Quite a bit happens in these rounds, some of it good, some of it bad, and some of it just plain funny. We see the fates of Draggy and Starky when the kitchen needs some ingredients, there's a rousing game of football, and Radius and Zoah realize something isn't right. And just what is Lynx up to along with the mysterious "hooded figure"? Find out in this newest installment as the story takes shape even further. Thanks to Destio and TenkoStar17 for the editing of these rounds.
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Round 15 – Guile (S). Harle (S), Draggy (K)
The midday sun was out in full force as all the survivor entrants were busy going about their daily activities. Leah was smashing rocks, Funguy was chopping wood, and Doc was making...medicine (at least that's what he said he was doing, but after sniffing the aroma wafting out from his tent, people became strangely hungry).
Harle was just beginning to run her messaging service for the day. Her first stop was over at the kitchen for Leena, as she had a few special requests. As Harle moved the flap aside to walk into the spacious tent, she saw a figure wearing a bandanna stumbling out. Serge was holding his hand over his head, as if recovering from a hangover, yet he was known for leading the clean life.
"Zat iz strange," remarked Harle. She didn't pay the boy much attention, though. "Per'aps 'e waz gambling last night, non?"
"Oh, Harle, you're just in time," called out Leena. She was in the back, standing over a large cauldron, occasionally leaning over to throw a few more ingredients around and to stir the stew. "I need you to pick up a few more ingredients before I can start cooking dinner." She then handed Harle a list.
"All of zees?" Harle inquired, beginning to do a mental calculation of her fee.
"No, just the ones that have a star by them," Leena explained. "The rest have already been taken care of."
Suddenly the viscous fluid sputtered, and a splash of it hit the ingredient list. The hot liquid burnt Harle's hand a little, so she quickly dropped the page.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Leena apologized. "That means the meal needs those extra ingredients added fairly soon. I'll pay you double if you can pick them up quick."
"Double, non?" Harle chimed, her eyes lighting up. She then bent down to pick up the paper. "Do not worry, Mademoiselle Leena, Harle will get ze t'ings you need."
Harle then left the tent and winked as she left. She studied the list, but found the ink had run a little from the soup that had hit it. She could still make out most of what was written, though.
She began collecting what was needed, teleporting around the island on whim. In twenty minutes she had gotten all the items requested except for two lines. These ingredients were very badly blurred and try as Harle might, she could not make them out. Finally, she resigned herself to outside help and went to find the master decipherer.
"Wake up, Monsieur Guile," she called out to the sleeping form.
The magician blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around, still groggy. He shifted his mask into place and brushed the dirt from the night off his sleeves. Finally, when he deemed himself passable, he addressed the harlequin.
"How can I help you then, Harle?" he asked.
"I need you to decipher zees t'ings," Harle said, holding out the paper. Guile then took the paper from her.
"Hmmmmm..." he wondered aloud as he studied the paper for a few minutes. Finally, he came up with an answer. "This one says lizard clippings and this one says dragon tongue."
"Where will I find zees two?" wondered Harle.
"Well, I can show you where the lizard clippings are, but as far as the dragon tongue goes..." Guile laughed. "You might want to have me along for that one."
"Why iz zat, Monsieur Drunk?" Harle teased. Guile rolled his eyes at the comment.
"We'll need to get it off Draggy, that's why," he said with a smirk. With that he twirled his rod around to have it come to rest floating in front of him. "I'll do it for three quarters."
"Non, one quarter."
"Two-thirds."
"Half."
"Deal," agreed Guile, as they shook. With that they found the baby dragon sunbathing on a rock.
"Hey, little guy," Guile said, dripping with friendliness.
"Hey, drrrunk," greeted Draggy. "What do you want?"
"Just to play a little game, my friend," Guile reassured him. With that he bent over by Harle's ear and whispered, "On my mark, take your dagger and cut. We'll be in and out lickety-split." Harle nodded to indicate she understood.
"Let's have a little tongue sticking out contest," Guile said, flashing his smile. "The longest tongue wins."
The little dragon laughed. "You can't beat, Drrraggy. But I agrrree."
Guile went first and stuck out his puny human tongue. Draggy roared with laughter. Then, Draggy went, sticking out the full length of his tongue. Guile looked right at Harle and nodded.
