his left hand, holding the shield with his right. The flares would have blinded anyone at this point. Banda felt the thud of the blades.

"More knives!?" Banda dropped his shield and pulled one of the knives off. The next sound he heard was the sound of wheels. The wagon was rolling quickly towards Banda, the mercenary had no time to get away. It seemed the driver had a different plan though, the wagon halted in mid-stride and threw its passenger forward at Banda. The driver seemed to be but a small boy. Him! He is also your opponent! Banda believed Saffron to be speaking the truth, the spirit could see into the minds of others.

Another figure lept at the mercenary, another puppet-like character. Banda jumped away, he gripped the dagger and threw it towards the puppet. He thrust his fist outward at the child, not wishing to attack him with his blade.

[Abomination]

Freedom! Trapped! Run! Stay! We! You! Tobias! Tobias! Each word came from a different voice in head of The Homunculus. After the blinding light passed, his arms, legs, and head hanging limp as if no muscles held them up. Though his legs were limp, strings were attached to various parts of his body and pulled kept him in mid-air. The wind blew across the plains once more and there was a clakka-clakka sound of his body shuffling about in one place. In the distance, the rolling hills almost seemed to be pulled toward the battlefield. The stream, while pouring in one direction, flowed slightly toward the side where the three were located, hitting the shore before continuing its murky journey. Hazard... The wooden-like flesh on The Homunculus started rotting, peeling off and flying into the air. In its place regrew new skin, but not fast enough to replace most of the old. Something started appearing in the sky, but it had no concrete form yet.

Before the creation of this strange meteor could commence in earnest, Homun looked toward Banda and noticed Tobias heading right for him. Tobias? Tobias? Tobias? Tobias! TOBIAS! TOBY! TOBY!!

"Hoo~! Toby Toby~!!"

His thin, hollow body was lifted into the air by the invisible strings, and he started flying towards Banda with bits of his flesh still peeling off and flying towards the sky. His previously white body had started to turn a shade of metallic gray, slightly taking on the quality of iron. Genocide... His left hand detached itself in the same manner as his right, and out of both arm sockets emerged two long steel swords he had assimilated earlier. They extended out of his arm all the way to the handle, so it looked like just blade stuck right out of where his wrists were, with his dangly puppet hands clacking listlessly below. His black coat changed and and rather than turning into a cape, it turned into what appeared to be unwound blue ribbons, spinning themselves around his arms. His mouth opened and closed repeatedly as he flew towards his enemy.

Before Banda's fist could connect with the young boy, Homun's lightweight body flew in and took the blow in his cheek. Despite the loud CLANG! sound one would hear from striking iron, part of Homun's jaw ripped off like wood and fell to the ground, leaving only half a bottom jaw and a large gaping maw of darkness where half his mouth was. Time's running out! Time's running out! It was fun while it lasted! We tasted freedom! Freedom from the Toy World! The long blades sticking out of Homun's arms started swinging wildly at Banda, with the two unwound ribbons partly attached to his arms flying to the side, then at Banda from behind in an attempt to wrap themselves around him and suck out his adrenaline. Homun's jaw was not regenerating from the blow, in fact pieces of it were slowly being ripped off and sent towards the rotting meteor forming in the sky. While swinging his sword-arms around, his body was light and moving wildly, almost independently of his arms. He was fighting like a puppeteer was controlling him from above.

[Toy Soldier]

The young mage trainee was fully prepared to counter any attack of the enemy the instant the foolish Johx propelled him into the air. He been with his other worldly companions long enough to know their tendencies. Therefore, when he was sent airborne, Tobias gripped the straps of his shield tightly in order to be used as a means of either protection from the bandana wearing warrior, or a harsh fall to the ground. It seemed though, that when the fist had drove toward him, his crazed ally intercepted the impending strike wholeheartedly. Such a sudden move would’ve been noble and upright in normal circumstances, but due to the blade appendages that his Sine Nomine companion wildly swung in the process, Tobias' left leg had been slashed a few times before he could turn his shield toward the metallic onslaught and guard himself.

