2017-06-26: Lululu Wait v. Dark Hero Z
- Log: Lululu Wait v. Dark Hero Z
- Cast: Lunata Croze (as Lululu Wait) vs. Zed (as Dark Hero Z)! With Jacqueline Barber and Shalune Amira watching.
- Where: Lacour Tournament of Arms
- Date: 26th June 2017
- Summary: Lululu Wait encounters her deadliest opponent yet... Dark Hero Z! What will happen?!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata Croze is not here... because she knows where she is, why she signed up to the tournament, or even how she's managing to -progress-, of all things. She isn't a fighter, she's a waitress. A waitress that might've made a desperate deal with the Reaper when she got thrown into a cockpit of an ancient mech following the mortal wounding of her mother, but a waitress nonetheless! So it's with some-- some bafflement and perplexion that she stands in the arena with...
... no weapon? Save for a black cube that seems to be bobbling next to her. Then again, people have said something about a creepy claw coming out of nowhere to wham poor Thomas Nelson to the corner of the map, so...
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Some say that he was found by his parents as a baby inside a spontaneous jack-o-lantern.
Others claim that he is actually three small children stacked ontop of one another.
The one thing we know, is that he's called THE Z.
And he's currently... Not in the ring.
...
...
No, wait. There, in the sky. A shadow cast by a hero whose bold leap sends him soaring beneath the clouds. A voice, like thunder rolling over the plains...!! "INVINCIBLE BENEATH HEAVEN--" It yells, descending unto the arena. A mysterious fighter in A BLACK BODYSUIT, whose green hair billows over A PLASTIC MASK*. "UNCHALLENGED ABOVE IT! I AM--"
He poses...!
PYROTECHNICS EXPLODE! WHERE DID HE GET THOSE!? Oh. They were on his back. It's very flashy, very colorful.
"DARK HERO Z!"
He has a sword.
It's a long.
And it looks like someone's tacked some extra armor ontop of everything else he's wearing.
"Sponsored by KNOCKOUT WEAPONSMITHS," The mysterious hero announces, throwing a single thumbs up. "When someone's giving you grief, don't get put out, get KNOCKOUT."
...This...
Sure seems like a guy.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
(*http://s750.photobucket.com/user/SpaceMedafighterX/media/SMX2.jpg.html)
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata looks incredibly discouraged as she stares up and says, "I--invincible beneath heaven? There's no way I can... w-wait, where is heaven? Wait, if it's below us...??" She doesn't appear to be making headway on the geographical positioning of heaven to Filgaia. Where is heaven, anyway?
"Oh-- do you need a sponsor??" Lunata panics. "I don't have one... am I in trouble?"
This...
Sure seems like a girl.
A match made in heaven, perhaps.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Hahahaha! Fear not, little lady!" The Dark Hero places his hands firmly on his hips and laughs like he's come out of some kind of 70s superhero tv show. "While it's traditional to have a sponsor for the LACOUR TOURNAMENT OF ARMS, the requirement was waived for this one! I just have a sponsor because I, THE DARK HERO Z, value the traditions of this great kingdom!"
ALSO BECAUSE IT MEANS FREE STUFF.
"Whether heaven is above or below," Z declares, "I am invincible. Should I fall, I will rise again, like the great Re-Al-Phoenix of legend! Ahahahahahaha!"
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"... ohh..." Lunata looks just a little bit relieved, though if it's tradition, she feels like she should've stuck with it-- wait, she doesn't even know why she's here! "Oh, will you? Um, that puts me at ease, at least. I really... um, look, I'm really sorry if something strange happens, because I-- I genuinely don't know what's going on with me right now."
That's... that's... reassuring?
It's at that point that a low wail echoes around the arena, however, and she gasps and says, "U-um, I think it's-- coming--"
The cube floating next to her suddenly snaps into form, expanding outward and flagrantly ignoring the conversation of mass as it lengthens into... a katana?! A black-sheathed, white-hilted katana of particularly long and ornate make, just... hovering in place. "Eh?! It's a... sword?"