Before Draggy knew what was happening, Guile had grabbed hold of his tongue and Harle was bearing down on it with her dagger. Draggy freaked out at this sight. He belched a huge burst of fire, singing his two assailants. Guile and Harle then took cover behind a nearby rock, slightly burned. Draggy continued his onslaught, throwing fireball after fireball.
"This is going to take a little longer than I initially thought," Guile sighed, as he slapped out the mini-fires that had ignited on his clothing. "Wait here," he told Harle. He then went out to face the dragon.
"Relax, buddy, all we want is your tongue..." he said. Then there were a few sounds of battle before all grew quiet again.
Guile and Harle walked back into the kitchen, holding the dragon's tongue out in front of them.
"We 'ave got ze ingredients, Mademoiselle Leena," Harle said, showing Leena all that she needed.
As Leena was doling out the payment, she came across the long tongue.
"What's this?" she asked, apparently confused.
"Zat is ze dragon tongue you requested, non?" Harle wondered.
"I didn't ask for a dragon tongue," said Leena, exasperated. "I said lizard tongues and dragon clippings. So where did you get..." she stopped, reality dawning on her.
Guile just shrugged to them both. "Oops."
"Well, I guess I'll set the table for one less," Leena reasoned. "But next time if you can't read my writing, ask me before you off someone else."
With that they had a good laugh. And everyone remarked that the night's stew was Leena's best yet. She just smiled demurely, wondering how many compliments some hearty mushroom stew might garner her...
By: Daredevil3181
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Round 16 – Norris (S), Pierre (K)
Norris woke up with a spring in his step. He went to wash up and then searched around for a clean t-shirt and pants. Finding them, he put them on and left his tent with a smile on his face. Today was going to be a good day. Today he was going to play football.
Shortly after arriving on the island, Norris was a little appalled by the increasing apathy that had afflicted most of the adventurers. Whereas once they would not settle for an hour of lollygagging around, now everyone just seemed not to care. It was then that he came upon the idea of forming an athletic league (deemed the Survivor Athletic League, or SAL for short). In the beginning it was difficult to get people to sign up, but he soon had the support of everyone on the island (save Lynx, who refused to associate with the "idiots").
There was a bit of arguing over which sport they should play first. Zoah wanted to play volleyball. Irenes voted for water polo. Radius opted for golf. Funguy was dying to play basketball. Finally, Norris decided on football (thanks in part to his acquisition of a good ball, courtesy of Harle, although the coloring reminded him slightly of Draggy, but he didn't know why). He explained the rules to everyone last night, and after a little practice, people really started to get the hang of it. Everyone agreed to meet out by the beach at 9 AM sharp.
Norris found all the adventurers at the beach, although some looked downright groggy and nasty. And Serge was flat out sleeping. He gave everyone the once-over and went about the process of choosing an opposing captain.
"OK, I'm thinking of a number in my head, between 1 and 50," Norris called out. He was hit by a barrage of responses then.
"Six."
"Nine."
"Threeve."
"Horsey."
"Quiet!" shouted Norris, a little flustered. "Let's do this one by one, first person to get the number is the captain." He went down the line and it was none other than Pierre who guessed the correct number.
"OK, Pierre, I'm in a good mood, so you can choose your team first," Norris indicated. "Pick eleven players. Guile and Riddel agreed to be the refs, but anyone else on the field is fair game." Steena, in addition to Lynx, however, was strangely absent.
"Oui, I choose Zoah," Pierre picked.
"Alright, I'll take Greco," Norris countered.
The choosing went back and forth until all the teams were formed. Norris' team consisted of himself, Doc, Greco, Orlha, Funguy, Karsh, Janice, Zappa, Harle, Razzly, and Pip. They called themselves "Team Cool". Pierre's team was himself, Fargo, Zoah, Miki, Grobyc, Nikki, Kid, Radius, Leena, Starky, and Leah. They called themselves "Team Cooler than Team Cool". Norris wasn't amused. Irenes, Marcy, Luccia, and Serge (still sleeping) sat out on the sidelines as general reserves and to watch the clock and keep score.