With a clamorous thud, the child hit the grass, skidding several feet on his shield, which exposed the fresh dirt beneath the green pliable blades and created a half-pipe indentation. Battalion lifted his face out of the dirt and violently spewed soil that he’d inadvertently collected in his mouth. Some of the torn earth had found its way in his feathered headdress that he briefly removed and shook loose.

“Freaking idiot!” The boy looked at his stringed friend whom had found a way to get himself impaled to the ground, via the dagger that the enemy threw right through his corded shoulder. The incessant laughter coming from the jester had grown intolerable to the Coronian orphan. His eyes began radiating a brilliant blue. The red wagon reacted to this by emitting an ominous black mist. Then from out of the center of the toppled vehicle, a black door quickly jutted out from it. For the first time, the clownish Johx adopted another emotion other than careless happiness.

“No….No! I don’t wanna’ leave yet!!! I was having so much fun!!!!!!!” Two beings had emerged from the black portal, contrasting their threaded companion in appearance entirely.

“You’re a fool! Take your seat in the lowest depths of our world!” After turning the wagon right-side up, the man adorned in fine white linens approached Johx, ripping him through the dagger in his shoulder and tossing him savagely through the enigmatic gateway. The cloaked elderly gentleman that’d also made his appearance observed the feuding warriors, having not paid the least bit of attention to the crowned jester. His expression remained confident and unalarmed, until he took notice of the rotting meteor hovering high in the sky. Wide eyes then set on the eleven year old.

“Care to explain what’s going on?” Hazard pointed upward with his index finger, guiding Tobias’ eyes to the recent development. The boy hadn’t even noticed it until now. Ever since he arrived on these plains and witnessed his partner’s techniques, he received an eerie feeling from him. The firing of fireworks and the shooting of countless knives had been strange enough, but with the emergence of the rotting ball, he began to piece things together.

“I think he’s……copying me.”

“Copying you? Nonsense.” The cloaked druid responded, dismissing the very notion.

“Well not me, but…..you guys.”

Both Season and Hazard refused to believe that such a thing was even possible. But the voice of Talisman Grail entered their minds from the realm of the Toy World, confirming Tobias’ observations.

“You two would do well to listen to the child for once,” The militaristic historian continued, carrying on in his brash and authoritative tone. “The wildly violent specimen that you see fighting Banda Utako is called Homun Culus. He definitely has the ability to copy the skills and techniques of anyone or anything he touches. In this process he receives also the mannerisms, thoughts, and experiences of the individual that he assimilates with. Since that idiot Johx had caused both he and Tobias to fly wildly on the scene of battle, when the wagon hit Homun, the assimilation process began. So what you have now is a fellow who’s utilizing the power of several Toy World residents as I’m sure you’ve figured out by now……Hazard.”

Grail said nothing after that, but the information he provided was more than enough for the trio. Hazard was fascinated that such a specimen existed in this world. “This homunculus interests me greatly. I’d like to investigate his assimilation abilities further.”

The stream nearby was full of aquatic life that fishers and farmers of the rural area thrived on. But such life was robbed of its vitality when the evil druid walked to the edge of the waters and stuck the Blight Jar in, thus killing all of the dense life that this portion of the stream contained. The waters quickly turned a gangrene color while fragments of decaying fish ascended to add to the collective waste of the rotting meteor. When it’d grown to the size of a boulder, the vile warlock turned and evil eye toward Tobias and Season.

“Start the fires.”

The two knew what to do. Having still harbored indignation for the fact that he’d been wounded due to Johx’s antics, Tobias stood in front of the young, finely dressed mage. The temperature of the area grew hotter than it already was, bringing flames to patches of grass that were dry as well as producing a haze in the distance as humidity built up.

