Zone B -- Forest

[Gildarts]

Illidan scowled at the enemy, funny how faces became so familiar on a deserted piece of land in the ocean. Gildarts was up and moving toward the newcomer, making friends again and the dark elf didn’t like it, no, he couldn’t see why. They should battle, having the freshly borne wounds of an injury was much more noble, however, in the long run, Illidan contemplated the middle-aged prime’s reasoning and narrowed his eyes. The Betrayer wanted to finish the fight they’d started, what better time than he without the aid of the Sage’s allies?
 
Gildarts was tense yet… Happily aloof. Dust was keen on the entire situation, his young eyes learning and absorbing the elders’ secrets.
 
Hey, isn’t that the old man who blasted you pretty good, Gil? You gonna take that from him? Miss Mal spoke in his ear.
 
Gildarts shrugged her off. This wouldn’t have been a battle, but a massacre. Gildarts liked to play fair, for he was a noble man. This old wizard didn’t need to die, there would be nothing right about it. Instead, Gildarts just relaxed and respectfully asked the Sage for a private word. Illidan didn’t like it. Dust couldn’t protest.
 
And so it was. They walked a little ways from the little camp and Gildarts introduced himself, “You fought well and have skill, sir.”
 
The Humble Sage nodded curtly, he was still envious of the battlemage who had his youth and could battle so well.
 
“My name is Gildarts and I’m sorry about the others. They were worried about getting ambushed. But I think I can lead them to let you on your way,” With that, Gildarts flexed a smile, it was polite and almost an insinuation of a purposeful piece of advice.
 
The old man wasn’t blind, and his years made him wise. “Ah yes, I see how it is. The nefarious elf will follow your command, but he won’t do so without protest.”
 
There was a special sort of smile on the man’s wrinkled lips, one that told of knowledge, one that resembled the god-mind’s infinity.
 
“I can’t control him, he likely wants to kill you. But I can make sure he doesn’t. Or at least try.” Gildarts was succinct in his words. Surrounded, the three shirtless men had the upperhand. The Humble Sage felt like rolling his eyes and facepalming. Gildarts whispered something in the Sage’s ear and they went back to the others where Illidan stood waiting.
 
Illidan cracked the man across the temple.
 
“Ow! What was that for?!” Sage said.
 
“Be thankful I didn’t do it with your staff,” the night elf replied.
 
But that was it, that was the end of the retaliation. Gildarts didn’t need to warn him, nor chain a leash around the fel warrior’s neck. The three exchanged a look and Gildarts spoke, “You may have our fire to keep you warm tonight. We were cooking bear. Please keep the leftovers, it is our gift to you in good faith.”
 
The Humble Sage scoffed. The accurate word for this was out-numbered and oppressed. Still, he had to admit as he watched the young sorcerer go, while Gildarts had the things he desired most, there was a daunting burden he carried on his shoulders, constant strain behind his eyes. The old man didn’t miss a thing through his spectacles. Not a single thing.
 

Gillidan plus Dust moving from E1 to B12

[Illidan Stormrage]

"Can I ask you something?" Gildarts said, pressing a small shrubbery to the side and strolling past it.
 
"I'm sure you will regardless of my consent," Illidan said drily, following close behind. The newcomer, Dust, tailed the night elf.
 
Another human. Why haven't I seen a single night elf in this competition? Is the Syntech Corporation racist? Definitely not against humans, at least.
 
"Back there, with the kindly old man. You didn't need to hit him. We weren't fighting."
 
"I'm over ten thousand years old, human. I'm too old to be put over your knee and spanked."
 
Gildarts spun and stopped. Illidan almost bumped into him. "Why did you hit him? Why be so petty?"
 
The kaldorei frowned. "I still owed him one. Technically two, since he smacked me in the temple and the throat with that walking stick of his. But I felt like being generous today."
 
"The fight was over," Gildarts returned. "Hitting him accomplishes nothing. If anything, he's more likely to attack us in the future."
 
"And which part of the fight that he scurried away from was supposed to endear us to him?" Illidan said, squaring his shoulders. The audacity of the human race boggled his mind sometimes. "Whether I took out my frustration on him or not, he is not walking away from us as an ally."
 
"But why aggravate the situation?" the mage said, hands on hips. "We don't need to give people more reasons to put us on their hit list. if-"
 
"Ha!" Illidan barked. "Perhaps it has escaped your chainsaw-addled mind, but this is a death tournament. We are travelling together because it makes sense to ally for the time being in order to gain a tactical advantage over the remainder of our opponents. Thus everyone else needs to be treated with disdain and mistrust. But at the end of the day, if we manage to survive to the end, we will battle each other. There is no other alternative."
 
The night elf pushed past Gildarts. "I cannot provide you with the resolve you are in desperate need of. Get your head together."

[Dust]

In Gildart's absence and against his better judgment, Dust glanced over at the equally impressive man near him, still standing with his guard up. He quickly compared the two. Gildarts was a protective type, holding his arm out to guard the older man from the two of them, while this man elven creature and himself had leaped to the call of battle. Strangely, it was comforting to know he was not the only one among the three to be ready for war.

