Solo Tremaine

[COLOR=#503F86]I do very little with MySpace, really, so it doesn't bother me. I've managed to avoid all the emo-ness associated with it. I only have friends I know on my list and I don't care if anyone comments or not. I've had a blog for years anyway, so that phase has long since passed, heh. It's just the first blog site to become mainstream, really. Tha's why everyone's all emo over it. I did when I first had a blog, too. Nothing special.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]S'right. I'm going to be there this year too, heh. I saved up much money to afford the flight over and accommodation >.>; I'm always happy to meet members from OB, providing I know them first. Obviously, if a random person I've never seen or spoken to before asks to meet up then I'm going to decline. But I've met at least three other OB members now and none of them have been (more than mildly :p) harmful. It's just a case of being sensible about when (in terms of your friendship with them and how deep your trust runs, as well as general time of day) and where to meet.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Whoo, this is a tough vote >.>; *makes choice* I have two questions for the finalists: [b]Is there anything you can attribute your successes to?[/b] and [b]If you could share your victory with anyone, who would it be?[/b] Well done to you both ^_^ It's been fantastic to read and play- I don't think any RPG has made me religiously read every post as thoroughly as I have in this one.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I think one of the most convenient things about MySpace is the fact that you don't really have to do all the hard work to get the site looking good. All the information you want to display is there and all the controls you could want are right there on the site, and it's as customiseable as anything, but in a way that I've found more comprehensive and accessible than any other diary site I've been part of. And I'm mainly on it for the friends I don't get to see very often. And although I don't write anything particularly interesting in the blog (it's mostly just quizzes and things) and hardly anyone ever comments, there is something satisfying about it. Must be the Bulletins.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]That's fine. Thank you for letting me participate in the first place, hehe ^_^ This has easily been one of my favourite RPGs ever. I'm so sorry I couldn't actually tell you that I wasn't able to continue- I didn't anticipate things being quite so drastic. Thanks to all the other participants for making the game so great to play, and good luck to Raiyuu, Doukeshi and Sakura in the next two challenges. *grins, then disappears*[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Oh, bugger. My free time up and left me >.>; I'm so sorry about this, guys. If I don't get anything in by the end of this week I won't be able to full stop. The next few days are freer than they have been so I promise I'll try and secure my last two challenges before Saturday.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Thanks, Doukeshi ^_^ *hugs* It looks like I'll have a bit of free time this week, funnily enough. I'll get planning and type up my second game post in a bit.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Hang on... if someone's writing for Tetris, Space Invaders and Pac-Man, then that only leaves me with Donkey Kong again >.>;[/COLOR]

[color=#503f86]Krystal had been staring absent-mindedly at the four blue portals and clunky, basic chairs in the tiny room. So vacant was her mind that she didn't even notice everyone else nabbing the games of their choice; it was only when Mog poked her tentatively on the shoulder that she snapped back to reality. "Oh, damn!" she yelped in surprise, watching the others enter their games. "You alright to continue, kupo? You look a little stressed?" Krystal smiled. "No, I'm okay. I was just... thinking." Mog tutted quietly, a wry half-smile on his face. "You'd better keep your game up, kupo. This challenge won't be as forgiving as others." A confident nod from Krystal signalled her entry into the final portal. She stepped through the misty blueness and found herself at the bottom of what looked like the floating skeletal remains of a red-girdered skyscraper. Everything else was complete blackness from the ground to the sky, save for a few yellow ladders climbing from floor to floor. Next to her was a pixellated blob of pink which formed itself into the shape of a woman with blond hair. Krystal couldn't tell if her golden blocks of hair were meant to be swaying or if there was just something wrong with her eyes. "Hi, I'm Pauline," the woman chirrupped. Krystal held her hand out for Pauline to shake it. "Hi, I'm-" Suddenly, a gigantic gorrilla thundered into view, waving its arms and roaring aggressively. Eight huge blocks of white teeth shone from its gnashing mouth; in seconds the mass of brown fur had wrapped its arms around Pauline and climbed up a ladder to the floors above. Krystal stood dumbfounded as the monstrous monkey leapt up and down on the girder he'd climbed to and dislodged the girders below him into a series of ramps. The ladders that rose between them remained undistorted, though, much to Krystal's relief. Her