A Game of Gods: A Multiversal Challenge

Yuuka clenched her teeth as the sword struck her side, the pain finally getting to her. Her grip slackened for a second, but was replaced quickly by a staunch bend in her holding arm, pulling Saren's arm down in the direction opposite its natural path of movement. She let go of the helmet, but instead began a series of punches and back hands to Saren's face. At the last blow, she grabbed the helmet once again, trying to pull it to the ground.

edited 6th Feb '11 7:32:18 PM by DaveScooter

Spriggan was wondering why Yuuka and Saren are duking it out with each other.

— The Turian hissed from the combined pain of this reprisal, then sent a wave of force forward, Saren crashing down to the floor on one knee.—

The Doctor runs in between Saren and Yuuka. "ENOUGH!! We need to be allies and work together!! You are being foolish!"

Rey watched silently, keeping out of the fight's range for the time being, though moving slightly to keep in front of Blink.

—Saren looked over at the Time Lord, breathing slightly harder than normal.—

This is Sparring, Doctor.

edited 6th Feb '11 7:51:22 PM by Colonial1.1

"Better then summoning targets, Doc." Narumi said, chuckling.

"And there's only a shooting range for those holding firearms like me and Naoto." Spriggan said. "We may as well create some space for sparring aside from Rey's wrestling ring."

Yuuka was sent back a few meters, clutching her side, but not the one that was stricken. She was holding the armpit Saren had a grip on. Her smile returned, she coyly remarked, " I thought you didn't like humans or anything like them."

And added, " Yes, 'sparring'."

Rey nodded some. "My ring's really only for practicing really close, unarmed combat. This is way different from that."

The Doctor shakes his head. "It looks a bit farther than sparring. Any ways what led to this spar that couldn't have been solved a different way?"

He turns to Vezon. "If you guys want to use a firing range full of non-sentient items that's fine. It's not like I'm your ruler or anything."

"That can indeed be arranged, Spriggan of Earth."

Dis Baba closed his eyes and concentrated. Ravage sighed, knowing what was about to happen; probably going to bring in something stupid like—

Suddenly the Champions were no longer standing in the Common Room, but a vast arena. It stretched hundreds of feet in diameter, and the ground was a dry, fibrous brown material that looked like stone but felt warm and almost organic to the touch. Countless niches and ascending rows of concentric seats extended upward from the arena walls, and though they were presently empty, it was clear that this vast coloseum could seat thousands, if not tens of thousands, of spectators.

Ravage blinked, staring at the sudden changes with marked confusion. That transformation had happened a lot more quickly than the previous times this room had been reshaped. There was no transition period, no visible morphing from one locale to the next; one minute they were in the Common Room, then the next thing they knew they were standing out here in a colosseum.

Wherever here was, the Predacon added as he looked upwards at the sky. It was quite a sight, to say the least; three moons, each of a different hue, hung like limpid pools in the distance, and everything was tinted an interesting shade of electric green. Transparent clouds of glowing jade glided across the sky in complex and psychedelic patterns, and a glittering band of planetary rings arced from one end of the visible horizon to the other.

Dis Baba's voice rang out from somewhere in the spectator's stands. "Is this suitable?" he inquired, his words echoing across the vast arena as though amplified by some unseen microphone.

edited 6th Feb '11 8:07:41 PM by SullenFrog

—There was a pause, the visor flickering green. His response was neutral in tone.—

I hold no good will for humans whatsoever, Youkai. That has not changed.

—The Turian looked about the new arena.—

Quite.

edited 6th Feb '11 8:19:58 PM by Colonial1.1

Yuuka retrieved her umbrella from where it fell and dusted it off. One look off of it she realized the room was different. She winced at the arrangement, but decided that it at least looked better than before. It's like being watched while being watched...

Turning back to Saren, " I guess that wouldn't have worked. Shall we continue?"

edited 6th Feb '11 8:17:20 PM by DaveScooter

Spriggan gave a whistle. "Impressive. Looks like shooting practice'll have to wait later..."

