Round 3 League of Nightmares VS Misery Business

[Enigmatic Immortal]

This thread will open at midnight on Thursday (00.00) and will last for two weeks. Good Luck!

[Zack Blaze]

Zack’s eyes darted back and forth, watching his partner to make sure that she did not get herself in trouble. He could barely hear the seagulls overhead due to the cheering of the crowd. For the first time since the Lornius Corporate Championship had begun, Misery Business had decided to play by the rules (albeit slightly) and arrive where the semi-final match of the tournament was to be determined. The wooden boards beneath the youth’s feet felt sturdy enough to survive a few bodies being thrown to and fro.

Water from the waves below crashed against the walls of the dock and splashed upon Zack’s face. He calmly wiped away the beads of seawater from his features, sniffling a little while continuing to watch his partner’s erratic motions. The sea had managed to loosen up Zack’s sinuses, and the street fighter had found himself fighting a bad runny nose rather than his opponents. He inhaled, an odd ‘snork’ sound coming from the boys nostrils. “Wherever these League of Nightmares guys are, I sure wish they’d hurry up.”

“Relax,” Agnie passed by her partner, the sweet smell of her cake flavor musk temporarily masked the stench of seawater and fresh seafood, “The longer they wait to show up, the more opportunity I have to board more ships.” Zack nodded, wiping some residual mucus away from his face with his sleeve. Ags was quickly approaching a small shrimp vessel, pushing her way through the various onlookers as she casually boarded the boat and looked at the single door leading to the navigation controls.

Zack smiled at these seemingly meaningless gestures. The piers had been docked to the brim with various ships today in anticipation of the Lornius semi-finals. A massive group of onlookers had managed to find their way onto dry land for the event, which had been set to take place here for the very amusement of these people. It was a great way to get the name ‘Misery Business’ out there, and the access to all the watercraft of differing shapes and sizes wouldn’t hurt for future endeavors either.

“Be sure to get the passenger ship over there,” Zack jostled his head down the port, where a massive white boat laid docked, various tourists hanging off of the rails, anticipating the coming brawl. Zack waved to the people, raising his arms high into the air to pander to his audience. The crowd ate the charade up, heralding the less menacing sounding ‘Misery Business’ as their choice of champions over the far more sinister ‘League of Nightmares’. Ags rolled her eyes as she continued her way down the docks, towards a trawler, boarding on and then off the boat.

“Mumsy always warned me about men with power,” she said while walking past her partner, causing a corner of Zack’s lip to rise into a smirk.

“And Dad always taught me to stay away from girls with too many openings. Guess we’re both going against type, huh?” Zack’s hands formed into fists, his left crackled with the power of electricity while the right billowed tiny streams of smoke. He was ready for any attack the League of Nightmares could possibly throw at him.

Ags turned, her own features painted into a smirk across her ruby lips. “I guess we are, Zacky, I guess we are.”

[Abomination]

Bunnying of everyone by everyone approved for this thread, in case it needed to be stated.

The tourists on the white boat leaned on the railing, their idle chatter and anticipation filling the air. The women wore dresses while the men wore collared shirts with poofy sleeves, their decorum oozing class and sophistication. Despite their social status, they came here to watch nothing more than a brawl, to watch people kill each other. They were beginning to wonder when the show would begin. One woman in particular tapped impatiently on the sundial on her hand, the shadows moving slightly as she made sure the brim of her hat was not obscuring the light. Her elegant green dress and corset were in pristine condition, but there was something afoul in the air. It was hard to tell with the salty smell of the sea, but there was something... metallic in the air. It was not a smell that someone of her position would know. The other tourists had not noticed yet, but she had more pressing matters to deal with it as she felt a light drizzle on her dress, a bit of moisture that she assumed was from a particularly large wave crashing into the ship. However, the smell was now more profound, and others started noticing it as well. She felt the moisture again on her dress, reaching instinctively for the parasol at her side, since it felt like it came from above. Another droplet fell, this time on her extended arm, and she looked up and squinted into the sun. There was no rain, but there was something else. Large, long objects hanging off the mast of the ship. Someone else pointed upwards and mentioned that they looked familiar.

Suddenly, there was a large crash from the other side of the ship. It was followed immediately by several screams, which unnerved the tourists on the deck. The rope holding up the objects hanging from the mast gave away, and a dead body dropped down to the deck below, its entrails spreading among the now-panicked spectators. Someone then threw up. Now the whole ship was in an uproar, with the boat's patrons quickly moving around the ship to get off. The woman lifted her dress as she ran, her hat flying off her head and into the ocean. Her long brown hair shone in the sunlight, her eyes filled with fear and confusion. When the group got around the ship, they noticed that the plank that ran from the pier to the ship was lying in pieces in the water along with dead bodies. There were more corpses on the deck, indicating that whoever broke the entrance was now on the ship with them. They ran back around the ship looking for the life boats, but they were intercepted by a tall figure holding up a tourist. His hand was around the spectator's throat, and with a squeeze the wind pipe was crushed. Cassandra's Champion, The Ixian Killer, The New Gisela Reaper. Of the many names he went by, he knew himself to be Draug. He threw the body overboard, his eyes not even moving to the group of tourists that just encountered him.

