Zone E -- Highlands

[Jak Mar]

Signifies Dark Jak talking
Signifies Light Jak talking
Signifies Jak talking

Mar finished texting and then stepped up into what was presumed to be the safehouse, his clashing collar sticking out from his stand out colors.  He slipped his phone back in his knapsack and opened the door silently, keeping himself silent just in case of another contender entering.

Jak muttered something as he noticed a average aged man, covered with blood and bruises, he was muttering something looking pretty badly hurt.

“He’s too familiar”

Bad memories from DA’ 15 PTSD flashed back.

It’s when a camera bust in and focused on the two competitors.

“That’s right folks, I have some news for our fans out there, a old DA 15’ pair finds themselves here of all places.

“Half of the Rock2Rock Connection, and Dynamite Mar here in one place.”

The casual tone of the easy elevator music inside the safehouse had Karl’s sweet tone warning contestants to “play nice”

“So we meet again, Strazio. “ the eco warrior muttered

Strazio eyed his long eared competition “What are you doing here?!.”

“Same thing as you. The safehouse is big enough for the both of us.”

“I suppose.” Strazio held back his annoyance.

------------
Outside the crowds roared,

“AHHHHH LOOOK, it’s the brave Strazio!”

“Strazio- Strazio Strazio..”

The internet fans Jak had, were suddenly paying attention to their omnitube videos.

“Mar, Mar, Mar, Mar, Mar…”
Meanwhile on the inside, Jak and the Rock fan stared down each other rather deeply, but didn’t do much but a staredown.

Jak was left to wonder in the back of his mind.

“Destroy him, Jak. You know you want to.”

His angel form sighed “Stop Jak, this guy hasn’t hurt you… He’s hurt. “

The eco warrior without realizing it , he was muttering his worry for his allies.

Safehouse E

[Harlan Higgs]

It was easy to see the flat land before them as the God and the pretender neared the edges of the mountainous area. Enel pointed at a low flat plateau a few hundred yards away. "There. I have sensed it. The next item will fall there."

Hendy nodded and continued onwards, his rough boots finding purchase in the scree of the hillside. Inside his pocket, he fingered the assembled necklace. He was no mage, not by any means, but he'd dabbled with enough of them to have been taught enough to recognize power when it was around him. The necklace surged with it, the simple assembly of feather, chain, tooth, and clasp a potent vessel of might and strength. 

As they walked, he realized he could feel something resonating from it, something that made his concealed fangs prick and the hairs on the back of his neck raise. It was resonating with his Beast, the intangible spirit of rage and violence every Cainite carried within them, ready to explode and go on a mass murdering spree if the vampire was slightly or blood starved. A useful ability to pull out of your ass, but unreliable and... frightening .

There was no stopping a vampire under the effects of the Red Rage, the blood haze. Nothing short of sheer destruction could stop their bloody trails. Which is why Hendy decided this totem was best used as a last resort. If he lost control of his senses before the time was right, he'd be ruined for nothing. At least in the sense of this contest.

In a way he envied the false god he was walking with. Enel had no self doubt about his divinity, even if it was just a manifestation of his personal abilities. Coming from the sky, ruling over supplicants. Heh. There was a degree of similarity between the two Primes, even if Harlan gussied his methodology up in fancy terms like "community" and "legitimate business interests".

They finally reached the foothills of the mountainous terrain and proceeded into a sea of scrubgrass and bushes, lumps of earth sticking up around them like ice cream scoops that slowly receded into flatter ground.

Hendy and Enel moving from E4 to A6.

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece put her arms beneath her, elbows planted firmly on the ground beneath her chest, and she propped herself up, back curving uncomfortably. She grimaced, bruised throat burning with every breath she took as she raised her left hand up, reaching it out towards the scuffle between her friend and the red coated man. Go help your friend, the words of her savior rang in her ears still, and the lunatic glow of her torch strengthened. After that bat-masked brute had tried to choke her out, she barely had the energy to stand, but hell if she was gonna let Cirno fight that other guy alone.

“Cirno!” Mustering up as much breath as she could, she shouted out the ice fairy’s name. Somehow, her call pierced through the gunfire, and her friend, frantically darting about to avoid the hail of lead, spared a quick glance over. That one moment was all the frigid girl needed; Clownpiece’s stance was instantly recognizable. In an instant, Cirno turned from a zig-zagging figure into a bright blue blur as she desperately hurled her tiny body away from her opponent. The crimson gunslinger, though his back was turned to the hell fairy, took that as his cue too and, expecting a hellish conflagration, dove to the side.

“Blondie!” Clownpiece let loose a powerful shout rather than a torrent of hellfire, a cry that she wasn’t even sure would work, given that she didn’t even know her newfound ally’s name. Coarse grass and dirt dug into the hell fairy’s forearm, driven into her skin as she shoved her weight against it. Her head whipped around as she stumbled to her feet, and the figure of her rescuer slid into sight. “Let loose and go wild! It’s Lunatic Time!” She swung her torch with all her might as she rose. Two pairs of eyes, blue and brown, locked onto the magical light, transfixed by the brilliant purple swath painted from the ground to the sky, and then by a second arc, cutting across the air above the head of the star-studded lunatic. One for confidence, one for strength. Without a moment of hesitation, the two threw themselves into action, letting loose a maddened cry as they did.

The battlefield exploded into another din as more gunfire erupted from the redcoat’s gun. Clownpiece spared a quick glance towards her blond-haired ally, who was already driving the black-cloaked combatant back with the pure fervor of his assault. If his words were to be trusted, he could handle that on his own, leaving her and the ice fairy to deal with the other one. With that in mind, she turned back to her friend and kicked forward.

Cirno danced about with renewed vigor, a mad cackle rising from her chest as she darted to and fro, steadily closing the distance. Her silver-haired opponent backpedalled furiously as he fired off quick but calculated shots, trying desperately to get a lock on such an erratic foe. With her footsteps concealed by the rapid-fire explosions, the flag-clad girl closed in. Finally, the deafening gunshots changed into a barely-audible click, and a scowl crossed the gunslinger’s face.

“Freeze!” The chilly spirit shouted, taking advantage of the moment’s respite and thrusting her hands forward. Dante swivelled on his heel, turning his side to the fairy and leaning sharply out of the way. Clownpiece closed the last few meters and lunged forward with a powerful leap, two hands clamped onto her torch. The two frozen spears shot out, missing the man’s stomach by inches, and almost simultaneously, the hell fairy’s torch slammed into the back of his head, carried by all of her weight. A terrifying crack resounded, shockwaves coursing through the little girl’s arms and throwing her off course. She crashed into the ground back-first, wind driven from her lungs, and her opponent stumbled forward in a momentary daze.