Then, when Tobias let out a vociferous outcry, flames ignited from around him. Wielding the conjured magic, Season sent the flames to the aerial meteor, setting it ablaze. “To do away with a bug is most imperative if I want begin examining the homunculus in a decent time frame.” Taking control of his own technique, Hazard lifted up his arms and guided the torched meteor down towards Utako in all hopes of crushing and incinerating him so that not a shred of his humanity remained.

[streak101]

A surge of pain went through Banda's arm when his punch connected with the shape shifter. He had not hit the child, but the boy was still harmed by his teammate. The dagger had halted the other puppet creature in its tracks. He meant to look at the boy but his shape shifting enemy had began another attack, with two long blades slashing frantically at the mercenary, Banda could hear the wagon doing some strange formation as well.

He parried the Homunculus' attacks. Banda! Ribbons! They will bind you! The mercenary saw the ribbons unwrap themselves from his enemy's body and stretch towards his. With his other hand, Banda gripped the ribbon coming from the right and tugged it to throw the Homunculus behind him whilst parrying the oncoming attacks from the Homunculus.

Banda, meteor! Banda looked up, a fireball the size of a boulder was careening towards Banda from the sky. The boy, he's brought friends. Banda ran forward grabbing his sword and chain and side-rolled to the left and dodged the crashing rock. He was in a position that he saw both his opponents, the shape shifter on his right and the strange boy on the left. Banda, choose wisely, one mistake can mean - "Saffron! Shut the hell up!" Banda screamed, stomping the ground in irritation.

Something hit his foot, he looked down. His boomerang was there, in flames no less. The meteor must have set it aflame! Banda looked at the crater in the ground. He grinned, "Wood and fire don't mix very well." He picked up his boomerang and quickly threw it at the shape shifter, his hand sustaining a minor burn. He sprinted towards the boy and his allies. He made a wide, arcing swing with his chain and sword at the three. "Fine Kara, this will be my fight alone." Banda said through clenched teeth.

[Abomination]

The ribbons had done their job. In fact, Banda had grabbed them to throw Homun away from the battle! It was such a nice act, especially considering the danger of the meteor just hovering ahead. The ribbons' draining power came from their contact with the target, so Banda's adrenaline should be diminished. Still, able to parry Homun's quick attacks and expose himself to throw him away was quite a feat. This was someone who Homun couldn't beat if he didn't have control of his assimilation. The Homunculus found himself on the ground, but not for long. Propping himself back up like a wind-up toy with the ribbons losing their inanimate movement and falling helplessly to the ground, he was about to continue his attack until he noticed his movement stopping completely. Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! It's over! It's over! It's over! Goodbye! Goodbye! Goodbye! The voices in his head were not his, and it was only just now that he realized this. He was realizing quite a bit of things just now, which means... The assimilation! It's ending! The last thought was in his own voice.

He couldn't move. The last phase of assimilation was taking its toll, and all the damage he had built up was magnified. His body was returning back to its original form, and the grotesqueness of his missing jaw was now evident. At least, since it's been so long since the wound, the blood had clotted already. Still, his body felt heavy and fleshy. His hands fell off his arms like rotten apples, and the swords fused with his skin and bone. It was a disgusting sight, and he couldn't do anything about it. His skull felt like it was going to split open all over again.

So obviously, he couldn't do anything about that meteor crashing down. He looked up for a moment before he lost consciousness completely, his mutilated, pathetic excuse for a body joined up in the momentum of the flaming boulder that rolled down into the stream and got swept up in the current. In his last moments, he wondered exactly what had went wrong. He somehow knew that his alleged 'teammate' was to blame. He thought: wHeN i gEt OUt oF hErE, i'LL KILL hIM! His bloody body was careening downstream, and he was gone. In the spot where the meteor collided with him, a large glowing husk of flesh, wood, and debris remained that could be mistaken for Homun's body.