staff's flight ability wouldn't be much use here, seeing as the girders were directly on top of one another. A slew of letters rose from the darkness in front of her. "After mistreating your pet ape, Donkey Kong, he has escaped from his cage and captured your girlfriend Pauline. It's up to you to save her and put that ape back in his place!" Ignoring the insinuation from the computer that she was a lesbian, Krystal cracked her knuckles and climbed the ladder. Within seconds she'd reached the first girder. Pointing her staff out first, she carefully rose from the hole and stood on the metal surface. She was incredibly worried about how this was all defying gravity, seeing as the only thing supporting any of the hefty structure was more of itself. Behind her she noticed a large barrel with OIL painted on it in bright cyan lettering. Small flames rippled across its surface, dancing contentedly among- [i]"CRASH!"[/i] Krystal jumped as a wooden barrel exploded on the metal next to her. She looked up the ramp ahead; another was rolling straight towards her. Brandishing her Staff, she let rip a Fire Blast. The barrel burst into pixellated splinters and disappeared. Satisfied, she ran ahead and climbed up the tiny ladder at the end. Another barrel careened towards her as she emerged; she fired at it again, creating another precisely-formatted explosion. She passed another ladder and ran to the end again. Suddenly, a blue barrel spun out of the hole above her. Quick as a flash, she loosed a volley of fire blasts and the third barrel exploded. She turned to the ladder, and- -'blip'. She looked over her shoulder to be greeted by a small fireball with eyes. It blinked. She blinked back. It leapt for her face. She leapt from the ladder and swung at it with her Staff; the shaft passed right through and the flame ball bounced merrily round to face her again. She scrabbled up the ladder and broke into a run. Above her, she could hear the monkey laughing in simian tones. Pauline let out a distraught cry of 'HEEELP!', crying square tears of worry. Krystal leapt a wooden barrel, narrowly avoiding smacking her head on the girder above. Skidding round, she saw the fireball still bouncing towards her. She clambered up another ladder, growling at the thought that this entire section of the challenge was going to be inanely repetative. The next girder section was exactly the same as the last, only higher from the 'ground' several storeys below. More barrels rolled down at regular intervals; she jumped one and froze another with her Ice Blast, all the while the fireball behind her was gaining pace, leaping effortlessly up the girder. Suspended in the air above the next level was a large black hammer, an ominous red sheen gleaming across its surface. Hoping it would provide useful against the Fireball, she clipped her Staff to her backpack and grabbed the mallet in both hands. The next few seconds were a blurred memory. She was overcome by wild, involuntary movements, the weight of the hammer throwing itself in all directions around her body. It rose violently into the air and viciously pounded the ground in front of her. She couldn't jump and could barely walk under the wild swings and incredible weight of the posessed weapon. She was vageuly aware of smashing a barrel and bouncing another into the inky void beyond, but her mind completely lost focus otherwise. The hammer disappeared from her grasp on the seventh swing in a puff of pixels; she stumbled backwards and fell into another barrel, which broke against the Staff on her back. "What... happened?" she gasped, hauling herself to her feet. In front of her, the fireball blinked again. "Ah, bollocks." They both jumped at once- the fireball aiming for her chest and Krystal for the hole above her. She landed on the top level, just as a barrel whizzed past her left ear. Donkey Kong gave an apish giggle as she approached. "Right, you abusive monkey!" Krystal yelled. "Give her back!" Donkey Kong shook his head threateningly, indicating an infinite stockpile of barrels behind him. Inbetween cries of help, a pink heart floated from Pauline's general direction. Krystal winced. The ape grabbed another barrel (a blue oil-filled one) and hurled it at Krystal. She dove underneath it and rolled onto her feet, hearing it explode behind her. She saw Pauline's eyes dilate in horror, and turned to see what had happened. Two fireballs blinked at her. The first had collided with the barrel and exploded it, creating two of the little perishers. Both burst forwards- at the same time, Donkey Kong threw another barrel. Krystal turned her backs on the fireballs and froze the barrel, then dropped to the floor. The fireballs blinked in confusion as they hit the ice barrel and vaporised it, canceling themselves out in the shower of water that it turned into. Donkey Kong roared, staring through the cloud of steam to catch a glimpse of Krystal. As it cleared, he saw a shape standing below him. He was about to raise another oil barrel to lob, when he noticed that what he was staring at was not Krystal. It was a rather diminuative-looking dinosaur with a grin on its face. Where had she gone? He quickly looked to Pauline, who was still trapped and sobbing. The dinosaur stood, and grinned. Donkey Kong looked behind him at the barrels, just in case she'd slipped through. Behind him, he heard a faint 'whooshing' noise and what sounded like a projectile being fired. A burst of heat enveloped his right arm as the barrel exploded in his grasp. Flames ripped across his fur; he shook his arm violently to try and put them out, letting out monstrous roars of agony. He didn't notice Krystal (now out of her Sharpclaw Disguise) jumping onto the top platform and taking Pauline onto her back to make an escape to the gorund floor. When they reached the bottom of the final ladder, Pauline gazed lovingly at Krystal,the screams of Donkey kong still echoing high above them. "Er, right..." Krystal grimaced. "I have to go." Before Pauline could react, the blue fox ran through the portal and back to the CPU.[/color]

