[Round 2] Kerrigan & Bandit vs Serraph & Sasuke

[Karl Jak]

The Queen of Blades scowled as she squinted in the near dark.

Her partner, who noticed the other woman’s behavior, held out a device.  “To see in the low-light and darkness, I’m pretty sure,” Bandit said before she snatched her own pair of goggles and slipped them over her head.  “You look greener than normal,” the warrior woman smirked as something caught her attention.  “Oh, look at that!”  She rushed over and picked up a massive mining pick from the ground and smacked the wooden shaft against her palm a few times.  “Sturdy.”

Elsewhere in the mining complex, Sasuke and Serraph appeared from the teleportation center.  After a few moments, the arrancar slipped on a pair of goggles and offered another set to his companion.  “They help… this darkness is weird.  Supernatural, maybe.”

Sasuke shook his head.  He couldn’t see naturally, but he had other ways to see and sense the environment.  “I think I’m good,” he whispered as he tried to focus through the sound of leaking water and creaking wood for any telltale signs of their adversary.  “Stay on your toes, we won’t be alone long.”

Word Limit: 850
Posts: 2
Time Limit: 48 hours
Random Elements: On
Damage Meter: Off

Time limit starts at 5 pm CDT on June 25, 2018

Underground Brawl – This fight takes place inside a mine.  There are still traces of white minerals and powders from when it was used.  The Fight Area consists of about 2000 square feet of tunnels and a few wider areas.  Everything is illuminated by incandescent bulbs hanging from the ceiling.  A few areas are leaching water, which implies some degree of being condemned.  Everyone who goes into this fight area is equipped with an indestructible ‘hopper’, granting them Teleportation (Basic), to prevent anyone from being trapped by collapsing tunnels.  Everyone also receives indestructible night vision goggles, which allow a prime to see in the dark.

Stipulation:  Special bonus equipment.  Mining equipment available.

[Sarah Kerrigan]

Kerrigan adjusted the straps of the night vision goggles ever so slightly, making minute adjustments she’d made a few thousand times. It was a lot blockier than anything she’d used in the ghost academy, but the familiar green tinge to her vision still offered a level of nostalgia.

Memories were rarely pleasant for Sarah Kerrigan, however, and the feeling made her wrinkle her nose. They’d been walking for several minutes, and still, neither of her competitors had shown themselves.

“Used to caves?” The Infested Terran asked.

“Nah. Mostly used to sand. Like, a lot of sand. More sand than you’ve ever seen.”

Kerrigan smirked. “Wouldn’t count on it. I used to see through a billion eyes, a billion minds. Viewing every square inch of a few thousand worlds at any given moment, it always amused me just how much of that vision was covered in sand alone. Of course, now I make do with six.”

“Six?”

Kerrigan turned, her wings sweeping up to meet the sword of her opponent. Bandit was quick to jump back with a quick expletive and a hand on her rifle.

“They come in handy for catching awful assassins.” Kerrigan added with a smirk, as a pair of red eyes glinted from either side of her. Kerrigan turned to see just what her zerglings had psychically warned her about a few seconds prior - her new competitor turned out to be Sasuke Uchiha. An accomplished warrior, and a champion of Dante’s Abyss.

A set of hydralisks burst from the ground behind the ninja, immediately firing a volley of spines

Former champion, that is.

The bolts were mostly dodged by the champion, the able warrior able to avoid anything more than a superficial cut here or there from the barrage. The movement was done without thinking, his evasive movements so fluid Kerrigan knew they came from experience.

“Not even close.” Sasuke taunted. Sarah’s response was a simple shrug, even as she used a pair of shivering wing-blades to hold back Sasuke’s counter-slash. The kid grinned as he drove the blade in, pushing Kerrigan back as her wings slowly yielded to the katana…

Kerrigan chuckled, waiting just a couple more seconds before springing the muscles in her wings to life, smacking the Katana up and away with a sudden rush of strength. A glowing hand grabbed for the Shinobi’s shirt, and a second later, Sasuke hung helpless in the air, telekinetically held up by the neck.

“So, how many pieces are you thinking?” Kerrigan asked the Bandit, hanging from a stalactite with the aid of her enchanted yellow ribbon.

“With this baby?” Bandit asked, before dropping a recently pilfered stick of dynamite on the two. “At least a few dozen. Great for the ratings!”

Kerrigan responded with a bright smile,while the ninja was psychically slammed into the bare earth. Kerrigan flipped backwards as far as she possibly could before telekinetically squeezing on the falling sticks of TNT, creating a truck-sized fireball in the center of the tunnel.

A broad grin accompanied the explosion of the mining explosive, but it was quickly smothered by the sight of alien blood and fragmented carapace leaving the explosion.

“What are those creatures known as, by the way?” An eager, familiar voice asked. “Fascinating capabilities. And you’re capable of summoning them this easily?”

“Serraph. I haven’t seen you since Coruscant.” Kerrigan mentioned with a frown, as the Uchiha pulled himself out from under the charred remains of a hydralisk, barely scratched.

The little arrancar had the nerve to command her zerg!

“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ll have to wait on catching up until I’m finished removing that handsome little head from your shoulders. Rules of the game.” Kerrigan added, before rushing the arrancar. The Uchiha was quick to intercept, blowing the pair of ravenous zerglings away with his own personal explosives.

Serraph drew Libro, and Kerrigan immediately recognized her mistake. The Arrancar opted for an easily blocked slash to Kerrigan’s head, and the Uchiha took advantage of her occupied defences by landing a solid kick that rattled Kerrigan’s skull; at least, that’s what she assumed from the sudden pain ringing through her brain. Serraph’s blade cut a horizontal crescent that Kerrigan only barely avoided, before countering with a vicious series of stabs with her wings that forced the Octava Espada on the defensive.