And yet he was just as ready for compromise. It was not unlike his time with Shinmen Takezo and Yuki. Like with them, he saw a lot of himself in these two, and still, he was different in other ways. Just like he was different from the others. He was not vengeful like Blonde-Yuki, but he understood her enough that he stood back while she laid waste to the mountain caverns and Bushy Brows. He was not thirsting for blood, but fighting beside Takezo made him want to sink his teeth into something like he's never felt before. He felt he had more in common personality-wise with these two, but even so it would not be exact. To think, a contractor could share so many human qualities with other people.

But before he could even attempt to form some kind of conversation with the intimidating being, and he was more on the intimidating than respectful side, the orange-haired man of magic returned and lead them away. But not before Illidan gave the old man a solid crack for some unknown reason.

Dust, trailing behind the two, was about to open his own mouth when Gildart's did it for him. He could barely form the thoughts for the conversations he wanted to implement when the two went at it. It might alarm people to know that he was on Gildart's side at the start of this conversation, but ended on Illidan's. There was no reason for needless hostility, sure, but this wasn't a camping trip despite their apparent love for campfires.

"He's right." Dust remarked from the back, his bruised cheek facing them but his eyes on the ground at no particular blade of grass. "This is a competition, Gildarts. You make a few friends you can trust, and then you hope their word is stronger than the greed around them." He said, suddenly flashing back to the two he walked in this with, and then back. Without realizing it, his head went from the approaching forest to the sky high above them. He tried to look for the satellite that had to be up there... He turned to Shock and Drake.

Illidan, who was all but ignoring the second human, but upon hearing the newbie actually agree with him, he finally grinned when Dust did not. "See! Even this one understands that!"

Dust nodded, his hair falling back into his face, the stubble of 3 days without shaving caught some of the strands but gravity pulled them away as he faced the elf. "That said, making enemies will not improve your chances at winning." He said, his eyes solid like the stone they mimicked and the warning as well as Dust's resolve.

[Gildarts]

Winning. It was an empty word yet full of glory. The noble prime considered their points but had the restraint to keep his mouth shut and allowing each one of their minds to swarm with one another's opinions of "How to win" the game of glorified death.

The mage watched the night elf go ahead of him and was left with the moment feeling barren. The mage understood though, he was testing the fel sorcerer’s patience with all this team-oriented game plan, and it wasn’t Illidan’s style. He’d likely been hurt in the past. Backstabbed even.
 
That’s quite the deduction. The Malefactor intruded, as though she knew the sorcerer’s secrets. He seems to be good at foreshadowing though. Your head really isn’t together in the slightest. It never has been, even when I wasn’t living in here. Face it, you’re falling apart, I promise you, nothing, She pronounced with an accent of consequence. And no one can save you.
 
It was hard to keep her quiet when his mind was so stagnant, Illidan hadn't provided much solace nor distraction to his crumbling composure, nor had Gildarts made things better for Dust and Illidan's chemistry. She hadn’t intruded before. Maybe he’d strike up conversation with the new guy. For now, while Gildarts was trying to get a handle on things, he would meditate like a monk. Breathing in, and out. In… And out...
 
Gildarts always preferred strolling through forests to the empty chasms of city streets. When the crash mage remembered all his time he’d spent containing his power in high-populated areas, even when he’d come to this island, the city had been empty. Giving the man an eerie feeling of regret, for it was the empty buildings that were full of haunting ghosts.
 
Illidan hadn’t seen them. Now he knew why.
 
Gildarts had a hard time believing what was real and what was fake because of the Malefactor in his head, constantly buzzing like a pesky moth around a lantern in the dark. She was worse and rather more perverse than ever before, even though she no longer existed in there. It was the empty rattle of hallucination and withdrawal. Gildarts tended to fall back into it when he wasn’t forced to his breaking point. He’d never really succumbed to her before reuniting with Princess Guu in the Tangled Greens, or had it been sometime before?
 
Even now, he could feel the serpent getting closer, the ebb and flow in his mind was a constant wrestling match for control. He looked over his shoulder in the distance, expecting to see the Sage there, as though waving them goodbye. Maybe the old man had a potion to soothe what ailed him. Or, maybe he’d poison him. Hard to tell, still, they were on even terms now. Gildarts could always go back and ask, but he sensed that their turn together was over.
 
Their eyes had met, man-to-man, mage-to-mage, and they’d interacted. Gildarts couldn’t remember if he’d got the old man’s name, but he wouldn’t mind meeting him again on much nicer terms. He had something unique that very few people had, something irreplaceable.
 
Should. Have. Killlllled. Him. the temptress said with a smirk in her voice and whispered, With your precious bear-covered chainsaw. Oh I'm sorry, you can't look at your sweet Husky the same way anymore? That's just too bad...
 
No, that isn’t how we have to play, even if everyone else does, Gildarts thought back to her.
 