“Home run!” Cirno cheered, the chilly mist already gathering around her hands again. Clownpiece sucked in a scratchy breath, and let loose a short, painful giggle. Two more icy daggers shot out from the fairy’s hands, and as if guided by instinct, their crimson-coated friend shifted on his feet, bringing his arms up to his chest and allowing the icicles to shatter against him. He tottered backwards, the madness and fervor behind the attack catching him by surprise, and Clownpiece seized this moment to roll over, stony soil digging into her as she did, and grab onto his left leg. She braced against the ground as much as she could, pushing his leg forward and forcing him to topple. Black spots danced in her vision, the breath she had just caught driven out of her yet again as the vastly heavier man collapsed right on top of her.
 

792 Words
It’s Lunatic Time! (1/2 SP remaining)
+2 ATK was granted to both Cirno and Dane for this post.
Clownpiece used: Lampad’s Torch (Smack + Buff)
Cirno used: Icicle Attack
Dane used: Longsword + Shortsword
Dante used: Ebony & Ivory, Royal Guard

[Simon]

This fight was getting too obnoxious to tolerate.

In his frustration, some amount of the Hollow bled free into his instinct. Dante remembered tearing himself free, pursuing the fairies violently, and something about poor fashion. In the next instant, a mighty spell assaulted him at full power, and Tony promptly went berserk. The son of Sparda allowed his devil half to explode like a devastating grenade, raw magic obliterating the immediate area and sending the blue girl flying. An eye for an eye, as it were.

The embedded icicles destroyed in the blast, Dante found himself standing tall with a new swath of wounds. He had been about to finish the job when a buckler smashed into his face.

When the devil hunter recovered from his momentary stupor, he found his nose turned crooked. Dante's first thought was to snap it back into place with a painful pop, sticky blood leaking from his damaged nostrils. His second thought went somewhere along the lines of, "Are you fucking kidding me?!" The third thought make him look towards the new perpetrator, a plain-looking warrior straight out of the dark ages.

Poor Tony Redgrave truly did try to keep his cool, god knows he did, but he had never felt quite so disrespected as he did in these moments. There was no way in all the hells we would afford to lose to another batch of self-righteous sorcerers and the mental patient that had decided to help them.

If they ended up dying a terrible death, that was their own damn fault.

The red-clad gunslinger summoned all his strength and pushed himself up. Slamming two new magazines into the handguns, he saw he was already too late to stop the next incantation from the stupid fire fairy. Dante didn't care- he shouldn't need to care. He took the aggression as best as he could, trying and horribly failing to hold off the flying frosty girl. Two icicles and a staff to the head wouldn't knock him down, but two more icicles and the staff's stupid owner did so instead.

The girls just kept giggling, kept laughing at his misfortune like masochistic little children. Fine, then. If they wanted to play with fire, they would get burnt.

Dante erupted with destructive magic once again, scarlet life pouring from his wounds again as the devil within took shape. A carapace of brimstone and infernal flesh, topped off by glowing eyes of coal. The surge of power threw him upright, standing proud in surely the most horrifying thing these girl had yet seen today.

The demon whirled around, sights trained on the downed fire girl. She sputtered and tried to pull herself away, but Dante vigorously slammed an open hand into her neck, claws seizing around the valuable skin. He lifted the lady up firmly and rammed a gauntlet right into her chest. The sickening crunch of bones buckling could be felt as well as they could be heard. Another punch came from the devil, rearing sadistically into the fairy knowing that she was helpless to resist without breath in her lungs.

Die-!

The mistress of the lake beheld this with shock and horror as the last traces of Lunatic Time wore off. "No! Clownpiece-!" The ice fairy cried out in fear for her friend's life, and the demon took notice.

Before another hail bomb could be formed, Dante twisted around and pitched the battered body of the clown at her friend. She evaded the projectile by instinct, only to cringe as she heard Clownpiece crash into another of the long-lost houses. The ice fairy chucked the finished bomb at the infernal beast in revenge, and he jumped over it in response. In the hang-time, she witnessed a new, larger boomstick being pulled from behind his back, and her yet-superior let her evade the ensuing blast of pellets.

The rage of the battle was starting to wear on the two. The demon's landed hard and roughly, his ichor flowing rampant, boiling on his red-hot carapace. His breathless, reverberating voice inhaled the disgusting fumes by the masses. The ice mistress felt as if she had used a well's worth of ice already, and couldn't be sure how much longer she could keep it up.

Dante raised the shotgun, cocking it firmly. The frosty girl starting moving again, as fast as she could manage, avoiding the explosive clouds of shrapnel. One, two, three bursts erupted from the smoking barrel, as the fairy dodged, weaved, and ducked behind a building. The devil came in hot pursuit, death glowing in his eyes.

"Enough, demon!" Cirno roared, lunging forward with a new icicle bomb in her hands. She shoved it into Dante's chest, as he pulled the trigger of Terminator in retaliation. Both explosions rang out in a symphony of destruction.

800 words exact, according to Wordcounter.net

Dante used Devil Trigger Explosion (T1 Super Attack) back in retaliation to Cirno's Icicle Fall [4/5 SP]
- Both attacks went through for full damage
Dante used Devil Trigger (T1 Power-Up) for this post. [3/5 SP]
- STR: 6, DEF: 5, SPD: 3, TEC: 3

Dante used Gilgamesh and Terminator [and Ebony & Ivory, as part of a previous post]
Cirno used Icicle Bomb [and Icicle Attack, as part of a previous post]
Clownpiece used Lampad's Torch [as part of a previous post]

[Strazio Rockwell]

Oh of course, of all the contestants to show their face it had to be this jackass. Strazio scowled and turned away from Jak. He glanced around the safehouse. Cameras followed him as he walked. Tv screens lined the walls and offered everything from a map to a view of the spectators and even several hidden cams throughout the island. Strazio once again spent a few moments burning the image of the map into his brain. The spectator cam zoomed in on a section of the crowd holding up a banner with his name printed across it. He smiled. Not that he needed it, but it was nice to have recognition.

Strazio’s eye caught sight of a metal first aid kid hanging from a wall. He damn near ripped the thing of the wall trying to open it. Going against common sense the Defender swallowed a small handful of pain pills. He then grabbed the half full bottle of rubbing alcohol and took a shower in the clear liquid. That was most certainly a mistake and his pained howling resonated with the tin walls of the safehouse. After a few minutes of abject agony the liquid evaporated leaving a writhing Strazio. Unabated by his misadventures in amateur medical care Strazio tore open little packets of burn cream and lathered the smooth cream into his wounds. Finally he took what gauze was left and wrapped it around the worst of his lacerations.

A quick trip to the water fountain to refill his waterskin followed by a few minute of rest he was feeling relatively good. Relative being the operative word here as his body was still a tortured landscape of char and blood.

Strazio took one last look at the elf-eared man and moved towards the door. He stopped halfway in and halfway out.