Norris and Pierre met each other in the middle of the playing area for the coin toss. Pierre, as the visiting team, called heads. It came up tails. 'Get used to losing, sissy boy,' thought Norris. Norris opted to receive in the second half, though.
Both teams lined up and Janice took her position behind the ball. As soon as Guile blew the whistle, she booted the ball toward the other side. It was fielded by Leena at the 15. Seeing the opposition running at her at full force, she cried "Oh crap!" and lateraled the ball to Grobyc, who then took off like a machine. He got out to midfield before Zappa finally brought him down.
Team Cool jumped out to an early lead thanks to a pair of touchdowns. One was a play action pass from Norris to Harle for 55 yards. The other one was Greco barreling through no less than 6 people on a brilliant 5 yard running play. The quarter ended on a bit of a sour note, though, as Doc was hit in the head by an ensuing punt, and Kid scooped the ball up and ran it into the endzone for a nice score.
The second quarter was Team Cooler than Team Cool's (TCTC for short) turn to shine. Radius lofted a hail mary, which was snagged out of the air by Starky for a score. Capitalizing on this momentum, TCTC scored on their next two possessions. Team Cool was in a 14-28 hole by the time halftime rolled around.
"I can't believe you guys!" shouted Norris, in his team area. "You're letting them run all over us! Razzly, you left Starky wide open numerous times. I want you to cover him like glue!"
"Tee-hee, I'm sorry," apologized Razzly. "I'll try harder-hee."
"And you," Norris groaned, pointing at Orlha, "are giving their quarterback way too much time. I want you to blitz and blitz hard! Pressure people! Pressure the pass!!"
"Hey, we're not the only ones to blame, cap," Orlha said, scathing. "Someone had two perfectly good interceptions in the endzone that were dropped."
"Look, I'm not trying to point fingers, but we need to step our gameplay up a notch. We have to show TCTC that we mean business. Right?!"
"Right!!!" everyone responded. Team Cool then got in a circle.
"On the count of three, everyone say 'Bring It'," Norris instructed. "One, two, three..."
"Bring It!!!" Team Cool shouted as one. They all ran back out onto the beach, fired up for the second half.
Team Cool came out with all guns firing. Harle grabbed the kickoff at her own 10, and seeing an opening with Greco and Zappa blocking up front for her, flipped and dodged around to finally find herself in the endzone. The rest of the quarter was a stalemate until it was third and 5 on TCTC's 40.
"Do you think you can nail it?" Norris asked Janice.
"No sweat," the demi-human rabbit replied. "These feet of mine haven't failed me yet!" With that, they lined up in formation. Zappa snapped the ball to Karsh, who brought it down laces out just in time, as Janice connected with the ball to send it sailing through the uprights for an amazing 57-yard field goal. Team Cool was only behind by 4 now.
By the fourth quarter it was getting hot out there and tempers were flaring up. Serge had finally woken up and replaced Doc, who didn't seem to have a clue what was going on (Doc just shrugged and ran into the surf). Radius got trucked by Funguy and had the wind knocked out of him, so Luccia subbed in for him. Both teams played their hearts out and it was still 28-24 in favor of TCTC by the time the two-minute warning came around.
"This is it," Norris told his team in the huddle. "This next possession will make or break us. Who wants the ball?" he asked. As he looked around, no one seemed to want to accept the responsibility. Finally, Serge looked up, a wide grin on his face.
"That's what I thought," Norris smiled back. "You want the ball." With that Team Cool broke. Serge lined up on the outside, with Kid covering him. Norris nodded toward Serge.
"Twenty-six, eighty-three, forty-seven, hut!" Norris yelled. With that, Serge took off like a banshee and blew right by Kid. Norris knew he was golden and fired a gorgeous spiral his way. Right before he could make contact with it, Grobyc, playing free safety, hit him hard.
"Hey, that's a foul, ref!" shouted Karsh.
Riddel looked at Guile for confirmation. Guile was staring into the sky.
"What do you think?" she asked Guile.
"What does that cloud look like to you?" he said back.
"I don't know," she responded.
"No, you wouldn't," Guile agreed. "But to me, it looks like...rain! HA HA HA! Everyone says I'm the funniest guy here! They say I should do stand-up! HA HA!"
