Organization XIV - The Story So Far

"It's a solid plan." Gestalt replied as they descended to the waiting room. "I'll want to hear more about your idea when we're out of the open, but it sounds about right. I'll have to wait for the second event, myself."

His shoulders sagged a little, but he didn't disagree with her choices. He'd have come up with a nearly-identical group composition anyway. I'll save some party tricks for the crowd next time. Wonder what's up her sleeve, though...

Theo and Goeiz arch an eyebrow but the other two seem satisfied with the decision. Kain, too, seemed somewhat surprised and pleased that Jackie had gained this sort of resolve. "Come, let's discuss out of earshot from the other teams," Jill states, leading them into the cubicle. The party quickly heads inside, and the atmosphere difference is beyond staggering, it's almost physically suffocating.

The room is about thirty feet square, with smooth stone and no windows of any kind, yet it was evenly lit from some unknown light source. The air was stuffy, but not wholly unpleasant, something about it smelled warm and light. Jackie moved to the center and turned to the rest in turn. "Focusing on just our strengths, and using them the most effectively, I came up with the following," she began. "Theo really, really can't be stopped if he's being serious in a hand-to-hand fight. The only reason I got to walk away from that sparring match earlier was your sword was sheathed. Brahaam handled Dispatch and Gestalt at the same time, but Dispatch himself is a dynamic enough fighter and has enough speed and experience to make up the difference, while not being limited solely to hand-to-hand. And then Jill kept me shut down and had a strange variety of enchantments to keep me, and others, on our toes all at once. Kain is beyond strong, and while Goeiz has variety, Kain's specialty is so powerful I feel like he could just battery power Dispatch and Theo and we'd win on that."

"I'm flattered," Kain interrupted, "but what about you? You say that the walls coming down makes a difference, how does that factor in?"

"I came up with something as I was watching, and seeing that getting back to the goal is one of the highest priorities we have, I figured it'd be a make-or-break situation. I can perform a demonstration, but I'll need some help from Jill." Jackie takes her spear off her back, and hands it to Jill, instructing her to put it in the corner. "Just create a little spark of electricity in the spear, however you can." Jackie stands in the opposite corner, crouching slightly, eyes trained on Jill's hand. 

In one moment, Jill's hand was merely outstretched toward's Jackie's spear...

[Parameter Update...]

SNAP!


...and in the next, a spark of static electricity went off, and Jackie borderline teleported across the room, in the blink of an eye. A second later, and the wind pressure change whipped up a zephyr in the room, rustling clothes and hair all around. Jackie had skidded across the room, using the property of positive and negative charges, and her freedom from inertia, to travel to an opposite charge, instantly.

[Jackie: Agility D->B+]


Jackie paused for a moment, waiting for someone to say something... and when nothing was initially forthcoming, she sheepishly states, "So essentially, I'd throw my spear, using my lightning to propel it in an instant to the goal, and in the next, travel there myself. It'd require enough coordination for us to more or less throw part of the match in order to win overall, and it'd be reliant on knowing who to let past and who to harry in the meantime. I could call down lightning, you could ripple the ground if it reaches far enough, or set off some kind of loud, specific noise? What does everyone else think?"

Meanwhile, out in the stands...


Zero blinked once as a small snowman-crossed-with-Jester, flickering entity appeared before her. The creature earned a scowl from Finn and Isis, but they said nothing. Zero, however, seemed unperturbed by this creature, and in fact, welcomed it. "Nyarla, where have you been? I haven't seen you since we arrived on this world..."

"#eY, h3Y, Ze-H0, 2oRrY 1'/e bE3N gone. Ju2+ vvAnTeD 2 6eT 2 n0 2oME oF t3H NeiGh8oRs. ThA+ H4DeS gUy I2 GrEaT. U 2#ou7d'vE SigNeD uP VViT# H1m In2TeAd. & tH3n th3re'S EnDyM1oN, 8u+ i'M gEt+1n6 aHeaD 0f mYSelF."

Isis quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. 

"Lord Hades, huh? You'd said something about joining him, but Zeus had the better deal overall... that, and Finn insisted. And... Endymion? Who's that? What were all of you up to?"

"WhAt wEr3 vvE |>0iNg? Oh NoThIN6. Ju2T 2o|V|e FriENdlY 6@mEs 0F MA#j0N6. T4|kInG oF <ouR2e. Ju2+ normal tH1nGs."

The three shivered.

