I am apologizing for this being late, but I have an excuse. I have been sick since Tuesday night with the flu (That first 2 nights were rough cause of it), and I've been trying to somewhat recuperate. Though it's hard recover peacefully and regain a train of thought when you have a 5 year old sister and a 7 year old brother running around (There is a reason why I only update once every 1 to 2 weeks for this story.)
Shiro: Not to mention babysitting 5 kids yesterday *Sweatdrops* How did you manage to survive that!?
To be honest, they behave more when they're all together like this. Anyways... *Clears throat* As you can see though, we are halfway done with round one, and I'm already getting more hyped for these battles. I'm especially hyped for this one, cause we get to see Shiro and Titania's teams go head to head. And you guys get to see Shiro's actual weapon. Though, before I start this chapter, I have a challenge for you guys.
Not to worry, this isn't a contest thing. Merely something that requires your help, and it's optional if you want to help. You see when I did TSAT, I did a battle song list for the story. I want to do one for Elemental as well, but I want to make it unique. This time around, I want it to consist of of only songs that have been in something known as the Eurovision Song Contest. There's a uniqueness in the songs I've heard that made me curious to make a playlist for Elemental to show my appreciation to the musical contest. But the problem is I have no idea on what to pick for the playlist. Which is where you guys come in.
If you guys get time, just look up the words Eurovision on youtube and check out some of the songs. I have a playlist of ones I like on my channel (Link is on my deviantart profile, EternalNexusWarrior since Deviantart is picky on how long nicknames are compared to Fanfiction!) if you need examples, and just PM me some you recommend to fit the mood of a chapter.
Shiro: You know, I was kinda surprised you came up with this as my weapon. It seems a bit...
Unordinary? Unexpected?
Shiro: That'll do.
Well I learned one thing when playing Samurai Warriors 3: Sometimes even the unexpected weapons make the combat interesting. I mean, look at Koji's weapon. Besides Shiro, a character from Steven Universe uses them as a weapon too. Not to mention Atlantia was already chosen to use Chakrams ahead of time. Yours were for show after all.
Shiro: *looks out at the fourth wall before looking back at me* You bring up a lot of good points. But aren't you worried that you just spoiled something in the story?
Nah, this one's a minor detail, and it's also addressed in this chapter anyways.
Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, cause next chapter is the final battle for round one, and I plan to announce the battles for round 2. And trust me, you will be surprised at who's facing who in Round 2.
I don't own MFB, and all OCs belong to their respective owners.
Chapter 12: The Skywalker of Stratos
"Well that was a lot of fun to watch. I've heard of Arc's skills as an alchemist, but I never thought she could use them in battle as well. Too bad her team lost. I kinda would have liked to face the in action myself.
Ranmaru gave a chuckle as he watched Titania observe the arena from the doorways of the stadium, a star-shaped cookie in her mouth. The silver haired woman had been quick to declare that they would be watching the battle before them so she could observe potential opponents that they might be facing if they make it to round two. Though he had to admit, the other tended to be a bit too arrogant when it came to saying that they would make it to the second round.
"You make it sound like we have this battle in the bag." Ryutaro pointed out, and Titania grinned.
"Well of course Ryu! No doubt my sister is gonna give us a lot of trouble, but in the end we're gonna be kick butt and making it to round two!" The Paladin of Light declared boastfully, calling Ryutaro by the nickname he was given by both herself and the mage's brother.
"Don't forget though, we're dealing with two Paladins and two guards. And one of those guards might end up giving us more trouble in this battle than you'd think he would." Ranmaru cut in, and Titania rolled her eyes.
"Ran, you can be a mood killer at times. We're a team of 3 paladins and one of the greatest mages in Eterna. How hard could this be?"
Ranmaru smirked as he rested his hands on his katanas. "Careful Titania. You might end up jinxing us with that behavior. My goodness, even after 8 years you have barely changed personality wise. What happened to the young girl who wore dresses half the time?"
Titania glared at the dark haired male while Nile hid his amusement in his sleeve. "You know better than that to mention why Ran. One of the reasons I stopped wearing dresses is cause it's hard to fight in one. That and I got tired of always wearing different ones every day cause of mother being a seamstress. I love my family, but mother went a bit too overboard on her designs sometimes."