[COLOR=#503F86]I'm having regular issues with not being able to connect to OB; hopefully it'll clear up soon but at the moment whenever I have the opportunity to write a post something won't let me get through >.>;[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Aha, I get Donkey Kong, then ^_^; Um... so, does the whole challenge take place through PMs, or are the main posts in the Adventure thread itself?[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]I've eaten Ostrich before. It tastes like a kind of weird cross between steak and chicken. A very rich meat, and really quite nice ^_^[/COLOR]

[quote name='Sandy][b]Solo[/b'] was also good, but his posting was too concentrated on describing one puzzle (as well as it was done, but still), and he made the mistake of only including one monster from Krystal's own game (which was kind of taking the easy way).[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Yep, I had a feeling I'd lose out on that one :p [spoiler]Although technically, the Andross I was talking about was from the original Starfox on the SNES, which didn't have Krystal in it, hehe. But yeah, it is the same franchise and I'm hardly going to quibble about that cause it was rather cheaty.[/spoiler] I considered putting in a sleeping Ganon to have to get past, but in the end I didn't have enough time to develop a decent enough sequence of events. Well done, Raiyuu, and all ^_^[/COLOR]

[quote name='Lord Dante']I will be attending The London MCM Expo this may. The MCM expo isn't a pure anime convention, although it has a rather large anime section, called the Anime village. However the people behind the MCM are planning a pure anime convention in august 2007 - Anime london.[/quote][COLOR=#503F86]Yeps. If I can manage it, I'd like to get to those two as well. Although the May dates are looking rather hairy for me... I'm also travelling out to California in June/July to attend Anime Expo 2006 in Anaheim, California. It'll be my first time in the States, and the biggest convention I'll have ever been to, heh. Here's hoping it's good fun ^_^[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86][i]Krrr-wooooosssh-BOOM.[/i] Krystal peered up at the third circle. It had only occurred to her a few seconds ago that it would be easier to move three than the first two; now her methodical trial-and-error system had been messed up. Once she'd reached what she assumed was her original starting point, she climbed up her entrance ladder and cautiously rounded the corners which had been previously blocked. "Yes!" she squealed, seeing that her pathway was free. She clambered ahead, and... ...smacked into another dead-end. Grumbling obsceneties, she slid her way down to the ground and jabbed the '3' button a few more times until a pathway slotted into place that avoided the block of masonry. "I wonder if Mog does this to all his houseguests," she muttered, her body starting to ache with fatigue. "Imagine what would happen after an evening lunch- 'Right now, everyone muct find their own way to their rooms. You have six minutes to clear seventeen dungeons. Go, kupo!" The metal lattices of the cages were beginning to dig into her knees now. She almost wished she'd folowed Fox's advice and worn the kneepads and full-length trousers now. She barely noticed that she'd reached the centre. In front of her was a metal hatch with the number '2' emblazoned onto it. She titled her head quizically, then noticed a small level to her right. Two other cages, with two other levers, joined onto this one, both of which had to be accessed from separate entrances. She looked all the way down at the other hatches and laughed cynically. "Well, at least this combination works." * * * Some minutes later, Krystal had reached the final lever, with a big number '3' sitting on the wall next to it. "Don't gloat at me," she growled. "I'd like to see you try and do this, stupid number 3..." She let out a deep sigh as she pulled down hard on the lever. "I'm going insane..." Inside the glass cage that was housing the crystal ornament, the third sheet of glass slid out from underneath it and dropped out. Krystal took hold of it and sat back against the wal to examine it. The long-haired man wore a sinister grin on his face, and on the base read the inscription 'Sephiroth ~For The Reunion~' She shrugged, and noticed that underneath her, a small door had opened up on the other side of the room. She clambered down, clutching the statue, and made her way through. She was greeted by [font=Verdana][size=2]a set of spiral stairs- this time going down rather than up. Although this was much easier to cope with than another ascension, she had to be mindful of her legs' desire to give way and send her crashing all the way to the bottom. All things considered, it seemed pretty tempting at the moment...