From beside her, Sarah could see that Bandit had joined the two, riding one of the zerglings as she swung a pick-axe, which the shinobi dodged with a quick backflip. The former champion was untouched, but three unpredictable opponents at once kept him too busy to go back on the offensive.

Tell-tale vibrations rang through the area, and Kerrigan growled in annoyance as the ceiling above the recent explosion started to crumble, as the sound of churning rocks filled the cavern.

Sarah closed her eyes for a second, still managing to parry Libro’s next thrust, and regained her smug grin as rocks and clumps of dirt began to fall from the roof and on top of the bloody melee the fighters had formed.

845 words according to wordcounter.net, Kerrigan's using her zerglings for the round, bringing her down to 2/4 SP.

[Serraph Quarrere]

The mine’s passageway groaned as the ceiling began to collapse piece by piece. Serraph dove free from a falling piece of ancient stalactite, rolling back to his feet. This section of tunnel had begun to crumple inward from the dynamite’s detonation, weakening the rotted supports further. Kerrigan rushed to the collapsing portion of the mineshaft, but with a quick intervention on the arrancar’s part, Serraph thrust himself in between the infested Terran and the now collapsing passageway.

 “Begone, whelp.” her voice snarled as taloned wings fell down upon him with deadly intent.
 
 “Let the humans fight it out,” he chuckled softly, stepping back from the fatal arc, “leave us to our dance, m’lady.” 

 This wasn’t the battle he had with Ahana or Eternity. These strikes were meant to kill, each throw of her blades was poised to tear his fragile body apart. The King’s Servant wove and ducked his way beneath an oncoming assault. He brought his blade to bear, directing the menacing wings away.

 Calculating and reading her capabilities proved to take longer than he anticipated. She was relentless. He lunged from the danger of another strike, her blade instead plunging into the earth below. Serraph recovered and slashed at her exposed back, but she had already begun to follow up with her offensive. The bony structure of her wing repelled him at a speed not yet revealed. Surprised, he stumbled back with whatever momentum he had left.

 His spare hand clutched at his chest, covering the shallow wound, while the other held out Libro parallel to the mineshaft ground. It was astonishing how superior the cutting ability of Kerrigan’s wings was to Ahana’s javelin. Had it not been for the cool ink that trickled from his pale skin, he wouldn’t have even known.

  His hand smothered itself in the thick ink, displaying it before his visor to admire the Queen’s artwork. It wasn’t just the razor sharp edge of the talon itself, but also the sudden haste that propelled it. 

 “Truly amazing, Queen of blades,” he proclaimed with a manic cackle before continuing, “such a clean cut!” He dropped low, his body tensing as his sword crossed over his chest“If she could adjust her speed in such a manner,” Serraph’s ever-present smile widened to an inhuman degree,“ then there’s no reason why I can’t as well.”

 
 A cloud of aged minerals kicked up in his wake as the arrancar sprinted towards his adversary. The same strange duo of beasts sprouted from the ground attempting to intercept. Then the pair cried out, firing their biological weapons, but Serraph was no longer there. With the sound of sparking static, he forced reiatsu out to his side, allowing him to sidestep the would-be deterrent. He was fully aware of what those creatures were capable of, having summoned one to rescue Sasuke from an early demise. By the time they had begun to react, it was already too late. Serraph ignored the pair of creatures attempting to shield their master and forced another spurt of spiritual energy from his heels.

 Using the momentum he’d obtained, Serraph cut across Kerrigan’s guard. The pale paper of his blade sliced into violet flesh, between the bony structures lining the Queen’s body. His sword arm pulled the blade across her as he passed, staining Libro with Kerrigan’s crimson ichor. Slowly he slid to a stop and exhaled.
 
 ~POP~

"Yo, this anemic twelve-year-old is trying to choke me,” a female cackled, “da’s hilarious!"

Serraph blinked and whipped his head toward the sudden noise to see a pair of tangled bodies materialize. Through the air they soared, contestants Ass Kicker and Sasuke Uchiha, strangling the life from one another as they went. Tumbling to the dust covered ground nearby, Serraph’s keen eye focused on the wristlets they were bestowed. Watch-like in nature, the “Hopper” featured a broad face and wide purple switch. Upon this button the visage of their glorious host, Karl Jak, was superimposed, and… and…

“Did the damned contraption just wink?!”

~POP~

Their partners vanished as Kerrigan used the opportunity to recover and closed the distance on the distracted arrancar. Kerrigan's hand thrust forward, gripping the one who dared wound the Queen of Blades by the neck and slammed him into a jagged crevice. Serraph released hold of Libro and resisted, clenching his hands around the infected Terran’s wrist.

 “Now about that head I promised to collect...” Kerrigan snarked, her bladed talons closing in on his neck.

 The King’s Servant refused to look into the golden eyes that bore through his parchment laden skull, but instead observed his partner weathering his own predicament. That blade of his was unique. That much the arrancar could decipher. What if he, Serraph Quarrere, could access such power? From his own essence, the Kusanagi replica formed over Libro’s scabbard and his hand took quickly to it, drawing the silver blade from its resting place. He then sent a shock of his own spiritual power down the blade, mimicking the properties of Sasuke’s chakra. The arrancar, now silenced by Kerrigan’s crushing grip, poised the lightning blade to strike.

849 words according to google doc.
Current Mimicked Powers/moves: Sword of Kusanagi, T2 Offensive super Sword of Kusanagi (Chidori Blade), Needle Spines, Burst Speed

Serraph used: Libro, T2 Offensive Super: Sword of Kusanagi (Chidori)
Kerrigan used: Needle Spines, Wing blades
Sasuke and Ass Kicker used: "Hopper" (Basic Teleportion)

 2/4 SP Remaining

[Bandit With No Name]

Kerrigan’s claws released the boy’s throat as the chamber was suffused with a flash of bright blue, her eyes filled with uncharacteristic concern. The screech of electricity permeated the air as the habaki snuck from the scabbard, crackling and chirping like cries of a thousand sparrows. Lightning arced, incinerating the stone around Serraph as it lashed out, a hurricane of wind blasting down the corridor in both directions, his tie fluttering wildly.
 