Hm? You read it yourself on the Omni-Tweeter, about the groups of people and the shipping and the fanfics… the Malefactor reminded the forgetful man.
 
The red-haired man nodded, it was true. It was just like the last DA he’d been in. Well, at least he knew what to expect. HEY WAIT A MINUTE! Gildarts thought loudly, Why haven’t I encountered the Fairy Tail mage I was supposed to meet here? The fortuneteller even told Molly…
 
Tch. You’re such an ignoramus. This is why you’re much cooler with your mouth sealed shut. The Fairy Tail mage that was going to be here was YOU all along. And well, you were taking me out of your mind-prison so I didn’t get to tell you because I was so FORCIBLY YANKED.
 
You’re still on about that? Gildarts groaned in his mind. His amber eyes swept to the others. Darkness was falling again. He wondered if they suspected that there was a voice in his head. There were no twitches or tweaking signs on the stony composure of his face.
 
Suddenly, Dust appeared on his left and his silver-arm spasmed, nudging the lycan in the ribs, rather hard.
 
“Oh, sorry, I took a hit earlier, actually from the guy you just saw and my arm works a little wonky now.” Gildarts informed, setting his chainsaw in his safer hand.
 
Dust looked at him, perplexed, “Your arm, is it armor?”
 
This question usually came up, “It isn’t robotic, nor is it a gauntlet. The inside is basically hollow, though filled with the magic that once extended from my hand. It allows me to move it, though I’ve lost both my arm and leg in battle.
 

Dust and Gillidan are moving from B12 to B10

[Gildarts]

Dust nodded attentively, “Against who?”
 
Gildarts had a shadow cross his already dimmed face. “Rather, what. It was a dragon of death.”
 
The crickets chirped, Dust smiled optimistically, “Well, did you win?”
 
Gildarts shook his head, “In my realm, only dragon slayer magic can slay a dragon. But that didn’t stop me from trying.”
 
Whoa. That was cool. Would’ve been more cool if he’d slain the thing, but a legendary dragon of death probably wasn’t something people killed on a daily basis. Already Dust was learning so much, about himself, about his allies. About the games and about how people faced adversity with many different masks.
 
Time flew by and they’d realized they’d retraced their steps when Gildarts’ boot landed into the pitch black ground with a SMOOSH! Which was followed by the perturbing squirt of a fart of fluid. It was the mysterious ectoplasm! They were back where they’d started, basically. Gildarts sighed with disappointment and veered them off their straight path. Or were they following the creature yet again?
 
This island was terrible to navigate through, not to mention in the dark. Gildarts had consulted the tablet again and didn’t want to let on that he was lost… But well, the sun wasn’t around and the stars were clouded over.
 
Yayy, time to wander aimlessly around the forest all night! The Malefactor used Sarcasm! It was super effective!
 
The duo had done this before, Gildarts and Mal, in the forests far from Ambrosia. Where he’d met with Whompt and eventually duked it out with him, he had grown corrupted by her and Gildarts wanted to save the day. The Malefactor wanted pure destruction, Gildarts had repressed that part of him for so long that it became natural. And so, the opposition of the two forces clashed.
 
We aren’t wandering, he protested, likely feeding her maligning sneers. This place is all about exploration. We’re doing that.
 
You know those are basically synonyms, right? The sass was real. Gildarts recoiled. What was a synonym?
 
It was time to escape the warped reality in his head and get back to Dante’s Abyss.
 

Gillidan and Dust have officially allied to form (the) Karl’s “Chippendales” We are also moving from square B10 to B12.

[Dane Regan]

I laughed. If this worked it'd be brilliant. Of course, it would only work if my opponents, if there were any, thought like I did. How they moved. How they acted. The important stuff. Otherwise, my endless running in circles was useless. Still, this was, as I'd noted before, my best shot. If my best shot at getting out of this death zone involved threatening to kill anyone that came here while running around the edges like a madman, then that was what I'd bloody well do.

Cirno seemed pretty confused though. I was occasionally giving instructions for movements. I'd pretty much told her I was a strategic genius and our every movement was just causing chaos elsewhere. She was pretty sceptical but after enough prompting and me winning at rock paper scissors a few times in a row, she eventually conceded. Finally, I thought, finally my genius was being realised. I had also considered that vaguely running around thinking to myself about how great this plan was, without giving the plan a second glance, was probably a bad idea. I had red scribbled over the map with a few prompts on my tablet, but besides utilising a bit of "if I do X, then people trying to get me will do Y". I was fairly sure I'd seen movement behind the treeline before. And maybe even some in the mountains. It was hard to tell. But unless there was someone else who was stealthy like I am, then it was incredibly likely that Cirno and I were alone in the flat lands.

"We gotta do this bit fast Cirno. Otherwise, my super cool plan won't work." I started jogging, emphasising my footsteps to give her a further idea of direction. She wasn't unfit. We could keep up this irregular movement routine if we tried. And we really needed to try here.

