To those who reviewed:
The-Dark-Keyblade- Thanks very much for the compliment, and I'm amazed you put up with such a mediocre story for so long. Unfortunately, I will have Jak get caught (after a while), and he will gain a Dark Eco form. But, I am going to have his Dark side transform after a while, and it won't be a mindless killing machine. Also, Jak won't be alone in prison.
GoodMorningBeautiful2005- Thanks. I hope that this last chapter goes the way I want it to, especially since my fight scenes aren't exactly the best. As to when Renegade will come out, I had a weird idea that is refusing to go away, so I might be posting two stories at once. I'll also have two, possibly three, jobs over the summer, and I'll be training hard, so it will be difficult for me to keep writing.
Silver-WindScar- I thought the rule was fitting, and I inserted the whole, "I am invincible" thing for two reasons. One, I hope Red Mage 04 notices it, and two, its something that an evil overlord list tells me not to do. Glad you didn't think the chapter was short, and I hope to get the next chapter up by Thursday or Friday. As to the rules of the tournament, yes, Jak can shatter bones with his strikes. That doesn't mean he will. It's simply a matter of pulling his punches and not hitting anything lethal. Just because Jak can kill a lot of people with his attacks doesn't mean he will. Remember when he trained Benedict? Thank you for thinking so highly of me, and I hope that this chapter does not disappoint.
Keeroshu- Glad you're back, and glad that you continue to read the bad writings I continually spew out. I completely agree with you- it can't be all dark and gloomy. There has to be a minimum of 5 lightheartedness. As to Renegade, I don't know when that will start. I've had an idea for a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fanfiction for about three months now, and I can't decide whether to write it or not. If I do, then Renegade will be posted when I post that book, meaning I'd update only twice a month at best. And that's with training, two jobs, and college coming up soon. I'll find a way, hopefully. Wish me luck.
CrazyOttsel- I don't mind that you haven't reviewed in a while- the point is you came back and reviewed later. Glad you liked it and I hope I can manage to continue to please.
Red Mage 04- Er, no idea what your talking about in regard to what my chapter reminded you of. But I'm glad you liked it, and it looks like no more screw ups on Gol's behalf. Or will there? I did see the copy technique that a Light Eco user can have, but since Jak's the only one who can use Light Eco, and no one will be using Dark for obvious reasons, I was hoping to get some color Ecos. But I guess I'll have to make do with what I can think of. Thanks for reading, and you'll see the power you gave me used. Ah, a man after my own heart. Bowling with bumpers and using them for fun is one of my many weird things I do to entertain myself. Actually, I only got the idea to have a tournament with the Channelers after seeing your arena with Phoenix and Tarath, so I thank you for that. Speaking of which, I hope to see an update soon.
Disclaimer- I own nothing, save what my insane shattered mind has cooked up.
Clash of the Channelers
"And now, let me go over all the rules one last time before this tournament gets underway!" Hatu said into the microphone as Jak and three others entered the ring. Jak rolled his eyes and looked up towards the sky, not wanting to listen to the rules for a fifth time. "There is no death in this tournament, unless you want to be exiled from civilization for all time. Surrendering is perfectly acceptable, though I do not personally recommend it unless you know there is no way to win. If you must fight someone and they refuse to give up, do your best to incapacitate, and only incapacitate, them. Now that that is over with, let's introduce the competitors!" Hatu said loudly, to an enthusiastic roar of applause.
"Hailing from the village of Pampas Islet, led by Tarea, Margaret Riddle!" At this, Margaret's face appeared on a giant screen hanging from the ceiling as she smiled feebly and waved to the crowd. "And, also hailing from the fair island, Richard Bennett!" Jak watched the screen as Margaret's face vanished, replaced by that of his teacher's. "And, the one we all knew as the Bane of Lurkers, hailing from Sandover Village, the adoptive son of the Green Sage Samos, Jak Hagia!" A roar of applause filled the stadium at Jak's name as he smiled bashfully and smiled. "And, from Rock Village, the daughter of Zeorro, Sage of Blue Eco, Elizabeth Cyan!" Another loud roar filled the stadium, though not as loud as Jak's. "So now, let the match… begin!"
Richard leapt into the air again and deflected the attacks Jak sent at him with his bare hands. Jak dodged forward and rolled to avoid getting hit by his own attacks. Richard landed in front of Margaret, using Red Eco to send a shockwave through the ground strong enough to knock her off her feet. As her head hit the ground, Margaret's vision blurred and Richard kicked her in the stomach so that she went into the air three feet. As she came up, Richard punched her in the jaw, knocking her out. He then summoned two Eco Blades and turned around to face Jak, who had summoned an Eco Blade of his own, but making his only strong enough so that it would pass through the body and hurt rather than hack a limb off. Richard ran at Jak and swiped at his student with all his speed. Jak, however, was much faster than his teacher, as their training sessions had proved, and it was easy enough to get behind his instructor and kick him in the back. Richard stumbled forward and turned around, pointing his Eco Blades straight forward. Two beams shot forth and nailed Jak in the chest. As Jak picked himself up, Liz did too, having stayed down only o regain her strength.
Richard ran at Jak, only to be struck from behind. Liz landed on Richard and began pumping him full of Yellow Eco. As the small blasts continued, Jak ran at Liz and spun around in the air. His foot struck her in the chest and knocked her off balance. Liz staggered back and growled at Jak as he punched her in the stomach. Liz grabbed Jak into a hug and blasted him away with Red Eco. Jak went flying across the stage and landed, his body steaming slightly. As Liz ran at Jak, a wall of Yellow Eco suddenly surrounded the two of them. Both Channelers looked around and stopped fighting. The cylinder tightened and caused their bodies to lift up with the sheer amount of power that they absorbed.
Richard stood up, rather shakily, and saw Liz getting up. He dashed over to her and picked her up with one hand from behind. He pinched a nerve in her neck to make her body go limp, but not pass out. He let go of her and punched her in the back of the head, causing her brain to hit the front of her skull, effectively knocking her out for only a few minutes. Richard then turned back to the fight at hand, knowing that he had five minutes at most to finish this round and win the tournament. Jak ran forward and tackled his teacher from behind. Richard hit his chin on the ground and was dazed. Not stopping, Jak scrambled to his feet and ran at Margaret. Margaret decided for a different approach and coated her hands in fire. Jak ran at her and attempted to trip her by sliding. Margaret lifted her right foot above her head and brought it down on Jak's stomach. She then backed up a foot or two and allowed him to get back up on his feet.
As Jak ran forward, Margaret struck him three times in the chest with her hands. Jak dodged past the fourth blow and got behind her. He grabbed her shirt and pun around three times to build up momentum. As he released her, Margaret stuck out her hand and caught herself so she could straighten up before going back to the fight. She ran at Jak, her eyes and hands ablaze. As she got close to Jak, Margaret struck the ground and caused Jak to wobble as a shockwave went through the ground. As Jak stumbled, Margaret rose up and hit him in the back with a spinning back kick. As she leapt back, Jak ran forward and leapt at her kicking her in the chest and causing her to go down. Margaret landed on her feet and dashed at Jak as she lit her whole body on fire. Jak dodged the attack by jumping into the air and kicking her In the back of the head. Margaret stumbled and Jak landed before running at her.
Margaret ducked under a punch and began hammering Jak's chest. Jak stumbled back from the assault and leaned back. His foot hit Margaret in the chest and knocked her down. Jak summoned a Yellow Eco Blade and held it up to Margaret's face. Just as she opened her mouth to surrender, Liz woke up and blasted Jak off his feet. Jak went down, his body stunned once more. Richard got to his feet and looked around. Before he could react, Margaret launched a blast of Yellow Eco at him. At the same time, Liz launched a beam of Red Eco. Though the two attacks hit each other and weakened the overall effect, it was still enough to knock Richard out once more. Liz and Margaret looked at each other and powered their bodies up: Margaret using fire and Liz using electricity.
Liz grabbed Margaret as the Amplifying Channeler ran at her before throwing her straight up into the air. As Margaret went up, Liz shocked her with Yellow Eco Lightning. Margaret landed on her feet and ran at Liz, only to be blown back by a powerful electric attack. As she collected herself, Margaret jumped over a large attack and hit Liz with a large blast of flames. Liz bowled over, closing her eyes from the heat. As she opened her eyes, Liz saw Margaret running at her and tried to stop her with a blast of Yellow Eco. Margaret went right through the attack and tackled Liz before blasting herself off with Yellow Eco.
Liz stood up shakily, her body steaming and her clothes ripped and torn. Margaret looked no better, with smudges and soot covering her exposed skin. Despite their bodies' battered appearances, both Channelers were having the time of their lives and resumed their battle with jubilation. Liz rammed into Margaret and caused the girl to go stumbling back. Margaret picked herself up off the floor with lightning speed and kicked Liz in the shins. Liz hopped on one leg, grabbing her shin and let forth a large blast of electricity to shield herself. Margaret stumbled back and Jak caught her, having finally awoken. He knocked her out and saw with mild surprise Richard do the same to Liz.
Richard and Jak both charged each other, understanding that they were the last two competitors. Jak dodged a powerful blow, relying on his youthful speed to overcome Richard's strength and experience. Richard dashed forward, but Jak proved to be very quick, dodging behind the dash almost too quickly to be seen. As Richard stumbled on a loose tile, Jak was already running forward and struck Richard in the back to cause him to hit the ground. Richard got his body up and faced Jak, knowing that there was a good chance he would lose this match, since his pupil had gotten much better than the last time.
Still, Jak would have to struggle to win, as Richard proved by striking Jak in the chest with a few good punches. The final one lifted Jak off his feet, and he landed properly a few feet back. Both contenders leapt into the air and kicked at the same time. Jak's hit Richard in the chest, while Richard's hit Jak in the mouth. Jak landed hard on the ground and rubbed his jaw, spitting out a small amount of blood. He back flipped off the ground as Richard ran at him and kicked Richard in the face, breaking his nose. Richard's eyes teared up as Jak's foot hit him, and Jak saw the perfect moment to strike and end the fight. He grabbed Richard and threw him up into the air, hitting him with a few bolts of Eco. As Richard came sailing down, Jak slammed him down into the ground, and then picked him up again and threw him about seven feet away. Richard, despite the heavy beating he had taken, landed on his feet and kicked a surprised Jak as the Channeler rushed in.
Jak staggered back and threw a multitude of small, needle sized blasts at Richard. The elderly elf leapt ten feet in the air and coated his body with fire as he streaked down. Jak grunted as Richard kicked him in the chest, but he stayed awake. Jak ran forward again and struck at Richard, but his attack was blocked, and Richard punched at Jak from behind. Jak used his remaining Blue Eco to phase through the attack and got behind Richard. He picked his teacher up and threw him down on the ground again. Richard jumped up and Jak leapt with him, striking his teacher and sending him down to the ground, where Richard skidded for a few feet before getting up again.
Richard dashed forward and Jak used his Yellow Eco attack again. Richard broke right through the attack and hit Jak right in the chin, launching the young elf into the air. Jak landed on the ground next to Margaret and dodged a fire blast. Richard dashed forward again, but this time Jak dodged the attack and leapt over it. Richard grabbed Jak in the air and slammed him down into the ground. Jak shot a blast of Yellow Eco straight up and hit Richard in the chest.
Richard went sailing down and started to get up, but stopped. Jak had let loose several blasts of Yellow Eco that hovered inches above him. Richard closed his eyes and smiled.
"You win Jak!" Richard said softly. "You are my student no more." Jak blinked in astonishment as the crowd cheered for him. The other three Channelers were carted off to a healing lab. Though none of them had been seriously injured, all of them had quite a few bumps and bruises. Jak smiled at the crowd shyly before going back to his own room, happy he had won the first round. He wondered who else would win the next three rounds, and which of the three victors he would face.
Jak sat down in his room a few minutes later and looked around. He saw a closet and opened it. Inside was an assortment of clothes, some very concealing. Jak grinned as he decided to sneak into the audience and watch the rest if the match without anyone knowing. He pulled on a raincoat along with a dark sweat suit and boots. Jak looked at himself in the mirror and then took the sweat suit off: it was too hot. May had just begun a couple of days ago, and even up north, it was getting warmer. He looked at himself again, and then, satisfied that no one would recognize him, walked out into the crowd.
He heard people discussing the last match and grinned. If anyone asked him his opinion, he would simply mime a sore throat. There had been an epidemic last week, so no one would really doubt his story or dwell too long on it. Jak watched as the next four people- he couldn't make out who from this distance- got into seats and watched them charge their Blue, Red and Yellow Eco Boxes. The Eco Packs that Tarea had given Jak were going in a museum that was being planned, as well as a training ground for Channelers so that when they were discovered, they could be trained and helped. No longer was being a Channeler a cause for shame. Jak remembered, before Samos helped him with the villagers, how he had been picked on because he was different. Gone was the prejudice against his kind. Gone too, was almost any animosity between the elves and the Lurkers. Once Gol had gone, it seemed that they were a remarkably intelligent race that was sharing their technology with the elves in return for equality and agricultural advances. His friends were to become a law enforcement squad, and Cara and Veston were going to go back home and try to set up a trading route with the rest of the continent. Jak smiled as Hatu once again began reading the rules: it looked as though a golden age was coming.
"And now, from the foreign island of Brigands' Bastion, Princess and soon to be Queen, Cara Tarakava and her trusted advisor and leader of the fleet, Veston Droit!" The applause was merely polite, as neither knew Cara or Veston personally, but neither elf was bothered by this. "Also in this match are Andrew Gause and Tiffany Buffamonte, both of Volcanic Crater!" The roar of applause for them was tumultuous at the section where the elves from Volcanic Crater were sitting. "And now, let the second elimination round of the Clash of the Channelers begin!"
Veston dodged a beam that Tiffany had fired as soon as the bell had rang and grabbed her by the shirt. He tossed her from him and spun her so that she was facing away from him as she stumbled. As she staggered forward, Tiffany shot a small blast at Cara. As Veston rushed past Tiffany, tripping her as he did so, Cara reflected the Eco attack back at him and blasted him back. Tiffany got back up and tossed Veston into the air as he summoned a Red Eco Blade. Andrew grabbed Cara and threw her up as well. They knew that while this would normally be dangerous, the arena floor somehow sensed bodies coming down and softened so that the impact would not be severe enough to break a bone or cause hemorrhaging. Cara hit Veston while he was in the air and landed just in time to be punched in the gut by Andrew with a Yellow Eco covered fist. Cara went back down and picked herself up again.