[/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2][/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2]Once she reached the bottom, she pushed open the door to find herself standing on the strange squishy pink mud again. To her left she heard the quiet echoes of footsteps and wingbeats; she moved further out and looked round to see Mog and Yuna approaching each other. [/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2][/size][/font] [font=Verdana][size=2]"I didn't think I'd be first, somehow," she sighed happily, keeping a tight hold of her (well, Mog's) statue as she walked over to their meeting point.[/COLOR][/size][/font]

[color=#503f86]The clattering of the cage floor echoed through the giant domed hall, giving the air of there being six Krystals crawling around in the tunnels. She had only reached the top of the first level so far; each time she moved the massive section of wall she was greeted with a fresh piece of dead-end to bump into, and she was getting frustrated. It was bearable the first three times; by the sixth she was beginning to become rather fraught. She slid down the last few feet of the tunnel to re-emerge at the entrance nearest the control panel. She suddenly remembered that there were yet two more entrances for her to try, and it took all her effort not to tear her tail off in frustration that she may already have missed the one that took her right to the top. But there'd have to be more than one way up, wouldn't there? She sighed, and considered a different strategy. She lay in the centre of the room, directly underneath the prized statue, and followed the path of the cages with her finger, outlining where she had been already and trying to ascertain where the dead ends were. The sections of cage which link up will have to go right to the edge of the rotating bits; she knew that much. What added an extra degree of difficulty was that whenever she rotated the lowest circle, bits of stone pillar would jut into the initial laddered tunnels leading up the walls. She'd have to move them round one at a time and plan her route that way. Hauling herself up, she moved over to the control panel and jabbed the '1' button, then pressed 'Go' repeatedly. The lower circle rotated continuously, and she could see at which points the cage tunnels linked together. She fixed her gaze on one point that she knew was accessible from the entrance opposite her, and followed it all the way round the circle until it locked into place again. Taking a few long seconds to memorise the shape of the cage path above her, she ran towards the tunnel and crawled inside, grabbing the rungs of the ladder and climbing up as quickly as she could. To her delight it progressed into the second circle. She turned two corners and hit another dead-end. Happy that this combination of first and second sections seemed to work, she climbed all the way down to the control panel, pressed '1' and '2', and then punched 'Go'. Both the first and second sections rumbled round. As she watched, she could see that the tunnels were already built into the wall- the only thing that moved were the metal dead-ends and pathways set by the cages. The rotation of each section moved the access through the stone pathways to the top. If you removed the metal cages, there'd be at least eight ways of reaching the goal. That wasn't an option, though. If she had a big enough screwdriver and several years, it would. For now, she'd have to carefully watch the cages and hope that the huge mechanism wouldn't break down half-way through.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]The giant face of Andross scanned the corridor dilligently for signs of movement. Something had registered on its sensors a few minutes ago; a few quick bursts of his blade cannon had sliced it into satisfactorily small pieces. The square blades stuck in the ground like slanted metal tombstones, dust still slowly settling around their bases. Against his low-resolution vision, he failed to notice an anomalous square of marvle that was slowly creeping towards him. Krystal has breathing heavily; not only was the slab extraordinarily heavy, but she was also scared to death. She was creeping forwards in a crouching position, facing the floor. All she had to go by were the reflections on the marble in front of her, and those were vague at best thanks to the dust disturbances caused by Andross' ballistics. Her heart stopped every time she thought back to a few minutes ago... [i]"INTRUDER ALERT!" Krystal had stepped too far out of the shadows; Andross had spotted her and the machine's eyes glowed a firece red. Huge square sheets of metal sliced the air as they shrieked from its mouth and thundered into the floor. She could feel them getting closer as she sprinted to the safety of the hole. Crack! The last one shattered the slab underneath her feet and she toppled forwards, arms outstretched and desperately reaching for the hole in front of her. She grabbed it with her fingertips and pulled herself in, just in time for a blade to whizz overhead...