The katana flashed in a clean arc, bisecting the Queen from hip to shoulder, a look of shock frozen on her face. A small smirk grew on the arrancar’s cheek, the azure glow of the shrieking blade casting deep shadows into his soft features.
 
His smile quickly melted into a scowl as the image of Kerrigan deformed and wafted like lingering smoke, the afterimage of her illusory-self fading. “Oh,” she quipped, self-satisfaction staining her voice, “that looked dangerou-“
 
Serraph screamed as he stepped forward and whipped the weapon back downward. Kerrigan’s eyes went wide as a massive bolt of energy slashed through the air and plowed into her chest, sending her crashing through the stone behind her.
 
---
 
Sasuke twisted under the nameless woman’s grip, a firm kick to the ribs decorating her armor with another dent. A crisp uppercut snaked between her arms and she staggered, her back meeting the craggy rock behind. Her fingers slipped for only a moment and the shinobi was free, immediately in a fighting stance, his glinting Sharingan burrowing into her.
 
“You little shit,” she muttered under her breath, wiping her palm over the blood that dribbled from the corner of her mouth.
 
He waited for her to right herself, a cocky smile on his lips. “Just give it up,” he jeered. “I don’t plan on losing.” His knuckles cracked as they clenched. “Especially not to you.”
 
“Yeah, keep it up kid,” she scoffed and brought up her fists, no other weapons at hand. “All that shit-talking is great for people back home.” She slowly began to circle around him, the boy easily keeping pace with her small boxer’s steps. “It really adds to the show, you know? To have smug little bastards like you in the running.” Her eyes narrowed as her feet came to a stop. “It’s always satisfying to see pricks like you lose.”
 
A wild haymaker swept in from the left, and her metal fist impacted his jaw with titanic force. She only had time to enjoy the hit for a moment before he vanished in a puff of smoke, a small stump in his place. Her hand hung in the air awkwardly as the log clunked down the hallway, a look of deep confusion creeping over her.
 
Sasuke’s shoe cracked her temple and her head loosed a few pebbles as it smashed into the wall, leaving a tiny crack behind. The ninja landed elegantly and scoffed. “You’re dealing with the Grand Champion.”
 
“Yeah,” she rumbled, returning to her feet once more, “I get it.” She pointed to her right and nodded, “And you’re dealing with zerglings.”
 
A pair of teeth and claws snarled through the hallway, feet clinging to the sides of the tunnel as they ran. Sasuke quickly bounded sideways, avoiding a flurry of organic blades, darting and dodging each gnash of their fangs and lash of their hooks.  Spinning into a fluid jump kick, he snapped his heel into one of their heads, its chin bouncing off the ground.
 
“Hey!” A gauntleted hand wrapped around the side of his face as he came down, the bandit’s immense strength tearing him back into the air. Her barreling charge terminated when his cheek clapped into the splintered the surface of the mine, a plume of dust wafting outward.
 
She reeled his struggling body upward, dangling it in front of her. “See?” she growled, a crimson glare shooting back from between her fingers. “Keeping it interesting.” She laughed to herself and rammed the child’s skull into the stone, before tearing him free again.
 
“ISN’T-
“THIS-
“ENTER-
“TAINING?”
 
Each syllable was punctuated by another cacophonous slam, chips of sediment flying in every direction as the side of his cranium pounded into the rock face, his legs whipping around beneath him helplessly. Her fingers finally released his bloodied scalp, leaving it in the head-shaped crater she had created.
 
“And don’t kick my dog,” she concluded, turning away from the dazed adolescent to find her partner.
 
It didn’t take long.
 
The mine erupted as Kerrigan blasted through it, a trail of electric blue and debris skittering after her. The once-Terran hit the opposing side of the cavern with a thundering boom, thick cloud of smog looming around her landing site.
 
“Kerri!” the marauder shouted, a twinge of panic in her voice.
 
She rushed after her, waving the smoke away to see Kerrigan laying still, a smoldering pit dug into in her chest. Kneeling down, she took up the woman’s hand gently and brushed aside a strand of chitinous hair. “Kerri, are you ok?”
 
Kerrigan’s eyes snapped open, glowing furious amber. “I'll flay him alive and feed him to my pets.”

849 words according to Microsoft Word, 850 according to Docs

Used Kerrigan's Hallucination T1 Super defense to limited effect

[Sasuke Uchiha]

A metallic hand palmed an earful of youthful features, colliding shinobi into stalagmite with a deafening calamity, and the bandit created music. A symphony of destruction. Each slam, each thrust, cancerous for the condemned mine; a catalyst for another tremor, another seismic convulsion.

White war-paint decorated the malice smeared across the desert rat's face, as she continued to excavate the mine with Sasuke’s skull. Under siege of each slam into the bedrock, the ninja’s nervous system sang its own tune. Excruciating, It belted a profound melody, and thundered a charged ballad, to the culmination of a grand crescendo; the roar of drumroll, the crash of cymbals–sounds that said, “This is it. You lost.”

Then the darkness came, and everything went silent. There was no anger, no anguish or despair, only silence. It was actually kind of blissful. Then, with far less grandeur, that too came to an end.

***

The pitter-patter of water against stone jarred the shinobi, waking him to strange surroundings. “Where am I?”

It looked like the mineshaft, only it was a fun-house corrupted mirror of itself. Upside-down, and submerged in a few feet of water, the ghastly facade sent an ominous twinge down Sasuke’s spine.