Dispatch whistled. "That's a hell of a new move you got there. With enough help from the rest of us, you'd be able to get pretty much wherever you want, whenever. Not really a big fan of the whole 'letting the other team have their hostage back' part, but it's not like you gotta stand still once we got you back, right? I'm all for it."

**Meanwhile, Outside**

The well-built man watched his mark walk back inside, but thought better of following. There was only one more match in round one, he had plenty of time. Besides, he wanted to see what the kid could really do. Maybe a special appearance right in the middle of the fight, see if he could get that spark of recognition. But there again was that nagging feeling in the back of his mind, telling him not to get involved. Why shouldn't he, though? It was a pretty normal feeling to want to catch up with a friend after a few weeks, especially when one of them looks ten years older, and then some.

A piercing noise interrupted his thoughts, something that sounded vaguely like words he could understand, but distorted. Like he was trying to listen through a tin can, underwater. The man looked over at the source of the noise, his tail flicking in annoyance. Some kind of weird devil-pixie. He tried not to listen too hard, but definitely caught the bit about their patron gods. Man, if he could've gotten here on time, maybe he could've gotten something out of this Lord Hades. Heck, maybe it wasn't even too late, if the tournament got him in a good mood. Why'd that witch have to hold him up so long...?

"We'd be able to cut our completion time in half..." Gestalt said quietly, as his half-cape fell back behind him after having been blown in every direction. "...But the plan relies on our opponents finding their hostage quickly, as well. I feel like that's a big sticking point, since we can't really control it. At the same time, one of them seemed vaguely lupine; I bet she can move fast, and even navigate the labyrinth by smell. It's not what I'd call a safe bet, but it may well be that they'll get theirs first."

He restrained his desire to ask how exactly she'd done what she just did, given their limited time. "Jill, think you could whistle loud enough to be heard across the stadium? Or, wait, Kain! Could you make a whistle that'd do the trick? If either side gets their hostage, Jill or Jackie could use it to signal the others. Make it a high enough pitch, and it'll be audible over the crowd."

"And remember to work together out there. I don't doubt you three can handle everything individually, but don't be too proud to accept help. Not that any of you need to hear that from me."

Kain smirked after his name was mentioned. "Better: I can make a rhythmic explosion noise no matter where I am that'll echo loudly enough to carry to the other side. I suppose then that in addition to the forward team, we'd need a lure or decoy team to bring the competition to us..." Kain thought for a moment. "I can somewhat accurately tell where others are if they're normal bodies... that is, if they possess body heat. I've also got a pretty keen memory, I could leave Dispatch and Theo behind a corner, lure them out, and then breakaway later. If that's a success, I can pop off a few small explosions, and make the noise. The difference would be Jill managing to communicate with us."

"I have a few arcane tricks up my sleeve, one of which is the ability to send out a telepathic message to anyone within range... and I do believe that the size of the arena is just small enough for me to do that from the far corner," Jill offered. "That, or I could create a ripple along the ground that should also reach you. The only problem is that if they get their hostage before we rescue Jackie, then they could simply make it back, which... would be unprecedented, but not impossible nor implausible."

Kain shook his head. "That won't be a problem. If you communicate to us that we're now on a time limit, for whatever reason, I'm sure I can dump enough energy into Theo and Dispatch for them to overpower anything in front of us." Kain spread his arms out in front of himself, setting a scene. "Imagine, if you will: Finn and Zero, from Zeus' team, hordes of enemies in front of them and behind, all around, and they've got enough juice in the tank to take a couple laps around the planet. Theo's sword is about as nonsensically strong as Finn is himself, and Dispatch and Zero as a parallel... I think you can imagine what could come of that."

Jackie nodded. "I think it's just about time. Brahaam, would you mind doing the honors?"

Brahaam chuckled and obliged, grabbing the hanging cuffs from next to the door. "Aye, lass, I'll treat ya well. Come on, then, let's hop to it. Good luck to you all, and to all, a good fight!"

The two stepped out into the ring, and Jackie's heartbeats quickened, her blood pressure immediately rising as a small spurt of anxiety hit her square in the chest. It was one thing to watch from the stands, but another entirely to be contained within a box of spectacle, and Jackie would swear she could feel the weight of every eyeball upon her. She looked up, back straight, and began walking... and then found herself at a slight jog. 

Brahaam had darted forward, seeing a man in monk's robes escorting the catgirl from team Aphrodite. She and Jackie carried spears on their backs, and while the catgirl gave a little acknowledging tilt of her head, the monk himself beamed as he gazed at Brahaam. "Brahaam, brother! It is good to see you well!"