[/i] It'd taken about five minutes for her to convince herself to come out of the hole. So much for stealth, she thought. She was almost directly underneath the polygonal visage now; her whole body was quaking under the combined strain of the slab and her fear of being spotted. At least the floor was becoming clearer now. She could easily see where she was meant to be going, as well as the steely gaze of Andross. Although undoubtedly she'd be more visible by now, too. She slowed her movements to a slow, continuous shuffle as Andross' head disappeared from her line of sight. Her heart was pounding in her eras; she just wanted to get to the other room as soon as- [i]Bump.[/i] She looked ahead. The marble slab had hit the archway she'd been working her way towards and she was now behind and underneath that hideous piece of glorified CCTV equipment. Letting the slab drop to the ground, she let out a quiet yelp of panic and hurried into the hall. If the hall before was huge, words had not yet been invented to describe the size of this one. Its ceiling looked to be higher than most mountain peaks; its walls were lavishly decorated with pink marble and mouldings of various different corresponding colours and its floor was a sprawling, picturesque mosaique of a scene of Moogle life. At the dome's apex, a flash of blue caught her eye- was that the treasue Mog was after? She squinted up to try and see what it was; it looked like a statue of some sort- a long-haired man holding a huge katana. If Krystal knew her gem colours, it looked to be made of Benitoite, one of the rarest gems in existence. "How the hell do I get that?" she sighed, folding her arms. She looked around the room for a possible clue. A control panel on the wall made itself obvious. Krystal wandered over to it and looked at it carefully. On it were three number keys and a 'Go' button. Curious, she pressed the 'Go' button. The walls around her rumbled in reply; the decorative tiles slid away, revealing an intricate network of metal cage tunnels that labyrinthed their way up to the centre point where the glass chamber housing the statue lay. Three entrances flapped open on the ground level, inviting her to crawl into them. Tapping her foot in thought, she jabbed the key labelled '1'. The lower third of the room rotated round, moving the cage tunnels and the entrances to a different configuration above. Unfortunately, from down here she couldn't work out where they led, although she could tell there were some dead ends. This would take work.[/COLOR]

[color=#503f86]Krystal stared in awe at the massive pink megalithic structure in front of her. She was outside, on an outcrop of pink mountain that ran all the way towards two gargantuan front doors, gleaming in the pink hue of the clouds around her. In fact, almost everything around with the castle was pink, and rather garishly so. She imagined Xaiyou would be fairly happy. As she drew nearer, she noticed a strange silver sheen adorning the outer surfaces of the building, almost as if it were made of mirrored glass. Knowing Mog's taste for colours and surfaces, she wouldn't have been surprised if it was like this through and through. She stood in front of the door and looked up, craning her neck to try and catch a glimpse of the rest of the building, obscured by the pink mists above. Nothing. She let out a quiet huff of derision and then proceeded to push against the doors. They didn't move. She pushed again, throwing her whole weight into them. They still adamantly refused to move. "Damn it!" she hissed, digging her heel into the ground. She paced around a few times, muttering obsceneties under her breath and occasionally giving evil looks to the massive hinged obstructions in front of her. As she passed in front of them for the tenth time, she noticed that her heelprint was still on the ground. She knelt down and pressed her hand into it; the ground gave way llike hard, crumbly mud. Lying on her front, she peered at the small space under the door. She could see a very shiny marble-esque surface with coloured light reflecting off it and a few shadows, but couldn't make out anything apart from that. "Well," she sighed, cracking her knuckles. "Time to get digging, then." * * * Some minutes later, she dragged herself free of the hole and stood up, caked in the weird pink mud-rock. She'd had to dig underneath the marble flagstones and push them aside in order to get in. Thankfully, her naturally small size was something Mog couldn't take away from her. Course, it would have been much easier with either her flight, portal open or ground quake ability, but she didn't have those luxuries. She took a minute to absorb her surroundings. Huge marble pillars of white, pink and emerald green towered above her in a hallway that made her feel minutely small. Ahead of her was a gigantic hall that seemed to be even taller than this one, and she could see a spiral pathway stretching around its walls. She wondered whether anyone would notice the misplaced sections of paving. Carefully she placed two of them back, and kept one loose just in case she needed to jump back outside. Sticking close to the walls, she quietly trod her way down the immense corridor, keeping watch all around her. Suddenly, a deep rumbling shook the ground; she stumbled back and watched incredulously as the wall above the archway began to change shape. Lumps of marble broke free from the ceiling and hovered in the centre of the entrance to the hall, forming a gigantic, polygonal face. Its rhombus-shaped eyes flickered open, glowing a brilliant blue. Its mouth opened and closed a few times as its constituent parts sealed themselves in place. Its eyes appeared to scan the area briefly; Krystal ducked behind one of the pillars to hide herself. "I am Andross!" it roared. "Show yourself!" "Bugger that," Krystal whispered, looking back towards the entrance. The marble slate was still loose...[/color]