Riddel rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Pass interference, on the defense. The ball will be spotted at the 20. First down."
Team Cool was so close now, they had to score. Norris was thinking of throwing to Serge again, but decided against it. They would be expecting it. Suddenly, he had an idea. He pulled Pip aside and had a little chat. Pip nodded his head in understanding afterwards and Norris chuckled.
Pip lined up to the right of Norris. Across from him was Fargo, showing blitz. Karsh snapped the ball to Norris and right before Fargo could make a move Pip shouted "It's mowphin' time!" and transformed into a huge demon form. He slammed into Fargo, creating a path for Norris, who dashed through for a score. Team Cool cheered. They were now up 31-28, but there was still 0:10 left.
"This is it, fellas!" Norris said. "Whatever you do, don't let them score!" Everyone nodded in understanding.
Janice let loose on the ball and it went all the way into TCTC's endzone. They weren't going down easily though. Pierre caught it and began to run it out. His entire team was blocking for him and he seemed to find holes where no one else thought to look. He made it all the way down to Team Cool's 20. It was all up to Norris now.
Pierre went straight and Norris moved to intercept him. At the last second, Pierre juked to the right. Norris almost grabbed a hold of him before Pierre cut back to the left. Norris went down in a heap, tripping on his own feet, as he could only watch helplessly as Pierre showboated into the endzone.
"Oui, look at me, stupid man," Pierre taunted. "I am the true hero!"
'I hoped it wasn't going to come to this,' thought Norris, 'but I will not be beaten by some idiotic Frenchman!' He then fished around in his pockets and found the little thing he was looking for. He bit something off with his teeth and threw it at Pierre.
Pierre watched the falling object, while he stood still at the 1-yard line. Transfixed, he wondered, "What is this?" That was his last thought, though, as the active grenade collided with the swordsman. In a deafening boom, only a pair of shoes and a ridiculous blonde toupee remained where Pierre once stood. The fumble rolled around unclaimed at the 1-yard line.
"Anyone else want to be a hero?" asked Norris. The rest of TCTC shook their heads. That was the game. Team Cool had won. As they celebrated, Norris couldn't help but think to himself 'God, I love this game' as his teammates carried him off on their shoulders in jubilation.
By: Daredevil3181
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Round 17 – Luccia (S), Razzly (K)
Luccia was hard at work in her tent, trying to develop her latest invention. She remembered how fatigued and hot everyone had gotten during the game yesterday. As she was playing, an idea dawned on her. Why not make a sports drink to give people more energy for physical activity? She set up her lab in the tent that night and got right to work.
It was a grueling ordeal, but after working 16 hours straight (best to ride out the wave of genius when it hits, she reasoned), she felt she was close to having a completed product. With the last few drops coming out of solution, she gathered the liquid in a flask and held it up to the light. The drink was of a greenish tint and smelled faintly of dust, but that meant it would be strong, she reasoned.
"Von small svig for me, von giant step for profit," she said aloud, before quaffing the whole mixture.
After having consumed it all with a grimace, Luccia felt the same as when she had started, but figured she would give it some time. She waited one minute. Two minutes. Five minutes. Fifteen. One hour. Nothing felt different.
"Drat!" she spat. "All this vork for nothing! I must go back to the draving board now!"
Luccia's shouting was interrupted by a knock on her tent. It was Harle and Razzly. Apparently Harle had a package for Luccia. Razzly, on the other hand, was just plain bored, so she decided to see what the mad scientist was cooking up.
"Package, for Mademoiselle Luccia," announced Harle.
"Who is it from?" asked Luccia, surprised, as she was not expecting a package from anyone today.
"Mademoiselle Orlha," Harle replied. "She said it iz a little somet'ing to take the edge off. Make sure zere are no hard feelingz from yesterday." Harle handed Luccia the package and after collecting her payment, left the tent.
"What's in the paper-hee?" asked Razzly, in a high pitched squeak.
"I don't know," replied Luccia. She unwrapped the paper to find a bottle with a syrupy brown liquid inside it. Attached was a little note. It read "From Team Cool to TCTC. Hope there's no hard feelings for yesterday. Made some of my special brew to ease the pain. Love, Orlha."
