Heartfelt Adventure: Mirage Arena #1 ~~~ Kai vs Sayrike!

[Je suis a toi]

Damn, I had her!
'I suppose that's what you get for not being more aggressive.'
Oh, and what was I going to do?! Stab her?! No way!

Titan and Noelle argued as she slid backwards, arms covering her face. She peeked between her arms and saw Dawn coming at her faster than she could hope to counter. Her fans struck her right shoulder as she attempted to dodge. The wind was just too strong for her to move fast enough. Noelle fell backwards and threw a half-dome of earth over her to protect herself from a secondary attack and the roaring winds. Without even getting up, the agromancer pounded her fist on the ground. Three earthen spheres popped up and launched over her sheild--Earth Grenade.

Three, two, one--

A soft boom could be heard as each grenade simultaneously exploded, sending thousands of shards of earth in every direction. Noelle laid protected by her half-dome, waiting for the next attack and letting her throbbing shoulder re-gain some feeling.

'Do you need me, human?'
Now why would you think that?
'She has her summon out.'
Does she? I think I'm good for now.
'Do you want to lose, human?'
Ch, no . . . fine. In a minute.  

[Kaegoe]

Dawn covered herself with her tessen to try and protect herself from the shards of rock that flew at her, but Garuda had a better plan. She summoned an Aero Shield to absorb most of the impact.

"Ack she is hiding again," Dawn pouted.

~"Don't go whining, that won't get us nowhere. Just prepare for her."~ Garuda answered.

Dawn nodded up at Garuda as she started to think. There had to be a way to keep Noelle from hiding every time she was able to get in a good hit in. Get her feet off the ground...

Dawn's eyes narrowed as she readied her fans for whenever Noelle came back up. With her and Garuda using wind this just might work.  

[Je suis a toi]

Noelle was sitting quietly behind her large earthen sheild, thinking of a better way to do things. She was preparing a Seed Strike for when she would need it, tucking the large, sharpened seeds into her belt for quick access. It was a little surprising to her that Dawn was waiting--she had the upper hand for the moment. But that was okay with Noelle, she needed to regain a little strength.

'Keep in mind your magic limitations. All of your attacks have been magic related.'
That's because she insists on staying as far away from me as possible. I can't help that.
'I know, just make sure you're being smart about this.'
That's why I don't want to summon you. It'll take up more magic and it could be unnecessary.
'This is true . . . Wait until you regain a little of your strength and summon me.'
But--
'Just do it, human. You need the extra hand. How's your shoulder?'
I'll be fine, it just hurts a little.
'It's started to bleed again.'
Damn . . . I wonder how she's doing. I know I got her with that nettle, it should be swelling up about now. Hopefully it's a good distraction.
'You ready?'
Yeah, let's go.

Noelle made her sheild again, knowing she'd need it, and put on her gauntlets for good measure. It was a mistake to put it down in the first place, but there's no use crying over spilt milk. The agromancer made her move, using Slide to get over to where she had begun growing things earlier. As she got there everything continued to grow, going from what a garden might look like to somewhat vicious and unruly. Briers were the most prominent plants, but there were a few ivy's in there as well. Noelle pulled her foot back and gave the ground a good hard kick for Kick Spike. A field of sharp earthen cones erupted from the ground and rippled towards Dawn and Garuda.  

[Kaegoe]

"Crap!" Dawn yelled out as she attempted to jump out of the way of the spikes, but was unable to avoid the spike. It hit her and sent her flying back.

Garuda, who had been able to fly out of the way, flew back down above Dawn. A look of fury was in Garuda's eyes. The summon raised her arm and brought a large gust accompanied by a Razor Wind in the direction of Noelle.

Dawn let out a painful hiss as she slowly stood. The battle was starting to take it's toll on her body. She couldn't carry on much longer, and her magic was running dry. She needed to get the edge. But the only one she saw would only be a one time shot. And more than likely drain her of her energy. But it was better than nothing.

She gave a sideways glance at Garuda hoping that the summon could understand what she wanted.

Garuda didn't say anything, she summoned a large whirlwind in the direction of Noelle. It was strong enough that it could carry the girl off the ground.

Without hesitation, Dawn jumped into that same wind, traveling at full speeds. She raised her fan to strike at Noelle. Using her own control of the wind to keep on her and hopefully get more than one hit on her.  

[Je suis a toi]

Angry birdie.
'Move, human! Protect yourself!'
Got it.

Back to the ground. Noelle jammed her shield into the ground again and hunched down behind it, though this time a small wall of earth sprang up behind her to save her the risk of getting knocked back again. When Garuda's Razor Wind hit her, the blonde felt the afftect of being squished between her shield and the wall, but this was still much better than feeling the full hit. With a frown, she fixed her shield--a large crack had formed from where she had been hit. She couldn't take too many of those, or she'd be done for.

That's when the wind started to kick up. The agromancer looked above her shield to see the formation of the large whirlwind. This was bad news for her. She could sink back into the ground, but this was a crucial time in which she needed to get another attack in, ducking out wasn't an option. Noelle began realizing that she was having a hard time keeping on the ground. A lattice of ivy formed around her and her shield as she was kneeling on the ground to keep her put. Dawn was coming closer, Noelle was going to get hit, and get hit hard.

'Human, if she hits you, you will not be getting back up!'
Fine, Titan, GO!

Titan erupted before Noelle, easily thirteen feet tall (though no larger to save Noelle a little magic), and before him he brought up a solid wall of earth four times his own height. With one mighty hit, Titan sent the wall sliding forward perpendicularly to push the wind, and Dawn, back as far as possible. He only hoped the wall was strong enough to withstand Dawn's attack, because if she broke through he would need another method of defense.  