“Bit of advice for ya,” Strazio said over his shoulder, “I’m heading North, you’d probably be best off going as far from me as possible, cause if I see you out there, well, just hope I don’t see you.”

moving from safehouse e to e6

[Karl Jak]

End Day 1

Begin Day 2 – Early Morning

[Cirno]

The explosion knocked her back into a empty hut with broken walls at about four feet high. A puff of smoke could be seen as Dante got cut up. The two of them were getting tired of each others shit. She breathed as she got out of the rubble with a annoyed but somewhat surprised look. "You know for a human male you are quite powerful. Normally human males are shit in my world. they cant fly, they cant fire Danmaku and are overall quite the worst. I live in Japan if you know where that is."

He rushed forward and punched her in the nose causing her to cuss. "Mother fucker I was trying to talk. and maybe let you live but first you broke my friends bones and now you punched me in the mother fucking nose!" She looked at him with a fury rare among fairy's. "You are going to die now. You could of walked away and survived but you just had to choke and break my friends bones. There is a reason I call my self the strongest and that reason is because I am the strongest fairy!"

She ran at him letting all fear and self protection go out the window. She felt her adrenaline flow through her as she felt her exhaustion be put on hold. She felt her ice aura ramping up in size and decreasing temperature causing slight icicles to form on the ground. "You know I don't know why you are so annoyed take a chill pill and cool your jets some."

She started to fire icicles at Dante who dodged them barely, he fired back with vigor only for the bullets to be stopped halfway by her own larger icicles. She walked forward letting the icicles take the brunt of the damage and she smiled evilly. She jumped behind some cover and started to charge her icicle bomb before chucking it at where Dante would most likely go and the firing at the other direction to keep him pinned in one direction.

 She heard the glorious sound of a explosion and felt the cold air die down, as her exhaustion finally over took her energy and adrenaline levels. She fell to one knee as she breathed hard. It was quite suddenly very hot and humid. Her ice wings were dripping and she knew she was in danger but she had to get Clownpiece out of here in one piece.

Why did she think she could win? She never won against anyone. All she did was annoy and cause trouble and it made her angry and confused. Why was she so stupid? She had a duty to do to the fairy of hell and that was when She heard the smack of gun fire upon her cover; she silently cursed her frustration.

That was when the resident of hell finally got out of the rubble and groaned. She saw resident of the lake of fog behind a wall of some sort hiding muttering some stuff to herself as Dante walked ever closer to the wall. She limped over into range of Dante and went to her iconic stance before activating her hell fire from her torch. Dante let out a growl and a huff as he turned around only to be hit with a blast of heat.

Cirno curled up into a ball as she tried to hide from the flames, with fear in her eyes. She didn't know her lineage and she sure as heck didn't understand what part of nature she was. She got up slowly to show her face over the broken wall she saw the flames and shook with fear. If there was one thing she knew she was deathly afraid of and was in danger of dying was fire and heat specifically, sure she could die from most natural causes but fire and heat weakened her greatly; and eliminated her ice aura and attacks for the most part.

The ice fairy climbed over the wall with some trouble rubbing where the bullets had entered. Tomorrow she would hurt like hell but that was for a later time to discuss and talk about. She felt the icicles at the palms of her hands were much weaker and more fragile but she still fired at Dante to try and kick him out of this fight.

wordcounter.net says the word count tis 726. Batman was busy with Dane and was out of Cirno's sight the whole time.

[Corporal Light]

If he had noticed that the map on his tablet contained holograms of the geography of the island, he would never have even bothered heading into Zone E.

The first indication of the trouble he would run into in the future was a sudden incline in the earth, as well as a gradual reduction of tree life all around him. He had originally pegged it as just another oddity of the island before it dawned on him just exactly where he was and where he was going.

A few minutes later, his back was up against the jagged edge of a rock wall, sliding at a snail-like pace along a path only barely big enough for his feet to balance on. Teeth chattering from the cold wind threatening to push him off, he grasped the wall for anything to latch onto as he slithered his way through.

The sky had turned into a nice shade of ocean blue, with nary a cloud to be seen. Despite this, the light of the sun had not yet gotten high enough to break through the outlines of the mountains, and thus Isaac had to settle for a chilling shade. It likely wouldn’t have mattered, however, given the sheer scale of the mountain he had been so fortunate to climb. While the entire region was not flat by any stretch of the imagination, with hills covered with forestation serving as the majority of the land formation, it was the mountains that stood out the most. Even up high, they towered him, looming over him. From his position, he was able to see their snow-covered summits through the small, wispy clouds that circled them. He wondered if there was anyone else in those mountains, and if so, if they were going through the same hell he was going through.

He turned his head to the side. A few feet to his right, the path steadily expanded in size until it morphed into a more traversable road of rock, snow, and pine leaves. He sighed in relief. Finally, he had a chance to go a little bit faster! As a result, he sped up his pace, inching towards the pine-leaf pathway.

Suddenly, the mountain shook. It was brief, but its vibrations were so ferocious that it went on for far longer. As he clutched the wall behind him, a few tiny pebbles fell onto his helmet, clanging against the metal. Clarke’s eyes trailed them as they plummeted down, disappearing from view into the trees below.

His breath escaped him; his eyes widened; his knees felt like jelly. The path was only a few steps away, but it seemed so far. He struggled to move a single muscle, more than content with remaining where he was until the contest ended and he could make a home in Coruscant rather than have to deal with a life-or-death situation like this.

But he couldn’t do that. Not now, not while he could still win. The path was so close! It was just a few more steps. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?

Only one way to find out.

He slowly, ever so slowly, so as not to disturb the sleeping giant of a mountain he was tiptoeing on, glided over to the pine-leaf road. He didn’t even so much as take a breath until he reached it, so dogged his single-minded stubbornness and so silencing his terror. As he walked down the now expanded path, he forced the experience out of his mind and buried it within himself, where bad memories went to die.

Team Space Man (Isaac) --- Moving from E9 to E8.

Also, should have said this last time, but Isaac does not physically have the item from D2.

[Corporal Light]

Snow floated down, drifting off the tip of the summit above. It fell on top of his grey, metal space suit, staining it a clear white. The snowfall was thankfully light enough to provide Isaac with adequate vision, allowing him to remain on the road. As he went further and further up, the pine trees that had once inhabited each side of the path decreased in size and appearance until only a few frost-covered saplings remained as a frequent occurrence. His boots left prints on the road below him as they crunched down on brittle, deadened leaves and packed-up snow. The air had grown chillier to the point where not even his RIG could shield him from it. He shivered as he walked; his breath was ladened with frost when he exhaled.

