From the Author's Mind (Updated June 2011):
My turn to greet you all! Duels and rivalries abound as the last two months of school commence. The combat contest is upon us. And it promises to be an awesome display of fighting and magic!
Chapter 15: The Exhibition
Friday, April 28th. 4:42 P. M. Science Classroom.
HOUSE POINTS: Fence: 1280 – Typhoid: 2103 – Iko Iko: 1845 – Potato: 1984
"Well, that's all for today," said Raine after they cleaned up the remains of their Science experiments on the last Friday of April. "Remember, tomorrow is the big fighting tournament. I hope you've all been training hard."
"I've been doing extra time at the gym!" Lloyd said excitedly. "I've finally perfected my Sword Rain: Alpha."
"Yeah, well, I've gotten good with my sword, too," Dib interjected.
"Bah. Puny earth scum. You can not defeat the mighty Zim and his mighty sword!" Zim screeched from the back.
"You can lift it all of the sudden?" Tak asked sarcastically. "It matters not. You will all fall before my magical arts. I've conquered the Water, Fire, and Earth domains and am well on my way to Air."
"Honestly," Hermione grumbled from her seat. "It's amazing that any of these people get any work done. Here we are, four weeks to exams, and all they can think about is some stupid fighting contest."
"Relax, Hermione," Ron said, glancing back at Sheena. "We haven't had a Battle Royale in this school in so long…"
"Besides," said Ginny airily from behind them. "We've got plenty of study time. I'm going to win a battle first."
"Suit yourselves," snapped Hermione. "I'm going to study during the singles match and I'll go to the team if I get a chance."
"Whatever you want, Hermione," said Harry, sighing. "But I signed you up for our team. You need to be there."
"You did what?" gasped Hermione.
"Hahaha…" said Genis, smirking from across the row. "My magic is going to destroy you."
"Yeah," said Lloyd. "Colette, Genis, and I all signed up for the team tournament, too. We're going to win it!"
"I'll do my very best," said Colette. "Right, Girtrude?"
"I like to drown," said Girtrude. "I did it in the Susquehanna once. But it smelled of dead fish and chemicals so I set it on fire instead."
"I was wondering who did that," said Luna. "It had the CIA in an uproar for two weeks. We were going to blame the Tazmanians, but…"
"You're all being irrelevant," said Gaz. "Let's go prepare for the contest."
Friday, April 28th. 6:15 P. M. Gymnasium
Since there was a contest the next day, all classes for the rest of the night were cancelled. Almost everyone found themselves drawn to the gymnasium to practice their magical and fighting arts. Because the gymnasium was restored after Klorb attacked, it was in very good condition. Everyone naturally paired up with those from their home towns and began to train.
Besides practicing their Traditional spells, Harry and Ron dueled with a pair of short swords each. Hermione, unwilling to participate, studied a book on fighting techniques while trying to convince herself that she was studying for Weapon Appreciation. Neville and Ginny were both brushing up with their crossbow skills. Ginny could hit a grape off of an elephant; Neville could hit the broadside of a barn if he was inside and lucky. Luna, of course, ran around and fought anything, animate or inanimate, that would take up a weapon against her.
Dib had continued to train with his sword, ever since the first fighting contest. Kratos had been very impressed with the boy's progress, going so far as to give him a special sword that the man had used long ago. Dib had learned almost ten new special moves and he had even perfected the Doom Slash. Gaz, on the other hand, was focusing on her technical combat skills. Ever since she stopped putting Microsoft and other Capitalist equipment onto her GameSlave, she had suffered no problems. Her skill with her scythe and side-arms had advanced to a very satisfactory level; she was not concerned.
Zim continued to use the same golden sword he had gotten on the Building B. Now that it was a proper size for him to lift, even he had improved; he could successfully disarm such students as Neville, Hermione, and others who were not melee-trained. Attempts to disarm Lloyd or Presea, however, were less successful. Tak kept a dagger hidden on her person for tight situations but overall preferred to use magic and spent almost all of her time focused on perfecting her casting times.
Iggins found himself pursued by Girtrude whenever he tried to train. Girtrude fired missiles and lasers haphazardly at the boy as he squealed and flopped from side to side in an effort to avoid the painful shots. Though miraculously missing everyone else in the gym, Girtrude managed to hit Iggins after their fourth lap and did a victory dance on his head before going to bug someone else.
Lloyd sparred with Zelos, their grunts and parries echoing around the entire gym. Genis focused on his Air magic, something he had not done in a while, and repeated shouts of "Cyclone!" "Air Thrust!" "Atlas!" and "Air Blade!" occasionally rang out, followed by various degrees of rushing wind. Colette managed to shatter, embed, or otherwise disable six boomerangs in a one hour period as she attempted to get her fighting style under control. Sheena simply meditated, her cards floating around her. Presea was refining her ax control and the ground shook with her fury.
Even some of the staff were getting into their training. Kratos, Regal, and Snape (whose mind was mercifully returned to normal) practiced on combat dummies with their respective weapons. Ms. Bitters and Countess von Verminstrasser had entered another room and were doing Matrix-style moves as they tested their skill with gats on each other. Raine sat in a corner, trying to find new Healing spells for her to learn. It was assumed that Trelawney was out getting drunk somewhere because she was nowhere to be found.
The newcomers, Matt, Emily, and Steffen, found themselves training against Peaches. Matt was partial to a staff for melee combat and an alternation between a side-arm and bow for ranged battles, as well as an array of offensive and defensive magic. Emily specialized in quick melee attacks with her two swords of doom, also with her own brand of magical spells. Steffen had his sword, shield, and a limited amoutnt of magic at his disposal. Peaches had a bunch of semi-automatic attachments to her wrists, so the three transfer students spent most of their time learning to dodge and attack under pressure.
When the gym finally closed, the students were exhausted but at the same time they felt a strange sense of strength. They were ready to fight, and fight they would. The day dawned bright and early, with a few students doing some exercises and a few others sleeping in as late as possible to increase their HP and TP count. Finally, a siren sounded across the grounds and everyone reported to the gymnasium. The tournament was ready to begin.
Saturday, April 29th. 10:00 A.M. Gymnasium
"I am the Master Computer, and I am your Master of Ceremonies today," said Master Computer, his voice ringing out across the entire gym. "Welcome to the Great Whitestone Fighting Contest!"