[Kaegoe]

'Crap Titan!' Dawn thought as the massive summon came forth. She had no time to react before she slammed into the giant wall of rock. Unable to stop her fall, Dawn crashed to the ground below.

Dawn let out a grunt of pain as she attempted to get up. A pain shot through her side, she wasn't sure if she broken something, just that it was painful. This battle was not looking good for her, not as long as Noelle had Titan to protect her, things were going to be difficult. She had very little energy as it was, especially with Garuda out on the field, who she wouldn't have the energy to contain much longer, she feared.

Garuda let out a screeching battle cry as she flew over the wall Titan had placed. The bird like summon came down upon the giant with her claws out and was prepared to rip Titan to shreds if she had to.

'Good Garuda keep them busy for the moment...' Dawn thought as she quickly jumped up higher into the arena. She ducked behind one of the stone walls. She needed time to recover a little of her endurance. With her hand over her side, aa wind gathered around it as she attempted to mend at least some of the damage.  

[Je suis a toi]

Titan pulled an arm back to take a heavy swing at Garuda. If it was going to come down to a fist fight between the two of them he would be happy to oblige. Meanwhile, Noelle was searching for Dawn. She wasn't going to wait around for her opponent to recuperate, like Dawn did. Not that she didn't appreciate the time she got, she just thought it was a bit of a mistake on Dawns part. The agromancer needed to keep the upper hand, so she had to act fast.

The lattice that was keeping her on the ground fell away in an instant, allowing her to pull her shield from the earth and distance herself from the summon battle. She used Scan to find her hiding opponent and found her in no time. It was horribly convenient that nearly the entire collosium was constructed of earth and stone.

Behind a STONE wall? That shouldn't be a problem.

Dropping under ground to avoid the battle so close to her, Noelle moved and popped up close to Dawn's hiding spot. With a flick of the wrist, the wall cracked and fell away from Dawn.

"Who's hiding now?" The agromancer called, pulling Seed Strike from her belt and throwing three at her opponent.  

[Kaegoe]

Dawn let out a startled gasp as Noelle popped up out of ground. Should of saw that one coming. At least she had time to recover a little bit. Her side didn't hurt as much. Dawn ducked and rolled away, attempt to avoid the seeds. She felt one of them hit her shoulder, but glad it was all that was. It could of been more. Dawn retreated a couple of feet back.

'Sorry Garuda, but I need to save my energy for now. And if this works. It should move the playing field in my favor once more...'

Garuda started to fade into orbs of light the moment she hit the ground after getting hit by Titan. As Garuda faded, Dawn started to move her fans and body as she started to dance. She let the wind gather and start in the direction of Noelle. The wind, if Noelle stayed in it, would have a draining effect on her magic. The wind was designed to steal Noelle's magic. It circled around and to Dawn, giving the stolen magic to Dawn.  

[Je suis a toi]

Noelle couldn't get the seeds she threw to stick, so that attack was a bust. She backed up as Dawn tried some more wind mojo with her, but with all that Dawn had thrown at her already, she was more wary of keeping away from it. Dawn was beginning to look worn out, which made Noelle push herself a little harder. Using Slide to get closer to Dawn and attack as she danced, she swung out her spear to try and give her a nice crack in the side.

Titan, how are you doing.
'Fine. She's recalled her summon.'
Really? Is she that worn out already?
'Keep in mind, human, her abilities are much more magic intensive than yours. In order to move the wind she must continually put magic into it, whereas you grow a plant or movie a piece of earth and it remains without you having to keep putting magic into it. You reserve a great deal of magic that way, she doesn't have that benefit.'
Well shoot, I never thought of it that way.  

[Kaegoe]

Due to her dance, Dawn was unable to dodge the attack by Noelle's spear. Dawn let out a hiss as it was the same side that she had just got done healing. But with a luck of the grab, she was able to trap the spear between her arm and her side. She used what physical strength she had to hold it and the girl in place. She looked up at Noelle through her bangs. Dawn's breathing was hard but her eyes were determined, she wasn't about to loose this without fighting.

With a her free hand, she took her tessen and moved it up to hit Noelle with it. Not with just the physical fan but also with a large gust of wind to blow the girl off her feet and away from her.

With the attack executed Dawn feel to her knees holding her side with one hand and herself up with the other.  

[Je suis a toi]

Noelle let go of her spear and bent back, placing a hand on the ground behind her, to avoid getting hit by Dawn's tessen. The force of the wind kicked her feet up over her head, but the agromancer pushed to keep grounded--she was just too close to lose her edge. If she hadn't cocooned the earth around the hand on the ground she would have been flying. Her feet landed back on the ground after completing the back walk-over she had done courtesy of Dawn's attack.

The blonde summoned her spear back to her hand and she held the tip trained on Dawn, working the earth to cover and hold the hand on the ground and her feet. If she made another move she would be giving her another nice hit in the side.  

[Kaegoe]

Dawn's eyes narrowed up at Noelle. She was trapped to the ground. With a spear in her face. Her energy completely drained. Dawn could see no more options. She let out a sigh as she looked down for several moments. After a few moments she smiled up at Noelle, her battle face gone.

"It looks like I'll be the one who will be cleaning up those stalls..." Dawn said cheery. It was a valiant fight. But Noelle was the victor here.

'Don't sell yourself short. You both fought with great skill.

'Thanks Garuda.'  

[Je suis a toi]

Titan, you can go now. It's over.

Noelle smiled back at Dawn and tossed her shiled away after dismissing her spear. The earth released her and the agromancer bent to help Dawn up.

"Nah, you don't have to muck the stalls." Noelle laughed, "But I do require a high-five and the creation of a super-secret hand shake. Deal?"  

[fractalJester]

Aaaaand time for our next combatants~

First combatant is... JAMES!  

[fractalJester]

Next combatant is... LOUIS!