She looks incredibly confused as her wrist twitches and-- suddenly the sword flies into her hand and kind of drags /her/ along for the ride, eliciting a yelp of 'eep!' from the waitress. Mid-flight, however, her eyes begin to burn blue as--
--she draws, body moving unconsciously as if dominated by muscle memory alone, a gloaming slash appearing out of thin air with scattering butterflies as she crosses the distance between herself and the Dark Hero. "W-wait, wait, waiiiit!" she begs... her sword.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
Out in the stands, a blob of ambulatory pink hair is kind of hunkered over in her seat, watching from beneath her bobble hat. "I-is she really gonna be okay...?" burbles Shalune, forgetting in her worry to relish the one moment in her life where she /might/ be more aware of her surroundings than Lunata. Instead, she just sticks a fist up in the air. "G-go, Lunie! Gooo--" she adds, and then: "--e-eh?!"
GS: Zed takes a glancing hit from Lunata Croze's Papillon Reel for 40 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"That's fine too!" A DOUBLE THUMBS UP. "It's totally fine! I don't know what I'm doing half the time anyway. You just gotta reach down deep, Lululu Wait. You gotta reach down and FEEL that feeling that tells you 'yes, this is where I should be.' Because the rules of time and space mean that you can't be anywhere... Except where you already are, where you have been, and where you someday shall be...!!"
"Yes!" That black cube twists and contorts, transforming into an ELEGANT BLADE. "That's it. Take hold your weapon, Lululu Wait. Let me see your mettle. LET ME TASTE YOUR SKIIIIILLLLL!"
"Z!" Z yells, lunging INTO the strike. "Z!!" He parries the blade with the flat of his own, the deathly sword scraping against the bolted-on armor, hewing straight through a buckle and a few leather straps.
Z ducks beneath the blow.
And begins... Spinning.
"ZEEEEEEEEEE!"
He's turning. Twirling. Spiralling like a typhoon of ultraviolence. His sword is whirling with dozens of blows. A TORNADO OF PAIN!!
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Dark Horse - Supreme Tornado!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"I--I'm not sure what I'm letting you tasteeee!" Lunata whimpers as she just about jolts from the sheer impact of her katana against armor, just about dizzied as her own body once more moves, her foot twisting into a pivot as she throws herself into a combat roll (OH GOD MY HEAD, thinks Lunata), barely making away with a graze against her arm.
It doesn't bleed, given Lacour's magic barrier, but it still stings, owwww.
"M-my name's not Lululu... ohh, no one's going to listen anyway!" Lunata pouts very gently, before her hand slowly rises. Once more, a soft blue flame burns in her eyes...
She stoops into a strangely low stance, one hand on the hilt of her newly formed blade --
--and once more, she's crossed the distance in a trail of ethereal cherry blossoms and butterflies, her blade out-turned into a circular sweep that leaves a low, deathly wail in its wake. "I--I don't know what this one's called, sorry!"
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Cherry Ronde!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Shalune Amira has posed.
In the stands, Shalune's spike of awestruck worry has dulled, leaving her just regular old plain awestruck. Because Lunata manifesting a sword and a bunch of memories may be dangerous, but most of all it looks cool. "W-wah-- wah, that's amazing," she burbles somewhere roughly in Jay's direction, should the alchemist be there - and then explodes, both hands waving floppy sleeves. "Lunie~e! Go get 'em--!! You look coo~ol!"
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata ruins the cool factor a moment later as she begs to Lunie and Jay: "My arms are sooooooooore---!"
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
"Hm...!? This pressure...!" Z's eyes narrow behind his mask as he darts backwards out of striking range of that terrifying, wailing blow. It screams in the space that he had only moments ago occupied, the chilling echoes sending horrible pinprick sensations dancing all across his nerves. "This power... I know it...!"