"Bless my beard, Iitch! I don't believe it, I can't! You're here, too?! Did Lux send you, or did Gavin have something to do with this? What... I... I ain't seen ye fer over a year, and here ye are!"

"We'll have to catch up afterwards, old friend, but suffice it to say, I was pulled along a string of fate, and set foot amongst some fellows I'd met on the road. We ended up here, and well... I'll treat you to a pint of whatever they serve here afterwards, eh?" Iitch spoke with kindness and warmth in his voice, each word evenly intoned. 

Brahaam shook his fists and accepted the chain for the cat's cuffs. "Argh, and I wished I'd been chosen to fight! I'd have loved another excuse to spar with you, with something on the line. Bah! We'll talk later."

And Iitch the monk gently took Jackie's bindings, escorting her back to the far corner. "Unlucky for him anyway, I wasn't chosen to partake either. Perhaps the second event we can put our mettles to the test, mm?"

Jackie really couldn't help but chuckle, feeling slightly embarrassed. "That was my decision, after all... But perhaps. Given the chance, I'd relish the opportunity to see him cut loose." And but a moment later, she was tied to the wall, kneeling down.

From beyond the wall, a voice cried out. "AND WITH THAT, LET THE FINAL MATCH OF THE FIRST ROUND..." The walls shot up around them as the Aphrodite-Dionysus team spilled out of the doorway, armed to the teeth (literally in some cases) and ready to throwdown... "BEGIN!"

"Ah, crap!" exclaimed the muscular observer as the competitors filed back into the arena proper. He leapt up into the stands, in a move that drew far more attention to him than his presence itself would have. Still, his mark seemed not to notice, and that was good enough for the moment.

Anyone who knew him, or indeed, witnessed him, would have expected Dispatch to be the first one to jump as soon as the signal was given - the faster he moved, after all, the faster he'd get into his next fight. So it surprised his observer when the man simply closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He'd sensed the lightning-wielding woman's energy before, back when they'd fought that armored monster. Three energies nearby - those would be his temporary allies - and a lot of noise farther away, most likely outside the maze. The only one he recognized had to be the one he was looking for, and sure enough, it was where he guessed the opposite corner of the maze to be. It didn't tell him how to navigate the maze at all, but he at least knew which direction to favor. His familiar smirk showed itself once more. "Alright. Let's get this started."

His eyes snapped open, and he dashed off into the maze, intent on taking the most direct path to his own target, and making sure to keep her location in mind, distracting though it may have been.

Wanting a good view of the layout, Gestalt turned to head back up to the stands when he caught sight of a notice by the door:

"Rule 108: Inactive participants are to remain in the waiting area while an event is in progress. Remember, the Games are meant to be fair and square!"

Unable to so much as watch the match, he marched himself over to a bench and sat down. After about ten seconds of being idle, however, he looked around the room, spotting Goeiz. Well, they'd be stuck in the room for a while anyway; no harm in picking his brain. The swordsman moved closer to the Team Hephaestus member, already having an idea of what he wanted to talk about.

"Hey, so, we haven't really talked to each other a whole lot. I'm Gestalt. Your name is Goeiz, isn't it? You seem pretty experienced with the arcane arts. Maybe this isn't the best time for it, but, well, do you think you've got any pointers for a beginner? I literally started yesterday, and I'm very lost."



At the far end of the twisting labyrinth, Alle finished up her warm-up stretches, bouncing from paw to paw a couple of times. She made sure her mace was securely hooked to her belt and rolled her shoulders one last time before dropping to a low stance. "Let's hurry and get our girl back, okay? I'll pace myself a little so I don't get too far ahead."

Looking slightly bemused at her casual preparation, Thraugg nodded in agreement. Not having to full-on sprint through the entire maze just to keep an eye on his wolf-ish companion suited him fine. He spared a look at their third partner, the most heroic-looking one of their bunch.

"Follow me!" Shouted the wolf-woman, taking off like a shot. With legs like hers, she covered a lot of ground in a single stride - her words hadn't been idle boasting, that was for sure.

Goeiz had been silently meditating, sitting next to Brahaam, but peeked one eye open at Gestalt as he spoke. Smirking lightly, he gestured for Gestalt to sit before him and crossed his own legs. "I am not a conventional wizard by any means, as I do not pore over books and tomes and scrolls to peer into the inner workings of magic and the realm around me. I am not a mage, or magus, whose innate understanding of the elements allow me to command them with impunity and relative ease, imbuing them into terrifying strikes or dizzying rays. Nor am I a warlock, who made a pact with some entity greater than even I myself in order to harness power for myself.