Veston ran at Cara and swiped at her with his Eco Blade. She quickly dodged it and threw him right into Tiffany, who had just blasted Andrew back. Both Channelers stumbled, and Cara watched and waited for an attack to come her way so she could redirect it. Tiffany turned around and tossed Veston into the air by using a Blue Eco beam. She then began focusing her powers o use upon Andrew, knowing that she would have to take Cara down some other way. As he went down, Veston hit Tiffany with his Eco Blade and disrupted her concentration. As Tiffany cursed, Andrew threw a punch at Cara that was parried. Cara used the momentum of his attack to send him over her shoulder and into the ground.
Andrew flipped as he hit the ground and landed on his feet before he dashed forward and hit Veston with an uppercut. Cara bent her knees and spun on the spot, tripping up Andrew, who fell on the ground. Andrew coated his body in Yellow Eco so that none would attack him while he was defenseless. Veston felt his jaw as he blocked a blow from Tiffany and kicked her in the stomach. As she took a step back, Tiffany blasted Veston high in the air with a Yellow Eco beam. Veston flipped around in the air, landed on both feet, and splayed them out as he brought a hand down as well to spread the energy of his impact as far out as he could. Tiffany sent Cara flying back with a surprise attack and then lurched forward- Veston had rammed her in the back with his shoulder.
Cara bounced off the ground and got up, looking at the battle still raging as she did so. Andrew dashed forward and coated his body with Yellow Eco as he attacked Tiffany. She went reeling back as he hit her again and again. Andrew pulled his punches, since he did not want to seriously injure anyone. Every punch in itself was harmless, only when a number of them were dealt did one begin to feel pain. As Tiffany took a step back, Veston tripped her right before he jumped forward and kicked Andrew in the stomach, sending him back and lifting him off the ground an inch or two. Veston sent two streams of fire at Andrew and Tiffany, preventing them from getting up. Just as both were about to concede defeat, Cara diverted the energy back to herself and compressed it.
Veston grimaced as a small ball of Red Eco hit him in the stomach and exploded. The same thing happened to Andrew and Tiffany, since they had forgotten about Cara for a few minutes and that mistake had cost them dearly. Andrew grunted as he got up again and looked at his arm. He flexed it a few times and decided that there was nothing seriously wrong with it- he had landed on it and it throbbed slightly as he stood up. Cara stood above Tiffany and prepared to knock the Channeler out and disqualify her when Veston slashed her in the back. Tiffany gathered her energy quickly and let a blast of energy similar to the one Cara had just used to blow both pirates off their feet.
Cara as hit in the back by Andrew as she landed on the ground and her progress backward stopped, only to start up again when Tiffany hit her in the chest with another Eco grenade. Veston grabbed Andrew and dragged him backwards. Andrew lost his balance and fell as Veston ducked under Cara's body and charged forward, hoping to come out of the smoke and surprise Tiffany. Unfortunately, Tiffany had suspected that Veston would attempt something like this and was more than capable of hitting him in the chest before sending a blast of Eco at him and Andrew that blew both of them off their feet.
As Tiffany looked at her three felled foes, she thought that she had won the fight. Unfortunately, she had forgotten that all three elves possessed determination just as strong as hers, and they all got up. Smoking, bruised and battered they looked, but they all got up and showed Tiffany that if she wanted to win the tournament, she would have to work harder for it. Cara cracked her neck and Andrew swung at her. Cara ducked under the punch and hit him in the ribs before picking him up, using the Blue Eco she had drained off one of his earlier attacks to lift him. Veston saw a perfect opportunity and struck, hitting both of them with his Eco Blade and stopping Cara from hurling Andrew. Unfortunately, Veston neglected to watch his back and was hit with an Eco grenade by Tiffany. Suck an attack naturally sent the target flying face first into the ground, and Veston was no exception.
Tiffany aimed a beam at Cara and fired it off. Cara looked up from the floor and had just enough time to stick her hand out and split the launched attack in half. She then allowed one half to rebound and strike Tiffany, who narrowly dodged the attack. As she leapt to the left, Tiffany unwittingly placed herself directly in front of Andrew, who had coated his body with Yellow Eco and slammed into her. Andrew caught her and placed her down on the ground after hearing her groan in discomfort. As he stood up, Andrew caught the second attack from Cara right in his chest. The Eco flying around his body softened the blow, but Andrew still was pushed back from the force of it.
Tiffany stood up and gathered Yellow Eco around her hands. She ran in and tried to punch Veston, but he evaded her attack and hit her in the chest with his Red Eco Blade. The Eco passed right through her and caused nothing save pain. Veston smiled to himself as Tiffany stumbled back once more- he had been experimenting with his powers and discovered the proper amount of Eco to put into an Eco Blade when sparring. If hit, the limbs remained attached, but the person's body would hurt quite a bit. After about three minutes or so, the pain would fade, allowing for longer training sessions and tournaments. Veston turned around and swiped at Cara, leaving his chest wide open. Cara quickly drained some Eco off his Blade and turned it into fire before striking him in the chest with an open hand. Veston took the blow stoically and returned with one of his own: a spinning back kick and an accompanying slash. Cara groaned as the kick hit her in the stomach and stepped back a few times to regain her balance.
Veston turned around to focus on Tiffany and Andrew and paid for it dearly. Cara had drained more Eco off his Eco Blade when he had hit her with it, and now focused it into a ball of energy that she hurled at him. The attack hit him in the back and Veston lost his balance. As he went forward, he was punched in the chest by Tiffany and he fell backwards. As Veston fell, Cara ran forward, hoping to use his body as a cover. Tiffany apparently saw her coming though, because when Cara jumped over his form, Tiffany hit her in the chest with a kick and sent her down as well. Tiffany dodged a strike by Andrew and hit him with a Yellow Eco beam. As he went down, Tiffany decided to catch a break, seeing as how Veston and Cara had both gotten up and were battling each other.
Cara ducked under a swipe by Veston and kneed him in the ribs. Veston winced but did not lose focus and hit her with a Yellow Eco beam instead of attacking her with his sword again. Veston turned around and saw an Eco blast, courtesy of Tiffany, heading right for him. With no time to dodge, Veston brought his Eco Blade up and blocked it that way. He turned around again and narrowly missed a punch to the head by Cara. He ducked and hit her in the ribs with both palms, sending her up and then back down on the ground. Veston, convinced that Cara was down for a minute or so, turned around again and this time was hit by Andrew, who had gotten up and fired another blast at Veston when he saw Veston's back. Tiffany saw the elf step back and ran in, only to be sent flying back by a swipe to the chest. Veston was so focused on getting back to his feet that he did not notice a blast reflected by Cara. Andrew ducked under his own attack and Veston was hit with it instead. As he went down, Veston slashed his sword at Andrew and hit his target with a wave of Red Eco.
Andrew got up off the floor and turned his Blue Eco Box on, smiling as the energy of Blue Eco washed over him. He ran right at Cara, knowing that she would likely win the match, given her ability to deflect any attack coming at her and redirect it back at someone else. So far, she had taken the least amount of damage. As he ran at her, Veston saw him and launched a Yellow Eco beam right at Andrew's face. Andrew leapt over the attack with a somersault and head butted Veston in the face. Veston grabbed his face and pinched his nose to try to stem the flow of blood. While he was doing this, Tiffany pointed a ball of Eco at him, but lowered her arm when she saw how defenseless he was. She opted instead to aim the ball at Cara, forgetting that the girl was capable of deflecting Eco. Cara caught the attack and rebounded it without looking, since she was focusing on Andrew instead.
As Veston finally got his nose to stop bleeding, Tiffany's reflected attack came at him and struck him in the back, causing him to fall forward. Cara, meanwhile, had sidestepped Andrew's charge and placed a hand on his shoulder as he went by. She also stuck out her foot and tripped him as his Eco was drained away into her body. As Andrew went down, Cara saw a flash to her right and saw a beam of energy coming her way. Using the Blue Eco she had just drained from Andrew, Cara leapt into the air. Unfortunately, Tiffany had been studying her moves and had predicted such an evasion. Therefore, Cara was so surprised to see another attack almost at her when she was in the air that she forgot to redirect it and was hit. As her body hit the ground, Cara tucked her chin to her chest so the back of her head would not hit the ground.
Tiffany watched Cara go down as she fired another beam at Veston, who rolled out of the way. Andrew, who was standing behind Veston in relation to Tiffany, saw the attack and fired a beam of his own. The two of them got into a beam struggle and began ignoring Veston and Cara in favor of trying to overwhelm the other. For Andrew, it was just like when they were kids and had fought in the training area in Volcanic Crater. Tiffany, too, was wracked with nostalgia for that simpler time, but did not allow her desires to cloud her judgment. Cara and Veston got up and looked at each other. Veston tossed her an Eco grenade and both elves hit Andrew and Tiffany simultaneously. As Andrew went down, the back of his head hit the floor, and he was out.
Tiffany got to her feet but immediately surrendered. The reason was simple, Veston had placed Eco blasts all around her, enough to knock her out. She sighed and went to the edge of the arena so she would not interfere, but could still watch as Veston and Cara went back and forth in a graceful, deadly dance. After about ten minutes, Cara got the upper hand and forced Veston to the floor, where she pointed an Eco Blade she had stolen from him at his throat. Veston gave up and Cara was declared the winner, since two opponents had surrendered and the third was unconscious. Cara grinned as the crowd cheered for her and realized, with a slight jolt, that she would be facing Jak next round…
Veston, Tiffany, and Andrew came out of the sick bay after their wounds were healed and joined Margaret, Richard, and Liz in a special section of the arena stands that were allotted only to participants. Other Channelers had protested about this, saying that they were eligible for participation. True, they were eligible, but they were not in the tournament, as Samos had informed them, and as none of the Channelers wished to battle a Sage over something so trivial and petty, all of them went back to their seats, grumbling as they did so.
"Hey guys," Andrew said as he sat down. The others greeted him and his companions, none of them very happy. All of them would rather have been in a room waiting for the next match than in here with the best view of the action. The Precursors had somehow found a way of making incredible 3-D pictures on a flat piece of metal so that they could look at what was happening with no error in depth perception.
The four elves participating in the third round finished charging up their Eco Boxes and put them on their belts. As Julia took her Blue Eco Box, a bolt of Eco left the box and hit the machine. No one noticed, not even when the entire apparatus began to glow and spark slightly: they were all too focused on the match that they were about to fight. The machine quieted down after a moment, but it still sparked every sixty seconds or so, indicating that something was wrong with it…
Jak was still going through the crowd incognito. He hated being disguised, but he knew that he would have people swarming all over him if he was to show his face. All of a sudden, Jak felt a sharp pain on the left side of his ear. He gasped in pain as a hand twisted his ear and twisted it to the side.
"Jak!" Keira voiced hissed and Jak relaxed slightly, only to wince as she started dragging him out of the arena, earning both of them stares from the crowd. Keira held onto Jak until they got to his room and then she let go of him. Jak rubbed his sore ear and glared at her indignantly. "What was that for? Why were you out in the crowd? You could have been hurt or killed!" Jak sighed, but immediately felt bad when he saw Keira's eyes begin to tear up. He walked over to her and put his arms around her reassuringly. Keira hugged Jak back and closed her eyes. She had come in here to wish him luck again and he was gone. She had worried, thinking someone had (against all odds) kidnapped him.
"Don't scare me like that again," she whispered. Jak squeezed her gently to help reassure her that he would try not to scare her again. "Why did you wander off, anyway?" Jak pointed at his eyes and then outside at the arena. "You wanted to watch the match?" Jak nodded. Keira giggled at him. "You can do that from in here silly," she said as she walked over to a table that was covered in buttons and switched. Jak had stayed far away from this table and hadn't touched anything, since Daxter had shown him messing around with things that you had no idea what it did often resulted in either a disaster or an explosion. He walked behind Keira and tried to see what she was doing, but her hands moved over the buttons and keys too quickly for him to memorize.
Keira straightened herself and felt her back push against Jak's chest. She turned around and looked up into his eyes and smiled shyly. Jak smiled back as his hands wrapped themselves around her back so he could pull her closer. Both closed their eyes as they got closer and kissed again for the first time in a month. Jak smiled to himself as Keira pulled him closer by wrapping her arms around the back of his head.
Keira gasped for breath as they parted lips, but only for a moment. The next second, they once again were kissing just as passionately as before. Jak's hands found the small on her back and he left them there as she leaned back, her mind feeling dazed. Her back hit the table and Jak went with her as they continued in their passion, oblivious to the fact that holographic figures and attacks were passing through them.
"And now, those that are competing!" Hatu shouted. "From Pampas Islet, Julia Manuel! Out of the Wasteland Metropolis, Harrison Crisci! From the scenic Sandover Village, Lauren Handy! And from the mysterious City of The Sky, Retep Juliano!" A loud round of applause resonated throughout the stadium match. "And now, let the match begin!"
At the sound of the bell, all the Channelers leapt into action instantly. Julia gathered a ball of flame and sent it flying through the air. As it hit Lauren in the back, it exploded, dealing a blow that one would normally associate with a larger attack. As Lauren stumbled, surprised at such a quick blow, Harrison charged forward and rammed Retep in the chest with his shoulder. Retep went flying through the air and came down about twenty feet away, rubbing his ribs. He wasn't permanently damaged, but Harrison's attacks, even when they were pulled, were not meant to be taken lightly- Retep had a felling he would feel that blow for a while, even if it no longer really hurt.
Regardless, Retep quickly got back up and ran at Julia, using Blue Eco to quicken his movements. When he was a foot away, Julia looked at him and sent a bolt of electricity at him. Retep's body was frozen as the Blue Eco paralyzed him temporarily. Luckily, no one took advantage of him and knocked him down again. Instead, they chose to ignore him. Harrison ran at Julia, who tried the same attack. Though it did cause Harrison to go back, the backlash of it was strong enough to send her off her feet as well, and opened her eyes to the fact that Harrison, even when not Channeling Eco, was a force to be reckoned with. As Harrison landed, Retep hit him with a ball of Blue Eco, freezing the giant in place just as he had been a second before.