He does!?
"It's a shame to not give your attacks names, Not Lululu Wait," Z replies as the last dregs of that strange magic billow through him. "You need to give them names, or they start to feel bad. When they start to feel bad, they become less effective. You need to be more considerate of your techniques' feelings. Now, if you don't have a name for that one..."
Z holds up a hand.
He rubs at his chin for a moment.
...
...
"Deathly Wail - Howling Caliber. Yes. This is good. THAT IS THAT TECHNIQUE'S NEW NAME! Rejoice! And let me show you--" Z winds his own sword back, dropping into a strange mirror of Lunata's own stance. "One of my own...!" He swings without taking a single step, unleashing a series of vaguely purple, crescent-shaped shockwaves!
--==Friendship's Shockwaves - Air Slash==--
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"Y-you know this...?!" Lunata gasps as she chokes just a little bit, feeling the unbelievable strain on her little body that's very much not meant to do moves that someone twice her size and probably quadruple her muscle mass should be doing. "U-um, okay... I'll-- I'll--"
Her eyes widen. "T-that sounds really-- umm--"
She shrieks as her body goes on auto-pilot again, and she slips past the shockwaves and takes their backlash as she inadvertently starts moving towards superior positioning. "T-then, I--"
Even in this last seasonal drift of the sakura... Do not forget me, my love... The blade falls. The mirthful pink of the cherry blossoms are forever stained with red.
"U-umm..." She sucks in a deep breath, as she suddenly fast-draws -- and holds the katana aloft, vertical to her body... and does a half-pivot as she drives herself low to the ground and soars into the air, a cascading ephemeral blossom emerging from her rising strike!
"Flower Power... Attack?!" she tries, mind thoroughly addled at present.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Clearly his opponent is harnessing some kind of FORBIDDEN POWER to give her dainty musculature more power than it aught to possess. Yes. Her face, her reactions, the squeak in her voice, the floral illusions she leaves behind, this is a power Zed knows. He knows its name.
Yes.
This... Is 'Moe.'
Lunata draws. At the very same instant, a blade sweeps in to intercept her strike. Dark Hero Z holds fast, his muscles straining against the force of that skyward sword as flower petals swirl all around him. It's a storm of cherry blossoms...!
"No. No, no, no, that's all wrong! There's no passion! No heat! You need to name your attacks... From the heart...! Reach down! Hear the words they roar into the very core of your soul. The reverberations of those most dear battle-forged brothers. The shockwaves of their brief and transient existence. Techniques live only when you unleash them! In that singular moment, you must give them the names by which they live and die, so that they can be remembered by all who witness them!!!"
The air around the mysterious Dark Hero... seems to vibrate...!
A deep, violet-hued umbra floods into the world. It's like the very opposite of light. Raw misfortune surges out from the core of this man's soul. Yes. It's palpable. It's undeniable...! It smashes down like the proverbial single, persistent raincloud on an otherwise totally sunny day! "Like this! BEHOLD!!"
Sealed Blade - Demon Breaker
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Sealed Blade - Demon Breaker!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
"P--passion and... heat...?" Lunata looks just a little bit stunned as she does an arcing flip at the apex of her jump, and lands on the other side -- through which she can sense the umbral darkness swarming into the world. Her eyes widen further. "S-Sealed Blade...?!"
She gasps as she throws herself to one side, grabbing onto her floating sword by means of travel -- clever, too, the way she seems able to boost herself to one side and largely avoid getting mired by the umbral stain.
"I can sense it... that darkness within you..."
She settles down, softly. She closes her eyes.
A bloody cross drops onto the cobblestone floor. A pew collapses in half -- crushed by a mace bearing the herald of the very God they served. 'Oh Granas... send us...' whispers a weeping and sickly voice, at the time of their demise.