"I am but a sorcerer. The power I was given was my own gift, granted to me by some chance. A fluke of fate, or perhaps destiny, or maybe mere chance, gave me the opportunity to reach heights I could never have obtained otherwise. And even then, I often found myself unable to conjure certain spells my peers wielded with relative ease. For instance, while a paltry thing to even some elementary level wizards, I find it difficult to manifest illusory images and sounds. It's hard for me to bring that sort of spell out of myself without nearly warping reality itself to make it manifest, and that sort of power is best applied elsewhere. Similarly, I find myself blessed that few of my powers are necrotic in nature, as I wish the dead their own rest and would rather not delve into matters of taking another's life for my own.

"Rather, my abilities are best served in augmentation of others, or in shaping reality to my whims. A fireball, a wall of stone, a freezing tunnel, invisibility, flight, these are the sorts of things I'm capable of. But each of these took time, took clashes with dire circumstance, to draw them forth. As each high-stakes and blood pressure skyrocketing event took place, I found myself capable of reaching deeper, further, more elegantly and easily into myself to draw forth the power contained within. What was initially frustrating to me in my youth is now little more than a pittance to cast as I please, day in, day out.

"Understanding this power for yourself is something you must endeavor to strive for. You must make it happen yourself. Today is day two? Every day will be harder from now on, but if that discourages you, steel yourself and try again. Do more. Though... I don't suppose a trifling matter like that would deter you that much if you signed up for a competition like this, mm? Did you have any particular questions? Even if it seems inane, I will draw out my own wisdom to answer what I can for you. Please, ask away."

---

Hero turned and looked back at the final companion, the guardian they'd left to guard their own prisoner. The Guardian, Arthur, was a man of immensely long crimson hair billowing down over black armor and hiding a greatsword strapped to his back. Arthur stood, arms crossed, eyes closed, but not asleep. The man was stalwart, and unwilling to waste energy on trivial matters. The opponent would come, or it wouldn't. If it did, he would drive them back. Simple. And Hero had to respect that kind of single minded tenacity. To some, it appeared to be one-dimensional, but that singular dimension was honed like a spear's tip. "May you be blessed with battle," Hero called back, and darted off after Alle, boots pounding on the ground.

---

Kain whipped around mid-air to turn to Jill. "Keep in contact! We'll let you know if anything goes amiss!" Kain cried out before darting off out of sight, chasing after Dispatch. The corners of the maze let him keep up with the Saiyan warrior, though he suspected Dispatch would have been long gone if he was given a long enough straightaway. Theo said nothing himself and drew his own blade before darting forward, using his momentum and running along and bouncing off walls to keep up. Despite his armor, the man had enough control over his body and momentum to keep up with the other two and bring up the rear. 

A moment later, Jackie felt a strange presence in her mind. A sentence, unspoken, came into her mind. How many are standing guard over you? What are the opponents like? Jackie recoiled at first, but looked around, and only saw the apparently sleeping man in front of her. Remembering Jill's words, she thought a sentence into her mind. All four of them are large and bulky in nature. There's a wolf-woman with a mace, the fastest of them, and the largest. A man in black armor is... standing sleeping, in front of me. Two more accompany the she-wolf, a warrior and a strange humanoid in simple clothes. They're all strange... And further, they headed right from me, so north in the maze. If the team went east, they should have no problem meeting up.


Jill took the information and relayed it to the others on the team. Three targets inbound, all seem close quarters but with some form of gimmick. Two of them seem unarmored, and two others with it. Headed north, you might intercept in about a minute. Dispatch should take point and retreat if possible. Theo can hold the two others, and Kain can move onwards. 


Kain blinked once in surprise before continuing onwards. Roger, ma'am.

Dispatch rolled his eyes as he sped through the narrow corridors. Retreat if possible? Yeah, right. He hadn't had to retreat for as long as he could remember, so he was hardly gonna let it happen in some tournament. Nah, he was gonna win this thing. The lady had one thing right, though: he was definitely going to take point. Maybe not literally - the halls were a bit too narrow to get a good swing in - but taking the lead, he could do. Especially if he had Magic Man watching his back.

The directions...he ignored, continuing to take the path that seemed most direct. How was he supposed to know which way was north when they were surrounded on all sides by walls? He had his own plan for if he came to a dead end.

