The Chosen

Cyrus watched Vivien run into the forest. Good, she should be safe there, he thought, or maybe not.

As much as he wanted to run after her to help, the old man most likely wouldn't let him. He turned back to the man who had gotten a little closer. Cyrus stepped back.

"En garde." Cyrus charged the old man once again. He swung a punch but Hannibal swiftly moved to the side and thrust his blade. Cyrus grabbed the blade, having too much adrenaline to care about getting cut. He moved the blade away and was able to punch Hannibal in the chest, nearly setting his suit on fire.

Hannibal grunted as he was pushed back. Feeling like he had more control over the fire, Cyrus was able to make a sword of flames, bigger than Hannibal's. He charged yet again and their blades clashed.

This was perfect for Hannibal. As he kept the blades connected, he reached out and grabbed Cyrus's neck. His hand and Cyrus's neck darkened as energy was transferred from Cyrus to Hannibal.

Cyrus felt weaker and unable to control the fire blade. The sword exploded, sending the two flying back, scorching their clothes.

Cyrus grunted as he stood. He looked into Hannibal's eyes and could see anger swell up in him.

"You're going to die!"

Jank cried out as a massive cluster of crystal shot up in front of his foot. He stumbled a bit but quickly regained his footing. "Nice trick. Maybe that's what seems so special about you. I'll make a you a deal." He sheathed his sword. "Your blade versus my fists. You win and you get to go free." Again, he was lying but she wouldn't know it. A maniacal gleam shone in his eyes as he looked her over. "I really don't want to hurt you."

Miles grinned. "Oh, how sad. Looks like you two won't get to pair up after all." His blades gleamed and he resumed his stance. "Well, let's see how long you can dance~ I'm interested to see your stamina."

~

The look in his eyes made V's stomach knot. She chewed on the inside of her lip, trying to think of what to say, when she glanced over to see how Savir was doing.

Fighting with no weapon.

Her eyes shifted back to Janko before she pointed toward the shield, light mist dancing around her hand. It reformed outside the shield; near Savir's hand. It was a blade--a near duplicate of the one she had herself.

At least he'll stand a chance now..

But the tension resumed as soon as she forced herself to look back at Janko, grip tightening around the blade. Her voice came out smaller this time; she couldn't help it after that look.

"I doubt that. And it's not like I have a choice.." Besides, if he didn't want to hurt her, he would have been awesome and let her go. Nevertheless, she had to try. She reluctantly started forward, cautious as she approached him. She had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

~

Miles let out a hiss when the blade appeared. "Aw, what?! You can't have teamwork!" He jumped back before Savir had a chance to strike, scowling, But it turned into a sneer. "Fine then--lemme see what ya got, Lover Boy."

Jank grinned and cracked his knickles. "I would let you go, but that would not be to my lord's liking." He lowered himself into a fighting stance, making sure his footing was good. He lunged out with a strike but feinted at the last second and spun around to deliver a hook kick to the girl's midsection. "Let's see just how fast you are when you're not running away like a little bug."

Deron watched as Janko just ran off. It seemed like everyone was going to fight thier own battles.... Wait, what was he thinking of? There wouldn't be much of a fight, none of them were used to thier power! If anything, it would be thier struggle keeping themselves from killing the teens! This was such a mess, if only they just kidnapped them in thier sleep like he originally planned. He seemed to be getting a little tired, himself, and had a light drowsy feeling over him. An odd dizzying sensation.

Quickly, he snapped back awake! Deron's gaze shifted to the tiger that was still starring him down while everyone else had left. "Well, guess I've got to knock out a big cat. You're going to be a huge pain to carry around, you know." His weapon felt supprisingly light in his hand as the sounds of the waning day caught his ear. "Can't say I've ever fought a tiger before, but how hard can it be?"

Keeping the scythe pointed at the tiger, Deron tried to slowly circle around to the beast's side. "I'm going to guess your front paws would hurt quite a bit, so I think this would be a good alternative to a direct attack...."

Unbeknownst to the tiger, he was carefully shifting his grip, readying himself to fire a round into his hind-end. He'd live long enough to get back to thier base, but be worse off long-term.

"What is it like being an animal? Enhanced smell? Shifted range of vision? A changed bone structure? Personally, I'd be confused about what went where. I imagine the feeling would be maddening!"