Roars filled the gymnasium, shaking walls and rattling the windows. The level of excitement skyrocketed as the combatants prepared in the waiting rooms and the fans lifted their signs to cheer on their favorites. The order of battles had not at all been assigned beforehand; the rounds would be random. When the place died down, Master Computer called the first two combatants.
"Tak Mitsubishifordtoyota versus Iggins Jones. Begin on my buzzer," said Master Computer.
The two walked in, Tak much more coolly than Iggins. She wore a specially made battle suit with a long trench coat that was almost skin-tight. Today, she had gone with her human form as it offered slightly better magical versatility than her Irken form. She stood with her hands at her sides, a smirk playing across her face.
Iggins was decked out in armor that increased his body mass about three times the normal. He looked like an overstuffed Viking, complete with horned helmet. His mobility decreased, Iggins found it even harder than usual to swing his sword toward his target. Tak planned to take advantage of this.
"Begin," said Master Computer, buzzing.
Iggins rushed in and Tak easily side-stepped him. As he tumbled away, a blue circle began to swirl about Tak as she silently chanted a Water-type spell. When she finished and cast, a huge jet of water burst out of the ground and shot the boy into the air where he squealed miserably as he fell to the ground, fainting on contact.
"That was almost pathetically easy," said Tak, tossing her hair back and walking away.
"Battle two: Harry Potter versus Lloyd Irving!" the Master Computer shouted.
Harry stood at one end of the arena, a sword in one hand and a wand in the other. Lloyd stood at the far side, his swords at the ready. On the buzzer, they rushed each other but Lloyd was sent flying backwards by a well-placed knock-back jinx from Harry. He leapt to his feet quickly, however, and dove in.
"Tiger Blade!" shouted the teen, upper cutting with the sword and slamming Harry back to the earth.
"Impedimenta!" shouted Harry, sending a curse flying right at Lloyd, narrowly missing.
"Beast!" Lloyd yelled, a beast exploding forth and knocking Harry hard to the other side of the arena.
From the audience, Hermione and Ginny watched with their hands at their throats. Ron shouted various profanities at Lloyd while Snape sat three rows behind, gleefully calculating the amount of points he would have to remove from Fence. The battle seemed at a stalemate for a good fifteen minutes, until one broke through.
"Demonic Circle!" Lloyd cried, slicing through and making a small circle explode from under him.
Harry, exhausted, was thrown backwards. He fell to a knee, looked at Lloyd, and fell onto his face. Lloyd was the victor, and he did a dance as the end-of-battle music played, Final Fantasy style. Harry was taken off to be revived, and the next two combatants (Ms. Bitters and Zelos) entered the stage. This ended in an anti-climax because Ms. Bitters merely glared at Zelos and he collapsed, bleeding from his ear.
"Luna Lovegood versus Hermione Granger!" shouted Master Computer.
"What?" cried Hermione from the stands. "I didn't sign up for this!"
"Oh, right," said Ron. "Sorry, I signed you up. Did I forget to mention that?"
"I'm going to murder your soul, Ronald!" Hermione squeaked, her eyes widening with fear.
But she didn't. Instead, merely two minutes and a small fit later, she found herself trembling on the stage. Luna stood about twenty feet away, decked out in her usual amount of weaponry. This time, she added a bazooka-like gun that was slung over her shoulder. She smiled happily at her foe just before the battle began.
"Hermione, I'll try to make this quick and easy for you," said Luna, cocking a shotgun as she spoke.
"L-L-Luna," said Hermione, appearing as though she was having a convulsion. "C-can't I just forfeit?"
"No way," replied Luna in an equally cheerful voice. "If you did that, I'd have to kill you out of dishonor. And then your body would never be found."
"Oh. Well… just… make it quick…" said Hermione, wincing as the buzzer went off.
Luna opened fire, cackling madly as she did so. The bullets danced around Hermione, who fell to the stage sobbing. After about thirty seconds of this, the bullets abruptly stopped. Hermione opened one eye and saw Luna, who was now readying the bazooka.
"You said this would be quick!" complained Hermione in a high-pitched voice.
"I lied! Besides, I have to go through the motions. First comes the 'shoot-with-a-gun-that-could-easily-rip-a-person-apart-but-still-somehow-misses' stage, and now is the 'shoot-with-a-huge-ass-gun-that-could-destroy-a-building-but-still-somehow-misses' stage."
She followed this quote with a shot from the bazooka. Unfortunately, her aim was true and she knocked Hermione off the stage and forced her into a state of unconsciousness. The crowd cheered and Hermione was dragged away by a few foul-looking House Elves.
"Crap," said Luna. "I didn't mean to do that. I've brought dishonor to the CIA…"
When she had finally left the stage dejectedly, Dib heard his name called so he stood at one end. His opponent finally made himself known: it was Snape. Dib gasped, his jaw going to the floor. How was he supposed to defeat one of the strongest teachers in the school? Snape, meanwhile, seemed to have nothing more on his mind than getting a quick and decisive victory so that he could go back and continue to take points from Fence.
When the buzzer was sounded, Snape sent a huge wave of darkness toward Dib, its tendrils quickly enclosing around him. Voices began to replay themselves and Dib started to have horrible memories, most of them revolving around Skool, Ms. Bitters, and Piggies. He fell to his knees, and looked up, tears in his eyes. Snape merely smirked and continued to watch his memories, pausing and rewinding on a particularly foul one where Dib was forced to clean the boys' bathroom with a toothbrush when he was blamed for something Zim did.
The audience was cheering and booing for Dib and Snape respectively. Although not well-liked by any of his classmates, Dib was certainly more popular than Snape. The blurred faces clouded Dib's vision, until he spotted Colette. Instantly, his thoughts moved to the times they'd shared together, growing more intimate. Snape's grin of malice shattered these pictures and Dib found new strength.
"NO!" he shouted, sending a spell out. "THIS IS NOT FOR YOU!"
Snape, caught off-guard, was thrown into the air by the Grave spell. Other rocks shot up from the ground and impaled him repeatedly. Finally, a large boulder dropped onto his head, crushing him and the rocks beneath him. The crowd gasped; Dib had fused two spells together.
"That's something we aren't covering until next month," said Raine, her eyes wide. "He just combined Grave and Rock Mountain to form the Grave Mountain spell."
"That's awesome," said Genis, also with a shocked look. "I bet I could get some good ones, too."
Dib fell to his knees, breathing heavily. The audience shouted its approval, clapping and cheering. After Dib was escorted back to his seat, the next two challengers stood upon the battle stage.
