Literally Snails

@Dynamo Pad @Canteen_the_unstable @reader8363 @dragon4111 Topaz watched the dust fade away in the wind, lowering her mic with an expression of shock. Rail walked up behind her when it became clear that she wasn't going to make a call. "It's alright," he said to her before raising the mic to pick up his voice. "The winner of the Dark Tournament is Team Lotus!" He lowered the mic and walked closer to Jade. "Those of you who've remained in the audience will remember this for years to come." He looked at Jade and Shining Armor. "And I believe we had an arrangement as well." Dai shook her head softly. "I don't understand how someone like you has lasted this long," she whispered back.

@Dynamo Pad @Canteen_the_unstable @reader8363 @dragon4111 Rokata's claws glowed with an intense purple aura as he used all his strength to root himself in the ground and stop Jade's charge. After being pushed nearly to the opposite wall between where Onyx and Jade's teammate's were sitting, the movement stopped. Rokata was able to root himself firmly in the ground. Rokata stood tall, grasping the orb Jade was encapsulated in and slowly contorting it as his arms squeezed around it. His primal screams drowned out any sounds made by the remaining onlookers. "Only a few more moments now," Rail said with a confident demeanor. What Rail said was clearly true. Selene stood herself up and took a step closer to the two fighters, looking puzzled. He's right, but how is this nothing like I saw it? Total victory. That's what you were always destined for. You would show me the depths of true absolution, fulfill my final wish. What is it you want from this? "I've never seen him give it his all before, not like this," Onyx said behind her, which made her realize what she was missing. So this isn't about finding a worthy opponent at all. You aren't even the teacher. Rokata squeezed the aura around Jade, compressing it until his claws locked around the other side. The blazing heat turned the skin and scales on the front of his body black, but the he never even closed his eyes, keeping them locked on Jade. "IT WASN'T ENOUGH!" He cried, then, with an enormous surge of power, purple lights lit the stadium in streamers emitting from his muscles. He clenched hard around Jade, holding the ball of energy steadfast until finally it erupted with a thunderous, deafening BOOM! The loud eruption was followed by silence. Rokata stood in the same spot with his arms wrapped around Jade, claws clenching her hooves after breaking through her defenses. He had her wide open for a killing blow. Seeing an end, Shining Armor hung his head. No one could have asked more of Jade but Rokata had stood through her best. "No..." "Always such a messy business. I'll never have a game of chance like this again," Rail commented. Onyx held his head and sighed. "Even I thought there was a chance she could have won. But he did give her plenty of warning-huh?" As he spoke, Selene collapsed next to him, her demonic eyes fading from her body. Always so cryptic, Rokata. Is there a reason I had to wait this long? Rokata's grip on Jade stayed firm, but there was no driving force behind it. It was like she was being held by a statue, rooted in place. His unnatural face was twisted into a smile. He looked like he might say something, but instead he stared at her as his body chipped away. Like dust, his charred skin was wisped away by the wind. Jade was soon freed as his claws were washed away and within seconds, there was nothing standing before her but a cloud of white and black dust.

"COME OOON!!!" Rokata cried again. His muscles strained as his wide, trunk-like arms wrapped around the ball of flaming magical energy. His singed skin cracked from the proximity of the violent flames. His feet dragged on the floor, claws crashing through rubble and dirt while leaving a deep fissure in the earth. "I don't understand him. If he wants a fair fight, why isn't he dodging?" Rail asked with no one to answer. Selene was hunched against one of the still standing sections of wall beneath a chipped blotch of paint. He has to be waiting for something. He brought out everything from her, but there's still no way he can lose. "Today is the day everything comes together. And you'll get what you're waiting for." She remembered him saying to her. He would never break his word. But what is he waiting for? Jade was encapsulated by a sphere of light, her own aura protecting her from Rokata's touch as she pushed him back. The white light surrounding Jade gained a hint of red as Rokata's arms squeezed the mass of energy, slowly crushing it like a balloon ready to pop. He let out a primal roar.

After testing each other thoroughly, things were only going to get more dangerous. Each fighter knew the strength of the other, and it was so close that the only response was to go all out. As Rokata decided to stop holding anything back, Jade had ditched her chains as well. Raising from the rubble bathed in dragonfire, she illuminated the stadium as if the sun itself had poked out of the clouds. Rail took a step back, his cigarette barely hanging from his lips. "You may want to stay back." Selene said to him. Rail backed away closer to the edge of the field. Clearly, no one in the entire stadium was totally safe, but he wasn't going to obstruct his view by taking full cover. It wasn't worth it. Rokata crossed his claws and stomped his left foot into the soil. As Jade sped toward him like a cannonball, she felt resistance before she even reached his arms. It was like she was trying to trudge through snow against whirling winds. The bright magical flare surrounding her clashed against Rokata, making his feet dig deeper into the soil. He was trying to break her in her tracks, to see if he could block her in her full stride. His knees buckled and the skin on his arms were singed as he gritted his teeth and growled, "COME ON!"

Sorry. I'm working a long weekend. 26 hours in two days and it's still hard for me to write RP posts right now. I'll post on sunday.

@Dynamo Pad @Canteen_the_unstable @reader8363 @dragon4111 Before Rokata's attack even connected, the ring was filled with an ominous power, causing some small objects, pedals, and metal jewelry to vibrate and rise off the ground. Sensing danger, Topaz jumped behind a chunk of concrete and braced herself. Some of the few fans still in the stands took cover as well as a second explosion rang through the stadium. This time creating enough explosive force to shake the foundations of the dividing walls behind Jade, causing more of the stands to collapse. Rokata's punch kicked up dirt, enveloping the two of them into a plume of smoke. No one could see how Jade fared from the attack until seconds later when the dust blew away.