After a few minutes trying to withstand the cold by just rubbing his arms together to keep the blood flow going, he eventually gave in and sought out a suitable stick to use as a torch. A minute later, he was back on the road, holding his new-found heat source as close to him as possible without burning himself. The warmness of the fiery red flame took the chill off of his body and relaxed his muscles. The only thing he wished was that the fire could melt off the snow spattered all over his armor, and that it wasn’t so damn noticeable. Smoke billowed out from the tip of the wooden limb, mostly due to the excess amount of kindling he attached to it, but he would rather be a beacon that drew other primes to his location than die of hypothermia somewhere up in the mountains.

He continued on, burning wood limb in hand, down the road. As he traversed the mountain, his mind wandered towards what had happened back in Zone D, specifically with Graowr. He still couldn’t believe he had let himself get pushed around like that. He had suspected it from the beginning, but he had allowed her to get the better of him.

The worst part of it all was that, somewhere inside him, a small part of him really did like her, or was at least curious about her. Her peppy personality had rubbed off on him during their travels, making him smile, laugh, and have a bit of fun despite the competition. She didn’t seem concerned whatsoever about dragging him through the mud-waters of Zone D to get him medical attention and she didn’t even expect a reward for doing so. It almost made him believe she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart.

Almost.

But he knew better. She was the chess-master commanding her pieces and putting them in place, and he was just a lowly pawn sent to the slaughter. Kendra Daniels was the same way. He wasn’t going to fall for it a second time.

Still, the thought of having to fight her…

His knapsack rumbled with a low-pitched hum that snapped Isaac out of his thoughts. He opened it up and slipped his fingers inside. Feeling around, he found the source of the vibrations.

Pulling out his tablet, he turned it on. A blue hologram materialized from the screen of the tablet. The Zone next to him, C1, was glowing.

His eyes widened. C1 was getting an item drop. C1 was practically a hop, skip, and a jump away. He didn’t need to go get the Zone A item.

Chuckling to himself, almost dumbstruck by his luck, he looked around. He was rather high up in the mountains, so he needed to find a shortcut. He set off down the road, checking every corner of every intersection that he found.

Eventually, he found one in the form of a cavern entrance. Jagged, the maw opened wide as if to swallow him whole, with sharp, tiny stalactites hanging from the edge, it was pitch black inside. However, his tablet map had indicated that, if he followed it, he would reach the other side and get into Zone C. He just had to not get lost.

Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside, filling the darkness with the crimson glow of his torch.

Team Space Man (Isaac) --- Moving from E8 to C1

[Todd Ingram]

With the arrival of the Braveheart-like figure, Batman and Tony found themselves being outnumbered.  Some call it a disadvantage, others call it a target rich environment. For Bruce it was another obstacle to overcome. He reminded himself history is filled with examples of crusades being won with inferior numbers, and the victors were praised throughout the ages for it. This was going to be one of those battles. All he needed, was a little edge and the willpower of titans.

A capsule cracked open between the dark knight's teeth. It's content had its desired effect a mere moment after.

Dane took advantage of his initial attack and went for a head-on follow-up attack. His versatility in sword techniques made him a fearsome opponent. Even for Batman it was challenging to keep up. The attacks were weak but managed to hit vital parts of his armor, successfully targeting the formerly created weak spots by the fire fairy. Biting through the pain Bruce stayed calm and started counting.

1…2

1…2…3

1…2

1…2.-*CLING*

A sword got caught by the small blades on Batman's gauntlets. It threw Dane's momentum off completely, just the opening Bruce needed.
A single, unexpected backhanded slap, not only put the cowardly challenger in his place, but also send him flying. Dane's head lost the contest of strength to the rock it decided to land on. The wound the impact created started bleeding heavily. Dane's initial reaction was to get up and fight back, but the lightheaded warrior stumbled back down as soon as he tried. For now, he no longer opposed a threat, It was time to help his ally and finish off those pesky sorceresses.

During his scuffle with the medieval swordsman, the fairy sisters found each other once more, raining havoc upon his ally.  Fire and ice worked together, creating an almost impossible situation for the son of sparda. The hysterical adolescent girls were enjoying their relentless attacks upon the red-coated demon way too much. What a twisted picture this was, it was truly the mirror image of sanity.

Batman had a single shot at a surprise attack and he intended to make it count.
'Hold on just a moment longer, I will give you your shot.' Glancing over at Tony he knew the poor bastard was having an extremely rough time.

The pair of fairies were standing side by side, aiming their attacks towards the battered son of sparda. Yet even in the face of despair he showed a bloody, slightly psychotic grin as he stood his ground proudly. From behind the fairies Tony noticed the dark knight rise, coming in closer. The two shared an indescribable connection when their eyes met. The gunslinger knew a final opportunity would present itself. These hell send creatures would soon feel the despair and regret they deserved.

Cirno's laughter was interrupted when a small white ball found its way through the air, bouncing off of her head. "What the-?" The gadget exploded, covering the area with thick white smoke. From within the smoke two high pitch voices were heard coughing their lungs out. "*cough* Quick!  We need to *cough* get out!" The ice fairy was the first to exit the smokescreen, bumping into the danger that was Batman. She looked up and met with his eyes, "Oh Shi-.." The vigilante grabbed the back of the girl's head, forcing it down to meet with his own armored knee. The plate forced its way into Cirno's face, the moment almost passed as if time itself moved in slow-motion.


The fire sorceress wasn't far behind. Bruce noticed a hand seeking guidance through the smoke. Batman firmly grabbed her wrist. "Cirno?" The fairy asked questionably. Unfortunately for her, a less fairy-friendly prime got her.  The dark knight pulled her out the fog with brute force, using the momentum to spin and hurl both up in the air.

When the initial scare passed, the fire princess opened her eyes and noticed a heavily beat Cirno just a mere meter away. Her stomach turned as her eyes caught an unthinkable threat. Down below Tony had both his weapons locked, loaded and aimed at the two freefalling pests; the shooting gallery was open. Bullets were shot flying towards the morning sky, finding their targets as they fell to the earth like shooting stars. Both girls slammed into the ground. Finally, silence returned to the scene. Batman walked over to Tony and the girls, who were clearly alive. The harmonious sound of painful groans were clearly heard.

"Hey! You didn't forget about me did you? Now step away, I actually started to like those two." Dane arrived to once again meddle with the fight. Batman cracked his knuckles, Tony drew his sword, the final chapter of this battle was about to unfold.

Batman used T1 Power-up Strength Pill
stats this round:
ATK:4
DEF:5
SPD:3
TEC:4

[Strazio Rockwell]

By the end of the first night Strazio’s wounds had largely stopped hurting. The burn cream had done well enough as a pain reliever and he was able to catch a decent night’s sleep. He chose not to start a campfire, the island was warm enough and he had nothing to cook. Not that he wasn’t used to it, the amount of times he spent sleeping in the dark probably outweighed the nights spent in a comfortable home. Rocks were a sturdy pillow and the cold ground served as a makeshift bed. The night sky, full of stars oblivious to mortal plight, made a decent blanket. Stiff muscles and a dry mouth greeted him when he finally stirred. He stretched, gathered his belongings, and kept trudging forth.