Steffen and Sheena were as far apart from each other as possible, each glaring at the other. They were at a moderate rate of animosity due to many random issues within Potions and Alchemy and Traditional Magic. With his sword and shield, Steffen was perfectly ready to rush into battle, looking more-so prepared than Sheena with her cards.
Their battle was not nearly as long as anticipated. Sheena's quick dodging tactics proved to be useful, but her attacks just couldn't match up to Steffen. Plus, she had no time to Summon anything worthwhile, so Steffen quickly took the upper-hand and had her defeated in less than five minutes, to the supportive shout of almost everyone in Potato but with the boos and catcalls from all of Iko Iko.
Peaches and Ron was an interesting combination. On the one hand, you had Ron, armed with robes and a wand. On the other, you had Peaches, with so many types of blades, guns, and cannons that it put the Military to shame. Master Computer allowed the suspense to build up on this one as Ron nervously checked his wand and Peaches armed herself to the teeth (which literally had little machine guns poking out of them).
When the buzzer went off, Peaches let loose a huge wave of shots, firing so quickly that the sound was a continuous rumble. Ron didn't have a chance to even block it. He was down in two seconds and Peaches was declared the winner as Ron's broken body was taken off stage for healing.
Emily and the Countess ascended the stage next. Emily tossed her blonde hair back so that it would get out of her face. She held her two short swords at the ready, bouncing in the Final Fantasy technique she'd been taught. Verminstrasser stood with her rifle slung over her shoulder, a small handgun in her right hand, and a battle knife in the left.
The buzzer went off and Emily immediately action rolled for a swipe at the feet. Verminstrasser leapt and avoided, firing off three quick shots at the girl as she went. Emily dodged them and dove to the ground again, sending a Demon Fang shockwave toward the ex-Nazi. She moved just in time to shoulder the rife, firing in one fluid motion.
The bullets clattered around her, but Emily managed to get off an air spell that sent them flying in all other directions (which, under any circumstances would have killed the audience members but as a special force field had been put up to prevent that, they merely ricocheted around and dissipated). Emily then forced the wind shield to change into a tornado, which shot forward and flung Verminstrasser toward the wall. She used it to jump off Matrix-style, again letting lose a wave of bullets.
Emily felt one of them hit her left arm and she rolled to the side to make sure it wasn't anything too damaging. Upon standing she rushed in, slashing with her sword. The first was parried; the second, a hit. Verminstrasser was sliced in the left shoulder and she rolled out of the way again, unsheathing the knife and moving in for a duel.
A few furious blows later, Emily had successfully evaded and began to quickly cast a spell. This one (Wind Slash) sent a sword-like slash of air flying toward her instructor, cutting her through. Verminstrasser fell to the stage with a grunt and the battle was over with Emily jumping up and down in celebration.
Ginny versus Gaz was another short fight, just like Ron and Peaches. Gaz was already irritated about something, so she quickly sent herself into Overlimit. After feeling the wrath of the thermonuclear Abaddon Paroxysm (her Hi-Ougi), Ginny was out cold and half of her soul was shattered. She was taken away to Intensive Care and Gaz bad-temperedly left the stage, impaling her scythe into an outlet along the way.
Kratos and Regal was one of the most-bet upon duels in the entire tournament. The favorite for winning was Kratos, though some argued that Regal's ability to jump and evade would allow him to get the upper hand. The battle was certainly fierce: Regal swung in with a Triple Kick and Swallow Kick combo that left Kratos mildly stunned. He finally managed to recoil with Fierce Demon Fang and Lightning Blade, fully stunning the other.
They began to attack in earnest at this point, the blows going to fast that their arms and legs were a blur. Their Overlimits were both clearly increasing, until finally Kratos became surrounded with the black aura. Regal swore and attempted to slide out behind him with Mirage, but Kratos wasn't going to be fooled.
"I've got you," he said, and a glyph appeared below him. "Try to escape these holy cahins."
As he spoke, a few rays of light shot up from the ground, spinning in and capturing Regal, damaging him as they went. When they were finally in the center, with Regal suspended above Kratos, the cut-out of Kratos' pissed-off face appeared.
"SHINING BIND!" he roared.
The glyph below exploded repeatedly and in a rising fashion, sending Regal flying to the air. He clattered to the ground and did not move. Master Computer declared Kratos the winner and he turned on heal, leaving quickly. Regal was totted off and the stage was swept of blood, sweat, and random angel feathers.
Next, Presea stood at one end of the stage; Girtrude at the other. This battle promised to be exciting and possibly seizure-inducing. Presea wielded her ax in her typical badass style, and Girtrude jumped around in a circle in her typical… "style"… It was no surprise when the buzzer beeped that Girtrude had a fit and ran around in a panic. Presea, confused, could not get a good hit on the fast-moving target.
This stalemate continued for a good five minutes. The audience fell silent and eventually the only sound was Girtrude's continued shrieks as she frantically dashed around the stage. Finally, Presea timed it right and held her ax out so that the blunt end was toward the robot. She slammed into it and fell backward, her eyes black. The buzzer sounded and Presea walked off the stage, a sweat drop hovering above her head.
The final battle of round one would put Matt and Zim against each other. The brown-haired boy stood on the left side; Zim on the right. The former held his staff at his side while Zim stood with his golden sword held at an odd angle. Master Computer sounded his buzzer again.
"Punishment!" shouted Zim, spinning around in a circle once, the sword trailing him.
Matt took a single step back and avoided it easily. He smiled and began to focus. The ends of his staff glowed a red color and the glyph below him spiraled into a fire symbol.
"O solitary falling star," Matt chanted. "Descend upon this battlefield and unleash thy burning fury! ANCIENT NOVA!"
About two seconds later, a shooting star shot through the roof of the school, slamming into Zim and pinning him to the stage. The star then exploded, skyrocketing Zim toward the ceiling. He shouted in pain as Matt quickly began to cast. He smiled and shouted, "SPREAD!" as a geyser of water shot up under Zim, sending him withering to the stage. Matt continued to smile and trotted over to the twitching foe and poked him sharply with the staff.
"VICTORY TO MATT!" shouted the Master Computer as Zim blacked out.
"That was easy," said Matt, dusting his hands off and exciting the stage.
There was merely a brief interlude before the next round began. This time, the first battlers would be Tak and Matt. They walked onto the stage and shook hands in the middle before returning to respective corners. Master Computer began to explain the rules of the following rounds while the freshly revived losing fighters sat in the audience.