There were more screams, and the woman now decided to do the only thing she could: Jump overboard. Most of the other tourists followed suit until the Homunculus was alone on the deck. A few of his weapons lay in skewered bodies, and as he retrieved them he felt no need to finish off the survivors. After he collected his equipment, he climbed up to the railing and jumped from the ship, landing hard on the wooden docks near the ship. The spectators that could swim changed direction from the docks, and now just tried to get as far away as possible. Draug ignored them as he walked toward Zack Blaze. The woman knew how to swim, kicking at the water with her head above the water. She swam as hard as she could, which was difficult in such attire, but she soon realized by the floating bodies and the now unmistakable metallic smell of blood why she was supposedly spared. She was surrounded by shark fins protruding out of the water. There was one final scream before the food-deprived sharks tore her apart.

"Now," said Draug, brandishing a steel longsword in each hand. "Nothing will get in our way."

[Ags]

Agnie's interest in the tournament waned significantly when a particular name dropped from the brackets after Round Two. After all, her main motivation in the first place was to face a certain someone, and such a thing was impossible at this point. To continue onto the third round should have been something to celebrate, a victory for Misery Business and her partnership with Zack, but ambivalence set in something fierce and proved difficult to shake.

Aurelius' actions still stung, not for her own sake, but for her wardrobe's. Losing a favorite dress to the ravages of competition had been enough casualties for the fey and she couldn't help but whether the Lornius Corporate Challenge was worth her time.

And when indifference set in, so did boredom, which was the most tragic development of all. Seized in a fit of ennui, she tossed a dramatic sigh in her partner's direction.

He ignored it. She'd done plenty of that since the results of the last round had been announced.

"Zaaack," she sighed, glancing up at him with fluttering, mismatched eyes under a delicately pinched brow. Her inhumanly gold curls framed her face nigh angelically, but the dip in the front of her nautical-themed dress had certainly been tailored by the devil himself.

The young man didn't betray his concern, but he knew that look. It meant she was antsy, and if nothing happened to earn her interest proper, she'd be inclined to do something very silly to make it so.

Screams interrupted their moment as Draug's handiwork drew attention, the cheering crowd swept into a frenzy as they tried to escape the ship. As flailing bodies flung themselves into shark-infested waters, the creature responsible for such an uproar leapt from the ship to the dock with a resounding thud, commanding the team's attention.

The clouds of red blossoming in the water nearby added a fresh touch of color to the sky's azure, reflected faithfully by the waves to paint the entirety of the seascape a cheery blue. Glimpses of bright clothing flashed against the polluted surface as spectators became supper.

It certainly was an ominous way to kick things off.

"How lucky," Agnie commented under her breath, just loud enough that Zack heard over the ruckus.

"Indeed," he smirked. It wouldn't be difficult to maintain their organization's brand if this was half of this League of Nightmares. Even in just meeting one of their opponents, it became clear that they certainly earned their team name. Misery Business most certainly looked to be the good guys in this situation, naught more than a pair of pretty youths at first glance.

"I don't like this one," the fairy added. Even without knowing how his body teemed with vicious weaponry, Draug's double-fisted longswords informed her that he was simply too pointy for the extent of her motivation.

[Ciato Orlouge]

Draug’s spectacular entrance stirred panic amongst the citizens who had made their way onto the pier to watch the fight. People who had come as spectators for the event now scrambled around like decapitated chickens at the thought of no longer being safe. The rioting screams and constant sounds of feet running every which way drowned out the single soul that had been slowly clapping at the entire event. To him, Draug’s work was a thing of beauty, a work of art that should have been appreciated rather than ran from. The fools that had gotten close enough to this admirer quickly met their end by the edge of his blade, fountains of blood spewing from necks, stomachs, whatever the tip of the sword could find.

Soon, Ciato Orlouge found himself to be the King of the Corpse Mountain.

His blades hue had changed from metallic silver to a dark crimson, the droplets that had once belonged inside the bodies of the dead now dripped upon their lifeless forms. His gaze looked at the two people that his team had been matched against. Misery Business seemed to be less about causing misery and more about trying to smell miserable. The smell of peaches and cake tickled at the Mystic’s senses, a fine aroma on its own that only tainted the fine scent of blood. His eyes shifted around to see that some men and women had not ran at the sight of the slaughter. They would make great recruits for the Cult of Blessed Torture.

“I suppose you still want a show,” Ciato sighed and pointed his weapon towards the on looking members of Misery Business, “well, if you’re brave enough to stay and watch after all that, I suppose I can appease your appetite for more death.” His hand moved quickly, slinging his blade and effectively throwing all of the blood off of his beloved Asterodeia. “Ciato Orlouge, Maestro of Malice, Tenor of Terror, Conductor of Chaos, at your service.”

Before he allowed his opponents to introduce themselves, he ran after the girl, the tip of his sword seeking to run straight through her well endowed chest.

[Zack Blaze]

Zack laughed as he looked at the two members that made up the League of Nightmares. Even as Ciato dashed towards his partner Zack casually tossed a small round stone to the Princess, who miraculously caught the object and used it, instantaneously popping out of harm’s way and back onto the trawler she had just visited. The stone was quickly tossed back to the street fighter, who grabbed the object with little effort. “It’s good to see you again Draug. Too bad it’s like this.”

Zack had worked with the self-proclaimed ‘New Gisela Reaper’ before, as both had helped Phoenix Ascendant stop the hostile Ixian Knights takeover of Corone. The fact that the bloodthirsty maniac did not initially recognize him came as no surprise to the youth; he had not been much of a warrior during the war, and died rather quickly on the field of battle. However, upon being revived, Zack had heard that the sadistic Draug, who many revered as quite powerful, had to resort to kidnapping teenage girls and attacking babysitters to try and win out the day. Anybody can be perceived as strong, if all they fight are weaklings…

Zack’s eyes shifted between both Draug and Ciato. While Draug had previously worked with the street fighter, Ciato was heard of only through his family lineage. Sei Orlouge and his ilk tended to caution on the side of righteousness and justice. Ciato Orlouge however seemed to be the black sheep of the Orlouge, having quite the panache for blood and making sure people lost lots of it. Zack watched as the Mystic began to approach his partner, sword still drawn and grumbling something inaudible as he made his way towards the girl.

