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"Those who want to issue challenges to me can come and find me here. If they have a special request, they can send me a message, and I will do my best to accommodate. Though I accept all different kinds of challenges, I shall start off fighting my first challenger the classic battledome style of combat. And so, the die is cast... but who will pit their will against mine?"

The air of quietude in the underground arena was disrupted by the sound of clinking metal; a challenger, clad in the mighty armor of the Empire, made his way across the bridge. Even in the dim light, we recognized each other.

"Remus?" I said, bemused. "Came all the way down here to fight me again, did you?" I stood in my usual position at the defending side of the arena and straightened out my coat.

"You've been winning most of our bouts," he replied, "but I've come to settle the score." There was a sick revving sound, followed by the roar of the chainblade. The noises of impending violence chased the last vestiges of silence from the cavern.

"Ever the conqueror..." I clipped off my Nano-C and activated my phase blade. The blue energy pulsed from my sword, illuminating my pale complexion. "On your guard, then."

My words were wasted, though, as Remus charged at me mid-sentence. He swung his weapon at me, and the chainblade whirred past my slender frame. He followed up with an uppercut from his axe, which I narrowly avoided; the head of the axe came crashing back down behind him, but he protected himself from being open by swiping furiously at me with his chainblade again.

Amidst the violent flailing of my opponent, I kept my calm. He attacked me many times, but I knew he couldn't keep up his stamina at this rate; just as an empire itself relies on conquering nations to stay alive, the emperor would need to start landing some solid blows if he wanted to maintain the upper hand. And yet, I eluded him, his every blow landing on nothing but air.

For a split-second, my foe was open. His eyes widened, horrified, for he knew what was to come. In the next moment his fears were realized, as my phase blade pierced his chestplate. All it took was one precise strike at the heart of the Empire... and the whole battle was over.

He slumped over, sluggish and subdued. For a moment, I reveled in my victory, until I realized that I would have to carry him out of here myself. Grumbling, I hefted his incapacitated self and started to drag him back into the tunnels from whence he came...

Alnette stood at the far end of the arena. Stepping out of the shadows of the manor passageway, I stood beneath the dim light to meet her. "Oh," I said, straightening out my coat. "I was hoping you'd come... and you even brought me flowers, hm? I'm flattered" I drew my Nano-C from its concealed holster and activated my phase blade. "But I hope you know that this is a place for battle."

Alnette seemed to smirk, though it was difficult for me to discern at a distance, through the dim light. She didn't seem as though she were dressed for combat; her dress was elaborate, and she had a bouquet of red roses in her hands.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about me," she replied, and set the roses behind her, at the foot of the bridge. When she turned back to face me, she had the Dark Excalibur drawn in her hands. "I think I can hold my own."

I stood still, my eyes locked on her. It wasn't her blade that held my attention, but her figure. Though she'd set her flowers aside, the roses of Luxuria appeared to bubble forth from her chest, like a the physical manifestations of beauty and power seeping from her body, as though it were too great to all be contained inside.

She moved toward me, and I took a step back and raised my blade. Her hair fell back as she walked, a color several shades lighter than blood. Her eyes, they were an otherworldly gold color, and they gleamed in the dim light. Her black dress swept across the floor, hiding her feet. She moved like a shadow. Her frame formed a strikingly feminine silhouette...

Her sword arm struck out at me, and her body extended, stretching out the fabric of her dress. She spun, and the trails of her long skirt kicked up; the shadows danced along the floor. her hair spun about, and I was struck both by her attractiveness and by the blunt side of her blade. I stumbled forward, and was pleased to discover that I could now view Alnette from a different angle. From below, I could appreciate the intricate details of her surcoat and examine her curves and edges with a fresh perspective.

She looked down at me and smirked. "You weren't even trying, were you?" She said, resting her sword at her side. Somewhere deep down, beneath the numbing euphoria induced by her beauty, I felt the pains of longing... a pain that quickly overcame my body. Soon, a new, more pedestrian sensation joined and mixed with the first one; physical pain. My eyes flash up to her breast, where the Luxuria roses continued to spill outward...