"I'm going to bet on Tak for this one," said Geni., "I don't know enough about Matt to choose him."
"Nobody can beat my Tak," said Zelos lovingly. "Her water magic is unbeatable."
"I don't think so," said Sheena. "I heard Emily telling Ginny that Matt nearly washed away a small village one time when he got pneumonia…"
"Shhh… it begins," said Verminstrasser from a few rows ahead.
"Spread!" shouted Matt, sending the geyser at Tak.
"Aqua Edge!" Tak roared, her slashes of water shooting past Matt.
"Aqua Laser!" Matt hissed, the jets of water shooting across the stage.
"Aqua Protection!" shouted Tak, absorbing the water.
"So… this is going to be a water fight…" said Ginny, looking put-out. "I hate water…"
"Okay, so you wanna play rough?" Tak said, smirking. "Fine."
"After you," Matt said, also smiling.
They both began to cast an extended spell. The blue aura began to whip about their bodies. At their feet, water glyphs appeared and began to revolve slowly as they chanted their spells in unison.
"The greatest power of the water shall let loose a mighty deluge and wash away mine enemies…" Tak said in a singing voice.
"Oh grand goddess of the sea, send forth a great chariot to carry your people to the distant shore…" Matt chanted.
"TIDAL WAVE!" they roared in unision.
Two opposite deluges came from nowhere and slammed into each other in the center, sending water cascading over the magical barrier and down to the floor below. The first two rows were swamped and two students were completely washed out the door. Matt and Tak struggled for a few moments, each trying to make their water get through to the other. Finally, Matt's surprising determination came through and he broke Tak's resolve, causing her to be washed off the battle platform and lose.
Emily walked onto the stage next, her battle against the ever-perky Peaches. Emily seemed a bit weary of fighting the combat suit, but she also showed resolve as the buzzer went off. Peaches swept the area with a spray of bullets, and Emily performed a Tempest that sliced through the air and hit Peaches in the process. She landed behind and quickly cut around for a Demon Fang, hitting the robot suit in the back.
"She's good," commented Zim. "Too good…"
"I don't know," said Lloyd. "I bet I could cross blades with her…"
"No way," replied Genis. "She's kicked so much ass in Weapons Appreciation lately even Jackie Chan has a shrine for her."
"… Wow, Genis. Just… wow," came Lloyd's reply.
Emily continued to evade and dodge Peaches, occasionally stopping long enough to get a quick Wind spell out. After a while, Peaches began to lose her ammunition. Finally, there was a click and she was out. She sighed happily.
"Time for the energy sword," she said, whipping it out Halo-style.
"Oh damn," said Emily, leaping backwards.
"Die, please!" Peaches chirped, striking toward Emily.
Her aim was true, striking Emily full in the chest. However, the only thing it managed was sending Emily into Overlimit. Peaches froze. A sudden cyclone came out of nowhere and Peaches found herself stuck in a multi-vortex of air, unable to escape. With a cut-in of her face appearing, Emily shouted, "SERAPH WRATH," and Peaches fell to the ground, a crumpled heap. The buzzer sounded and Emily left the stage; Master Computer snuck over to Peaches and stole some of her weapons before allowing Harry to drag her off stage.
Presea and Ms. Bitters took the stage next. It was teacher and favored pupil, and the area around them darkened. To the delight of Emily, One-Winged Angel began to play as the two eyeballed each other dramatically. How this twist of fate came around was anyone's guess, but as Presea wielded her ax, Ms. Bitters suddenly took out a sword that was quite possibly longer than anything they'd ever seen.
"What the hell?" shouted Zelos. "She's got an extra nine feet on Presea!"
"She's even scarier than last time…" muttered Harry.
"I know," said Neville. "If I was Presea, I'd be terrified…"
But the girl showed no fear as she shouldered her ax and headed in with a Punishment/Resolute Infliction Combo. They soared into the air and a furious fight came between with plenty of sparks from ax and sword. Finally, with a final clang that sent shockwaves throughout the entire coliseum, Ms. Bitters knocked Presea to the floor and the pink-haired girl conceded her defeat to her master. Ms. Bitters sheathed the sword and left the stage without a word.
When Steffen and Luna entered, there was a sudden hush. Word had spread through the stands that a recent truck crash had spilled thousands of pounds of Ramen on a local highway. Being in the CIA, Luna was among the first to hear about it. She was pissed. Steffen stared at her as she stood on stage. What was most frightening was her lack of weapons; she had nothing. When the buzzer sounded, nobody moved for a long time. It seemed like nobody was breathing. Then, suddenly, Luna held her hands at her side, in the same way the Dragon Ball Z characters used to do their over exaggerated moves.
"DISAPPEAR INTO NOTHINGNESS!" she shouted, pushing her hands to the front, "DIMENSIONAL MATERIAL!"
A black hole of sorts surrounded Steffen. He gasped and then began to yell as he slowly imploded upon himself. With a violent noise like a sock being sucked into a vacuum, he disappeared and all that remained was his sword, which clattered to the floor. There continued to be a horrified silence as Luna stormed off the stage. The contest was put on hold while Luna was calmed down, lest she literally go nuclear.
When the contest resumed, father and son faced off next as Lloyd and Kratos stood in the center of the arena. The battle didn't last long; Kratos was far superior to Lloyd and a few Graves and Lightning Blades was all it took to knock him out. The next family affair was Gaz and Dib, the final battle in Round 2.
Gaz held her GameSlave at the ready. Dib held his sword Sephiroth-style, though it looked much less cool because it was shorter, he had no wings, and his big head partially obscured the views. Again it seemed as if the atmosphere grew darker. Gaz smirked at her brother.
"You think you can beat me, Dib?" she taunted.
"I really don't know, Gaz," Dib said. "But I won't back down. Ever."
"Hmph. A backbone. You may still have use, Dib," said Gaz, readying herself.
The buzzer sounded and the two jumped at each other. The GameSlave transformed itself into a scythe, which Gaz used to Doom Slash at Dib. He leapt through it and came down with a Slag Assault, which was blocked by the conversion to a shield. Gaz began to spin furiously with a Rising Punishment, the gleam of the blade slicing through the dark air. Dib took a hit on this and was thrown to the far end of the stage.