Lauren had finally realized that it was too much to not participate in this round, hope that no one would see you, and hope to win. She therefore shot several blasts at Retep, stunning the elf and ran forward, tackling Julia. As both elves went down, Lauren got up and Channeled Red Eco. She then used her increased strength to hit Retep in the stomach, causing the Channeler to gasp. Lauren prepared for another blow just as Harrison charged at the two of them and formed a giant Eco Blade. He swung down and Retep knew that he would have to play a trick that he had hoped to keep secret until round two. Turning on his Yellow Eco Box, Retep formed a shield around his body that exploded when Harrison hit it with his Blade. The giant caught most of the attack, but Lauren was close enough to it to be thrown back off her feet as well.
Just as Lauren was about to hit the ground, Julia focused another small fireball, which she had donned a, "Combustion Blast." The ball hit Lauren in the back and caused her to fall forward on her face. Julia began to focus her powers to use against Harrison, but Retep distracted her by aiming a blast of Eco at her chest and firing. As she staggered back, Retep aimed again, this time for her face, but stopped when Lauren hit him in the chest with an Eco attack of her own. Harrison covered his body with Blue Eco and rushed in, but Lauren used her remarkable aiming talents to hit him right in the eye with a Yellow Eco beam. Harrison stopped advancing and grabbed his face, trying to rub out the bright spot that filled his vision. Unfortunately, Lauren had temporarily forgotten about the sheer differences in size that they shared, and was hit in the chest by a fist about the size of her head.
Harrison dashed forward, his sight returned, and hit Julia and Retep with a single uppercut. As they were propelled into the air, Harrison dropped down and spun around, sticking his massive leg out to trip Lauren. He then back flipped- a move that caused the entire audience to gasp in surprise- and watched as everyone hit the ground. Harrison took this opportunity to rub his eye to get some dust out. Regrettably for him, Lauren had launched an attack at him that he would have been ale to dodge, had he been looking. As it was, he was hit by the powerful beam and sent back, tripping over a piece of rock as he did so and hitting the ground. Julia used her powers to manipulate the wind so that she landed on her feet and sent a trio of combustion blasts at the fallen Harrison. The massive elf saw the attacks coming and pushed off the ground, launching himself into the air.
As he came down, Harrison slammed his feet into the ground and caused a shockwave to travel through the earth. Retep lost his balance and, as a result, was sent flying along with Harrison as Lauren copied his shield attack, only she decided to use Red Eco instead of Yellow. Julia gathered her powers and sent a blast of dust at Lauren, hoping to blind her. Lauren dodged to the right and closed her eyes as she covered her face. As Lauren got up, she hit Retep in the stomach with a few blasts. Both elves got ready for a one-on-one fight when Harrison suddenly picked both of them up with one hand each. They struggled against his grip but quickly realized it was futile to do so. Harrison wondered whether he should knock them out or squeeze them when Julia reminded everyone that she was there by forming a whip of fire and hitting them all with it.
Harrison dropped Lauren and Retep, both of whom quickly launched an attack at him and sent him flying through the air. As Harrison's body hit the floor with a thud, Lauren launched two Yellow Eco blasts at Retep and Julia. Both attacks went hurtling through the air at a rapid velocity, and both attacks hit home. Harrison got up off the ground and Lauren watched him warily, foolishly ignoring Julia. Aforementioned female Channeler stuck her hands in the ground and sent a column of flames erupting out of the ground that surrounded Lauren and Harrison. Both elves froze, afraid to make a move for fear of getting scorched. Retep charged forward and tried to ram Julia, but his attack was dodged. As Harrison prepared an attack hat would cause a miniature earthquake but was stopped by a few fireballs from Lauren.
Julia shot a blast of Blue Eco into the ground and then raised her palms to the sky. The sections of floor that Retep and Lauren were standing on suddenly sprang up, launching both elves into the air. The ground then went back down and returned to normal. As Lauren fell through the air, she sent a blast of Blue Eco that hit Julia in the chest and sent the unorthodox Channeler back into a wall. Lauren landed on Harrison's chest and rolled off so she wouldn't hurt him too badly. As she stood, Harrison grabbed her leg and threw her into the air. Lauren landed on the ground this time, the arena sensing her and softening the earth so she would not break a bone. Lauren bounced back into the air from the force of her fall and was hit with a blast of lightning from Julia again. As she skidded across the ground, Lauren tried as hard as she could to stay awake and keep fighting.
Lauren was joined shortly on the ground by another Channeler. Julia had been rammed from behind by Retep, only to go flying forward into the size twenty seven foot of Harrison. The giant then dashed forward at a surprising speed and threw Retep across the arena, where the Channeler hit the ground and skidded into a wall. Harrison smiled, thinking he had won the match. He quickly realized his mistake, however, when Julia began pumping electricity into his body. While he was paralyzed, Lauren sent a large beam of Yellow Eco that hit him in his chest. Harrison grunted as his body went flying back so fast that he left an imprint of his body in the wall as he slid down.
Julia turned to Lauren and ducked under an Eco beam. She then threw a dozen combustion blasts at the girl, trying to hit her. Lauren ran for her life as each ball exploded a little closer to her than the previous one. Julia allowed herself to get caught up in target practice and did not notice Retep getting up to blast he with an attack of his own. As she hit the ground, Julia saw Lauren finally get hit just as Harrison hit Retep in the chest. Julia got back up and stuck her hand out. Her powers activated and sent a blast of wind at Harrison, who found it difficult to stay on his feet despite his bulk. He leapt into the air and let the wind blow him into a wall. Julia smiled, but realized she had played right into his hands a second later. Harrison leapt off the wall, his bulk allowing him to build up too much momentum for Julia to stop. He landed a foot in front of her and slammed his fists into the ground, causing her to lose her balance. As she fell, Julia pointed at him and a piece of the ground jutted out and knocked Harrison off his feet.
All the Channelers stood up and looked around. None of them bothered to hide the fact that they were exhausted, since all of them knew everyone was tired anyway. Lauren was the first one to act, throwing a torrent of blasts at Harrison. Throughout the fight, he had reminded them all that his colossal strength and stamina gave him an edge that they needed to take away. Retep joined her, seeing her strategy and soon the large elf was being pushed back from the onslaught. Julia had caught on to their strategy by now and decided to help them. After all, with Harrison gone, she would only need to defeat the two of them. She slammed her hands into the ground and tiles from the arena went flying as the ground itself rose up and imprisoned all of Harrison's body save his head: Julia did not want him to suffocate.
Retep saw his chance and charged the tiles with Blue Eco. He sent them at Julia and caused them to whirl around her. As she reached out to try to get past the tiles, the sharp edges cut her finger and elicited a shallow, but rather painful cut. She realized that she was effectively trapped. If she tried to escape, she would succeed in only injuring herself. Retep, satisfied that Julia was removed from the fight for the time being, charged his body with Red Eco and ran at Lauren. As he got near her, she sent a large Yellow Eco blast his way. Instead of continuing his present course, Retep was forced to dodge to the right in order to avoid taking damage. He quickly tried to get to Lauren again, but had gone barely a step when she fired another blast at him.
Lauren and Retep kept up this odd game for a few more minutes before frustration filled Retep's mind. Julia smiled: her opportunity to free herself had come at last. She manipulated the wind that was surrounding her and sent it at Retep as she grinded all the tiles around her to dust. Retep failed to see that attack coming and cursed as his eyes were filled with dust. He quickly began rubbing them to clear his vision, but Lauren had seen that he was blind and finally hit him with an Eco blast. Julia launched a rock at her and Lauren began a duel with the odd Channeler.
Retep got up off the floor and was about to enter the brawl when a loud crunch reached his ears. Retep turned around and saw a huge fist right before it hit him in the chest. Retep staggered back and began fighting Harrison. The crowd kept going back and forth between the two fights that were going on. Finally, Harrison managed to get a grip on Retep and held the small Channeler in the air with both his hands. Retep gasped for breath and gathered the last of his powers. He let a mighty blast that caused Harrison to drop him as he went flying back. The massive elf's head hit the wall and he finally went down. Retep picked himself up again and turned around just in time to see Julia turn the dirt into blocks and wrap them around Lauren's limbs, preventing the teenager from moving. Julia then turned around and saw that Retep was her only remaining opponent.
"Ready?" she called across the arena. Retep nodded as he ran at her. Julia threw a blast of lightning at him, but Retep simply extended his hand and dissipated the attack as he shot a larger blast. Julia raised a section of the ground to intercept the attack and used the explosion as a cover. She darted out and was nearly impaled by a spear. As Retep fired another, Julia kicked it with her foot and sent it right back at Retep, nailing him in the chest. As he stumbled, Julia ran at him, her eyes blazing and her fist crackling with electricity. At the last possible second, Retep grabbed her wrists and leaned back. His feet came up and hit her in the stomach as he pushed her past him. Retep then spun around and suspended her in the air with Blue Eco. He slammed her down into the ground, knowing that if she hit the wall at that velocity there was a good chance that she would get seriously injured. As it was, the force of her hitting the ground knocked her out and Retep was declared the winner. He raised his arms and grinned at the crowd before helping Julia to the medical room. Lauren walked, as she was not seriously injured, but it took eight elves to carry Harrison, who was unconscious. Hatu called in the next four fighters and the crowd once again cheered.
As the crowd roared its glee at the victor, the sound was loud enough to finally get through to Jak and Keira, who immediately stopped kissing. They looked at each other quickly before blushing and looking away. A low whistle made both of them freeze and, with a feeling of horror in their stomachs, turn towards the doorway.
"Wow. Thirty-seven minutes. I think you guys were goin' for a record," Daxter said as he grinned. Keira spluttered, trying to think of something to say, but Jak walked calmly over to his friend. He picked Daxter up by the scruff of the neck so as not to hurt his friend and pointed at himself, then Keira. He took two fingers and clamped them over Daxter's mouth, then narrowed his eyes at his friend. Though he was a mute, Jak's meaning could not have been any plainer.
"Tell anyone what you saw, and you'll regret it."
"Oh yeah? You have nothing on me Jak," Daxter replied with a cocky grin.
"He doesn't, but I do," Keira said as she finally began talking.
"What?"
"Three days ago, I was heading to my garage after getting a part I needed from the Sculptor. As I passed by the mini-hotel we've built, I saw an orange rodent heading to where Cara, Margaret, Tiffany, Julia, Lauren, and Emma go to change before training. Now, I would hate to see what would happen to him if those girls, not to mention their boyfriends and brothers, were to somehow find out," she said, a small amount of menace entering her voice. Daxter's skin, and his fur, paled as he thought back to that day and realized that though he had seen Keira, he had assumed she couldn't see him.
"Fine. My lips are sealed. But you better not tell anyone that you saw me either," he said loudly.
"Deal." Keira and Daxter shook hands, though the latter did so only because he had no choice, and then headed out into the crowd, leaving Jak quite alone. As he sat down and prepared to take a nap, Keira poked her head in and called to him.
"Don't forget Jak, you still get a prize for winning the first round," she said with another wink. Jak grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up as he closed his eyes, awaiting the bell that would signal the second round of this mighty tournament.
Keira wandered around and saw that Retep had won the third match. She felt happy for the outcast, since she had talked with his sister and found out that neither of them had been very popular back at home. Keira hoped that entering the tournament and winning the first match would help both their reputations. Daxter was watching the last four fighters charge up and shouted as a large blue flash erupted. Keira looked down and saw a figure on the ground as Blue Eco left the machine and coursed through the Channeler's body.
"Bryan!" Meredith cried as she dragged him away from the maverick machine. He looked at her with dazed eyes and she sighed in relief: the enormous amount of Eco he had absorbed hadn't killed him.
"Are you okay?" Emma asked.
"He's fine. In fact, that blast has made him stronger," Ferrid said as he looked at Bryan with his eye.
"What do you mean?" Emma asked as Bryan stood up.
"I mean that that large blast of Blue Eco has changed Bryan. He will no longer be able to Channel Green, Red, or Yellow Ecos, but he will now be able to Channel Blue Eco in ways that only Zeorro Cyan can," Ferrid said. "My eye not only detects Channelers, it lets me know about their powers as well. Trust me, he can fight, and he is able to enter the round."
When the Sages arrived, they confirmed what Ferrid had said and Bryan agreed that he would fight this round using only Blue Eco.
"Sorry for the delay folks," Hatu said, explaining that Bryan was fine and that the match would continue. "Now, in this final match, Bryan Caulfield from Sandover Village, Meredith Bennett of Volcanic Snowy Mountain Island, Ferrid Schuble from Wasteland Metropolis, and Emma Juliano from The City of The Sky! And now, let the last of the elimination matches begin!"
Bryan wasted no time in summoning an Eco Blade and slashing at Ferrid. Like Veston, Bryan had experimented until he had found the perfect sword with which he could spar. As Ferrid stumbled back, clutching his ribs, Meredith blasted Emma back with a Red Eco grenade. Emma flew back and kicked out as she saw Ferrid in the air. Her feet hit him and sent him flying in a different direction as Emma came down and spread her limbs so as to absorb the shock. No sooner had she landed did Meredith chuck another Eco grenade at her, causing her to fly up once more. Bryan saw her in the air and sent a shockwave through the air at her. Emma felt the attack coming and sent her own blast at him. Though she had nowhere near enough power to defeat an Ascended Channeler in a contest of strength, she weakened his attack enough to make it only turn her enough so that she landed on her feet.
Emma landed behind Meredith as she came down and dodged a powerful kick. She grabbed Meredith's leg before swinging her around and throwing the elderly Channeler. Ferrid Channeled Red Eco through his body and punched an unsuspecting Bryan in the back. After the initial blow, Bryan used a technique that he had decided to call the backlash. Though he felt the next powerful punch, Ferrid received double the energy and was thrown back. As Meredith landed, she looked up to see what everyone else was doing. Emma sent a blast of Yellow Eco at Bryan just as Ferrid tried to grab him. Bryan leapt into the air and avoided both blows, leaving Ferrid to deflect the attack Emma had fired.