She won’t last long, Zack thought, but she’ll give me the opportunity to see what Ciato can do, if I just keep an eye on him. His gaze waned from that fight and back to the monster at hand. He could hardly tell if the stench was coming from the sea, the corpses, or Draug himself. The odor made his nose hairs feel as if they were on fire. As Draug took his calculating and slow pace towards him, Zack slowly backed away, trying to keep some distance between them.

Something about physical contact with Draug made people sick. It was a hidden talent that few knew about, but due to Zack’s experience with the creature (and Draug being partially responsible for Zack’s death in the war), the youth held the advantage of knowledge over the self-mutilating mutation.

The back of his heel hit something, and Zack turned his head to see a barrel full of dead fish at his back. The salty smell of the dead seafood seemed to be a mass improvement from the other smells Draug and his partner were giving off. Zack grinned as the elemental powers in his fists disappeared, his hands grabbing at the scaly animals. Water still dripped off of the fish, a sign that they had just recently been caught and barreled. Zack laughed as he positioned himself behind the barrel, throwing the makeshift projectiles at his opponent. Droplets of water flew through the air and crashed on the ground as Zack attempted to exhaust the barrel’s supply of succulent seafood.

“You look a little famished, Draug. How about some protein?”

[Abomination]

Draug's knowledge of Zack was limited, but the Cult knew much about this attention-seeker. Phoenix Ascendant had allowed the Cult to do as they pleased, so most of the big names were being documented, studied, and analyzed. The street fighter's abilities were known to the Homunculus, and it was no secret to anyone who had heard of Draug that his strength was growing at an inhuman rate. It was no surprise that Zack would keep his distance.

A few bodies drifted into the pillars that supported the docks, the sharks having a field day in the waters. After spending time with Draug, Ciato was able to read him more clearly, and decided to put Draug in the optimal circumstances to succeed. One of the problems of the previous rounds was the involvement of outsiders, both times causing them to lose track of their opponents. This time, they made sure that nothing was in their way. Getting rid of the spectators and filling the bay with sharks was his idea. There was no escape for their prey this time.

The fish flew at Draug from his eccentric opponent, and Draug merely stood his ground and let them harmlessly smack into his body, his expression unchanged from the unorthodox attack. The only assault was on his senses, as the stench from the fish was strong enough to affect even his desensitized olfactory organs. After a dozen of them hit him, his clothes were stained with slimy residue.

"I'm not here to play, Zack." He swung his sword and cleaved the next fish that flew at him in two. "Unlike last time, there are no orders to spare your life." He dropped his swords, feeling that he wouldn't catch the street fighter with them.

He walked over to the side of the pier and put his hands on the wooden poles that rose up from the sea, his muscles expanding to double the size of his arms as he pulled. The wood cracked and splintered, the water splashing around the pole below, and with a heave he tore a large chunk of it out of the sea, the water spraying into the air. The pole was one foot thick and as tall as Draug himself. He grit his sharp teeth and spun around once to build momentum, and then he loosed the entire thing at Zack, having it fly in such a way that its length covered the entire walkway.

[Ags]

The safety obtained by Zack's quick thinking survived only a short moment. Ciato swiftly redirected his aim toward Agnie's new position on the boat, leaving his partner to deal with the youth on the dock.

The princess didn't feel particularly optimistic about this match. Somehow imagining herself disemboweled by Ciato was far less titillating than when Aurelius did the job. Her instincts kicked in and she made for the closest door, the small blue portal which led into the trawler's tiny cabin. She'd use the oldest trick in her book in an attempt to lose the fiend, something anyone who knew her wouldn't fall for in a second, but if she was lucky…

Ags scrambled for the handle, noticeably more clumsily than her usual sauntering pace as she tripped over buoys and fishing nets. The trawler swayed dramatically as her pursuer leapt from the dock to land on its deck, his feet meeting the wood with a thud that sent seagulls scattering to the sky. Water sloshed over one of the rails, washing over the white paint with the faint maroon tint of diluted blood, and reminded the fairy of the screams which still echoed over the port as sharks tore would-be spectators to pieces. She'd nearly forgotten them in her panic.

Panic was unusual for her, Ciato should have been proud. The fey quickly decided she wanted to go out only in spectacular fashion, if it had to be done, and somehow being stuck at the end of a sword seemed like it would be anticlimactic. She would only settle for a famously gruesome slaughtering befitting of an alien princess, something with explosions and fireworks and weeping men.

Thusly, it was time for a little cat and mouse.

The girl, along with a navy blue linen and white lace flurry of skirts, disappeared into darkness behind the cabin door, which she slammed tight behind her. If the man followed, he'd find himself somewhere far enough away that her organs and pride could remain intact.

With a bit of magic finesse, Ags stepped out onto the deck of the cruise ship, now empty save a few decorative corpses. She silently crept to the rail, keeping low to remain unnoticed, to spy on the trawler she just vacated. She was curious if Ciato fell for it. Meanwhile, Draug faced away from her position as he launched a massive javelin at Zack, and she had the best seat in the house to see her partner attempt avoiding being skewered like the fish he'd been throwing.