[Toy Soldier]

Watching the fiery flesh comprised meteor plummet to the open grass fields and deliver deathly judgment to Tobias’ newfound ally was not a sight that Hazard expected to observe. By the way that the fallen companion had utilized the unfamiliar techniques owned by the residents of the Toy World, the old druid was quite sure that the homunculus would adeptly evade the rotting rock instead of succumbing to its weight and intensity, allowing it to pilfer the life right out of him. It was all anti-climatic as far as the cloaked elder was concerned.

A slight interruption reared its vile head though, in the form of Banda Utako. The chain and sword were swung with pure and fresh viciousness, which would’ve certainly rendered the receiver of the murderous weapons dismembered like the corpse of Homun Culus. However, despite their awkwardness and unorthodox behavior, determination wrapped firmly in hardened battle experience rested snuggly in Tobias and his companions.

What appeared to be but a simple attacking maneuver had come with a twist. The chain dipped somewhat low while the blade cut through the air at mid height. Hazard was the furthest away from both the long and short range assaults, so for him he simply took a casual step back, allowing the tail end of the metal chain link to whip passed his face which in turn caused a brief gentle breeze to push the hood of his cloak off of his head. The elderly codger was well equipped for distanced combat and could’ve easily made short work of the young and inexperienced Banda. However, his interest simply wasn’t in the persistent fighter. Instead, his eyes fell upon the remains of the homunculus’ cadaver, since the bulk of the slain body had already traveled quite a distance downstream with the meteor.

“I have to collect what I can!” Hazard yelled as he ran in the direction of his bloodied and lacerated treasure. Meanwhile, Season and Tobias reacted in unison in response to the two-fold threat. Utako’s blade came in swift and hard, yet the orphan raised his shield at the proper time, letting the steel defense utility clang against the sword’s razor sharp edge. When the fury of the blade was quelled, the child ducked and then moved the large round shield over his head as if it were an umbrella. Season responded to this gesture by leaping atop the shield and then quickly springing aerially. While airborne, the arrogant mage concocted an ice javelin, which he hurled down speedily at the cloth-covered head of Banda. Instant yet brutal death was the desired result of such actions.

Back at the sight of the homunculus’ remains, Hazard kneeled down, examining the pieces of flesh and charred wood that gave off a stench worse than his dead skin that would grow back after having been robbed of it by the Blight Jar. Tobias’ wagon was very close by, and the black door gateway was still wide open. A wicked smile suddenly crossed his face as he hastily gathered what was left of Homun’s corpse. Tossing it into the opened door of the red wagon, the druid immediately followed after it, closing the door of the ominous Toy World behind him.

[streak101]

His attack was unsuccessful, the old man accompanying the boy had dodged the quite easily, the boy blocked the sword with ease using his shield. Banda spit on the ground. It would have been easier to fight the child from afar without having to touch him but if Banda continued to battle using long range tactics the boy would only use the proportionately large shield to cover his small body.

He suspected the shape shifter had been defeated, if he hadn't been then the homunculus would have returned with another devastating onslaught of murderous tactics. The mercenary had to give credit to the boy and his friend though, for their attacks were just as intentionally bloody as their partner's were.

Banda ran from the lance. Outrunning the weapon seemed to be the only way to dodge it at this point. As he ran though, a pain struck his left leg, as though his energy had been sapped from his body. Saffron gasped in his mind. The ribbons, their effects must have been delayed due to the gloves on your hands.

Banda tripped onto the ground, and as he did, his boomerang was returning to him, now burning away slowly like wax on a candle. Ice and fire collided, leaving steam and condensed water to descend upon Banda, whose leg was still movementless. "Guess you should thank your partner." He said smirking. He staggered up to his knees and pulled on the chain, protecting his face with the claymore in his left hand. The charred remains of the boomerang only hinted at what he thought was to come. He had to buy himself some time to regain movement in his leg. I'm ready for the worst. He thought to himself, if only to keep him from thinking of death.