Rokata's fist trailed directly into Jade's hooves exactly like he said it would. No tricks. There was a resounding explosive *BOOM* as the dirt and ruble around them flew out in a spherical pattern. The force of the blow was sent back, causing the hairs on Rokata's head to shoot back for a moment before all the power from the blow dissipated. A deep grin on the monster's face showed how much he was enjoying this. Jade wasn't even pushed back a single inch. Rokata pulled back his left fist, the bright aura swirled around it brighter and stronger than before. His aura flared up, extending to where jade was standing. It felt like she was in a sand storm with sharp, invisible objects creating tiny cuts on her skin just from being so close. "Let's try something bigger!" He shouted, retracting his right fist and swinging at her with his left.

Rokata was only fast enough to track Jade's movements. He traced her running along his side, positioning herself behind him on stable footing, ready to strike at his back. He needed to turn and block the strike with his shoulder, but even with his previously-overwhelming speed, he only had enough time to hault his backward momentum before she struck him in the back, creating a ringing thud like a flat surface falling into still water. This was the first time in this fight, the first time in longer than Rokata could remember, that he'd been struck by an opponent he was trying to block. He didn't want to be hit, yet he couldn't stop it. Rokata reeled forward and quickly turned to Jade while purple blood ran down his back. He straightened his posture, creating a loud *POP* as his spine settled back in place. He huffed and shook his head, recovering from the worst of the damage, then he curled his right hand into a fist, his whitened knuckles swirling with a purple and red aura. "When I first met you on the first day of the tournament, a strike like this would have killed you." He claimed. "But now, I'm predicting you'll be able to block it." It sounded like he was issuing a challenge, encouraging her not to dodge. The demon stepped forward, firmly planting his right hoof in the ground while swinging his fist at Jade's chest.

Rokata was ready for her speed this time. She was back to her old tricks, or lack there of, attacking straight to the front. He sprang back, leaving a small cloud of dust where he'd been standing. Jade could pursue him with her flurry of blows, but with his retreat she didn't have the proper footing to make a strong blow. Her punches were creating shockwaves of explosive power, similar to Rokata's own punches from earlier in the fight. When Rokata landed, he leaned back and sent a fist at Jade's chest just as she punched at him, giving them a chance to see who could hit harder, or take a worse hit.

@Unicorncob @dragon4111 @Dynamo Pad @DwhitetheGamer @reader8363 @Canteen_the_unstable Are you all still interested in continuing this? I know it's been a really long time but I'm feeling better.

I'm still alive, sorry guys.

Rokata lowered his hoof and shifted his eyes across the rubble, unable to detect her until it was too late. He staggered forward from the strike on the back of his head and quickly turned around to sweep her away with his right elbow. She grabbed his horn before he hit her, but she was send flying back a few feet from the blow. Her hoof ended up leaving a deep scratch in his horn, cutting right through the fortified bone. Rokata turned around and squared off to Jade. With a look of surprise, he tapped his horn, feeling the fissure Jade created. Then his expression twisted to a deep smile. Another new sensation. Was that fear? I haven't felt it in so long. At last I'm in a fight that I truly don't know the outcome of. @Dynamo Pad Dai knelt at Draco's side next to Dynamo. She placed a hoof on his back and used the other to support him. "Draco, you need to fight this!" She shouted before her expression suddenly changed to something of confusion and she brought her snout closer to him. "That's odd. He has a steady pulse..." She said under her breath.

Sorry again guys. I'm gonna try to post tonight.

@Dynamo Pad @Canteen_the_unstable @reader8363 @dragon4111 "Isn't that anticlimactic?" Rokata asked. His tone was one of mocking condescension. Despite the respect he'd shown for the dead in previous fights, he seemed to be a totally different person. Draco was laying at his feet, looking to be totally lifeless. Rokata was a professional killer, and if he wanted to pierce Draco's vital organs with an attack like that, he could. He didn't. Draco's heart was still beating, but his breath was so shallow, he appeared dead. "You were just getting to know each other, and now he's dead. He couldn't even break my skin with the last attack of his life." Rokata pulled his left foot back and kicked Draco's body, sending it tumbling away with a brutal bluntness to the way his body spun and twisted on the ground. "You monster!" Dai cried. "At least you were there this time. Isn't this how your other teammate died? And Tricis? All without you even being there to help them? You can't defend the things you love. By choosing weakness, you've chosen a life of loss and pain." A smile crept across his face. The beak of his mouth couldn't articulate, but the flesh surrounding his cheeks curled back to show his teeth. "But you wont have to live with that for much longer." Rail let out a chuckle and tilted his head down to take another drag of his last cigarette. For him, things seemed to fall right into place, exactly as he'd planned. Rokata stepped closer to Jade, watching the change in her eyes with a curious demeanor. He looked at Copper Strikes briefly, seeing that he might be the next to attack him, then he turned back to Jade. "Are you understanding me now? Or do I have to kill another one of y-" Rokata staggered back at Jade's presence when she appeared before him in the blink of an eye. He threw his arms up in an X formation to block as her blade came crashing at his chest. His footing was firm, but she was able to knock him back! He skid along the dirt from the explosive force of the blast, forcing him away from the others and back to the center of the ring. Blood poured from his arms, and the gashes were so deep that it was slow to heal. He bent his knees and jumped back, breaking the momentum of the pushback before Jade could attack him again. While in the air, he uncrossed his arms and shot out a burst of purple energy where Jade was standing. Where the strike impacted the ground, it would create an explosion strong enough to bathe the stadium in white and deepen the crater in the ground.

Jade hasn't lost yet