TWO OF A KIND

by Ulquiorra9000

Chapter 10

Like the last time, Morrel found himself suddenly in an entirely new world, but unlike last time, it was not an unpleasant shock. The lush forest of the orochi temple was replaced by a different forest, the air warm and slightly dry. Bright sunshine shone easily through the forest's canopy, and everywhere Morrel heard the buzz of insects, cries of birds, and skitters of unseen creatures. Not only that, but a thick carpet of grass grew on the forest floor, due to the trees being thick and hearty, but far apart to allow the sun's light to go right through.

Mizuki's shoulders slumped as she let go of Morrel. "What? We're in another forest? That's just boring."

"Well, I'm not going to complain," Morrel said, turning around to get a 360 degree view. The forest looked the same in all directions, with no signs of human habitation anywhere.

"I sure am," Mizuki grumbled, but she tagged along as Morrel set off, the both of them hoping to find civilization soon. After only a few minutes, Morrel tugged on the collar of his clothing, sweat soaking into his clothes.

It's kind of hot here. Is it summer? Morrel wondered to himself but anything would beat that endless trek through the Takenuma Swamp. Meanwhile, Mizuki came to a halt, folding her arms in a pout. "What's the matter?" Morrel asked her.

Mizuki motioned with a hand. "This is taking too long," she told him. "Time for a little scouting!" Then, before Morrel could say a word, she pounced into the nearest tree's lowest branches, nimbly leaping from branch to branch until she was many feet off the ground. She clung to a branch with her toes as she swept her gaze this way and that, shading her eyes with one hand and clinging to a branch with the other.

"See anything?" Morrel called up.

Mizuki looked around a little more and shook her head in dejection. "I don't think – wait!" She tensed, fixing her gaze in a new direction. Then she leaped down, tugging on Morrel's arm. "I saw a fire! There's someone here."

Eager to see who was there, Morrel hurried along with Mizuki, his battlemage cloak billowing as he sprinted through the idyllic, spacious forest. Indeed, he saw a blaze of red fire up ahead, and his stomach lurched in anticipation. Someone's got a camp here. Who will –

Morrel stopped dead when he realized that the flames weren't in a camp fire, but were part of a person's body. Four humanoids stood in a nervous group, their torsos bared to reveal their compact, black-skinned bodies. Flames coated their arms and shoulders, and flames even came from their eyes and rested on their spiny heads like hair. The four fire beings tensed when Morrel and Mizuki approached, their arm fires suddenly growing bigger. "Who are ye? Friend or foe?" the nearest fire creature hissed, its voice having an echo quality.

"I am Morrel, a friend," Morrel rested a hand on his heart. "My friend and I are lost travelers. Could you show us the way to a town, or even a camp?"

One of the other fire creatures wasn't so friendly. "Bad enough we get lost here in Gilt-Leaf Wood, far away from our mountain homes," it rasped, hunkering down as though it planned to pounce. Its head fire blazed tall. "Now we find strangers! Be you changelings, who not know how Kithkin really look?"

Morrel's gut squirmed. "I beg your pardon? We are human. Human! We mean no harm." He offered a placating smile. "Look, if we're all lost, then we can team up and -"

The unfriendly fire being snarled. "No! Strange people, go away now! We leave before elves find us!"

Mizuki shook her head, dejected. "This is crap, Morrel," she muttered to him. "Let's get away from these freaks already. Maybe we can find these elves and they can show us the way instead."

"Worth a try," Morrel quietly agreed, then he announced, "Fire beings, we will part ways. I apologize if we caused you distress."

The polite fire being bowed its head. "We are the flamekin, odd one. We got lost, that is all. Best of luck on your journey. We must be gone, though, before -"

The flamekin tensed, its blazing eyes widening as a number of hunting horns echoed throughout the forest, raising the hairs on Morrel's arms and neck. Mizuki clutched at Morrel's arm, eyes wide. "What was that?"

Before anyone could say a word, a number of brown-coated hunting hounds burst out of the foliage, pouncing on the four flamekin. One of the flamekin lashed out a hand, conjuring a whip of flames that roasted a hunting dog, throwing its charred body aside. The other flamekin went down, however, leaving them vulnerable for the next few arrivals. A number of elves clad in green and brown hunting gear leaped expertly through the tree limbs, even more agile than Mizuki. They fired their bows and arrows as they went, and the shafts stabbed into the flamekin, making them writhe in pain.