[COLOR=#503F86]I've been very very busy lately >.>; Our productions company's first project auditions tomorrow so there's been a lot of preparation work for that and today I went on a 200-mile round trip... it's all just rather stressing. I don't know if I can make time to post in this challenge for a while, but I'll try my best.[/COLOR]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal's head hung low; she stared at her hands, wringing them anxiously. She'd seen the looks on the others' faces when they were nominated. "Well, at least I know it won't be me, now..." she sighed quietly. She paced around, some distance away from the others. Mog was looking a little irritated at her slow decision-making; she bit her lip and desperately tried to justify each choice she could make. Crash- he'd been her team mate on two separate occasions now. He was strong, funny, reliable... Similarly, she'd spent the most time with Lara and felt a connection with her that she didn't share with anyone else. Mario, she didn't know at all, but Yuna was watching him anxiously. She shook her head. This was a competition- she couldn't be soft any more, not at this stage. She had to assess who would be the biggest threat to her over the coming events. In which case, she guessed Lara would be the most prime for knocking out, but even then... * * * ...some time later, she raised her head and turned to face the others, looking fraught. She avoided eye contact with her chosen figure. Taking a deep breath, she made her announcement. "Mog, I have made my decision. I would like... um, I mean... I nominate [b]Crash Bandicoot[/b] to be deleted." There was a tense silence. "I'm sorry."[/COLOR]

[color=#503f86]Words cannot describe how horrible this is >.>;[/color]

[color=#503f86]The soulless eyes of Krystal?s opponent made her blood run cold. The veil covering the assassin?s mouth hung delicately on her face, such a stark contrast to the promise of what lay underneath. She was a good foot taller than the fox, too; her stature and body language reflected the look of deadly intent in her gaze, and her battle outfit seemed barely a formality. Krystal took hold of her staff and held it upright, the tips at both ends fizzling quietly with blue energy. The best bet would be to stay on the defensive and observe her tactics, then to find the most efficient way to counter it. Thankfully, if she fought stave against sai, she would have a certain distance advantage. But if the muscles on Mileena?s thighs were anything to go by, Krystal would have to move very quickly in order to keep up with her. The assassin?s face contorted slightly, as if hiding a smile. A movement of her sleeve hinted at a metal blade tucked into the thick piece of studded material wrapped around her waist. The refereeing Moogle then gestured for the two combatants to step forward, and in an instant they were warped to the Battle Dome. As they did so, with a flick of her wrists Mileena whirled two sais from her waistband and flicked their blades outward, poising herself ready to launch straight into a deadly attack. Her eyes narrowed into slits, the burning yellow of her irises searing into Krystal. ?Don?t underestimate me,? Krystal growled, brandishing her staff. Mileena let out a silky laugh. ?I don?t underestimate. I already know exactly how long it?ll take me to kill you.? Mog scrolled his claw down a holographic window- the Battle Dome's image setting. Although the text appeared backwards to her, she noticed him pause on Arena 11. His finger hovered over it for a second. Giving the fighters a quick glance, he made his selection. The CPU dissolved away, and in its place a dark, gothic temple materialised around them. They stood on a narrow, suspended brick pathway that divided into three circular platforms. The only barrier to speak of to stop them from falling off the edge was a tiny brick border Huge pillars of stone stretched into darkness above and below them, punctuated by soft blue lights and red lasers which created a blood-hued web underneath them. This was [URL=http://www.mortalkombatdeception.com/arenas/arena11.jpg]Arena 11[/URL]. Krystal tightened her grip around her staff and took on a fighting stance, showing as little target to her enemy as possible. Mileena lowered herself to an [i]en guarde[/i] position, raising one sai over her shoulder and the other forwards, both pointing directly at Krystal?s head. Mog raised his head authoritatively. ?Ready?? A tense silence, broken only by the steady hum of the laser beams below. Krystal kept her eyes fixed on Mileena?s, pulsing with determination. Mileena