"I can sense it..." she repeats, as she make another unreasonably high leap into the air -- cascaded on what now seems to be a shimmering skeletal form firmly draped around herself. A soft glimmer envelops her blade as she draws --
"Rosario..."
-- and what rains is not one, but five Lunatas, each in a cardinal direction forming a cross... and the real one descending upon the middle, a burst of fluttering petals exhuming from a majestic cross designed to exorcise the unworthy.
"...Impale!!"
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Rosario Impale!
GS: Lunata Croze takes 6 damage from Poison!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Yes. This is right. This is BETTER. Five Lunatas pour down from heaven. The grin painted onto Z's mask seems to curl even further upwards at the corners. The first blade is dodged entirely. The second is knocked aside by a parrying blow. The third shatters his sword entirely. The fourth and fifth drive their blades into his chest, before the great cross beneath him erupts in rose-red energy and seems to banish the swordsman into a world of eternal punishment...
Except...
He's still there...!!
"Hahahahahaha! That's right! That's better!" He points with his broken, jagged blade. "That's what I've come to expect from this place. Good job! A clean blow! And you're quite right, there is darkness in me!"
"Of course there is!" Z laughs despite the pain, throwing his arms to either side, "I'm the Dark Hero! I wouldn't be a very Dark hero if I wasn't FILLED WITH DARKNESS, now would I!?"
"But it's not just darkness within me, you know. There's more to me than meets the eye. There's more within me than hate."
"Every shadow--" He raises his sword. The hilt begins to crackle as golden energy arcs up into the cross-guard. "Has its light." A tremendous beam of blinding power lances up into the sky! "EVERY NIGHT HAS ITS DAY!"
The clouds open up. Beams of SOUL LIGHT blast down into the arena. "HERE WE GO! THE PART THAT PUTS THE HERO IN DARK HERO!!"
Inner Secret - Heaven's Howl
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Inner Secret - Heaven's Howl!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
GS: Zed has canceled their attack on Lunata Croze.
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Inner Secret - Heaven's Howling!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata lets out a little cough, once more, as she lands to a cascading stop and a roll. Her head's hurting from all of these rapid flashes of memory invading it...
Her attention's drawn rather wholly as Zed begins to -- begins to laugh, however. Her eyes widen further as she stammers, "I--I'm sorry, I--" she hesitates, but she pauses into a thoughtful pause. "More... than darkness... more than hate?"
Her eyes widen further as she stares up, gawking towards the skies as Zed creates a massive lance of blinding light that she has to cover her own eyes. "This light of yours...!"
She squeals as she covers her head--
--there's no way she could evade those! No way!
... which is why she doesn't.
But as the light fades away, it's clear that there's more to the waitress than just -- herself... for, rising out of the swirling clouds... Zed can sense a presence not dissimilar to the ethereal presence of the Seraphim! He can see the emerging from of... a lich, from out of her back. It's clear now who exactly was holding that katana aloft -- it was this figure, all along.
A rotted, skeletal figure, dressed in ancient regalia, possessing a translucent ethereal hue -- with massive bony claws currently spread to protect its mistreses.
"A-ah-- ah..." Lunata stares wide-eyed towards the form. She drops to her rear in fright, even, whimpering just a little.
The figure rears back with a low howl -- that same howl of death from before -- and releases a swarm of darkness to counter the clouds. The darkness spreads, echoing with it the icy chill of death...!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Death Cloud!
GS: Lunata Croze takes 6 damage from Poison!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: Zed takes a glancing hit from Lunata Croze's Death Cloud for 53 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Oh.
Oh that's what this is.
Z can see it. His eyes tremble at frequencies almost undetectable by man, and he can SEE it. A skeletal figure looming over this innocent, adorable little waitress girl. Yes, that would explain it. THAT EXPLAINS EVERYTHING.
"You... You...!" Z levels his sword. His broken, shattered blade, now BLAZING WITH GOLDEN POWER. "Yooooouuuuuu...!"