Team Dane™©® (Dane + Cirno) moving from A8 to B9

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC)

Dane is ready to continue outsmarting Gildarts until I have to go to sleep. Which will hopefully be after Gildarts gets culls (pls Karl, he's bullying me).

[Gildarts]

Gildarts was… Strange. Didn’t know his favorite color? Maybe he liked them all equally, which made his favorite color rainbow. Maybe he was secretly blind. Though, he looked around sometimes at random objects when his attention was diverted, it really appeared he was looking at something.
 
Illidan probably liked the color green or black. He just looked like the type, y’know?
 
“Before this, I was in another, familiar and equally spooky forest. It was Molly’s tenth birthday, she’s an orphan I found and brought to Ambrosia, a town ruled by Princess Guu. There’s chemistry, but it is hard to say where it is going. Oh, not between me and Molly, she’s just a kid!” Gildarts began to muse. Traveling like this was a good time for stories. And distracting his mind from the Malefactor.
 
“Gildarts, do you smell that smoke? Do you think we are going in the wrong direction?” Dust said, it distinctly smelt like the bear they’d cooked earlier, only the smoke was a little less fresh.
 
“You didn’t get us lost, did you?” Dust added.
 
“No, I don’t think so…” Gildarts responded to Dust quietly, hoping Illidan wouldn’t catch the words.
 
“You did, didn’t you?” Dust said, taking the hushed initiative.
 
“Well, I wasn’t even at the front of the line!” Gildarts protested. “Everyone thinks it is easy to tell where you’re going in the dark. Well, I wouldn’t be surprised if the trees were a labyrinth and that is why the lumberjacks were cutting them all down!”
 
“Well, I’m not mad. Zone A is going to be off the map anyway,” Dust responded keenly. “And what matters is we aren’t on it.”
 
“Yeah,” Gildarts said as though his mind were in the clouds. They knew that much. It was tempting, knowing where he was now, and how Humble Sage was likely around here somewhere, huddled close to the emerald fire they’d left him, eating bear meat, looking through his spectacles with those faded wise eyes.
 
Unfortunately, Gildarts had searched all of Magnolia and Earthland, likely Edolas too, and had never found a magical solution. Here, he was in the Omniverse, where anything was possible at the palm of his hand.
 
He extended his organic one, swapping out his tiring fingers from the pressure of the power saw. The rattling shackle reminded him that he was not allowed to summon anything on the island, but he’d never tried to create a potion for himself to cure him. Curious how it had never occurred to him before, though, it was not entirely inconceivable given his ailment was of the mind.
 
The Malefactor had too, mentioned the regrowing or replacing of his limbs. It hadn’t been over ten years, but he’d forgotten what it felt like to feel with his left hand. Sometimes he still got phantom spasms, however, no hot women could ever tickle his skin again. All that was left was some sort of extension of magic. He’d never delved deep enough before.
 
Maybe, just maybe, there was a way. He could save himself.
 

Gildarts and Dust and Illidan move from E1 to B12

[Dane Regan]

We ran through the forest as quickly as we could. This was dumb. If there was anyone directly ahead of us, we were screwed. But, there shouldn't be. Anyone following us would be further south. Hopefully, if we kept pushing east and north we'd be able to make it around them. Or maybe I was just running away from ghosts or something dumb. Either way, Team Dane™ was going to do a cool, super calculated, thing. And hopefully not get killed. We were out of the death zone now, so I didn't have that edge. People could and would happily attack us. I'd be able to run, potentially. I just didn't want that to happen. Cirno would just get frustrated if we did. And I sure as hell wasn't going to leave her behind to fight everyone. That was a recipe for disaster.

I hacked away at a hanging vine. I was ahead of Cirno so I made an effort to clear the way. There was shrubbery covering the floor and the air was damp. Progress was difficult. Turning my head I noticed a slight trail of ice following us. It would melt in minutes, but minutes could be too long. It was a trail leading right towards us.

"Cirno, stop freezing everything. This will only work if they don't know exactly where we are. Our general location is fine. But any more and this will fail."

"Okay. Sorry. I'm just getting so hot."

"Just, do your best." I slowed my pace down to a more relaxed jog, having reached a very dense collection of leaves. After some slices, they fell to the ground. Then I realised my mistake. That was yet another trail. I was stupid. I removed my invisibility temporarily. "Hop on my back Cirno, we're moving in the trees."

Team Dane™©® (Dane + Cirno) moving from B9 to B2

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC)

Dane is jumping from tree to tree, with Cirno on his back. Yes, the invisibility is mostly useless and Cirno probably looks like she's floating.

Come at me Gil. I will never surrender. I will run away a bunch though. Hehe. 

[Gildarts]

Dust saw what he was doing, “If you’re still hungry, we smoked the bear meat, so we have plenty extra stored.”

Gildarts nodded, drifting off while he stood on his feet, into some sort of dreamlike hallucination.