"I... didn't even know there were so many different categories of magic to begin with. How have people figured all this out? It seems impenetrable." Gestalt responded, the more bewildered the more he learned about the subject. What category did he fall into, for instance? ...Well, logically, he had to assume he was a wizard. He never made any pacts with greater beings, as far as he could recall, and he certainly hadn't been granted powers by the circumstances of his birth. Any advances he made in his study of spells would be purely down to his own work. The thought was strangely comforting to him.

He knew what he had asked was silly, though. A childish question asked of someone much older. He knew what the answer would be; may as well as an even sillier question, but one that he didn't already understand. "...It's been suggested that I should meditate on something, a focus. But, well, er... I've never meditated before. I'm not sure how it's even done. It seems like the kind of thing that must be as natural as breathing, to someone who's done it for a long time, but getting started, it's a little odd."



While the opposing team lacked the communication and energy-sensing that the Hephaestus-Hermes group had, Alle's keen nose was enough to get a good picture of where their opponents were, and their teammate. She sped along the halls of the labyrinth, with Thraugg and Hero lagging behind some distance. She'd occasionally speed up, only to quickly turn back when hitting a dead end. Their pace brought them inexorably closer to their opponents. Her ears perked up a little as she heard the sounds of heavy footfall; any corner now would surely bring them face-to-face.

Well, maybe several corners. They still sounded somewhat distant. But it wouldn't be much longer, that was what mattered.

Rounding another corner, Alle quieted her steps and slowed down, coming to a stop at the edge of a wall. She signaled behind her, waiting for the others to catch up. There would be a chance to take them by surprise, however little, however brief.

Up in the stands, the spectator spotted the wolf-woman taking what seemed to be an ambush stance, and watched as his mark stumbled straight towards her. Of course, he wasn't wearing a Scouter, so maybe that was to be expected, but he was going to be caught by surprise at this rate. The man sighed and shook his head, his fingers moving to clutch the bridge of his nose. "He always was quicker to act than to think..."

Dispatch himself was surprised more than anything else by how well his "just gun for it" approach seemed to be working - he'd run across no dead ends thus far, or at least none that he couldn't see the end of within a couple of seconds. He hadn't gotten a good sense of the maze's layout in the previous matches, which in hindsight would've been the smart thing to do, but then again, who said they had to be the same each time? It'd make more sense to change it just so people couldn't memorize the layout.

He shook it off, it didn't matter right now. Just getting to the end was more important.

"Watch where you're going...!" grumbled the spectator under his breath, as Dispatch unknowingly wheeled around the corner where the wolf-woman waited, not slowing his rushed pace for even a moment.

Goeiz smiled and answered simply. "Years of knowledge, research, and experimentation. That's it. When something worked, we analyzed everything around it, and saw what made it work. If something didn't work, we evaluated to what extent, and what factors brought about that failure. In other words, to an extent, it's a math or science equation to the truly experienced, or at least the traditionally trained. I've seen many spells cast in my lifetime, and quite a myriad cast here in this tournament, and they all seem to follow similar rules, if not the same ones. 

"The art of meditation, especially one using a focus, is a particular one, and I'm surprised you were recommended such a method. It seems perhaps the person who spoke of this either had immense faith in you, or was short-sighted in how to nurture latent talent or ability in another. Regardless... yes, you could, and it's perhaps one of the safer methods. In my experience, it's getting that first spark to light that nurtures the flame, no matter the magician. Coming into contact with an artifact of power, being pushed to one's limits in combat, or even being struck with a spell yourself... these are all methods, and they produce wondrous results, but are far less safe. Not only being put in dangerous situations, but expending too much energy can snap the user's life force in twain.

"What would I recommend to a new mage? ...I would say it's like practicing a muscle you've rarely, if ever, used." He reaches into a small pouch, and as though from some comical source, fits his whole arm in when by rights he should have only been able to fit his hand in, and pulls out two rolled pieces of parchment, and a fountain pen. Whipping the pen twice, he quickly scrawls upon the two pieces of parchment paper, with an elegant, flowery hand, then begins charting diagrams and other notes underneath and along the sides. Rolling the two up again, he hands them to Gestalt before casually dropping his pen in the bag, which disappears cleanly from sight. "These are two basic spells from our world. One is called Mage Hand, and relates to the common occurrence of moving or bending spoons for young psychics and magicians. The other, Control Flame, lets you shift and alter flames, pulling and weaving them. These two cantrips are not meant for attacks, but meant to be small things magician's can perform as either a test of competence, or as small yet creative ways of dealing with problems. Lifting keys off a guard, creating the shimmering, firey image of a person... They're the first tools on your belt. If you wish, you may even begin practicing here. I even have materials for you, should you require them."