[Toy Soldier]

When the ice lance darted through the air, missing its target and finding residence in Woodsy Green soil, the young boy’s eyes locked in on it and acquired a countenance that was of an individual frozen with fear, for it served as a trigger of sorts. The thrill of battle and violence was stirring up in him and had reached a point that rivaled the feelings he had when he was still under the care of the Oak Grove Orphanage. The desire to see Utako dead and his flesh burned by the murderous hands of Season had brought a strange sense of excitement that he immediately attempted to root out with self-talk. “I can’t think like that anymore!” Tobias shook his head in frustration, wishing not to revert back to a mindset that had only sought to destroy lives.

Season witnessed the subtle change in the child’s intensity through use of his peripheral vision and knew exactly what was going on. “Get yourself together, boy!” His gaze never lifted from the enemy, realizing that death could come to any warrior that allowed a distraction to soften his or her guard. However, the real reason for the urgency in his demands was due to the fact that their adversary had struggled to remain balanced. The brown haired mage wasn’t entirely sure as to the reason behind this, but understood that such an opportunity would not last long.

Yet the element of surprise was always at a premium.

“Child, what are you doing!?” Season’s indignation caused him to turn his head toward Tobias, which revealed to him a terrified boy who had not fallen to his knees.

“I’m not going to do this!” Battalion dug his fingers frustratingly into the ground, tearing away blades of grass and exposing the earth and its small inhabitants below. He’d recalled the thoughts he had with regard to doing whatever was necessary to keep those in Raiaera that he cared about safe, but he’d forgotten the mental turmoil he went through upon recognizing the wrong deeds that he’d done. This battle was a strong reminder of those times.
Sighing, Season formed two additional ice spears and kept them afloat with the use of the wind that he was able to manipulate. They hovered obediently, eagerly waiting for their master to ship them off to the enemy’s supple and fatigued flesh and find their domicile in his vital organs. However, to make a rash move without Tobias was risky, since he wouldn’t have the luxury of forcing the enemy of worry about two opponents attacking rather than just one. But the child was unresponsive and lost in his own little world.

“Tch! If you’re going to persist in acting like a frightened toddler, then you’re useless.” Season was about to shoot the ice lances at Banda with immense speed, but the emission of the dark wagon mist had covered nearby ground. From the door yet another of the Toy World’s children emerged. “Wh…what are you doing here?” The magic user inquired to the new individual, stuttering in his shock.

“It is time. This battle is over.” Talisman Grail stoutly stood on the surface of this realm in perfect posture. His military garb was immaculate which was a testament to his dislike of personally getting involved in battles and instead letting lesser beings (in his eyes) handle the grunt work.

“Is that so?” Season immediately melted the crystallized javelins. “Well, this is quite the pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, the little gate opener has experienced a loss of heart.”

“I’ll take care of this little problem.” Grail gave Season a look of assurance, which the mage responded to before leaving for the black door entrance. Talisman then walked over to the terrified Tobias and looked down on him with pure contempt. “You fail to realize that your antics will do nothing but cause you to witness the death of anyone and everyone who is close to you. Your only chance in saving them is to do as we say. Isn’t that clear?”

Tobias looked up at the intimidating figure and remained motionless. The fear that’d already set in him was only amplified by the appearance of Talisman Grail, who seemed to have a certain level of authority over many of the residents of the strange wagon world. He knew he had to move, but to do so meant that he’d invite that horrible feeling of guilt back into his mind, since the eleven year old knew that his Toy World accomplices never had his best interest at heart.

“F….fine.” Tobias finally rose to his feet, which produced a grin across Grail’s face.

“A wise decision. Now go. In serving your purpose, Hazard was able to acquire something very valuable. We shall see if it brings to fruition the first step of our……plan.” Battalion never liked the schemes that Grail orchestrated, but simply did as he was told like always. By entering the wagon world he’d be subjecting himself to verbal abuse and torture of all kinds, but to rebel as he’d thought only moments ago would do nothing for him.