"Like you do with your training and using your scythe?"
Nile couldn't hold his laughter in as Titania's glare turned murderous. "That's it you two. After this battle, I'm kicking your behinds as well."
"So judging by all the times you've worked as Obscure's spy, all four of our opponents on the team are hard to beat, right?"
Amethysia nodded as she and Shiro walked down the hallways of the stadium, making sure no one could hear them as they walked to meet up with Emily and Platina. "Nile and Ryutaro are heavy magic based users, while Titania and Ranmaru are close combat users. The four are really close in terms of knowing each other, so they'll know each other's strengths and weaknesses and cover their backs. But Titania and Ranmaru are the major ones to be wary of." The Obscurian princess explained.
"It's cause of their weapons right?" Shiro asked.
"Give this kid a prize, he knows where this one's going! Jokes aside, you're right on this situation. Titania's a scythemaster like I am, so she's gonna be able to get in a series of attacks without having to worry about getting too close for comfort. We, that is people who use scythes, like to prefer a situation where we can attack an opponent and not get injured in the process. Not to mention when we want to deflect a magic attack, we spin the scythe to defend ourselves."
"Noted. What about Ranmaru?"
"There's intermediate combat, and then there's Ranmaru's style of combat. The prince of Serene uses a pair of katanas that can deal a lot of damage together, but he uses them in unison and in a set amount of patterns. He uses one katana to attack, and one to defend. The defensive manuvears combined with his menace ability make it harder to fight against him."
"Seems like he'll give me a good fight then."
Amethysia paused at the male's statement, before she got a good look at his appearance. The first thing she noticed was that he was wearing a pair of loose fitting black pants with a sleeveless black top, white boots, and a light green overcoat with jagged yellow markings on the chest of the jacket. The chakrams that he normally carried around his waist were noticably absent from his form, and the male wore pair of black fingerless gloves. But the most unusual thing that she noticed the male had in his hands were...
"Are those... Yo-yos? Are you seriously fighting with toys!?" Amethysia asked, her eyes wide with shock.
"Not just any yo-yos." Shiro stated, and Amethysia noticed the razor edges that gleamed on the toys, "They're specially modified, metal battle yo-yos that I control with my wind magic, and each one has razor sharp blades."
"But... Why?"
Shiro grinned. "When I still lived in Stratos, I had a famous nickname because of my talent at executing yo-yo tricks. They called me the Skywalker of Stratos, because of how I controlled the flow and technique of each object. Eventually when I went into my self-inflicted exile, I took my skills into hiding as well. But I never stopped practicing, and I eventually began modifying them for combat as well, using my chakrams as a disguise. As to why I did it... Well let's just say I missed the fun I had performing with them."
"...You want to give Yukina a show don't you, since you spotted her watching the battles beforehand, isn't it?"
"I'm that easy to figure out aren't I?"
"Not as much as several other people I've observed in the past, but I should warn you of something." Amethysia admitted, and Shiro noticed the worry in her eyes.
"What is it?"
"Caspian ordered some of the other rogues to be observing the battle to keep an eye on our process, and one of them is Shunjou Inori. I looked into his past, and he is a former performer, much like yourself, but stopped due to mounting pressure on his performances due to people. I'm just worried if he watches your battle, he'll lash out at you later."
"Gotcha. I'll watch my back after this battle." Shiro stated as he spotted Platina and Emily waiting for them.
"There you two are! I was wondering what was taking you two so long!" The pink haired teen exclaimed.
"Sorry about that, we were just taking our time trying to think of some ideas to use. Have you two thought on who's facing who yet?" Amethysia asked.
"We thought it would be easier if me and Platina took on Ryutaro and Nile, while you and Shiro took on Ranmaru and Titania. Since both of them are more of combat users, they're gonna have a lot more stamina to magic users. And from the look of it, you and Shiro have the right weapons to counter their attacks." Emily explained, gesturing to her guard's scythe and Shiro's weapons.
"I thought that would be a good idea as well. Just be careful you two. Ryutaro is known for having strong magic, and Nile isn't a pushover either. There's a reason why these four are currently the favorite to win the whole thing."