Luccia uncorked the bottle and took a smell. She was assaulted by a strong odor that nearly knocked her shoes off. Whatever was in there, it was powerful, Luccia thought.
"I vonder..." she said to herself. Curiosity then got the best of her. She walked over to her miniature lab and poured some of the drink into her mixture. There was a slight sizzling sound, and then the liquid was still once again.
"What's going on?" questioned Razzly.
"I am vorking on a special drink. It vill give people much strength. However, not'ing has happened yet."
"Can I try-hee?" requested Razzly. "It has a sweet smell to it." Luccia wondered at this, but then took a sniff of it herself. The little fairy was right. The mixture had changed from its previous musky odor to one of a pleasant variety.
"Vell, let me get some ready, and you shall be my test fairy. Oh ho ho ho!" laughed Luccia. She took some out of solution. It had changed color from its former pale green to vibrant yellow. 'Interesting,' Luccia thought.
"Here you go," she said, as Razzly grabbed the outstretched flask. She swallowed it all at once.
"YYuuummmm...delicious-hee!" squealed Razzly in delight. "I feel great. Like I could fly to the top of mountains and touch the sun!"
"Really?" prodded Luccia. "It appears that my drink vas successful then! I am the great Luccia!"
"AAAAhhhhhh!" Razzly shrieked. She was holding her insides like they were on fire. Luccia looked back at the lab to see smoke rising from the mixture as it bubbled violently. Razzly was in apparent pain and getting redder by the minute.
"Luccia, what's happening to meee-heee?! I feel like I could..." was the last Razzly could get out before she popped like a top. Bits of fairy went everywhere as Luccia was shocked at the reaction that had developed. What was even more amazing was there now seemed to be a thick blue goo everywhere.
Luccia bent down and examined some of the viscous substance in her hand. She then dropped it into the still bubbling solution and watched it instantly calm down. The color also turned clear and bubbles slowly came up out of it.
"Vat do ve have here?" Luccia inquired, fascinated.
That night everyone took full advantage of the Luccia's new drink. Although it wasn't the sports drink she had originally set out to create, it was a unique taste experience. She had almost exhausted her free samples and soon she would be ready to take orders. She still hadn't settled on a name for it yet, but after consulting a few connoisseurs, she finally went with the most fitting name: "Sprite".
By: Daredevil3181
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Round 18 – Harle (S), Radius (K)
Radius was out taking a walk in the woods. He wondered about the events that had happened recently. Just last night he encountered a hooded figure when he was taking his nightly walk. He had reached out to attack the figure but only ended up pulling out a few strands of long hair.
Harle happened to be passing by to deliver a package to Steena. Everyone was really worried that she wasn't at the football game, so Harle was delivering some of Leena's home cooking and some of Luccia's new drink.
Radius was staring at the hair in his hand. It seemed somehow familiar... Then Harle bumped into him.
"What was zat for!" Harle exclaimed. "Vous 'ave made moi drop ze package for Mademoiselle Steena!"
"I am extremely sorry," said Radius. "I was in deep thought. Do you know whose hair this is?" Radius held up the long hair.
"Non, I do not know," replied Harle, who was getting quite angry that she had dropped he package.
"I'll help you pick every thing up," offered Radius.
"I no longer need your help!" exclaimed Harle. "Vous etes tres stupide! You should watch where you are going..."
Harle pulled out her darts. "Vous deserve zis. Now die." Harle threw her darts at Radius, who managed to dodge the first one but got hit the second time.
"You think that could hurt me?" asked Radius "I was once a master dragoon. I..." Radius fell over dead.
"Zat was my poison coated dart, Radius. It can instantly kill a person. Au revoir, Radius." Harle picked up the package she had dropped. She also grabbed the hair in Radius' hand. "Zis could be useful," she said as she walked away, not noticing the mysterious hooded figure watching her.
By: Alanna82
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Round 19 – Leena (S), Starky (K)
Harle knelt behind the bushes, silently observing the person about 20 feet in front of her leaning against a tree. She tightly held the strands of hair in her red gloved hand. The person in front of her had its back to her and seemed to be concentrating on something. The long braided hair swayed in the wind...
'Hmmm...' Harle thought. 'Could it be...?'