"Hearts of light, seas of darkness, angels high, beasts below, shield me from this harm!" Morrel recited quickly, and he was just in time. He and Mizuki hunkered down behind the blue-gold barrier just as a flight of arrows rattled against the magic shield, but the focused, piercing attacks broke through and the arrows clattered to the ground as the barrier fell to pieces.

"My barrier isn't good against piercing attacks," Morrel groused. "Get ready, Mizuki!"

The Kamigawa Planeswalker manifested her giant right arm, but the elves had drawn their swords and engaged the flamekin in furious combat. The two sides clashed with an unnerving ferocity, and one of the flamekin easily fell before the elf onslaught. Right before it fell, however, another flamekin plunged its hands into the other, drawing out a great amount of fire. It used this fire to blast away the nearest elves, burning them and throwing them to the ground.

"Just what was that?" Morrel gasped as the dead flamekin collapsed to the grassy ground. "That other flamekin..."

"Watch out!" Mizuki cried as another few elves burst from the foliage, attacking from behind. Mizuki's giant right arm swatted aside an elf, but then another elf's arrow pierced her arm, and she shouted and fell to her knees, blood leaking from her wound. Enraged, Morrel hurled a knife at the offending elf, but the elf ducked and rolled, letting the knife thud into a tree's trunk instead. A third elf swung a midair kick at Morrel's head, and the Bant battlemage twisted away from the blow. The kick swished through empty air, and Morrel grabbed the elf's leg, shifting the elf's momentum and controlling it. Now out of control of his movements, the elf could only squirm as Morrel slammed a knife into his chest, taking him down. Morrel let the elf fall, then yanked his knife out of the dead elf and hurried to Mizuki's side.

"I think that will be enough," a new voice demanded, a flat, strong tone. Morrel beheld a new party of elves emerge, these elves taller and more heavily armored than the ambushers. Curled horns sprouted from their temples and their faces were beautiful and stern, man and woman alike. They carried large pikes in their hands, and used these pikes to swiftly decimate the surviving flamekin. Morrel stood his ground to fight back, but the surviving ambushers and the tougher elves surrounded Morrel, forcing him to lower his arms. Two elves grabbed him by the arms and another one held up the weakened Mizuki, keeping her head upright.

Morrel's heart hammered with tension, but he decided to stay docile for now and watch as the elf's leader approached him, a particularly tall and tough man with large horns. The elf knelt before Morrel, closely examining his face. "What are you?" the elf asked. "Are you the bastard offspring of Kithkin and elf?"

Why doesn't anyone recognize us as human? Morrel wondered. "My name is Morrel, and I am a human. More importantly, I did not mean you any harm. I'm afraid this is a simple misunderstanding."

The elf's eyebrows met in a frown. "No tribe goes by the name 'human'. Are you a playful changeling?"

"No, not that. This is really what I look like," Morrel cajoled the elf, but the elves grew impatient. The leader thrust his spear tip close to Morrel's throat, and another elf put his spear right at Mizuki's neck.

"Do not waste our time!" the elf leader roared. "We are the Gilt Leaf tribe, the most powerful of them all! We control the lands, these forests, and neither those dirty flamekin nor you may so callously intrude!"

Mizuki groaned, and Morrel wondered if the arrow that had hit her was poisoned. She muttered something, and an elf leaned closer to hear. Then, Mizuki wrenched her right arm free and lashed out, her talons gouging into the elf's chest. The elf stumbled and hit his back against a tree, clutching at his injuries.

"What is this?" the leader barked, stomping over to Mizuki as she was further restrained. The elves stretched out her giant right arm and held it in place, and the leader crinkled his nose. "Both of these 'humans' are ugly invaders, but this arm is an abomination beyond compare! Remove it!"

"N... no!" Mizuki cried weakly as an elf drew his sword and swung it down at Mizuki's shoulder. Thinking fast, Morrel accessed his white magic and a circular set of runes appeared in the air, taking the elf's arm from existence. His sword fell to the ground and the elf howled, clutching at his shoulder where his arm had been.

"Silence! Well, these ugly strangers have some fight in them," the leader asserted, leaning in close to examine Mizuki's face. Then he straightened up. "Very well! We're taking them back to the camp, and we'll figure out what to do with them. Erimas will figure out what to do."

An elf blinked. "Are you sure, sir? She is very busy, and may not have time for..."

"She can make time!" the elf leader barked in the other's face. Then he motioned, walking off into the woods. "Let's go." At the same time, Morrel's thrown knife was removed from its tree and returned to its owner.

Morrel undid his Oblivion Ring, restoring the elf's arm in a flash. That elf glared at Morrel but didn't say anything as both Morrel and Mizuki were dragged off into the woods.

