The vixen breathed heavy as she triumphed again and again over this foreign landscape. She had been hiking for hours yet had seen or heard no sign of either of her two competitors left. All she knew for certain was that time was running out, and very soon one of the three remaining Royalists would be left here forever as a token of sacrifice to Kew, and the flesh scarabs. The storm really picked up as brush and debris flew everywhere smacking all against her body. Her bones were chilled and her fingers numb and stiff at best. She had to get out of shelter soon before it would get any worse. After a bit more of hiking she stumbled across some kind of clearing in the center of the forest.
Krystal took cover as the tall and thick trees shielded her weary body from the cold and heat had been entrapped inside. She could hardly feel her numb arms crossed tightly over her chest as she kept walking deeper and deeper into the forest. When she felt as though she was far enough into the hiding ground did she finally sit down leaning on the back of a tall tree taking of her weapons and moved her arms away from her chest. She felt around the trees as the bark was as dry as it possibly could even through the storm. But hardly any of the storm reached this far deep into this barricade of trees. As best as she could Krystal took one of her blades and chipped and peeled off as much of the bark as she could. She went to another nearby tree and started sawing off the limbs as best as she could to be the base of for her fire.
Krystal's body may have been trapped in the now but her mind had drifted far way into the future of what will soon play out. Only eight Royalists to go, who could possibly be the sole survivor of this whole damn tournament? Who will those eight survivors of this round be? And what of Nemesis? What could he possibly have planned out for Krystal if she were to survive this round? The frozen vixen tried as best as she could stumbling with her flint trying to ignite the fire. It took her a full thirty minutes to finally get an igniting spark but the good news was her body had warmed up in the labor of doing so.
But the downside was Krystal had no food source with her as she tried to regain her strength, the energy she had been burning was from her sleep and the little food she managed to scavenge from the already defeated and now corpse Royalists.
"I have to make it," She could only whisper to herself pleading to make it to the end, "I just have to. Please body just hold on a bit longer." The cackling thunder diminished and the rain lightened but not by much. Krystal watched the burning embers and sparking flames rise and suddenly vanish into nothingness, simply into thin air. Just like how her life had went these past few years…
She was at the top of the universe, practically the queen of Corneria with Fox as her king and mate. Then he made his selfish act of 'love' as he had pushed her aside. And once she got even with him her everlasting fame and glory and charisma from the civilians perished along with her true name in the Lylat System. Betraying Lylat's 'Holy Savior' made her an outcast, it took her so far down the path of loneliness that she had to start all over with a new career, a new personality and a whole new name. And look where it had gotten her…
She thought about how stupid and foolish she was to let her life go down this far into the abyss of shadows. She made a vow right there and then, if she would make it out of here alive; she would start over with Fox. Start over and forget all about his pushing away to protect her. Forget all about her betrayal for making him do the dirty work and taking the glory. They would be mature, and come to one realization. It was in the past, they would not blame one another but each other. It wasn't just a one-sided argument nor confrontation, they were both equally responsible. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind after all…
The sound of a bloody scream pierced the night sky as Krystal looked toward the direction at had came from. It had to be close, no more then a hundred yards away, it had to be Thrysta…The vixen immediately abandoned her fire and headed for the direction, if Thrysta was in trouble perhaps it was her chance to finish her off from whatever trouble she had gotten herself into, and avoid Crypt all together. Adrenaline and confidence pumped through Krystal like a round-the-clock shift as she moved quickly through the darkened jungle but another sound tuned in louder and louder as she neared the Royalist. The sound of strong running water picked up in Krystal's mind as she came closer to where the scream had come from. She came to a knee behind some brush and bushes and passed through to see what was on the other side.
About a twenty foot river bed laid before Krystal as she looked around for her target. The river ran as it became larger in width as it neared the rocky cliff that lead to one hell of a massive waterfall, and there in the center near death's watery edge was her target; but also the other optional target. Thrysta and Crypt dueled one another near the edge of the waterfall on its rocky base just slightly above the cliff. The two were soaked from the rain and there was no telling how long they had been fighting but it looked like their little battle was going to end real soon as the waterfall was calling one of their names. Thrysta held a war-baton in each paw as Crypt had forged a stronger, more broader sword to face the Royalists with. It was definitely the type of blade you didn't want to try and block and didn't want to take a head-on collision with. The vixen was on the defensive at the moment as she dodged fatal blows but couldn't connect anything as well.