[Ciato Orlouge]

Those who remained kept silent as they watched the festivities of the fight progress. Ciato’s dashing attack had failed, and now, in his current, annoyed mood, had decided to pursue the girl further, falling into the game of cat and mouse that she was playing. Ciato grinned as he made deliberate paces onto the rocking boat, the waves caused by the sharks feeding frenzy swaying the sea vessel back and forth. “You think closing a door will stop me?”

He grabbed the metal handle of the door, pressing his thumb down ever so slowly on the button and pulling back. The inside of the trawler was quite humid, and very dark. He could clearly see the air in front of him as squiggly, illusion like lines. Whoever captains this thing, Ciato thought, must hate the sun but enjoy the heat.

“I know you’re here, poppet,” Ciato grinned as he closed door behind him. The very second he heard the clicking of the door; the darkness vanished, replaced by the scorching sun above and golden sands below. People walked around with heavy clothing, their bodies seemingly less prone to sweating than Ciato himself. His eyes darted around to the various architecture, listening to the heavy accents of those who spoke trade speak. One name kept sending alarms in the Mystic’s brain.

Jya.

Ciato’s eyes widened as the pieces started to fall into place. He turned around, grabbing the door that he had seconds ago entered from and slinging the object with all of his force. Instead of a pier full of ships, the nobleman was instead met with several people in thick clothing, several of them in a single file line in front of a counter, various trinkets in hand. Whatever the buxom and beautiful bitch had done to befuddle his mind, one thing was certain.

“I’m in Fallien….” Ciato sheathed his blade, his hands balling into fists and shaking. His heart felt as if it were in his throat, each thump of the organ sounding like a bass drum in his chest. He had allowed his pride to get the better of him, and had paid for it. There was only one thing the white haired heathen could do at this point.

He bent down, his hand sifting through the sandy ground until he grabbed something solid. Pulling it up from the burning grains below, Ciato found himself holding a bottle cap. He nodded to nobody in particular, looking at the door he had just slung open and throwing the miniscule object into it. There was a metallic clank, and the cap ricocheted and came at the Mystic ever faster. The bauble stopped an inch before making contact with Ciato, the very air around the sadistic Mystic shattering and fragmenting into dozens of glass shards.

“Kill that inelegant wench.” Ciato said, the crystalline shield rocketing through the air, its speed seemingly all the faster as if the glass considered the distance and Ciato’s rage. The battle could well be over by the time the Mystic Protection found its target. Ciato did not care; all he wanted now was to make sure the girl knew what being miserable was all about.

[Zack Blaze]

The second Zack saw the pillar flying his way; he did the first instinctual thing that came to mind. A smarter man would have probably ducked under the large projectile, a stylish man would have leapt over it, and a powerful man would have sent the pole flying back at Draug like some weird game of dock volleyball. Zack could have went with (or at the very least, attempted) any of these solutions to the problem.

Instead, the fighter chose to turn tail and dive into the water. Even as he saw the red swirls of blood grow closer to his face, Zack regretted his decision. He fell into the murky depths, his eyes attempted to scan the darkness until they settled on several large figures. Zack quickly swam back up to the surface of the dock, taking in a quick, deep breath, before slipping out of his jacket. He threw the clothing as far as possible away from himself, the weight of the wet leather only allowed for the jacket to land about fifteen feet away from him. It would have to be enough.

Zack brought his face into the water, his back exposed to the sun. He would have sighed if he could, his hands now balled into fists. The forms of the sharks came at him slowly, as f they wanted to gauge if their prey were still alive. He felt the snout of one of the beasts bump into his leg, sending his body spinning a bit. He smiled as a thought came into his mind. Ags had gotten rid of the other guy; he had seen the Mystic travel through the trawler door before Draug displayed his strength. This was now her battle, for now.

Another shark attempted to run into Zack, this time from the front. The boy reacted this time, and he grabbed the beast by the snout with both of his hands. Electricity surged through the body of the weighty behemoth, and the beast sank to the bottom of the seas in which it had once lived. Zack smiled through the water, his hands ready to grab any other fiendish fish that tried to frantically fight the boy.

Sharks don’t have swim bladders, Zack thought to himself, his mind had reflected back to the days of his schooling. That means they sink instead of float when they die. I can kill these things all day and Draug will be none the wiser. Zack smirked while he tilted his face out of the water ever so slightly, taking in another cautious breath.

Ags, Zack knew, could take care of the Draug, who was nowhere near as intelligent as either member of Misery Business. He was a grunt for the Cult of Blessed Torture, albeit their strongest grunt. If Ags got into trouble, Zack would come to her rescue. He was not completely heartless, after all. However, whatever the fairy princess could do to weaken Draug and lower his resources just meant that the demon would have less to combat Zack with later, if such an opportunity arose.

Zack was all about the fight most of the time, but a physical fight with Draug meant death, disease, and possible damnation. Zack smiled as another fish sank to its watery death. Perhaps after this was all over, he could treat Ags to some shark rolls…

[Abomination]

The giant pole finally gave way to gravity and rolled to a stop, giving Draug the realization that whoever was behind it was gone. The only clue he heard was a splash, which told him that Zack decided to spend some time with the other predators today. His discarded his bloody, slimy coat and tossed it to the sharks as well, thinking on whether he should join the street fighter in the pool. As he looked around, he noticed something on the deck of the ship he jumped from: A woman whose expression was like someone at a comedy show rather than a terrified onlooker. The Homunculus had some information about their opponents from the Cult, and she fit the description. Draug turned to her, and bent his knees, which gave her a bit of a shock as she slowly retreated from the rails. If Zack survived the sharks, he would deal with him then.