Where once the scent of mineral and soot hung in the air, now only sulfur and rot persisted. Water at the ninja' feet; he sloshed through the mine looking for his opponents, or even for his partner for that matter. Suddenly the hairs at the nape of his neck stood on end and Sasuke took a fighting stance.

“I thought I told you already.” growled a raspy voice; it’s bearer inhuman, and veiled in the darkness. “It's a big problem for me if you get yourself killed!”

Terrifying ashen wings expanded around the ninja, revealing a familiar nightmare, and cocooned him within. “If you refuse to assert your dominance and retain the crown,” the monstrosity cooed, “then I’ll destroy you, and take the crown for myself. Which means I’ll be king.”  

***

While the bandit tended to her partner’s cauterized wounds, the arrancar heaved his way past. He sighted the king’s hand and rushed to his side, but was startled when a foreboding energy enveloped the shinobi, and black smog consumed the whites of his eyes.

“M’liege...” the arrancar said tentatively. 

The shinobi ignored him as his mouth opened to a gruesome extent, and ashen fingers protruded out. Clamping ahold of each cheek, the fingers began to wrench on the demon within, attempting shed Sasuke like snake skin.

“What the fuck?!” the greasy haired bandit balked as she drew closer with Kerrigan in tow. “Fuckin’ primes.”

***

Inside Sasuke, within the nefarious winged-prison, the Uchiha flame burned bright. “I don’t need you!” the shinobi snarled between mouthfuls of expelling fireballs. “Stop interfering!”

“You’ve already failed once,” the demon hissed through a scowl, “how can you be so confident?!”

“You can’t fail until it’s over,” Sasuke surged on the demon, “And I Am Just Getting Fucking Started!!” Every punch, every kick, backhand, and knee strike enunciating the vigor of his will.  

***

Before Kerrigan and her partner could take advantage of the two-on-one against Seraph, a blood-curdling squeal caught their attention. With most its torso birthed from Sasuke’s mouth, the demon thrashed violently before retracting back within, in one long oversized gulp. Now only the curse mark remained, remnants of a former power, inked into the shinobi’s skin. 

“Dude,” the bandit scoffed, addressing her partner, “and I thought you were weird.”  Kerrigan in kind, responded with a snicker, a quip, and a fiendish proclamation, but Sasuke’s attention was elsewhere.  

The Dante’s Abyss champion flexed his being, muscles, chakra, and all. Sinister, yet tantalizing, a new power coursed through his veins and aroused excitement. Reassuring his concerned partner with a nod, Sasuke transitioned a finger from his head to his tongue. His tattoos seared hot and the familiar taste of iron in his mouth elicited a grin.  

“Why, thank you!” the demented shinobi heckled as he charged the culprit with Serraph flanking him. “It takes a special kind of cunt to awaken this power!”

Kerrigan intended to intercede, but Libro cut her off, “That’s far enough.” She hissed and the arrancar engaged.

“No problem!” Bandit sneered, her forearm clinking against Kusanagi, “I love putting primes in their place.” Sweeping minerals at her feet, she pivoted her weight, revved a clout of black smog from her hammer, and pulvervitized–a length of mahogany?

“Must suck,” the shinobi said under assailing splinters, “knowing my place is above your own.” Slipping through her guard, the shinobi peppered her unkeept visage, dove under a haymaker, and caught her chin against his foot as he sprang from a handstand.

Crashing amidst the wreckage of a collapsing mine, the marauder scrambled to her feet just in time to get her bottom right incisor knocked out. Reeling, the bandit raised her junkyard hammer in defense, but it was too late. A defiant thunderclap, a flash of light, and Sasuke descended upon her with his fabled bolt of lightning. 

“What’s the matter?” Sasuke taunted as lightning sought to tear her asunder, “Where’s your smart mouth now?”

[spoiler]Word Count: 850
Using T1 Power Up: Cursed Seal for the rest of the round. (5/3/5/5)
Used T2 Super Attack: Sword of Kusanagi(Chidori Blade) on Bandit
Serraph used Libro
Bandit used Crash Punch(loosely as fodder) and Sledge's Hammer
Kerrigan used ...recovery, from that mimicked T2 (Haha xD)
2/6 SP remaining[/spoiler]

[Sarah Kerrigan]

he blood streaming from the still open wound made every movement that much harder as the Infested Terran held off Serraph’s well-practiced onslaught. Quarrere was intent on studying her technique, her style. He seemed to have no interest in winning or losing - only learning as much as he could from one of his favorite new subjects.

The Bookkeeper was interesting, but he was in her way. She couldn’t lend bandit support until the Librarian moved, and the woman was at a disadvantage. If this continued-

“Bring it!” Bandit’s voice echoed through the caves, throwing her hands in the air in challenge. Sarah looked away from her opponent to observe for an instant, and saw the familiar sheath of blue lightning around Sasuke’s blade. It appeared Serraphs’ technique had come secondhand.

But the raider wasn’t budging.

“What are you doing! Dodge!” Kerrigan growled, but there was no time to react. Tanned flesh and brittle bone was no defence against the cutting force of the blade, and Bandit’s arm was chopped from the shoulder down with all the effort of a hot knife cutting through butter.
The tanned woman clutched at the bleeding stump, but Sasuke gave her no time to absorb her new situation. Following up the strike with a heavy kick that sent her crashing headfirst into the Queen of Blades, and the two impacted the nearest wall with a noisy ‘crack’.

It took a moment for Sarah’s consciousness to return, along with the pain that wracked her body. One of her wings twitched without permission, the wing broken into an unnatural shape.