Meredith ran forward as she threw two fireballs at fireballs at Emma. Emma quickly absorbed the fireballs, only to go down to the ground as Meredith ran at her and lay across the floor, tripping her as she did so. Meredith continued sliding right into Ferrid, who had been blasted back by Bryan. As Ferrid turned around in mid-air, he grabbed Meredith and used her as a cushion. As Meredith picked herself up, Emma rammed her in the back and knocked the female elf over once more. Meredith growled as she picked herself up and dodged a slash by Bryan. As Ferrid and Emma made their way over to him to gang up on the Ascended Channeler, Bryan let out a massive blast that threw everyone back and knocked himself on his feet. All of them got to their feet once more and Bryan immediately attacked Meredith once again.
Meredith ducked under the slash again and threw Bryan away. As she turned around, she leapt into the air to avoid Emma, who was flying through the air due to Ferrid kicking her in the chest. As Emma went whizzing by, Meredith charged up an energy attack and unleashed it. Yellow Eco crackled through the air as she dashed forward. Her speed combined with that of her attack's gave Ferrid zero time to defend, and he went flying back as the attack hit him in the chest. As she turned around, Meredith was seized by Emma and spun around in a circle a few times before begin thrown as well. She hit the ground and skidded, breaking a few tiles as she pushed off and straightened herself.
Bryan used his power to grab Emma out of the air and bring her to him before he tossed her behind him and sent her flying with a strong kick to the ribs. Ferrid dodged her as she flew by and made a beeline for Bryan, who had a distinct advantage above everyone else. He charged some of his power up to create a blow string enough to knock the Channeler out when suddenly two slashes hit him and he stumbled back. Bryan disappeared and reappeared in front of Emma, who he grabbed out of the air. Bryan teleported again and took her with him. As they reappeared, Bryan smashed her into the ground before jumping into the air and deflecting a few blasts sent his way. Ferrid ran in while Meredith was distracting him and out Bryan into a bear hug. Bryan was shocked, but quickly got over it and teleported into the air and flipping over so that Ferrid's back would hit the ground first. Ferrid quickly realized this and spun them around before jumping off Bryan. This move sent Bryan crashing to the ground while ensuring that Ferrid was unharmed.
As Bryan hit the ground, he groaned. Some of this was due to what had just happened to him, and the other part was because Meredith had stepped on him as she ran at Emma, who had just leapt into the air and kicked Ferrid in the chest. Emma landed on her feet as Ferrid stumbled back. Bryan got to his feet quickly and slashed at the two of them, only to stop to block a few attacks from Meredith. Emma fought Bryan for a few seconds and sent him flying back with an Eco blast as Meredith rolled in front of her to avoid a beam by Ferrid. Said beam came within inches of hitting Emma, who ducked under it quickly. As she rose up, she caught the scent of burning hair: the attack had singed the top of her head.
As Emma rose up, Meredith caught her by the head and put her in a headlock. Emma tried to get out but succeeded in only aggravating Meredith, who Channeled Red Eco and hurled her across the arena. Like before, Emma was grabbed seemingly telekinetically by Bryan and sent into the ground. As she hit the ground, she saw Meredith run at Bryan and slid into him, tripping him up and causing the Ascended Channeler into the air. As he rose, Emma hit Bryan in the chest with a Red Eco blast and sending him down to the ground back first. As Ferrid leapt into the fight, he startled Emma, who was beaten to a pulp by his fists. She fell over, her chest bruised but not bleeding. As she looked up and saw Ferrid fighting Meredith, she felt her body and realized that nothing was broken, though she would definitely feel these injuries for a few days.
Ferrid attacked relentlessly, keeping his strength in check. Individually, he made sure his attacks were harmless. It was only when he strung them together for long combos that they did damage, and that was only when he hit someone in the same spot over and over. Bryan slashed at Ferrid from behind, but the Channeler dodged the strike, only to be kicked in the air by Meredith. As he went down, Ferrid fired a blast at Bryan that was blocked with said Channeler's Eco Blade. The attack rebounded upon the caster and Ferrid grunted in pain as he hit the ground and had his body enveloped by his own attack.
Ferrid quickly got up off the ground and ducked under a hook punch from Meredith. He pivoted his body as he dodged and stepped in, delivering a hard blow to the floating rib. Meredith hissed as Ferrid hit her again and then got behind her. He put his forearm around her throat and lowered her to the ground, being ginger with her neck. Both Ferrid and Meredith were levitated and blasted back by Bryan, who had just finished immobilizing Emma temporarily with his Blue Eco Lightning. Bryan sent a scythe of Eco that was really quite blunt at Meredith. Ferrid picked her up and threw it before it could impact it hit her instead. Just as Bryan's attack hit him from behind, Ferrid's chest was nailed a by a fireball from Emma. Meredith, who was quite tired of being thrown around, aimed herself in the air and kicked Ferrid, knocking him down.
Emma ran past Meredith, staying out of range, and coated her body with fire. She ran at Bryan, who held up both his hands again. As she leapt into the air and angled down so she was heading for him foot first, Bryan used his backlash attack once more and both were knocked back. As their bodies hit the floor, Meredith's beam of Eco traveled through where they had been a second ago and hit the walls, dissipating as it did so. Bryan stood up shakily and diverted the score of fireballs that Meredith had sent his way. Bryan blasted her back with a shockwave before slashing at Ferrid. Unfortunately, he left his ribs open and Ferrid dodged to the right, kicking Bryan as he did so. Bryan fell back, clutching his ribs, which were hurting quite a lot. He took comfort in the knowledge that if he won the match, he could ice his ribs so they wouldn't bother him too much.
As Meredith fought Ferrid, she quickly gained the upper hand and began hitting him in the chest. Emma blasted both of them with a beam of Red Eco before jumping over Meredith's tripping slide. Meredith came to rest right in front of Bryan, who jumped over her and went over to where Emma was now fighting Ferrid. Meredith used a trick she had learned from watching Bryan, and yanked him back using Blue Eco. As he came towards her, he slashed at her with a horizontal swipe. Meredith back flipped over the attack and thrust both her legs put as Bryan came rushing in. Bryan cried out as her feet hit him in his tender rib and he fell back. Bryan gasped for breath when suddenly he remembered that the Blue Sage was capable of healing himself by speeding up his body's metabolism. He decided to give it a try and stayed down, hoping that everyone would ignore him as he tried to focus his powers.
Emma, meanwhile, had just succeeded in blasting Ferrid backwards. As his body bounced off the ground, Emma sent a beam of Yellow Eco. She had forgotten about timing, however, and had launched the attack at where he was at the moment, with the result that it just missed him and hit Bryan in the chest just as he stood up, feeling very pleased with himself. Meredith watched as Ferrid slammed his hand into the ground and a blast of Eco traveled across the ground and knocked Emma off her feet. Ferrid stood above Emma and gathered a large ball of Yellow Eco, making it very clear that he wanted Emma to surrender. Meredith saw her chance and dashed forward using Blue Eco. She rammed him in the back with her shoulder and they both went down.
Meredith straddled Ferrid's chest and punched him a few times in the face, mainly in the forehead. She got in three blows before Emma yanked her off him and slammed her into the ground. Ferrid launched a beam of Blue Eco at the two women, but Bryan dashed forward and absorbed the blast, using it to recharge his nearly depleted Eco reservoirs. He turned towards Emma and Meredith before extending both his hands and tightening them into fists. Emma and Meredith both rose into the air at once. Bryan spread his arms, leaving his chest completely exposed, as both girls went flying in opposite directions. Ferrid launched a surprise attack and hit Bryan in the chest, causing the elf from Sandover to step back.
Meredith stood up and charged Bryan, realizing finally that he posed the biggest threat and almost got to him. Ferrid stepped in front of her and the two began to fight. Halfway through the brawl, Bryan blasted everyone back once more. As the three elves got to their feet, they turned to each other.
"Team up?" Emma asked.
"Definitely," Ferrid answered.
"Let's take him down," Meredith said before all three attacked Bryan.
Bryan used the Blue Eco he had left to accelerate his body to nearly blinding speeds as he dodged attacks from three elves. After five minutes, Bryan saw his chance and Emma went down, a blow to the chin having done the job quite effectively. Ferrid and Meredith both back off before shooting a blast of Eco at him: the former choosing Red Eco while the latter preferred Yellow Eco. Bryan extended his hands and seemed to catch the attacks before spinning one hundred eighty degrees and hitting Ferrid with Meredith's attack and Meredith with Ferrid's. As Meredith stumbled back, Bryan dashed at her and ducked under a hook punch. The attack was as effective on Meredith as it was on Emma, and knocked the elf.
Ferrid gulped as Bryan dashed at him and assumed a boxing stance. Ferrid was not a bad fighter, but Bryan made up for his lack of experience with extraordinary speed. Ferrid blocked three jabs before Bryan got through his defenses and hit him above each eye. Bryan then threw a cross into Ferrid's chest, an uppercut under the chin, and finished the male elf off with a hook punch, knocking him out.
Bryan grinned as he was proclaimed the winner and looked at his friends. He levitated them and walked to the medical room. He knew that none of them was seriously injured, but he wanted to take them there to make up for knocking them out: they would likely be dizzy and disoriented when they came to. The least he could do was explain what had happened while they rested. And, he thought, they might have some ice for his head, which was hurting a bit from all the fighting.
Jak walked out of his room as the signal for him to enter the arena sounded. He stepped into the arena and saw that it was filled with craters and debris that had not been there at the end of his match. He was surprised that the Precursors hadn't made the arena self healing, but then decided that either they had and the elves had yet to discover it; or they wanted the tournament to be realistic to real battles. He put his musings aside as he heard Hatu's voice over the speakers.
"Now, the second round will being. The eliminations have yielded four winners. Two of them are Retep Juliano and Bryan Caulfield, who will fight next match. This match however, is Cara Tarakava, Queen of Brigands Bastion-" a much louder round of applause rang out at her name than last time. Jak supposed that seeing her fight had made people like her more. "And Jak Hagia of Sandover Village, who-" the rest of Hatu's statement was drowned out by a roar of applause that astounded Jak. He smiled shyly and waved, causing the people to cheer louder. "And now, let the second match begin!" Hatu bellowed. Jak and Cara walked up to each other and smiled at each other before shaking hands. They then backed off and assumed combat stances, each wanting to win the match that was ahead of them.
Jak couldn't take it anymore after a minute of waiting and launched himself at Cara, being careful not to use his Eco. Cara smirked: the most talented Channeler in the tournament was unable to use Eco because she would turn it against him. She snapped out of her musings as Jak leapt over her, only to activate his Blue Eco Box and do a back flip in the air so he would land where he jumped from. Cara felt three quick punches against her back and stumbled forward. Cara spun around and threw a back kick, catching Jak in the chest with a back kick. Jak took the blow with no exterior signs of pain, but inwardly, he winced- that rib had been aching for a while now. Cara threw a punch but Jak blocked it with his arm. The two entered a struggle, each pushing against the other to make the opponent back off. Jak ducked under a hook punch and rolled right between Cara's legs as she threw a roundhouse kick. Jak grabbed Cara and spun her around before shoving her so that she stumbled backwards. Cara regained her footing almost instantly, but Jak rammed her in the chest with his shoulder.
Cara flew back a foot or two from the blow but stayed on her feet. As Jak launched a Yellow Eco beam at her, she caught it and absorbed it around her, ready to call on it when she needed a trump card. Jak cursed mentally. He hadn't meant to try to hit her with an Eco attack; he had just done it as a forceful habit. Cara dashed at Jak, who stood still, waiting for her strike. Cara threw a punch and leaned back slightly to get her hips into it. Jak saw his chance and thrust his foot forward right into her stomach. Cara cried out softly as she fell back and did a reverse somersault. She shook her head to clear it and stood back up. Jak allowed her: because this was not a fight in which he had to worry about three other people, he was willing to let Cara get up off the floor and regain her footing before attacking her again. Cara leapt into the air and Jak followed her. He threw a spinning back kick as they neared each other, but felt it only graze Cara. The girl took the opportunity to hit Jak with a kick of her own and sent the teenager plummeting to the ground.
Unfortunately, Cara took her eyes off Jak as she landed and was picked up once more from behind. Jak copied his move from before- he shoved her forward before ramming her with his shoulder. This time, Cara was prepared for it and grabbed Jak's wrist as she stumbled back. Though she maintained her footing, Jak was not so lucky, as Cara saw fit to throw him into the dirt. Jak started to get up and saw Cara rushing at him. He bent over and head butted her in the gut, stopping her from attacking him. Cara backed off a couple of steps and fired a piece of the Yellow Eco beam she had taken from Jak before. Jak charged through the beam by surrounding his body with Red Eco and stuck his right arm out. As he ran by, his arm smacked Cara across the chest and she fell over from the force of his blow.
Cara stood up and quickly stole some of the Red Eco surrounding Jak. As she spread it over her body, Cara made it burst into flames and charged forward, her body becoming a moving inferno. Jak remained calm and dodged to the right as she streaked past him. Cara had been watching him, unfortunately, and turned the fire surrounding her into a blast. Jak was thrown backwards from the force of the attack and sent a blast of his own through the smoke that was rising from the battle. He heard no grunt of pain, nor did he hear it impact the walls, so Jak assumed the worst and guessed that Cara had taken that beam as well, read to turn it against him when he least expected it.
Cara decided to use it straight away and sent a large number of attacks his way. Jak leapt into the air and threw a dozen or so small blasts of his own. Cara stuck her hand out and the attack rebounded off her flesh onto Jak. Jak fell to the ground, landing a little shaky after getting hit by his own attack. As Cara ran at him, Jak jumped in the air to avoid getting swept off his feet and flipped his front leg up to kick her in the ribs. The attack did next to no damage, but the sensation distracted Cara, which had been Jak's intention all along. Jak hit Cara in the stomach and then the ribs with inverted palms. Cara was lifted off the floor from the attack, but grabbed Jak's hand as he went to strike again. She grabbed the wrist and turned her body while stepping under his arm. To stop his wrist from snapping, Jak was forced to go with his arm and fell to the ground. Like Jak, Cara backed off after slamming him down and allowed him to get back on his feet. Jak understood that she was being courteous, not mocking him.