She struck low for his ankles but as he dodged a second blow connected across the face. A huge cut that ran from his right eye socket all the down to the tip of his nose as the blood dripped down just like rain. With both paws on the hilt did he strike horizontally as Thrysta jumped back, he was pushing her back toward the rocky cliff. Just as they were right near the edge did he strike low and then again high as if pummeling out her brains. Thrysta dodged the low assault but didn't have enough reaction time to block the higher strike; the survival mode vixen crossed her war-batons and shielded her head as the blade slammed straight onto the center structure bringing her to a knee. But the surface was slick and the vixen lost her balance and face-planted with the ground.
Death came from above if she didn't move quickly, he was looking to impale her into the stone ground but she wasn't looking for that type of service. Thrysta quickly came to her feet just before his sword dug its way through the stone like butter. He was now left wide open as Thrysta thought she had him, but the sword in the stone also created an intervening structure for blows. Crypt merely ducked behind his blade from the first strike, and twisted Thrysta's wrist halting the second blow. Instead of trying to impale the vixen with her own weapon he merely struck her side, the side sharp angles would surely do more then enough damage to keep her halted for the moment. It felt like her ribs were crushed and blood gushed out from her right side like an explosion of crimson rain. He kicked her straight into the center of her chest sending her over the edge of the waterfall dropping her weapon in the process, he wasn't about to go down with her.
Her death fearing scream was hardly audible through the heavy rain but it was a scream Krystal would never forget. The scream of approaching death, her body was lost in the waters below and there was no way to hear it over the roar of the falls. Krystal breathed easily thinking it was all over just as Crypt fell to a knee and took grasp of his blade. But something was wrong here, minutes passed quickly in Krystal's mind, why hadn't the match ended? Where was the cannon fire? Is it possible they could have missed it over the roar of the falls and in the impaling rain that fell? No it couldn't be, it was too loud to miss.
Crypt stood there for what seemed like good hours yet it was only a few minutes, he couldn't believe it himself. Thrysta somehow lived through the wound he had given her and the enormous fall to the pit of the depths of these waters. He wouldn't give her this time to recover those fatal blows. Crypt quickly took a hold of his blade and crossed the river bed in a place where the current wasn't so strong. If Thrysta was alive he would find her before she could recover from this. Krystal couldn't believe it either, how desperate could that animal be to live through something like that? She didn't know if she could live through it herself, it was one hell of a fall and the wound left in her side wasn't pretty. But she lived either way, and now it was time to hunt again.
Krystal waited for Crypt to take a good lead before she tried to figure out a way down the falls and search for Thrysta. Eventually she came across a natural rocky stairway down but the rocks were slick and it was a good ways down from each step, she would have to be careful and watch her step or else Crypt and Thrysta would be the two remaining Royalists by default. About halfway down Krystal had to take a small breathing break but she knew she couldn't. Time was running out and if she didn't hurry Thrysta's trail would go cold. It was there that the vixen realized she had been packing to much equipment.
None of the items were heavy as a singular piece but put together and it became quite the load, at least for this type of environment where you had to be quick and nimble. She could only afford to take the essentials. She had several knives tucked away and discarded them all accept for one, and chucked them into the falls that engulfed them immediately. She had many poisonous darts but probably wouldn't need them; she kept six and discarded the others as well. The flint was still useful but the satchel wasn't and was now making its way down into the pit of the waterfall. Krystal kept her twin blades but repositioned them over her back instead of at her hips as it would make it easier to climb down. With her load a little lightened Krystal began to make her way down the rocks yet again but as she stepped down her footing slipped and her grip failed.
Krystal was sliding down the rocky cliff practically on her stomach until she finally was able to get a hold of a ledge and was dangling in the air still several hundred feet from the ground, she wanted to scream to make the pain more tolerable but that would give away her position; all she did was cover her mouth and let the tears flow down as they blended in with her wet face from the rain. Her grip was failing soon and if she didn't think of something fast it would be all over for her. Krystal reached for one of her blades with the paw she used to silence her scream but in the process her grip failed and she headed for the ground and surely her death.
The desperate vixen drove her blade as deep into the rocky cliff as she could to try and halt her departure, it slowed her down but she was still heading for the ground. Krystal reached for her second blade and drove it straight into the mountain side as she still slid down the path with sparks above and loud screeches wailing. It took a good minute of sparks flying and the horrible screeches until she finally stopped about twenty feet above the ground, her blades must have been wrecked but at least her life had been spared; for now, they were truly remarkable pieces of stone. So durable yet so fragile at the same time. Krystal breathed quickly as the pain was great and right in the pit of her stomach; tears came down quickly as she grunted loudly but not loud enough to be overheard from the falls. She blinked hard and fast several times and with her eyes wide looked down and carefully planted her foot on a ledge. From that point on she used her blades to climb down until she finally reached the bottom and cradled into a ball at its rocky feet.
