[battle] Round 2 Preliminaries, part 2

[utopiamods]

Round 2 Tournament Preliminaries

SHORYU vs KALLEN KOZUKI
ROAD KAMELOT vs. GRENN ATAIR
MOLLY HAYES vs. MIWAKO IHARA

Location: Main Courtyard, Tournament Stadium
Time of day: Afternoon.
Special Rules: One Weapon or set of Weapons per battle; Players may not leave the stadium.

[the announcement rings through the campus all morning, on the half-hour: Can all participating Players report to the Tournament Stadium for midday with their chosen Weapons. The event will begin at twelve twenty-five for all other students.

Yes, that's right, the Tournament Stadium. During the early morning of Day 1, the staff were hard at work constructing a stadium in the main courtyard. There's raised seating for all students, and a large open-air ring for the participants. There's more than enough space even for fliers, and a number of raised areas, stairs and chest-high walls to make battles more interesting. At the end of the stadium is a large screen showing the ring from above.]

Comments

[myblueskies]

Romeo had come to watch the tournament, because it had been where everyone else was and the fights were interesting to watch, especially since some of the weapons Romeo had never seen before. But now he was scared, someone had disappeared into thin air, one minute she was there and the next moment she had vanished and the other girl won.

That other girl was sat not far from Romeo; Romeo was watching her cautiously. He had already met one witch at this school, and people who could make people disappear into nothing were definitely witches, and not nice ones at all.

Romeo wasn't paying attention to the battle at all, just watching the witch in case she decided to make any one else disappearing; maybe she was feeding them to her goblins, or sending them to a cave where she would chop them up and use them for potions!

[summerstars]

While she was deep in thought contemplating the possibilities of the ring, Grenn wasn't so deep down that she didn't notice someone staring at her. After a bit, she looked up, and spotted a small child intently staring.

She blinked, confused, but the kid just continued to stare. Did he want something? She didn't think she'd forgotten to button up the shirt, or anything, and anyway, she had a jacket thrown over both shirt and blazer and shut.

"Er... Did... What is it?" she finally managed to ask, wondering what was so interesting about her that he was staring so. It could be the missing legs, of course, but the kid wasn't actually staring at what was left of her legs, so...

[myblueskies]

Oh no! The witch had spotted him! Not wanting to take his eyes off her but not wanting to make the same mistake as last time in talking to the witch Romeo continued staring but trying to look like he wasn't.

He was trembling though, it was quite scary that he had been spotted, especially since this witch seemed more powerful than the witch he had met the day before.

[summerstars]

Okayyy... Scratching her head, Grenn wondered what to do. The kid was still staring and was now shivering. Was he cold, too?

"Er... are you okay?" What else was there to ask? The kid was thoroughly confusing her.

[myblueskies]

Alright so he was caught, the witch wasn't going to leave him alone until she had fed him to her goblin or used him to make a potion or trapped him in a cage to test her poisons on. Romeo trembled more but managed to nod his head.

"I'm fine miss!" His voice was a little high pitched and he didn't take his eyes off her.

[summerstars]

"Uh... You don't seem fine? I mean you're shivering... cold?" Not that she was sure what she was gonna do about it if he was. If she gave him her jacket, she'd freeze, too. This place had way too much planet-like weather; she wasn't used to this!

[myblueskies]

"No miss, I'm not cold!" He wasn't either, this school was much warmer than it was in the Alps, especially since it was still only early spring, at least it had been early spring when he had last seen his family.

Why was the witch being so nice to him? Was she trying to trick him? Romeo tried to think of what Alfredo would do in this situation, "You wouldn't be scared at all would you?" He muttered not even realising he was speaking outloud.

[summerstars]

"Huh? Scared of what?" Then she realized that might have been rude, or at least not intended for her; the kid had been muttering, after all. Some people, especially children sometimes, she just didn't understand...

She twisted the new ring on her finger again and sighed. Either the kid hadn't actually looked at her yet fully and not seen the missing legs and a reaction to that would come later, or he was reacting to something she had comepletely missed.

[myblueskies]

"Nothing miss!" Had he said that outloud? "I'm done for now Alfredo!"

He tried to shuffle backwards and ended up tripping up over one of the benches and falling backwards. It hurt and he sat up with wide eyes he was now closer to the witch! But a level below her.

It was only then that Romeo noticed her legs, he blinked, had she got into an accident? Surely a witch would be able to fix her legs... maybe thats why she making people dissapear; to make a potion... He bit his lip.

[summerstars]

Alfredo? And then the kid stumbled backwards and tumbled down a level. Grenn winced, but there was no way she'd be able to get down to him easily.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?" If he was, she'd put on her prostethics and get down there.

[myblueskies]

"Of course not! I fall down chimneys all the time! And I never get hurt!" Well apart from the time he had fallen off the roof and broke his leg, but he was trying to convince her that he was strong enough to not be hurt after a fall.

Even if it did hurt a little bit. Wait, why was the witch being so nice to him? Pretending to be worried when she was planning to eat him, well he could use that to his advantage! He clambered back up onto her level, at least if he distracted her she couldn't eat anyone else, right?