---

Hero crouched down directly behind Alle, Thraugg directly behind him. "Jump for the mages if they show up. Whatever the hell that lightshow was before the matches started, I pray it's left them tired, but they're too dangerous for the two of us to let loose." 

Thraugg gave a grunt of approval, and stood at the ready, crouched low to the ground, hands open in front of him, gaze focused. 

Kain and Theo shared a look of understanding before continuing after Dispatch. They'd have to have one of them lead someone back to Jill, if Dispatch was this battle-hungry. Kain felt the usual stomach squirming he got before a fight, and suppressed it the best he could. Even if things took a turn for the worse, he'd be able to come back from this one. This one didn't carry the usual consequences with it. And with that thought, he took a wide lighter with many rollers and switches on it from his pocket, and clicked several of them in succession. The energy he'd bestowed to Dispatch and his team earlier washed over the three of them again, bestowing them with speed and overflowing energy. 

Theo himself nearly bounded straight into a wall before correcting course. Jill, starting to see the wisdom of bringing the fire mage along. You should give this a try sometime, was the message he sent back to her. Drawing Vorpal, he readied himself for the oncoming encounter, coming round a corner...

Hm... Kain did say that I probably have a fair amount of potential in magic. I suppose he had faith in me? Gestalt nodded in comprehension. "Well, I have a bad feeling that I'm going to be in a lot of life-or-death situations. I'll take what chances I have to in order to advance quickly."

Looking over the diagrams and notes quickly, his face froze for a second. It was a lot of information to take in at once. He'd just have to take it one step at a time and figure it out as he went.

Glancing between the two scrolls, he decided to focus on just one for now, putting the other aside until he made sufficient progress. This 'Mage Hand' seemed like it'd be easier to grasp that he was actually doing anything; a flame would flicker with the air, making it harder to tell what effect he would be having on it, and a lack of feedback would make it hard to figure out if he was doing it right, or wrong, or at all. He studied his right hand, curling and uncurling his fingers.

"...Thanks. You've been very helpful - I'll try to put the knowledge to good use."



As Dispatch dashed by her, Alle sprung into action, aiming a fierce swing at the Saiyan's jaw. With her fist, not her mace. From her position, she couldn't put her whole body into it, but it was a heavy blow nonetheless, and the element of surprise had to count for something.

As she moved, she patted herself on the back for taking up this position - this guy had a dangerous smell to him. He'd been running full-tilt, leaving his own teammates lagging some distance behind, or perhaps he'd run in alone. No, she'd heard more footsteps behind him. He definitely had backup. But his immense lead meant he was either foolish or supremely confident in his strength. Not unlike her, she had to note.

Dispatch very nearly didn't snap out of his tunnel focus from the blow. He wouldn't have, had it not been for the fact that his head suddenly jerked sharply to the side. Reflexively, he responded by whipping back around and throwing a blow, a good solid one, at his surprise-attacker, and at that point realized that on top of his own strength, he was once again under the effects of Magic Man's power-up spell. Only then did he notice who his opponent was, some kind of dog lady. And a moment later, that there were two others.

"Not a bad shot," he said, cracking his knuckles. "But I've fought puppies with bigger teeth than you."

Hero stood tall in the moment the two lunged out at each other, bringing his shield up and moving to Alle's side. The crest in the center glowed with a soft radiance as Hero stood forward, sword raised over his shield, which glowed with an equally soft, pale pink light. Moving in tandem with Alle, he waited for her to strike first, before bringing his sword around low, then into a backhanded upward swing. 

Kain and Theo rounded the corner just in time to see a heavily armored man step forward and clash with Dispatch. Theo locks eyes with Hero, both of them immediately recognizing and understanding the threat the other posed. Hero pulls back from Dispatch, waiting for an opening to move forward. Kain, meanwhile, wastes no time in clicking his lighter again, his eyes lighting up red-hot before spewing a stream of liquid fire from them, directly towards Alle's center of mass.

Alle took the counter-blow in her outstretched arm, pulling it back and retreating. That definitely left a mark, but since it was thrown after her blow had connected, it was dampened just a bit. Settling into an upright stance, she pulled the mace from her belt and brought it about. "Bigger, huh?" She intoned calmly as Hero got into position.

Swinging her weapon down, she aimed for Dispatch's head - if he tried to guard himself, he'd be unable to evade the sweep Hero would follow up with.