"Take this… Stone Blast!" shouted Dib, sending rocks flying at Gaz. She quickly destroyed them with her karate-like reflexes born of video game playing and moved the analog stick while pressing A-B-A-A. A flurry of tiny missiles shot out and Dib quickly leapt high into the air, doing a front flip and landing on his hands and knees. He followed this with a Swallow Fury, hitting Gaz and sending her back.
"… you… you drew blood…" said Gaz, a slight pride in her eyes. "But… you will pay…"
She made the game transform once more into a huge, red hammer. Labelled in Russian it read "Communist Hammer." This she slammed into the stage repeatedly as the techo Mario theme from Super Smash Brothers began to play. She chased Dib around for a bit, but he couldn't quite outrun it. With a cry he was sent flying through the ceiling and out and into the distance, becoming a star.
Another break preceded the semi-finals. During this time, everyone entered the foyer, where some students had set up various stalls selling second-rate food and souvenirs of the fight. One both had moving pictures, some of which depicted Ms. Bitters' victory over Zelos, the flooding of the stands during Matt and Tak's fight, and Steffen's removal from the dimension. After dozens of transactions, the audience clutched their purchases as they filed back into the freshly repaired and dried stadium. Master Computer descended to the floor again and announced the Semi-finals of the Singles Tournament.
"The rules are continuing as they have," boomed the Master Computer. "When this round is over, the three victors will face-off in a Battle Royal that will decide the ultimate winner of Whitestone. Are you ready? Luna and Emily, ascend the stage!"
As he retracted, the two blondes walked on stage. They stared at each other for a while and suddenly came to a realization: they looked almost exactly the same. Luckily for Emily, Luna had calmed down and decked herself back out in her suit of weaponry. She clutched a large sword in one hand; a crossbow in the other. Emily, as per the usual, held her swords in each hand, a bow on her back just in case ranged combat became a must.
The buzzer went off and the girls ran towards each other. Emily leapt over the air and spun over and over through in a Tempest attack. At the same time, Luna tried a Sword Rain: Beta. They both missed high and low respectively, but when they landed they each shot a Double Demon Fang, which was cancelled. Taking a few steps back, they both began to cast a spell: Emily shot an Air Thrust at Luna, but Luna cut through it with Air Blade, which faded immediately.
"A stalemate again," reported Genis in a slightly bored voice. "Eventually one will break through and the battle will be over."
"You could learn from them, Genis," said Raine. "I expect full marks on your Weapon Appreciation exam."
"Oh my lord!" Hermione wailed, diving into her book bag. "I was going to study during the Singles! All this precious study time… wasted!"
"And that, children, is the sound of Hermione's world shattering around her," commentated Verminstrasser, a bloody bandage wrapped around her shoulder. "Soon she will regress to the fetal position and sob uncontrollably. Cirrhosis will soon follow."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield, Emily and Luna continued to either clone each others' attacks or cancel them out. An arrow flurry had erupted when Emily pulled out her bow and Luna took up her crossbow, but no real damage had been done. They weren't near Overlimit, either, so Mystic Artes were not options. However, Luna finally got the upper hand when she threw a plasma grenade and stuck Emily.
"… Where'd you find that?" asked the girl with a surprised look.
"QVC," replied Luna. "Big sale today."
"Oh," Emily said, and then she exploded and was thrown from the stage.
Matt and Kratos were called to the stage next. Matt knew almost instantly that he was doomed. His skills in Weapons Appreciation were fairly laughable. Kratos' four thousand years of training proved to be way more than enough for him.
"Double Demon Fang," shouted Kratos, sending the shockwaves toward the boy, who barely leapt over.
"Mystral Ray!" Matt shouted, a line of pure mana extending from the end of his staff into the instructor.
"Guardian," Kratos smoothly said, and then began to cast. "Sacred light of heaven, rain down and purify those sinners who have become lost… JUDGEMENT!"
His judgement had suddenly gotten a lot better. Instead of little thin light bolts that made a "ding" noise, it had been upgraded to huge rays that made small explosions when they struck. Worse, instead of falling randomly around the battlefield, they locked on to their targets. Since Matt was the only target, that meant all the dozens of rays were aiming for him.
"God really does hate me," Matt sighed, quickly casting an elemental barrier, knowing full well that it was not going to hold.
"And now you die," Kratos said, sheathing his sword as the barrier failed and Matt was struck and knocked out cold.
Ms. Bitters stood toe-to-toe with another of her favorites, Gaz. Gaz was charging the GameSlave for this particular battle, so she instead held the regular scythe. Ms. Bitters' scythe looked more menacing and had something red on the blade (probably jelly; you could never be sure with her). Gaz did a complicated twirl performance with her scythe, and Ms. Bitters followed suit.
"They're going through the motions," said Presea, nodding sagely.
"For what?" Sheena asked, curious.
"According to the lore, when two who retrieve the lives of the dead duel," said Presea. "They must first perform a complicated maneuver with their scythes. This is the Dance of Death."
"It is rather frightening," said Neville.
The battle started and ended fairly quickly. Though it was short, there was no lack of fun maneuvers. Each had their advantages: Gaz had a small frame, hard to hit, and Ms. Bitters had a serpentine ability to dodge and bend. They both sliced through the air at such a speed that all that could be seen was the light glinting off each. Finally, the two blades connected and they froze. However, Ms. Bitters had another trick up her sleeve: magic.
"A foretold story of destruction, let far off galaxies send forth messengers of DOOM!" shouted the woman. "METEOR STORM!"
"Oh shoot," Gaz said, staring at the sky where dozens of space rocks were falling. She covered her head and prepared for impact as one after another the meteorites hit the floor of the arena, causing massive damage and burying the girl in feet upon feet of space rock. Victorious once more, Ms. Bitters retreated to the area where the combatants would wait for the final round to begin.
Again the stage had to be cleaned and all foreign bodies removed. Once it was clear that one could eat off the floor if one so desired, they called back Kratos, Ms. Bitters, and Luna. They stood in a triangle, about twenty feet apart each way. The audience each held banners for their favorite combatants; Kratos was the most popular, with Ms. Bitters a close second and Luna favored by a small handful of students. The lack of support didn't seem to phase her as she cleaned the barrel of her sawed-off shotgun while checking to make sure she had the sharpest knives she owned.
Ms. Bitters held no weapons, but wore a large, hooded cloak that hid her entire frame. One could only guess what was contained in the depths of her cloak, and, perhaps, one didn't wish to know. Kratos was wearing the Omega Shield, which was kind of weak as it was a healing device, but there were no rules forbidding it so he continued to wear it with a sneaky grin on his face.
