Heroes of Light, Battle! The Ultimate Golsaucian Tournament Begins!

[tiredcharmer]

Who: The Heroes of Light!
When: June 16th-19th
Where: Sparks Golsaucia
What: After weeks of getting hounded by the press, corporations, and prospective fiances, Octavaux Dairesault offers the Heroes of Light a way out: by participating in this year's Golsaucian Gauntlet, taking the form of a fighting tournament.
Warnings/Notes: Tournament arc, congoers.


An Offer You Can't Refuse (Prelude)
It starts not long after June begins. Maybe somebody proposes to you in the middle of the street. Or you're bumrushed by a horde of solicitors who want to use your image for whatever product they're peddling. Or maybe a reporter literally busts down your door to get an interview. Whatever the case, the Heroes soon find it's impossible to find a semblance of peace and quiet in early June. Around every corner and in every building is somebody who is just dying to talk to you, or more commonly, several somebodies, each at cross purposes. Even your homes aren't safe, as a few particularly nutty fans are willing to break and enter to get your autograph.

You have to deal with all of this for a week, until you're contacted by Octavaux Dairesault, organizer of the previous year's smash hit Golsaucian Gauntlet. He's noticed (and perhaps orchestrated) your plight, and offers you a way out: simply participate in his tournament and/or the events around it, and the attention will lessen. Considering how things get worse every day, you don't have a lot of options...

Sparks Golsaucia HeroCon 20XX
As it turns out, the events around the tournament that Octavaux casually mentioned are really a huge, city-spanning con. Cosplayers are everywhere. Artist alley takes up two entire districts. You can't take two steps without bumping into a merchandise stall. Thankfully, the limos Octavaux has provided means that you don't have to fight your way through a horde of ravening fans to reach the centerpiece of the whole debacle: the arena. A massive Colosseum with bleeding-edge technology to allow for the creation of stages drawn from... something. Octavaux refuses to elaborate on that. Whatever the case, you finally have the respite that you need. There's delicious food, cushy bedrooms, exercise rooms... pretty much whatever you want. And best of all, nobody prying into your business. How will you spend your precious, precious free time?

Of course, the tournament isn't all some of you are here for. Maybe you've decided to host a panel, in which case you're contractually obligated to appear among thousands upon thousands of fans and give a spiel. And give autographs. Lots of autographs. With really weird requests too.

Whatever the case... the tournament is about to begin!

Comments

[righthandstand]

He hates explosions. He hates explosions that come out of nowhere. He hates those that happen in small Japanese towns, even if this isn't the real Morioh. When the chair-bomb goes off, Okuyasu bends his arms to roll with the blast. This left bruises on his skin, but those did not register over the pounding of his heart.

"The hell is with this arena?" It was as if he was the target of some sort of shitty prank.

Then Sephiroth flies at him, taking away any chance to swear at the invisible event organizers in the sky. Okuyasu is knocked back, and each of the sword attacks strike true.

He aims a punch at Sephiroth's jaw in retaliation.

[topgun_textiles]

"My magic doesn't usually do that... the fuck WAS that??"

But he couldn't let himself get distracted. The chair was fine, but maybe it was best to leave magic out of the mix. That was fine. He didn't need it.

His gaze burned, threatening a berserk. But Kanji shook it off- not yet, keep it all in for now- and opted to exert all the wonderful benefits a fully leveled Berserker asterisk bestowed upon him... (Sorry Ena. Jeez, he had to apologize later.)

"You wanna fly around all day or actually fight!?" Like ripping a street sign straight out of the ground and using it like a metal bat for a Helm Smash, reducing defense upon contact.

[manlycharms]

"You know, one does wonder how he can fly with just a single wing." It's said with a light, playful tone, and a hint of laughter. "But then again, I've seen stranger things. Chaugmar comes to mind." Ah, how a hideous, pulsating blob was able to float is just another peculiar conundrum... unless one chalks it up to magic. Which is likely the case here.

"Nonetheless, it seems the aerial feats of Ena and Sephiroth have rustled the feathers of their competitors. Kanji's strength simply cannot be understated! Nor his knack for improvising, really."

[rivieran]

Oh. Well, her worries were for nothing. She watches with satisfaction as Sephiroth produces his own wing (just one...?) and lifts himself up into the sky. He can handle his own. Excellent.

But unfortunately, the distraction is just long enough for Kanji's attack to connect, not giving her time to notice or dodge it. She goes tumbling through the air, cursing herself for not keeping her wits about her.

Something sparks within her.

Are we going to be playing like this? Fine.

When the momentum stops, Ena steadies herself in the air for a brief moment before soaring straight towards Kanji as fast as she can go. She takes a deep breath, and once she's about 30 feet away, she unleashes her devastating Ice Breath over Kanji.

The ice storm still rages.

[neverbeamemory]

The exploding chair might as well have been a decade ago, for how far Sephiroth is even thinking about it anymore. It's an event that happened, but true to form, his focus is on the path ahead and that leads him to take the clean advantage over Okuyasu when he might have been cussing instead.

With those strikes that cleaved true, Sephiroth almost felt confident enough to weave a sword skill in to follow it, were it not for the prompt fist that somehow found its way inside his range. Masamune has a larger inside-range of motion however which was the only saving grace as he takes the heavy -yet glancing- punch to the edge of his jaw and his form follows the motion; causing Sephiroth to take at least one-step off to the side with the momentum while heaving his oversized weapon back in closer in order to defend himself.