He broke into a sprint and jumped from the side of the dock, grabbing hold of the chain attached to the anchor, hanging off it for a moment before using it to climb up to the deck of the ship. As he reached the rails and pulled his body over them, she was nowhere in sight, although he heard the sound of the cabin door slamming nearby. He had to close the distance before he lost her.

Ags was inside the cabin, turning the doorway into another trip to a far away land. She had a self-serving smile on her face as she took a few steps back, but instead of the door opening, she heard the crash of someone falling through the window next to the door.

Draug had jumped through shoulder first, shielding his eyes from the shards as he landed on one knee. As he got up, he looked over to the door but all he saw was Ciato Orlouge. That's right, his partner was chasing her.

"Where is she?" Draug asked.

"Taken care of," Ciato said with a mischievous grin. Draug quickly scanned the room, but he couldn't figure out what he meant by that. Didn't she just run in here? While it was faint, there was also a strange scent of something sugary here.

"Where is the body? I could assimilate it to find something out about my prey."

[Ags]

"Alas, I think our pets may have gotten to her," Ciato said with a lazy gesture out the broken window, toward the water. The screams and splashing stopped minutes ago; those who could escape, had, and all that was left was the feast, Zack among them. With his other hand propped coquettishly on his other hip, Ciato gave Draug a rather bold look-over. "I suppose this means we've won. Come on, then, and let's at least try to be civilized."

The man sauntered to the door, shoes crunching over broken glass from the shattered window, and slipped through just quick enough that the coastal breeze seemed to push it closed before Draug could reach it. On the other side he paused, waited, and when no one followed, the smirk returned to his lips.

The illusion fell away into a grinning fairy princess, proud of herself with her hands on her hips and not a thought toward her poor abandoned partner floating just a ways away. Her disguise hadn't been perfect, but Draug had apparently been dense enough to fall for it hook, line, and sinker. In a way this win was anticlimactic, but she'd take it. Agnie couldn't help but appreciate chores which took minimal effort.

"Hmm," she contemplated what to do next, turning to stroll to the edge of the deck. She stepped over a corpse on her way to the rail, something she did with utmost delicacy, and she leaned against the side of the ship to view the wreckage. Sharks still swarmed, blood dissipating into the blue, blue sea, but Zack still floated whole and untouched. "Hmm," she hummed again, narrowing her eyes at his prone form. "Not funny, Zacky."

[Abomination]

Draug looked out the window with a blank expression, his mouth slightly agape, exposing his sharp teeth. How? Did all of this transpire while he was climbing up? While he possessed more questions, he was not one to pry too deeply into anything... usually. If Ciato said it was taken care of, that was the end of the matter. The Mystic's gait was slightly abnormal, not that Draug kept track of the mannerisms of his partner.

As the door closed, Draug took slow steps toward it, placing his hand on the door. He was about to open the door and walk in with one motion, but something was stopping him. The ocean breeze pushed his hair around, and the smell of confectioneries faded. It didn't look like the woman was under any duress when he saw her casually staring at him from the deck. What's more, why did he think that they had won? There was still the matter of Zack, and the Homunculus did not believe that someone who made it this far would be taken out by a few fish. Was he on the deck with the woman? Finally, that scent bothered him. It wasn't here last time he was on the ship.

His hand left the doorknob, instead balling up into a fist. He couldn't believe it at first, but Ciato was lying to him. For what reason he could not possibly fathom, but it would not be unusual for the conniving Mystic to have an ulterior motive. Instead of opening the door, he stepped back and kicked it in, tearing it off its hinges into... snow. Suddenly, a cold burst of wind blasted him, causing him to shield his eyes. Instead of more of the ship, the doorway lead to the outside of an abandoned cabin during a violent blizzard. The snow filled the cabin and Draug snarled, unaware of what was going on. He was oblivious to the arcane arts, but he at least knew when he was doing with an absurd spell. Instead of going into the doorway, he ran towards the wall near it and charged through it like a stampeding bull, destroying the wooden wall that separated the cabin from his target.

Ags looked back at the Homunculus, who was now covered in bits of wood and brimming with splinters, and found herself cornered. Draug wasted no time and rushed her, putting his hand to her throat before she could get away. The pieces all fell together when he caught a whiff of the cake-flavored aroma. He didn't know what Ciato was doing, but his presence was missing. This woman's trickery was dangerous, and Draug couldn't afford to let her live any longer.

[Ciato Orlouge]

The grains of sand raked against his delicate features, which only served to frustrate the Mystic more. He kicked the dirt as he screamed, dust floating to the air and forming miniature tornados. The winds of Fallien were particularly violent today; hopefully violent enough to have carried Ciato’s Mystic Protection straight into the heart of the wench who had sent him here.

He walked the town with sweat coming out of (in his mind) every pore imaginable. His body ran into citizens without remorse, even when the victims paused to shout angrily at him. Ciato Orlouge’s fate in this tournament was now up to a man who didn’t even seem to care about winning the thing. If the mutant menace were to be defeated by a pansy and his fairy-like accomplice, the shame on his name would be irreparable.

He could hear the condescending tones in everyone’s voices now. Ciato Orlouge, the self-proclaimed best of the clan, loses in the semi-finals to a couple more suited for dinner, drinks and the theatre than for actual combat. Steppenwolf would no doubt offer some training, while Sei would go on a vehement rant about how Ciato’s sinister nature was what truly lost him the day.