He leaps. He surges THROUGH the cloud of choking death. He feels it cling to his lungs, stinging in his throat. And yet... And yet...!
HE'S GRINNING!!!
no wait that's just the mask
BUT SOMEHOW YOU CAN JUST TELL.
"You finally got my challenge letteeeeerrrr!!"
Oh.
No, you can tell because he sounds /absolutely ecstatic./ He sounds TOTALLY PUMPED.
"Ahahahaha! This is great! This is awesome! All the guys back home, they didn't believe me when I said I was your pen-pal, but HERE WE ARE!" Zed lunges forward, his broken blade erupting with power. He strikes, not at the waitress, but at the spectral figure looming over her. "COME ON! LET'S HAVE SOME FUN!"
"GRIIIIM REAPEEEEEEER!!!"
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Shining Arc - Ray Blade!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The lich's expression is unmoving. Death is but an emotionless predator that reaps all, from rags to riches, from peasants to kings. It shows no favour...
...for the most part.
The lich draws its cold, bony hand into its regalia, billowing white with ancient accoutrements...
... and draws a fine velum paper letter with a significant and yet familiar red seal upon it.
It reads:
'FROM YOUR PEN PAL,
ZED'
"E-eeh?! You know him?!" Lunata looks baffled and perplexed, but there's no time--! The Grim Reaper-- or is it the Grim Reaper? raises its arm to block the strike with an unmoving tenacity, another low howl of--
Gaooooooo-n.....
--echoing throughout the arena. Its bony, spectral claw washes against Zed's powerful sword of light, buckling slightly as its image begins to waver... but with a powerful heave, it turns around as Lunata tries to just duck out of the way of the baffling spectacle, taking charge of her katana and--
--oops, there she goes again, commanded into the thrust of the move as they charge in tandem towards Zed for another fast-draw attack, trailed with butterflies!
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Papillon Reel!
GS: Lunata Croze takes 8 damage from Poison!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: Zed takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Papillon Reel for 82 hit points!
GS: Zed enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
That... That letter...!
Z's eyes go wide. They glitter with irrepressible joy right through the solid disks of his mask. "You did. You really did get it...! This..." A blade scythes in. Z takes it right on the chin and DOESN'T SEEM TO NOTICE AT ALL. The pain is there, but it's secondary compared to EVERYTHING ELSE. It's an indescribable feeling. An impossible elation that starts in the pit of the stomach and bubbles out in a laugh that is joyful and almost childlike.
He's just
He's just so happy
"This is... This is...!!!" The blade... Suddenly bounces out of his neck with a sound like an uncoiling spring. A torrent of power blazes into the air around him. The mysterious swordsman rears back, aglow with a power both alien and familiar. "THIS IS THE HIGHEST OF ALL HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHS!"
"I!" Zed levels his sword. "AM!" He starts... Flickering. Wavering. He's vibrating. He's vibrating so fast it's almost like he's dissolving...!! "SO--"
"HYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYPE!
And then.
He does.
One Z, two Z, three Z, four. Five Z, six Z, seven Z, more! Wavering, flickering images of the Dark Hero appear all around Lunata's lich. Each one wields a blade of its own color. Red and yellow and green and blue, orange and indigo and purple. A veritable rainbow of swordsmanship.
"Let's enjoy this fight! HERE WE GO! ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA---!"
The Dark Heroes converge.
Each one slashes.
Each cut feels real...! These are no mere after-images. They're... They're...!!!
AFTERIMAGES WITH MASS!!!
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Forbidden Move - Astral Dance!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze used Mystic on Lunata Croze! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared!
GS: Lunata Croze has activated a Force Action!
GS: Lunata Croze takes a solid hit from Zed's Forbidden Move - Astral Dance for 170 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
The Grim Reaper is immeasurably...
...well.