*o*o*o*o*

"I have to say, it's pretty convenient how you can use that vanishing ring when you're stressed," Mizuki admitted, not long after she had been given an antidote for her poison. She and Morrel sat in the confines of a tent in the elf camp, guarded by four sword-wielding hunter-elves. Both humans were bound in vine-ropes.

Morrel once again tested the strength of his bonds, but he could not break free. I can't use my naturalizing spell on these binds because they're natural plants. Well, it would be rather difficult to escape this camp even if I freed myself. "Yeah, I guess. Still, it's the mark of a great battlemage to not need the verses anymore." He hung his head. "I have yet to reach that point. Raphael discarded verses when he was only 10."

Mizuki made her ever-present smirk. "That must really sting. Jealous?"

"H-hey," Morrel squirmed against his ropes, irritated. "That's not nice. But... yeah. It stings."

Before he could say anything else, the tent flap opened and an elf entered, slicing Morrel and Mizuki's bindings with a hunting knife. "You will be brought before the Perfect of our camp," he declared, hoisting Morrel and Mizuki up. "Follow."

The Perfect turned out to be an elf lady with dazzling beauty, her horns smooth and graceful and her body lithe. She regarded Morrel and Mizuki with half-closed eyes, her lips parted slightly. Morrel tried not to blush before her deep charms. No wonder the elves defer to her, if they really value appearance so much!

"Jeez, Morrel. Don't gawk," Mizuki muttered bitterly in Morrel's ear. Ignoring her, the Perfect took a step closer, pondering Morrel closely.

"You call yourself human? Not Kithkin or elf or changeling?" she asked, pointing at him.

"No." Morrel shook his head. "And I insist that we mean no harm to elf-kind."

"But you have still intruded in our Gilt-Leaf Wood," the Perfect reasoned. "Surely, this demands retribution of some sort."

Mizuki snapped. "Let us go already! I'm tired of your beauty-freaks."

The other elves stiffened and reached for their sword hilts at this affront, but the Perfect merely smiled and raised her hands. "I am a lady of fairness, after all. A test of strength and willpower would impress me... and earn my blessing to walk the Gilt-Leaf Wood without any trouble. What say you?"

Morrel's eyes widened. "A ritual battle?" Now she's talking! Finally, someone with an idea of honor and justice.

"Yes," the Perfect nodded. "If you should win, you will have my word, as Perfect Erimas, that you will forever be a friend of the Gilt Leaf elves. Will you accept?"

Gesturing at his Planeswalker friend, Morrel asked, "Doesn't she get to try if she wants?"

Erimas blanched. "Never, human! She is tainted with unbearable evil in her arm. No blight may show itself in our forest. It must be you."

Mizuki's expression soured, but Morrel quickly agreed to keep things smooth. "I will accept," he said.

*o*o*o*o*

In another, larger tent, Mizuki sat on a wooden stool as Morrel did a few pre-battle stretches, then he settled down to meditate. The terms of the engagement rang in his head, as Erimas had explained them. Mizuki watched in amusement. "Nervous?" she asked.

Morrel finished muttering a prayer to Asha, the legendary angel who had long ago battled Malfegor, then stood, removing his glasses. "To be honest, yes. I'm not allowed to use my throwing knives or anything. In straight-on melee battles, I've never been the best."

"Oh, please," Mizuki rolled her eyes, whimsically digging her toes into the dirt. "Chickening out already? Has Raphael really beaten you that many times?"

"Don't pry," Morrel offered brightly, but his gut squirmed in anxiety all the same. He tossed off his battlemage cloak, then slipped off his leather vest. Last, he undid the buttons to his long-sleeved shirt and placed it with his other clothes, revealing his somewhat well-built torso.

Mizuki flinched, turning away with a toss of her black hair. "Wh-what the hell, Morrel? No warning?"

Morrel could see her blush and he grinned. "What's the matter? Haven't you seen a man without his shirt on before?"

Realizing that this was payback for earlier in Kamigawa, Mizuki made an embarrassed chuckle. "Very funny," she said, folding her arms. "Get out there and win us our freedom already."

"Already ahead of you," Morrel said, exiting the tent and approaching a wide circle drawn into a forest clearing with a sword. The carved ring was, by Morrel's estimate, twenty feet in diameter, enough room to move around but difficult to escape the enemy for long. A few trees were at the circle's circumference. Morrel stood at his appointed side of the circle, and another elf approached the other side directly ahead of Morrel, a bare chested man about Morrel's size.