Jak surreptitiously activated his Blue Eco Box and got up before Cara could react. He hastily ran at her and rammed her in the chest. As she stumbled backwards, Jak leapt over her and rammed her again so that he began to fall forward. Before she could react, Jak got in front of her and tossed her into the air. Cara looked at him as she rose and stuck her hand out. Rather than steal the Eco that was moving around Jak, she decided to use it immediately. Jak was most surprised when his body flew back of its own accord and slammed into a wall. He quickly turned his Blue Eco Box off, realizing what Cara was doing, and smirked when she cursed as she hit the ground. Cara dashed at Jak, who used a technique that he had seen Zeorro do. Little did he know that it was Bryan's new favorite attack. As Cara punched him, Jak used a backlash wave and hit her with double the damage he took. Both Channelers flew back and Jak pried himself out of the wall while Cara picked herself up off the floor.
Cara used the Blue Eco she had been saving since last match and used it to create an illusion of herself. As her illusion dashed forward, Jak blocked the attack and Cara tried to hit him from behind. Little did she know that Jak had seen through her ploy and leapt over her attack. He was ill prepared to block a back kick from Cara as he landed, and stumbled back, albeit towards the center of the arena this time. As they both leapt into the air, Cara leapt higher than Jak and kicked him in the forehead, sending him down to earth. Jak shot a blast of Yellow Eco at the ground and used the recoil to slow his progress. Jak landed on his feet and waited for Cara to do the same.
Jak gathered the Yellow Eco in his body and allowed it to expand as Cara ran at him, her face determined. As she impacted the Eco, Cara was thrown back. Jak's attack had been so quick, she had forgotten to absorb it from the shock. She dashed forward again and this time coated her foot with Red Eco as she leapt through the circle. She broke through and hit him right in the chest, sending him backwards again. Jak sailed back and saw himself about to hit the wall. He angled his body so that his feet would hit first and launched himself off the wall, tackling Cara. As they both hit the ground, Jak put his hands in front of his face and leaned forward, flipping himself up. Cara used the last bit of Blue Eco she had and attacked, sending the Eco through the ground. Jak used his own attack and it sent Cara flying into the air.
As Cara went down, she gathered a ball of Yellow Eco in her hand, positive that Jak would try to hit her in the air. She was quite right, and Jak gathered a ball of Red Eco in his hand. As he leapt up, they both attempted to punch the other with their hand of Eco. The resulting explosion sent Jak into the air and Cara through the air. Jak saw how high she was and flew up to her. He caught her as she began her descent. Cara punched him in the face before she realized what he was doing. As he put her down, she apologized to him. Jak waved a hand airily, knowing that it was a mistake. They backed off and then resumed the fight. Jak sent a weak blast of Eco at Cara. She rebounded it and ran forward, ready to strike right after it. Jak simply fired a stronger blast that overrode his first attack and hit Cara as she ran into it. Cara went flying back and got up off the ground, mentally noting that strategy so she would not fall for it again.
Cara sent a few streaks of Red Eco at Jak. Jak ran forward, not even feeling the attacks. He got right up to her as she continued to attack. By this time, Jak's shoulders felt the Red Eco- they were red and raw. Jak ignored the pain, and simply grabbed her. After lifting her in the air and receiving a couple of blows to the face, Jak shoved her back. Cara stumbled and tripped over a piece of rock that was jutting out. She flipped up into the air and sent a small ball of fire that Jak had launched at her back at him. Jak fell back from his own attack and got to his feet. Both Channelers looked at each other, exhaustion written all over their faces.
Cara launched Jak into the air again and Jak kicked her as she came after him. Both landed on their feet and Jak threw a flying kick at Cara. Cara dodged it and hit him in the back as he passed with a round kick. Jak fell to the ground and his Yellow Eco Box cracked open. Cara spotted the Eco leaving and sucked up half of it before Jak drained the remaining Yellow Eco into his body. He and Cara looked at each other and waited for the other to make a move.
They both acted simultaneously, running in one direction and firing Yellow Eco Blasts at the same time. The blasts hit each other and cancelled out. Jak ran at Cara, who leapt into the air. Jak looked up in time to see her throw a disk of energy. Jak reacted instinctively and leapt over it as he fired a blast of his own. Cara avoided it as she landed by twirling in the air. She landed and began a melee with Jak, who eagerly returned the challenge. After five minutes, they backed off and both charged up a massive blast of Yellow Eco before they fired. The beams collided, but instead of canceling each other out, they began vying with each other for domination. As Cara's beam gained the upper hand, Jak leapt up and out of the way so he wouldn't be vaporized. He looked down and he saw that Cara had vanished. Jak looked around and saw Cara above him. The female Channeler charged up a ball of Yellow Eco and hurled it at Jak. Jak put his arms in front of him like an "X" and blocked the attack.
Jak created an Eco Blade as Cara used the last of her Eco to do the same. He brought his sword up in a horizontal slash, but a vertical block stopped it. Jak muscled through the block and forced Cara to jump over his attack. As he spun, he switched directions to take Cara by surprise, but his sword was blocked once again. Jak brought his sword down and to the left, but again he was deflected. Cara pushed Jak's sword back and copied his last attack; he came down and to the left. Jak blocked and spun his sword around and came up and to the right, trying to slice through Cara's legs. The pirate blocked the attack and brought her sword up behind her head before slamming it down. Jak blocked it and they began pushing against each other, each trying to throw the other off balance. Cara pushed his blade up, leaving Jak temporarily defenseless, and then delivered a hard kick to Jak's chest.
Jak went flying back, but landed on his feet, using his sensational agility and flexibility to regain his footing. Jak slowly walked towards Cara and swung his sword in a vertical path going down. Cara blocked this blow, but was caught by surprise when Jak swung his sword in the opposite direction and came from below. The tip of Jak's blade touched her skin and Cara hissed at the pain that the Eco Blade caused, even if it didn't through her skin. She simply ignored the pain and brought her sword crashing down on Jak's head. Or she would have, had Jak not once again blocked the attack. Cara then turned her blade and came at Jak from below, only to be foiled and blocked again. Again and again, they went back and forth. Most of the spectators were have been unable to discern one blade from the other, as they were both moving so fast that the blades seemed to leave blurs in the air.
Once again Jak came up from the ground and was blocked; both of them holding their blades firmly in place as they circled each other. Jak broke his off and did a triple strike, coming first across from the left, then across from the right, then straight down. Cara blocked all three blows with relative ease and then resumed taking the offensive. He swung his blade across, making Jak lean back. Cara was quick to press weight on the blade in an attempt to overbear Jak. Jak leaned so that his head was nearly to the ground and kicked Cara in the chin.
Cara went soaring backwards in a graceful arc and landed on her hands. She quickly got up and stopped Jak's next attack- a downward stroke to the left. Jak back-flipped away and landed on his feet, bent down with one hand on the ground and the other in front of his face. He rose and charged Cara, swinging his sword in a straight thrust. Cara quickly parried it and the two of them once again danced around each other, attacking and blocking, pivoting and parrying in an attempt to win.
Jak swung his sword to the left and then seemed to disappear. Cara heard air being cut through behind her and quickly turned around to stop the sword that was coming for her. After his block, he moved his rapier down and then back up to put Jak off balance. Jak recovered instantaneously and brought his sword above his head and slammed it down, then brought it back and repeated the motion. Cara continued blocking and eventually had to take a step back. This one movement would prove to be her downfall, as Jak was quick to strike again and again, almost to quickly to see. Cara tried one last attack: a downward chop with all of her considerable strength behind it. Jak blocked and put both hands on opposite sides of his sword. He pushed back as hard as he could and forced Cara to fall over. Cara continued trying to defend himself as Jak's sword crashed against his continuously, but eventually Jak prevailed. Bringing his sword across rather than down, Jak made Cara's sword arm swing wildly out and then he brought his sword down for one final attack. His blade cut right through Cara's head and screamed out from the intense pain before falling to the floor. Jak quickly saw that she had passed out and picked her up.
"Jak, I'm okay," Cara said as Jak began to carry her off. He quickly put her down and Cara giggled. "I only passed out for a second, "but I feel fine now." Jak smiled, glad that his friend was okay. "Hey Jak!" she shouted as Jak began walking back to his room. He turned around and looked inquisitively at her. "Good luck in the final match. I'll be wanting a re-match soon!" Jak grinned and gave her a thumbs up.
Cara smiled at Jak as Veston and Retep helped her to the healing area. She wasn't injured, but she would have a few bumps and bruises in addition to the ones that she had gotten during the first match. Jak smiled at her and watched her go. He then went back to his room and caught a glimpse of himself in a mirror. His goggles were gone, leaving his face bare. His hair was singed slightly in some places, and his forehead had a large cut that looked as though it had been cauterized. His face was bruised and had soot all over it, just like his shoulders and what could be seen of his chest and legs, since his clothes were getting ruined. His pants were now shorts, and his shirt was little more than shredded. He pulled up the table that Keira had set up for him before and watched the next match begin. He wanted to see how an Ascended Channeler would fight, especially one tied to one of the more passive Ecos. He was glad that the Sages had decided that Bryan would get three Blue Eco Boxes, since he was unable to wield any other Ecos and it would be unfair if he only had one Eco Box. Jak watched as the bell rang and the two holographic figures ran at each other.
Hatu was quick to make the introductions and the bell rang. Bryan summoned his Eco Blade and prepared to fight Retep. Retep summoned a Yellow Eco Blade of his own. Bryan increased the size of his Eco Blade to the size of a falchion. He then rushed forward and brought his big sword crashing down. Retep blocked it with a horizontal swipe, but the sheer force of the blow sent him staggering backwards a couple of steps. That was all Bryan needed, as he charged forward, swinging his weapon as it did so. Retep blocked the first horizontal swipe, but realized after that that it would be much easier to simply dodge the incoming attacks. He leaned forward under another horizontal strike and then stood up straight and spun to the left as a vertical blow came from below. Retep leaned forward again and dodged a third attack, but realized the flaw in his plan very quickly: if he continued to back up without attacking, he would eventually run out of room and lose.
As Bryan thrust his sword forward, Retep brought his crashing down to block it. Unfortunately, he had fallen right into Bryan's trap. Bryan stuck out his hand and Retep's opened of its own accord. As he dodged, his Eco Blade vanished into thin air. Retep ducked under a vertical strike and could not find the time to turn on his Yellow Eco Box, since Bryan was attacking too fast to give him any free time. He leaned to the right as Bryan brought his Eco Blade back up and then thrust forward. Retep leapt backwards and formed another Eco Blade while in the air, landing with a new weapon.
Retep spun around and brought his sword rushing in, the Eco Blade hissing as it split the air. The Ascended Channeler rotated his sword so that the hilt was facing towards the ceiling and blocked the incoming strike. He jumped back before leaping forward, spinning in the air and connecting his foot with Retep's face. The Channeler went stumbling back and fell as he tripped over a piece of rock. Fortunately, he retained enough of his senses that he saw Bryan landing and he rolled to the side just in time to avoid the Eco Blade going right through his body. The same could not be said of the large boulder behind him, which shattered as the Eco formed sword went right through it.
Retep got to one knee before Bryan struck again, swinging with the arm closest to Retep. Even as he blocked the attack, Bryan moved in with nightmarish speed and transferred his weapon to his back hand. Before he realized what was happening, Retep felt the breath leave his body as Bryan let a shockwave leave his hand. Once again, Retep traveled through the air, but did not travel far. Bryan pulled him back with his new Blue co powers and kicked Retep, letting him travel through the air this time.
Retep landed painfully on some rocks, the sharp corners digging into his back and increasing his discomfort. Bryan once again tried to cut through him, but Retep dodged again, determined to defeat his foe and win the tournament. His dreams were cut short, however, by Bryan grabbing him by the chest and picking him up. Bryan slammed him into another column and brought his sword back to knock Retep out. Retep saw his chance and kicked the Channeler in the face. As he went stumbling back, Retep landed and brought his sword up to his shoulder, pointing straight ahead at Bryan.
Retep darted forward and with an upward strike knocked aside the dazed elf's weapon. He brought his sword back and thrust it forward one final time- right in Bryan's chest. Bryan groaned and hit Retep with a shockwave. Retep went flying back and summoned another Eco Blade, realizing that he would need two weapons to beat an Ascended Channeler.
Retep attacked first as they both leapt into the air, striking first with a blow coming across from the right. Bryan had just finished blocking this when his opponent spun around, swinging blindly with his left arm. Retep continued forward while Bryan planted his feet and swung his Blade in an arc over his head. This chop was deflected by his opponent, who quickly countered by bringing his Blades across his body. Bryan blocked both strikes as fast as he could, and struck at his foe once more. Retep moved with unnerving speed, considering he wasn't Channeling Blue Eco, as he dodged to the left of the strike and swung first with his left, then his right Eco Blade. He then spun around and brought both of his weapons across at different heights.
Bryan leapt back out of the way of this attack and then charged forward, swinging his single Blue Eco Blade down. Retep blocked the attack and parried it with his left arm before striking with a wide curve with his right. Bryan blocked this move and smashed his Blade on top of the one that he had sent downwards. Both Channelers struggled for a split second before breaking the lock and again attacking one another.
Retep brought his Eco Blade in his left hand up from below, and followed it as he stepped forward with a swipe from his right. Bryan was hard pressed to deflect both attacks without so much as a scratch on him, but he managed it. He once again tried to cut his opponent in half from the head down, but this time Retep brought his Eco Blades above his head in an X-block. He pressed upward and leapt over a low attack, as Bryan had followed the momentum of his Blade and allowed it to go behind his back before bringing it up and to the right.
As Bryan ran forward with the momentum of the attack, Retep leapt ten feet in the air effortlessly, tapping into the Red Eco he was Channeling to increase his strength. As he landed, he twisted himself around and brought his Eco Blades down. Bryan stepped back from the strength of the attack before changing his momentum and running forward. He swiped at the enemy, but his opponent was now using his already formidable speed and Blue Eco. He dashed forward past the attacks so fast that it appeared to teleport. As he past Bryan on the left, the Channeler from the floating city swung backwards with his right arm and then reversed the spin, attacking with his left hand. He tossed his Blades between his hands, hoping to dazzle Bryan, and then attacked with his right arm. Bryan dodged the attack before going in and thrusting his Blade forward. Retep parried the attack to the right and attacked again by slamming both his Eco Blades down. Bryan backed off and allowed the Eco Blades to hit the ground. An eerie hissing sound was heard as the Eco-based weapon cut through the rock. Bryan ran forward and tried to hit Retep in the head with his fist.