Harle continued to stare while the longhaired person continued to think. A glimmering, colorful rod floated in midair to the right...
"Harle!" A voice called out, startling both the observer and the one being observed. In a flash of white, the longhaired person was gone. Harle pocketed the hair strands and turned around to confront the intruder, not at all pleased.
"Mademoiselle Leena, pleaze don't do zat!" The jester shouted, catching her breath.
Leena immediately looked apologetic and bowed. "I'm sorry for startling you, Harle, but I've got a few things for you to pick up for me. Some of these are very rare ingredients, so I'm going to pay you double to bring these to me. And this time I've written it in the unsmearable ink Luccia made for me, so we shouldn't have a situation like the other day." Leena handed Harle the list.
"Alright, I'll be back soon." Harle was about to teleport away when Leena stopped her, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Uh, what were you doing over by those bushes when I found you?"
"You do not need to know, Mademoiselle Leena. Do not worry about zat." And Harle disappeared before Leena could say anything more. Leena walked back to her tent to prepare the night's meal.
Thirty minutes later...
"Mademoiselle Leena, I have returned wit ze ingredients you requested," Harle announced, entering Leena's tent with a bag of rare ingredients such as frog lips, tiger whiskers, and eagle beaks; the stuff that makes her food taste so delicious. The girl next door/cook put down her butcher's knife and accepted the bag.
"Ah, thank you very much, Harle. Here is your payment as promised."
"Ze pleazure was mine." The jester left the tent.
Leena sorted through the bag and took out the frog lips. She cut them into small pieces and put them into a boiling pot of water. The addition of the frog lips turned the water to a sickly shade of yellow and the soup emitted a repugnant odor. She then took out the eagle beaks, ground them into a powder, and sprinkled them into the pot. The water remained the same color but the smell improved drastically. Leena then carefully uncorked the bottle of tiger whiskers and dropped them into the mix. The soup bubbled, fizzed, and foamed for ten seconds before it calmed down. The color changed to an ever so slightly more appealing green color. Leena grabbed her wooden spoon and began stirring.
"It won't be long now. Everyone is going to love this!" Leena could barely contain her excitement.
"Ha ha! Youu can't catch mee!" A much too cute voice giggled as its source ran into the tent, closely followed by its pursuer.
"You can't escape fwom me dat easily," the equally too cute voice of the pursuer retorted.
"Hey, Starky, Pip, get out of here now! I'm cooking a very delicious meal and I don't want it to be ruined!" Leena had her hands on her hips and looked ready to boil herself.
Unfortunately, Starky slipped and started tumbling toward the stove. He crashed into the base of it with a mighty "bang!" One of the legs of the stove broke and it tilted to the side. The boiling pot of soup slid off the top of the stove and crashed to the ground. The vein on Leena's forehead doubled in size.
"Pip, please get out of the tent," Leena said in an eerily calm voice.
"But..." Pip started to protest.
"NOW!!!" Leena screamed.
All was silent for a few seconds until the echo subsided. Then Pip quickly made a dash for the exit in fear for his life.
"Now, Starky..." Leena's voice became eerily calm again as she turned around to face the alien, who was backing himself into a corner. "Do you realize what you have done?"
"Um..." Starky began shakily.
"YOU RUINED MY SOUP!!!" Leena's vein was on the bursting point. She whipped out her weapon of choice, the Crystalpan C6, and advanced on Starky, who was already trapped in a corner. "NOW...DIE!!!" Starky, with no choice, whipped out his own weapon of choice: the Spectral Gun. He fired repeatedly at the raging cook, but she blocked with her rainbow cookware, reflecting the blasts. Leena took one mighty swing and brought her trusty pan onto the alien's helmet. It shattered instantly.
"AAHH!! Not Oxygeen!! The pressure!! It's too greeat!!" Starky's head expanded at an alarming rate until it exploded into alien bits and pieces.
Leena bent over the dead body and picked up a few chucks of Starky. A smile grew on her face.
Later that evening...
"Mmm!"
"Delicious!"
"So luscious!"
The group was seated around the dinner table in bliss. Leena had another "smashing" hit meal. She called them "Starburgers".