silently changed the angle of her forward sai. ?Then FIGHT!? Mileena sprang forwards; Krystal whirled her staff and caught the shaft against the tsuba of one of the sais, deflecting it. The second sai came whistling down her face, she just managed to avoid it by leaning back. Mileena twisted her deflected sai round and locked it against the haft of Krystal?s weapon; with brute force she swept it over both their heads, giving her an opening to whip the second sai into Krystal?s side. The fox stumbled back, ripping her staff free and swinging it over to land a crushing blow on her opponent?s left shoulder. Mileena winced and drew back, flourishing the sai menacingly. Her eyes burned with a greater ferociousness than before as she prepared herself for another attack. Krystal?s breathing was ragged; she watched Mileena closely but didn?t anticipate her movements to be so quick. She was barely able to prepare for that last attack. The assassin lunged towards her; this time Krystal held her staff out like a lance and held her position. At the last possible second, Mileena launched herself into the air and somersaulted round. Krystal followed her with the point of her staff, hoping to impale her on its sharpened point. In a flash, Mileena kicked the tip aside and landed behind Krystal, wrapping her arms around her in a snake-like grip. She felt two blade points pressing deep into the underside of her jaw, constricting her breath. Her arms flailed helplessly in Mileena?s lock; she tried in vain to whip her staff round fast enough to get her to let go. ?See,? Mileena hissed into her ear, ?I knew how long it would be before I killed you.? ?I? warned you,? Krystal croaked, ?Not to underestimate me!? She twitched her staff round so that the spear-shaped end pointed directly at Mileena?s arm. A burst of blue energy shot down the veins carved into the haft and a spurt of ice enveloped the demon woman?s upper arm. A hideous shriek echoed through the temple and Mileena clutched at her now frozen left arm. Krystal dropped to the ground, rubbing her throat. ?Quite the vicious vermin, aren?t we?? Mileena spat. She strode forwards, spinning the sais so that the pommels faced towards the blue-furred fox. Krystal stepped backwards cautiously; the two hadn?t yet moved from the narrow walkway yet, and Krystal didn?t want to give Mileena the chance to get behind her again. She backed away, keeping herself focussed on the fighter?s movements. Mileena?s face twisted itself into a smile again. ?You can?t watch what you can?t see.? Suddenly, she slipped through the ground. Krystal froze, stunned. Above her, she heard a faint whistling and looked up just in time to catch both Mileena?s feet in her chest. She collapsed back, the air beaten from her lungs in an instant. She rolled on the floor and rested on her hands and knees, gasping to restore her breath and watching in panic as Mileena strode towards her. She stood upright; her vision began to blur. All she saw was a flash of purple before her eyes and a flurry of punches in her stomach catapulted her backwards. She landed heavily in the centre of the larger platform, a dust cloud swirling around her. ?Such a shame you?re so weak,? Mileena purred, her voice oozing contempt. She reached down with her right arm and grabbed Krystal by the throat. Her soft, jade eyes were wide with fear. ?At least I?ll have a chance to show you what I keep behind this mask. I think a suitable end for you will be to just have you disappear.? She raised Krystal aloft and, with her partially frozen arm, unclipped the veil that hid her face. Huge, dripping, razor-sharp teeth glistened with saliva, unsheathing themselves from hideously mis-shapen gums. Between them, Krystal could see inside a gaping void of a throat waiting to devour her. Mileena?s grin became even more twisted the closer to her mouth she lowered Krystal?s head. ?I shall enjoy your flesh.? The monster slavered. ?[i]Will you?[/i]? Krystal?s voice suddenly rang in Mileena?s left ear. ?[i]I?m behind you.[/i]? Mileena spun round, aiming a high sai shot at the level of Krystal?s head. She growled in frustration as she swiped at empty air. ?Nice trick! But you won?t-? Krystal had disappeared. She looked all around her frantically, trying to place the fox?s whereabouts. ?[i]Lost me?[/i]? The voice seemed to come from everywhere. For a split second, she saw the dust on the floor displace, then the image disappeared. ?What is this?? Mileena spat, enraged. ?[i]I?m telepathic, bitch. I can make you think I?m anywhere I want you to think.[/i]? Saliva ran down the sides of Mileena?s mouth. Her grimace twitched slightly. ?But you?re still here, aren?t you? clever little fox, but my sais will find their way into your stomach, your throat, your pretty eyes? All I need to do is find you. And find you I-? A heavy object impacted against Mileena?s left shoulder again, then another landed at the base of her spine. She tripped forwards and writhed herself into an upright position again. Her sais began glowing a deep purple; still not being able to see Krystal she threw them randomly into the darkness, trying to listen for ambient noise that would give away her position. Nothing. ?You can?t hide everything!? Mileena ripped another two sais from her belt and threw them to the ground, stirring up tiny clouds of dust. Again and again she took out sais, throwing them at the brickwork. It splintered and cracked, sending up more dust spurts and leaving a fine crust of brick chips coating the ground. She wiped her chin and stood perfectly still, moving only her eyes. [i]Crack.