It was to dark to see for Krystal to fully understand the wound but it hurt, it hurt a lot. She had been dealt a great deal of a blow and it weakened her greatly. But she had to hold on; she couldn't lose consciousness now; not when the twenty-four hour deadline was so close. Krystal picked up her downed figure and walked behind the waterfall to try and clean the wound. She found many leaves as crumpled them up with the purity of the falls and applied pressure to her wound. It stung tremendously but it was needed to stop the bleeding. Her vision was poor but with her animal sights she could tell it was a nasty gash. But time was running out and Thryta's trail was getting colder by the minute. The vixen found a couple of larger leaves around the size an arm and the width of your head and fastened herself a wide belt. She tide it tightly around her waist and stomach to keep the pressure on and keep herself from bleeding to death. But her structure was weakened and she wouldn't be able to avoid attacks that required precise bending actions. But it didn't matter now, it was all or nothing.
Krystal walked behind the waterfall on its opposite side she had made her departure from and noticed right near the waterfall was another opened cave. This cave however was pitch black and looked as though it ran much deeper then the cave she had just inhabited from. Roots of some type of tree took over its entrance, the same type of roots she used to make her fire earlier; the stuff that was naturally resilient to water. Working fast Krystal formed a branch into a medium sized torch and formed a bowl shape at the top and took some bark and moss to be her kindling tinder. She entered the cave but stayed near the mouth and scrapped her flint on its side until sparks caught on the top of the torch and its orange glow filled the mouth. This was as good as any place to search for Thrysta; she had to be somewhere close as she couldn't have gotten far with that wound. But she would keep her guard up; Krystal withdrew a sword in one paw and the torch in her other and slowly walked deeper into the cave.
She had been walking for awhile as it was the same old scenery, she didn't like it. The local animals would need shelter from the storm, this place looked like it would be a prime place to take cover, so why weren't there any wild life? Krystal passed by nothing but rocks and some vegetation life for what seemed like hours in this deep, dark cave. Her heart beat in a fast pattern and breathed uneasy, something wasn't quite right about this place.
The sound of a single water drop impacting the ground floor from above caused Krystal's heart to jump, and swing at the darkness behind her with the torch only to find nothing. She had been following a cold trail for far to long in the dark and being a bit jumpy was to be expected. Krystal turned back around continuing down the dark path until a thought crossed her mind.
Wait a minute, how could there be any water this far- Krystal's eyes went wide as she defended herself before it would be too late. The vixen swung behind her as blades clashed and sparks flew. The torch revealed a very angry Thrysta as she was at a stand still with Krystal as she had somehow retrieved her second weapon. Her emerald jades held fiery temptation in her eyes as she had pushed Krystal up against the cave wall, causing her to let go of the torch as it rolled away off deeper into the cave leaving a limited light source for the fighters. She formed a barrier wall with her maces as the ends drove into Krytal's stomach wound. She could feel the bleeding taking effect on her strength and her willpower to not crumble over. Her arms were pinned and she needed to think fast or else her time would be up. Luckily she was still in arms length from Thrysta as Krystal grabbed one of the darts tucked away on her waist and jammed it into her forearm from below.
Thrysta instantly let go of her death grip and backed away grunting as the poison burned through her veins, forcing her to let go of her right mace. Krystal retaliated by punching straight across her face falling the vixen to the ground but she had to stop at the moment, her belt had been crumpled up and the blood was flowing down ever so nicely. The blue vixen entered desperation mode as she had to get rid of Thrysta before she would lose consciousness or just bleed to death. The lighting made it difficult to spot exactly how Thrysta was positioned but it didn't matter as it was time to finish her while she was down. Thrysta had lost track of her weapons in the darkness and couldn't afford to be searching now, but she still had other means to fight.
As the vixen on the ground stumbled to her feet her opponent withdrew her second twin sword and was ready to strike her down. But as Krystal raised her arm in bloodlust she was suddenly struck from the shadows of Thrysta. A razor sharp knife concealed in her boot had made its mark on Krystal's face. She instantly dropped both her weapons and covered her right eye, she could feel the blood making her face moist as she stumbled over the torch. The cut was deep and ran vertical with a slight slant on her right eye. She tried to open her right eye but not only was the vision extremely blurry but blood flowed over her eyelid making it impossible to see. Thrysta found her way on top of Krystal and held her at throat point as she raised the knife in the air to pierce her heart. With the dim lighting all she could see was the shadows of her destroyer as the knife gleamed in the light, gleaming with excitement as it made its way down toward her heart.