This asterisk with it's lesser-defense...

[righthandstand]

Okuyasu is not having a good day, and he has a flying swordsman-shaped punching bag. One punch was not enough to satisfy his anger. He disappeared and reappeared two feet closer, his fists glowing red with fire magic.

"These dudes pissed off the wrong guy."

The fires alight, and Okuyasu launches a one-two strike at Sephiroth with his Fire Chakra. He can feel that calm from unlocking his Chakras earlier in the battle clearing out his mind, moving his power into his fist. He can feel that annoyance leave his body through the attack.

When it finishes, he feels...alright. Less upset, less raging, but it's not bad.

[topgun_textiles]

Ena hurtled and he grinned. There we go, come on, come on...!

Then his view went white, and every inch of him was like being plunged in the Northern Territories again. But rather than reel, he bore down and took it, let it fuel anger... bone-deep, all-encompassing anger.

The Beast Release came with a roar before he lunged forward with a swing.

[manlycharms]

"Seems our dear Ena's being quite the ice queen to poor Kanji. I'll have to remember not to get on her bad side." He waves his hand, laughing lightly as an attempt to bring some levity to the rather heated battle. "But even the frigid climate isn't enough to cool the Beatdown Boys' raging tempers! So heated, in fact, that Okuyasu's channeled his fury through a devastating, flaming kick!"

More heat never hurts, what with the storm still persisting, too.

He turns to his co-commentator and adds, "But the question remains: will brute strength be enough, or will cooler heads prevail? Only a fool would underestimate such powerful foes, and yet both Ena and Sephiroth have the advantage of flight on their side."

Still, the circumstances could change with a well-aimed strike.

[transect]

"Indeed, it seems as though Okuyasu has activated his Fire Chakra. Such a devastating attack could likely result in burns anywhere from the first to third-degree if they land the right way, I imagine. And not to be outdone Kanji has also followed up with a strong attack of his own, deciding to release the beast as it were."

Uncrossing, then re-crossing their legs again, Rutile adjusts their position to get a better view of the resulting attacks.

"This has certainly turned into quite the throng of ice and fire."

SHEER HEART ATTACK! KILLER QUEEN'S SECOND BOMB!

[tiredcharmer]

As the group battles it out in the streets of Morioh, the sound of tank treads begins to come from one of the alleys... along with the glint of eyes.

[transect]

"Ah?" Something caught Rutile's ear after that last comment, and they can't help but lean in a little more to try and place the sound a little better. "Something seems to be approaching our combatants however... it seems as though we might just be in store for another surprise."

[rivieran]

Ena somehow manages to swerve out of the way of Kanji's punch, but the momentum carries her even as her Fly spell comes to an end. As she's flinging through midair, she twists her body around to face Kanji as she passes over him, somehow makes a three-point landing, and skids a few meters down the pavement. Her right hand was scratched and probably bleeding, but that was a problem for later. She doesn't hesitate the moment she stands up, casting five orbs of Magic Missile at her opponent.

She doesn't like that sound though. For a moment, her attention is taken, eyes darting upward as she tries to pinpoint where whatever-that-was was coming from.

The ice storm has stopped.

[neverbeamemory]

Just as Sephiroth managed to get his stance recovered enough with which to block the onslaught which carries on, Okuyasu then seemingly teleported inside of his range again and along with the inherent weakness of this Job, all Sephiroth could do was roll with each of the Fire-charged punches that followed. Each strike connected for its high damage and then some-

Much too occupied to notice any sort of tank tread-like noises, it's by chance that Sephiroth manages to retaliate with a roundhouse kick which gives just a fraction of enough breathing space to execute [Telekinetic Pulse] in a medium-strength push to knock Okusayu back into a range by which Sephiroth could counter.

Which he does, immediately pulling his [Scintilla] attack in order to stun and get that five-strike rapid flurry in, by return.

[righthandstand]

Okuyasu yelled as he struck out for another punch, only to be hit by a pulse and another set of sword strikes. He grunts as he teleports himself above the floor to land to land on his feet--

The sound of tank treads catch his attention. He was not around to witness the full fight between Koichi and Sheer Heart Attack, so the noise did not tell him to run away as fast as he can. He didn't know what he was not supposed to do.

But a threat was a threat, and there was something sinister in the streets of Morioh. If only he could get Sephiroth to get in the line of attack. Or not.

Okuyasu uses his turn to Teleport twenty feet...up, onto a rooftop overlooking the alley.

[manlycharms]

"First the explosion, and now this..." He pauses as he watches the fighting ensue. Despite the sound of the tank treads, everyone seems quite focused on their fight. "Well! Time will tell what lurks in the shadows. Our combatants may want to keep their eyes and ears open, lest they fall victim to a surprise attack."

The earlier explosion was proof of the innate danger this battlefield carries.

"But Okuyasu seems just as privy to the danger! After an impressive escape from Sephiroth's counterattack, he's performed not one, but two consecutive teleports. Just what is he planning, now that he's gained some distance from his foes? With the ice storm's end, I suspect we'll see a shift in the tide of battle."

[transect]

"Not a terrible idea, getting himself out of the range of that sword's uncanny length," Okuyasu had some good sense after all, it seemed— colour this gem slightly impressed. Only slightly, though.

"Ena isn't one to be trifled with either though, seemingly unbothered by the possibility of danger lurking just out of our current viewing range, she's queued up quite the attack chain for Kanji to deal with— sending out four, no— five bolts of magical energy after quite the landing."