Link snarled, not knowing what to do, sprinting away into the forest as the man turned his scythe on him, avoiding the large barrier, before climbing up into the canopies and waiting for the scythe man to appear. He crouched to the branch, muscles flexing, his breathing silent, everything quiet, waiting for his prey. Hopefully, he could spring and surprise the man, and avoid that wicked blade all together.

Hopefully, the prey had become the predator.

His speed shocked her. She stumbled when trying to get out of his way and yelped sharply when the metal from his boot cracked against her side. It made her skin burn; tender. She could already feel a bruise rising and resisted the urge to hold the wound. But as he came out of the kick, she swiped the blade out at him, trying to at least get something in.

She regained her composure and distanced herself from Janko, seriously questioning what was going on. She didn't want to find out what would happen if she were to be knocked out, but at this rate...

C'mon V! Don't get distracted. M-maybe he'll just get tired..

Janko smiled as his foot connected with her. "My my, learn to block. It will save yourr life, or maybe you should learn to... DOOOODDGE!" Janko let loose with another punch. He let this one feint again but instead of attacking again, he spun in close and grabbed her by the collar. "You have some interesting abilities for a human. Where I come from, you would exalted as a hero... if you could actually fight."

Fear cracked her features, her breath catching. But her adrenaline got the better of her. She slashed the blade across the suit--did nothing other than make an obnoxious ringing, but then she slammed her palm against his chest, the purple light returning. She blasted him back with a flourish of crystals, her pulse accelerating even more.

"Well what're you expecting anyway?!" she squeaked. "I haven't done anything like this ever! This whole thing is screwed up!" She didn't even want to know what he meant by, "where I come from". Instead, she moved away from him again, body shaking. Dodge. If she could just stay out of his grip; his range. But she wasn't sure she'd be able to. His stamina was sure to be more than hers--if anything HE'D be the one tiring her out.

All he saw for a few seconds was purple as the crystal covered him and pushed him back. He spread his arms and the weak rock shattered into dust. He could feel his body getting sore and a beeping from behind his neck told him his computer systems were being taxed a bit too much. With a sigh he pressed a button on his wrist and the beep stopped.

His helmet slid back and disappeared as his air flowed free. "Oh god it feels to get that thing off. I quite dislike going so long without fresh air." He stepped close again and looked her over without the HUD tinting everything orange. "Why don't we end this now. Neither one of us is in the condition to fight and since you obviously aren't at full strength, it wouldn't be right."

The shield fell away as he turned to leave. "Au Revoir, crazy crystal chick!"

He was..leaving?

The confusion made her lose concentration. The blade vanished and she just stared, not sure what to do. He'd made it seem like he wouldn't leave, but he was? Though she felt some relief, she knew there were still more than just these two fighting.

So should she help Savir, then? Or keep an eye on the stranger? She felt suddenly frustrated.

"Why are you creeps even doing this? If you're gonna leave at least tell me that!"

"Oh, so you're going to be that way? Never hide from a guy who can detect your kind!" Deron looked down at his device, watching as it turned red. "I'm not suppost to kill you, but screw it! I'm not going to let a freaking tiger get away in the dark!" He tried to look around, but his eyes hadn't adjusted to the unfamiliar form of the forrest. Every brance seemed to hold it's own dark shape, everything started to look like a tiger. It could be anywhere.... He found himself turning around several times, in this low light his device seemed next to useless!

Something moved in the distance! Deron almost opened fire before realizing it was Janko. Then, a feint sound brought his attention elsewhere. The tiger? "I'm warning you, I'm not afraid to use this thing!" A slight sensation came over him as he scratched his head. Wait, blood? Deron almost jumped back from supprise, when did he start bleeding!?!? Only one assumption could enter his mind.

"Well played, tiger.... Well played. But not played well enough!" At the sight of what he thought was something moving, he opened fire and gunned down a wild bush. He looked back down at his device. It seemed like there was something straight ahead! After following it for a few minutes, it took him back to where he was. Where the tiger was before it ran off. Intensely glaring at the darkness, he saw nothing. "Stupid thing needs new batteries or whatever...."

Janko turned back to her. "I honestly don't know. My master wants you and thats that. Make no mistake, I will take you eventually but it just wouldn't be right at your power level." Janko turned to to Savir. "Miles, how would you like to take her on instead?"