Krystal shifted her body weight from underneath and Thrysta had missed her heart but struck her in the left arm instead. The blade cut clean and deep into the hide as Krystal let out a bloody scream in the dark. After realizing she had missed the heart Thrysta pulled out the blade to try again. But as the destroyer came to claim Krystal's life something went wrong. Thrysta was instantly pushed and up against the cave wall as another being had come to join the fight. The black vixen could hardly make out the shape of who it was by the dim lighting until he moved her across the cave wall in the fiery flames, it was none other then Crypt who had crashed her party.
"Sorry to ruin the fun!" He taunted her as Crypt connected a breath taking punch into the pit of her stomach, and threw her toward the opposite wall. Thrysta landed near one of her war-batons as Crypt withdrew his broadsword as he headed on over toward her. Krystal took this time to try and recover and find her own weapons but without the vision of her right eye was it was extremely difficult. She found the torch and one of her blades and took one in each paw, but froze as she heard something she wasn't expecting; more party crashers.
The sound of some type of hissing came from deeper within the cave as Krystal stood to try and spot out what it was; only it spotted her out first. Out from the blackness came two purple glowing orbs that were followed by the hissing noise, no wonder there was no wildlife in here. This cave was the home of some type of creature and they've been disturbed and intruded by the Royalists. The glowing orbs came closer as two more on its left glowed the same purple, and then two more on the right formed as well. All with malice in their pupils and the scent of blood on their tongues. The sound of the hissing sent chills down Krystal's spine as she backed away for them only to come forward. Thrysta and Crypt stopped their bloody brawl as they were equally afraid and began to back away as well. Crypt tried to run for it until he was caught off from the same glowing orbs and the same hissing sound as two more creatures blocked its path.
The three Royalists stood there to each other's backs as they were surrounded, and the creatures swept down on them like a plague. The hissing finally turned into a might roar and the creature stepped forward into the light. A large serpent like creature stood forth as its black and silver stripped scales gleamed in the dark. Sharp claws were drawn forth from its two frontal legs as they stood up walking around the Royalists. Saliva dripped from their scaly lips but as a single droplet of venomous drool crashed down into the cave flooring and created a whole six inches in radius.
"They're basilisks! Don't stare directly into their eyes or else you're dead!" Crypt warned as he looked to the two basilisks in the way of his path to freedom.
"Actually go ahead and stare into their eyes, it makes our job easier and we can get out this hellhole." Thrysta readied her weapons as she sensed that the creatures were just moments away from attacking.
"No such luck." Krystal held her blade ready and the torch high as the fire had shed light on these creatures. The one on Krystal's right instantly struck out, wanting to crush her body in two and pick up the pieces later. The three broke off but had to stay close as Krystal had the only light source. She dodged a fatal blow as the serpent went crashing head first into the cave wall. Its ally struck instantaneously as Krystal faced the beast and struck horizontally below its head. It let out a roar of pain as its head went thrashing left and right, it appeared as though Krystal had made a fatal blow across its neckline, and possibly cut the jugular of the beast. Blood flowed like a sprinkler as its head continued to thrash until it finally lay upon the ground, still twitching for the moment.
Thrysta had to deal with only a single beast as it came striking for her legs looking to cripple her. She merely dodged and headed for the beasts side smacking its left hind leg with the head of her mace. With all her might the black vixen smacked the limb straight off as the beast leaned toward its left side. Thrysta jumped over its large body toward its right frontal leg and smacked it clear off as well. With thrown off balance the beast let out a roar of pain and collapsed on the ground with nowhere to go. Thrysta then jumped on the beasts back and impaled the bladed end of her mace straight into the back of its neck as the basilisk collapsed instantly on the cave floor.
Crypt had two beasts to deal with and the beast on his left decided to strike first. Its long scaly neck went for a bite at tasty flesh but the lupine dodged and drove his broadsword straight through its neck as the beast collapsed on the ground. But he was now defenseless as the second beast came thrashing in for its chance at dinner. Crypt had to abandon his weapon to avoid being a late night snack as the beast tried to wrap him around the weapon impaled through its fallen kin. With its head turned away from the lupine Royalist Crypt jumped on the back of its neck trying to strangle the beast into submission and into death. The basilisk let out a loud roar as an insect was wrapping its arms around its neck and went thrashing its head wildly into the air. It swung its head like it had gone insane but couldn't shake this flea. The basilisk went crashing into the cave walls as Crypt was slammed up against the rocky barriers in an attempt to shake him loose. He was cut all over his body in a matter of moments as blood was flying through the air but he remained vigilant, the beast was tiring and would need oxygen as now was the time to squeeze harder.