It's possible that it -- he -- she -- is hype. But it can't show in their rather skeletal, muscle-less face that cannot express emotion. Regardless, on closer inspection, this must be some kind of eastern lich, for their garb and form are more kimono-like, their sleeves wide and flared as they draw upon the katana and force Lunata into a sequence of immeasurably intricate dance--
One Z! Two Z! Three Z! Four -- five-- seven, more! They cascade along the wash of the blade, impossibly flashing against each other as Grim Reaper and Pen Pal lock and engage in veritable combat against one another. There is excitement, pure joy, one that does not need to be expressed through words.
Their blades are talking, echoing with the reverent thrill of battle.
Lunata's just here for the ride.
The waitress is trembling by the end of the dance, rather clearly on her last legs as she whimpers, "No more... no more...."
But the lich has other ideas -- and it's measured so as they draw back. The stage turns dark, and frigid. It is the chill of death itself... and it forces Lunata into a battou stance once more, cascading cherry blossoms flourishing against the pitch black of night.
A taiko drum beats against the background. A shamisen wails with a low whistle.
Though its scent lingers everlong The form of a flower shall inevitably fade away...
A spotlight beams down on Zed. Another on Lunata.
The banging of the wooden drum reaches a cresendo. A male voice enunciates, 'Iyooooooooo-h!'
For whom shall the glory of this world remain unspoiled and unchanged?
Spiritual crests form in a triad about Lunata's form.
'Setsu' alights, for the harsh and wintry chill of nature that takes all, akin to the palm of a Reaper that sees fit to take where it has once sown. 'Getsu' alights, for the forlorn beauty of Lunar, looming high in the sky and imploring us to ever higher reaches. 'Ka' alights, for the blossoming of spring that shall shine beautifully, the evident power of life once more repeating the cycle...
Arrive ye today at the yonder side Of a mountain evanescent in existence
"... I can feel it... I can feel it all... the spirits within this blade..."
Lunata's eyes burn with a fervour like none before. This is not just a waitress that is being dragged along by the lich -- it is the combination of the two that truly makes this form splendid!
"I shall draw out the spirits within!"
A spiral of triplicate streams flourishes within her scabbard, and she launches herself into a blurringly fast movement out of the light.
Let us remain ever vigil and alert Against the intoxicating nature of earthly desires...
"The sword and soul is one! Spirit Arte - Midare Setsugekka!!"
The sound of a sword drawn... and a sword calmly sheathed.
What shall become of her?
GS: Lunata Croze has attacked Zed with Midare Setsugekka!
GS: Lunata Croze has completed her action.
GS: Zed has activated a Force Action!
GS: Zed takes a solid hit from Lunata Croze's Midare Setsugekka for 180 hit points!
GS: Zed has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
A spotlight. Two. Everything dark except for these two blades standing amidst the din of the arena. The roaring crowd goes silent. No. They can't make a sound. There is no sound in this one, perfect moment. Time itself seems to stand still- this all occurs in a split, sliver of time, hewn away from the normal current of cause-and-effect.
This is the perfect stage.
The Dark Hero takes his stance. His blade is held high, almost parallel to the ground. His hand is extended, balancing the back-end of that blazing edge along the crook if his thumb and forefinger.
What, do think you're strong? You scrawny wimp, you couldn't hurt a fly
"Yes. That's good. That's right. This is the fight I wanted. This is everything!" The myriad shadows of Z gather, swarming into a single point, each taking up a single stance.
Still getting up? You don't know when to quit! Face it, you're noting compared to me! Gwahahahaha!
Blossoms appear. Flower petals, five of them, ephemeral, brilliant, glowing with the glow of a defiant soul. One petal for each blow. One for each fragment. The Courage to Take On the World. The Hope for a Brighter Tomorrow. The Will to Overcome Adversity. The Invincible Spirit. The Unwavering Heart.
Five petals. One sword. One brilliant light...!
You'll never amount to anything. Why don't you just give up?