Bryan was sent flying back as a blast of Yellow Eco hit him in the chest, stopping only when he hit a wall. He rubbed his head with his free hand and looked up. He immediately leapt up upon seeing Retep coming in, both Eco Blades ready to cut dish out some major damage. He used the Blue Eco residing inside his body to propel himself fifteen feet in the air, coming down about twenty feet away from his opponent. Bryan turned around and extended his hand. Sent out a wave of Blue Eco. Unfortunately for him, Retep had suspected such a tactic, because he crossed his Blades across his chest and only skidded back about fifteen feet. Retep then took the opportunity and leapt at his enemy, but had not accounted for Bryan's near-mastery of Blue Eco. Using his left hand, the Ascended Channeler sent debris littering the floor flying at Retep. Retep cut through the incoming projectiles, but the cost was high. He lost sight of Bryan, who continued to send debris at Retep while lurking out of sight.
Retep turned around and ducked to avoid being hit by a large rock. He rose and spun, shearing another rock in half. He looked to his left and saw a column of rock being hurled at him. He held his Eco Blade in front of him and the trunk was cut in half, both sides passing him on either side. Bryan waited for Retep to realize that he was finished throwing things at him, which eventually happened. Bryan was then forced back under a furious series of thrusts and swipes, unable to think of a strategy beyond not getting hit. Retep thrust his Blade forward and left it out a fragment of a second too long. But that one instant was enough, and he found his Eco Blade being flipped into the air as Bryan sent it out of his hand. Bryan then did the same to the other hand. He then tried to cut into Retep at the waist, but his opponent leapt up. While in the air, Retep managed to make one last Eco Blade.
Bryan managed to land in front of his opponent, and had his Eco Blade knocked away by a swipe. He ducked under the a second swipe and received a spinning back kick in the chest. Bryan landed and jumped over a swipe that would have hit him in the legs before coming down with an overhead chop that was blocked. Bryan sent the assassin flying back, and was hurled back by another blast in return.
Bryan rolled backwards and swiped at Retep, almost hitting him. The assassin rolled out of the way and levitated pebbles off the ground. They flew at Bryan, who winced as they continuously cut him. Eventually, he had enough and exploded with energy. The force dispersed the Eco Blade Retep was holding and blasted him off his feet. Retep got up and did not make another Eco Blade: he knew it would just be a waste of time and Eco.
Bryan dashed at Retep and leapt into the air cover the distance quicker. Retep launched a Yellow Eco blasts at him while in midair, which Bryan attempted to dodge. He was unsuccessful, however, and hit the ground hard. As Retep rushed at him, Bryan hit Retep with an arrow of Blue Eco and staved off the Channeler. As Retep tried to clear his eyes of the dust that had accompanied the attack, Bryan sprinted up to him and slashed him across the chest with his Eco Blade. Retep quickly rallied and sent a large wave of flames at Bryan. Bryan was sent flying back from the force of the attack.
Retep ran at Bryan and dodged to the right at the last second to avoid the swipe. What he hadn't counted on, however, was the stream of Eco that left the Blade and struck him across the chest. As Bryan prepared for a follow-up attack, Retep charged forward and punched Bryan right in the chest. Bryan landed on the floor and nearly passed out after Retep sent so many attacks at him that Bryan stopped counting after a while. Bryan melted through the floor and walked right underneath Retep. As he grabbed Retep's leg, Bryan smirked. He caused Retep to sink into the solid stone. He looked down at Retep struggle for a second before the normal Channeler sighed and gave up. Bryan grinned and lifted Retep out of the ground. They shook hands and Bryan went back to his room for the half hour wait that he had before the final match with Jak.
Bryan left the arena and went back to his room. He had half an hour to rest up before the final match, and he was going to take advantage of it. He laid down on his bed and waited for the siren that was the signal for the final round.
"Now ladies and gentlemen, it is time to wrap up this tournament," Hatu said half an hour later. Both Jak and Bryan had been healed by Samos. The Sages wanted the crowd to see a truly spectacular fight, and that would be more likely if the two of them were in tip-top condition. He and Jak stepped into the now destroyed arena and shook hands as Hatu announced their names. They shared a smile before backing off and awaiting the bell for the final match. As the bell rang, Bryan and Jak launched at each other, the former activating one of his Blue Eco Boxes as he summoned a Blue Eco Staff, while the latter formed a Yellow Eco Blade.
Jak and Bryan charged each other, whirling their weapons around in an attempt to disorientate and confuse the other. Jak leapt into the air as Bryan swung his Eco staff, not only dodging the attack, but placing himself behind Bryan. As he stabbed, Bryan flipped his Staff around and parried the block without looking. He spun around, putting so much force behind his weapon that Jak had to step back. As Bryan struck and chopped, Jak found himself desperately blocking and dodging. After a minute of this, Jak knew he had to get back on the offensive or he would never win. As he ducked a swipe, he punched Bryan in the chest and sent his opponent staggering back a few inches. Bryan instantly tried to strike Jak once again, coming in low, intending to cut Jak's feet and make Jak focus on the pain in his foot instead of the fight. Jak blocked it and struck forward, swinging his Blade horizontally to do the same thing to the Ascended Channeler, only he decided to aim for the head.
Bryan blocked the blow with ease, only to have Jak try to cut him in half by the waist. Rather than blocking Jak with the same side, Bryan simply changed his swords angle slightly and once again blocked the incoming blow. As Jak blocked and struck, he slowly pushed the bigger Channeler away. He continued walking towards Bryan, both ensuring his opponent would not get a chance to rest and hoping that with his back against the wall, his adversary would surrender.
Bryan quickly caught onto Jak's game plan and back flipped, landing on a boulder sticking out of the ground. Jak jumped up to meet him, bringing his sword straight down. Bryan blocked the strike and elbowed Jak in the face as he landed. Jak was stunned momentarily from the blow and was punched in the jaw. He fell backwards off the boulder and landed on his back. As Bryan came down, he deflected the blow and kicked him in the stomach as hard as he could. Bryan backed off, gasping for air as Jak got to his feet. They both took deep breaths as they surveyed each other, thinking of a new strategy. Jak came in with his Eco Blade horizontal, but quickly changed it to a downward slash. Bryan had brought his weapon up vertically to block the incoming slash when Jak flipped angles and quickly had to change his own to avoid being struck. They locked blades for an instant and Jak backed off, not wanting to get into a struggle of brute force. He spun around three hundred and sixty degrees and tried to hit Bryan in the legs. Rather than blocking it, Bryan simply jumped into the air and did a split, effectively dodging the swift attack.
As his opponent landed, Jak brought his sword down to the right but was blocked. He moved to his side so his arm was sticking straight out and waited for Bryan to take the bait. As his opponent made to hit the appealing limb, Jak moved his arm out of harms way so fast it appeared to simply vanish. As he pulled his arm back, Jak rotated on the ball of his left foot and kicked Bryan in the chest with the heel of his right. The two of them circled each other again, trying to think of a strategy that would win the match. Jak backed off half a step and waited, wanting to be on the defensive for a bit and lure Bryan in. As the Channeler was attacked, he flipped his blade so he was holding it knife-style. He quickly blocked the torrent off attacks coming at him and tried to slice Bryan's feet again. He was blocked and as the azure blade came up, his Eco Blade was throw into the air. Bryan smiled at the defeated opponent but then frowned. If Jak had truly lost, why was he just standing there. Bryan backed off and was immediately thankful that he did; Jak's Blade imbedded itself in the ground and if he hadn't of moved, Bryan would have caught the sword in the top of his head. Jak stuck his hand out and his Eco Blade left the ground and into his hand. Jak immediately raised his weapon to block an incoming strike at his face.
Bryan bared his teeth as he pushed Jak back; his body gaining extra power from the adrenaline the battle brought forth. He brought one half of his staff straight down and then flipped it so that he would hit Jak between the legs and then go up. Jak jumped straight up as the weapon came in and landed on Bryan's head. He balanced on the skull of the Ascended Channeler for an instant before hopping down. As Bryan staggered to regain his balance, Jak came in with a slash aimed at the hips. Unfortunately for him, it was blocked. Bryan came in with two quick blows on opposite sides of Jak's head. Jak blocked them with lightning quick efficiency and brought his blade crashing down.
Bryan widened his hands so that they were positioned as if he was lifting weights and brought it up quickly. The staff hit Jak's wrists and nullified his attack. Bryan pushed up, throwing Jak off balance and spun around and kicked the Channeler in the chest. Jak went flying back and slammed into a nearby rock. As his body crumpled to the ground, he healed himself with Green Eco, which the Sages had allowed for this round only. He looked over at his opponent, smiling in that smug fashion and the blood began to pound in his ears. Jak shook his head, not wanting to allow his anger to be his downfall and leapt into the air. As he landed a few feet away from Bryan, he leapt in and struck at the same time, using the momentum from his landing carry him forward.
Jak slammed his Blade into Bryan's, not really aiming to hit him, but wanting to gain momentum from a series of hits that would throw his adversary off balance. His drive was broken when he had to duck an incoming blow. He saw Bryan getting ready to cut him in the back as he came up and put his Blade behind his back and blocked the blow. He quickly brought it back in front of his chest to block a hit that would have done the same thing on the front side; hurt. The two exchanged about fifteen blows in the next three seconds and backed off again, trying to scare each other by whirling their Blades around in intricate pattern. Bryan spun around two times before swinging one side of his sword in. He pulled it towards him so it wouldn't be a threat, but then quickly thrust it out again and stopped moving. He brought the same side in from an opposite direction and was dismayed when Jak didn't fall for his trick.
Jak brought his knee up and slammed it into Bryan's hands. As they came up, Jak spun around and kicked Bryan in the chest, jumping off and landing on his feet. Bryan fell over from the force of the attack and split his Eco Staff into two Eco Sabers. Jak assumed a defensive stance as Bryan came dashing in.
The two of them locked Blades and once again leapt back, not caring the other saw them gasp for breath. Jak wondered how long they had been fighting. He put it a range of about an half an hour. He steadied his Blade and waited for Bryan to come off the rock he was standing on. Jak watched Bryan tense up and he leapt at the same time as the Ascended Channeler. He blocked an incoming strike as Bryan spun around and attacked with his back turned. Jak tried to end the fight with a blow to the head but Bryan must have known it was coming, as the cobalt colored Eco Blade blocking his strike testified. Bryan crossed his arms as he lashed out yet again at Jak and was surprised at the speed with which Jak blocked and countered. Jak ducked and back flipped as Bryan spun around and made a double strike. He rushed back in with an overhead chop and the two of them meleed for a while, swinging their Blades so fast it would have been impossible to differentiate them had they not been different colors. Indeed, Jak found himself almost guessing at which one of Bryan's Blades was which, they both moved so fast.
Jak knocked away both of Bryan's Blades with one strike and slash, but Bryan simply jumped over Jak with a flip and some twirls. Bryan landed in a combat stance and ran in, holding one of his Blades knife-style. He charged and attempted to sheer Jak in half with the Blade farther away from Jak, but did not succeed. As he ran past Jak he swung the Blade that was closer backwards and glared at nothing in particular when he felt it stop. He continued spinning and swinging, giving himself a dradle-like appearance. Jak blocked the incoming strikes that were varied in height and once or twice had to jump or duck to avoid being cut in half. As the strikes became faster, Jak knew he wouldn't be able to block fast enough and he started to back-peddle. It was a move that would prove to be a mistake.
Bryan stopped his assault as he watched Jak back off and cancelled one of his Eco Blades. He punched his open palm at Jak, who went flying back because of a powerful shockwave that left Bryan's hand. Bryan rushed in with another double strike and Jak jumped off the ground over Bryan. Bryan followed Jak with his eye and rushed in. Jak did a split in the air to keep his legs and punched Bryan as he landed. As Bryan stepped back, Jak rushed in and tossed his Blade into the air. Bryan's eyes followed the weapon rather than the opponent and he paid for it. Jak turned both of his hands into palm heels and inverted them so the palms were facing up. He rushed in and brought his hands into his own chest. He reached Bryan and struck, slamming the Channeler in the ribs, and probably breaking a few of them in the process. Bryan slammed backwards into a rock and went right through it. Jak caught his Eco Blade and began walking slowly towards Bryan, his hair and clothes blowing around in the wind that was picking up. Bryan picked up a dozen or so rocks with his powers. After crushing them into powder, he hurled the dust at Jak.
Jak wiped at his eyes furiously, trying to clear his vision before he was cut down by one of the most skilled opponents he had ever faced. Bryan came rushing in, eager to take advantage of his opponent's apparent weakness and received a swift kick to the chest as a reward for not thinking clearly. Jak blocked all of the incoming strikes before sliding between Bryan's feet. He flipped up and began the duel again, thinking with satisfaction of how much he was annoying Bryan. Jak once again blocked an incoming blow from below and spun the Blade so that it flew out of Bryan's hand and dissipated into the air. Bryan slashed downward frantically, but was blocked and again disarmed. He stared in shock as Jak pointed his Blade at his heart. Jak waited for Bryan to surrender and walked towards him as Bryan backed up and fell over.
Bryan struggled to sit up as Jak approached him. He scurried backwards as Jak came nearer and nearer. As Jak lowered his Blade for a strike, Bryan's body crackled with Blue Eco Lightning. Jak cursed mentally and leapt back, but not fast enough. Bryan's attack still caught him as he backed away and caused him to fly backwards. Jak bounced off the ground and circled his opponent, waiting for Bryan to begin the fight again.
As they two elves circled each other, Bryan decided to let Jak come to him. Rather than looking at Jak's body, Bryan stared straight into Jak's eyes. In his battles with the Shirhak and the Lurkers, he had noticed that elves, Shirhak and Lurkers had a instinctive tendency to open their eyes just a bit wider.