By: TenkoStar17
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Round 20 – Lynx (S), Zoah (K)
Zoah was striding down the path back to the campsite after a good round of physical exertion. He was just returning from a rousing game of volleyball through SAL, as Norris fashioned another sports ball. The mammoth hadn't played up to his full potential, as his other teammates blamed it on his lack of peripheral vision from the helmet he wore. Despite their complaints though, he refused to drop the headgear.
"WHAT DO THEY TAKE ME FOR?" Zoah asked himself aloud in a whisper, which still carried in his booming voice. "TO TAKE OFF MY HELMET WOULD BE AKIN TO PLAYING NAKED. I WOULD FEEL EXPOSED."
The other players had returned to the tents right away, but Zoah needed to blow off some steam, so he jumped into the surf. After a little wading (he wasn't too good of a swimmer), the last hours of daylight began to fade. It was well on its way to being dusk by the time Zoah decided to head back and he was all alone.
As Zoah reached the outskirts of the camp, he ran by Steena's tent first. She had been real sick lately and had not left her tent for a few days. Everyone hoped it wasn't due to some highly contagious island fever, as then the area would have to be quarantined off.
"POOR WOMAN," Zoah said. "SHE LACKS THE TOUGHNESS OF YOURS TRULY. I DO WISH HER WELL, THOUGH."
Suddenly, the tent flap began to move aside. Zoah's spirits picked up as it seemed the chieftain had recovered sufficient strength for tonight. He decided he would escort her to the dinner table then, as it would only be proper.
"MISTRESS STEENA, GOOD TO SEE YOU ARE WELL..." Zoah trailed off as the person who exited the tent was not who he expected. It was none other than Lynx.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, FELINE ONE?" the fighter questioned.
"I do not have to answer your inane queries, buffoon. What I was doing here is absolutely none of your business," Lynx practically snarled. He then attempted to exit into the forest when Zoah blocked his way.
"I DO NOT THINK I CAN LET YOU DO THAT," Zoah thundered. "I SENSE DANGER FROM YOU AND I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO PASS WITHOUT AN EXPLANATION."
"I was merely worried for the poor woman's health," Lynx said, his face stretching into a perverted smile. "It is not her time yet, so I was administering a healing potion. She should be feeling much better come tomorrow."
Zoah's eyebrows rose at this obvious lie, but due to his helmet, they were not seen. "I DO NOT BELIEVE YOU, DEMI-HUMAN. YOU CARE OF NO ONE BUT YOURSELF. NOW, TELL THE TRUTH."
"I told you all that you should know. Now exit out of my way or things may get nasty," Lynx spat as he attempted to push his way through.
"NO!" shouted Zoah. "YOU SHALL NOT PASS!" And with that he brought his fist around and into Lynx's face. Despite all his reflexes, Lynx was caught off- guard and sent reeling backwards with a resounding "Crack!". His nose was obviously broken and there was blood flowing freely down his face, as his tongue darted out to lick it up.
"That, my mammoth simpleton, was a mistake," Lynx said, ever so calmly. "While it is not time for Steena to depart, I have no need for you." Lynx then took out his hook and focused his energy in on himself. His body was bathed in a green glow as his broken face shifted itself back to normal right then and there, leaving no trace of the injury he had just sustained.
"I WILL NOT FALL TO THE LIKES OF YOU," Zoah declared. With that he swung again at Lynx.
Lynx was ready this time, however, and he nimbly ducked to the side. He also brought his hook around, cutting into Zoah's arm and leaving a trail of blood. The cat-man then reversed his weapon and aimed for Zoah's midgut, hoping to eviscerate him and end this confrontation. For all of Zoah's size, though, he was quicker than people gave him credit for. His other hand came down quick and caught on to the handle of Lynx's hook, halting it in midswing.
"HA," Zoah said, triumphant. Lynx paid him no heed though, as he vaulted over the man and brought his heel around into Zoah's back, bringing him to his knees. Zoah released his grip on Lynx's hook, but rolled to the side as he anticipated a strike coming down. His maneuver was rewarded when the hook embedded itself into the dirt where he was half a second earlier.
"What do you hope to accomplish?" Lynx asked. "You have the interrogation skills of a donkey. Before you turn into a total ass, you should just give up and return back to camp. If you go now I will let you live. Otherwise, there will be another fatality on this accursed island."