Platina grinned. "Maybe, but the shouldn't count us out just yet." The Princess of Amour stated as she loaded her weapon, a crossbow decorated with pink and silver runes. it matched youngest paladin's attire, a thin platinum chestplate over her pink dress, silver tights, and white boots with a pair of silver bangles on her arms. Her elemental charm was on a silver chain around her neck, the pink stone on it giving a faint glow.
"Is that one of those new crossbows that Tempora invented about 5 years ago?" Amethysia asked, earning a nod from the younger.
"Yep. Koto got her hands on one and made her own modifications to it. About 2 years ago though, my sister bought it as a gift from her, and Koto infused it with rose metal to help boost my magic. So now when I fight, I infuse my magic into the arrows to make it more of a challenge. Rosalina does the same with her own arrows as well, though she uses her own bow to fight."
"Rosalina is quite the archer though. With her speed and accuracy, if it wasn't for the fact that she's known for infusing her life magic into her weapons, a lot of people would've suspected her of being a member of Stratos' court. The wind kingdom is known for their wind based weapons. Mine included." Shiro added, "If both our team and Dynamis' team make it, we could have quite the fight on our hands."
"Right, so we're gonna have to be more careful. You guys ready?" Emily asked, earning nods from her teammates, "Then lets go show these guys what we're made of."
"Ladies and Gentlemen, the third battle is about to begin! Folks, I'm not gonna lie when I say that this battle is gonna be an intense one!"
Shunjou scoffed as he tuned out Ryo's excited screams, focusing on the arena in front of him. The last two battles he had seen had done little to interest him, and if it hadn't been for the fact that he was ordered to observe the fights, he would've had his own way and just find a cold place to be around. It didn't help that most of his teammates had scattered as well, leaving just him and Sora to do the mission that they were given.
"Intense my foot. This is absolutely boring. We've already seen what most of the teams could do, and Shiro and Noir are no different in this matter. Besides, they're on our side, so it doesn't really matter in this case when the time comes." Shunjou pointed out.
"You should really chill out Shunjou. I don't like being forced to do this, but it helps pass the time," Sora retorted, popping a piece of candy in her mouth as she leaned forward, "Besides, that Yukina girl seems pretty strong. Atmospheric Pressure mages are rare to see in Stratos. It makes me wonder just how strong she really is."
"Like that really matters. You don't fight unless you see someone as a possible strong opponent."
Shunjou watched as Sora rolled her eyes, before both of them turned their attention to the arena. "To out left, it's the team that is pitting the younger against the older, give it up for Platina Triton, Shiro Mizukami, Noir Reaper, and Emily Evans!" Ryo exclaimed, the arena turning their attention to the door.
The first one to appear in Shunjou's line of vision was Emily and Noir, their teammate's dark hair pulled into high bun on her head. She had gone into this battle slightly armored, consisting of a silver chestplate over her black tank top that exposed the black rune tattoos on her arms, a pair of loose fitting pants, black boots, and a pair of fingerless gloves that reached her elbows. Her darksteel scythe was swung over her left shoulder, the pitch black metal catching the attention of the crowds observing her.
As for Emily, the Paladin of Darkness was wearing a a pair of black pants tucked into a pair of combat boots reaching a couple inches up her legs. Like her guard, she also wore a tank top style shirt that was dark red over a black sleeved top underneath, and a black leather-type jacket over that. Her hands were covered up with black fingerless gloves and her sandy blonde hair was in a low ponytail with her bangs pinned out of her face. In her hands was a rapier sword, the blade silver and ending in a point.
"Leave it to Noir to catch the attention of the crowds around her. She doesn't put enough effort into her performance, especially with an outfit like that." Shunjou scoffed as he watched the Paladin of Fairy following her two comrades lead, followed by Shiro, who was wearing a pair of loose fitting black pants with a sleeveless black top, white boots, and a light green overcoat with jagged yellow markings on the chest of the jacket.
"Wait, doesn't he usually carry a pair of chakrams at his waist? And what exactly is he carrying in his hand? Shunjou questioned mentally.
"Now that's an interesting weapon. He's using yo-yos to fight. Aren't those mainly used for show and for performances?" Sora asked.