It was this thought of Sei Orlouge, youngest of the Orlouge brothers that sparked an idea. Ciato grinned as he closed his eyes, breathing deeply in and out. He had stopped in the middle of the Fallien bazaar, his mind attempting to drown out any noises from the outside. Sei, as well as Ciato’s mother and father, were all capable and powerful telepaths. The noble’s older brother had never tried to pursue such abilities, as they each had their own little corner of expertise.

Ciato (at least in his mind) was better than all of them in any area they could imagine.

His breathing continued, a single thought going through his head. “Bleed, Draug,” Ciato spoke, hoping that the long-range message would reach his partner. “Bleed and let them know where the true nightmare lies…”


((I was honestly hoping I could think of more stuff to do from Fallien, but I wrote myself into a corner, and as such, this is my final post with Ciato.))

[Zack Blaze]

Zack grinned from underneath the water, even as he heard Draug shatter through the boat. He turned his head to the side quickly, breathing another quick breath while also getting a glance at the action. He could see Ags legs kicking about as Draug held her by the throat. Zack cursed his luck, his head going back into the water. Draug was much stronger than the youth and definitely more dangerous up close. All Zack could do was throw fireballs at the beast if he sought a ranged fight, and such a skill seemed less than versatile in this situation.

As Zack pondered his options, he heard a strange sound overhead. It was risky looking up again, but the boy’s innate curiosity got the better of him. He turned his head just in time to see glass shards flying overhead, aiming straight for Ags back. The glass fragments howled through the air and they made a bee line for Zack’s partner. At the rate the crystal was going, Zack figured that the attack would go straight through the princess, and hopefully through her multi-layered opponent as well. However, Draug more likely than not had some sort of protective chest cavity.

That damn guy is just –made- for fighting.

Zack decided that it would be better to err on the side of caution, and dive down into the blue sea. He kept his eyes open despite the sting of the water, his green orbs scanning the murkiness for large, boat like shapes. He could make out one or two general large bodies, as well as mangled parts of human[/] bodies, the blood slowly starting to thin out as it left the corpses. He kicked his feet as fast and hard as he could, trying not to listen out for Ags. If anyone could understand self-preservation, it would be her.

He made his way to the trawler that Ags had tricked Ciato with, coming out on the other side of the vessel and gasping for air. He hoped the caws of the gulls above would be enough to drown out his pants for sweet oxygen. He cautiously grabbed the boards that made up the ship, climbing up the boat while trying to avoid the various beige barnacles that had made a home upon the lower side of the craft.

He rolled onto the shit, his body hidden on the other side of the cabin. If Draug had been searching for him, it would only be a matter of time before Zack was found. The boy scrambled onto all fours, crawling around on the ship until he found a single rope dangling over the edge. Zack praised his good luck, grabbing the rope that presumably held anchor and burning straight through the hemp material with a small flame.

The smoke may alert him Zack thought to himself, but hopefully I’ll be gone before he can catch me[/i]. As he pondered, he could feel the waves starting to move the vessel from its dock, the trawler swaying back and forth as it began to putter along towards the open sea.

It had been a very anti-climatic fight, and Ags would probably kill him when she saw him again, but Zack (at least for now) was safe.

Truly, the most miserable of businesses is living with yourself after all you’ve done… Zack grinned at the rather deep philosophy, shrugging his shoulders as if Ags were just a coin the boy had lost, But it looks like the Misery Business is good.

[Ags]

As easily as that, Draug snared Ags. The fey gasped as his impossibly strong hand gripped her throat, her hands gripping the rail behind her for support. Her knuckles grew white as, in a mere fraction of a second, she accepted her fate. It was silly to think she could have gotten away unscathed in the first place, anyways. She wasn't made for fighting like this strange man, brimming with splinters and seemingly not worse for wear; as a fairy of Tenger Jerhal, all she was really good for was games.

But then again, the Lornius Corporate Challenge was not much more than a game, itself.

The corners of her heart-shaped mouth curled into a mischievous grin and the princess donned one last disguise, not in an attempt to fool Draug, but to spook him. While Misery Business hadn't snuck a peek at the roster this round, Zack had briefed her on all of their potential opponents, and there was one thing she remembered about this creature: he was a momma's boy.

And if there was anything that would make an anticlimactic death more gratifying, it would be seeing Draug's face as he murdered his own "mother".

Agnie's golden hair faded to a more natural blonde and her rosy skin took on a tan, her build slimming as she assumed the beautiful face she'd seen only on paper. It wasn't a perfect disguise, by any means –– if she made an unconvincing Ciato, she'd make a worse Cassandra –– but it served its purpose, and through the blink of an eye, Draug stared down at a rather lifelike depiction of the woman he held precious. The look in her hazel eyes wasn't fear. No, it was disappointment… wordless, condescending recognition of his failure to her.

Then the rain of glass came. As her partner predicted, the fey was as good as dead, and the shards skewered her small form mercilessly. Blood blossomed at the points of impact as she shuddered in Draug's grasp, her incapacitated lungs struggling for one last breath, and the illusion faded away as she quickly lost concentration and consciousness.

To her dismay, no fireworks heralded her loss. But, well, at least it was quick.

[Abomination]

Draug wasn't fooled.

Of all the illusions, of all the people to imitate, she had to pick his mother. Draug would never mistake her distinct heavenly aroma, the softness of her hair, the coldness of her touch. The real Cassandra's voice echoed in omnipotence, and the Homunculus felt her gift giving him life, form, and purpose. He had no problem crushing the windpipe of this imposter.