"Come on, I'm ready," Z's voice chuckles from beneath his mask. "Whether it's ten souls or twenty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand. I'll show you. I'll show the world. You keep your eyes open, reaper. I'll show you...!"
"Ten thousand! One million! One billion! I'LL OUTSHINE THEM ALL!"
Why? I forgot what the word 'surrender' means. I--
The Dark Hero vanishes.
Ten Billion Cherry Blossoms burst into bloom.
--AM ZED!
GS: Zed has activated a Force Action!
GS: Zed has attacked Lunata Croze with Split Ladle Sakura Supernova!
GS: Zed has completed his action.
GS: Lunata Croze used Mystic on Lunata Croze! 100 Temporary HP gained! All statuses cleared!
GS: Lunata Croze has activated a Force Action!
GS: Lunata Croze takes a glancing hit from Zed's Split Ladle Sakura Supernova for 96 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata's spirit blade begins to rescind upon itself, as the two warriors strike. They pass... and the moment she sheathes it... she gasps with a kind of pain as the last of her strength weans, but she stands still. She stands against the storm. The storm of the sakura.
...
Yet, she can still feel Zed's very soul sweltering with his passion burning brightly through the receding darkness.
"Your soul burns brighter than any other... Mister Zed..." Lunata whispers with an awed expression on her face-- she gasps as she turns, and senses it all.
His courage. His hope. His willpower. His spirit.
His heart.
But this was not the battle upon which they will conclude their battle... and the grim reaper appears to know that too. They clash, and at the moment Lunata decides to try to place her hand upon the blade's hilt to continue--
--and it stops her.
There is silence, for a moment...
Then the spiritual lich bows, sweeping its arm forward in a resplendent and respectful bow to this, its own opponent whom it has answered a challenge letter from.
"... um--" Lunata whispers slowly, but then -- bows in turn, equally respectfully. Bowing she knows. That's just proper form for a waitress... but, she can feel it, just a little bit, perhaps, the sense of camaraderie and excitement that two warriors that have met across thousands of battlefields enjoy.
She pauses.
"... Ge Ramda," she speaks. "... it wishes to tell you -- its name."
She hesitates for a moment, then bows a little bit closer. "... it also tells you -- that your strike was indeed true, Warrior Zed. It looks forward to meeting you once more... hone-- hone yourself, as we both will, and-- and let us meet again."
oh god what have i gotten myself into?? thinks lunata
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Shalune's heart is in her mouth as she watches the fight continue... and escalate, for that matter. The sudden sight of a skeletal figure hovering above Lunata makes her let out a stunned and confused 'wah', her hands going to her mouth in shock and a sudden jolt of fear - but then moments later Lunata is sweeping through the air in an incredible display, and the mechanic's worries are suddenly replaced by a rather more complex feeling.
Because whatever that spirit above Lunata is, it's /helping/ her and /protecting/ her and she looks /super cool/ and then Shalune just finds herself yelling a cheer for her friend, lich or no lich. Because as a fellow Lunie who's offered her support, she's not going to care about a little undead, or even a big one. Those are the rules.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline's been quiet all this time, watching Lunata's fight from the stands. Worry and fear for her friend Lunata - er, rather, Lululu Wait - for the most part, but as the time went on it was silence from sheer awe. She had the resonance to see the grim spectre that was fighting alongside her friend. She saw Lunata's newfound skill.
It was almost blinding, the clash of souls between Lunata and the mysterious warrior, Dark Hero Z - whoever could that enigmatic stranger be?? - but Jacqueline had endured, and been rewarded for it. She stand.
"Shalune...did you see that?" She asks, stunned.
<Pose Tracker> Noeline has posed.
Shalune can only turn back to Jay for a stunned moment, her eyes wide as saucers as she practically keeps cheering. "She did it!" she confirms for Jay, bouncing on the soles of her feet. "She super did it! That was /amazing/!"