"Now, warriors, your test of wit and strength is about to commence," Erimas declared, surrounded by her admirers. "Morrel, why are you worthy?"

The Bant battlemage took a deep breath. "I have trained since a very young age for honorable combat, to serve my king with unwavering loyalty and courage. Upon victory or death, I serve my liege and the justice of combat."

Satisfied, Erimas turned to the other elf. "And you, Lazimas?"

The male elf called Lazimas stood tall, his head held high in obvious contempt for the human before him. "I am as graceful as a deer leaping a stream and as deadly as the wolf waiting in ambush on the other side," he intoned. "This I have proven many times to my fellows. Warriors such as I are the eyes of the forest as well as its unsheathed claws. I have won the respect and admiration of many, even envy."

"Most magnificent," Erimas smiled, and the other elves voiced their support for their champion. "Now, Morrel, Lazimas, begin!"

Morrel lowered himself slightly and raised his hands, prepared to read his opponent's movements. He was caught by surprise when Lazimas cleared the circle in one pounce, his foot smashing into Morrel's head. Gasping, Morrel tumbled awkwardly backwards, head ringing. These elves have cloven, hoof-like feet! Hurts to get kicked by that. Lazimas swung his foot down to bash in Morrel's head, but the movement was slower than before. Morrel twisted out of the way, lashing a quick counter kick at Lazimas' flank. The elf slid out of the way, then swept his leg to break Morrel's knees. The Bant battlemage pushed off the ground, raising his legs to avoid the blow.

"Most nimble," Lazimas noted, then shoved his head forth and rammed his horns into Morrel's gut. Morrel felt his chest ache as he stumbled back, barely on his feet. He stumbled back like a drunkard, and Lazimas dealt a few, rapid blows that had Morrel cowering by the circle's edge, aching all over.

I have to be faster! He's both fast and strong, Morrel grumbled. Damn him! Lazimas charged, swinging a foot through the air. Morrel blocked it with his own kick, both contestants' legs crossing each other. Morrel wrenched Lazimas' leg away and struck with his fist, but the elf was faster, and his other foot bashed into Morrel's shoulder, throwing the punch off-balance.

Furious, Morrel swung a few more blows, trying to catch up to Lazimas' rapid movements. His blind attack did little, however, and Lazimas struck Morrel's chest with another punch, sending Morrel reeling back yet again.

Lazimas stood tall, beckoning with a hand. "What is the matter, human Morrel?" he asked. "Finished already? I am ashamed. You are the first of your kind I have ever seen, and this is all I get?"

Morrel gasped for breath, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He had a few dark blue bruises on his chest, but no bones broken. He flexed his muscles to will himself back to fighting condition, muscles rippling under his skin. "No, not yet. Ready for more?"

Lazimas, in fact, resumed the offensive, but Morrel could start to read the patterns of the elf's attacks. I'm getting used to his speed. I can find an opening! Morrel narrowly dodged a kick, then blocked a punch and threw his own punch. Lazimas kicked Morrel's fist aside, then swung his own fist at Morrel's head, his fist a mere blur. Morrel's eyes widened, and he could track the fist going through the air. He twisted out of the way and rammed his fist into Lazimas' gut, and the elf doubled over from the sudden blow, clutching at his belly.

"How's that?" Morrel taunted, then Lazimas stood upright again, his face alive with glee.

"Very good!" the elf declared, then attacked again, darting from place to place to overwhelm Morrel's guard. Morrel felt himself fall behind again, and he winced as he endured another blow to the chest, and a hard kick to the leg. He started to fall, but changed his collapse into a duck, and Lazimas threw a kick that swished through empty air. Morrel seized Lazimas' leg and shifted his momentum, forcing the elf further forward. Morrel drew back his leg and slammed a powerful kick onto Lazimas' back, the solid thud echoing through the clearing. Lazimas tumbled onto his stomach, but was still in the ring.

Morrel took this chance to catch his breath, sweat running down his bare skin. His scalp itched and his hair felt damp with sweat. It took all I had to get him down, but this match isn't over. The first person to surrender, get knocked out of the ring, or become "ugly" will lose. But... how can I do that? Lazimas is holding back. I can feel it!