When Tobias entered the black door, Grail soon followed after him. However, before he plunged back into his home realm, he glanced at Banda Utako. “It is a shame when so much is out of your control,” Grail spoke with his usual arrogance and air of superiority. “You couldn’t save your mother from your father and now you can’t even save yourself from that which Sine Nomine will bring upon the world. Maybe it would be in your best interest to end it all right here.”

Afterward, Grail smirked and left the fatigued Utako to his lonesome. Perhaps his advice would be taken.

(Final post.)

[streak101]

Banda stared at this newcomer, he seemed to be the one who ruled over the boy, and even the magician who was prepared to decimate Banda had melted the ice lances once being ordered to stop. The magician entered the wagon and disappeared into the vehicle, soon the boy followed obediently. As the supposed leader was about to step into the wagon, he spoke to the mercenary. His words froze Banda to the ground as though the lances really did pin him there.

"H-how do you-" Banda uttered in fright, but the man was gone. He stared into the space where he had stood, how did this stranger know about his past? He trembled uncontrollably. The man, whoever he was, was indeed correct. He couldn't do anything as his mother was struck down by the man he held so much hatred for. Only when his brother had destroyed his own mind in order to destroy his father had his mother been saved and even then it was not enough. He thought he had changed, yet even now he could do nothing as his opponent was about to finish him off.

He won, or at least it seemed that way, but only by sheer luck and desperation. It was hardly an improvement. He stared at his arm, the blood had clotted some time ago but his arm was beginning to lose feeling. Banda focusd the small amount of magic he possessed on the wound and it healed somewhat, a green aura surrounding it. His leg had recovered and he stood up. Banda was alone on the plains, the marks on the ground indicated the battle had taken place, the remains of the meteor smoldering in the crater the large ball of flame had created.

The first round was over, but it had broken Banda's spirit. The absence of his partner and the brutality of his opponents had done its toll on his mind. Banda, are you okay? The mercenary laughed maniacally. He placed a hand over his face. "He is right you know, I couldn't do anything then, and I couldn't do much now either." He laughed again, "But I did something Saffron, didn't I?" Yes of course, you killed one of your opponents and held a fight against many opponents on your own!

Banda stared at the ground, "Yes, I suppose. Only because of their lack of teamwork though, and on the count of the range of effect of their attacks." He laughed. "Look at me, helpless when I lose, helpless when I win! Maybe I should just end my life here! Right now!" Banda picked up one of the daggers that had been used in the battle and held it to his chest. Thoughts of his mother flooded his mind. He ceased his laughing and threw the dagger in frustration at the ground. "I will not become my father." He clenched his teeth.

He trodded off farther into the plains. "This doesn't end here," he recalled the man, he mentioned Sine Nomine, "They are my enemy now, the next time I see that boy or any of his allies I will strike without questioning. From now on, there will be no remorse for my enemies in this tournament, no mercy." He picked up his belongings. "I will become stronger."

((Final Post))

[Christoph]

Karuka Tida charitably offered to help out and judge this battle. The following is her judgment:

"Judgment: Celestial Warriors v. Morituri te Salutant 2v2

Celestial Warriors:

Seline: 0 - You didn't post.

streak101: You did a good job, and are to be commended for not giving up in the face of abandonment by your teammate.

Continuity: 7 - I understood why you came to the tournament and what you were determined to do after.

Pacing: 6 - the pacing of this thread was pretty bumpy, but you kept it moving forward as best you could.

Setting: 2 - I didn't get much sense of setting from you at all.

Persona: 4 - the last post was great for persona, but on the whole, I got very little of Banda. Try working more of that into your posts, it'll add some substance.

Action: 4 - You had quite a few abilities you could have used in this thread, and instead you pretty much relied on luck and your opponents' bumbling to see you through. And I also don't know why you have Saffron talking in your head. Saffron was listed in your history, but there was no ability listed that has him talking in Banda's head.