However, someone else beat him to it. The inescapable glass shards traveled the world to get back here, to exact Ciato's revenge upon the woman. They pierced through her flesh like butter, traveling through her body and sticking themselves into Draug, who was knocked down by the force, allowing him to drop the lifeless form of the fairy princess onto the deck, her arm dangling off the edge of the ship between the rails. The shards dug deep into his flesh, but the damage was mitigated by their initial target. He got up and started pulling the bloody shards off, coughing and snarling. If he wasn't so devoid of expressiveness, he might have been annoyed by Ciato's actions, but the end result was the same. Walking up to the rails, he looked around and noticed that Zack was not in the water. Despite his planning, did his opponent actually escape? The waves crashed against the pier, but the outward tide was strong on the island.

Also, there was a boat drifting out of the docks. A barely-visible wisp of smoke rose from it, and Draug suspected that his opponent was there. First Letho, then the two orcs, and now Zack- were all of his prey going to get away? There was no way to catch up to him at this point, unless...

He walked up to the body and shoved his hand into her chest, piercing through flesh and tearing through her ribs to retrieve his prize: Her heart. His own was borrowed, as were all of his failing organs, and now was as good a time as any to replace it. He ripped the arteries apart by pulling on the heart, which only stopped beating moments ago, and used his other hand to open his own chest, tearing apart his rib cage like he was opening an envelope. Shoving the new heart in, he put it into its new home and retrieved the old heart. It was shriveled and black, and had a pussy liquid emerging from its openings. He tossed it overboard, and whichever shark ate it would likely die. He did one more thing, which was assimilate the one known as Ags.

Memories flooded into his head, and he sifted through them like an index to a book. Most of them gave him a sharp pain in his head, the inclusion of the foreign elements from the alien fairy. He made no effort to retain the memories, instead focusing on how to use her abilities. Besides that, he learned of what happened to his partner, and if he had a sense of humor he would've laughed. Regardless, there was a stroke of luck to his situation: Ags had made a door on that very trawler, the one she used to get away from Ciato and send him to Fallien. Draug grinned, his pleasure so radiant that the sliver of emotion he could express became manifest. He looked back and saw the hole in the wall he made and the door he was expected to go through. The door he knocked down on the other side was in that cold place, while this door was untouched. He walked up to it and put his hand on the doorknob, connecting the memory of this door to the one on the trawler. He drew a longsword from his throat with his free hand, scraping the blade along his throat to cover it with poisonous blood. He turned the knob and pulled, looking out onto the deck of the trawler beyond the doorway.

Now far enough away from the docks that he was sure Draug couldn't swim to him, Zack emerged from his hiding and took his place at the helm. He had to make sure the rudder was pointing in the right direction, or the boat would just take him right back to the pier. He would have to extend the sails as well to take him around the island to some other entry point. While he was steering, he felt the presence of someone else on board, but before he could react, Draug had jumped from the mast and shoved a sword deep through his neck, the blade sticking out of the bottom of his spine. It was a clean cut, immediately severing the blood flow to his brain and sending him down to the wooden floor like a rag doll. Draug pulled the sword out and licked the blood, releasing his assimilation of Ags for this new information. Zack was a strong warrior, and if he was aware that Draug could infiltrate the ship, he would've put up quite a fight. The street fighter's data would undoubtedly aid Draug in his evolution, but there was something peculiar in his memories. Draug flipped through the mental pages and found an image of his mother.

- - -

Zack was beyond pleased with himself. Not only had he convinced the Cult to let him into their secret base (albeit blind-folded and spun around), but he even had the pleasure of knocking out his escort. He wasn't going to wait for his meeting with the big momma herself, his time was far too important to be kept in some dark room with a bunch of deranged lunatics. For whatever reason, the Cult had decided to join Phoenix Ascendant in opposing the Ixian takeover of Corone. They probably had the same idea as him: exposure. Misery Business definitely needed to be more well-known, and what better way than butting heads with a bunch of righteous knights? A section of operations was given over to the Cult, and Zack decided to tag along with them rather than the deadpan serious elves that lead the effort. After all, there was much to learn from Cassandra about being infamous.

He crept along the dark halls that were barely lit by torches, memorizing the ancient stone architecture and trying to figure out where exactly the hell he was in the world. He could tell that this place was definitely underground, since it was so damp with moss growing from the ceiling, maybe it was under Concordia? Either way, he found Cassandra's audience chamber door and could hear a conversation on the other side. He peeked in and saw two people and then quickly hid again. Maybe they were talking about him, after all, who wouldn't?

The demi-god brunette floated in the air, her dress flowing and red sigils glowing under her feet. The room was more lighted than others, having a magical spotlight that hung from the ceiling and illuminated a circle on the stone ground. Cassandra stood in the circle with a cloaked figure whose black cowl obscured the upper part of his face. He was Alexander Rayz, known as Memnar, the Cult's chief alchemist and architect of Draug's homunculus body.

"I'm concerned that you're sending Draug out there alone, it's not an efficient use of our resources," Memnar stated. He was one of the few Cult members to treat Cassandra like a regular person and to challenge her authority, even though in the end he always succumbed to her wishes. "He is not developed enough to challenge so many at once, we should pace his growth better. I'm also not sure how effective he will be so far from your control."

"My dear," Cassandra's voice echoed throughout the hall, sending chills down the spine of the eavesdropping Zack. "What Draug lacks is not strength or fortitude, it is a will."

Memnar nodded, "As designed, Dark Mother."