“Sorry, Kerri…” The injured bandit managed to spit out, the woman trying her best to crawl off of the Infested Terran torso. “I’ve got… a plan, though. See-”

Kerrigan cut the statement off with a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “Hush, you need a moment to rest. Besides…” Her wings rose forward gracefully as she helped the injured bandit to her feet.

“I doubt I have much to gain from your rambling anymore.”

The Zerg Queen’s condemnation rippled through the cave like a chill breeze as vicious claws sliced the bandit’s abdomen.

Blood streamed from the wound as the bandit screamed out in shock. Grabbing the woman roughly by the throat, Sarah hurled the unmoving form of the marauder with all the force she could muster between the pair of rapidly advancing competitors.

“So, shall we negotiate surrender terms, then?” The Queen of Blades suggested, as the woman landed between her two opponents.

Serraph raised an eyebrow as an enthusiastic grin danced along his features, while the Uchiha brat gave a cold glare in response.

“I can make this win pleasant and easy for you, right here and now, or I can ensure that at least one of you won’t even be mentally fit to continue to the next round of Dante’s Abyss. I believe it’s in our interests to bargain, don’t you?” Kerrigan asked, as a pleased smirk echoed across her features. “Unlike my friend here, the championship holds no interest for me… so I’m willing to cut a deal or two.”

The Arrancar seemed interested in the prospect, his body relaxing, but the Uchiha’s gaze switched quickly between the bleeding bandit on the ground, and then back to Kerrigan. He was too sharp to be fooled for long; if Sarah gave him a moment of observation, he might notice just how shallow those cuts across the bandit’s abdomen really were.

Luckily, Kerrigan didn’t need another moment. Reaching out with every ounce of her psychic mastery, she found that shallow cut - close to a cluster of blackened veins that adorned the woman’s stomach - and exploded it with one burst of psychic energy punctuated with a clenched fist.

The Uchiha put his arms up to guard against the onslaught while leaping away, only obtaining a few burning splotches on his extremities for Kerrigan’s trouble, but Serraph wasn’t so lucky. Libro dropped from the arrancars shaking grasp as his right arm covered itself in boils. Serraph reached down with his left to retrieve it, only for bandit’s blood-soaked hand to grab the hollow’s leg and squeeze, pulling the librarian down to the ground.

Most people wouldn’t have been smart enough to grasp the artistry of Kerrigan’s plan, but the bandit had no problem absorbing the idea of her plan in a few short moments, ready to capitalize. It wasn’t the coordination of a hive-mind, but it was close.

Sarah was given no time to think about this, however, as Sasuke rushed her. The shinobi became a blur, closing the distance in an instant, and before Kerrigan could throw up a defence impossibly strong punches were smashing her head against the nearby cave wall at a rapid tempo.

“Guess you’re nothing without your little tricks, huh?”

Kerrigan raised her wrist, aiming for the little bastard’s kneecap. Firing a barrage of explosive parasites, she forced the former champion to kneel.

“I am everything and everyone you have ever feared, worm, and I’ll etch that knowledge onto every bone in your rotting corpse before it leaves these mines.”

850 words on the dot according to wordcounter.net.
Kerri used Telekinesis, Parasites, and wing blades.
Bandit 'used' Okor's gift (with some help from her good friend Kerrigan)
Serraph Used Libro
Sasuke 's tier 2 struck successfully, cutting bandit's arm off completely. He also kicked someone really hard and then punched someone else a whole bunch.
Serraph and Sasuke were both splashed with Okor's gift, with Serraph's right arm getting caught. Sasuke was only minorly affected. Sasuke was also shot in the knee-cap with a low-power attack.
Kerrigan has one broken wing, and Bandit is out an arm and a reasonable amount of blood.
on to you, Serraph! This has been a lot of fun to write!

[Serraph Quarrere]

The only way to unveil a trap is to spring it. By allowing the opposition to follow through with their plan, Serraph allowed them to spend precious resources. It wasn't all a complete waste for them, however, because moments after, Serraph could feel the flesh of his right arm withering from decay. The shock hit him before he could inspect the rapidly growing infection and unfortunately, he wouldn't get the chance to. Ass Kicker was upon him before he could make preparations. A vice of flesh and blood closed around the Arrancar's frail neck and dug into his paper skin. Her grip weakened from her devastating wound, but was still strangling the life from him.

"It was a trap, all of it," he thought to himself. His non-afflicted hand clamped to her wrist in a vain attempt to gain a moment’s reprieve.

"I'm going to tear yer head off and feed it to my doggo for what you did to Kerri, kid." she spat, her lips dripping with crimson ichor.

"Y-you," Serraph struggled, his diseased arm digging into the dirt beside him, "need to read more, kid." 

He'd closed his hand around a small shard, its sharp edge slicing open a pus-filled boil in the palm of his hand. The infectious soup spilled onto the ground, soaking the earth beneath. His hand clenched a fistful of the infected dirt. In one fluid motion, one hand pulled back her night vision goggles, his other shoved a fistful of blighted muck into her eyes. She released his neck and cried out in confused agony. Serraph released his grip on the bulky goggles, the recoil snapping against her face before she could prevent it. She clawed wildly at her face, desperately trying to remove the scourge that had undoubtedly already begun to ravage her eyes.

Serraph's ever-present grin burned away the moment he sprung to his feet. He'd stumbled in his hasty retreat, his body burning from the pestilence that spread deep into his core. His teeth gritted as he willed himself to move. His eyes observed through the visor of his goggles, watching in slight amusement at the desperate cat and mouse between Sasuke and the sly Queen Kerrigan. This new power of his allowed him to tip the scales, keeping up with Kerrigan and more.  She'd attack and he'd weave himself inside her guard to land powerful blows. His art was flawless. She staggered back and Sasuke stood his ground, the shinobi’s hands a blur as they weaved signs of power.

"That's it!"