Thraugg, seeing the stream Kain fired, stepped into its path. He planted his feet firmly, and took a deep breath. Sliding one foot back and breathing out, his hands began to glow with heat as he stepped forward, thrusting one palm forward and intercepting the fire directed at his ally. With that taken care of, he made an arcane gesture with his other hand, taking another step forward and pushing out with it, sending a large fireball back at the blaze-conjurer.

"Heh," Dispatch chuckled, raising his hand at the obvious ploy. He had no intention of blocking it, not for real. Instead, he kicked up off the ground, balancing upside-down on top of the mace, the weapon's spikes showing through the partitions in his fingers. "Not just bigger. Sharper, too."

He pushed off the mace, springing into the air to charge a ball of energy into his other hand. "But none quite so crispy!" He flung the ball at the ground in front of the dog lady and, fully expecting her to dodge, flipped once over his back, aiming to land lightly and comfortably on her shoulders.

The fireball lit up Kain's eyes once more, and he suppressed a smirk as he rolled with the impact, shouting out as he dove backwards. To an outside observer, it might have appeared that the fireball did the trick, and Kain did seem singed... but it would take a fire far stronger than that to really hurt the boy. As it was, Kain's dramatic pratfall threw him back several feet, and the impact of that landing seemed to hurt more than the fireball. He clicked his lighter furiously several times in succession. This lever was marked Ira, and as Kain hammered down on it, he sent pulses of angry mental energy out towards the other three fighters. Get 'em riled up, tunnel vision, and then turtle out the aggression or flank 'em. Worked on the imps and ogres, at least.

Meanwhile, Hero and Theo, gazes still locked, approached each other, Hero barely pausing a moment to lift his shield up and absorb the blast Dispatch had fired from above. Squaring off, Hero adjusted his shield across his lower body, with his sword arm held up, pointing the tip down, covering his face. Theo held his blade forward in two hands, ready. And as the first waves of anger came, Hero's temple veins bulged and he charged forward with a shield bash, before aiming a stomp at Theo's ankles and driving his sword down. 

Theo brought one shoulder forward to handle the shield, while his free arm arced up with the flat of the blade to intercept the sword. He responded with his own strike, still using the flat of the blade, shoving Hero and bringing it down on Hero's skull. Hero parries in an upward arc with his shield, sweat starting to mat his hair to his brow.

Alle's pupils narrowed and her fur stood on end as a wave of anger rolled over her. It was definitely strange - the weird monkey-tailed man was being arrogant, but it hadn't really been getting under her skin. As he sailed over through the air, aiming to land on her shoulders, she simply reached up and grabbed at his ankles with one hand. Hero's protection kept her from having to dodge the energy blast, letting her focus entirely on her prey. Her claws extended a little as the unnatural aggression made her blood pump faster through her veins, and she aimed to swing the Saiyan into the ground. There wasn't a strategy anymore - she was just going to go to town. If she got a hold of him, she wasn't gonna let go until she'd slammed him into a couple of walls hard enough to crack them.

Looking back at his wolfish companion, Thraugg's face sank slightly as he put together what the other mage had done. He was uncharacteristically irritated by it, but he and Hero were composed enough to resist the effects... at least, to some degree. Maybe. Hopefully. But now that he was paying more attention to Kain, he was able to put together that he was their support. And that his own fire had done basically nothing to the fellow. The tendons in his neck tightened a bit, but he forced his body to relax. Much as he now desired to break the faces of everyone around him, he would settle for venting it on the one directly responsible.

Taking another deep breath through his nostrils, Thraugg burst forth with another fireball, even bigger than the last, this one thrown with a fist. But this time, he charged forward as soon as the flame was let loose, trying to cross the distance from him to Kain under the blaze's cover and strike him in the gut. It wasn't a very sophisticated plan, but the man looked frail - if he could get close, he might end it quickly. After all, any counter-spell would be futile unless he got rid of the caster - he'd be able to reapply the effect. And putting him down was simpler than trying to keep him occupied.

Truthfully, Dispatch hadn't expected his opponent to be so bold as to grab his leg, but it didn't phase him. He allowed her to grab him, and to swing him at the ground, stretching out one hand to redirect his momentum. He turned the move around on the dog lady quite literally as he spun on his hand in a circle and flicked his captured foot in the direction of the enemy caster, hoping to down them both in one move.