Link watched the man curiously, following him for awhile, trying to predict him with little success. After he gunned down and innocent bush, the tiger let out what sounded like some low chuckles, before jumping back to the spot where he had started, watching the man walk off in the opposite direction. He heard Vee shouting, and pounced down silently next to her, dropping into a low crouch next to her, eyeing the man as he talked to his companion, and snarling loudly to make himself known.

Savir smiled and snatched the sword out of the air with a flourish, trying to look the picture of self-assured arrogance. In truth, he was assuring himself of one thing; one mistake and this guy would kill him, whatever the metal man wanted. He took a pose, the sword's hilt high in his left hand, his left foot put forward and his right leg bent, the blade diagonal to the ground and his free arm loose. Savir wasn't a swordsman, but all the same, the stance felt... right. Too bad there's no rock music playing... He thought, a touch regretfully. And then there was no time to think; he sprung forward with a downward slash.

Everything else seemed to stop, to just slip away. The entirety of reality consisted only of Savir and the other man, matching each other stroke for counterstroke for counterstroke. To an outsider, it might have seemed as though they danced, a deathly flashing of steel and body that would destroy either of them if they made even the smallest mistake.

A lunge, poorly parried, took a bite into Savir's shoulder, and cut a large hole into his shirt, making his marking plain in the moonlight. The man, for whatever reason, smiled and pressed ever harder in his assault. And then he suddenly stopped, flowing away smoothly. It didn't take long for Savir to notice why. He cracked an insolent smile and made a "come and get me" hand wave towards the metal man and the other -- Miles -- both.

"How about the two of you? Come, show me what it's like to die."

The words echoed through his head and confused him a little. Where had he heard that before? It sounded familiar, almost like an old taunt. He smiled wider; no matter.

Miles clicked his tongue, though masked what had been about to flicker across his face.

"Sorry kid, but if my man Ja(he says it Jay, by the way) wants to switch, who am I to say no? Gotta respect my elders. But don't worry, I'll make sure your girlfriend doesn't get hurt..too much. Can't kill her just yet, after all~"

Vivien didn't appreciate his 'girlfriend' remarks, but didn't have the nerve to speak up. Instead, she was dismayed to hear the two were 'switching'.

"But Ja, you made that sound like I'm weak enough on her level. Just 'cause I don't have a power doesn't mean I'm like them." He was aware it didn't make sense; but that was because he was insulting them--saying they were basically just as weak as the people on this planet with no fighting skills. "Let's see how this goes, shall we? Ja did say you had speed, little girl. I'll make this quick, promise~"

Vivien inwardly groaned.

I hate life!

Cyrus felt tired for some reason. Through out the fight he felt more tired. And some how Hannibal didn't lose any energy, as if Hannibal was sucking the energy out of Cyrus to use for his own. The fire on his gear clock mark had dimmed almost to nothing. He needed to do something to energize him.

"Energy drinks!" he suddenly blurted out.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing."

Hannibal had grown (symbolically) tired of this. Cyrus had lost enough energy, might as well take him back. He started to approach Cyrus, putting his sword back into his cane. He reached out to grab him, but Cyrus fell sideways to the ground to get out of the way.

Cyrus quickly scrambled up and ran as fast as he could to his car (yes, he drove there). He scrambled to find his keys, but they were gone.

"What the hell!" He looked back to see Hannibal had drawn his sword again and was leisurely approaching. "Screw it!"

He gathered what energy he had left and sent a lot of heat to his had. He pressed it against the window and quickly melted through. He shoved his hand in, unlocked the door manually, and pulled the lever that opened the trunk. He ran to the trunk and lifted it open. There in the trunk, were Monsters and Red Bulls.

He picked up a few and stumbled away to stay out of the reach of Hannibal who just reached the car. He opened two of them and gulped down as much as he could. He could almost instantly feel the energy. He opened two more and gulped down more. The fire on his chest exploded out, intensifying.

A wide grin came across his face as he laughed, almost maniacally. Hannibal stopped in his tracks. Fire flew from Cyrus's chest to his hands. It would appear that his source of fire was the mark.

"Come and get me!" Cyrus yelled.

"Very well."