"Why are you here?" Because even if Lyra claimed they had been kidnapped there was no way anyone could kidnap a witch! They'd just fly away!

[summerstars]

"Well... That's good..." At least he was all right, then, but it was surprising to suddenly have him clambed up beside her when he'd seemingly been very reluctant to do anything at all before but stare at her.

"Er... why I am here?" What was that for sort of question? It wasn't as if she knew that! No one of them did!

"Why's anyone of us here? I don't know! Or... uh... did you mean here, at the tournament? I was just gonna watch the last battle..." He may have meant being right here in particular, after all.

[myblueskies]

Romeo frowned, but that made no sense; surely no one could capture a witch! Especially one powerful enough to make someone dissapear, so she was lying. Witches lied all the time!

"Well people said that we were kidnapped, but you should be able to escape easily so why are you here?" He seemed a lot braver now he had decided to distract the witch long enough to let everyone else escape. Being direct was the best way. Show the witch he wasn't afraid of her and he knew her plan!

Of course he was very scared, he just hoped it didn't hurt too much when she fed him to her goblin.

[summerstars]

"Huh?" What was the kid talking about? It took her almost a full agnozied minute to actually get the words to say something.

"Why... should I be able to escape easily?" Grenn frowned and rubbed her arms. Maybe she should just have ignored the staring, this was just completely confusing.

[myblueskies]

Romeo gave the witch a look that said she wasn't fooling anyone and clambered up onto the bench beside her, though just out of grabbing distance. He wasn't that stupid.

"I saw what happened," he said it quietly, so not to scare those around them, though they really needed to escape before he made the witch too angry.

Maybe he could run, get her angry enough and then try and make her follow him to a quieter place, that way everyone else would be safe.

He really hadn't thought this through, Alfredo would be rolling his eyes at him. "I'll think of something Alfredo!"

"If you can do that," he gestured the tournament ring to indicate what had happened, "Then you can escape from here."

[summerstars]

"Do what?" Grenn shook her head and tugged on the hair framing the side of her face. What did the battle ring have to do with anything?

And who was the kid talking to, anyway, besides her? There was no one else close enough. She should have tried to find Gino or Mei after her aborted battle, instead of just getting back to where she'd been before her own... This whole confusing conversation could probably have been avoided then!

[myblueskies]

The witch was a good lier! Romeo frowned, he would have to just be plain. Surely she could not pretend to not understand then. "You made that girl disapear!" His eyes were angry, he was trying to save everyone else but he was pretty sure he was to late to save that girl, she was probably eaten already!

[summerstars]

She had done... what? Admittedly, she'd felt guilty, but there was no reason to do so; if her hacking actually had had some sort of delayed effect of randomly making just the person who was supposed to be her opponent disappear, she'd have been punished, surely.

"I didn't! How'm I supposed to have done that, anyway?" Grenn frowned and shook her head. What did the kid think she was? It wasn't as if magic existed or anything!

Well, at least not in her world...

[myblueskies]

She denied it! But of course a witch would do that, they were bad and lied all the time! He frowned at her question.

"Ma..." He remembered the word that they used instead at this school. "Technology! You made her disappear with technology! Did you make the other disappear as well?" He had heard whispers of other people going missing, and Kuchiawa, he had disappeared one night.

Had he been eaten by the goblin as well?

[summerstars]

While that was surely how whoever in charge were doing things (more like remotely unplugging them, or whatever) how did the kid think she had access to the tech that could do that? Grenn shook herself from her staring and sighed.

"And if I was doing all that, where am I supposed to have this tech, and why would I be here? Don't you think those in charge would be displeased with their kidnapees disappearing?" What was it with this kid?

[myblueskies]

What did she mean where would she have the tech, what was tech? It sounded a little bit like the beginning of technology but surely that came from inside you, or from potions. Maybe she meant her equiptment like that other witch had had.

"I don't know, that other witch just had a room full of it and the teachers didn't mind, maybe you witches are working with the kidnappers! You're here because you need people for your technology!" He was angry now, because why was she still trying to deny it when he was obviously on to her.

[summerstars]

Did he mean the guy (whoever that had been) in the workshop he'd taken over? Must be. And then her brain abandoned those thoughts for the implication of humans being needed for tech? Huh?

"... You don't need humans for technology. I mean, other than a human actually using the tech... And I'd much rather be home, thanks..." Grenn frowned down at the boy, wondering where he got these ideas from.

[myblueskies]

Romeo blinked in confusion, you didn't need human's for technology? Well Romeo knew nothing about technology so it might be true. "So you just fed them to your goblin then..."

He wasn't sure if that was a better or worse fate than being used for technology. Either way he felt very sad for those who had been taken.

[summerstars]

"My... whatnow?"

Goblin? What was that, again? She thought it was some sort of fairy tale creature, but she wasn't sure. And why would she have something like that, anyway?

[myblueskies]

"Your goblin!" The sadness was making way for fustration and anger again. "All witches have goblins so I know you have one! You and your goblin should just fly out of here and stop eating people!"

He could still run, maybe, but the witch had annoyed him to the point he just wanted to make sure she didn't hurt anyone else at this school. Everyone here had been really nice to Romeo and he didn't want them to get eaten!