Yes.

—The Turian re-engages his biotic field, the nodes pulsing. His gunarm whirrs.—

Ready?

Blink, who had been rooting for Yuuka in the sparring match the whole time, looked up at the new location, eyes wide.

"Wow! This is so cool! It kinda reminds me of those old ruins in Dari Nokonan back home, except more fleshy!" she commented.

-

Gordon's desk had vanished in the change, and he had to scramble to collect his notes.

"Damn it," he muttered as he tucked them under his arm. "Well then, this is... interesting..." he said, looking around at their new surroundings.

edited 6th Feb '11 8:25:35 PM by AnnoR

Yuuka balanced the parasol on the floor by her side and let it lean from the palm of her hand, fingers waving in a parody of Old West standoffs. The tip cackled with electricity, each little bolt trickling into the almost living floor. She gave an intense narrow-eyed stare into the brilliant green visor, her figure showing no other movement but her fingers.

The air flashed cool once again, and less than a second later, a blazing pillar of white light cut through the distance between the Turian and the Youkai, one easily twice the diameter of the umbrella opened. " Ready."

edited 6th Feb '11 8:34:03 PM by DaveScooter

"I am glad that it meets your expectations. This arena is known as the Crucible; every world in the Ark Reach Overcolony features at least one, often as a part of the campus of a military crecheschool. Here, Kin of the warrior caste are taught to utilize and hone the skills they have acquired during their upbringing, either against feral beasts, simulacra of our enemies, or each other. Warriors cannot graduate from the crecheschool and join the military until they have proven that they are both capable of operating as a unit with their peers, and of holding their own on the field of battle."

As Dis Baba spoke, a low tremor ran through the floor of the arena, and six enormous pillars began to rise up in thick clouds of dust at the arena's perimeter, one after the other. They stretched to truly titanic heights, and as they reached their full extent and slammed home with a mighty thunk, tongues of yellow-red electricity began to arc from the tip of one spire to the next as a dull thrum started to build in the background.

Ravage did not like this development; he swept his optics across the stands, searching for Dis Baba. "Where are you?" he growled.

Spriggan nodded.

"Looks like I can practice for my upcoming mission to Georgia. Say will I be able to train myself to fight against projections or something? I was suppose to be in a black ops mission."

"Nice place." Natsu commented on the coliseum. "Now my blood is boiling and I wanna spar too..." Natsu looked mischievous as he said that, clenching his fist in anticipation.

— The Turian slashed upward with his swordarm, a wave of force three meters across and one meter thick sent hurtling towards Yuuka, followed by five rounds from the pistol, aimed at the Youkai's torso, these being of the "stun pellet" nonlethal ammunition.—

"In a manner of speaking, Spriggan; you will be sparring soon enough, though not against a projection."

Ravage did not like the sound of that, and he glanced at the six spires with trepidation. Their hum was groing louder and more pervasive, and before his optics forks of lightning arced out from their tips to intersect at the center of their hexagon, forming a large, crackling ball of reddish-yellow light.

"What do you mean?" he demanded, averting his gaze as he resumed his search for the alien. It was impossible to get a fix on his location; thanks to the echoes and the interference of that hair-raising thrum, Dis Baba's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once.

"I mean that, while this may be a practice spar, your opponent—and thus the danger—will be very real. It is a beast taken from one of our stocks, bred and trained for just such a purpose. Vezon, do you recall our earlier discussion of wyrms—or 'drag-guns,' as you called them?"

edited 6th Feb '11 9:10:46 PM by SullenFrog

"I see..." Spriggan was now cautious. "Well, I'm going to face against Russian troops and their South Ossetian and Abkhazian militias. Hopefully I can face them in some form with unarmed combat."

"Dragons?" Natsu suddenly looked serious at the mention of that name. "We're fighting dragons?" His body relaxed as some primal instinct made him regulate his breathing and made his head feel clear. "Can I join in?" He asked calmly, unlike his usual self.