Hannibal charged at Cyrus, his sword ready. Cyrus lifted his hands and created a large ball of fire. He was surprised at how fast he was able to learn to control the power.

Hannibal was just a few feet away when he slashed his blade and Cyrus brought down the fire ball. After that, there was just smoke.

David watched in satisfaction as the rock hit, but then the neusea kicked in again, and he threw up all over the floor. Not thinking properly, he deactivated his power, forgetting that it would render him noticeable.

"It says there's one of those bastards around here somewhere...."

Then, Deron glimpsed over as someone seemed to appear out of thin air! And they were puking all over the place! Dang, when something like that happened he almost felt sorry for them. Although, on the other hand, that bitch was the one throwing rocks at him! Deron couldn't figure out why it took him so long to put the pieces together, but now that the man was visible it made perfect sense!

"Fine fine, you don't have to beg like that." He said out of nowhere before the target had a chance to speak. "I won't hurt you. Just come along and you'll get out of this alive, ok?" The tone of his voice had a supprising rythem to it, "or I could just shoot you in the leg if that would be better. After all, I'd rather not have to carry you away."

Without thinking, Deron just walked up to the teen, his scythe on his back, ready to grab the man by the arm and simply pull him around. "First I've got to find a first aid kit to bandage my head up, then you get to meet Alex and hear for yourself what this is about. Sound good?"

However, before miles took two steps closer to Vivien, a hand caught his wrists. Hawk-like eyes peered down at him, the man's lips hooked in a smirk.

"Wouldn't you consider it foolish to fight someone with powers when you yourself have none? Underestimating the enemy is mistake number one, my friend." He caught Miles' left hand when he tried striking down and planted his foot into his chest. He was sent smashing into a tree near Janko, a painful thud sounding. His eyes widened for a moment before sliding shut, his body slumping as he fell unconscious. The man tipped his head Janko's way.

"Strength against strength would be a waste of time here. You seem somewhat reasonable--take your friend and leave." Around his neck was a blade and chain necklace--much like the tattoo Savir had on his shoulder. It symbolized where he was from, and he was hoping the young man would notice. If so, they'd know these kids weren't on their own.

Vivien was stunned. He'd taken him out so easily! But it wasn't just that that caught her off guard. This tall, slim man--she knew him. Those blue eyes defined him.

"Raize..? What're you..?"

"Hey, don't worry about it, V. I'll explain later." He looked at Savir to make sure he wasn't hurt before turning his attention back to Janko. "My friends will be arriving soon. Your lot's more than likely going to have to pull back, but just a warning: we're not letting you take them without a fight. But that battle isn't meant to be tonight, and I believe you're smart enough to know that."

Coughing, Cyrus stumbled out of the large cloud of smoke. He fell to the ground. The fire on his chest dimmed completely now. A few second later, he felt a sharp pain on his left side. He looked down at it to see a cut. It was large, but not too deep.

Slowly, the smoke cleared, revealing Hannibal. He was walking with a limp toward Cyrus, his sword back in his cane to help keep him up.

"I guess I will show you mercy this time," Hannibal said, "but next time, I will not hold back. I expect you not to either." He walked away, leaving Cyrus.

"Well I'm glad that's over," Cyrus grunted as he stood, "I should get back to the others."

He walked as fast as he could with the wound to the forest. He entered the area where the others were. There was a new arrival. He seemed to be on their side though, it appeared that he and Vivien knew each other.

"What'd I miss?"

Jank ran over to Miles and looked him over. "Wow, you really got your ass kicked didn't ya?" He reached an arm around and helped the man to his feet, then turned back to the newcomer. "Well my my, it's been a wile since I've seen a Royal Guard. Tell me, fun was it watching you city crumble? Do you reeeally believe these worms can stop us?"

Raize glanced over at Cyrus, though there was quiet fury in his eyes from what Janko said.

"Oh, not much. Knocked loudmouth over there out; can't say his friend's as lucky. Need one of them awake to make sure they get back to where they belong." As much as he would have loved to take care of them now, he wasn't sure he could do it with the others here. It'd been a while since he'd fought with someone strong, save practice sparring with a few of the other guardians to make sure they still had their powers in good shape, but he wasn't willing to take risks with this. He turned back to Janko, voice tight.

