Quote:Note: Ties in with http://drunkardswalkforums.yuku.com/topic/5311 , Read that first.Lost Sabre, Nee Jeena Malso, rolled out of bed and plummeted the short distance to the floor, landing in the scraps of her light body armor with a smashing clatter, very similar to the time she'd dropped a dozen teapots full of ball bearings down a staircase, only not as harmonic. She lay in the pile of armor bits momentarily, reflecting on the strange paths her life had gone down recently. The trip to Paragon was her normal 'start' point for these sort of musings; the fragmentary memories of Megatokyo and police service from before then didn't have the intensity that her Paragon memories did. After a period of time as one of the Lost, her rescue by this world's Sabers was one of the sweetest moments of her life. In fact, she could remember thinking "This is the happiest I will ever be"
While it's more amusing if one considers that she was covered in blood spray seconds after that thought ran through her mind, it's even more amusing to her that she's been proven wrong so very often.
Shifting a shin guard more comfortably under her head, Lost stared at the play of light on the ceiling of her bedroom, going down 'The List' while she slowly woke up. Gir, Sylia, Secret Identities, The Legendary, A HOME!!! Lost bounced to her feet, scattering armor bits around her bedroom. A quick sweep through the apartment's bedroom took care of those, and into the shower she went, scrubbing, shampooing and conditioning quickly but thoroughly. Lost had been filthy and disheveled for a long time, and didn't want to go back to that.
Her morning routine accomplished in short order, Lost snarfed a bagle out of the fridge. Stopping to give the 7 foot tall stuffed pig filling the hall closet a quick pat, she was out the door. Fiddling idly with the cellphone she'd recently upgraded to, Lost brought up her
emails.
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FROM: ARENA COORDINATOR (Arena.Coord@Atlas.gov)
TO: Lost Sabre (Lost.Sabre@Riot.6.1.com)
Subject: Duel Challenge (Zen Hart)
Greetings, Hero! You have been challenged to a Duel by Zen Hart! The Duel is set to
occur at 12:00 (Noon), on Friday!
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It was 11:45. And Friday.
Lost grinned and slid the phone back into it's little armored pocket. Stopping to tug the straps of her armor tight, she kicked into overdrive, and streaked through the morning sun towards the Pocket D entrance. Scorning the D Pass, she dove into the manhole cover and speed-crawled through the tunnel into the D, handling the warp transisiton without noticing its effects.
As the elevator crawled up towards the floor of the D, Lost tapped her foot impatiently. The moment the door opened, she flew through it and streaked up the stairs to the Arena Lounge.
The event was listed, and the two appeared in the Arena. Lost forced herself to take deep breaths, instead of the sharp excited inhalations she wanted to make, and stretched a little as the timer counted down. Don't know who this 'Zen Hart' is I think I worked with her once over in
Peregrine I like Peregrine it's got lots of Carnies those ladies look silly (I wonder if Gir would like them oh god I don't think I could ask Gir what sort of woman she's interested in TOO WEIRD) I wonder how pissed this Zen person is, anyway. Stupid blue caves, they seperate out the bad guys and make it so hard to keep moving maybe I'll have some cheeseburgers for lunch, Hee, I could get some white castle and bring them
to Cast-
WHAAAAAANNNNN
The Klaxon sounded, and Lost streaked forward, mentally reciting her disciplines as she engaged them, and popped a dispenser of 'reds' out of a pocket. Swiftly crunching down on four of them, Lost closed to Melee range and brought her sword overhead in her favorite opener attack. The Headsplitter nearly blew Zen's horned figure into a wall, but the smaller woman caught herself. Gathering her scattered wits and courage, Zen plunged back into melee range, and blows rang out in the Arena.
Outside, unbeknownst to the combatants, Terrence Knight winced as the two females beat each other mercilessly. With his experience, he could tell that what appeared to be a subtlety-free slugging match was anything but. He whistled low and long at the delicate interplay between Slash, Follow Up, Parry, and Whirling Sword. It looked like a match that, at first glance, was all about damage, was turning into a debuffing contest.. and Lost was losing.
Lost winced as she popped the last of her greens, feeling the rush of health drain away almost immediately as Zen nailed her with a Slash, chased with a perfectly executed Follow Up. She shifted her sweaty grip on her sword, the elegant blade Sylia had given her, and reflexively Parried the next attack. A deep breath and a hitch of the hip put into motion the Headsplitter, and Lost knew she was doomed as her shield went just that extra tiny bit out of position. Zen was there to exploit the opening, and as the darkness of the medport closed about her, Lost had the minor satisfaction of seeing the shorter hero with her eyes closed, gasping for breath also.
Terrence raised an eyebrow as Zen ported back to the D, followed momentarily by Lost. They made the normal small talk, thank you for the fight, etc, etc. Zen asked Lost what she'd learned, and the normally bouncy young lady stilled for a second, her face intent and concentration knit on her brow.
"Stamina. Gotta work on my stamina if i'm gonna fight at that level" Lost concluded, with a firm nod. Zen returned a small nod of agreement, and turned and paced out without a word, giving Terrence an odd little almost-bow as she passed. Lost, oblivious, turned her focus from Zen to Terrence, and he found himself distracted and deluged about 'Half-dressed Carnie fools', and 'Wonder if Gir would like to take one of them home', followed by a wink and an elbow nudge..
Terrence blinked in shock as Lost nattered onwards about Malta and Arachnos and end-drain being 'unfair', then stopped at the end of a sentence, waved, and disappeared in a rush of speed.
"No can brain today. Want cheezeburger."
From NGE: Nobody Dies, by Gregg Landsman
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5579457/1/NGE_Nobody_Dies