About an hour into his trek he had polished off the last of his rations and a good bit of his waterskin. Hunger was as much a competitor as any of the others, and perhaps the most insidious. His first foray into the Abyss began with being thrown halfway across the island and all of his gear getting trashed. Well it’s pretty hard to have your gear get trashed if you don’t have any left.

At any rate Strazio continued forward, occasionally checking his Syntech tablet for updates. A digital map displayed the location of several unclaimed item drops throughout the island with most of them an ocean’s worth of distance away. Strazio groaned and turned the tablet off. What an absolute pain.

“Knowing Karl half the item drops are probably dick all anyways,” Strazio said.

And yet despite this acknowledgment he continued North for it wasn’t the promise of items that drove him, but rather what the items attracted. He knew the Abyss well enough to know that blood was the name of the game and those that shied away from bloodshed would soon find it in horrifying degrees.

moving e6 to e4

[Dane Regan]

Fucking fairies, man. I felt for those guys. I really did. They were just brooding and waiting for the drop when a couple of psychopathic kids came running along chucking mini-nukes at the guys. Totally understandable to be a bit pissed. That said, I had a fight to win. A dumb fight I should have let take its course. I could almost hear the cheering for Black and Red, but those spectators should put themselves in my position. What kinda guy wouldn't team with the side capable of throwing fireballs? Fireballs are bloody cool, so clearly those kids must also be cool by default - who cares how mentally unstable they are?

"You picked the wrong side." Red glared, steadying his blade.

I sheafed my shortsword, my left arm would get its time later. Snap. Snap. Snap. Illusionary fire spread across the steel, arcing upwards. I clicked my fingers regularly, constantly recasting the spell. "What? You thought I was serious before? You guys are so fucked."

That was probably not the best time to showcase my high levels of bullshit, but I still needed to steady myself. That said, the other two were definitely worse off. Red was soaked red, and Black was charred black. Hopefully the fairies weren't actually dead.

I dashed to the left, Red's side, putting him in the way of Batman. One versus two fights were easy in melee. You just had to stay moving and restrict it to one opponent at a time. So that's what I did. 

Red hit hard, but I was light on my feet. Each swing would clang off my sword and knock me backwards, leaving my arm sore and him more tired. Every gap in his guard I tried to fill with my own blade, yet he still avoided the fake flames carefully, putting a little too much focus on doing so. Good, I thought, I could use that.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

Meanwhile, Black was getting frustrated. I could see it in his jagged and rough movements. Every time he stepped to the left, I moved the right, yet again positioning Red in the way. When Red moved, I skirted round.

"Stand still for a second and let me past," Black grunted.

"I can't. Just go around." Red was right about that, standing completely still in any duel was a death sentence.

"How's that teamwork working for ya? I think you picked the wrong side, dude." I taunted, still clicking my fingers.

A sharp piece of metal flew past my face, just missing me in my quick movements. He wouldn't be able to hit me with those as long as I kept Red in the way. 

As time went on, after each swing and thrust our arms both slowed. Mine began to ache and his began to drag and linger, leaving small openings for me to cut him. He looked briefly confused upon noticing the flames had no effect, so I ended them - the ruse wasted. Silence reigned supreme over the clang of blades until I saw a slight movement in the corner of my eye.

I glanced at it. Still keeping Black and Red in my sights. I looked at it again and again until Red noticed my eye's motions. His head turned slightly and in that split second, I jumped forwards. In my haste, however, I overestimated, only lightly cutting into his side and flying past into Black's reach. A punch blasted into my shoulder, spinning me around - the blades cut in slightly but my momentum twisted me out of their way. I backed up as Black turned towards me. Everything was set up.

Ice and Fire were propped up against each, respective elements held in their hands.

"Freeze."
"Taste my fire."

Shards of ice blasted outwards from between Red and Black, a few caught the side of my body, while a scorching hot flame enveloped them. Grim determination filled Fire's face as she literally gave it her all. Seconds past as she strained her limited pool of mana, before collapsing yet again into a heap. 

Annoyingly, both my opponents were still standing, clothing and armour scorched. Without wasting a moment, I dashed in dedicating my all to offence as my blade clashed with Black's forearm.

"Who trained you?"

"I did."

Channelling all my mana at once, I compensated my fatigue with raw Thaumic Energy. Striking hard and fast. Too fast, even. I could barely see my own blade. In my aggression, Red had managed to situate himself in a flanking position. I boosted sideways; he moved to dodge but it was too late. My broken arm snapped, colliding with his face. The bone jutted out of my flesh. I didn't care in my adrenaline fueled state, I still had my sword arm, and that was all I needed.

800 words exactly according to wordcounter.net.

As before, Ice = Cirno, Fire = Clownpiece, Black = Batman, Red = Dante.

Starting stats are ATK: 1, DEF: 2, SPD: 3, TEC: 5.

Dane used Sparks to make fake flames appear on his sword. It does literally nothing besides waste time and make him feel cool.
Dane used Burst Movement to close the gap and get a good angle.

Dane used Longsword and Dante uses Rebellion.
Batman used Batarang*1 (9/12 left).
Dane and Dante clash blades for a while. Dante gets a few cuts, Dane gets knocked bad a bit. Both get more tired, and Dane's arm starts aching from the impact.

Dane used Burst Movement to try and dash into Dante, he went flying past and Batman punched his shoulder.
Cirno used Icicle Bomb, Dante and Batman hit. Dane got a few scrapes.
Clownpiece used Hellfire (charged) and passed out from overexertion, Dante and Batman hit.
(The ice doesn't melt in the fire because omniphysics)

Form change to ATK: 5, DEF: 0, SPD: 5, TEC: 1

Dane used T1 Super Attack: Magic Enhancement, the sword attacks are mostly on Batman. 1 SP used (1/2 SP left).
Dane used burst speed during the super attack to punch Dante's face.
Dane breaks his left arm completely, the bone snaps halfway between his elbow and shoulder (where it fractured before).
Dane continues to "rage" (there is thought, it's just fast and he can barely see what he's doing due to how fast he's attacking).

[Strazio Rockwell]

Invisible ripples of heat formed a curtain that obscured the horizon. Red sheets of stone turned into makeshift hotplates, threatening to fry anything that touched them. Overhead the oppressive sun made itself known the only way it could -- with unrepentant heat. How cruel it was that mankind with all of its passion and intellect was still little more than a thrall dominated by that pernicious fireball. Strazio was not one to ponder the poetic nature of things, and as he walked there was but one thought on his mind. It was damned hot, almost fatally so.