"NO," replied Zoah, as he lunged at Lynx yet again.
"Very well. I gave you your chance. Now I shall enjoy killing you," Lynx stated matter-of-factly. He easily ambled around Zoah's arms and brought his hook around and into the mammoth's shoulder. Zoah howled in pain and backed off a little. Lynx wasn't finished though. He slammed his blade home into Zoah's side and ripped it free at an angle, trailing blood all over the ground.
"YOU FIGHT WELL," Zoah remarked in obvious pain and breathing hard, "BUT I WILL NOT GO DOWN!"
He bore down on Lynx with his trusty helmet. Lynx went for Zoah's legs, cutting off a few chunks of flesh, but it did not halt the bigger man's charge. His metal noggin caught Lynx squarely in the chest, as the feline demi-human rolled with the impact. Coming out of his back somersault, he suddenly disappeared from view.
"WHERE HAVE YOU RUN OFF TO?" wondered Zoah. His question was soon answered, as Lynx came gliding in from behind. His weapon tore into Zoah's back and punctured a kidney. Zoah howled in pain.
"Awwww...is the poor buffoon going to cry? I'll be sure to weep tears of joy upon your demise," Lynx openly laughed. With that he disappeared from view a second time.
"NOT...AGAIN..." Zoah stuttered. This time he knew what to expect and caught his attacker out of the corner of his eye. Summoning up all his strength reserves, he launched himself into the air, above the gliding form of Lynx. Once he reached his peak height, he aimed directly for Lynx and put all his weight and the added effect of gravity into his fists. Lynx was rudely jarred out of the air and brought down to the ground in a heap.
"WE DEVAS DO NOT GIVE IN," Zoah said, as he landed next to the crumpled form of Lynx. He kicked it with his shoe, as it then dematerialized. Zoah was shocked as he again looked around.
"Yes, but you also do not study your enemy very well," a voice said from above. Lynx was in a nearby tree with a wide grin on his face. His eyes closed in concentration. While he was doing this, audible growls emanated from the thick forest. Zoah backed up a few steps and then charged toward the tree.
"Hah!" Lynx shouted, his call for aid answered. Suddenly dozens of panthers ran out of the forest and at Zoah. The fighter's charge did not halt, but instead picked up speed. The cats slashed and gashed at the running man, but could not halt his movement. After a few seconds they vanished into thin air. Zoah was almost upon the tree now.
"So be it," Lynx sighed, as he braced himself for impact.
Zoah hit into the tree with a resounding thud and pushed with all his might. First one root snapped, then another, and another until the entire tree lost its foundation. It began to teeter and then finally resigned itself to the ground and toppled over. Lynx rolled to the side, but not before a branch snagged his shirt, tearing a hole in one of the pockets. Out dropped a shining item. Lynx again assumed a ready position, but soon followed Zoah's gaze at what had spilled out of his pocket.
"IS THAT...?" Zoah attempted to say, his words catching in his throat. He was badly beaten, bruised, and bleeding from a cornucopia of wounds, but as a testament to his strength, still standing.
"Yes, it is," Lynx answered. "But now that you have seen it, I cannot allow you to tell others. You must disappear." He then began to concentrate.
"NO, YOU WILL NOT SUCCEED..." Zoah began, but his words had no weight. Lynx opened his eyes and the ground beneath Zoah began to distort and warp itself. Dozens of tiny green hands grabbed at his legs, but still Zoah trudged on. They were then joined by larger red arms, which grabbed onto Zoah's torso and arms. Struggling, panic began to rise in the mammoth's head as he realized where these denizens were coming from. He fought in vain, as he was held fast.
"Au revoir," said Lynx coldly, as a huge black tentacle joined the misshapen hands and wrapped itself around Zoah. He screamed as he was pulled under, but it was muffled by the appendage over his helmet. After he was dragged below, the ground again warped and returned to normal.
"Be sure to say 'Hi' to Mephisto for me," Lynx said to the air. He grinned so wide that his teeth practically gleamed in the moonlight. He then bent down to pick up the fallen object and made not another sound as he dashed off into the forest, quiet as a cat.
By: Daredevil3181