Serraph's hands mirrored Sasuke's, channeling his spiritual power into the signs he wove. "Rat, Tiger, Dog, Ox, Rabbit, Tiger," he chanted in his mind, giving power behind his movements. His hands pulled to his lips.

"Fire style! Pheonix Fire Jutsu!", the Nippurian team cried, sending forth a barrage of flaming projectiles on both sides at Kerrigan. She braced herself and called up her Hydralisks to take the brunt of the attack, but most hit their mark regardless.  Serraph panted hard and stumbled forward, the disease instilling a sense of dizziness within him. With as much energy as he could muster, he burst forward and launched himself at the recovering Zerg Queen,  his arms and legs wrapping around her.

"You again? Get off you worthless worm." she growled, her sharp claws tearing at the disease infested arm tightened around her neck. Infected puss and ink dripped down and covered her face. She breathed in fumes drenched of the malady, ebbing from his rotting flesh. 

"The gift that keeps on giving."

"Sasuke! Go!" he signaled and the shinobi nodded, sprinting past the struggling pair.  She ripped and tore at his flesh, but even still he held on. The Queen of Blades rotated him to a nearby wall and leaped back into it with all her might. Pleased, she repeated this over and over again. Serraph's eyes sealed shut, his false bones snapping and splintering with each powerful collision. He couldn't afford to let go. He had to show them all the might of Nippur, even if his body was reduced to dust.

"Sun Tzu once said  ‘Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him’. Your plan failed the moment you went for the bait." he scolded her, his eyes creaking open to glance at the jagged ceiling and the pitiful supports there. Crimson energy sparked to life over his forehead, the intense spiritual power coalescing into a growing sphere of doom. He then packed it down, condensing its form beyond visual recognition.

"GILGAMESH... IS... GREAT!", He screeched, unleashing the pent-up reiryoku into the supports. The stream of scarlet light blasted away the supports and thrashed against the stone. Kerrigan paused her lethal movements to glance up at the mineshaft ceiling, a look of dread washing over her features. The shaft quaked and groaned as the stones began to descend.

"Silly girl," the arrancar welcomed their oblivion and beamed, “paper beats rock.”

827 Words according to wordcounter.

current Mimicked things: Sword of Kusanagi, T2 Offensive super Sword of Kusanagi (Chidori Blade), Needle Spines, Burst Speed, Okor's gift , Phoenix Sage Fire Technique

Okor's gift has been spread to Kerrigan and Ass Kicker.
Serraph used naruto jutsu thingy. Feels wierd bruh. 
Sasuke has reengaged Bandit
Serraph has collapsed a section of the mineshaft over he and Kerrigan via Cero.

1/4 sp Remaining

[Bandit With No Name]

The bandit was having her ass handed to her like a one armed woman fighting a ninja that just barfed up a demon.

Sasuke’s fist dislodged a molar, and a firm knee to the gut bent her in two. She swung her left arm wide, but he bobbed beneath it and landed another overhand for her trouble. A stiff front kick planted her against one of the rapidly deteriorating walls.

The Uchiha stalled, taking another moment to gloat. “Any more quips? One-liners?”

The heavy-metal marauder sucked down a few heavy breaths, then spit out a wad of blood. “Nah,” she said between panting, “Just thinking: it was wizards at the Colosseum.” She straightened her sagging posture, but her feet slipped on the loose gravel beneath her. “Now it’s ninjas. Already two fuckin ninjas.” She lethargically flopped the stump that extended from her right shoulder. “And people keep cutting off my arms!”

“You won’t have to worry about fighting anymore,” he growled, sadism bubbling between his lips.

“Yeah,” she said with a jigsaw smile, “you’re probably right.” She spun and slammed her stolen metal hand into the last chunk of the cave that was holding the precarious ceiling up. A white grid flashed over its surface before it erupted into a million cube-shaped blocks, and several hundred tons of mountain fell down atop them.

The nameless warrior appeared in the newly created cavern atop a mound of boulders with a POP. She stumbled to find her footing, searching the grit-thick air for her companion. “Kerri!” she shouted, her voice echoing ominously in the darkness. “Kerrigan, where are you?!” She lifted her goggles and pressed at the boil-covered mound that had once been her eye socket, hissing in pain as she did so. “Come on, Kerri! I don’t think I killed the kid, and I’m sure as hell not gonna make it alone!”

She fell to her knees and began rolling rubble aside. “Oh!” She paused, grabbing something that she had uncovered. “My arm!”

Her excitement was interrupted as Kerrigan tore up from a pile of debris, Serraph still clinging to her. She lurched from side to side as the Hollow clawed at her face, a stream of eloquent insults flowing as she attempted to extract the troublesome creature from her shoulders, but he would not relent.

The bandit limped to her feet, her detached arm in hand. “Kerri!” she shouted, and cocked into in a pitcher’s stance. “Catch!”

She hurled her dismembered limb towards the duo, a bright yellow ribbon streaming behind it. Kerrigan’s eyes glowed and dead fingers sprung to life, gripping Serraph’s neck on impact. The ex-raider yanked the line, slapped the wrist-watch hopper against her chest, and vanished. When she reappeared, the ribbon twanged with tension and tore the arrancar off of Kerrigan, sending him soaring through the air. The bandit twisted into a backhand, Crash Magic exploding in a spray of luminous gore when it met Serraph’s cheek, spiking him to the floor in a plume of fractured earth.

The woman relinquished the tether, staring down at the motionless gladiator. “Well I think we got that one for a sec,” she mumbled. “Besides...” She wobbled, then collapsed. “I think I’m out of blood.”

Kerrigan jammed her shoulder back into its socket and flexed her practically useless wings, no doubt injured in the cave-in, while she warily scanned the area. “We aren’t teleporting, so either he or his teammate aren’t finished.”