"There are such things as battle performances Sora. Magic and specially modified objects can make a weapon, no matter how strange it is." Shunjou pointed out, his eyes growing icy.
Shiro Mizukami... Just what the heck are you playing at?
"And their opponents, lead by the older half of the Triton princess! Give it up for Titania Triton, Nile Storm, and the Fukami Twins Ranmaru and Ryutaro!"
Shiro watched as their opponents entered the stadium across from them, Titania leading them in a white toga-like shirt that was covered by a simple orichalcum chestplate, silver pants, and a pair of white boots. Her hair was styled into a simple ponytail behind her, her bangs woven into a crown-like braid on top of her hand. Like Noir, her scythe was over her shoulders, the gleaming metal of the blade reflecting in the sun that was high in the sky.
Nile was quick to follow his paladin's steps, the bright haired mage dressed pale yellow and white robes, the colors of Eterna's court. His weapon of choice was a staff, like many of the mages before him, however this one was a silver staff with a gold cube on the end of it. Embedded on each of the 5 visible corners of the cube were pieces of emeralds, lines of peridots connecting each corner.
Ryutaro and Ranmaru were the last to arrive, both of them dressed in blue, gold, and silver mage robes, though these ones had been modified for battle. In the older sibling's hands were his swords, each one gleaming like they had never been used before, despite them being centuries old. As for Ranmaru, the male carried a stack of cards with him, and metal could be seen gleaming on the edges of them as well.
"Tarot cards for weapons?" Shiro questioned, and Ryutaro chuckled.
"Sometimes it's the unexpected weapons that can cause the most damage to an opponent." The Tarot Prince explained, gesturing to Shiro's weapons.
"Alright, you have a point there." Shiro admitted before glancing at Emily, "We still going with the plan from before?"
"That sounds good to me. Let me get the first shot though. We need to catch these guys off guard," The Paladin of darkness whispered, and Shiro gave a nod in agreement.
"Without further ado, let the third battle of round 1 begin!" Ryo called out, and that was the words that sent the teams into action.
"Stick with your own opponents! We need to stay one step ahead!" Emily called out, conjuring up several spheres of dark magic and throwing them at their opponents, "Black Star!"
Shiro nodded as he rushed forward while the spheres hit the ground near their opponents, forcing them to split up. "Trying to make it harder for us to fight together huh?" Ranmaru asked as Shiro rushed toward them, the blades glowing with psychic energy, "Alright, if that's the way you guys wanna play, we'll play your games. Titania! Back me up!"
Titania nodded as she ran to assist her teammate, only to dodge as Amethysia's blade sliced the air in front of her. "Sorry lady of light, you battle's with me. I wanna give my scythe a good test fight, and seeing as how we're both scythe masters," Amethysia paused as she twirled the scythe behind her, before attempting another attack on Titania, who dodged it again, "I figured you'd make a good first opponent."
"I see, setting up for one on one battles. Alright then, bring it on! Blade Dancer!" Titania called out, raising her scythe above her head.
Amethysia jumped into the air as blades of light appeared out of the ground, using the scythe to help her keep to the skies. "Light against Darkness, a battle that has been going on for centuries. People often say that light is a guidance to those on a pure path, but one cannot have light without darkness. Shattering Shadows!" The woman declared as Titania rushed towards her, striking the ground with her scythe.
Just how the blades of light appeared out of the ground, blades of darkness appeared out of those blades. These blades were thinner, but they reach forwards quicker and further, and even Titania found herself having trouble navigating the dark blades, catching her leg on one of them. "So you're a shadow sub-magic user? I hate to be rude, but you guys tend to annoy me and many other mages of Eterna." The princess of Eterna stated, and Amethysia chuckled as she twirled her scythe behind her.
"Well I suppose I can't blame you. After all Shadow Mages are darkness users meant to combat the light in their own way." Amethysia retorted, before giving a slight look around. I wonder how the rest of my team is doing.
"Mystic Zone!"
"Dark Prism!"