Was it Alnette that had stopped me cold, or was it the hypnotic power of the roses? Was it both, was it neither, or was it one or the other? She walked away and left me to ponder this conundrum. I lay on my back, defeated and tormented by my aching sword wounds, until the light dimmed and everything faded to black.

Alnette stood at the other end of the arena's entrance, across the bridge spanning over the chasm between the tunnel and the platform. I rested my hands in my pockets and looked at her warily; there was no doubt that she'd proven herself to be a dangerous opponent in the past. I would have to watch myself if I wanted to emerge the victor.

"Here for a fight, are you?" I tilted my head to one and cast a sideways glance her way.

She smiled seductively at me. "I brought you another flower." A long-stemmed black rose rested delicately between her fingers. She set it down at her feet, and then stepped over it and crossed the bridge. Her outfit showed a lot of skin, and left her legs exposed; it was as though she was teasing me with her wardrobe.

"Ever the polite one, aren't you?" My phase blade was in my hand, activated. "Well, I will return the favor and cede the opening move to you." I spread my arms out, as if to welcome her challenge. "Ladies first."

She smirked at me. "If you insist."

In a flash, she was upon me. I scarcely had time to move before she swiped at me with her blade; at the last moment, I parried the strike, and attempted a rebuttal with a counter-thrust. However, she was thin about the waist, and my attack slid past her abdomen without making a connection. I backpedaled, and Alnette immediately put me back on the defensive with a series of complex combination attacks. She was moving too fast; I couldn't get a blow in edgewise. Soon, she had me up against the edge of the arena... my back was to the abyss.

Through the dim light, I could see her smiling. "You're not a very lucky man, are you?" She mused. Fervently, I lunged forward for a final attack, but it was no use. She sidestepped the attack and punched me in the stomach with her free hand. I doubled over in pain, she kicked me backwards; I tumbled off the edge, down into the darkness...

She shook her head. "Perhaps I went a little too hard on him..." Having sent me tumbling, she then turned and started to leave... only to have her exit interrupted by a blinding pain between her shoulder blades.

"A little early to count me out, don't you think...?"

I stood behind Alnette with my phase blade stuck squarely in her back. The blow had robbed her of her breath, and subsequently, her speech. I tapped my headband. "This isn't just for show, you know," I told her. "I suppose you could say... it's proof of my skills. You might call me a man of many talents."

I turned off my phase blade, and Alnette fell to the floor, released. I stood above her and shook my head. "I know a thing about scars, myself," I said. "I fight, and I fight, and I fight... and a lot of times, I lose. These scars are proof of that." I wrapped my coat tightly around my body. "However..."

I paused and looked away.

"However... even if I lose often... if I win in the end, then it's worth all the suffering. That's what matters, at the end of it all..."

Alnette lost consciousness; I carefully picked her up in my arms and carried her into the tunnels from where she first appeared...

All that remained was the single black rose.

It was a familiar encounter. "You're here for a fight, are you?" My hands were in my pockets, and I cast a cool gaze her way.

Alnette hefted up her Dark Excalibur. "Very perceptive." She looked grim.

I sighed and straightened out my coat. "Well... alright." I took out my Nano-C from its concealed holster, though I didn't turn it on. "In which case... I am for you."

Still, as I invited her to come and meet me in battle, she would not move to to strike. She seemed.. uncertain, as though she wasn't sure what to do. Silence hung in the air. My gauntlet had been thrown, and yet she had not taken it up.

"What?" I said, holding up my arms incredulously. "Am I not a worthy opponent?"

Still, there was no response. It was as though she were in a daze...

"Please..." I took a few steps forward. "We must now do battle." I activated my phase blade. "There is no avoiding it... it is inevitable."

Having said my piece, I brought the fight to her. I rushed ahead, my feet bringing me closer and closer to her on a fixed path, as though I were moving on rails. Within moments, I was upon her, and I raised my blade to strike her down.

A look of panic crossed her face, and she reached for a sword... I knew it wasn't the Dark Excalibur. She was moved by instinct, and her blow landed first.