Even if that didn't work - actually, especially if it didn't work - they were wasting time here. He once again bounced off his hand, landing on guard in front of Magic Man and the other swordsman. "You guys go on ahead. I've done way better than three on one before." Just make sure to keep this strength spell going, he added mentally. He wasn't sure if his thoughts could still be heard, but his previous missions had turned it into a habit. Besides, if their own backliner heard the message, maybe she could pass it on.

Kain had a lot to evaluate in a short amount of time. First was the fireball. Easy enough, as he raised one arm with the lighter and clicked 'pull' on the lighter. The huge, roaring ball was stopped in its track, and the flame sucked out towards the lighter like a siphon. Picking himself up off the ground, he braced for impact, yet his mind turned to strategy. Rescue, sportsmanlike conduct, teamwork, timeliness. We can still manage a fast rescue, easily. I've got that covered. Teamwork points are about to go to shit. Sportsmanlike conduct... managing our fights and not defacing the dead seem the best candidates. I wonder how they'd regard leaving one of our own for a three-on-one...


Kain pulled back, expecting a swung fist to his face or sternum area, jumped further back from Dispatch, letting the Saiyan intercept the other guy, still clutching the lighter. Theo! Run on ahead. I'll stay behind just a sec to see how Dispatch is doing, or lead one of them back. I'll cover you. 

Theo simply nodded, changing from the flat of the blade to using the sharp side. Hero roared, clanging his sword and shield together, aiming an arcing strike at Theo's pommel. In the attempt to disarm, Hero had let his guard down, for just a moment, and Theo seized the opportunity. Theo spun towards the wall, the swipe cleanly missing him, then stabbed forward. Vorpal sank through the armor like paper, piercing Hero's chest and coming out the other side.

Yet as Kain's rage spell seemed to help, it empowered Hero just as well. As Theo attempted to withdraw his blade, Hero sank his weight onto the blade, locking Theo in place, and slammed the bottom of his pommel into Theo's temple. Theo's vision swam before him, eyes crossing and swaying in place. Hero went for his own stab, to stick Theo through his exposed neck, but found his arm grabbed by the six-inch thick stem of a rose growing out from the side of the wall. He attempted to pull free, but fell to his knees, the strength he had leaving him as Theo pulled Vorpal free and attempted to sprint past Alle.

Having been unexpectedly flung, Alle tumbled through the air for a second, stunned, before driving her claws into the ground, slowing her movement with all four limbs. She came to a halt  inches from her flame-wielding teammate, eyes now locked on Dispatch. She could tell by the way he was moving that he wasn't taking this very seriously. Hadn't even drawn the sword on his back.

Observing that the opposing mage had not only anticipated his attack and evaded, but moved further back both times, Thraugg put together that he was being baited. He scowled silently at this development. So taking out their caster wouldn't be quick. He appeared to have strong control over flames, which meant that only physical attacks would do anything, and he wasn't getting close. So he abandoned that idea, turning his attention to the currently-berserk wolf-lady.

While this unnatural anger had clearly come over all three of them, Alle had been hit the hardest, and that was a problem. The best thing for it would be to stop the spell driving her, but it would just be re-cast momentarily. Still...

Speaking of Alle, that was right around when Theo drove his sword into Hero's body.

Rather than the shock bringing her to her senses, it seemed to do the opposite; if she'd been pissed and not thinking straight before, now she was completely berserk. She leapt for the swordsman's throat immediately, jaws clamping down on his windpipe as her claws gripped his shoulders, nails digging into his flesh.

While it wasn't rare for Theo to have fought beasts, let alone intelligent ones, it was certainly something to have one as ferocious -- no, tenacious was the better word -- as Alle, bearing down upon him. His rear guard that he had normally grown accustomed to was hanging back, and as Theo was still reeling from the blow to the head, it was all he could do to put his gauntlets up around his neck to save himself. He had no room to safely swing his sword, and was utterly pinned by her great hulking mass.

Dispatch's attention snapped back to the dog lady as she leapt upon the green swordsman. That was not "going on ahead!" If he were alone, he could probably deal with these guys, freeing the swordsman and wizard to release their team's hostage, but somehow blowing up everyone nearby, including his teammates, seemed like a really good way to blow both the teamwork and sportsmanship scores, not to mention with that weird shield the one guy had, it probably wouldn't even work! What the hell was he supposed to do?!

No, there was an easy answer. Magic Man could handle the other wizard easily enough, he'd shown that. After a moment's pause to consider this, Dispatch shot forward, hoping to salvage the situation by freeing his fellow swordsman, and punched the dog lady in the face as hard as he could in his current state and praying desperately the other swordsman's arm would hold out.