Emily looked slightly annoyed as a golden cube surrounded her and Platina, while a prism of darkness surrounded Nile. Call it because of what their attacks did, it was just Ironic to her that both of them had the same plan at that moment. "Any idea to get out of here quickly? Since your Titania's sister, I'm guessing you know how his attack work to extent." The paladin of darkness asked her teammate, and Platina nodded.
"Mostly of them, but this one is an easy one! Aim for the corners of the barrier, and it collapses!"
"I got just the thing then for this! Black Star!" Emily called out as she conjured up some more spheres before firing them at the corners of the magic barrier, the light and dark magic colliding before the light broke apart, freeing the two Paladins from their prisons. "Is that all you Nile?!"
Across from her, Ryutaro chuckled as he raised his arms. "Distortion Warp!"
Emily watched Platina groan as a blue disk appeared alongside Ryutaro, before Nile appeared in it's place. "I forgot Ryu could do that. I feel that it's an unfair move." Platina complained as her sister's boyfriend chuckled.
"Anything goes in a battle Platina. Just like this move. Light Feathers of the Falcon!" Nile called outs before firing shards of golden light magic at the two Paladins, each piece in the shape of a feather. Both Paladins were forced to scatter as the magic feathers flew in all directions, some catching their skin while most of them hit the ground.
"These two need to be separated from each other if we want to take them down, especially if we want to keep Ryutaro from using that spell." Emily pointed out, and Platina nodded in agreement, "He can't use it too much, or else he'll be using a lot of magic. Can I trust you to keep him on his toes?"
"Definitely! It'll be good payback for all the losses in our training battles over the years!" Platina stated as she readied a fairy elemented spell, "What's the plan?"
"Crystal Aura Cross!"
"Aerial Mist Loops!"
Shiro felt his heart race as the air magic that he used to control his yo-yo's wrapped around Ranmaru's blade, before producing a mist that blinded his opponent, forcing the other to jump back several feet. Despite the looming threat in the air weighing his thoughts down slightly, those thoughts were doing nothing to slow him down. The fact that he was able to go toe to toe with an opponent and have an adrenaline rush, all while having fun using his special weapons, made him happy he was getting the chance to fight in the tournament.
"You seem just about ready to go into overdrive with that happy look Shiro!" Ranmaru pointed out as he charged at Shiro, and the Stratos male used another yo-yo to pull the sword downward while using his foot like a pulley to keep it down, "I gotta admit, I've never faced an opponent like you before."
"Flattery ain't gonna get you the win Ranmaru. But I will say this, you're the first opponent I've had who's really got me fired up like this in a long time. Sky Thread!" Shiro admitted before calling out his attack as yanked the yo-yo forward, pulling Ranmaru and his swords along the ground, "Living in Obscure gives little options to perform, so I always used my chakrams as a decoy to throw my opponents off guard when I was sent into the field. But when I face an opponent like you, well, as they say in my birth kingdom, my adrenaline goes sky high and into overdrive!"
"Ah good, so it's not just me then. Outside of my brother and Titania, you're the first to really get me to go serious! But don't think..." Ranmaru paused as he yanked his swords out of the air strings, the blades glowing blue with psychic energy as he closed his eyes, "I'll let you pull me around like a puppet in this battle. It's time I show you why I'm called the Enhancer! Astral Aura Strike!
To Shiro it felt like Ranmaru's speed and accuracy had increased, and he found himself narrowly dodging the aura that radiated from his opponents blades as the other struck, earning a cut on his face. So fast! Amethysia warned me that psychic users could do enhance their physical abilities, but Ranmaru basically put himself into a state of overdrive. It's not just his speed and accuracy, his strength has increased too. It's safe to say I'm gonna need to finish this soon, but how? The Stratos male questioned himself.
Need some help kiddo? Shiro raised an eyebrow as Amethysia landed alongside him, but the words had never left her mouth. I'm communicating to you through telepathy. Did you get a taste of Ranmaru's enhanced attacks yet? The darkness user asked mentally.
"Yeah, and it's safe to say from the way you look, we're gonna have to finish this up quick. Any ideas?"
I got a few on reserve kiddo. Let him and Titania get close enough to us so that you can ensnare them. We'll plan from there then.