The boy had hiked his cloak up over his body and used it as a shield from the sun’s rays. It helped, but he still sweat buckets and each step grew heavier than the last. His skin, largely unprotected, sang a harmony of agony. Heatwaves baked his flesh and agitated his pre-existing burns. When the pain became too much Strazio sought shelter in the form of caves. Small overhangs and caverns were in abundance and although these frequent stops slowed his travel he was grateful for them.

As he walked he came to a small pass that led to the edge of a gulley. A small lip, large enough for one person jutted out from the rock face. He stepped out onto the lip and started to walk, taking each step with measured caution. To his left the cliff face stretched several meters high and to his right was nothing but thin air. At the bottom of the ravine a river raged, frothy and white. A gust of wind battered him and he clung to the rock as if he was a babe holding its mother. His mouth was dry and he could feel his heartbeat between his temples, but he did not stop moving forward.

Moving E4 to E5

[Karl Jak]

End Day 2 – Early Morning

Begin Day 2 – Morning (6 AM to 12 PM, since people were discussing this in the box recently)

This phase ends at 4:30 CDT on June 20th

[Professor Sunshine]

As Abyss and Chakravartin continued to march through the foothills of the mountainous Area E, Abyss could more easily make out the foothills around her from when she first woke up around the hills. As they moved Abyss could see various boulders scavenged across the mountain, with the occasional pine tree or grape bush to be found, and while Abyss couldn't see any mammalian life yet around the foothills, she could see a bunch of small birds circling around the foothills. After around a hour of walking throughout the foothills, the two were finally getting close to the taller mountains in the area, which seemed to tower at least a couple hundred feet above them.

"How in heck are we going to climb that!? It must be at least as tall as a skyscraper!" Abyss thought that the mountains on the island would be tall, since they did seem to be big as she approached them, but once she was right in front of the mountain, she was utterly flabbergasted at how tall they were. As she looked at Chakravartin, he seemed to look like he did not care about how tall the mountains were, and as he began to climb the mountain rather quickly, Abyss started to climb the mountain as well, using her fast speed to boost ahead Chakravartin.

After a few minutes of climbing up the mountain, Abyss managed to find some sort of man-made tunnel within the mountain which they could rest in. "Hey Kong, I found some sort of tunnel, want to see if it'll end up being a shortcut up the mountain?" After getting Chakravartin to try to go through the tunnel, the Golden Alliance started to trek through the man-made tunnel to explore it. As they walked through the tunnel, they noticed various kinds of jewels that were left in the tunnel, and as they went further up the tunnel they were even beginning to see some mine rails, which made Abyss think that the tunnel was some kind of mine.

Around halfway through the tunnel, Abyss eventually checked her map to see where she and Chakravartin were on the map, and after a bit of looking she found that she was in the center of E4. Around this time the two decided to take a break from walking to make sure they were not being followed, and after finding that nobody was around that they could find, Abyss decided to take a break as she sat down and tried to wipe off the dirt that was coming from travelling around in the tunnel. While she was dusting herself off, she continued to wonder if she travelled far enough to fully evade the demons, or if she would need to travel even further away from the hills in order to finally be rid of those demons.

Golden Alliance from Area E2 to E4.

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face
Clownpiece, Cirno, & Dane vs Dante & Batman

The battle had been quick and brutal.

Despite feeling like just minutes for the combatants, the sun had long since descended in the world around them.  Such is the logic of the Omniverse.

A fresh sun was beginning to crest on the horizon as the battle wore down to its conclusion.  

“Tricks are over,” Batman growled as he reached something at his belt.  Dane continued his feints against an increasingly frustrated Dante, and in the backdrop, the two fairies maneuvered into position to strike the gunman from the flanks.

Before the attack could be executed, the little sphere came rolling in from between Dante’s legs, and even the Son of Sparda grimaced before throwing himself backward.  Broken arm and all, Dane recoiled and attempted to use her sword to buttress her vitals from the explosion, but no concussive burst emerged from the grenade.

Instead, the calm little sphere erupted into a viscous cloud of black smoke.

Dane recoiled—eyes squinting to make sense amid the fallout of the smoke grenade.  The fairies lacked the same composure, and both of them released their elemental attacks at the epicenter of the confusion.  By the time the hellfire and ice collided, Dante had already fallen safely out of the path.  The Son of Sparda pressed forward without skipping a beat, his eyes focused on the fire-spewing fairy.  Bullets rained forward, catching the fairy off-guard as Dante sheathed Ebony and Ivory.  A beat later, his gauntleted fist started to glow as he zeroed in on his target and buried a fist straight into Clownpiece’s wide-eyed visage.

The fairy staggered, her focus disrupted as Dante lifted up a glowing greave.  A beat later, the boot came crashing down onto her foot, smashing bone and tendons alike.

Before Dante could carry his momentum any further, an icicle struck his right arm just above the elbow.  The gunslinger swallowed a yelp as he turned and reached for one of his handguns to retaliate.  Before he could draw a bead on Cirno, a whiff of dust blinded him and nearly let Dane land the fatal blow.  Instead, the swordsman was struck hard in the side by the Dark Knight.

Although he quickly recovered his balance, Dane was put on the defensive.  With only one good arm, the swordsmen needed the space to maneuver his weapon, but Batman wasn’t a green rookie in close-quarters.  The vigilante parried two rapid blows and landed a solid blow to Dane’s throat.  Spinning forward, Batman slammed the back of his head against Dane’s face and quickly hooked his opponent’s sword arm.  When Dane’s grip remained steadfast, Batman glanced quickly at his foe’s shattered arm.  Grabbing Dane by the wrist of his broken arm, the Dark Knight chopped with all his might against the ruptured flesh and exposed bone.

Dane kept his composure until his shattered arm was bent back onto itself to the point where his fingers were touching his elbow.  Shoving down the agonized swordsman, the vigilante turned just in time to see the icicle pierce his shoulder pad and nearly emerge out the other side.  Even worse than the dull pain radiating from the wound was the sight of Cirno gripping the dropped prize in one of her tiny hands.

Unwilling to relent, Batman rushed into combat one more time.  The fairy dropped the object and started to conjure another element attack.  The sphere came rushing forward in enough time to smash into the Dark Knight’s chest a few feet from his diminutive opponent.  With the hope of ending her aggressor, Cirno picked up the object and smashed Batman in the side of his cowl-covered face.  A second bash followed, but before the third could find its mark, her opponent ducked and grabbed one her tiny hand.

“It’s over.”  Batman growled beneath his hood as he squeezed.  He felt a few of the fairy’s bones shattered as her expression twisted up into one of horrified agony.

“Not over yet,” a voice shrieked before the broad side of a sword smashed into Batman’s already battered skull.

The Dark Knight lost his grip and nearly lost his balance before collecting himself.

Standing with a mangled foot held gingerly off the ground, Clownpiece clenched Dane’s sword and glared at the masked warrior as hellfire burned in her little eyes.  Batman backed up a few paces.  In the corner of his eye, he saw that Dante had recovered, but the gunslinger was favoring one of his arms.  A look forward revealed a scowling Cirno still cradling the item drop.