The buzzer finally sounded and Kratos charged Luna who charged Ms. Bitters who charged Kratos. For about ten seconds there was confusion as the three ran in circles. Finally, Ms. Bitter stopped and hit Kratos in the face with a large, leather-bound book as he ran by. She then slithered off to the far end of the stage and began to read aloud, an extended incantation that apparently did nothing for quite a while.
Kratos and Luna, meanwhile, became enveloped in a duel of their own. Kratos' skill with the sword was not something Luna could hope to match; she used a whip instead. Every time Kratos would slash at Luna, she would leap back, swing the whip, and Kratos would feel strange pain through his armor. However, that's not to say he didn't get a few good hits on her; one lightning blade in particular caused her to go cross-eyed and forget where she was.
Finally, Ms. Bitters closed her book and let out a loud roar. She had sent herself into Overlimit; the incantation's purpose becoming obvious. She swept across the battlefield and sent Kratos spinning with the book. She also knocked Luna back as she instant-casted Explosion. Then, she glowed the Mystic Arte color and everyone found themselves enshrouded in darkness.
"The day is upon us," said Ms. Bitters in a quiet, dangerous voice. "The day when the world as we know it takes its final breath."
As she said this, a rush of fire came through and caught the two opponents by surprise.
"Now watch as everything you hold dear is destroyed before your eyes!" came Ms. Bitters' voice in ringing tones, getting louder with each word.
This time, explosions seemed to rock on all sides, throwing them from one end to another.
"Let these images of misery be your final memories for eternity!" shouted Ms. Bitters, her cut-in the most horrifying thing on the face of the earth (so much so that I can't describe it; my fingers would start bleeding).
A final grand mal of shattering of the very fabric of space and time followed this final statement. Once the sounds of horror stopped, silence filled the gymnasium/arena. The darkness slowly gave way to the light and the audience could see Ms. Bitters standing in the middle of the auditorium. Her opponents lay upon the floor, looking as though they'd gone albino. A great cheer rose up and Ms. Bitters seemed to bask for a few moments before soaring off to places unknown.
The team tournaments were the next battles to occur. Only four teams had turned in applications and money on time, and only they were allowed to participate. Matt and Emily originally had a team of three with Steffen but since he was gone forever, they decided to go it with just the two of them. Zelos, Tak, Ginny, and Sheena held out the hope for Iko Iko and were their opponents. The other two groups, consisting of Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville against Lloyd, Colette, and Genis would battle afterwards.
Two on four was hardly a fair fight, no matter how you looked at it, and Tak had already proven herself to be a dangerous force with her water elemental spells. Ginny, on the opposite end of the spectrum, was a master of fire. Sheena still had her summons and revamped ninja skills, and Zelos was exceptionally versatile, with a little of. Matt was no melee fighter; he stood in the back and would stick to casting spells from his library of magic, consisting of healing, offensive, and defensive spells. Emily would remain on the front lines with her offensive attacks and Air magic.
The buzzer sounded and everyone went to work. Zelos and Emily became locked in a furious duel while Tak, Ginny, and Sheena all began to cast various spells. Matt quickly thought of his favorite spell, and since he'd been practicing it for years, he could practically instant-cast it now. The Spread spell sent Ginny flying into the air, slamming her down hard on her back. Tak countered with an Aqua Laser to Emily, who was too busy fighting Zelos to notice. Sheena merely used a Seal to allow Zelos' sword to attack with Earth blasts, thinking it would be Emily's weakness.
She had been wrong. Although her dislike of earth magic was fairly well-known, Emily didn't have a particular weakness to it. She stood back and continued to parry, same as normal. She returned the favor with Severing Wind, and Zelos was forced to break his continuing attacks while Emily focused on Sheena.
To her delight, Sheena's casting of the seal left lingering traces of earth mana upon the ground, to which she gleefully performed tiger blade in. It lead to a move change: Wyrm Wrath. The many wisps of dragons erupting from the ground took Sheena out in no time at all. This infuriated her teammates, who began to cast a little more quickly. Matt, meanwhile, had gone into a trance; he was cooking up something powerful.
"An inferno from the center of the earth shall release itself to gorge upon your flesh," Ginny said, "ERUPTION!"
"The greatest power of the water shall let loose a mighty deluge and wash away mine enemies…" Tak said, "TIDAL WAVE!"
The two spells came at once, combining and forming a Raging Mist spell with a little more disorganization but a little more power. Rolling out of the way, Emily was met with Zelos, who cast Thunder Blade. Barely leaping out of that, Emily quickly allowed Matt to finish where he had left off.
"I call upon the denizens of the heavens: let those who yearn for their perfection cleanse their souls of their sins in this dazzling display of thunder…" he chanted in a slow, powerful voice, "INDIGNATION!"
The area above them began to twist into something. Tak and Ginny barely had time to gasp when a huge flash of lightning struck the ground, splitting parts of the arena apart. Ginny and Tak both fell with shrieks of pain. Zelos was all that was left, and he had gone into Overlimit at the loss of his honey.
"I'll show you when I'm being serious," he chanted, casting an obviously angel-type spell, "EAT THIS! DIVINE JUDGEMENT!"
Matt was suddenly caught in a magical circle, where light rained down repeatedly. Finally, below him, a massive explosion of light lifted him right off his feet and shot him into the air. By this time, he was out and Emily, while not quite in Overlimit, was still furious enough to beat Zelos down with repeated Demon Fang, Sword Rain, Tiger Blade, and Impaling Heaven attacks in such a fast speed that even Kratos seemed impressed. Finally, when Zelos finally fell to his knees, the battle was declared over and Matt and Emily were revived to full health to await their challengers.
"That was probably the most informative battle of them all," Regal commented. "We saw lengthy attack chains, combination spells, and even a Field of Mana change. That's all material most of our classes don't even cover until next year."
The second of the team battles wasn't nearly as interesting or long. On one team, you had a melee fighter, an accomplished Symphonian mage, and a girl who could function as either a caster or mid-range fighter. On the other, you had a four wizards with virtually no melee experience and Traditional Magic.
The spells began to fly quickly when the battle started. Knockback Jinxes were a favorite of all four wizards whenever Lloyd would close in, though Ron and Harry frantically tried to use their swords as well. When Colette performed Holy Song, the spells' effectiveness became lessened. Finally, when Genis cast his own Explosion spell, Hermione and Neville were thrown straight into unconsciousness. Ron and Harry ganged up on Lloyd, hoping they could get the better of him.