Guu was there, in her sexy adult form, hair down to her waist wearing that radiant crimson dress which highlighted her ch- figure. Just like their date, Princess Guu was no longer in the form of a child. She was walking through the forest ahead of him, glimpses of her form passed evasively through the dark bark.

Her voice though, was that of the Malefactor. Lips opened and the slithering words were released, Come and get me Gildarts… Before I hurt your girlfriend.

It was especially weird because Gildarts didn’t ever use that word, and well, the use of third person was also trying, when Malefactor Guu referenced herself.
 
I'm crawling out of the cage you put me in as we speak, and I'm going to control not your mind, but hers. I'm coming for you Gildarts Clive. I'm going to kill you, maybe even banish you. I'll use whoever I need to to get under your skin. I'll use your own powers to destroy all that you know and love. Yes, that's right. Ambrosia.
 
Gildarts had to be sleepwalking, there had to be something to break his mind out. The tricks were getting deeper and more believable. The mage pulled out his canteen, screwed it open and poured the cool splash of water over his head. His hair turned several shades darker and appeared nearly brown as the water dribbled past his speckled chin.
 
There was a sting from his still bloody wounds as the water cascaded down. Gildarts shook his head and the beads of sweat combined with the freshly preserved rainwater. He had to get her out of his head.
 
 

Chippendales B12 to B13 I’m not trying to bully :C

[Dane Regan]

Cirno was light and made little impact to my travel speed. I planned to let her move by herself once we made it far enough northeast. There wasn't time to check my tablet for the map without stopping, but I knew if we got far enough the sea would eventually become visible. I had a good grasp of the distances and my travel speed, so even if that didn't occur, I'd probably be able to follow the path I set myself correctly.

After jumping from tree to tree for some time, I began to get a slight taste of salt in my mouth. Salt from the sea was faintly noticeable in the air. That was all the prompting I needed to turn onwards to the rest of my route. "Cirno, this is going to be a sharp turn. After that, it's all easy from here."

Jumping off my current tree, making use of my forwards momentum to make the long jump, I kicked off the side of the tree in front of me. Effectively executing a sharp quarter turn. I carried running and hopping across the trees after landing without missing a beat. Sometimes I had to grab a vine to make the distance. Other times I had to run on the side of the tree surfaces for short periods of time due to the lack of adequate hand or foot holds that I could access quickly. Most leaves were higher up, so they weren't a problem. This layer of the canopy was fairly empty. At least, empty enough for me to run without problem.

"You reckon you can do this too Cirno?"

The cocky girl giggled. "Of course I can. I can do anything."

After finding a tree with denser branches and thus larger footholds I set her down, then pushed on ahead. "It's just a straight line from here onwards." I went first, using the slight noise of my steps to generate small sparks with my magic. It'd be hard to spot from below, but for Cirno it helped guide her path.

Team Dane™©® (Dane + Cirno) moving from B2 to B4

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC)

Cirno is tree hopping without assistance. Dane is still being a scaredy cat. (I had this prewritten so I'm going to use it. Dammit.)

[Dust]

Dust had been letting them lead the way this whole time because his internal calculater said it would be risky to try to dictate where they were going. Gildarts might not say anything but words of encouragment, but he still has yet to be included in most conversations had by the other male. As Karl's Chippendales moved through out the forest in the pitch dark, Dust caught on rather quickly they were running around in circles. He didn't want to say anything, but by the time they reached a tree bunching he'd seen about five times now, he decided it might be best to say something.

First he had to find the perfect words, and place them in the best order to sound dignified to match at least what he imagines would be pleasing to the slightly shorter human. He would then reherse it in his head. Then he smelt the same strange scent of a magic green fire and bear steaks heating on that fire. He tried to be subtle but fell back onto his usual way of talking. It was hard to change the rytheme in your conversations after baring your true self this whole time anyways and woudl be a waste of time trying to impress him.

Coming close and trying to keep it light as well as quiet, inquired if Gildarts was having trouble keeping on track. At some point he worried he pushed a bit too far, that he appeared childish. Despite having been enthralled by his tale of dragon slaying and trying to imagine, Dust wasn't a child. Fortunately, Gildarts pushed past it pretty quickly.

While the older mage wet his face, Dust unshouldered one of his bag's straps. He rummaged through his bag for the item he was looking for, his finger touching the cold jar of his medi-gel stash before he found what he was looking for.

It only occurred to him after he hefted out the heavy duty flashlight that the men around him were of older times in terms of his life. While he saw Gildarts playing with the tablet, he watched Illidan snub his nose at the item. And instead of pulling out the flashlight, the metal-armed mage was stumbling in the dark. "Maybe this will help." He suggested, aiming the light at the ground and hitting the button.

As soon as he did, a large circle appeared under them. To his surprise, however, the only reaction to it was Gildarts seeming dumbfounded he didn't think of that. Illidan wasn't surprised by it either, but warned him: "You trying to make us a target, boy?"