Dialogue: 5 - There were several things said that didn't need to be, and it wound up amounting to some needless prattle. Some of it was good (again, in the last post), but when Homon Culus was approaching, it's just running off your mouth when an experienced warrior would stand ready.

Mechanics: 7 - there were very few mistakes here.

Technique: 2 - I didn't really see anything here.

Clarity: 4 - The style of thread really helped mess up the clarity, but there were several points I wondered "what is he doing?"

Wild Card: 9 - There was a lot about your writing that could have been better, but it takes real grit to do a team match solo - especially when your opponents can pull out extra helpers. +2 for making it to the end on your own, +2 for finishing the battle.

Total: 50

Team average: 25

Morituri te Salutant

Homunculus: As far as I know, you can only assimilate one being at a time. I was quite disappointed to see that you used multiple NPCs for your transformations. Your profile even says "if there are multiple targets, and they all touch Homun simultaneously, it is random which genetic data is accepted, but only one can be accepted in the end."

Continuity: 4 - I don't really have much idea of what brought you this far, ultimately, or what you've been up to, just what drives your character.

Pacing: 6 - You did a decent job of keeping things moving, but sometimes (like after multiple-post exchanges between streak and Toy Soldier), you'd go back a bit and that was something of a break.

Setting: 3 - Like I said to streak, I didn't get much setting from you.

Persona: 5 - Homon seems pretty flat. While that might be intentional, all it seems you've made your guy of was bloodlust, like a machine.

Action: 5 - Most of it seemed like something he'd do, but it all went by kind of rushed. I liked the way his jaw came off and the description of that, and I liked that you took damage off your ally. There was a lot of you two bungling around each other.
I deducted a few points here for assimilating multiple NPCs. You can't do that yet.

Dialogue: 6 - there wasn't much of it, but what there was was in character.

Mechanics: 9 - good job.

Technique: 5 - I noticed a few little things, but not enough to get this above a 5.

Clarity: 4 - A lot of what you did in your writing was kind of jumbled, and I found myself going back and re-reading your posts quite often.

Wild Card: 8 - +2 for completing the battle.

Total: 55

Toy Soldier

I'll put my comments in the individual sections, since I didn't really notice anything out of line with your stated abilities.

Continuity: 9 - You did the best job here by far. I have some in-depth knowledge of Tobias's reasons for doing everything that he's doing, as well as his backstory and why he's going on.

Pacing: 5 - You really knocked the pacing back when you entered. There had been some high-intensity stuff happening, and then you have a really long and slow intro, and there's a lot of bumping about during the thread.

Setting: 5 - I didn't get much setting from anyone, but you were more aware of it than either of the other participants in your thread.

Persona: 4 - While a lot of what Toby acted like was explained by his past, he acts like a confused man, and not like a child. Children think differently than adults do

Action: 6 - There was a lot of potential for this battle, but instead it was a lot of you and Homun bungling around each other. I liked how you took damage from Homun, but the organization was really cluttered. I think there had to have been some dialogue between the two of you, but some real planning would have cleaned this up nicely.

Dialogue: 5 - Like I said under Persona, Toby doesn't quite read as a child. Even though he has had bad things happen, his little brain isn't through developing yet, so he still thinks like a child.

Mechanics: 9 - I noticed a couple of mistakes, but good job over all.

Technique: 5 - Again with some wording issues that sounded more adult. In particular, when Toby was thrown from the wagon, he had some "abrasions" on his legs. Did you have abrasions when you were 11, or were they "scrapes"?

Clarity: 6 - Pretty much what I've said for the others follows here. There was a lot of back and forth and jumble bumble.

Wild Card: 8 - +2 for completing the thread.

Total: 62

Team Average: 57.5

The winner is Morituri te Salutant.

Rewards

streak101 gets 250 EXP and 90 GP
Homunculus gets 750 EXP and 110 GP
Toy Soldier gets 1375 EXP and 124 GP"

[Cyrus the virus]

Rewards added, sorry for the wait.