That's when Colette stepped in. Or, rather, she tripped in. She landed on a mine that had, presumably, been left behind when Luna had been owned by Ms. Bitters. She had just enough time to gasp before the mine exploded, knocking her, Lloyd, Harry, and Ron out. Genis, who had been casting in the background, stopped and stared. By default, the Symphonian natives won because they actually had someone alive, as opposed to the wizards, all of whom were down. He shook his head in an annoyed fashion and walked off to prepare for the next battle.
Five minutes later, Matt and Emily stood again on the stage. On the other side, Lloyd, Genis, and Colette prepared to use their new tactic to win an easy and quick victory. Matt and Genis both looked ready to cast, and when the buzzer rang, they both quickly began to chant, as did Colette.
"To those who have died at the hands of evil, raise thy voices into a brilliant roar…" Matt said quickly. "BLOODY HOWLING!"
He had aimed for Lloyd, correctly assuming the boy would have the lowest magical defense. Emily took advantage of Lloyd's being caught in the dark vortex, using her time to slice at him with a Sovereign Gale and then an Impaling Heaven. The Wind mana remnants she used to change Light Spear Cannon into Light Blast. Yet, somehow, Lloyd held on to life, long enough for Colette and Genis to fire off their spells.
"Spiral Flare!" he shouted.
Unfortunately, Matt and Emily stood in a line in front of him, and they could not react in time; the spinning fire shot through both of them, knocking them back and interrupting Matt's second spell. Colette's turn came next.
"Um… uh… I did it again," she said sheepishly as she activated Holy Judgement, her Mystic Arte.
The rays, however, were easily dodged and neither Matt nor Emily had so much as a scratch by the end of it. However, Genis had taken this time to cast Meteor Storm, and the two could not quite avoid that. They each were hit by two meteors.
"Dammit…" Emily sighed, slumping to the ground.
"Sorry…" Matt moaned, falling to the ground as well.
Ten minutes later, Master Computer stood next to the three as they awaited their awards. He went through their battles in detail, talking about which tactics were obviously well-thought and planned, ignoring the fact that half their victories were Colette's lucky clumsiness. But then, just after he handed them each medals, he beeped suspiciously and his voice became brighter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special exhibition match for you today," he said, smiling brightly. "Let's hear it for our new arrivals from the world of Auldrant…"
A cage opened on the far side, and in walked three people. One was dressed in slightly punk-looking clothes, exposing his chest and abdomen. His red hair was spiked, and he looked very smug. On his left walked a girl whose hair covered one eye and hung way down to about her waist. She wore a trench coat and a stylish pair of pants that Sheena and Ginny were jealous of. Finally, on the right, came a man in his mid 30's with red, mischievous eyes, a pair of glasses, and a uniform that read: Colonel of the Malkuth Military.
"Luke fon Fabre, Mystearica 'Tear' Grants, and Colonel Jade Curtiss!" roared the Master Computer.
Matt and Emily cheered wildly from the stands; they were the only two to do so. Nobody else seemed to know who these newcomers were. When they stood in the center of the stage, Lloyd, Genis, and Colette were shocked to see they had taken out their weapons (Jade merely conjuring his out of thin air).
"Exhibition match… begin!" shouted Master Computer, retracting and leaving room for the fight.
Tear immediately rushed in for Colette, leaping high and chucking a single knife at the girl. Colette gasped and fell backwards, the knife landing at her feet. Colette attempted to counter with a Ray Thrust, but Tear leapt high again and countered with "Severed Fate" and Colette found herself in trouble, surrounded by knives that gave off a rising wave of energy.
Luke went for Lloyd, striking from high with Havoc Strike. Lloyd attempted to fight back, but his slower speed was easily surpassed by Luke, who attacked him seven times before continuing the combo with Fang Blade, Demon Fist, and finishing it off with a Guardian Field. This alone was enough to put Lloyd in danger of being destroyed.
Genis had frantically started to cast everything he could at Jade, but nothing seemed to work; the Colonel always managed to avoid the spells. He would merely walk to the side and taunt the boy, but he didn't attack himself… for a couple minutes, anyway.
"Prepare yourself," he finally said, going into Overlimit of his own accord.
All eyes turned to him as he began to cast. A couple of seconds later, he shouted, "Begone!"
The flash that came with all Mystic Artes came and suddenly the entire battlefield was covered in a very pretty, aqua-colored sphere of magic. Bands of golden symbols enclosed the sphere, crisscrossing it in all directions. As it came closer, a brighter spot formed in the center.
"Oh admonishing melody," Jade was saying. "Arise in the name of the Necromancer…" His cut-in with a mischievous smile flashed for a moment. "MYSTIC CAGE!"
The entire area exploded in a bright white flash.
"Augh!" shouted Lloyd.
"Eeaah…" shrieked Colette.
"Mwaaaahhhh…" wailed Genis.
"Well. That was pathetically easy," Jade said, shrugging and pushing his glasses up.
"Man, Jade, you never let us have any fun," complained Luke.
"Leave it to the Colonel to steal the kill," said Tear, shrugging.
"Well," said Master Computer. "That concludes our day of battles. Please, on your way out, remember to pick up—"
"WAIT A MINUTE!" came a cry.
Standing on the far side of the arena, in the same place the Auldrant fighters emerged from, came Gaz. Flanking her were Presea and Luna, and they all had their faces set.
"We challenge Lloyd Irving and Zelos Wilder to a duel," said Presea. "A duel that has been declared for months but will finally take place."
"What do you say, audience?" said Master Computer. "In the mood for one more fight?"
The resounding roar was enough to shake the entire room. Zelos, from the stands, had a sick look on his face, but he slowly made his way to the arena, where Lloyd was freshly revived. They looked at each other and then at their opponents.
"This isn't fair," said Zelos. "Two on three?"
"Yet he had no issue with us being two on four against his team…" said Matt, mutinously.
"Hypocrite," said Emily, sighing.
"Get another person, then," said Gaz.
"But who would be foolish enough to do that?" asked Luna in a bored voice.
"I'LL DO IT!" came the frantic wail of Iggins, who came flying out of the stands, sword and ridiculous helmet in hand.
"Well… he'd at least keep them occupied," said Lloyd in a low voice. "We accept."
"Get ready to get beaten down by a bunch of chicks," Gaz said, glancing to the stands where Dib and Colette sat, watching interestedly.