Paaaaauseee...
"I-- I, um, I dunno what the big skeleton is, but she still did it!"
okay good there's a little perspective in there somewhere
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
The two warriors pass. Two blades exchange blows. Perhaps it is only by some mercy of the magic surrounding Lacour's arena that they do not immediately topple over in a spray of high-pressure blood like this was some kind of over-dramatic anime or something.
Dark Hero Z lands.
For a moment everything is still.
And then a fine line slides across the very center of his mask.
Slowly, surely, it falls away, clatters to the ground, revealing...!!!
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata pauses, dithering for a moment as she tilts her head. "... eh? Ehh??"
Her eyes widen.
Ge Ramda pauses as well... but nods twice, before rescinding back into the katana -- who rescinds back into being a cube. Wow, how does -that- even work?
She hesitates some more, but then -- bounces at Lunie and Jay as she waves. "U-um, thank you, Mister Z!" She hurries off, now that the iron portcullis had opened and freed her to... well, rest for a while and reconvene with friends.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
ANOTHER MASK!?
This one's white instead of gold, though. How mysterious, to wear two masks...!!
"Haah," Dark Hero Z gasps as the light surrounding his broken weapon finally flickers and fades away. "That was a good fight. Everything I'd hoped it would be. I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders...!" He clenches a fist over his chest in a brief salute... And then slips it inside a pocket to extract... A LETTER! He immediately begins fussing with it. "You did well! Your Moe-Moe Powers are indeed formidable! And... Ge Ramda...!"
So that's its name. Hahahahahaaaaaa.
"Don't worry. Like I said! Like the great Re-Al-Phoenix, I am invincible! I will never stop climbing, no matter what gets in my way. When we meet again, I'll show you both the strength of my convictions! TOHH!" He flicks his wrist! THE LETTER FLIES THROUGH THE AIR. In... Airplane form. It lands at Lunata's feet.
It reads: 'To my MOST AWESOME PEN-PAL, DEATH.'
'I've been seeing you around a lot lately, but it looks like we keep missing each other. That's too bad! I've been looking forward to meeting you face to face. I guess that's just how things go, alas, alas. I wanted to tell you, though. I found an awesome recipe in the archives back home. It's for something called OCTUPLE-FUDGE CHOCOLATE DELIGHT. I don't even know where I'd get all these different chocolates. I am pretty sure that anyone who ate it would probably explode something important though. So much sugar! I figured you don't have much to explode though, so I attached it to this message. That's all for now! UNTIL NEXT TIME, FRIEND!
Your pal,
ZED
"Here! I was going to wait till I got home to deliver it, but since YOU'RE HERE, I might as well! This is a lot more convenient than the normal way! Ahahahaha! I'll have to find your address, miss Lululu Wait!!"
Oh no.
Lunata got a penpal.
<Pose Tracker> Lunata Croze has posed.
Lunata pauses in the midst of running out of the arena--
- rewind sounds*
--blinks as she stares at the shattering mask and the other mask underneath!! "M-moe... moe powers...?" Lunata has no idea what a 'moay' is... wait, is it one of those cool statue heads the Baskar head? (that's a Moai, Lunata.) She blinks a few times, before she bows gently as she-- takes the letter to inspect it once Zed drops it at her feet.
"Octuple fudge..."
Her eyes widen.
"Octuple fudge... chocolate delight?!"
The world starts to spin around Lunata, as her eyes start to hyperfocus.
Dark chocolate. Chop. Banne-marie. Heat. Whisk. Slowly. Temper. Thin to a sheet. Allow to cool.
She winces as she holds her head. Argh... no, it was there, on the tip of her head! The ultimate chocolate recipe!
"... I--I, um... yes, I'll see you... wait, my name's not Lululu Wait! Aaah!"
[Lunata has gained 1/8 of the Octuple Fudge Chocolate Delight recipe!]