[/i] A section of brick clicked to her left. In a flash she threw two sais in the direction of the noise. One span off into the darkness, the other lodged into something solid, and blood began to slowly drip down its metal shaft. She grinned as a blurry image of Krystal came into view. The sai had embedded itself her right leg. Quickly she threw another, impaling Krystal?s foot and nailing it to the ground. Drawing two more, she scraped the blades against each other. She would enjoy watching her die; every sai shot would pierce a vital point until she was nothing more than a perforated, bloody skeleton. She drew back and let fly a volley of sai; it was only on her fourth pair that she noticed none had hit their mark- a glowing blue shield had surrounded Krystal and they had all bounced off. Tearing the sai from her foot with an agonising scream, Krystal lodged her staff under her right arm and charged forwards, energy pulsating up and down the shaft of the blade. Mileena held a sai forward to parry; Krystal released the Ground Quake energy of the staff and catapulted it away, also sending Mileena spiralling backwards along the platform. Krystal was close behind her, following up with hard hits from both ends of her glowing, gilded stave. Suddenly, Mileena snapped back and began stabbing frantically in reply. At close range Krystal was at a high disadvantage; she rolled back and prepared for a final charge. Mileena pre-empted her, though, and was already giving chase. The two met in the centre of the platform with a sickening crunch. Blood dripped on the arena floor. Mileena?s mad grin was broken by Krystal?s staff, smashed through her teeth and rammed into the back of her mouth. Both of Krystal?s shoulders had been pierced by the sai. Wincing with the pain, Krystal removed Mileena?s hands from the sai handles and stepped back. The assassin?s eyes had turned a much duller shade of yellow. She let out a tired sigh of defeat and collapsed, dissolving in a cloud of pixels. The Battle Dome's arena disappeared, and Krystal found herself back inside the CPU. She gave Lara and Yuna a teary smile before collapsing, succumbing to tiredness.[/color]

[COLOR=#503F86]Question- does the Battle Dome have to look like anything specific? I chose myself an arena without properly acknowledging the Battle Dome was involved, and just plonked in a bit about Mog being able to change its image setting. Is this okay, or would you rather everyone used the same backdrop?[/COLOR]

[color=#503f86]Every site has its own rules. We could just as easily pour scourn and run spamming attacks on any board that doesn't make the best use of spelling and the like, but ultimately it's pointless getting worked up about things like that. But way way back in versions 3 and previous, you'd be shocked at the quality of OB's posts back then. I've only read over them a couple of times in archive sites, and to be honest on the whole they're no different from any other internet forum. It's just that since then the rules have been tweaked and enforced to a better degree. You only need to talk to most of the people here to know that we're not here specifically to show up other forums- this is just how the people who organise the site prefer it to be run, and personally I like it like this. If anyone objects- fine. It's not as if it matters a great deal.[/color]

[COLOR=#503F86]Krystal's knees gave way; partly by her own admission and mostly because they decided the stress was getting to be too much. She sat down heavily on the CPU's swirling blue floor and took in a deep breath. Everyone looked equally stunned and apprehensive; Lara and Mario in particular looked quite awful after having to make the decision to oust Ada and Shadow, both of whom had been on Lara's team at separate times. It seemed so long ago that they were on Solitary Island. The game felt so much different now; knowing that everyone here was really all that was left of the original eighteen... this was where the real test was going to begin- she'd have to rely on herself [i]by[/i] herself, without neccesarry prompts or guidance from other team-mates. Although some of the time she'd just be dragged along anyway, it was more daunting than anything she'd had to face so far. Yuna lent down and offered Krystal a hand. "Are you okay?" The blue fox smiled back. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks, Yuna." Mario gazed at the CPU's undulating blue. "I hope-a our rooms won't be this... whoo..." "...nauseating?" Crash suggested, folding his arms. Mog looked a little disdainful. "It isn't nauseating. It's programmed to induce a feeling of mystery. You try creating an insubstantial void that [i]looks[/i] like a void and is still easy on the eyes." Embarrassed grins shot through the remaining six. Krystal looked towards a door that had appeared to their far right; circular steps leading up to it. "Well, um... can we see our rooms, then?" She didn't anticipate there'd be much time to actually use them, though...[/COLOR]