“Got that right,” Sasuke spat and slammed his heel into the back of the bandit’s head, burying it into a pile of stones.

“God DAMN it,” she grumbled, pushing herself out of the mound.

The ninja wound up to kick the woman while she was down, but was forced to flip out of the way of a boulder that soared in his direction. He landed on the sheer rock face that made up the cavern, amazingly sticking to it. From high above them, his fingers danced in a complex sequence of gestures, then came up to his mouth. A stream of fireballs rained down upon them, filling the room with a wild inferno.

A loud POP heralded the bandit’s appearance, and Sasuke slid to the left, narrowly avoiding a heavy fist as it impacted collided with the wall he was perched upon. She lagged in the air for a moment before bursting into existence in front of him, and again he easily avoided the blow. A third time she hopped, the device on her wrist burning from overuse, but a simple step caused her attack to strike wide.

She unceremoniously fell to the ground, landing flat on her back with a thud. Sasuke allowed himself a chuckle, staring down at her. “Did you really think you were going to hit me?”

“No,” the bandit wheezed.

“But then again,” Kerrigan stepped out of the smoke that had followed the ninja’s barrage, “she never intended to.”

Gold gleamed out of the cracks that surrounded the Uchiha, a perfect ring of fissured stone. He gasped just as the section flew free with him attached and shattered against the opposing cliff.

850 words according to Google Docs

[Sasuke Uchiha]

Another cave in, another collapse; their battle spelled catastrophe for the condemned mine. The one-armed wonder had dispatched the ninja, but she had also etched fissures into the mine’s framework like wildfire. Fissures that beckoned for the mine’s imminent doom. Lurching from a culmination of dynamite explosions, Crash magic, Cero blasts, and bolts of goddamned lightning, it all led to one thing: a cataclysm. A cacophony erupted as the entire mine collapsed into itself. It's tremors shook the verse, leaving nothing more of the mine than rubble and debris. 

Folks all around the Omniverse held their breath and gawked at their digital devices. No one said a word. Anticipation kept them on the edge of their seats as Syntech’s streaming of the fight hadn’t cut away, hadn’t declared the winners. Instead it simply zoomed in on the mineshaft’s smoldering remains.

Sun rays penetrated the smoke wafting through jagged cracks between rock and boulder. Hovering above, a camera drone spotted movement and focused in. Among the wreckage, a section of rubble had begun to vibrate until finally, it yielded to an emerging metal hand!

Wrenching themselves free of the rubble, the one armed, no-named bitch stood victorious. Fans of the nameless erupted everywhere. A triumphant moment, ruined only by the sudden ruckus that animated her body. Thrashing and flailing about, the bandit crashed against the rubble, espousing a collection of profanities. She violently snatched the goggles from her face, exposing the gnarly boils that claimed her eyes. Besieged by the glaring sun above, she discarded the traitorous goggles and used her one good hand to tend to her eyes.

Elsewhere, another camera drone had spotted stirring from the rubble. Heaving a charred and broken-down mining cart off of them, the pair of New Babylon primes revealed themselves. The camera honed on in them, just in time to catch the last of their conversation.    

“Forget about it,” Sasuke told his partner, “it’s too risky.”

He was still covered head to toe in tattoos, his malignant chakra barely contained. Crouching to pick at his wounded leg, he began removing the parasites burrowed into his knee. Repulsed, he gave a squeamish shiver while he worked.     

“Not for us,” the arrancar pressed, “the two of us could pull it off.” Serraph was in rough shape, bleeding ink everywhere. For someone so paper frail, Sasuke had grown to respect him for the beatings he took. He was a fine partner for combat, whether he was built for it or not.

“We could die just as easily, don’t you think?” the shinobi countered as he stood and allowed his Sharingan to scan for their enemies.

Serraph raised a finger, “How bad do we want to win, m’liege?” The look on the arrancar’s face said it all, he had read Sasuke like a book.

“Okay, okay,” the shinobi grinned, “but it’s gotta be me.”

“Of course, your grace.” Serraph’s ever present smile now extended to extravagance, “I’ll stockpile the TNT.”

With infection oozing from her eyes, and only a metal hand to remedy it, the bandit was too distracted to hear the approaching prime.

“I grow weary of this.” Startled, the bandit reeled, but was relieved to see Kerrigan grinning at her, “Shall we end their pathetic struggle?”

The wicked she-devil still had both her arms, but with two broken wings and a seriously grievous chest wound, it was hard to say who was worse for wear. Lightning had really fucked this team up.  

The smile her partner wore was short lived, as almost immediately after, it was smacked from her face by the butt end off a miner’s pickaxe. Assailing them through the air from over a mound of rubble, Sasuke had gotten the drop on them.

“KERI!” the bandit shrieked, but it was too late, the pickaxe had already been utilized as a projectile to pierce Kerrigans right wing, pinning her down.

“Don’t worry,” the ninja snarled as his malevolent chakra flared, “you’re next!”

“Awe, that’s cute,” the bandit quipped as she squeezed her trigger finger, “you’re upset we killed your little friend!”

Pulses of red energy peppered the rubble behind the ninja as he surged on her. Coiling his body through the air, the shinobi disarmed her, kicking the gun away.

“FLAY HIM ALIVE!” Kerrigan shrieked as she struggled to dislodge the pickaxe.

“You didn’t kill him,” the shinobi planted a kick into Bandit’s chest, “and leaving him unattended will be your downfall!”

Bouncing back from a wall of rubble, the bandit used the momentum to punch Sasuke square in the jaw. Her metal knuckles came away smeared in crimson. 

“Even now,” Sasuke staggered, giving a toothless grin, “he’s preparing your graves.”