"I told you to make him a blank slate, and you have complied perfectly. When his form was given to me, I imparted upon him a piece of my essence, a fraction of the gift of divinity. He was given the tools to learn, to make decisions. The path to his growth is in finding himself, an entity forged purely by the Cult, rather than the ones who previously lead lives outside of us."

"I want to know so that I can prepare... why?"

"The key to my ascension lies with Draug, whether he knows it or not. The essence of immortality was housed in the body of that woman, and to get another piece, that essence must be developed in another one. The body must be strong, so that when I finally reclaim my gift, I will be the undisputed god that I deserve to be."

"I see." Memnar paused for a moment. "You need him to gain his own will, his own desires, so that he fosters your gift into another piece of the puzzle. What if this fails? What if he stays the way he is?"

"Then I will take back my gift and we will try again. There's only so much of my essence that I can give out."

"Understood," Memnar crossed his arms. "We would lose months if we had to start over."

Out in the hallway, Zack shrugged. It was no concern of his that Draug was merely a sacrificial puppet. A bit of a shame though to have made a fighter that good only to destroy him for some magical essence stuff.

- - -

Draug looked at Zack's body, the wind blowing his hair to reveal his other dark eye as the boat continued to drift out to sea.

"What is this... ?"

[Dissinger]

Misery Business vs. League of Nightmares

Misery Business

Plot ~ 12/30

Story ~ 4/10 – The story in this one was very thin. It seemed more like you ran out of ideas and finally figured that it was time to make Agnes succeed in pulling the door trick to elsewhere.

Setting ~ 4/10 – Setting was barely used here. I think in the rush to get through the story you felt that smaller nods were all that was needed.

Pacing ~ 4/10 – Shorter posts create a quicker pace, but that hindered in this thread as things were not really going anywhere to begin with.

Character ~ 13/30

Communication ~ 5/10 – With actions being very direct that made the only communication I can draw upon the dialogue. The problem with this would be that in many cases it seemed canned. Not cliché mind you, just very preserved and sealed up before being dumped out into the posts.

Action ~ 4/10 – Action was pretty rote as far as things went. I was more put off by the fact that Ciato and Zack seemed to be pulled from the fight for no other reason than to make things easier to write.

Persona ~4/10 – I know these characters well, and the problem is this seemed very cookie cutter to me.

Prose ~ 15/30

Mechanics ~ 5/10 – Word swaps. Both teams were guilty of it, but it is jarring to see Zack roll onto the SHIT rather than the SHIP.

Clarity~ 7/10 – Short posts make for clearer posts.

Technique ~4 /10 – With smaller posts however, comes less opportunities for technique.

Wildcard: 6/10 Mildly amusing, and the fact you let Agnes pull off the old switching door trick was nicely done. It’s nice to see it work for once.

Total ~ 46/100

League of Nightmares

Plot ~ 15/30

Story ~ 5/10 – The interesting plot twist at the end with Draug is what netted you more. The situation with Ciato while funny, unfortunately couldn’t win you any points in the story department as it created that dead end. Had there been no follow up post to Ciato sending the shards, I feel it would have been a spiteful ending that would create a stronger feel. Instead him wandering around and griping about how his family was going to react hurt an otherwise okay ending.

Setting ~ 5/10 – Used more and incorporated better. I didn’t dock points, but wish to inform you, Homunculus, sharks HATE the taste of humans.

Pacing ~ 5/10 – Quick pacing helped, but at times it felt TOO fast. The answers were too easy in this fight. Perhaps it was just the problems of having one writer on both teams.

Character ~ 12/30

Communication ~ 4/10 – Draug reads very dry to me, and so Communication focused solely on Ciato, who was sadly lacking face time due to being written out.

Action ~ 4/10 – Draug’s actions as usual read very gore heavy, and it’s getting boring. Perhaps changing it up from “I pull my swords out and slash my throat to coat them in blood” could make Draug’s fighting style work better. Especially since you have written in your profile you can fire them out of the body. I think having him fire a few throwing knives at Agnes before jumping over would have created more tension than just jumping over. Again this is the idea that your threads have gotten formulaic. Variety is the spice of creative writing.

Persona ~ 4/10 – Again Draug falls flat for being Draug, though with the events of last fight, it seemed to have happened in a void, because there was no repercussions from previous fights beyond “they got away”. I feel you missed opportunities for growth in the name of speed. Ciato had more personality, but with being written out succinctly like that, he couldn’t use it to the team’s full potential. This is where you gave points to the enemy team League.

Prose ~ 16/30

Mechanics ~ 5/10 – Switched words much like Misery Business. Doing a spell rather than DEALING with a spell immediately comes to mind.

Clarity~ 6/10 – Nice clean succinct, but while they were short posts I did have to reread a couple of sections, mainly him chasing after Agnes after Zack went off the pier.

Technique ~ 5/10 – I lowered technique for no use of truly complex writing styles. It was very Dick and Jane in presentation, I felt everything was straightforward and other than the small cliffhanger with Draug realizing Cassandra Remi really IS a bitch, it didn’t do much to entrance me.

Wildcard: 5/10 Meh score for what I felt was rather cookie cutter as well. I felt like you had more potential, but didn’t utilize it.

Total ~ 48/100

LEAGUE OF NIGHTMARES WINS 48 to 46!

Homunculus receives 1750 EXP and 48 GP
Ciato Orlouge receives 1750 EXP and 29 GP
Ags receives 525 EXP and 37 GP
Zack Blaze receives 525 EXP and 37 GP

[Mordelain]

Experience and gold added.