But Dust was quickly becoming desensitized to his gravely dark voice that could send shivers up children's spines. Hokori was also never afraid of what the guy would do to him. He had a feeling if Gildarts was the one that got culled a fight could easily break out between the remaining Chippendales Still, Dust did not fear talking to him now. "Let's not pretend were not the types to like a fight." He said, showing off his bruise again to talk to Illidan behind him. He then flicked the light far enough to let them see about 5 feet in front of them as he shrugged the bag back on. "Its better than getting lost for the rest of the night." He added and then began to lead the group.

The balls on this guy! First, he approaches them without hesitation, without buckling under the weight of their power. And how this human, this MERE human, was talking to him so casually. Illidan shot Gildarts a look, but the two men followed the younger man all the same.

[Dust]

Sammy said to just post our movement instead of editing. x.x
Karl's Chippendales from B13 to B12

[Dane Regan]

The forest slowly got denser as we pressed onwards along the treetops. This was good. No one would be able to spot us here. Not easily.

"Cirno, if a battle happens it's going to be about here. I'm not guiding you anymore. You have a map. You know where the safe house is. I've highlighted our movement plan for you. So, I'm not showing my location anymore. I'll still be here, but just act like you're on your own."

Little actually changed in our movement routine. Cirno was still following, even if she couldn't be completely sure that she actually was. We'd had some talks along the way, where I'd explained my reasoning about waiting. Once it got to midnight, people would get culled. Those people wouldn't be able to fight us. Any advantage like that was worth taking. Unless I was running away from ghosts, non-existent things, my imagination, et cetera. But I probably wasn't. If I wasn't wounded, had a reasonable team, and maybe even managed to obtain some useful items, I'd definitely camp the edge of the death zone.

Sadly for anyone trying to do that, they were likely lured west when I headed back away from the forest and were now only just heading this way to block of the safehouse. There was no way for me to make it there without people pursuing me giving up. They would be much closer to it that I was. That said, I felt fairly accomplished for making it this far into the forest before being interdicted by anyone. At this point, my plan was to run around erratically in the trees like a crazy person. If I kept moving, they'd eventually give up. I just didn't expect to be able to. I was close to the sea and technically cornered. My only advantage was that said corner was full of trees that made me almost impossible to find, especially considering my invisibility. Cirno, however, would likely not be so lucky. But we were moving together for now. As much as I didn't want to leave her behind, I didn't want to risk myself for her. How she moved was her choice from now. I wasn't going to control her outside of the guidance and rough plans I'd given. How she moved was her choice from this point onwards.

Team Dane™©® (Dane + Cirno) moving from B4 to B6

Dane is invisible (Stealth + Suppression + 5 TEC)

I also had this prewritten and wanted to use it. It's probably my last post today. So ripperoni. It's down to you Cirno. This has been a day of awkward movements. Sorry for being awkward to chase down. I feel a bit bad for stall or being annoying OOC. But, generally, Dane is meant to be a slippery sonofabitch. Even if that means running in circles.

[Gildarts]

“Hey… Where’d he go?” Illidan poked the skin of Gildarts’ shoulder and pulled the oblivious prime out of the vacuous rift of his mind.

“Hm? Who?” Gildarts murmured, Illidan could tell something was wrong with his primary ally and though the elf was competent, he was not sure how to quite what tone to take to confront him.

“Dust, that mutt you wanted to drag along, he’s not in sight. I don’t see his light beam either. No that I wanted him around in the first place,” Illidan growled, “Listen, Gildarts Clive. You’ve been really off lately and I highly doubt it is just this island or the competition getting to a man like you. Spill your guts.”

“Hmm.. Shouldn’t we go back for him?” Gildarts asked curiously, easily avoiding the question. 

Illidan’s footfalls stopped. “Gildarts we don’t move until you tell me what’s going on. I want the truth. No less.”

There was no stated threat for the consequence, but there didn’t need to be. Gildarts’ wayward mind was pulled from the fog and sharpened back into the moment, refocused by the potential threat at hand.

“I was cursed and am haunted by a ghost that you would be unable to see even if I pointed to her,” it was vague and mostly true, a believable story though the Malefactor was more accurate to an omnipotent voice in his head, that was, when she was physically in there. Currently, she was MIA, which was nice, but since she’d been removed he’d felt her trickery more powerful. He couldn’t be sure if she’d cursed him, or if there was some sort of withdrawal aspect or hallucination, and it was hard to tell this to his ally which he wanted to keep around.

So that was this mage’s truth? Haunted by the darkness of his past. Illidan felt the smallest twinge of sympathy. Illidan began to open his mouth in an attempt to speak, his posture was no longer aggressive but had eased, as though he could relate.

Chippendales move from B12 to B13.

[Dust]

Dust let Gildarts do the navigating while he took point, and they both left Illidan to take care of any common trash that thought they'd get the jump on the shirtless men. Instead of silence though, he made sure to keep in touch with the red-haired man about the direction in which way to go. He even stopped at one point after they came close to the same safehouse they'd eaten at earlier.

"It won't save us to go in, our collars have already reset." Dust reminded them, ready to argue against it.