“You can’t hide.”  Batman threatened as he reached for his wrist and tossed another smoke grenade.  

By the time this cloud dissipated, Batman and Dante were gone.

The two fairies, after making sure the drop was intact, moved to go help the swordsman who had risked himself to turn the tide against the two warriors.

Elsewhere, the two brooding antiheroes licked their wounds.  They had been beaten, but they had made sure they would leave a permanent impact on their trio of aggressors.

[spoiler]
Cirno, Clownpiece, and Dane win and receive the item Pick Up.  Please PM who will keep it, and I will let them know what it is.

Batman takes 8 points of Accumulated Damage (includes Moderate Injury – punctured shoulder; Batman has a deep wound almost entirely through his left shoulder. )
Dante takes 7 points of Accumulated Damage (includes Moderate Injury – Numbed left arm; Dante’s left arm has been permanently numbed by Cirno’s attacks.  It is still useable, but sluggish and delayed)

Cirno takes 13 points of Accumulated Damage (includes Serious Injury – Crushed right hand; three of Cirno’s fingers have been smashed/broken)
Clownpiece takes 7 points of Accumulated Damage (includes Serious Injury – Fractured left Foot
Dane takes 10 points of Accumulated Damage (includes Major Injury – Broken-as-Fuck right Arm; can be healed to ‘broken’ arm and healed again to ‘cure’)

Everyone here is on a 24 hour cooldown, unless they decide to waive their rest period.
[/spoiler]

[Jak Mar]

Jak’s close encounter with Strazio was a close call to say the least. The last time they had met was in Dante’s Abyss 15’ with him single handedly taking out the Rock2Rock connection with a few sticks of dynamite. But that was two years ago. Who knew what tricks the man had learned over two years?

Jak made sure everything was in place before moving on. The small camera drone followed him, probably sick of him standing around. His anger was building slowly, but it had always been hidden underneath his skin.

He visually facepalmed, as he squeezed his forehead after taking a bite of a protein bar Karl had thrown inside the baggage.

His tablet was going off, showing the various item drop locations.

“Let’s see here, there’s a drop coming, I’d be better off to move that way before more of the others plan to head that way.”

“It’s a short distance from where I am.”

Jak carefully opened the opened door and held his hand over his face, trying to cover a bit of the sun a bit.

The googles and handkerchief went back onto his face as he took a brisk walk.

The blunt sarcasm could been seen all over his face when he took a look at the rumor page on the dataverse.

“New dynamite kid? Is this the beginning of a new-..”

“Fuck that…”

He gritted his teeth, that would have to be resolved in another time.

The eco warrior would figure something else out.

Guess he’d figure out things as they went along.

First objective, get there first.

Next, find a old friend.

“What are you waiting for, Jak? You always seem to miss out.”

The eco warrior was muttering a bit under the red handkerchief to himself.

Perhaps he’d get lucky this time.
-----------------------------------
Moving to SHE to E6

[Dane Regan]

That was definitely not worth it. 
Eeeehhhh. We have two prospective allies.
This is a bloody free for all. Allies don't mean shit. They'll turn on us.
Only two people have actually died so far out of thirty-two. We've got a while before any back stabbing needs to occur.

I'd collected my bag and the warped piece of wood, leather, and steel that was formerly my shield. Both hung on my back, with my bloodied swords sheafed at my side. The rewards for my earlier efforts sat at the bottom of said bag. In the aftermath of the fight, the fairies and I had managed to salvage some basic medical supplies from the abandoned outpost nearby - just bandages and the like, no actual herbs or drugs. It was a temporary solution, but one that worked well enough to stop the bleeding and provide some support. My arm was royally screwed after all. 

I flicked through the touch interface of the tablet I was given as the two fairies I now knew as Cirno and Clownpiece attempted to patch up each other's wounds. They were chatting to each other, but I didn't listen in. I was surprised they managed to look so lively despite clearly being hurt - maybe it was a facade, but if so I couldn't see through it. How a whole day passed I had no idea. While I knew high densities of magic could distort time, I'd never seen anything on that scale - it was most likely a product of this new environment (i.e. the Omniverse). 

A popup appeared on the screen. It seemed there was another item drop nearby. Very near. We had a few hours to get there, easily. And it might just contain some medicine for my wounds. Or theirs. As bad as my arm was, three of Cirno's fingers were shattered, similarly to Clownpiece's foot. Still, they could both fly, so I doubted it would be more than an inconvenience. Poor dexterity with hands shouldn't inhibit Cirno's magic too much.

"Hey, girls? You want to head up north? There's another drop really close to us. It might have some better medical supplies and such." I paused, realising they might not be open to such a deal. I might have saved them, but if it posed a risk as big as the last site, I wasn't sure they'd agree. "I reckon it'll probably be fairly empty. Especially if we make ourselves known prior. Those last two dudes didn't want to fight as much as we did."

"Pfft. Are you kidding blondie? Of course, we'll come with." Clownpiece grinned, showing a toothy smile with a glint in her crazy eyes.

"Yeah, we're in it to win it," added Cirno.

I grinned as well, placing my tablet back into my bag, and drawing my longsword, raising it into the air. "I like your spirit."

Perhaps joining that fight wasn't such a bad idea after all.

We trekked onwards along the shallow hills. My arm ached, but I'd be able to heal it after the competition. As far as I was concerned, I was reasonably happy to have changed the outcome of a fight. "Close your eyes for a second, girls. We're almost there, but I'd like to stay hidden - that way I can get the drop on any of our future attackers. I can't stealth with you two looking at me."

"That's silly. Can't you just click your fingers and just do the magic? That's what I do." Clownpiece commented while both girls obliged with my request.

"Don't worry. I'll stay in hearing range." I laughed to myself, looking at their interesting reactions to my seemingly disembodied voice.

Team Dane (Dane Regan, Clownpiece, and Cirno) have moved from E2 to E1. We are challenging for the item drop.

Dane is keeping an eye on Clown and Cirno's flanks while invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC).

Note to Clown and Cirno: if you want to post again at E1, Dane is available for conversation, he's just invisible and silently prowling around. Core topics of his interest include magic, by which he'll talk you to death about. Just rp him however, although he may now be under an obligation to try and be the serious member of the party. As long as you don't write him as angry it'd be hard to make him seem too OOC. He might feel like a bit of an imposter to this group, but once you set him off he can be very talkative. 

[Larfleeze]

The mountain path brought back memories of home. The mountains that they were making their way across reminded him somewhat of home. The cliffs lacked the common features of gigantic craters or imprints of missed attacks, but it had the same smell. The same altitude.