Apparently, Jak had taught himself not to do that, as he took Bryan by surprise when he lunged. Bryan, though shocked, easily brought his Eco Blade down to block the attack, and then ducked beneath a kick that the younger boy had aimed at him. Quickly, the Ascended Channeler swung his weapon at his nemesis' exposed back, only to find Jak's own Blade coming back to intercept it, forcing his towards the ground. Jak completed his rotation and caused Bryan to spin around. With a battle cry, Bryan continued spinning and attempted to backhand Jak with his forearm, a blow that Jak only just avoided.
Jak performed a back flip, and landed a good five feet away from Bryan before bringing his Yellow Eco Blade up to an attack position and glaring at his opponent. Bryan did the same, and for several moments, there was another lull in the fight while the two of them slowly circled one another, each trying to find a weakness, something that could be exploited.
This time, it would be Bryan that struck first, leaping forward and bringing his dark weapon up from below in an attack that would have cut Jak from his left hip to his right shoulder had Jak not parried. Not discouraged in the slightest, Bryan pressed his attacks, slicing to and fro as he attempted to bring his opponent down. However, Bryan's offense was quickly stolen away when Jak suddenly knocked the Blue Eco Blade up high before following through with a thrust kick to his chest that cracked a rib and sent him staggering. Unfortunately, as Jak brought his own weapon down in an attempt to hit Bryan in the head, Bryan was able to get his weapon up in time to deflect the attack. The two blades grated against each other for a few seconds, sending sparks flying as the two adversaries snarled in each others faces as they grinded their weapons into each other even harder, as if hoping theirs would simply cut through the other's. Bryan smiled inwardly as he Channeled a small amount of Blue Eco and let it heal his body.
Bryan abruptly broke the blade lock and backed away, balling up his left fist. Jak let out a curse as the Ascended Channeler sent a storm of Blue Eco Lightning at him as he furiously weaved his own Eco Blade back and forth and frantically backpedaled in an attempt to get some distance between himself and his foe.
As Jak attempted to close the distance, Bryan opened fire once more, and Jak leapt forward and to his left, performing a barrel roll type spin while in mid-leap, his topaz-lighted weapon deflecting a few bolts that came close as his foe adjusted his aim. Jak performed the maneuver yet again, trying to throw Bryan off, before a third such leap placed him back in melee range.
Bryan swung at Jak with all of his might as he tried to end the battle. Jak saw the amount of power behind the technique and opted to duck below the slash, rather than attempting to block it. The wisdom of such an action was revealed an instant later, as the Channeler continued through with his acrobatics, and brought his right foot slamming up into Bryan's face as he pushed off with his left.
Bryan felt stars explode in front of his vision as the kick, driven by Jak's considerable strength, connected. In a blind attempt to buy himself some time, he fired his blasts that traveled through the air without disturbing the air wildly in the direction of his opponent. Jak, still in the process of landing from his flip, had no time to react, and bared his teeth in defiance as a couple of the blasts connected and made him go flying back. In an attempt to remove himself from the rather precarious position that he now found himself in, Jak leapt once more, using Blue Eco to stay in the air this time and go up and over Bryan before coming down in an attempt.
Unfortunately for the elf, his foe was able to spin out of the way of an attack, and once again lashed out with his arm. On the bright side of things, Bryan's blow was made hastily, and as a result, was quite maladroit and effortless to avoid. Such a move also put the elf in a rather compromising position, something that Jak was swift in taking advantage of. Jak blocked the arm and wrapped it around his own before bringing it closer to his body. Bryan could no more move his right arm then walk on lava and remain unburned. Jak put his right leg behind Bryan's left leg and swept Bryan off his feet as he pushed on Bryan's left shoulder. Bryan went crashing down to the ground and Jak backed off as he let Bryan get back up. Both elves summoned Eco Blades and resumed the fight.
Daxter watched from the audience as his best friend expertly deflected the barrage of rocks that was sent at him, and then leapt over yet another larger blast. The Ottsel's mouth was dry, and he swallowed in a vain attempt to solve the problem, while he and Keira watched the tournament. For all his whining, Daxter wished that he could be there with Jak, as it was exciting. He hoped that Jak was able to win without his help, because Daxter usually kept an eye out when the opponent vanished so that it would be harder to sneak up on Jak.
Jak swung for Bryan's head but his attack was blocked. With lightning speed he brought his Blade over his head and switched hands before coming in on the left at his adversary's stomach, but again he was blocked. Bryan backed off an inch and stabbed, but Jak parried away his attack. Jak spun around with the parry and aimed his Blade right at Bryan's head. To his annoyance, he was blocked yet again. He came in up and to the right, yet Bryan proved to be much too quick for Jak. Bryan swiftly parried Jak's attack once more before coming twice: aiming for the left knee and then the right one. Jak was barely able to block, and he was pushed to his knees as Bryan used brute force to try to unbalance him with an overhead smash.
Bryan kneed Jak in the chest and then kicked him in the face. Jak went sprawling backwards and landed on his back. Bryan slammed his Blade down at Jak's chest but Jak grabbed Bryan's hand. Bryan's Blade got closer and closer to Jak's throat as they vied for control.
Jak suddenly spotted a weakness in Bryan's battle stance; his legs were spread apart. Jak swept Bryan off his feet and both elves quickly got to their feet. Jak shoved Bryan back and sliced at his waist again. Bryan did a whole front-flip over Jak's head and landed opposite him. Jak swung around to prevent his head from being hit. The two of them leapt back and tried to get a bearing of where to attack next.
Bryan twirled his blade before coming in for Jak's shoulder and then his arm. Both attacks were blocked, and the two of them locked blades once more as they circled each other. Jak broke free and spun around. Bryan blocked Jak's next three attempts to harm him and the two of them locked blades yet again. Jak charged up a ball of Yellow Eco and Bryan charged one up using Blue Eco. The two of them fired at the same time and the small orbs of Eco slammed against each other. The two of them pushed harder, trying to make their blast cut through the others'. Inevitably, the two balls of Eco exploded and they both went flying back.
Jak got to his feet and leapt back into the fray as Bryan made mirrored movements. Bryan spun his blade in his hand above his head a few times before swinging it at Jak. The Channeler spun his Blade to block it and spun his body around the elf. Bryan spun with Jak, never taking his eyes off his opponent. He blocked a blow that would have hit him in the head had it connected and they locked blades again. Jak sighed as Bryan attempted to out-muscle him. He spun away and began a furious series of attacks. Bryan waved his sword back and forth furiously as he blocked and leapt back a couple of feet to get some room.
Bryan brought his sword up in a horizontal slash, but Jak used a vertical block to stop it. Although he blocked the Eco Blade, Jak did not expect Bryan to grab out with his other hand and snatch his shirt. Bryan threw Jak away and Jak brought his sword down and to the left as he landed, but was deflected. Bryan pushed Jak' sword back and copied his last attack; he came down and to the left. Jak blocked and spun his sword around and came up and to the right, trying to hit Bryan's legs. Bryan blocked the attack and brought his sword up behind his head before slamming it down. Jak blocked it and they began pushing against each other, each trying to throw the other off balance.
Jak pushed his blade up, leaving Bryan temporarily defenseless, and then delivered a hard kick to Bryan's chest. Bryan went flying back, but landed on his feet, using his levitation powers to ensure that he to regain his footing and his body healing the double fist sized dent in his chest. Jak slowly walked towards Bryan and swung his sword in a vertical path going down. Bryan blocked this blow, but was caught by surprise when Jak swung his sword in the opposite direction and came up from below Bryan's line of view. Bryan's eyes widened in surprise and he leaned back to avoid the blow. The tip of Jak's Blade touched his skin, causing a small amount of pain, considering it only grazed him. If the cut had been deeper, Bryan's muscles would have been in pain because of it.
Bryan ignored the pain and brought his Blade crashing down on Jak's head as the pain from the minor wound faded. Or he would have, had Jak not once again blocked the attack. Bryan smirked as he turned his blade and came at Jak from below, only to be foiled and blocked again. Again and again Jak and Bryan went back and forth, alternating between assailing and guarding. One Blade seemed to merge and blend with the other; they were both moving so fast that the blades seemed to leave blurs in the air behind them, almost like an afterimage. Once again, Jak came up from the ground and was blocked; both of them holding their blades firmly in place as they circled each other. Bryan broke his off and did a triple strike, coming first across from the left, then across from the right, then straight down. Jak blocked all three blows with relative ease and then resumed taking the offensive. He swung his blade across, making Bryan lean back. Jak was quick to press weight on the blade in an attempt to overbear Bryan. Bryan leaned back even further and stuck his hand out. A telekinetic blast shot out, making an invisible yet perceptible shockwave travel through the air. The blast connected with Jak's chin.
Jak went soaring backwards in a graceful arc and floated a few inches above the floor and straightened himself out before landing. He quickly straightened up and stopped Bryan's next attack- another downward stroke to the left. Jak jumped about twenty feet away and landed on his feet, bent down with one hand on the ground and the other in front of his face. He rose and charged Bryan, swinging his sword in a straight thrust. Bryan quickly parried it and the two of them once again danced around each other, attacking and defending, pivoting and parrying in a desperate attempt to win.
Bryan swung his sword to the left and then disappeared in a puff of smoke. Jak heard air being cut through behind him and quickly turned around to stop the Blade that was coming for him. After his block, he moved his Eco Blade down and then back up to put Bryan off balance. Bryan recovered instantaneously and brought his sword above his head and slammed it down, before bringing it back and repeated the motion. Jak continued blocking and eventually managed to turn the tables by attacking Bryan in the same way. Bryan blocked the attack he had been using repeatedly until he had to take a step back. This one movement would prove to be his downfall, because Jak was quick to strike again and again, sending his blade crashing down over and over. Bryan tried one last attack: a downward chop with all of his strength behind it. Jak blocked and put both his hands on his hilt. He pushed back as hard as he could and forced Bryan to fall over. Bryan continued trying to defend himself as Jak's sword crashed against his continuously, but eventually Jak prevailed. He brought his sword across rather than down, and made Bryan's sword arm swing wildly out and then he brought his sword down for one final attack.
Bryan smirked as he blew Jak back with another shockwave. Jak blocked a jumping slash from Bryan and swung his sword so fast in retaliation that it appeared little more then a scythe, but the Blue Eco associated elf still managed to dodge it. Jak spun around as Bryan did a front-flip over his body. As he landed, Bryan stuck his arm out and Jak dodged to the right to avoid another telekinetic blast. Jak turned to keep Bryan in his sights as Bryan charged Jak once again. Jak evaded, sidestepped and deflected all of the oncoming attacks. Jak finally caught a break and struck aggressively at his opponent, his Blade coming in from the right on level with the Ascended Channeler's chest. Bryan's Blade flew up to intercept his strike and swatted it away. Deciding to go with that momentum, Jak did a move that he was well known for. With speed that one would not think possible, Jak completed his rotation, coming in with a relatively low angle of attack, intending to slice his adversary's feet. Unfortunately, his sword connected with little more than air, as Bryan jumped straight up and levitated for a few seconds.
Jak forced his nemesis' Blade down and away to the left before floating into the air and bringing his right foot up and smashing it into Bryan's face. Bryan staggered backwards, his nose broken, blood tainted slightly blue dripping down his face. As Jak rushed in to take advantage of this, he went into a flurry of attacks, his blade no more than a blur as it hacked, struck, and thrust. Bryan growled in frustration as Jak' combos nearly shattered his defenses. He found himself desperately blocking and evading, unable to get a strategy going beyond trying to keep himself alive. At last, Bryan caught a break and he turned the tables by striking out. Now it was Jak that was desperately blocking Bryan's furious attacks, trying to avoid getting a hit scored upon him.
But eventually Bryan made a hit, his sword slipping through Jak's raised blade to his left side all the way up to his right collar bone as Jak tried to leap back to avoid the stroke. Still, even as he hissed in pain, Jak considered himself lucky; the damage was not nearly as bad as it could have been had the blow hit home completely.
Growling, Jak leaped at his opponent, bringing his Eco Blade down from above with all his strength. Bryan called upon a technique Jak had been subjected to during his battle with Kazan. Bryan gripped his sword with two hands and held it horizontally, and succeeded in not only blocking the normal Channeler's strike, but threw him back into the air, where Jak came in for a rather impromptu landing nearly ten feet away.
Immediately, Jak rolled backwards, and flew back up to his feet, and was scarcely able to avoid being skewered, as Bryan had thrown his Blade in the ground where he had been mere moments before. As Jak got up, Bryan stuck out his real hand and his Blade flew to him by means of telekinesis. There was a downside to this move; the split second distraction Bryan experienced as he caught his Eco Blade enabled Jak to get behind him. Realizing the severity of the situation too late to correct it, Bryan felt his feet be knocked out from underneath him by the use of a sweep.
As Bryan began a trip to the ground, Jak slammed his tree bark shoe into Bryan's back hard. The blow succeeded in driving the breath from Bryan's lungs. His breathing situation did not improve at all when he hit the stone floor, nor did what follow help at all either. Jak stepped on Bryan's chest and damaged it once more. As Jak prepared to hit his opponent, Bryan dropped his Blade and threw out both his hands. Jak flew up to the ceiling and formed a shield around himself as he landed on the floor. Bryan levitated over to where Jak was and waited for him to get up.
Bryan swung right for Jak's head but his attack was blocked. Bryan swung his arms behind his back and tossed the Blade between them. With lightning speed he came in to the left at Jak's midriff, but again was blocked. Jak backed off an inch and stabbed, but his attack was parried away by his adversary. He spun around and aimed his Blade right at Bryan's head. To his annoyance, he was blocked yet again. He came in up and to the right, yet Bryan proved to be just as fast as him. He swiftly parried an incoming blow to his chest from his heart's side before coming twice: low and in opposite directions. Bryan was barely able to block Jak's ferocious assault, and he was pushed to his knees as Jak used brute force to try to unbalance him. Jak pushed down harder on Bryan, trying to drive the Ascended Channeler to his knees.
Bryan shoved Jak back and sliced at his waist again. Jak did a back-flip over Bryan's head and landing opposite him. Bryan swung around to prevent his ears from being parted with the rest of his head. The two of them leapt back and tried to get a bearing of where to attack next once more.