But Gildarts shook his head and pointed to a place on the map. "I was just taking the most familiar route to this point." He suggested some wisdom at the two began to show teamwork potential.

It was hard to ease into a relationship after following them for the better part of a day's quarter, but luckily for them, Dusty specilized in flexible plans and adapting to unknown situations. He was good at calculating risks, and even if it could be considered a bad idea to pass a bit of small talk for hours to get to know each other a more personal level the game wasn't going to stop for bonding. They would work it in on the way there.

After a long while of staring at the tablet, Gildarts would look up to find the man missing.

Dust cut the light so he didn't attract attention as he moved behind some brush. Now he regrets not stopping at the safehouse, it probably had a bathroom to use, but before he pissed himself he marked a tree as far out of sight as he could but without loosing scent of his friends.

His attempts to be sanitary on an island weren't quite in vein, but there was little he could do other than using the collection of rain water in the trees and leaves. But when he felt safe about reaching into his bag once more, he pulled out the jar of magic healing he'd snatched before the game for a decent price. He stared at the plain label and tried to decide when was the best time to do this...

He didn't consider himself that damage, despite the blue, purple, yellow, and brown in his one cheek. Which pained him a considerable amount he just didn't want them to see it so he grinned through it. Literally. He couldn't help but think Dawn would warn him to wait, inside he would agree with her. But now that he was walking around with The Strongest Prime and eventually would be targeted because of it, he felt it was now a good time. As well... He had no idea when Karl would strike, but surely it was only in his best interest to be primped and primed for the calleseum he'd endure soon enough.

He wondered if they were okay.. Did he do the right thing? Leaving Dawn behind?

Wolf decided in the end that he would never know what the right answer was and he should take what advantage some spare time to himself gave him and just swallow the pill. Or.. The gel. Or whatever it was that this stuff was meant for. He red the label again and began to adminastrate the doses where it would be more helful. Which mean cold gel in the sensitve area between his legs, on the various parts of his body Bendy grazed with his tail, but he refused to heal the bruise.  After taking the stock of his resources he began to make his way back to his friends.

When he got close he noticed they were talking. Coming in just in time to hear Illidan compare him to a mutt, not at all in a way that Drake would have, and Gildarts immediately slapping a band-aid on it by suggesting they go find him. Dust worried he had put a rift between the two, or at least enlarged an already formed fissure in this tentive friendship. He stood at the tree lines to let them talk it out, listening in and letting it decide his choices.

Suddenly Gildart's spacing out and almost lost face made more sense when he revealed he was being haunted by something. Someone. Crickets were chirping leaving the subject hanging in the air a long time. They would hear the slender tree russleing as his heavy weight lifted from it and then he gave it a playful shake before appearing while clicking the light back. "There you are guys!" He said with a laugh as if he didn't hear a thing.

Dust relieved himself on a tree, and healed 3 Points of Damage with 3 Remaining Medi-Gels. He is out of Medi-Gels and only down 3 points.((Totally what one Dawn's punches are worth.))
Karl's Chippendales move in somewhat awkward silence. B13 > B5

[Gildarts]

Gillidan had almost had a moment together, like a real moment. The look on Illidan’s constantly masked face was one that was empathetic, or at least on some level. Illidan was standing there and on his mind was Tyrande. She hadn’t ever been a ghost as the mage had brought up, and likely went on still living now, however when he was cursed to ten thousand years of darkness, he’d seen her in his memories so fluently and real, as though she were a ghost.
 
He could almost relate. Almost. But this compromised the mission. Their alliance. It was almost based on a lie. “You’ll have to deal with your burdens as you may, then. I’ll trust that you are capable…. Enough.”
 
Illidan couldn’t quite exile the mage simply because of one little thing, every man was haunted by the shadows of the past at one point or another. Mistakes, triumphs that always had costs, it was generally all for conquest, for there was purpose in war. A man of Gildarts’ stature, plus whatever ambition he held within him was liable to have caused some heartache or death. The ghost he spoke about was likely either one of his victims, or a family member who’d lost someone and wanted revenge. The magical and mysterious ways of the Omniverse made it so that anything was possible. The Scourge of Darkshire knew as much.
 
The mutt was back, great! Illidan almost wished he’d gotten lost in the forest. They continued to trudge forward in the trailless woods in the dark. “We should slow down our pace for now, see about what is around here, maybe scatter and look for things. We’re far from Zone A, right? That was supposed to explode.” The elf stated.
 
“What are we searching for?” Dust asked. Gildarts too, felt like this was valid.
 
“Anything that might help us, now that the scoreboard is smaller, we might encounter more enemies and I’d like to be ready, plus you never know what you’ll find. Darts found that… Chainsaw, you say?” Illidan pointed to it and Dust readied his flashlight.
 
 

It’s cool Dane you’re a respectable opponent = D

Gillidan and Dust move from B5 to B6. (if that is okay)

[Gildarts]

“Shh, I heard something.” Illidan pronounced in his so-definite way, there was no ‘think’ the dark elf just knew. His pointy ears were keen in the dark, his profound senses riddled as they accessed the oncoming vibrations.
 