The basilisk went straight up to the cave ceiling and smashed Crypt up against the small spikes that dwelled above. The crippling effect took over the lupine's strength as he began to let go. The beast thrashed back up against the walls and in a matter of seconds Crypt was thrown across the cave with his back colliding against the wall, sliding down as blood followed the outline of his body. He breathed heavy as every breath of air was a struggle but was still alive. He looked up in horror as foot-long jaws of death came for him. The basilisk clamped hard on his body as he let out an extremely loud scream that echoed through the cave. The fangs of the basilisk drove deep into his body impaling entire bodily organs as venom spread through his body like wildfire. The pain was so immense it was mind numbing as his insides felt like they had caught fire being merely salt to the wounds. His bloody scream had caught the two vixen's attention as Krystal had just finished off slicing the second basilisks head clear off and the two came rushing to his aid.
A vixen stood at both sides of the basilisk as they quickly went to work trying to free the death-gripped Royalist in its clamped jaws. As they hacked at the serpents limbs it let out a bloody roar from inside its mouth but wouldn't let go of its prey, even if it meant death. The two vixens cut straight through all four legs and Krystal hacked off its spiky tail as the basilisk finally couldn't take it. In the middle of a screeching roar it had thrown Crypt to its side as its head fell straight for the ground. The beast let out a moan of horrible pain and suffering as the two vixens walked toward its head. Thrysta drove her bladed mace straight through its brain as the blood gushed up and out, killing the beast instantly.
The horrible cry of Crypt brought them back toward his side as they both walked toward the fallen Royalist, how could anyone have lived through that horrendous assault. When light was shed upon his body Krystal instantly looked away, he survived all right but wouldn't be for long. Even half blinded Krystal could see bone and internal organs that were clearly visible as they had been practically ripped apart from the inside out. His arms and legs were horrible disfigured as his chest looked like he had several dozen stab wounds placed all around his body. He cried tears of immense pain as the Thrysta looked away and back towards Krystal.
The two only nodded at one another as Krystal handed her single blade over and Thrysta took it within her grasp. She slowly placed it over Crypts neckline as she was doing this simply to put him out of his misery. She drove the blade through with ease; and within moments his silent sobs were done. Thrysta had officially killed the lupine and saved him from tortures pain.
Instantly the two vixens were engulfed within the same blue containment field, Krystal could breathe easily now as the match was over, and she had moved on.
"Congratulations Royalists! You barely made it before your twenty-four hour deadline would be up and now it is time to move on to the final round! This is for all the marbles as you final eight are the best of the best the Death Tour has to offer! Welcome to the finals! You will arrive back at the stadium in just a moment!"
The two vixens looked at one another as both looked relieved; they didn't want to discover what kind of horrible way they would be pitted up against one another. They worked together here, but alliances were over and done with and now the real competition would begin ever so shortly. Only eight remained and only one would climb to the top and be crowned the Death Tour Champion.
"To the finals!" Thrysta announced vigorously obviously ready to do battle even after this round hadn't treated her well. She was instantly transported back toward the stadium leaving Krystal in the darkness. She looked up to the darkened cave ceiling and closed her eyes, only imagining the impossible. The final round, the very last trial she would have to overcome until her freedom would be met. It was too good to be true.
"To the end." Krystal was finally transported out of her battle arena and back toward the starting area. The torch fell to the ground next to Crypt's slouched body and shed little light now as it was about to burn out completely. Not a moment later the same scarabs popped out as literally hundreds had came this time, happy for the feast left behind in their honor. Dozens of scarabs completely covered the bodies of Crypt and the basilisks from head to toe as they didn't waste a single moment not eating their full on fresh corpses.
Author's Notes
Sorry this one took so long, I couldn't get a really good writing chunk of time until just now.
Hurray for my 50th chapter! I never really intended for the story to get so long (Well at least not this long with still a decent portion of the story to go) and I can't believe it's come to this! The final round! =D Which of these brave souls will walk away alive out this hellhole of a game! Who will face who? And what surprises still remain for our fallen champion?
Stay tuned for all the death and destruction! ;)
Thanks for everyone who has been sticking to this story, it's a privelage to write for your viewing pleasure!
Hope this one is a good one!
Until next time!