Bryan twirled his blade and came in for Jak's shoulder and then his arm. Both attacks were blocked, and the two of them locked blades as they circled each other. Bryan broke free and spun around. Jak blocked Bryan's next three attempts on his life and they locked blades once more. Jak charged up a ball of Yellow Eco. He slammed it into Bryan's body and it sent him flying back into the wall. Jak smiled with satisfaction as he heard a cracking sound he was fairly certain was caused by a few ribs breaking. Though they hurt, Jak knew that unless the chest was caved in, the ribs wouldn't puncture a lung or anything. Bryan got to his feet and his body glowed with an blue-light. Blue Eco swept over his body and healed the weaknesses and injuries his body had been dealt.
Bryan walked over to Jak, summoning his Eco Blade as he did so. Jak hastily erected a barrier to ward off a number of rocks. As they got to Jak' shield, they branched out everywhere and attacked from every angle. It eventually blasted through and the shield broke. Jak clenched his jaw as he was pummeled from every direction by rocks. Jak collapsed on the floor, his body sweating and shaking. As Jak healed his body, he still felt the unbelievable quantities of pain it had just been put through. Bryan raised his hand as Jak struggled to get to his feet and blew him back down with a clairvoyant blast. Jak fell backwards and Bryan walked up to him. He raised his Eco Blade and prepared to knock Jak out and finish the fight.
"Now, it ends," he said softly but not tauntingly as his blade came down. Jak had his eyes closed and a bubble formed around his body. He disappeared with a pop, leaving only a mark in the ground from the Eco Blade as a sign of where he had been an instant before.
Bryan spun his blade in his hand above his head a few times before swinging it at Jak, who had phased through the ground under cover of the bubble. Jak spun his Blade to block it and spun his body around the Ascended Channeler. Bryan spun with Jak, their eyes never leaving each other. Jak blocked a vicious blow aimed at his head and they locked blades for yet another time. Bryan snarled as they each attempted to out-muscle the other. Bryan began getting frustrated with his opponent and his body produced more of the adrenaline.
Jak swung his head back to dodge yet another strike before arching his body back so that he did not get a gash in it. He parried another strike before spreading his arms out in a deliberate "come and get me, I'm right here," statement in an attempt to bait his foe.
It worked… to say the least.
Bryan came in screaming a battle cry as he called upon every trick and technique he had in the book to try and just win this fight. Jak caught an incoming stab and got in close with his opponent. The two of them bared their teeth and snarled at each other as they circled on the spot, each one grabbing and being grabbed at the same time. Finally they broke apart and Jak shoved Bryan back. The two of them raised their Blades over their heads before restarting the duel. As they fought, they rotated on the spot so that they switched positions.
Jak struck forward, causing Bryan to back-flip onto an section of the earth sticking out of the floor before jumping off to the side. As he looked back, Bryan was glad that he had, as there were three slashes that were still glowing, indicating that they hadn't cooled off yet. Bryan stepped forward and his foot slipped. Jak saw the mistake and tried to make it the one that would end the duel but alas, it was not meant to be.
Bryan simply got down on his knees and leaned back. Even so, Jak's Blade came within an inch of his nose as it swept across where his chest had been only seconds before. The two of them exchanged even more blows before Jak managed to punch Bryan in the face. Bryan stepped back and blinked furiously as he tried to clear his eyes from the tears that formed when his nose broke. Jak unleashed a furious assault on Bryan Caulfield, causing the elf to back up. Still, Jak pressed on, his legendary determination and power causing Bryan to have to continue to back up. Bryan growled in frustration at Jak and launched another Blue Eco Lightning blast at him. Jak changed the angle on his Blade and the lightning rebounded upon Bryan. Although Bryan had not fired a strong blast, it was enough to paralyze him. As Bryan's body froze, Jak pointed his Blade down at Bryan once again. Bryan teleported out of the way and reappeared on the other part of the arena floor. He used his powers to rip a piece of the earth out and threw it at Jak. Jak ran at Bryan, phasing through the rocks.
Bryan hastily blasted a Blue Eco beam at Jak. Jak stuck his hands out and fired a beam of Yellow Eco. The two beams collided and the Channelers began a power struggle. The two of them screwed up their faces in concentration as they attempted to get closer. Jak closed his eyes under the strain and Bryan pressed forward, believing the advantage to be his. Jak opened his eyes and Bryan saw them burning with the determination to win. Suddenly, the force of the beams hitting each other caused a backlash effect. Jak and Bryan were both hurled backwards and hit a wall on opposite ends of the stadium
Jak cracked his knuckles and neck at the same time while Bryan mimicked his movements. He flipped on his Red and Blue Eco Boxes and began fighting with hand to hand combat with Bryan. The two of them exchanged blows so fast that to the untrained eye it would appear as if they were merely flailing their limbs around in a haphazard way. The two of them punched at the same time and bent in before pushing off. Jak ran in and performed a spinning back side kick. Bryan caught Jak's foot and twisted it. Jak went down and Bryan began twisting Jak's knee. Jak brought his other leg back and planted it into Bryan's chest. The Ascended Channeler stumbled back before bringing a large rock into his hand. Jak covered two balls of Yellow Eco and noted that it appeared that the fight had turned from a swordfight to a fight that relied on Channeling abilities.
Jak made the first move, diving off to his right while firing small Yellow Eco pellets all the time. Bryan leapt in the opposite direction, moving with speed and agility to rival Jak's. He came up shooting his own blasts, his projectiles spitting rapid three shot bursts at the powerful elf. The Channeler could feel the wind as the rocks sped by, moving so fast that they appeared as little more than blurs, coming within inches of making contact, and was forced to quickly reconsider his estimation of Bryan's aiming capabilities.
On the other hand, this was not to say that Jak was in any way inferior to his opponent. The Channeler proved this by performing a super-elfin leap, completely leaving Bryan's field of view, and getting off no less than four bursts. The shots hit home and Jak grinned as Bryan keeled over. When Bryan stood back up, there were new holes in his shirt, but Jak had made the blasts far too weak to penetrate the skin. The older elf retaliated with several bursts of his own once he had lined Jak back up in his sights, and while Jak was able to harness his Blue Eco enhanced agility to dodge most of the projectiles or use his forearm armor to dissipate them altogether, Bryan did succeed in bringing several rocks dangerously close to Jak's face. The Channeler fired as he leapt again, but as it was before, the shots connected, but did nothing to his foe.
Realizing that he needed to hit Bryan with something stronger if he wanted to damage him, Jak quickly took cover behind a three foot high raised portion of the ground while he waited. The elf waited as he charged up a beam of sufficient power, his ears becoming his eyes. As his muscles tensed, Jak waited for anything that would betray where Bryan was. Then, he heard the slight 'thump' as a foot moved through dirt and dust. In an instant, he had sprang up and unleashed the charged up bolt.
Bryan's eyes widened to roughly the size of Flut-Flut eggs as he saw the small yellow meteor come sailing in towards him. He jumped to the side, but due to Jak's ingenuity, still had some of his facial hair scorched off and felt a pain shot along the side of his head as bits of heated stone pelted his face. Still, Bryan counted his blessings when he looked behind him and discovered an two-inch crater where the blast had hit.
Jak was quick to take advantage of the distraction, putting another huge blast dead on a collision course with his enemy. Too late, Bryan realized the error of concentrating on other things, and was blown off his feet as the comet connected with his upper body. He skidded for a small ways, finally coming to a stop perilously close to the edge of a crater. He teetered on the edge and nearly fell in, but flew up and landed on firm ground after a second.
Bryan fired a large rock and as he expected, Jak dove away and to the right, trying to get far enough away so that he was out of range. Realizing it would probably take far more to take his opponent than he had originally expected, the Ascended Channeler used his powers to fire shockwaves at Jak with reckless abandon, and Jak felt more pain work its way through him. The pain was from a variety of things; either the wind caused bits of dirt and stone to cut him, or the speed of the wind caused air to escape from the fresh cuts. Both were exceptionally painful, but Jak thought the wind escaping from his body was the most painful.
By this time, Bryan was beginning to lose patience due to the sheer stubbornness of his opponent. He lashed out with a vicious roundhouse kick, hitting Jak with enough force to send him right into the floor. Jak skidded along the floor and did a reverse somersault to land on his feet. Bryan stormed after him and threw another wild punch. Jak caught it and blocked to the inside, allowing him to score a few hits on Bryan's ribs. Bryan spun around and elbowed Jak in the face. The two of them charged up their hands with Eco, Bryan using Blue, and Jak using Yellow and Red in one hand each. They threw one punch each and caught the other's hand with their free hand. They began to try to out muscle each other, but seemed perfectly equal in power. Streams of Eco danced around the room, gouging pieces of earth out and ripping the small part of the arena that was still smooth apart.
Both of them backed off before they caused another explosion and Jak jumped over a large rock thrown at him. The second rock hit him right in the chest and Jak went down. As Bryan rushed in, Jak kicked him in the stomach and got to his feet. Once again, the two Channelers circled each other in their fighting stances and tried to find a weakness in the others defense. As they fought, they unconsciously rose into the air until they were fighting on level with the highest seats. Bryan forced Jak back as he landed on the ground and waited for Jak. The two of them landed in a crater that was about five feet in diameter. The sparring became furiously fast-paced as the two Channelers gave it their all in their attempt to simply incapacitate each other.
Jak and Bryan each charged up another Eco Bomb and tried to make their cut through the others'. As before, they both exploded simultaneously and launched the two elves back. Jak and Bryan each regained their footing and the battle continued. Jak kicked Bryan away after wrestling for a few minutes. The two Channelers charged each other, ready to call upon the vast range of Channeling abilities they had at their disposal to win the fight. Jak dodged to the right to avoid Bryan's punch. Normally, Jak would not have worried about a single punch, expect for the fact that he was already weakened. What worried him was how Bryan had wrapped Blue Eco around his real hand to not only enhance the damage inflicted, but would also make Jak go flying back if hit.
The two separated again after some minutes of exchanging blows, and another lull in the fighting took place, with both combatants simply moving about in a circle, each one formulating their next move as they floated back down to the earth. About three seconds passed before they were at each other's throats yet again, Bryan blasting himself forward, willing himself to move as fast as he possibly could as he angled an Eco Blade straight for where Jak's heart was located. However, it was not destined to be the final blow of the fight, as the other Channeler's own razor fast movements with a Yellow Eco staff forced him to take a detour, or suffer from some rather painful consequences. Instead, the Blue Eco harnessing elf opted for a different attack, twirling as he dodged to the right in midair and diving underneath the offensive assault that Jak threw at him.
Bryan flew up to Jak, who had taken to the skies a minute before, much faster than he had moved so far. As they dueled in the air for a couple of minutes, Jak realized just how battered and tired his body was getting. He threw a Yellow Eco spear at Bryan's face. Bryan put his hand up at the last possible moment, deflecting the attack. Bryan charged up an attack of his own, before letting it fly. Jak flew down out of the way, and twisted to his right side as a pair of Blue Eco rays blew by him, singing his hair. Both combatants looked at each, hoping to end the fight soon as they formulated strategies. As the crowd roared, they decided to rush each other in the hope that it would catch the other off guard.
They were at each other's throats again within seconds.
Their battle was as awesome as ever as it raged on, carrying both up into the sky once more after a time. However, before they had been at it for too much longer, Jak had knocked Bryan back down to the ground. The Ascended Channeler raised himself up onto his hands and knees as he healed the internal bruises and hemorrhaging that he had sustained once more. Jak landed across the arena at Bryan and both of them charged up their powers.
They faced each other and charged up what they both understood would be the final attack. The very air seemed to vibrate as each of them unleashed an enormous beam of Blue and Yellow Eco. The beams collided in the middle and they began vying to win the struggle. The two beams pushed back and forth, gaining and losing a little.
Bryan began to groan as they reached the two minute point. He widened his hands and a stream of Blue Eco Lightning broke off of the main beam. Jak hastily erected a shield of flames and began mixing Red Eco into his beam. His power finally overrode Bryan's and hit the Ascended Channeler. Bryan's shirt was obliterated, as was most of his pants, as he was slammed against the wall. He looked up at Jak, who was gasping for breath. Bryan saw how Jak had saved the world: he simply refused to give up. He stood up and walked over to Jak, his hands held above his head to show that he meant no harm.
"Good match Jak. You win," he said as he raised his voice. "I have been beaten. I surrender!"
"And the winner of The Clash of the Channelers is JAK HAGIA!" The resulting explosion of applause was so loud that Jak wondered if Gol and Maia heard it sealed in the Silos.
Jak grinned as he held his hand up in triumph. All the other Channelers joined him on the arena and they all bowed.
"Let's hear it for all of them!" Hatu said as each Channeler bowed. "Bryan Caulfield, Jak Hagia, Lauren Handy, Cara Taracava, Veston Droit, Elizabeth Cyan, Andrew Gause, Meredith Bennett, Tiffany Buffamonte, Ferrid Schuble, Harrison Crisci, Julia Manuel, Margaret Riddle, Richard Bennett, Emma Juliano, and Retep Juliano!"
As the crowd cheered for all of them, Jak saw Keira beaming at him, her face standing out among all the others…
Hours later, Jak and Keira were to be found together, their arms wrapped around the other. They had been discussing plans to finish the Rift Rider and leave. Keira had decided on the first of July. Jak agreed and they had just leaned up against each other. When Jak had been about to leave, Keira asked him to stay for a while longer and they had just gone to Keira's bed. Jak had held Keira close to him and let her put her head against his chest as they closed their eyes and relaxed, slipping off to sleep. Jak sighed in his sleep, his arms tightening against Keira's exposed stomach as one dream ended and another began.
Well, here it is. Thirty four pages, six days, and twenty four thousand, four hundred seventy nine words. Hope it was worth reading. I would like to apologize about the rather scattered reading in the first four rounds: I was trying to show how scattered and hectic it was. I hope it was good, and I also hope that I didn't abuse anyone too much or not enough. With luck, I'll be able to get the next chapter out tomorrow. It's really not much, just an explanation about what happens when the group splits up. I put a bit of a cliffhanger, but only for those who haven't played the games. So, not really a cliffhanger.
Quote of the week- Me
Rule #21 of Life (Inspired by Nietzsche): He who has a "why" to live can endure almost any "how."