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"Well, its back to basics, it looks like..." Rain muttered, once again noticing Ronald and his approach.

If it was someone weilding a scythe like that, odds were good they knew how to use it. He wouldn't want to get caught by a large swing from that weapon, and that's what he would get with how it was being carried currently.

A quick glance to one side, and Rain would begin to quickly sidestep around Ronald, strafing to get away from that scythe; he would be rotating in a way that appeared to be Ronald's dominant hand (if nothing to go by, the one choked further up on the staff of the scythe).

If he could manage to get far enough on the oman's side (about Ronald's 4/8 o'clock), he would suddenly dive in, hoping to deliver a sharp straight punch to the oman's head.

Not much of a change in tactics; as the mysterious Ronald continued on past after Rain had sidestepped out of the way, he still went for that straight punch to the noggin'.

... well, almost, anyways. Rain pulled the punch at the last second, seeing how Ronald was almost oblivious to his own presence.

'I... I think he/she's asleep, or something. Dreamfighting? I can't strike him/her!' he thought to himself, hesitating. He frowned, letting Ronald continue on a few more steps, before moving in behind him cautiously.

Grabbing ahold of the man's shoulders from behind, he would attempt shaking him gently, as if to rouse him from a slumber. "Umm, hello? Are you there? Do you hear my voice, or what?"

((I ended my post with the grab, because I wanted to leave it open for interrupt, because OOC I was expecting one; it wasn't an attack, it was me seriously trying to wake you up. I wouldn't have said "grabbed" in the heat of the moment in a fight where precision couldn't be taken for granted. Like saying, IC, if you hugged someone, you wouldn't have to always say you move in for it, hoping you manage to land the hug. Sorry if how I wrote that bothered you, though sweatdrop ))

"Umm, hello? Are you there? Do you" crunch.

Rain had let his guard down. Everything had been so odd, so surreal, he thought he had things figured out. And for that reason, he was currently on his knees, paying for it.

His right hand had slipped from Ronald's form to grab his injured crotch, while the left still held on as a brace for him to lean against. His face would be contorted in pain, his eyes winced shut.

He didn't cry out or scream from the blow, but he was still speechless, and rather stunned for the moment, unable to do anything else.

((Well, you might still get that here; some people are really uptight about being invincible or untouchable or whatever, but you get those everywhere. My philosophy: if you're doing something insignificant and could be easily countered if the other person feels the need to, then its probably okay to go ahead and do it; if its a build up for anything more sinister/dangerous, best to do it cautiously 3nodding

Also, I think this was supposed to be a weapon battle of sorts, wasn't it? If so, I think we're missing the point (especially since mine won't work here) stressed ))

Rain kept his eyes winced, trying to bear through the pain. He would release his left hand from Ronald, waving the matter off. "It's... its fine... i deserved that..." he muttered.

Given another few moments to rest, he would slowly work his way back up to being on his feet (assuming he wasn't kicked while he was down). He breathed a little harder, and was leaning forward and resting his hands on his knees still. "So, ah... where are we? And who are you?" He asked this assuming this person's previous title of Captain Ronald McDonald was a poorly constructed alias. At least, Rain hoped it was.

Slice!

Clean, efficient, commendable.

Ankokuko was no giant great sword, it had the length of a regular longsword mixed with the body of a katana. It had room for two hands, but could also be wielded effectively by one. And so it struck the ground and dug in, due to the supernatural edge given to the slash, but made no thunderous boom or seized some great effort.

Still, Maximos was cut, and across the leg, Ruuvans blade sinking into the meat, and forcing Maximos to complete his cut on one knee. Left knee nestled in the grass, right foot ready for action.

First blood!

He said, while swinging to his let in a wide slash. He most definitely had the range. He meant this more to clear a moment for him to recover than anything else.

Very nice!

Black rose from the ground gracing the cut, wrapping around it in a crude shadowy bandage. But while it was quickly covered Ruuvan might soon notice something. While perhaps not visible, the scent of red irony blood was present. Maximos bleeding real blood? Thats a new trick.

"Okay... okay..." Rain muttered aloud. Really, more to himself than anything, regathering his wits. A few deep breaths in and out, and he would once again rise to his feet.

"You're certainly the most... characterful person I've ever fought against." Rain would say, looking up from his keeled over stance. "But, my weapons don't work for some reason. I think... it must be because of this dreamscape. Or where ever we are. Its not that they're malfunctioning; they don't seem to have any power at all. All I have are these..." he would say, presenting his bare hands forward, palms open and upturned.

Balls of lightning would suddenly appear, wrapping around his hands, then arcing together through the empty space before him. Though the word 'Suddenly' would have been a better start to that sentance, as Rain would yelp and fall back, pulling his hands away to help catch himself.

"What the hell was that?!" he exclaimed in a panic. THAT'S never happened before!

Assuming Ronald did not rush him, he would cautiously kneel down and return the hands to their former upright positions. And wait...

And wait...

And wait some more...

"Okay, that's"

BZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTT! Just like that, the electricity would return, startling him once more, though not as badly as next time. He would keep his hands there, watching the lightning bounce from one source to the other, the two sources fluxing in brightness. They felt warm, tingly from the experience, but there was no pain.

The lightning seemed to form a constant stream after a few moments, the electrons flowing freely and violently between the two hands. The arc would lower, becoming more of a stream parallel to the ground, and even lengthen to extend beyond the ends of his hands. The lightning became light, and seemed to start taking form. Long, cylindrical, thin... As the light would fade, a bright, golden staff would remain in his hands.

"... okay, do you have any answers to what just happened, Mr. Ronald the Ghost? 'Cause I sure don't."

"I... I don't know. Do you know how many decades its been since I've even picked up and used a bo staff? This definitely wouldn't have been my first choice. But, apparently, some greater force wished for me to use this weapon." Rain explained, from what he could figure out by piecing all the clues together.

Little did he know, his subconscious chose the weapon for the sole purpose of helping him stand after that nutshot.

"Well, if fighting you will get me out of here, I guess I don't have a... are you playing your scythe as a guitar?" Rain said, finally realizing what this strange half-elf was doing. Then sighed and held his right hand up to his face, realizing he just stated the obvious to someone who claimed to be the ghost of Captain Obvious.

This was not going well.

And as quickly as this staff came into Rain's life, it was knocked skyward by the upswinging scythe. Rain managed to lean back an inch or so as the top of the blade passed dangerously near his... everything, but he had failed to secure a grip on the staff, which was currenly helicoptering it into the infinite that this realm called the sky.

He couldn't wait anymore, and would act. With the momentum of the scythe carrying it upwards, before Ronald could bring it back down, Rain quickly darted forward. His left hand would reach out and grab the staff of the scythe just below Ronald's left hand (the one I picture being further choked up the staff part, since the swing came from his right), trying to hold it at bay from coming back for a second attack. His right though would be a form of rising uppercut, looking to catch the half-elf/half-woman in the point of the chin.