Kerrigan had freed herself, now engaging along Bandit, but both were suddenly stopped dead in their tracks. The shinobi’s open palm revealed two hopper-bracelets in addition to his own. Looking to their own wrists, they found them naked, but before either of them could react, Sasuke collided into them. A loud 'POP' followed, Karl Jak gave a wink, and all three vanished. When they reappeared at their destination, Serraph sprang the trap.

*BOOM!*

[spoiler]Word Count: 850
Sasuke Used T1 PU: Curse Seal 5/3/5/5
Bandit used Move: AER9 Laser Rifle[/spoiler]

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
#35 Kerrigan & #21 “Ass Kicker” vs #04 Serraph & #36 Sasuke

A veritable super nova tore through the partially exposed mines.

Even from their distance, Sasuke and Serraph found themselves wide-eyed as they were swallowed up by the expanding wave of heat, fire, and undeniable chaos.

***

Karl scowled at the feed.

He’d have to send out a special squad to fix up the mines after this was all said and done.  The cargo hidden deep underneath those formerly complex and murky tunnels was too precious to just let it lie underground forever.

“Are they all dead, Karl?”  One of his attendants inquired as a little group formed around the control panel and view screen.

The executive shuffled uncomfortably as the people crammed around him.  In the next round, they would at least be able to shift to a different control room, where there would be more space and less stations to manage.  “They’re never dead,” the man chuckled.  “They’re primes.  Even the scrawny ones manage to survive the razzle-dazzle explosions.”

On the screen, something most certainly did start to move about.

“I have to get me one of those,” one of the crew sighed as a hand emerged.

***

The Queen of Blades screamed in pain as he broken, ruptured wings flailed.  Every movement of the additional appendages sent fresh bolts of agony across her physique.  Despite her own body conspiring against her, she saw the light and felt its warmth on her hand. She knew that she could escape.  Draped over her was the form of Bandit, whose breathing was shallow.  The marauder had absorbed most of the explosion but had also helped bury Kerrigan under yet more weight.

As the infested terran emerged from the debris, she apologized before shoving the unconscious body of her companion off of her.  Bandit rolled a few feet before coming to a stop.

In the haze, Kerrigan stumbled.  She wasn’t alone.  Her mind focused.  She was nearly out of time…

***

“You good?”  Sasuke asked as he helped Serraph up to his feet.

The arrancar nodded slowly even as his eyes remained squeezed tight in a wince of pain.  “Not sure what I did that merits getting nearly burned alive in all these fights,” he offered as he opened his eyes and blinked to adjust to the light.  His eyes then went wide, but Sasuke already knew.

“Don’t,” Sasuke muttered as the streak of twitching stones crept closer to them.  “Don’t blink.  Don’t move.”  The shinobi’s other hand concealed a slip of paper.

The ground behind them erupted upward—a screeching brown shape emerging just a little too slow for its own good.  Sasuke had shoved his ally from harm’s way and sprung back.  His palm smacked the hydralisk on the crown of the head as he backflipped over it.  It wasn’t the paper bomb exploding that caused the airborne ninja to crash to the ground.  Fatigue, more than anything, had started to wear on the fight’s speediest combatant.  He hit the uneven surface of rocks knee-first and had to stifle a yelp in his throat.

His thoughts redirected immediately as he sensed the movement in the earth.  “Serraph!”  Sasuke barked as he reached a hand out toward his ally.

The arrancar turned to his friend rather than the approaching danger.  A dark shadow fell over the Nippurian right before the needle spines stitched their way up his back.  Serraph clenched his fists and tensed his arm muscles as he tried to will himself through the pain.  Libro was nearby.  More spines buried into his back as a few sank into his skull.  He grabbed the sword and twisted.  Spines sank into his gut but not before he had buried the fatal blow into the monster’s chest.

The hydralisk shrieked and collapsed.

Serraph, his vision doubled and darkening to black, lolled his lethargic body back and threw Libro to his ally before the shadows consumed the arrancar.

Knowing the danger, Sasuke stumbled forward and grabbed the blade.  His senses were still firing, but the stress of the battle had worn on both his body and mind.  He still had a bead on the final hydralisk… he just had to focus on its intricate movements through the earth.  It would not get the drop on him.

As his eyes and senses focused on three o’clock, something sparked in his brain.  Sasuke shifted and smacked the rock out of the sky.  As the momentary puff of dust faded, he saw the beleaguered form of Kerrigan standing just a few yards from him.  The ‘woman’ took a step forward, her wings sagged lethargically in her wake.  Her hands were still vile weapons, and she had a stone in her hands.

There was another spark.

Sasuke cursed as he had to throw himself to the left to evade the needles.

Kerrigan pressed forward.

The rock left her hand.  It died like its friend—a victim to Libro and Sasuke Uchiha.  The rhetorical of past glory was gone.  This was just one bloody man fighting to defeat a vile, sneering adversary.

Needles vied for purchase on Sasuke’s flesh.  Three of them caught him in the ankle as he attempted to slip free.  The young man cringed but he had to keep his head on a swivel.  He spun and slashed as Kerrigan, who had closed the space.

Needles sank into his back and shoulders.

He held on for all her could, but his fingers weren’t responding to his demands.

Libro slipped from his hands as Kerrigan moved forward.  She had a rock in her hand once more.

Sasuke stared into her face even as his vision started to fade.  He didn’t blink as the rock crashed into the side of his skull.

The shinobi toppled backwards and remained still.

The Queen of Blades glanced at the gore-stained stone and smiled as she felt the swirl of the teleportation technology ushering her back to the facility.


[spoiler]

Kerrigan (3.0) & Bandit (3.6) defeat Serraph (2.9) and Sasuke (3.6)

Kerrigan & Bandit advance to the quarter-finals

Serraph and Sasuke move to Match I of the Redemption Bracket and will face the winner of Retane/Victor vs Jibril/Harley Quinn

[/spoiler]