Lazimas got to his feet with more strength and grace than Morrel liked. "Let this charade end. I will show you respect by using my full ability to end this quickly," the elf said, and a second later, Morrel was on the ground, amazed by the hurricane of blows that Lazimas unleashed. Morrel got to his feet, but his knees buckled and he almost fell over again. It was all he could do to avoid Lazimas' blows, slowly backing up toward a tree. I can't keep this up! Just a few more hits and I'll –

Another blow smashed into Morrel's head and his vision flickered, his head aching beyond belief. He angrily swung back, making his blows as random as possible. Lazimas evaded the sloppy attacks and knocked aside Morrel's arms, then doubled the human over with a punch to the stomach. Morrel stumbled back to the tree's trunk, horror welling in his stomach. Every time I feel Lazimas hit me, I remember the time Azrael crushed me and humiliated me. Why can't I get the strength to resist evil and prove myself? What am I... just a weakling?

"This should do it," Lazimas figured, drawing his fist back for a finishing blow. Beyond trying to counter-attack, Morrel could only watch the blow go through the air, watching how Lazimas' body moved to complete the attack. Then, he saw it: the path the fist would take, the balance of Lazimas' body as the blow unfolded. Before he could even think, Morrel slipped away from the blow, almost seeing the momentum of Lazimas' attack like an aura. He seized the elf's arm and tapped into that channel, forcing Lazimas to lurch forward in a new way. Morrel positioned himself behind the elf, letting go of his arm as Lazimas' fist passed the tree, his face close to the trunk. Morrel raised his left leg and bunched up his muscles, then lashed out, striking Lazimas' head and smashing it against the tree with all the strength he had left.

Lazimas shrieked as his head was bashed into the tree's hard branch, a tremor running down his body. He stumbled away, all fighting spirit lost. With a look of horror, he slowly raised a hand to his face, his fingers running over his broken and crooked nose. Blood ran down his face from his twisted and mashed nose, and his eyes widened in shock at his disfigurement.

"It is done!" Erimas declared. "Lazimas, your beauty has been tarnished, while Morrel remains beautiful. The human is the winner!"

Morrel didn't expect a storm of cheers from the elves, and even Lazimas bowed his head in respect. "We were wrong about you, beautiful stranger," the elf said, using a new term for Morrel. "I am humbled. The Gilt Leaf is a welcome place for you and your friend."

Morrel slumped to his knees, trying to focus past the pain of his countless bruises. "Th-that's great."

*o*o*o*o*

The sun was still high in the sky when Morrel and Mizuki departed the elf camp, the former re-clothed and healed, the latter still looking grouchy.

"They should have let me fight in that duel," Mizuki grumbled as she tromped along, her bare feet soft on the grass. "I saw all kinds of ways I could have forced the elf out of the ring."

"Well, I still did won, didn't I?" Morrel smiled, earning him a swat on the shoulder. "Ouch! I'm still sore!"

"Whatever," Mizuki shrugged. "Still... you did well. Even though you seemed to lose yourself several times."

Morrel frowned. "Getting beaten by him reminded me of what Azrael had done to us. I couldn't bear to let it happen again. It just made me mad."

"Sheesh, I thought your honorable Bant training would stamp that out of you," Mizuki figured. "You were right about that grudge thing. You can't let anything go."

"Oh come off it," Morrel tried to change subject. Out of his pocket he drew out the elves' gift to him, a thick tree twig infused with magic. "This will help us find the way. I just think about a Kithkin town, and..."

He snapped the twig in half, and a stream of green and blue sparks of mana drifted out like bees, focusing into a trail that wound through the forest. "There. We just follow that, and we'll find a town. They called this a wanderer's twig."

"Yeah, and this thing is called 'moonglove extract', according to the label," Mizuki added, drawing a sealed vial of thick liquid out of her own pocket. She read more of the label. "Wow. A concentrated drop can kill a giant!"

"Wh-what the? The elves just gave that to you?" Morrel gaped. "Such a treasure?" Seeing the playful smile on Mizuki's face, Morrel became stern. "You stole that from them?"

"That's right," Mizuki declared proudly, tossing the vial up and down as she walked. "Stupid pointy-ears were jerks the whole time. This is my revenge. After all, such a thing could come in handy."

Morrel shuddered. "Those elves had such grace and a hunter's instinct. You just swiped that off someone?"

"Wasn't that hard. I've been a thief and infiltrator for years," Mizuki reminded Morrel. "Let me do my thing. My skills can come in handy, you know."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Morrel winced. "And according to the elves, this Plane is called Lorwyn. I like that name."

"I guess it's okay," Mizuki shrugged. "I hate the people in it, though."

"Of course."

*o*o*o*o*

Cards in this chapter... Forest (Steve Prescott), Seething Pathblazer, Gilt Leaf Ambush, Nath's Elite, Hindering Light, Oblivion Ring, Imperious Perfect, Elvish Warrior, Wanderer's Twig, Moonglove Extract