"Judging by the lack of conversation between you two, I'm guessing one of you is a trance user. Well that's annoying." Ranmaru pointed out as he raced forward, increasing his speed more as he rushed to get close, "What are you two planning privately? Let's find out shall we Titania?"
"I say we finish these two and help your brother and Nile." Titania added as she rushed forward as well.
"Who's to say you two aren't into a trap though?" Shiro asked as the both Paladin's eyes widened, "Checkmate Ranmaru! Sky Thread!"
"Fairy Ring Barrier!"
"Distortion Warp!"
Emily noticed how quick both Platina and Ryutaro were growing tired, and she knew that they would have to hurry up and finish their battles quick. While she was relieved to see that once the other had gone through several warping defense spells and no longer relied on it, her own attacks and magic were starting to reach their limits as well.
"Looks like you're think the same thing I am," Nile called out in front of her as Emily dodged a few more of his light magic feathers, "Is this all you got though?"
Before the paladin of darkness could answer, Amethysia's voice rang through her mind, and she realized that the other was speaking to her mentally. Emily! Can you hear me? Ranmaru and Titania's gonna be sent flying your way via Shiro's abilities in 3... 2... 1...
"Gah!"
Emily couldn't help but crack a smile of amusement as Ranmaru and Titania were sent flying into Nile, sending all 3 of them to the ground. "Good thing you gave me warning." Emily pointed out as Amethysia and Shiro landed alongside her and Platina, "You guys look as exhausted as us."
"Trust me we are. Amethysia admitted as he group grew close together. I have an idea, but I need your guys help. I have enough stamina to transfer both mine Shiro's remaining magic to you and Platina. Can you guys finish them off?
"Yep!" Platina giggled, and Emily nodded as auras of pink and midnight blue surrounded them, prompting Ryutaro to go on guard.
"Magic Transferral. And since you two use magic a lot more compared to Shiro and Noir..." Ryutaro paused as he watched a dark blue magic engulf him and his team, and he braced himself for what was to come as he noticed a condensed pink sphere appeared alongside his team. "Yep, I know where this one's going."
"Midnight!"
"Enchanted Moonburst!"
Shiro watched alongside his teammates as Emily and Platina sent an explosion of pink and blue at their opponents, the resulting explosions blinding him temporarily. And as he watched the magic fade and their opponents collapse, one single thought came to mind.
Note to self. Keep my magic in reserve for something like this. And not to make them mad. I would not want to be on the receiving end of those attacks.
"And Team Emily is moving on to the second round!"
3 down, 1 to go. And trust me, all things will be explained at the right time.
So, onto why Shiro's team won this round. I have nothing against both teams, and originally I had wanted Titania's team to win, seeing as she had more experience in fighting than her sister. But I wanted to stick with my plan of having OCs sent in getting showcased in battles first (This is gonna be hard considering my decision between the last 2. I'm really torn), and since Emily is part of Shiro's team, this would be a good opportunity to use this battle to show off her skills alongside Shiro, Platina, and Amethysia/Noir. I'm really glad how this battle turned out though, cause I really got to write Emily a lot more. (Silver Swirls, if I ever write your OCs wrong, just let me know. I always feel worried I might upset a person by writing an OC wrong.)
Also, not gonna lie, there's a second reason why they're in round 2. But I can't say anything till chapter 14.
So for my questions of the day, what kingdoms do you guys want me to discuss in the future. I'm asking cause I'm working on part of the 3rd arc of this story (Which will be probably around chapter 21 or so, since we got these battles to deal with.), and Serene is gonna play a good part in the arc, especially with what is in the Kingdom of Light. So if there's any kingdoms you want me to discuss in future chapters, let me know.
And the second question, well it's actually related to this chapter. For those of you who have read both this story and TSAT, do you like how Shiro's character is written here compared to the other story? In TSAT, he was more of a villian compared to here.
That's it for this chapter. Next chapter we see the last battle for round 1, and we see a few... confrontations between both sides.
Until next chapter, this is Warrior signing out. Catch ya guys on the other side of the nexus!
P.S. Go check out the poll on my profile. I wanna change the first word in my penname (Keeping the Nexus Warrior part) cause I feel like I need a change in part of the name. It's been 2 years since I changed it too, so... yeah. that's why.