The two switched between taking the lead, setting the pace for their hike up and up the rocky cliffs. When Abyss became exhausted, Chakravartin's slower pace would let her get her breath back, and when she was fresh, she would zoom ahead, marking the easiest ways up, finding the levelest ground so Chakravartin wouldn't trip and fall due to his eyesight. They made good time, like that. They cleared the first of the larger mountains, nearly reaching the point where snow gathered, and they began making way for a valley.

"They really need to put more in these packs." Abyss muttered, frowning at her nearly-empty once again bag. Climbing took a lot of energy, especially wounded.

"It's a survival game in all aspects." Chakravartin said, "I'd be less impressed if they didn't force us to fend for ourselves."

"The final reward had better be worth all of this." the squid grumbled, keeping her eyes ahead.

The downhill trek was a little easier, and they took a brief rest period in the valley, scavenging for more food. Abyss chanced upon a stream and was overjoyed, the Mobian had missed the water. There were a few tiny, wild grapes in the valley, and Chakravartin soon emptied it of them. He needed as much biomass as possible, in case they came across something capable of destroying one of his Palace Hands.

"Ah, there are new item drops." Chakravartin said, "If we turn back now we could get to E1 in just-"

"No! If those demons decide to chase us, I want us as far as possible." she pulled the tablet from his hands, looking over the small list of alerts. "We'll head for the one in D2." she said, handing the tablet back, "We'll definitely have lost them by then."

Chakravartin raised a finger, tapping his Halo, "None of them are heading for us, that I can tell, Abyss."

"Well, I don't want us to be nearby when they decide that they are!"

"Fine, fine." Chakravartin said, "D2 it is."

"Hopefully we'll find the second part of this weapon... I'm hoping it'll give us a sliver of a chance of actually winning at this!" Chakravartin agreed.

Chakravartin and Abyss from E4 to E6

[Simon]

For a long time, Tony Redgrave merely sat. The empty, reinforced crate of the care package proved a passable stool for the silver-haired warrior, as he stared into the shining horizon and thought. The previous day long since wasted away entirely, what seemed like mere minutes of fighting dilated into many hours. A lingering fear suggested Dante would waste much more of this precious time just sitting here, while other people were out there collecting items and artifacts. Surely, all of those were far more valuable than whatever he had lost in this battle.

Dante did not need any items right now. Not that he didn't need them at all, but this just wasn't the time for it. At this moment, what the son of Sparda needed more than ever was to think.

Backstory garbage here, feel free to skip.

[spoiler]A long time ago, well before the Omniverse, the half-blood devil hunter named Dante found himself forced to come to grips with a terrible realization. His duality in blood bestowed him a unique gift, if one could call it that: as the son of Sparda grew, so too did his devil power evolve, gradually amassing into stronger forms. However, this power only became more profound, eventually even more powerful than that of Sparda himself. Dante had theorized that, at some point, his devil half would grow so powerful it would overshadow his humanity entirely, and render him a pure demon- lusting for battle and blood forever more.

As a result of that dark realization, the demonic devil hunter had entered a cold, grim sort of mental funk. His eventual transition into the Omniverse had fully reversed that. But history is want to repeat itself, and so Zangetsu, the hollowed malevolent sword spirit, set the stage again.

Ever since their interaction, Dante had been filled with many things. Dread, regret, frustration- all brands of negative emotions swirling within, comprising itself into a blackened manifestation of Dante himself. The Hollow, he had taken to calling it, so named for its empty spirit and worthless desires. Back then, it would taunt and reprimand the half-devil any chance it could, spurring their shared form to battle with the drive of a wild animal. And Dante resisted, fearful of what happened if he submitted, angry over the greed that had brought him down to this level.

Now, the Hollow spoke little, if all. Mere whispers, but more dramatic tugs at his psyche. At this point, the dark mind spoke nothing at all. Dante figured there was one good reason for it: they were truly becoming one. Just as it was born from the son of Sparda's own primal and loathing, the Hollow now must be maturing. It had been gnawing away at the redcoat's humanity, and now was ready to replace the hole in his psyche with itself.

All to create the ultimate, unbridled killing machine that Zangetsu had always wanted.

Dante knew the circumstances and situation were dramatically different, but he knew this feeling well. For the second time ever, the son of Sparda faced an unstoppable inevitability, comparable to the infinite rest of death itself. Though he was afraid, though he very much wished to stop it, there was nothing that could be done. Unlike before, not even death would put an end to Dante and his misery.

The legendary son of Sparda stared deeply into the abyss, and it stared back into him in turn.[/spoiler]



Fuck it, he decided.

To hell with that poetic nonsense, and damn every single thing in this world that had brought him to this point. The redcoat didn't want to die, but he would be damned if his story ended with a pathetic whimper. The world deserved to see what Dante, arm of Rebellion and slayer of demons, was truly capable of pulling off.

It didn't matter if he blew into a thousand gory pieces or became an irredeemable icon of insanity. Whatever fate had in store, Tony Redgrave would face it like he faced any job: with a resounding bang and a devil-may-care smile.

He sat up, kicking away the crate with his heel and startling the Batman in the process. The resurgent half-devil dipped into his pockets with his good hand, pulling out his stashed phone. If Dante wanted to make this game a little more interesting, he would need to phone a friend. "Jak," Tony Redgrave began, contacting him over the communicator.

"Oh cripes, Dante, are you alright?!" Came the reply, sounding as surprised as it did commanding. Tony would let him off the hook for neglecting the alias. It didn't matter, after all.

"Could be better, could be worse," the devil hunter admitted, flexing his numbed arm experimentally. "Good news is, I can't feel the pain. Bad news is, I can't feel anything else at all."

A sigh came from over the receiver, only missing the heavy breath for it to be crisp and in-the-moment. Guess Mar didn't appreciate the painful humor. "Where are you?"

"Heading north," Dante replied swiftly, looking over his shoulder. "We're going to make a comeback, and you're going to help."

"Yes, of course. I'll head over there as fast as I can."

The line cut out voluntarily, and the redcoat pocketed the Dataverse Device. The dark cowl approached, eyes locked, and Dante turned to face him fully. The hooded figure appeared much more hardy and serious than Dante first assumed, but perhaps a straight man could be helpful.

"You're thinking we should team up," the Batman half-asked, half-declared to his short-time ally. They hadn't connected much during the first, and nothing suggested they would mesh any better as a proper time. But there was no denying strength in numbers, as their opponents had proved.

The Son of Sparda merely gave his trademark smirk, a crimson gleam flashing in his eyes. "Why? You got something in mind?"

Batman held up his own Syntech tablet, a zoomed portion of the island on-screen with two flashing indicators. "We would have to move quickly, so as not to meet any resistance. If we're quick enough, we could get both of these items."

"Well, then," Dante concluded, cracking his neck in anticipation. "What're we waiting for? Let's roll."

Teaming with Batman, moving from E2 to E1. No intent to provoke a challenge.