Gildarts and Dust froze, their eyes glinting across the shadowing hooks of branches and boughs that scooped into their pathway. Illidan’s entire body had tensed with a brace, the magic within the sorcerer was quivering in bursts, begging for escape. The fel sorcerer remained still, he would not be unnerved, and rather, would wait until the right time to strike.
 
The voices had come from over the hill. “Dane come back, I think I heard something.” the voice beckoned. There was a hesitant clutch in the tone, as though there was something pricking her side.
 
Dane remained scouting from the shadows. To warn Cirno of the danger she was about to stumble into was to give away his position. To lose everything. She walked closer to the team who had hushed themselves in the silence of shadows.
 
“I’m afraid not. You had to have come from Zone A, right? We’ve been walking around B all night. Were you just talking to someone?” Illidan’s voice was accusatory as he pounced forth from his hidden perch. Gildarts stood idle, curious and waiting as he identified his enemy, and Illidan hadn’t hesitated to identify the weak fairy as his prey.
 
Cirno’s eyes glimpsed around for her teammate, which she had originally called out to. Making her wait like this wasn’t funny, not when her life was at the hands of three shirtless heathens. It was hard to tell if she could pull off the ruse that she was just talking to herself. Her foe wore a blindfold but his glistening eyes bore through the fabric. The fairy glimpsed into the recesses of night, catching the whites of the two other men and adding them as though they were but soldiers’ of her main aggressor. She collapsed on a nearby stump, feigning weakness. Illidan wasn’t buying this ploy, Gildarts likely would have.
 
“That’s where the last drop was, wasn’t it?” Illidan accused. The elf was sharp, and while not technologically savvy, he’d tuned his ears to Gildarts’ tablet for the mocking chirp of Karl’s announcement. Gildarts again, noticed the woman was injured and felt a pang of guilt in his gut. This wasn’t right. His eyes flicked to Illidan, who he hoped wouldn’t savagely kill her if she was innocent. Dust seemed to be watching intently too. Learning from the dynamics of clashing ideologies from the established duo. This was the competition though. There was savagery in every game. Illidan had chosen a winning strategy, however carnivorous he would become acting on it.
 
“W- I mean I, was just trying to escape before my collar detonated,” she excused herself.
 
She’s proooobably lying you know. Women do that. Hell, you know me well enough. I’ve got a life sentence with you. Ha! The Malefactor chided in.
 
The half-truths hung in the air as his oncoming fist loomed. All over a scrap of a prize the treasure hunters were tracking down. It was hard to say if she would spontaneously start crying, or if the fairy would hand over the said item. “That wasn’t my question, human. Hand it over and no one has to die.” Though, it would be more fun if she didn’t. Illidan stepped closer and raised his fist.
 

Gildarts and Dust and Illidan have united and challenged (Cirno) Team Dane™©® (Dane + Cirno) for the item(s) they may hold. (if that is okay) Currently Dane is not in sight, but they have threatened his ally, Cirno. Will Dane abandon his injured teammate and attempt to run? Or will he fight?

If they decide to drop their items and run, we would consider and likely not pursue them further.

[Karl Jak]

Day 3 has concluded

It is not Day 4, Early Morning (12 am to 6 am) until 430 PM CDT on June 27th

[Karl Jak]

Face to Face

Little Ghost

The short little bug flittered to the door of Safehouse B.

"Do people not read before they sign paperwork?"  Karl asked someone as he reached for the button labeled '#19'.  Before he could, someone leaned forward and pointed to the screen.  "Hrm?"  The Executive Producer asked as he squinted at the screen.

Little Ghost had stepped outside the safehouse and was looking around with wide, lazy sweeps.  It was clear that the cute little warrior had some sort of profound mental damage following its battle in the opening hours of the contest.  He wandered around and seemed oblivious to the shadow that fell over him.

chhh chhh chhh ahh ahh ahh

The bug tilted his head and turned around just in time to had its head cleaved in half by a machete.  Gore splashed across the wall of the safehouse as the tiny little corpse dropped the ground, twitched, and started to degrade into Omnilium.

"Guess that saves my thumb from doing all the work," Karl muttered as he leaned over to his tablet and tapped in a few commands.

[spoiler]
#19 Little Ghost DEAD

[/spoiler]

[Cirno]

As cirno looked at the three buffons she decided that it was time to show them a lesson. "IF you want a fight then that is what you are going to get!" Her ice aura running on overdrive as her bomb blinked quite quickly. "Dane tell Clownpiece when you go away that im sorry I could not be with her again! I AM CIRNO THE STRONGEST FAIRY IN GENSOKYO!" She crossed her arms as she looked at them hoping to go out with a bang. TO herself she heard herself say sorry to Clownpiece for not staying around till the end.

Cirno is soloing this challenge giving Dane ample opportunity to leave