"No one likes seeing their home destroyed. Or the people they've worked with killed because some young idiot can't deal with how things are done. But to answer your question, Blondie, I think they'll do just fine. Not that that applies right now, but with some training, they'll be ready. Take into account they've just learned about their powers--to me, the fact most of them managed to summon them to protect themselves says something to me. Don't forget who their predecessors were."

He needed to make sure the others were unharmed, however. Seeing Cyrus all charred up like that had him worried. If Skyla were in tune to things for once, her healing abilities would be useful. Then again, if was Skyla--what was he supposed to expect?

There was a shrill cry on the wind. It pierced the eardrums of man and animal alike, making them wince as the sound lowered their defenses. The trees themselves seemed to cringe as they begged for mercy. The leaves twitched and shuddered.

"When I get hoooooooooome, I'm gonna take a hot baaaaaaath," Were the words of the cry reverberating throughout the area, "Then I'm gonna eaaaaaaat, some yummy delicious nutritious... actually, what am I in the mood for?"

On the horizon, the source of the squawking, er, singing, approached. With eyes as green as emeralds, hair as red as fire, and a body as desirable as Aphrodite, Vera came to view. Twas such a shame that she had to open her mouth and ruin the scene.

With a sigh and a harrumph, she leaned against the bark of a still traumatized tree. She pulled out her compact mirror from her back pocket. She flipped it open and fiddled with her hair a little bit, pursing her lips and turning her chin to ensure she looked decent.

"Aw, who am I kidding? I look better than decent!" Vera said out loud, shimmying her chest upwards and adjusting the flesh within their confines. It was then she noticed something strange in the corner of her mirror. What was that? She peered a bit closer. Was that a stray hair?!

But wait, her hair wasn't blue. What the heck was this--

"Ooooohhhh," Vera said in a sudden moment of clarity, "My whatchamacallit is going off..."

She spun in the direction of where the arrow was pointing. With a bit of excitement coursing through her veins, she manipulated the air around her. It was a technique she used often. She moved the air in front of her to the side and pushed her back with the air behind her. It allowed for incredible speeds in short distances and became like a second nature to her.

She found it far too easy to follow the arrow and navigate the surrounding area to where, she hoped, her first target would be. She was running a bit behind schedule compared to everyone else. But that wasn't her fault! It was theirs. They should care more about their appearance before they leave for missions. You never know who you'll meet. And one day, she'd meet a prince, make him fall in love with her, and steal that cool white horse they always ride. Sure, she could have always just bought her own white horse but then she wouldn't be able to say, "This used to be the Prince's horse. It likes me better though." That plan would completely fall through if she met him on a day she wasn't looking good.

Caught up in her daydream of brushing the Prince's ex-horse, she quickly stumbled into the clearing Miles was fighting at. She arrived just in time to see him get knocked right on his butt. Vera's laugh was long and hard, throwing her head back and squeezing her eyes shut.

"Miles," She said, "You give up already?" She asked with a giggle.

Using her maneuver, she 'blinked' so that she was between Janko and the guardian, as well as two teens. Vera understood there was no way she could take them all on and that retreat was very probable. However, that was no reason to be rude.

"Howdy-ho!" Vera said with a cheerful smile and wave, "Let me make introductions!" She bowed a bit, an awkward task in her blue jeans and V-neck black tee, "My name's Vera Smith! Heart breaker extroadinare!" She then struck a pose, putting her one hand upwards and lifting up the knee on the same side, "I leave a trail of drooling mouths in my wake," She continued, another pose. This one was her putting her knee back down and punching the air straight in front of her, "I bring love and peace everywhere I go!" Vera wrinkled her nose, "No, I don't like that line..." She paused.

Her arms crossed and her finger tapping her chin, her eyes looked upwards. There was an extremely thoughtful look on her face, "Violence and mayhem? Naw..." She muttered. She shrugged and looked at the three in front of her, "Well, it's incomplete right now. BUT!" She wagged her finger, "As soon as it's done I'll reintroduce myself."

She looked over at Janko who seemed to have recovered, "Oh yeah, and that's Wanko. His real name is Janko but I think Wanko just has a better ring to it, don't you?"

David threw up all over the floor, and looked up.
"What...the hell...do you want...from...me? I...could..."
He didnt finish, as he went into a fit of coughing. By the time he finished, he felt a lot better.