Once Raine had assured everyone that their bodies were at 100% health, they were allowed to stand in the center of the area, only ten feet separating them. Gaz and Presea stood up front, Gaz with her GameSlave fully charged and Presea with her ax at the ready. Luna stood behind them, sitting cross-legged on the ground. She had decided to return to ranged magic for the duration of the fight, though she held a boomerang in case anyone got too close.
The boys had a plan for an all-out offensive. Zelos would heal if the time came and he had the opportunity, but otherwise they would use all of their strength on the front lines before going for Luna. As they stood, Master Computer once more allowed the suspense to build up before breaking it with a loud buzzer.
The Auldraunt fighters sat in the stands near the rest of the students. They were clearly amused by the proceedings. Most of the Hogwarts side was cheering for Luna's team, except Tak and Ginny, who were rooting for Zelos. The others were mixed between the two; Genis wanted Presea to win, Sheena hoped secretly for Zelos and Lloyd, and so on.
Presea began to spin uncontrollably in Rising Punishment as she flung toward Zelos. She instead hit Iggins, who had foolish tried to run in and attack her as she had gone into spin-mode. He was thrown onto his back and didn't get up right away. Gaz, meanwhile, found herself dealing with both Lloyd and Zelos. It wasn't exactly difficult, thought the girl as she used her GameSlave in sword mode to block their jabs, but it was annoying.
Luna would keep up a steady stream of weak spells, like Wind Blade and Stone Blast, unwilling to lose so much TP early into the fight. She mainly aimed for Zelos' hair and Iggins, who was proving to be as tenacious as a cockroach. Presea couldn't seem to fully defeat him. Unfortunately for Gaz, Lloyd and Zelos had finally synchronized their patterns of attack.
"Dammit," hissed Gaz. "I wasn't expecting them to use their minds…"
"I bet you are shocked… RAGING BEAST!" Lloyd said.
"No!" gasped Gaz as her GameSlave was torn from her hands and knocked back a good twenty feet.
"Now we've got you, brat," said Zelos, grinning and advancing. "Lloyd, Super Sonic Thrust on three!"
"Got it," said Lloyd, rearing back.
Suddenly there was a whoosing noise and Gaz ducked slightly, covering her head. Lloyd and Zelos turned, gasped, and suddenly the ground in front of them exploded violently. Gaz looked back and saw Luna standing, holding a rocket launcher, which continued to smoke. She smiled as she peered through the site toward her partner and winked. Gaz gave one of her rare smiles and retrieved the GameSlave, setting it into taser mode.
Meanwhile, the two boys were gravely injured. Lloyd saw Gaz walking towards him, an evil grin on her face.
"Hurry, Zelos, heal us!" cried Lloyd.
"I'm on it!" said Zelos. "Ready for this? FIRST AID!"
"Hey!" cried Lloyd. "That didn't heal me!"
"I don't have time for Healing Stream, idiot!" Zelos snapped. "You're on your own!"
He fled the area and attempted to flee the coliseum. Gaz let him go; Luna wasn't impressed.
"That little bitch is trying to flee, is he?" she said, merrily. "Well we know what happens to deserters. I've got this one, Gaz."
"He's all yours," said Gaz, grinning as the taser device sparked. She took slow steps toward Lloyd, letting him agonize as he lay injured on the ground. She cackled as she reached them, holding the taser high above her head.
Meanwhile, Presea finally got Iggins under control. She was beating him over and over with the blunt end of her ax, and, finally, she sent him flying with her version of Beast. He slammed into the wall and was done for. Gaz finished with Lloyd, who lay unconscious at her feet. Presea walked over and stood next to her friend, gazing at Lloyd, who still twitched occasionally.
"Is Luna ready yet?" asked the girl.
Another explosion, this one more violent, came from the side of the arena. The shockwave sent a bunch of wind over that made Gaz's hair flow behind her and Presea's pig tails quiver. They looked at each other with mild amusement in their eyes.
"She's done," they said as Luna waved next to a large scorch mark in the ground and side of the arena.
"And there you have it, folks," said Master Computer. "This concludes our day of battles. Now go study, you've only got 768 hours until your exams!"
"OH MY GOD!" wailed Hermione, who was rocking back and forth on the ground. "I'LL NEVER BE READY!"
"I didn't realize it was so close to the end of the year already," said Dib as they all proceeded toward their dorms. "I hope the exams here aren't that bad."
"Oh, of course they will be," said an annoyed Genis, "Raine's writing half of them."
"At least we'll all get good marks in Weapon Appreciation and Healing Magic," said Tak, rubbing her arm painfully. "I think I've had Nurse cast on me more times today than in my whole life.
"I think I got a few strength points from all that," Matt said.
"And I finally learned my Mystic Arte. I don't want to hear it from you anymore, Matt," said Emily, warningly.
"Is Hermione going to be okay?" Ron asked in a terrified voice.
"What's all the concern about, Ron?" asked Ginny slyly.
"I might need to protect certain parts of my body when I'm around her," said Ron in a squeaky voice. "I want to know if she's sane or not…"
"WHY DOES THE SCHOOL YEAR HAVE TO HAVE ONLY 180 DAYS? THAT'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH TIME TO LEARN ALL THAT I HAVE TO LEARN! OUCH! STUPID TREE, I HATE YOUR LEAVES AND YOUR CONVERSIONS OF CARBON DIOXIDE INTO OXYGEN!" came a frantic feminine wail across campus. "WHERE IN THE NAME OF CROOKSHANKS DID I PUT MY MATH TEXTPACKET? IF SOMEONE STOLE IT, I WILL INJURE YOU SO BAD YOU'LL BE BEGGING FOR A NEW LUNG!"
"… it's going to be a long month…" sighed Harry.
From Raine's Mind: (June 2011)
Well everyone, it's been quite a while, hasn't it? There's only two more chapters to this story now, and it looks like it's time for exams. While I admire her devotion to her school work, I fear Hermione's going to give herself high blood pressure and possibly other coronary issues if she continues to stress this much. Well, at least this hectic year is almost over and everyone still has their lives… I don't really feel like reviving the dead this year… Well, I'm off to write up my exams. Ehehehe… IT'S MARVELOUS! I LOVE IT!
From the Author's Mind:
ToIPatWS Trivia: The way I figured out the fights was via a convoluted dice system. Hence the reason some fights were quick and simple, and some where longer and more intricate. I used a similar (less complicated) system for Return to Hogwarts and the Quidditch matches.