"Ahhh... AAAAAAAHHH!!!"

She cut me down with a horizontal strike, and the pain shot through my body like fire. I collapsed, paralyzed by the attack. My senses were overcome with agony, and I was lost to a world of blazing whiteness...

"The Empire strikes back?"

I saw Emperor Remus at the foot of the the bridge. He was clad in regular soldier's armor, but was distinguished by royal laurels that rested delicately upon his head. The earth shook with every step he took.

"I'm here," he announced. The statement was redundant, however, as his romping footsteps had already stated his presence on his behalf.

"Remus," I nodded to him. "Good of you to stop by." I straightened out my coat. "Here to conquer me at my own arena, are we?"

He laughed wryly. "It's what I do," he told me. "But... enough talking. Let's settle this the Roman way." He hefted his axe and drew his Astral Commando Sidearm.

I reached into my coat. "As you wish," I replied obligingly, and pulled out my Nano-C. "On your guard, Emperor."

He smiled and accepted the invitation with a gunshot. The projectile whizzed to my right, and I stumbled to the left and rushed forward, charging at him with all my speed. Unfortunately for the Emperor, he only had one good eye; he shot at me time and time again, but his lack of depth perception robbed him of all accuracy. Before he knew it, I was upon him.

"You...!" The cyclops quickly shifted to his axe. "I will crush you like a flea!" He swung the axe, but he missed me, and the momentum carried him off to one side; I took the opportunity to strike at his pistol, rendering it useless.

"You're dead!" He lashed out at me again, fixing his one angry eye upon me. However, it was no use; I was too fast. After his strike, I deftly moved in and struck the cyclops across his eye with my sword.

"Augh!" He screamed. "You wretch!" He clutched his face with his free hand. "Who are you to do this to me?!"

"I am nobody," I replied somberly.

At this point, he started wildly swinging his axe about, clumsily. It would only be a matter of time before I finished things here...

"Reinforcements have arrived, sir!"

I whipped my head around to see a centaur, clad in shining armor. Seems as though Remus brought a few friends along.

"Get him!" The Emperor ordered.

I tried to backpedal away, but the centaur was too fast; I was caught flat-footed. She knocked me down and started trampling me into the ground. Just as I got back up to counterattack, Remus somehow managed to get back up behind me, and he knocked me back down again. At this point, I knew it was over.

"Sorry, my friend," he said with a smirk, "but you know what they say about an eye for an eye..."

And so, the disproportionate retribution began.

"Welcome, welcome."

Alnette was becoming a familiar part around this this part of the battledome. Here she stood again, in the challenger's corner, having just crossed the bridge and crossed onto the platform. She smiled, but there was something beneath her calm demeanor.

I smoothed out my cravat. I was going with a more traditional look this time; decided it was appropriate to get back to my roots as a fencer. A pirate's shirt with a gentleman's vest and monocle; elegant, but still battle appropriate. And of course, this time I would be brandishing my noble Kuro rapier.

"Something keeps drawing you back here, hm?" I adjusted the cuffs on my sleeves, and produced a single black rose in my hands. "An ulterior motive, perhaps?" I smiled grimly at her. "But... the time for conversation is over."

I drew my blade from its scabbard. Alnette seemed flustered, as though she was going to say something, but in the end, all she did was draw her sword as well.

"On your guard!"

I rushed forward, and within seconds, we were a blade's length away from each other. Our swords clashed, but my thin weapon subtly redirected her blade, knocking the point away from my body and out of harm's way. I attempted a riposte, but she stumbled back and out of my range. She then doubled back and struck at me, but the blows were unfocused, and I evaded them with ease. Then, as she looked at me, I saw my opening; I took my sword and landed the point elegantly upon her heart.

"You were... distracted."

I whipped the blade away from her, leaving a small red dot upon her breast.

"The battlefield is... unforgiving of such things."

I turned away.

"But perhaps, once you've found a resolution... we can fight again, with nothing holding us back."

Having said that, I went and headed down the secret passageway behind me, disappearing into the darkness.